Archbishop Kucera Leads Abbey Retreat

Every year the Mount Michael Benedictine monastic community takes time out for its annual retreat at the close of the school year. Retired Archbishop Daniel Kucera presented this year’s 4-day retreat. Archbishop Kucera has special insight into monastic life being a Benedictine and Abbot of St. Procopious Abbey in Lisle, Illinois before being made a Bishop.

In his presentations to the monastic community he emphasized several different points. First was the importance of having a personal relationship with God and recognizing that he is a loving God who “will be with us to the end even in the darkest days of our lives.” Another point was to recognize that we are “living in the presence of God”. He used many quotes form the Gospel of John and the Church Fathers on this point. He noted “We will understand ourselves better if we put ourselves in the presence of God” The Archbishop also emphasized that our life is a journey that we progress through as we live it. There are good times and bad but as Pope John Paul II often said, “Do not be Afraid”. We must put our trust in God and have faith that he will see us through to the end of our journey. Finally he spoke about community. Like all families we Benedictines have imperfections and humans are not perfect but we need to strive for improvement and show perseverance as we find our way.

In the concluding mass at the end of the retreat Archbishop Kucera’s homily emphasized that it is important to seek God in our lives and reflect the light of Christ by our example. We should never get discouraged on our journey and be continually aware of the presence of Christ in our daily lives. The solution is simple we must be men of prayer.