Sangre de Cristo

Sangre de Cristo Center, 12 miles northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico provides a sabbatical program for religious men and women and diocesan priests, in their middle years. The Center was founded in 1962 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers. This is the 90th session and there have been over 8,000 participants over the past 45 years. This session which began on February 5, 2007 will conclude a 100 days retreat on May 15, 2007. I'm so glad to be here for this session which has 36 religious and diocesan priests from all over the world. What a wealth of resource. It will be a great time for me to integrate first half of my sabbatical. Prayer and liturgy includes Eucharist, quiet time during the day, a silent, eight-day directed retreat, regular desert days and spiritual direction on a weekly basis with one of the program directors. Another aspect of the program includes presentations and discussions in theology, psychology, spirituality, religious life, ministry, social awareness and life planning. There are also important emphasis on community relationships including small groups, informal as well as formal, social gatherings and time for relaxation including visits to the city of Santa Fe and surrounding areas of Sangre Center. What a blessing to be here; be assured that I will be remembering all of you in my prayers during this renewal program.