St. Paul of the Cross

St Paul of the Cross Retreat Center

23333 Schoolcraft Detroit MI

Topic: Spiritual Warfare

Master: Fr. David Cybulski

The Chapel

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Friday:

7:00pm Dinner:

Since it is a silent retreat, everyone tries to get a quick intro in the first 30 minutes over dinner. I thought it was an all men's retreat but I was mistaken. I suddenly found myself surrounded by sweet little elder ladies and a few men (come on guys).

As I was introducing myself, a little lady from the back spoke up and pointing at me she said "he is from Assumption Grotto and he attends daily Triditine Mass with me". I heard a bunch of oohs and ahhs echoing the dining hall and, at that moment, I found out just how powerful Assumption Grotto is among the faithful. Soon after, people came up saying 'I use to go' or 'I want to go' or 'I've heard so much about it I have to go'. For all the work Fr. Perrone and Msgr Sawyer has done, Assumption Grotto is the ultimate badge of honor for us laymen. May God bless that parish for years to come.

8:00pm Legion Prayer and Rosary (Dominican Style)

9:00p Holy Mass This was the very first time everyone got the meet and hear Fr. David. His mass was reverent and the homily, as expected, was very inspirational. I think he won the hearts, minds, and trust of all attendees at this very moment.

10:00 pm Confessions

I was standing in line until 11pm. I was a bit nervous confessing to Fr.Dave about my sins. Just a few years ago, he was not a priest but a family member - so it felt a little awkward. Luckily though I have been doing weekly confessions for a while and my sins would be light - so I thought. As I was standing in line, I was making my list of 'usual suspects' of sins to be forgiven. I honestly felt like I had only a handful - nothing too bad - so I was ready. Right before walking in the confessional box, the Lady Nun who was the coordinator said Fr. Dave would not be seeing anyone else tonight. I felt snuffed. I thought Fr. Dave is 37 yrs old; he can stay up after 11:00pm to save souls, right?

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Saturday

7:00am St. Bridget devotion

7:30am Prayer

8:00am Holly Mass -

After receiving communion this thought came to mind:

"Lord, You have given me the Holy Spirit, You have given me Your Blood, You have given me Your Body, You have given me Your Mother, You have given me Your Father. No You want to give me Eternal Life What, dear Lord, have I given You? Do I have enough to give? How do I know? You know I am Yours Lord and I wait for Your call"

Okay, it's no Fr. John A. Hardon but I thought it was good at the moment and I felt compelled to write it down and share it. If it's too corny for you - just read on and forget it :-)

10:30 am Conference - Fr. Dave spoke on how St. Paul tells us how to prepare (Ephesians 6, 10:17) for Spiritual warfare. Fr. Dave cross references St. Paul's writings (New Testament ) to the Old Testament writings - proving (to the heretics) once again that there is no inconsistencies between the old and new testaments. When St. Paul was writing this letter, Rome was persecuting Christians in great numbers. St. Paul writes that they way to protect yourself from evil is to arm yourself with (paraphrasing Fr. Dave's lecture and Scripture here) knowledge of lust (girded loins) clothed in righteousness (Baptism Holy Spirit). Shield is your Guardian Angel and Faith, and it will protect you from flaming arrows (temptations). .

12:00pm Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

2:00pm Movie and Book: "Onward Catholic Soldier". WOW - I am still trembling after learning about Demons and Binding them and Casting them out. Buy this book NOW and buy the CDs from FOCUS Onward Catholic Soldier's website. Watch it, Read it, and Live it! If you are reading this now - stop and toggle over and buy it - it's worth the money to get it overnight shipping. If you do buy it and live by its guidelines, hopefully we can continue these discussions in Heaven TOGETHER - guaranteed!

The book:

http://www.onwardcatholicsoldier.com/index.html

The CD (about Demons)

http://shop.focustvonline.com/p-573-onward-catholic-soldier-video.aspx

3:00pm Confessions - Funny, the Divine Mercy Hour. You think they planned that?

After Fr. Dave's inspiring lecture, the Holy Spirit let me recall lots of former sins that needed to be addressed. I steadfastly wrote them down to the point I filled up 3 scraps of paper - Wow - contrite to the end. As I recalled my experience in the confession line the previous night, I believe it was for a reason that God did not want me in confession box on Friday. The Lord knew I would be revealed more knowledge that would free me of more woeful ways from the past. Amen and Thanks be to God for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

4:00pm Conference - Learn how to Discern Thoughts

Saint Ignatius of Loyola Consolation vs Desolation - 14 rules to live by. Too much to write - better off buying the book. Here are the bullet points if nothing else:

Ø Don't make decisions in haste. Need to understand if the question or temptation is of God or devil. Pray on it, sleep on it, ask God for wisdom.

Ø In times of Desolation feelings; Pray harder, Pray longer - go the distance - Do not let up; Do not give in.

