This summer, Mount
St. Mary's Seminary will host three
weekend retreats for adults during June
and July. Members of the Mount St. Mary's
community will direct the retreats, each
one focusing on different themes. All
retreats will be open to the public.
Father James M.
Donohue, Associate Professor of Theology
at Mount St. Mary's College, will direct
the June 13-15 retreat, "Mark,
Matthew, and Luke: Faith, Forgiveness, and
Compassion." Father Donohue is a
systematic theologian who specializes in
sacramental theology and Christology. This
retreat will begin with a short
introduction to each gospel and will then
explore the themes of faith in Mark,
forgiveness in Matthew, and compassion in
Luke. Father Donohue will use several
passages from Mark, Matthew, and Luke as
examples of how the themes spoke to the
disciples of Jesus and continue to speak
to Christians today.
The theme of the
June 20-22 retreat is "Walking with
God," and it will be led by Father
Salvatore R. Lamendola, Director of
Pastoral Field Education at Mount St.
Mary's Seminary. Father Lamendola is a
member of the Seminary's Executive
Committee and serves as Spiritual Director
and Formation Advisor to many students.
This retreat will focus on the lives of
believers who have developed and
maintained close relationships with God,
leading them to impact the world for
Christ. The lives of three particular
individuals will be examined: St.
Elizabeth Ann Seton and Fathers Geno
Baroni and Stanley Rother, both priest
alumni of the Mount Seminary.
The third retreat,
"Adoration and Liberation: Loving God
and Neighbor in Today's World," will
be held on July 11-13 and will be led by Father
John J. Lombardi, Director and
Chaplain of the National Shrine of Grotto
of Lourdes. Father Lombardi is a priest of
the Archdiocese of Baltimore and currently
celebrates the sacraments for visitors to
the Grotto, gives spiritual talks, and
provides tours of the Grotto to pilgrimage
groups. This retreat will focus on prayer
and service and how the saints balanced
these two actions. Many examples of
saintly lives will be provided, including
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope John Paul
II, Mother Teresa, and Blessed Damien the
"Leper Priest," among others.
Father Lombardi will lead the retreat to
focus on the words of Pope John Paul:
"Let our adoration never cease!"
Each retreat has
an all-inclusive cost of $130.00 and
registration is on a first-come
first-served basis. For a registration
form or more information on the retreats
visit the seminary website, http://www.msmary.edu/seminary,
or contact Susie Nield at (301) 447-5017.