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Call us at 616-842-3370
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You are encouraged to submit a paragraph or two about your experience at St. Lazare, for posting here. Your name or parish will not be published; unless otherwise requested, your initials will be published. Thank you for sharing your experience at
St. Lazare Retreat House.
Please send to websuprt@stlazareretreat.org
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Posted 2/13/2012
Envision a place (a destination), here on God's earth, where your heart, mind, and soul find a very special peace within you and where you are surrounded by absolute tranquility.
You soon begin to understand and appreciate that this tranquility begins to magnify and accentuate itself by your truly feeling God's very being and presence by God embracing you, penetrating even deeper into your soul, and God being constantly with you while creating opportunities for further in-depth listening moments and reflections.
The environment and serenity of the landscape, the magnificence of the pond's calmness and captivating majesty as the different birds create a rhythm of God and nature at work, and the overwhelming power of this retreat experience begins to openly express to you that God is really and truly present everywhere that you focus and listen.
Imagine yourself being in this place and time where you are allowing your heart, mind, and soul to transcend to this newly enriched atmosphere where you are consistently experiencing being in the presence of God's love, support, and understanding.
It very soon becomes apparent and with a vision of greater clarity that God has always been within you and even deeper than you could have ever imagined within your inner spirit.
Your inner spirituality begins to blossom, thrive, and becomes that ever-energizing catalyst that helps guide you in sharing your God-given love and inner strength with others everywhere that you journey in life.
By your having your own unique spirituality it allows you to focus more clearly on your own God-given talents, on how these talents will best serve you, and how they will best serve others and your community-at-large as you continue to grow and reflect in even deeper prayer.
Finding such a place (destination) becomes a very important attribute that each of us need to aspire to seek, find, and experience.
For you see, it is much more than simply just finding a physical place for this evolution within your heart, mind, and soul to begin, it really comes down to the final and eternal destination of your heartfelt internal spirituality. This constant and perpetual heartfelt spirituality helps to deepen your faith with God as you are involved in your everyday activities. You begin to truly realize that God is within your very being every hour of the day -- yes. 24/7.
Such an evolutionary faith experience can occur in your life, as it has again recently and several times again & again over the past decades, by beginning (or once again enriching) your spiritual journey at a weekend retreat at St. Lazare Retreat House in Spring Lake, Michigan.
Thank you Lord for another spiritually-enriching weekend where God's love abounds in a very special way.
G.B.
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Posted 10/27/2011
I know we can only use the word Awesome in the context of an experience with God. This last St Lazare retreat was Awesome. The talks opened the Catechism of the Catholic Church to me like it's never been opened before. The retreat masters were both full of the Spirit, fun and extremely knowlegeable about our Catholic faith and sincere. Lastly, Breakfast each morning with the sun rising over Spring Lake through your big picture window with that beautiful Oak and the mists rising off the lake like prayers rising to the Lord...
CT
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Posted 10/27/2011
I have attended the Men's Retreat for at least 10 years. Again I can say that the retreats are a time, out of our busy lives, to experience where we are and where God is in our lives. I experienced a time where, in the quiet comfort of St. Lazare's retreat house, I arrived at a spiritual moment along with other Catholic men to pray and to listen to Christ in the scripture. At 77, and a lifelong Catholic, through the Men's retreat, I encounter a deep connection with the Lord and renewal of my faith.
BF
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Posted 10/27/2011
Quiet time. Spiritual time. Prayer time. Educational time. All this and more can be found at retreat at St. Lazares. It is a silent retreat so not only did I get away from the hustle bustle of everyday life, but through the silence I was able to gain, in a sense, more time on the retreat. I say more time because being a silent retreat, I feel I gained time as there wasn’t any idle chatter to distract me. Through prayer time, the talks by the good Fathers, Mass, Confession, I was able to just have a renewal of both body and spirit. It was a way for me to sit back, and relax a little to take in all the things that my faith means to me, and learn even more through the talks.
The grounds are beautiful and the center is comfortable. I felt very welcome. One of the many reflections I had was how great it was to be able to even sleep under the same roof where Our Lord is, in the Tabernacle. And, hey fellows, the food is wonderful also. Thank you Fr. Vincent and Fr. Frank for making this possible. God Bless.
DW
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Posted 10/09/2010
This past weekend was my first St. Lazare retreat, a birthday gift to myself. I arrived not knowing what to expect and a bit fearful of being the 'new girl' but was met with such warmth and grace by all fellow retreatants, some who had been coming since the 1960s ~ as well as by Father Frank Sacks. The conferences led by Father Frank were so informative and full of guidance and direction on how to live a life more fully present in God's beautiful love and grace through prayer, meditation and just opening our hearts to let the Holy Spirit work 'its' wonders.
The silence of the retreat is precious. Such a blessing to be rid of mindless, soul distracting chatter and the 'links' to this world that sometimes keep us bound and give us false comfort when we fear really getting to know ourselves through Christ. The only words spoken through the weekend were those in the Chapel, in the presence of God, in worship, glory and proclamation.
God is in this place, in the grounds, the people, such a beautiful home full of warmth and comfort. Thank you all again for a time of introspection, prayer and communion with other women and our wonderous God.
BS
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Posted 3/3/2010
Dear Fr. Michael Shea:
I want to thank you for the accommodations over the weekend. There was plenty of good food and a quiet atmosphere. I came to the retreat in a mixed state of mind, apprehensive about concerns for my family and the world. I left with a profound sense of peace in my heart. Fr. Devassia Pudussery conducted several informative seminars and provided quiet meditation which really helped me to get into a proper frame to quiet my heart and to listen to God's message. Indeed there is a "Famine of Love" in the world today. However, we have the Gift of God's Love to provide water for the "Famine". Hope has been restored to me and I pray for the others who attended the retreat that they may reflect on the events of the weekend to remain strong and able to re-center themselves as they go through their daily routines in the months ahead.
Thanks again and God Bless,
JS
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Posted 6/08
Dear Fr Michael Shea,
I attended retreat in April with my parish ladies and many other wonderful Catholic women of our GR diocese. I think this was retreat #4 for me. I was just reading my Magnificate Editorial for the month of May about prayers of petition and intercessory prayer. It just hit me that I should write to say to my fellow Catholic women who were on retreat with me what a healing weekend it turned out to be for me. First was the Sacrament of Reconciliation which gets me on the right path for my weekend journey with my Lord and then I was Anointed with the Sacrament of Healing on the altar with many others. After suffering with cronic back and leg sciatic nerve problems for one year almost to the day, I prayed for healing and promised to try, even though it hurts, to exercise and work at healthy things to be healed from this trial. Since about 2 weeks now I have not been taking any more night time pain killers I have been doing my stretching exercises and have been bike riding 5 miles on country roads and all without pain! I think stress adds to my spinal inflamation too and I have tried to relax in the Lords goodness to me and help with the healing of my body. I have always believed in intercessory prayer and have made it my prayer each day for others and have seen the sometimes miraculous ways God answers those prayers for those I have prayed for, but I decided I needed to include myself in His healing and once again He who is all good and knowing decided somehow I too was worthy of His healing. In this Year of St. Paul we remember his counsel " In everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God" (Phil 4:6) Even remembering that sometimes you need to pray for yourself! Praise and Thanksgiving Be To the LORD! K.W.
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