MORE CLOSELY CONFIGURED TO CHRIST
The annual retreat for the bishops of Regions IV and XIV (Wilmington to Miami) has one more day to run and I thought I might share with you just a very few of the insights which I have gained these past three and a half days. We finish tonight and leave tomorrow morning.
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti,PhD., D. Min, our retreat master (read that “preacher”) chose as his theme for these days: “Called to a Deeper Relationship with God in Jesus.” In the ten conferences which he will have given by this evening and four homilies at Mass (plus one penance service), he has been putting us back in touch through the Gospel accounts of transformative moments with Christ and has touched on matters of moment such as celibacy, integrity, presence and particularly the centrality of the Eucharist when the priest is perhaps most configured to Christ. Using his sixteen year experience as director of St. Luke’s Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, which treats bishops, priests and religious who have various forms and degrees of addictions, he has been uniquely and quite cleverly able these days to not only keep our attention but force our introspection. They have been good days.
Last night we had a penance service and in addition to Monsignor Rossetti hearing our confessions there were also five Passionist priests who staff, own and operate this retreat center. One of the older men had hearing aids in both ears. Let me just say this – bishops are no different from others in the Church, his line was the longest.
The bishops have voted strongly to move the location of this annual retreat to our new Bethany Center. I am happy that soon our local Church will host this special moment in my life and in the lives of others.
+RNL
Tags: Bethany Center, Bishops, Retreat