Men’s Morning of Reflection

All men of the parish are invited to attend the Men’s Morning of Reflection on October 28, 2023.

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Sculpture of the Lord's Prayer with scriptures from Bible

Guest Speaker
Sally McCuen presenting
The Lord’s Prayer – Much More than a Memorized Prayer

Come and join us, along with guest speaker Sally McCuen, and discover aspects of this familiar prayer that you never knew, even after praying it all these years. You’ll also learn how Jesus’ instruction on the Our Father prayer can help you get closer to God.

Jesus gave the disciples simple, yet profound words to pray to God. But how often do we mindfully utter the words of The Lord’s Prayer? Do you ever ponder and explore the spiritual depths of this prayer?

Sally’s presentation will offer us a wonderful opportunity to explore the Lord’s Prayer so that we dare not only to pray it but also truly dare to live within it.

When: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Time: 8:30 am – 12 pm (lunch follows)
Where: Blessed Sacrament Parish

Register Below

About Our Speaker

Sally McCuen guides others to enter into the mystery of God’s love through scripture studies, spiritual direction, and retreats. She works full-time at the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit. Her background spans high school religion teacher, college adjunct professor, campus minister, RCIA coordinator, and spiritual director. Sally holds a Master of Arts Degree in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. She has been happily married to Patrick since 1986 and is raising two young adult daughters.

What is Men’s Morning of Reflection?

It’s your chance to come and be with other men who, like you, are striving to be good men in the world.  We have unique challenges as catholic husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, grandfathers… you name it.  Doesn’t matter whether you are married or single, employed or retired. 

These typically occur twice a year on a Saturday morning at the parish center.  There’s a guest speaker for a given topic and you get to just listen, and if you want, talk with a few guys at your table. 

Regardless of the topic, we don’t get a lot of chances to be around other men who are just trying to be a little better at this Catholic man thing.

Coffee and donuts are provided and if the event goes til noon we usually provide a free lunch.

Grief Recovery 

“I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow.
Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process.”

-C.S. Lewis

Grief is our response to a loss. There are many types of losses. The Grief Recovery Series is a six-week program, which enables you to become aware of the process of grief and how grief affects your life. Blessed Sacrament will be hosting the grief recovery process beginning October 3rd. The sessions will run on Tuesdays from 1:30-3:00 and are for anyone who has experienced a loss three or more months ago. The sessions are led by trained facilitators and provide time for reflection and sharing. The process is free, but please register below or by calling the Parish Center.

candle lit in memory/ grief of loved ones
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Christ Renews

Life has a way of teaching us that all of our commitments, including our commitment to Christ, need continual renewal if we are to be faithful!

Christ Renews is an ongoing process for the personal spiritual renewal of men and women over the age of 18 that results in the renewal of our faith community. The process begins with a weekend of prayer, talks given by members of our Midland Area parishes, times of silence and reflection, social activities, and small group discussion. This all takes place in a relaxed, prayerful, and caring atmosphere. Participants are free to share as much or as little as they wish. This is a wonderful time spent exploring our faith and growing in our relationship with Christ.

Think and pray seriously about this opportunity

  • do you need to deepen your faith?
  • do you need space for your inner journey?
  • is your life out of balance?
  • are you out of touch with the action of God in your life?
  • are you seeking to enrich your understanding of what it means to be a Christian in today’s world?
  • do you see yourself as “church”? As a disciple of Jesus?
  • do you need to listen anew to Jesus’ call?

What about the cost?

The renewal weekend is a gift from the team putting on the weekend to the participants attending the weekend.  Volunteers provide food and service.

Who facilitates the weekend?

A team of people from the previous Christ Renews weekend is in formation now with a Spiritual Director, preparing to make your weekend a truly special experience.

What happens during the weekend?

The many activities include prayer, reflection, talks, small group discussions, and social activities; all in a relaxed, prayerful, and caring atmosphere. Participants are free to share as much, or as little, as they wish. The entire weekend is informal. Casual clothes are recommended.

There will be a Reconciliation Service and we participate in Sunday Eucharist together with the rest of the parish community. There are opportunities for private and shared prayer.

It is a Spirit-filled weekend!

Beyond the Nudge: Rediscovering the Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Too often, the Holy Spirit seems to us to be an impersonal reality, a nebulous vapor swirling around us. Yet our faith teaches us that the Holy Spirit is a Person, one of the Three Persons of the Trinity.
-Joe Poprocki

Two years ago, Eileen Grew came to the Faith Formation Office with whispering in her heart. She believed God was calling our Blessed Sacrament family to spend some quality time learning about and praying with the Holy Spirit. After a few more visits to the office and enlisting the help of two other faith-filled women, Jean Thiele and Sheryl Lane, Eileen’s nudge from the Holy Spirit became a push!

And this push led to ninety people gathering on January 28 for a “Spirit-filled” morning led by Father Alberto Vargas.  Participants were treated to a delicious breakfast as Father Alberto shared insights about the Holy Spirit as a person of the Trinity as revealed to us through Scripture. Using the teachings of Pope Francis, he invited us to consider the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit and what they look like lived out in our lives. Father also took time to answer the many questions people had regarding baptism and the relationship between the Spirit, prayer, and hardships in life as well as global tragedy.

The morning was interspersed with prayer, music, table discussion, and individual reflection opportunities. Each participant received a “gift box” with one Gift of the Holy Spirit in it and three envelopes with questions to help illuminate the gift. Envelope 1 encouraged the participant to reflect on what they had heard in Father’s presentation. Envelope 2 challenged the individual to come up with their own definition of the “gift.” And, Envelope 3 contained a definition and a prompt to think about a time when they had experienced that particular gift. A “Going Deeper” section was also included to encourage participants to prayerfully consider how they might further respond to the Spirit’s prompting in their life.

The day concluded with a slide show highlighting the Fruits of the Spirit as well as a blessing that participants bestowed upon one another. The morning was a beautiful expression of the Spirit alive in our minds and hearts and lived out through our words and actions.

Thank you to Father Alberto, Eileen, Sheryl, and Jean for the inspirational retreat.

Fr. Alberto’s Presentation

Pictures from the Day

More Pictures

Sacred in the Secular: Rosary on the Go

If you enjoy walking or jogging by yourself or with others why not turn it into a time of prayer so that you can exercise your body and your soul at the same time?!

If you are new to the Rosary on the Go, Blessed Sacrament will provide rosary rings for each participant and a weekly prayer intention based on Pope Francis’s monthly prayer intention. Please contact Christy to request your rosary ring(s) and list of weekly intentions. In Mark 16:15 Jesus said, “GO into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature…” On your mark, get set, GO!!!!