I'm in Lake Elmo, MN this weekend giving a retreat at the Jesuit Retreat House which is known as "Demontreville" because it sits on the shores of Lake Demontreville. I gave my first retreat here in 1986 and was on the staff from 2000 to 2003. This is my 58th retreat here where they average 65 men a weekend for a silent retreat during which I give fourteen half hour talks based on the "Spiritual Exercises" of St. Ignatius.
Here is how the schedule goes:
Thursday: late afternoon arrivals, 7 PM dinner, Orientation, 9 PM Benediction and the first talk in which I introduce myself and tell the retreatants that the real director is the Holy Spirit.
Friday: 9 AM talk: "The First Principle and Foundation" or why God made us.
10:45 AM talk: How death puts life into perspective.
2:30 PM talk: How sin frustrates our purpose and goal in life.
4 PM talk: The option of hell.
5:10 PM: Mass.
8 PM: Benediction and talk: Jesus our Savior; the Annunciation and Nativity.
Saturday: 9 AM talk: Jesus is God's Word to us; the Hidden Life; the virtues.
10:45 AM talk: What was Jesus like? Prayer as entering His mind and heart.
2:30 PM talk: Jesus' greatest joy; how Jesus forgives sins.
3:00 PM: Time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
5:10 PM: Mass.
8:00 PM: Benediction and talk: The Passion and Death of Jesus.
Sunday: 9 AM talk: Jesus' Descent among the Dead.
10:45 AM talk: The Resurrection.
2:30 PM talk: The gifts of Jesus' abiding presence: the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist.
4:00 PM talk: Keeping the retreat alive through the Apostleship of Prayer.
5:10 PM: Mass.
7 PM: Departures
In between the talks I am available to meet with the retreatants for spiritual direction.
It's a work-out but giving retreats is my favorite ministry and Demontreville is my favorite retreat house.
As a retreatant who has made many retreats through the year, I must say that Fr. Kubicki is a wonderful and brilliantly insightful retreat master. I ponder his points years later. He also brought me to the Apostleship of Prayer, which has been the source of much grace. Father K, thank you for your sacrifice and your witness!!
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