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.
St. Therese of Lisieux: A Model of Faith, Prayer, and Daily Living for Our Times
Oct. 10, 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Be encouraged and learn from her how to live life with purpose, love, and hope in our daily lives of work, family, and our faith in Our Lord. She is a great guide, down to earth and full of wisdom for our pilgrimage on earth and heading true north to heaven. Saint Pope John Paul the Great declared her a Doctor (Teacher) of the Universal Church in 1997, one hundred years after her death. This is a special honor given to only a few of the many teachers of the Church in the last 2,000 years.
We need reliable and inspiring mentors and spiritual directors in our lives today. She is definitely one of them!
We will see how she is a model of faith and purpose as she lived and now teaches us in her “little way” the most fundamental truth of our Faith: that God is Our Father and we are his sons and daughters. Really!
“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” John 1:12.
This kind of relationship with the Lord is profound and open to all who would accept it. You don’t have to be perfect, you can’t earn it, and its not too hard to grasp. It’s akin to a caring mother and father’s relationship with their little child. There is beauty and simplicity to our Faith and she points a divine light on this.
She is also a model of prayer for us. Think of prayer as our communication time with God. She teaches us to trust in Him and to speak to him anytime, anywhere, and speak to Him as a friend in plain English or whatever language you speak. Even Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John,
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” John 15:15.
You see, we are his friends. And Jesus reveals all that his Father and our Father wants to reveal to us. That’s intimacy. This relational prayer strengthens us in hard times.
Finally, St. Therese shows us that Jesus is with us 24/7 and wants to be our helper and friend whether we’re at work, dealing with relationship issues with family, on vacation, working through money problems, self -doubt, or where ever we find ourselves in daily life. He’s there for us. Even if we think he’s sleeping or forgetting about us.
Read and meditate on Luke 8:22-25. Jesus is crossing the lake with his friends. As they sailed he fell asleep. But then a great storm befell them and they were in danger of perishing. So they woke Jesus. He rebuked the stormy winds and waves and all became calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith.” You see, he’s always with us. True friends are like that.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:32, “Your heavenly Father know all that you need” and in Luke 12:7 he reminds us, “Why, even the hairs of your hear are all numbered.”
This is the kind of relationship of trust and friendship with Jesus and our heavenly Father that Therese points out to us to embrace. She is just amazing. Come see how she can inform, form, and transform you with the grace of God to be His child and live in the freedom and power of the children of God.
The retreat starts at 9:00am but you’re welcome to come at 8:30 and sign-in, enjoy some beverages, fruits and morning snack. The St. Francis Book and Gift shop will be opened all day. We’ll attend Mass later in the morning and lunch will be served at noon. Please bring your Bible and your spiritual journal if you keep one.
We need reliable and inspiring mentors and spiritual directors in our lives today. She is definitely one of them!
We will see how she is a model of faith and purpose as she lived and now teaches us in her “little way” the most fundamental truth of our Faith: that God is Our Father and we are his sons and daughters. Really!
“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” John 1:12.
This kind of relationship with the Lord is profound and open to all who would accept it. You don’t have to be perfect, you can’t earn it, and its not too hard to grasp. It’s akin to a caring mother and father’s relationship with their little child. There is beauty and simplicity to our Faith and she points a divine light on this.
She is also a model of prayer for us. Think of prayer as our communication time with God. She teaches us to trust in Him and to speak to him anytime, anywhere, and speak to Him as a friend in plain English or whatever language you speak. Even Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John,
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” John 15:15.
You see, we are his friends. And Jesus reveals all that his Father and our Father wants to reveal to us. That’s intimacy. This relational prayer strengthens us in hard times.
Finally, St. Therese shows us that Jesus is with us 24/7 and wants to be our helper and friend whether we’re at work, dealing with relationship issues with family, on vacation, working through money problems, self -doubt, or where ever we find ourselves in daily life. He’s there for us. Even if we think he’s sleeping or forgetting about us.
Read and meditate on Luke 8:22-25. Jesus is crossing the lake with his friends. As they sailed he fell asleep. But then a great storm befell them and they were in danger of perishing. So they woke Jesus. He rebuked the stormy winds and waves and all became calm. Then he asked them, “Where is your faith.” You see, he’s always with us. True friends are like that.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:32, “Your heavenly Father know all that you need” and in Luke 12:7 he reminds us, “Why, even the hairs of your hear are all numbered.”
This is the kind of relationship of trust and friendship with Jesus and our heavenly Father that Therese points out to us to embrace. She is just amazing. Come see how she can inform, form, and transform you with the grace of God to be His child and live in the freedom and power of the children of God.
The retreat starts at 9:00am but you’re welcome to come at 8:30 and sign-in, enjoy some beverages, fruits and morning snack. The St. Francis Book and Gift shop will be opened all day. We’ll attend Mass later in the morning and lunch will be served at noon. Please bring your Bible and your spiritual journal if you keep one.
A one-day Pilgrimage to the Fr. Solanus Casey Center in Detroit
and the Basilica of the Little Flower in Royal Oak
October 17, 2018
The cost of $50 p/p includes tours of both centers, lunch, round trip bus transportation (full coach with restroom), Mass, and all gratuities. Our guide will be Tony Sperendi, a St. Francis Retreat Director. Bus leaves at 7:00am and returns approximately at 5:40pm from St. Gerard Parish in Lansing. Seating is limited. For more info, please contact Nancy at campbell3115@yahoo.com, 517-323-7694, or Jan at jandenby55@gmail.com, 517-627-4654.