Mini-Retreat Schedule Evening Mini-Retreat Morning Mini-Retreat 7:00-7:30 pm Meditation 9:45-10:15 am Meditation 7:30-7:45 pm Personal Reflection 10:15-10:30 am Personal Reflection 7:45-8:15 pm Practical Talk 10:30-11:00 am Practical Talk This Month’s Preachers & Speakers Meditation: Fr. Peter Hopkins, LC Practical Talk: Jennifer Ristine, CRC Gospel Passage: John 2: 1-12 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” [And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him. After this, he and his mother, [his] brothers, and his disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed there only a few days." Saint of the Month: Our Blessed Mother, Mary Prayer of the Month Regina Caeli (O Queen of Heaven) This is one of four Marian antiphons, traditionally said or sung after night prayer, immediately before going to sleep. It is said throughout Eastertide (that is, from Easter Day through Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter.) The Regina caeli is also said in place of the Angelus during Eastertide. Regina caeli (Queen of Heaven) LEADER: Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. RESPONSE:For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. LEADER: Has risen, as he said, alleluia. RESPONSE:Pray for us to God, alleluia. LEADER: Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. RESPONSE:For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia. Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. Quotes for Inspiration • "Obedience to God's law seems an unlikely road to happiness. Indeed, at times it seems to bring us conflict, trial and great loss. What we lose, though, is far less than what we gain if we do the will of the God who wills nothing less for us than the joy of life everlasting in his presence.” (Magnificat ) • “God chose Mary...to be our 'model of HOLINESS'”(Preface, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception). • “Holiness doesn't mean everything is great. Holiness means I trust God and accept my sufferings. Mary is the perfect model.” • “The power of Mary does not come from her, but through her. As she was the mold for Christ in his human nature, she can mold us.” (Servant of God Sister Ida Peterfy). • “Through the power of his Resurrection, Christ has adorned Mary with the robe of his own grandeur and majesty, and arrayed her with glory and splendor. These garments of salvation are the revelation and crown of the HOLINESS with which she lived her life on earth.” (Magnificat) • "The splendor of an entirely unique HOLINESS by which Mary is enriched from the first instant of her conception comes wholly from Christ...” (CCC 492). • “By her (Mary's) maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers...until they are lead into the HAPPINESS of their true home.” (Pope Saint Paul VI, Lumen Gentium, Ch. 8, n. 62). Suggested resources • Enjoy the images and music of this beautiful 3-minute video of the Regina Caeli by Juliano Ravanello. Click here to watch & Listen • Need a resource to begin saying the Rosary? Try the Rosary Companion, published by Magnificat. It's small and beautiful. https://us.magnificat.net/rosary-companion.html Stay Connected and Informed About OLB Follow us on your favorite Social Media platform! @OLBretreats Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube | Twitter Questions for Deeper Reflection ~ May 2020: Femininity 1. In Amy Welborn’s book Mary and the Christian Life, p. 39, there is a quote from Catherine de Hueck Doherty, A Woman Wrapped in Silence: “So we can turn to her in grave humility and say to her, ‘Look, you are one of us. Teach us the height to which we can rise. We can’t bear Christ, but we can be pregnant with love for every human being, men and women alike, in giving life to other people. Mother, teach us how to do it. Teach us how to hope. Teach us how to say ‘yes’ to the impossible.’” Ask yourself: What do I need Mary to teach me today? 2. Mary is the greatest saint the world has ever known. She left no impressive accomplishments or achievements behind, no buildings, no institutions. What does this tell me about the nature of holiness? 3. Venerable Fulton Sheen once said: “Society rises or falls (depending on) how healthy women are.” How do I see this reflected now, in this time? How might God be asking me to help? 4. “Devotion to this sweet Mother (Mary) is not something superficial or intermittent…but constant and essential, reaching to the very depths of our hearts and filling our whole beings and our lives with a heavenly perfume.” ( Luis Martinez, Magnificat, Jan 2020). Where could I grow in my devotion to Mary? 5. Mary is ‘full of grace’ as Gabriel called her. She is full of the life of God and therefore able to confront the devil, now that she is glorified in heaven. In The Passion of the Christ movie, as Jesus walks to Calvary, we see the battle that is still taking place between Mary and the devil. As supreme icon and image of the Church, Mary battles the devil. What could I do to more fully understand the power that Mary has, for the Church and for souls? (A Guide to The Passion: #68). .