Conference 1 - The Trinitarian Reality of Self-Giving Love /w Msgr. Esseff & Sr. Cor Immaculatum Heffernan

The Trinitarian Reality of Self-Giving Love /w Msgr. Esseff & Sr. Cor Immaculatum Heffernan – Discerning Hearts Online Retreat

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Retreat Directors: Monsignor John A. Esseff and Sister Cor Immaculatum Heffernan, IHM

“Our faith is rooted in the mystery of the Trinity: the divine relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s own essence is a communion of persons. Created in God’s image, we too are social creatures. We are called to live this Trinitarian reality of self-giving love. It is in the community that we are shaped and formed. It is through the community that the dignity of every individual is realized. And it is out of the community that we are sent to love and serve the world.”
– U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Theme: We Are Called to Live the Trinitarian Reality of Self-Giving Love

CREATION can only be understood by God’s unique, unconditional love…man is the height of God’s creation. – Psalm 8

SALVATION can only be understood by God’s redeeming love…the Divine choosing to become human, opening humankind to participation in the Divine life. – Colossians 1: 15-20

SANCTIFICATION can only be understood by God’s infinite love…creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. – Romans 8: 18-27

Conference One God the Father, Creator

Creation can only be understood by God’s unique, unconditional love…man is the height of His creation. Psalm 8

Being and Becoming – everything and everyone is both being and becoming…

Adam and Eve had everything and a personal relationship with God in the garden and lost all but human life and free will. – Genesis 3

Creation by a loving God leads to HOPE…everything seems to be going away from God because of evil, but everything is really going back to Him by the force of love.

The Father’s Plan of Salvation – Ephesians 1: 3-6

# 2565 CCC

“In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity…with the whole human spirit.”

Suggested Scripture passages for personal prayer and reflection:

Psalm 8
Genesis 3
Ephesians 1: 3-6

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world especially to the poor. He is a founding member of the Pope Leo XIII Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders.

Sister Cor Immaculatum Heffernan, IHM is a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scranton, PA. “ She holds several degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in English/Art and a Master of Science degree in Counseling, both from Marywood; a Master of Arts degree in Sculpture from the University of Notre Dame; and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from Syracuse University. Her multi-faceted life is in itself a masterpiece: she is a teacher, a mentor, and a consultant; she is a sculptor, a harpist, a calligrapher, and a creator of mosaics; she is a counselor, a spiritual director, and above all, she is a servant of God to others”.