Programs and retreats at franciscan Spirituality center in February 2012

Coming in March

The Form of Life Is: The Four Core Values of Franciscan Living
Sunday, March 4 (6:30 PM) and Saturday, March 10 (Noon)
Retreat Director: Fr Charles Faso, OFM
Location: St. Rose Convent, La Crosse, WI
Investment: $375 includes retreat, meals, and housing
Commuters: $215 includes retreat and meals
St. Rose FSPA Residents: $95
“The form of life of the Brothers and Sisters is this: to observe the Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience, in poverty and in chastity.” With these words, the TOR 1982 Rule and Life begins. Reading the 1982 TOR Rule clearly reveals that there are four core values, like four threads, that weave through the 32 articles of the nine chapters. During these days of the retreat, let us together listen to and reflect on these four core values: conversion, poverty, contemplation/prayer, minority/humble service. We as Franciscans today are called to live these values with joy and commitment in a world that desperately needs our witness. The Rule is light for the darkness, hope for the despairing, healing for the wounded, modeling of what it means to be totally human and a disciple of Jesus the Christ. As we say yes to God’s love in our Franciscan lives, the Gospel message can be seen and discovered by others. Let us enter into this retreat with an open heart to reflect on the deep purpose of religious life—that the reign of God may be manifest.
Fr. Charles Faso, ofm, is a Franciscan Friar of the Sacred Heart Province (St. Louis, MO). He was born and raised in the Chicago area, joined the Friars in 1960, and was ordained a priest in 1967. After teaching music at the high school seminary west of Chicago for seven years, Fr. Chuck continued his studies in liturgy at the University of Notre Dame. After traveling to parishes and dioceses as a liturgy consultant, he began 20 years of ministry at St Peter’s Church in the loop of Chicago—as musician, liturgist, confessor, adult education co-coordinator and pastor. He also taught liturgy at Catholic Theological Seminary in Chicago. For ten years, beginning in 1998, Fr. Chuck has preached parish missions throughout the USA; and since 2008, he preaches only to Franciscans—men and women, religious and lay. Fr. Chuck continues the Franciscan charism of being an itinerant preacher—on the move from one village, convent, or center to another.

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Journaling Through Transition
Saturday, March 10 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Facilitator: Theresa Washburn
Investment: $65 includes lunch
Life changes. Sometimes we move through it easily; other times it feels like pushing a load of concrete. Journaling can help. It can make us aware of our resistances, help us identify our allies, and aid in understanding the phases of change. Using the hero’s journey model and the different journaling techniques, we will learn to use these tools to help make the transitions of our lives more bearable and our self-acceptance much greater. Bring pen, paper and an open heart.

Serenity Retreat: Step Six and Step Seven: Love Opens Life’s Possibilities
Friday, March 9 (7:00 – 9:00 pm) and Saturday, March 10 (9:00 AM – 4:00 PM)
Facilitators: FSC staff
Investment: $95 includes Saturday lunch. Limited bedrooms are available at $42/night.
Though each of the Twelve Steps is a separate process, the finest line between two steps is the one between Steps Six and Seven. We spend time and effort becoming aware of our character defects, getting to the point where we’re ready to have them removed. We then ask and wait. However, we find there’s much more to do. We have to prepare spiritually. There is the need to find a way of asking that fits our individual spiritual paths. It is essential to practice spiritual principles in the place of character defects. Some of these principles include: sincerity, authentic humility, patience, and honesty. A deeper understanding of who we are unfolds in the presence of Love.
This is a closed retreat for those recovering from alcoholism.
The Norman L. Gillette, Sr., Scholarship is available to financially assist those who are in recovery from alcohol or chemical dependency.

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Compassionate Communication Practice Group
First and Third Thursdays March 20 April, 3 and 17, May 1 and 15, June 5 5:30 – 7:30 PM
Jean Lauer and Barb Kruse will rotate facilitation of the sessions.
Investment: $10/session
Join us this fall for six sessions of practicing Compassionate Communication. These sessions are open to anyone interested in deepening their awareness of compassionate communication and who have either participated in an introductory session or read Marshall’s Rosenberg’s book Non-violent Communication: A Language of Life. The focus of the sessions will be to practice this language of connection through:
- Empathic listening
- Observing without evaluating
- Identifying and expressing feelings
- Tapping into the beauty of our needs/values
- Making requests that will enrich life..

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Journey: Silence, Creativity and Living the Authentic Life
Friday, March 23 (7:00 – 9:00 pm) and Saturday, March 24 (9:00 AM – 4:00 PM)
Presenter: Anne LeClaire
Investment: $95 includes meals. Register and pay three weeks in advance of the workshop to receive a 20% discount.. Limited bedrooms are available at $42/night.
Theologians, poets, artists, writers and philosophers have long known that in order to create anything, including a deeply fulfilling life, the first requirement is that we become quiet. It is in this space of stillness that truths surface, understandings expand; and we discover in the silence of our hearts answers to living authentically. Silence is essential, too, in accessing the deep rivers of creativity and creative potential that run in each of us.
Anne LeClaire is a memoirist and the critically acclaimed, best-selling author of eight novels published in 24 countries. She leads seminars and workshops exploring silence, creativity and deep listening. Anne began a formal practice of silence, meaning that for the past 18 years she has not spoken on the first and third Mondays of every month. Out of this practice came her memoir, Listening Below the Noise: The Transformative Power of Silence (Harper-Collins, 2009), which was named one of the 50 best spiritual books of that year. She leads silent retreats on Cape Cod.

Compassionate Communication: The Language of the Heart
Saturday, March 24 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Presenter: Barb Kruse
Investment: $65 includes lunch
Learn to pay attention to how you listen.
Explore the gift of your emotions and how they communicate what is alive in you.
Discover how some core beliefs can become obstacles to compassion.
Tap into the beauty of your values and needs.
Compassionate Communication offers a way of communicating that centers our attention on what is most human about us. With a focus on true honesty and empathic listening, Compassionate Communication guides us in how we express ourselves and hear others.