Tony Sperendi is a Lay Ecclesial Minister. He has worked at St. Francis Parish in Ann Arbor as the Director of Adult Faith Formation, taught theology at Fr. Gabriel Richard High School, and worked at St. Therese Parish as the director of RCIA and Adult Faith Formation. He has also served on the Diocesan Men’s Conference team, given marriage retreats, presented parish missions, Lenten and RCIA retreats and other talks and workshops.

“Marriage: Building Trust, Communication, and Intimacy 
with Each Other and the Lord”
September 16, October 14, or november 4, 2017 - 9:00am-4:00pm

Doors open at 8:30am with sign-in along with coffee and snacks. The retreat starts at 9:00am. It will include prayer and short presentations on trust, communication, and intimacy with follow up questions so that each couple can discuss privately.  This marriage retreat is designed to give each couple ample time to discuss each topic with their own issues and desires to grow in intimacy and trust. 

​We will also have opportunities to share with others if you choose to.  Sometimes hearing from other couples helps you to see you’re not the only ones with issues. And it also gives you an opportunity to share with others what has worked for you! 

The day promises to be practical, hands-on, and informative. It will also help you to draw upon the grace and mercies of our Lord. Jesus is very fond of married couples. Look what he did for the couple at Cana! See the Gospel of John, chapter two. The Father desires all married couples to grow in love as He intended from the very beginning of creation. But he’s also aware marriage isn’t easy. In fact, at times it can be very challenging. That’s why he elevated the vocation of marriage to be a sacrament, so that all the treasures and graces of heaven will be at our disposal! Listen what he tells us in the Scriptures:  

“I will be with you… I will not leave you nor forsake you” 
Joshua 1:5
This retreat will include morning snacks, Mass, lunch, and handouts. The cost is $120 per couple with a $25 deposit due with registration.

Here are some comments on past marriage retreats for couples:

  • “Tony gave me a large number of tools to help communicate and understand my wife. He was a delight!!! Very personable, fun, and knowledgeable.”
  • “Time spent together w/ my wife working on our marriage in a positive way. Tony was very good.”
  • “The retreat put my frazzled thoughts and desires to communicate in order. Even my husband understood me after reading the handouts and hearing it explained. Gave personal accounts, spoke in layman’s terms, and used humor. Thank you.”
  • “I liked the chance to address a problem area together. The retreat gave us the opportunity and helps to do this.”
  • “Encouraging; could relate. Good resources.”
  • “I like his emphasis on making marriage #1 priority.”
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  • “The retreat helped open us up and helped us listen to each other better. I also liked it when he brought God’s love into marriages. It’s uplifting.”
  • “It taught me to be more of a listener and not to bud in when she’s talking.”
  • “Excellent retreat of many ways my wife and I can improve our marriage. He’s friendly, personable, and a good communicator and gave good examples.”
  • “How to talk to my spouse and how to listen really helped. The topics were exactly what we were dealing with ourselves.”
  • “I learned that respecting my spouse’s feelings is more important than the ‘issue’ itself.”
  • “Tony is a great person and has great talent for relating to people. And even with his training he and his wife have problems too. He’s encouraging and helpful.”
​

“Going Deeper into the Life & Message of
​St. Therese the Little Flower”
September 19, 2017   9:00am-3:30pm

“At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.’” Matthew 11:25-26
 
St. Therese of Lisieux - (1873-1897) lived a beautiful life with her family and yet it was also filled with deep suffering and loss. At the age of 15 she entered the religious life of the Discalced Carmelites in Lisieux France. At 24 she died of tuberculosis. She compacted so much living and understanding of the true and eternal God in her brief life. In fact it was so profound and life-giving for God’s People that 100 years after her death St. John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church. “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:1-4

Her life and message is often referred to as ‘The Little Way of Spiritual Childhood’ because she understood what it meant to be a ‘little one’ as Jesus described. Most of us today live as if everything depends on our own efforts, strength, and ingenuity. While our efforts are definitely important, they pale in contrast to the magnanimity of our Lord’s unconditional fatherly love, grace, and care for our lives! He truly is our Father and we truly are his children no matter how old we are. My grandfather lived till 101 but he never stopped being Our Father’s boy. When we grasp this sacred truth through grace and get it in our hearts and minds and down to our bones, life takes on a new and childlike joy. We worry less and trust more. It sounds good to me. What about you? Can you live with a little less anxiety and hopelessness and make room for the knowledge that you are our Lord’s beloved?

​The Lord invites you to come away for a day of prayer, rest, and renewal, reflecting on the eternal truths and message of St. Therese and becoming a child again. And this leads us to what we all seek… love. In her own words, she would tell us…
 
“My little way is all love.” 
Doors open at 8:30am with sign-in and coffee and snacks. The retreat begins at 9:00am. The day includes Mass, lunch and handouts. Bring your Bible and your spiritual journal if you keep one.  Prayer, meditation, presentations, group discussions and quiet time will be the rhythm of the retreat. The St. Francis Book & Gift Shop will be open. And we have 100 acres of God’s beautiful creation to walk about.