5:00pm Private Consultations with retreat Master

7:00pm Conference - more on 14 rules of spiritual guidance from Saint Ignatius of Loyola

8:00pm Liturgy of the Hours, Evening Prayers, Closing Legion Prayer

8:45pm Outdoor Stations of the Cross

This was the most moving, emotional stations I have ever witnessed. Some of the Nuns (with an native African dialect) did the response as Mary describing the pains of her Son during the Passion. Her voice was so moving and real - it felt like she was actually Mary herself. By the time we made it to the 14'th station there was not one dry eye around. I felt like I just attended a funeral.

10:00pm -All night Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel.

I drew the 3:00am - 4:00 am hour (again the Divine Mercy Hour)

I did manage to squeeze in some work at 11:30pm - 1:00am . I had a deployment with my company. The Nuns were like "What do you have to do and When?" They accommodated me by giving me an office with internet - otherwise I would have had to drive downtown for internet access at 11:00pm and drive back to the retreat at 2:00am. The working world is changing for sure.

Sunday

3:00am - 4:00am Personal Adoration, St Bridget of Sweden devotion, and Inside Stations of the Cross.

7:00am rise, prayer, and Liturgy of the Hours

8:00am Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament/ Holy Mass. I was selected to recite the prayers of the faithful.

10:00 am Opening Legion Prayer, Rosary, Catena

10:30 Conference

Fr. Dave hit another home run lecture with a following rules of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Fr. Dave also gave us great insight, tools, and ways we can fight temptation. Fr. Dave warned that for reasons un-known at this current time, our Church is seeing a 'certain type' of sin at an all time high. I don't want to give away too many details on a public format though. You will have to go on your own retreat to find out what it is!

12:00pm Closing Prayer

Summary,

In all, this Conference on "Spiritual Warfare" was very rewarding. I was able to gather and retain a lot of relevant information on how to fight evil, discern right and wrong, and how to encourage others to do the same. I learned a lot of tricks Satan uses on all of us, and I must confess that he (the devil) has used them on me on many occasions.

If you bought the book "Onward Catholic Soldier" and are following it's guidelines, I pray we see each other forever!

See you in Church,

Jason

scroll down for the pics

The Grounds

The Grounds

My view from room

My Room

Outside Stations



Outside Grounds

Legion Of Mary Statues (Some Mystic)

My fav

1855 historic St. Joseph's

For Father's Day, my kids took me to historic St. Joseph's Church and tour this great holy Church.

Unknown to a lot of people, St. Joseph's has relics from apostles, stained glass windows worth more that all the Churches in the state of Michigan added up, and a beautiful 1855 setting that let's any newcomer know they are in a holy place.

Enjoy the pics, and please try to visit one day - see about their guided tours.
http://saint-joseph-detroit.org/BriefHistory.html

The Kids taking Dad out for Father's Day

Relics from the past - inside the windows of the Cross - wood from the Cross, pillar of the scourging, and Cloth from St. Joe himself

Bin for the baptism. Notice the 8 sides (not a pool). 8 sides represent the 8 days one has to get their baby baptized; that was when Jesus was circumcised.

Pray to the infant Jesus

Alter in a 1855 Church

Imagine a full choir here

This window is worth more than all the Churches in the great state of Michigan. A little business in Austria created the halos around the heads. As the sun beams into the windows, the sun's rays get redirected all over the inside of the church. That business is no longer making windows and no one has ever been able to reproduce this type of craft.

There is a relic next to every apostle and Saint in this Church

St. Matthew

Cathedral of St. Matthewthe Apostle
1725 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036






This distinguished church as been around since 1840. It is attended by the Supreme Court justices and members of Congress, the Cabinet, diplomatic corps, and other government departments – including former Presidents of the United States. It was actually the very place a funeral mass was given for President John F. Kennedy November 25, 1963.








The gritty brown brick structure of the outside talks up about a half of city block by itself. Masses are given three times daily and weekends. It is a wonderful place to celebrate mass especially if you lived in the neighborhood. I can see myself doing the daily morning mass at 7am on the way to work out at the YMCA. To me, that is my retirement dream.





Once you step inside, the Cathedral’s interior demands your attention almost immediately. Laden with mosaics found in Italy, statues of Saints and the blessed Mother, and of course the grand Baptistry that can be adorned for hours.



There are many relics to behold, learn, and enjoy, The Chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi holds the burial chamber for Washington’s second Bishop, Patrick Cardinal O’Boyle. The burial entrance is a beautiful arched marble façade that let’s you know this is a Holy Place.

I enjoyed my mass here – it was 8am on a Wednesday morning; there was no music or signing and the mass moved along to ensure we get to work in time. I was excited to see the 30 or 40 people attend a mass in the middle of a work week. As I left, I wondered how many of our leaders left this place after mass to deal with the greed, corruption, and politicking in a place such as Washington DC.