St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center

           Fall Series 2002

                UPDATED: September 11, 2002

For many of us -- young or old -- as we journey through and see more of life, we become more reflective, more serious and, perhaps, ask more questions and have more hopes. Like any other retreat center, St. Paul's seeks to provide retreats and programs which will aid our retreatants and friends in "the" great quest of deepening their relationship with God.  However, in any spiritual and loving relationship, continued input and follow-up are important. In order to meet these "important" needs, the Center has developed mini-series programs, centering around the principles of prayer and spiritual growth.  The Series include: Coffee and Conversation with St. John of the Cross on The Living Flame of Love, The Inner Life of St. Therese of Lisieux, and Coffee and Conversation with St. Catherine of Siena On The Dialogue.
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Throughout the year, our center offers days and evenings of reflection, as well as a series of mornings or evenings on a particular topic.  These programs introduce new people to St. Paul's and also provide a follow up experience to those who make weekend retreats.  Specific programs can be designed for parish groups.  For additional information please call us at (412) 381-7676, e-mail us at stpaulrcpa@cpprov.org.

Coffee and Conversation with St. John of the Cross

On The Living Flame of Love

Presenters:    Dr. Susan Stangl and   Rev. Paul Vaeth, C.P.

Presented Five Consecutive Wednesday Mornings and Evenings

September 11, 18, 25, and October 2, 9, 2002

Each Topic will be Presented

       In the Morning from 9:30-11:00 A.M.

and then Repeated

In the Evening from 7:30 to 9:00 P.M.

        "Coffee and Conversation with St. John of the Cross on The Living Flame of Love" is a five-part mini-series designed to acquaint seek-ers with one of the greatest texts of the spiritual life. Truly a spiritu-al masterpiece, The Living Flame of Love reveals the intimate and delicate sweetness of a soul's devotion as it finds itself burning for God.
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        This mini-series will be presented by Dr. Susan Stangl and Rev. Paul Vaeth, C.P. on Wednesday mornings and evenings, September 11, 18, 25, October 2 and 9 from 9:30-11:00 A.M. and again from 7:30 to 9:00 P.M. at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center.
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        Participants are asked to read segments of the text in advance. The text being used is The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, revised edition, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. 

SCHEDULE

September 11: "O Living Flame of Love"

Beginning where The Spiritual Canticle ends, namely the souls union with God, The Living Flame introduces its readers to the soul's experience of impassioned l°ve for God and the desire to glorify God which accompanies this penetrating union. This morning and evening we will reflect upon the nature and work of the flame and its desire for glory. Read pages 633-57.

September 18: "O Delicate Touch That Tastes of Eternal Life"

Rejoicing in the splendor and love which it receives in divine union the soul experiences the blazing, wounding fire of the Holy Spirit; the powerful, bounteous hand of the Father; and, the delicate, delightful touch of the Son. Our conversation, this morning and evening, will highlight the activity of the three divine Persons in the depths of the soul. Read pages 657-72.

September 25: "How Tenderly You Swell My Heart with Love"

John writes that "true lovers are only content When they employ all they are in themselves, all they are worth, have and receive, in the beloved; and the greater of all this is, the more satisfaction they receive in giving it." This morning and evening we will consider the new awakening which occurs in spiritual marriage and the individual's gift to God who receives it. Read pages 673-89.

October 2: "How Secretly and Silently You Speak to My Soul"

In spiritual marriage, God tenderly captivates the soul without the soul knowing how or understanding anything more than the flame of God's love. Prayer and conversation, this morning and evening, will consider the extent to which God values the tranquility and sleep of the soul at this stage of spiritual union. Read pages 689-708.

October 9: "Awakened in gentleness by the Living God"

In response to all that she has experienced, the soul responds to its Bridegroom, the Living God, with love and thanksgiving for having produced such a profound union. As we bring our series on "The Living Flame" to a close, we will consider the soul's awakening to find that it is by the breath of God that it now breathes. Read pages 708-15.

Offering is $45.00 plus text.  Coffee is free!  A non-refundable $10 registration fee is requested.

Please call the Retreat Center Office at (412) 381-7676 to register or e-mail us at stpaulrcpa@cpprov.org for information.
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St. Therese of Lisieux

The Inner Life

Presented By:    Dr. Salvatore J. Mascari

Thursday October 10, 17, and 24, 2002

7:30 to 9:00 P.M.

       SCHEDULE

October 10: "Detachment"

"God was able in a very short time to take me out of the very narrow circle in which I was turning without knowing how to come out." Therese "Had I been forced to pass through flames, I would have done it." As a fragile sick child, Therese was indulged. However, once in the convent, she was determined to shed her household and all that went with it. She craved only to be "hidden." Therese realized that she could not live the hidden life of the desert in the French parlor.
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At 17 years of age, Therese discovered the writings of St. John of the Cross. John stresses detachment from all that is not Christ. She practiced detachment from people's ideas of her, dependence on her sisters, religious practices, and clothes. Thdrese believed that even her thoughts were not her own, but they all came from the Holy Spirit.
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To Therese detachment meant a continuous resistance to clinging to things, people, emotions, impulses, ideas, habits and preoccupations. She determined that she was not shedding her old identity as the "Little Queen" to attach herself to a new identity!

