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Le Repos de Marie Retreat Ministy has been transformed! We now do the Lord's work online, and have adopted a name which is more appropriate to the work we do today. We are truly a part of Mary's little "Remnant" as we strive to unite the growing number of those who are scattered around the globe and find themselves alone in a world that has forgotten God and teeters on the brink of self-destruction.
What started out as a small private counseling service in a wee little office in Wells, Maine back in the mid to late 1980's blossomed, without any deliberate human effort, into a booming retreat ministry. We had retreats all over - from New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts all the way to Israel. Some of the retreat masters/mistresses we featured were Fr. Joseph Laughlin SJ, Fr. Joseph Maguire, Eileen George, Annemariea Schmidt ... at times putting our retreatants on cots in hallways in an effort to not turn people away.
One day, a particular retreat mistress unwittingly made me aware that our people weren't always being "fed" the "quality" of "spiritual food" which we intended to provide for them. After much mundane investigating, months of soul searching and prayer, reams of advice from trusted spiritual mentors, and oceans of tears and disillusionment, I canceled all of our forthcoming retreats, canceled our insurance policy, and put Le Repos on an indefinite sabbatical.
You may question why I did something so radical - after all, wasn't some good still coming from the retreats we offered? Yes. Of course there was. But there were also people being hurt, people receiving bad advice and being told that the advice came from no less a source than God Himself, people being told tales with particulars that didn't match up from one conference to the next ... and it finally dawned on me that it was not God being served, but pride - and power. Our retreats seemed to have become the lake of truth into which the enemy sprinkles his drop of lies. Once I realized this, I didn't want to expose any more people to this danger, and nor did I want to face Him later with the knowledge that I'd let it continue once I realized what was happening.
There followed a period of time when I withdrew from all forms of service and searched quietly for the Truth in all of today's confusion and clammering. I'd seen both sides of ministries - the side that is exposed to the world, and the side reserved for "members only." It took me a long while to reconcile the two, but after years of prayer, I've realized that people are just that: people. There are good people, and there are some who aren't so good. There are some who really try to be good people and do God's will, and there are some who are great pretenders. It's a blessing that God can bring good from even Balaam's ass if He so desires, because many people in ministry don't have the "good" of the flock in mind.
People who are in ministry are sometimes placed on a pedestal by those they minister to ... retreat ministries feature such and such a retreat master and the house fills to bursting! It's sad. It's God Who should be placed on the pedestal ... and the retreat masters should be very careful to see to it that it is only God who is "featured" during a retreat. No human being can of himself "be God" to another human being. You who are in ministry: hear this! You will be called to account for every time you've "masqueraded" as God! If you've ever allowed yourself to be put on a pedestal, willingly manipulated people's emotions and minds to your own advantage or to make yourself look holier - you will give God an account for it!
Years have passed, and we wait. Quietly. God has a purpose for us, because He never spurns a willing hand or a humble heart. We are watching the Church crumble around us, dismayed as we realize that it's often the shepherds themselves who are feeding on the flock - or who are feeding the flock poisonous herbs that will not nourish them, but lead them to spiritual starvation and death. The time is coming when the children of the Lord will faint with desire for hearing the True Word of God - and when honest shepherds will find themselves with flocks who have turned their backs on them in order to surround themselves with teachers who tickle their ears. When that time comes, God willing, we will be here to unite the honest shepherds with the starving flocks.
If you fit into one of those two categories, In this way, no one will be completely isolated. Those of us who are still truly faithful Catholics need to reach out to one another in order to stave off the American Catholic apostatic flood washing across our nation. God will provide our little remnant with a means of communication - and so also with access to the True Sacraments. To make this work, we need to organize a data base. Are you a priest, a religious who loves the Holy Father and wants to be available for those who are isolated in American Catholic strongholds? Are you an individual who can no longer find a priest who is truly a faithful Catholic? Please, write to us. Tell us who you are and what your circumstances are. Everything you write will be private. We will try to keep those of you who do write to us informed of new changes, and put you in touch with others like yourselves who are nearby if you request it. And priests - you holy priests who love the Lord and love the Holy Father, we need you. There are multitudes out there who are starved for whatever it is you can give them. |
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The Way We Were...
