ON THE COVER: "Encounters with Christ" - St. Edmund's Retreat at Ender's Island, Mystic, Conn.

From Inside ML: In a recent conversation with a friend in ministry, I remarked that the scary part of what we do isn't coming upon the empty tomb. The scary part is in turning and walking away from that empty tomb. We are tempted to remain there and wait, holding onto the threads of the familiar. We may embrace the emptiness as our own, desiring God to fill it. We may stand there confident that new life is ours, strong in the knowledge that our battle is won. Truly we are invited into all of that, such is the great gift of our faith. Most of us, though, cannot stay there, for we are called to travel down the path of ordinary life that takes us through sickness and grief, fear, violence, indifference, and so many other dimensions of our human condition. We must find the way to connect all of these things so that in our suffering as well as in our joy, we encounter Christ in one another. This calls us to act deliberately. When we seek other dimensions to our spirituality, we must seek retreat in a way that is meaningful so that our inner selves are open to Christ. We have to seek out the Christ in the strangers we meet, in the difficult people who challenge us, in the busy, crowded times that are so different from the tomb moments. We must immerse ourselves in the larger Body of Christ so that when we fall, we are able to let others hold us up. From that weakness we gain the strength to be fully present to those who most crave Christ's presence. (More)

FEATURES

Formation for liturgical prayer and all prayer 
Paul H. Colloton 
How prayer and liturgy inform one another

Who do you say that I am? Gathering and forming the community in Christ 
Leisa Anslinger 
Embracing community as the Body of Christ

Retreat experiences: Beyond the parish mission 
Jean Marie DuHamel 
Understanding the meaning of retreat

Walking the journey of Emmaus and beyond 
Mary Amore 
Pathways to spiritual growth

A human encounter with the paschal mystery 
Roc O'Connor 
Living in relationship with mystery

DEPARTMENTS

Inside ML / Donna M. Cole
 

Worship Times / Todd Flowerday
 

Liturgy Formation

    Liturgical Spirituality: All Saints – Christ the King 2009 / Kay Murdy 
    Ritual Foundations: Litanies and the Litany of Saints / Darren M. Henson
 

The Word Alive / Anne Louise Bannon
 

Sung Prayer / David Haas
 

Review
 

Keeping the Faith / Leisa Anslinger
 

At the Table of the Word / Bruce Janiga
 

Moving Rite Along / Ada Simpson
 

Bridge Work / Ron Raab
 

Sacred Space / Mary Patricia Storms
 

Bulletin Insert: Saints in the Eucharistic Prayers / Paul Turner

Bulletin Insert: Consubstantial and Incarnate / Paul Turner

For more bulletin insert resources, try the Index of Bulletin Inserts

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