The cost of the retreat is $65 or $55 for seniors 60 and over.

Mary “Blessed Are You Among Women”
Thursday October 19, 2017   9:00am - 3:30pm

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Everybody needs a mother. Moms nurture and care for us. They are special beyond all telling! My mom spent her whole life caring for us four kids. And when she died when I was only 26 I realized more than ever that she was the heart of the family too. Nothing could replace her. And do you realize God also needed a mother? Ponder that for a while and you will see how important moms are to all families… including God’s family!

​Mary’s role in our lives goes back to the fall of Adam and Eve and our need of a Savior. She was the Woman prophesied in Genesis 3 whose seed - Jesus - would defeat the devil, sin, and death and restore us to God as his sons and daughters. Mary’s yes to the angel Gabriel opened the way to the graces of God never seen before! And now Mary is our Mother too. But her role goes back even further in the great mystery of God - “before the foundation of the world” as Ephesians 1:4 tells us.

​We will study and break open the Scriptures and our Tradition to see how important Mary is to us. We will also look at the saints to reflect on their writings of Mary. Finally, we will take a look at Mary’s apparition at Fatima - celebrating the 100th anniversary this year - to see what she is saying to us today.

The day will include morning snacks and coffee, lunch, Mass, prayer, along with presentations. The St. Francis Book & Gift Shop will be opened throughout the day. Please bring your Bible and your spiritual journal if you keep one. The cost is $65 or $55 for seniors 60 and over.

“Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, pray for us your children.”  

“Becoming a Saint: Our Deepest Desire”
Monday, November 6, 20179:00am - 3:30pm

With great love and mercy, the Lord invites each one of us to be his blessed ones.
​Learn the keys to happiness, sanctity, and the path to eternal life.
Ponder this…  Entry into eternity is not like cramming for a test the night before. We might never know when it’s our last day. It’s more like farming. You can’t procrastinate till August to plant your seeds and expect a great harvest in September. We need to prepare and be ready. Jesus says:

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man”   Luke 21:34-36.
 
Jesus tells us much about this preparation along with the saints and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We will dive into this material through teaching and discussion and meditation.
 
“The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint.”

This was said by Leon Bloy, a 19th and 20th century French writer who was quoted twice in Pope Francis’ first homily. Bloy was a convert to Catholicism from atheism. So why is this statement relevant and loaded on so many levels? It gets to the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Christ which is what our baptism makes us… followers of Jesus. And where is our ultimate destination with Jesus… heaven. Becoming saints is part of the process of being disciples. You might ask, “Well, I’m not even close to being a saint! Does this mean I won’t make it?” We will uncover what makes a saint and what modern day notions point us in the wrong direction. You will see that you are probably further along the path to sainthood than you presently think!
So spend some time pondering, learning, and soaking in the truths of our Catholic Faith regarding heaven and sainthood. After all, it’s the direction our Heavenly Father is leading us on. The Catechism tells us:

“The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” CCC 27.
 
Here is a last word about becoming a saint from my most favorite saint of all:
“Holiness consists simply in doing God’s will, and being just what God wants us to be.”
St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower
​
​“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”   Matthew 5:3
This retreat includes morning snacks and coffee, lunch, Mass, and handouts. Bring your Bible and prayer journal if you have one. Doors open at 8:30am for check in and refreshments. The retreat starts at 9:00am and will end at 3:30pm.
The cost of the retreat is $65 or $55 for seniors 60 and older. The St. Francis Book & Gift Shop will be opened all day.
 
The day will include:
  • An examination of what the Scriptures say about the saints.
  • What are the characteristics of a saint.
  • Can we become a saint despite being weak?
  • Dealing with Catholic guilt.
  • The meaning of the “Communion of the Saints” from the Creed.
  • The path to sanctity and hope for all.


Evaluations from the same retreat given in 2016…
  • “The speaker, Tony, was easy to understand. He was very dynamic and friendly. The content was rich and gave me new meaning on how to become a saint.”
  • “I loved his analogies and all of his descriptions of many different saints. He’s very knowledgeable about our Christian Catholic Faith!”
  • “He did a wonderful job and he sure knows the Scriptures.”
  • “Loved that he was well prepared and enthusiastic!”
  • “I aspire to become a saint and you gave me the roadmap.”
  • “Humorous and informative. He also took extra time to share and help me in a spiritual way. Thank you!!!”
  • “I got answers to many of my questions and also, I learned what to do with my guilt.”
  • “Sincere, organized, thoughtful, and Spirit-filled.”
  • I didn’t think I could ever become a saint… and to think I am one!”