Have you ever heard the phrase “nothing good can come of this?”
Well, this event is why that phrase was invented!
A retreat sponsored by the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry to be held at St. John’s Abbey Guesthouse in Collegeville, MN, facilitated by Bob Pileggi.
This retreat is for LGBT folks and their allies to connect to God and themselves through the body. Life has given us this great gift of a body. We can open more to God’s love, acceptance and guidance by having a fuller experience of the body; by appreciating it. Various religious teachings might tell us to deny the body in order to get closer to God; this retreat will be healing from that idea – offering us renewed love for our body, self and God. Reconnect to your body in a compassionate way; feel rejuvenation; and open to more empowered self-expression. And in the process learn some simple spiritual practices that have foundations in most of the world’s major religions (awareness, breathing, mindful movement, etc.) that you can use on your own at home and share with others.
A Catholic retreat for gay people which focuses on healing from the silly notion (silly Jesus!) of denying ourselves gratification. Ya know, ’cause active LGBT folks are notorious for self restraint. I repeat. Nothing good can come of this.
FYI
Abbey Spokesperson
Br. Paul-Vincent Niebauer OSB
320-363-2548
pniebauer@csbsju.edu
March 20, 2012 at 4:38 pm
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March 20, 2012 at 6:23 pm
As Barbara's reply might suggest, Collegeville is all the explanation for this that is needed. Those folks were experimenting versus populum in the 1940s, for Pete's sake.
March 20, 2012 at 10:04 pm
The page with the retreat information on the abbey's website has now been removed.
March 21, 2012 at 10:29 pm
Once looked into a "retreat" agenda that had this theme…basically meant a big circle ***k. One of the leaders was a Jesuit, said he learned all about getting in touch…no pun…from them.
And lest we forget the Franciscan contribution to getting in touch with ourselves…Father Richard Rohr and his retreats are practically boy porn.
Yes, it's Lent…and being nice is not about playing the Three Monkeys(See no, hear no and speak no), shutting up and lighting a candle.
March 22, 2012 at 12:16 am
The good nuns that taught me would have called this kind of retreat "an occasion of sin".