October 17: "Therese's way"

"Therese told me she'd worn her little iron cross for a long ffme and that it made her sick. She said that this was not God's will for her, nor for us to throw ourselves into great mortification. Her Mother Superior was imbued with the philosophy that "Humiliations strengthened the soul. Iron crosses and flagellations with nettles held great honor."
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Her superior's attitude that "Suffering is a very great thing" plunged Therese into conflict. However, with the passage of time, Therese concluded that some Carmelite practices were not the will of God.
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Freed from fear and convinced that penance and mortification was not for her, Therese developed her own way. It allowed for the many differences in people and for the lives which the "Lord was pleased to caress ... from the cradle to the grave ... If all flowers wanted to be roses, nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked with little wild flowers." It is the simplidty of "lit-tle wild flowers" that attract God. "Because I am little and weak, He lowered Himself to me." St. Therese thus carved out a pathway to sanctity for ordinary people B one that side-stepped the "rough stairway of perfection."

October 24: a) "Prayer" b) "Love"

a) Prayer

"O Jesus ... it seems to me that You can not fill a soul with more love than the love with which you have filled mine... I dare to ask you to love those whom you have given me with the love with which you have loved me."
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From early childhood, the hours of the day for Therese were linked with vocal prayers. By the time of her First Communion, Therese had recorded 2,773 prayer invocations in her notebook.
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Therese felt that God would grant her anything she asked of Him. As she matured in grace, she felt these desires were of her choosing and not the will of God. Soon her only desire was to love Jesus unto folly.
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With the passage of time, Therese was drawn from vocal prayer into the realm of mental prayer. She believed that mental prayer "was not restricted to a few very great souls (and that) it was not presumptuous to seek it." She also believed for souls to know intimacy with Jesus and the Father required "littleness" of His Divine glance.

b) Love

"In order to live in one single act of perfect Love, I OFFER MYSELF AS A VICTIM OF HOLOCAUST TO YOUR MERCIFUL LOVE, asking you to consume me incessantly ... and that thus I may become a martyr of Your Love..."
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In Therese's time the idea of appeasement - that we are guilty and should fear God's just retribution - held many Catholics in its grip. "I was thinking about the souls who offer themselves as victims of God's justice in order to turn away the punishment reserved to sinners, but I was far from feeling attracted to it." Led by grace Therese discovered that "the road that leads to the Divine Furnace ... is the surrender of the little child who sleeps without fear in his father's arms."
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"I understood it was love alone that made the Church's members act, that if love ever became extinct, apostles would not preach the Gospel and martyrs would not shed their blood."
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"Jesus, my love ... You know very well that never would I be able to love my sisters as You love them, unless You, O my Jesus, loved them in me... Your love has gone before me, and it has grown within me, and now it is an abyss whose depths I cannot fathom. Love attracts love, and, my Jesus, my love leaps towards Yours ... Love those whom You have given me with the love with which You loved me."

Offering is $24.00. A non-refundable $10 registration fee is requested.

Please call the Retreat Center Office at (412) 381-7676 to register or e-mail us at stpaulrcpa@cpprov.org for information.
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Coffee and Conversation with St. Catherine of Siena

On The Dialogue

Presenters:    Dr. Susan Stangl and   Rev. Paul Vaeth, C.P.

Two Seven-Part Series

September-December 2002 and January-Febreuary 2003

Presented Five Consecutive Wednesday Mornings and Evenings

Part 1: October 23,30, November 6, 13, 20, 27, and December 4, 2002

Part 2: Call the Retreat center for Dates

Each Topic will be Presented

In the Morning from 9:30-11:00 A.M.

and then Repeated

In the Evening from 7:30 to 9:00 P.M.

        We are happy to announce that the Dialogues of St. Catherine of Siena will be the sacred text of the "Coffee and Conversation Series" for the Winter 2002-2003 Adult Formation Enrichment Series conducted at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center.
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        Broken down into two seven-part series, the September-December 2002 meetings will focus on the Life of Catherine of Siena as well as the themes found in the first half of her masterpiece. The January-February 2003 meetings will concentrate on the themes of "Truth", "The Mystic Body", "Divine Providence" and "Obedience" found in the remaining section of the text.
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        Join Dr. Susan Stangl and Rev. Paul Vaeth, C.P., onWednesday mornings or evenings for the first of this two-part series. Dates and times for the first series are: October 23, 30, November 6, 13, 20, 27 and December 4 from 9:30-11:00 A.M. and again from 7:30 to 9:00.
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        Participants are asked to read segments of the text in advance. The text to be used is The Dialogue translated by Suzanne Noffke, Paulist Press, 1980.
 Offering is $56.00 plus text.  A non-refundable $10 registration fee is requested.
Please contact St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center at (412) 381-7676 or e-mail us at stpaulrcpa@cpprov.org for information, to pre-register, and to order a copy of the book. Upon receipt a copy of the schedule with dates and the material to be covered will be sent to you.
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A Prayer to Begin the Day

Jesus, I desire to start this day with you.
And yet, my mind keeps flittering to so many things:
the projects I want to accomplish, the people I want to talk to,
the people I wish I didn't have to talk to.  I wonder.
Are these things distractions to the spiritual concentration
or invitations to see God in the ordinary?  I'm not sure.
Jesus, I know that you are the center who knows no distraction.
So I offer up my mental fragmentation to you,
O Lord my God.
May my scatterdness become your gatheredness.
As I'm contemplating a thousand things, Jesus,
may I somehow be contemplating you.  Amen.
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