Resurrectionists at Prayer. (photo credit, U.S. Province)
At the end of this July 2026, Resurrectionists from across the country will be meeting in Woodstock, Illinois for their annual retreat. A retreat is a time of prayerful renewal in Jesus and a re-awakening of community life, a time away from work and ministerial service, a time for rest, prayer, renewal and enjoyment.
I think that the hardest part about a retreat is to stop working and to stop thinking about and planning work. There should be no calls home; no computer work on schedules or other ministerial tasks. Definitely no chit-chat on cell phones. We are retreating from all that tedious and unending concern that occupies our daily lives.
We are asking you who read this to pray for us that our minds and hearts are ready for renewal, recalling the charism of the Resurrection. A retreat is not so much what you do for the Lord it’s what he has planned for you. Help us discover that plan, that blessing. This retreat is God’s gift to us. He holds out the blessing of a few days of complete trust in Him. .
Please pray for us Resurrectionists during the time we are on retreat. Pray that we may be graced with a new spirit of dedication. Pray, also, that our vows of poverty, chastity and obedience grace our lives with generosity, warm love, and trust in the Father’s plans.
Resurrection is a dying to self an rising with Christ. There’s a wonderful story about St. Julian of Norwich that expresses this mystery. One day she decided to meditate before the image of the crucified Christ. As she began to feel a strong emotion of sadness, the face of Christ suffering on the cross began to change and the pain in it went away. That pain was replaced by features of strength and joy. She began to feel the power and grace of Christ Resurrrected.
She famously understood that Christ’s redeeming love rendered the suffering inherently purposeful, leading to her central, comforting assurance that “all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”.
Please remember to pray for Resurrections this week as we seek the Lord’s presence during this retreat.
I anticipate posts on the blog:
Who the saint is.
What they said about the resurrection.
Why we should think about it today during Resurrection days.
MY THINKING: Three reflections on Resurrection as understood and practiced by specific saints:My reflections on falling and getting up according to Julian of Norwich.{Julian of Norwich taught of the necessity of falling, {by which she meant failing. Failing to avoid sin/ failure to stan fast in the presence of absence: when God is not there, at least that it seems that he not anywhere.