St. John Parish Retreat with Fr. Mike Scully

Introductory Homily

Fr. Mike spoke at each Mass prior to the start of the parish retreat. He described the inherent problem of ignoring the obvious, impending dangers in our lives, using the song “The Rock” by Harry Chapin to frame his discussion.
(This session is approximately 15 minutes in length.)

You can hear Fr. Mike’s homily here:

or download here: Day 1: Homily (10.3 MB)

And you can see a YouTube video of Harry Chapin’s song “The Rock” here:

or click here to open in new page: Harry Chapin: The Rock

Afternoon Session: For Parents/Grandparents of Middle/High School Students

In this session geared towards parents and grandparents of teenagers, Fr. Mike describes ten things every parent should know about their teenager.
(This session is approximately 1 hour and 17 minutes in length.)

You can hear the session here:

or download here: Day 1: Parents and Teenagers (53.0 MB)

You can see a YouTube video of Avril Lavigne’s song “I’m With You” here:

or click here to open in new page: Avril Lavigne: I’m With You

And you can see a YouTube video of John Mayer’s song “Daughters” here:

or click here to open in new page: John Mayer: Daughters

Evening Session: Your Life Should Include the Presence of God

The goal of the spiritual life is to make God a true force in our lives. We are required to make a real effort in order to accomplish it. In particular, we have to choose to follow God by re-writing our maps of reality to include God more in our lives. Christians choose Jesus Christ to be their guide as they bring about God’s presence.
(This session is approximately 58 minutes in length.)

You can hear the session here:

or download here: Day 1: The Presence of God (40.3 MB)

You can see a YouTube video of Kelly Clarkson’s song “Dark Side” here:

or click here to open in new page: Kelly Clarkson: Dark Side

And you can see a preview of Spider-Man 3 here:

or click here to open in new page: Preview: Spider-Man 3

The Challenge of Our Modern Day to the Presence of God

As we speak of the presence of God, the major problem we encounter is selfishness. We must discover that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives and that even though we are “wounded people,” the grace of God will never let us down. Our discussion will include both the reality of our selfish desires and how to overcome them.
(This session is approximately 48 minutes in length.)

You can hear the session here:

or download here: Day 2: The Modern Day Challenge (34.4 MB)

You can see a preview of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas here:

or click here to open in new page: Preview: The Boy in the Sriped Pajamas

And you can see a preview of The Karate Kid here:

or click here to open in new page: Preview: The Karate Kid

The Future of the Presence of God in our Lives

Christians always have a basic hope in the future because they can do things in order to insure the presence of God. Our discussion will include the top ten helps to lead a spiritual life, addressing specifically the way your spiritual life can be right now.
(This session is approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes in length.)

You can hear the session here:

or download here: Day 3: The Future of God’s Presence (46.8 MB)

You can see a YouTube video of Katy Perry’s song “Firework” here:

or click here to open in new page: Katy Perry: Firework