Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Joseph, Dorothy and Clare

During our retreat today we focused on the lives of three great witnesses of faith. Here below Brother Kenneth, Brother Thomas and Brother Thierry are pictured during our morning discussion. The patron of the universal Church and the man of simple obscurity, St. Joseph, was the saint for our first discussion.
We also explored two other great models of faith, Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker and Saint Clare of Assisi. Dorothy Day was a woman who even as she embraced Catholicism, was drawn to care for the poor.
Father Garrett celebrated Mass for the Brothers in the Founders Hollow Chapel on the Feast of St. Clare. Brother Michael offered some insights about Saint Clare as a frequent visitor to Assisi. During his reflection today he highlighted St. Clare as a woman of strength and courage. Her life required strength and her vocation required courage.
She gave her whole self! She gave her whole heart! Total commitment to Christ in a life of complete poverty, chastity and obedience. It was valuable then, and still is today!