Posted May 01, 2015 in Press Releases
Dear Friend of Jesuit Retreat House,
As we celebrate the gift of the Easter season and the joy of new life following a very cold winter, I also feel the hope and excitement of my first spring as Executive Director at Jesuit Retreat House. One image that has stirred within me in recent days is from the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte of Pope John Paul II at the beginning of the new millennium. He introduced this letter with the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke: “Duc in altum” – “Put out into the deep.” These words of Jesus to his disciples, to us, resonate with a poster I have found inspiring for many years: A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.
And so it is with the ship of our JRH mission and legacy in this time. We need to be continually looking to bring our Ignatian mission and ministry more deeply and creatively into the sea of God’s people throughout our community – extending the broad embrace of evangelization. It is fitting that the theme for our Hearts on Fire annual fundraiser speaks to Building Anew in Our Time, reflecting this same spirit of sailing into a new time, our time – by remembering the past with gratitude, living in the present with hope and enthusiasm, and looking forward to the future with the confidence of Jesus Christ walking with us.
I continue to be inspired by the ways in which God’s grace enters the lives we touch at JRH. A high school student came to say farewell at the end of his Kairos retreat and noted in a moving manner: “My eyes were opened.” A woman on a retreat shared with me: “My father made a retreat here to discern whether he would ask to marry my mother.” A Lenten retreatant noted: “the reflections shared were spot on for my life in this time.” A participant on a Lay Leadership retreat wrote: “This retreat greatly deepened my desire to follow God.”
Please consider the retreats and programs we offer in both traditional and new ways to help you “to find God in all things.” In June and July we set aside a range of times from weekends to up to 30 days for individual directed silent retreats – a remarkable gift to oneself! And always know that we welcome your ideas for future retreat offerings.
God be with you,
Richard S. Krivanka, Executive Director
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