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Life's Joyful Mystery
A Catholic Retreat in Your Inbox
James Berigan
January 10, 2025
An email newsletter produced by Our Lady of the Fields Camp & Retreat Center in Brighton, Michigan.
If you are not already subscribed to “Life’s Joyful Mystery”, please click the button below! We publish every Friday, and did I mention that it’s FREE?! We’d love to have you join our community!
How to get in touch:
It is very important to me that we create a community around this newsletter. I want you to know that I am a real person sitting at this keyboard!
If you would like to reach out and communicate with me, please feel free to do so.
There will be plenty of times in the near future, where I will be asking you, the readers, to share your ideas, thoughts, questions, and concerns with me.
So, the best way to get in touch is by email. My address is:
IYKYK
Inside St. George Shrine, Our Lady of the Fields Camp, Brighton, Michigan
IYKYK.
If you’re not familiar with this texting abbreviation, it means “If You Know, You Know.”
According to USA Today, this abbreviation is used in relation to an inside joke or reference for a certain group. The slang denotes an insider perspective: You understand (or get) the reference if you're a part of what the original post is talking about. The term is often used in social media posts and as a hashtag.
Maybe it’s embarrassing to admit this, but I only just learned what this abbreviation means. I’m old, and my children have all moved out. What can I say?
But, as I’ve written about before, I work at a Catholic retreat center, so I think about Catholic retreats a lot.
When I recently tried to tell some people about how powerful and life-changing a spiritual retreat can be, that texting slang popped into my head. IYKYK. If You Know, You Know.
If you have ever paused your regular life and went away somewhere special to spend a little time focusing on your relationship with Jesus, away from all your daily distractions, I don’t have to tell you about how refreshing and life-affirming the experience is. IYKYK.
I Double Dog Dare You!
My dog Fergus in the back of my truck. He’s a very good boy!
The slogan/mission statement of this newsletter is “A Catholic Retreat in Your Inbox”.
Since Our Lady of the Fields Camp is a Catholic Retreat Center, my mission with Life’s Joyful Mystery is to recreate the feeling you get when you go on a spiritual retreat.
Of course, this is an email newsletter and trying to capture the spirit of an in-person retreat is very difficult.
However, this is what I keep asking the Lord to help me accomplish each week. If He can multiply the fishes and the loaves to feed the masses, making you feel like you’ve been on a retreat after reading this newsletter should be a piece of cake! (For Him!)
As I see it, one of the goals of a spiritual retreat is to open your heart to Jesus and let Him fill you with His love. In turn, you can share that love with those around you.
So, how can we translate this ideal through the medium of an email?
One idea is to start taking action. Each week, I will offer you a challenge that you can work on that will help spread the love of Christ. I firmly believe that if you share these challenges with God, He will present you with opportunities to put your faith into practice.
I will call these challenges the “Double Dog Dare of the Week”!
So, here is our very first Double Dog Dare:
Catholic Vocab Word of the Week - “Paraclete”
Paraclete is an English word that comes from the Koine Greek word παράκλητος (paráklētos). It is a combination of para ('beside/alongside') and kalein ('to call'). It literally means "someone who comes alongside".
It appears five times in the New Testament's Johannine texts. (Gospel of John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, and First Epistle of John chapter 2, verse 1.)
In the Bible, paraclete specifically refers to the Holy Spirit as the one who provides comfort and support to believers.
"According to the Gospel of John, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, also known as the Paraclete, to comfort and guide his disciples after his departure."
In John 14:16, it is written "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever".
In this passage, Jesus comforts his disciples by promising the Holy Spirit to help them after he ascends to heaven. The Holy Spirit is referred to as the "Spirit of Truth" and is a "helper" who will guide and support believers on their spiritual journey.
I really like this idea that the Holy Spirit comes alongside me when I need Him. One of my closest friends once told me that he imagines the Paraclete is like the forcefield around the spaceship from the old TV show, Lost in Space. He’s a real sci-fi nerd!
However you imagine the Holy Spirit to be, we should all be eternally grateful for His presence in our lives.
Credit to:
Recommendation of the Week: (Do this!)
The Chaldean Catholic Church is offering an online “Bible in a Year” podcast. I highly recommend checking it out. It is lead by Bishop Francis Kalabat and Fr. John Jaddou. They are two very dynamic and holy men.
Each episode runs approximately 20 to 25 minutes and includes readings from the Old Testament, wisdom literature, and the New Testament, followed by heartfelt reflections to deepen your faith. Perfect for anyone seeking spiritual growth, daily inspiration, and a closer relationship with God. Start your journey today!
We’re still in January, so it’s not too late to catch up!
Find out more information, click the link below:
Catholic List of the Week: 6 Sins Against the Holy Spirit
This week, I’ve been reflecting on the Holy Spirit quite a lot.
The Holy Spirit (a.k.a. Paraclete) can and does give us many gifts that significantly improve our lives, if we allow ourselves to take full advantage of them.
But, a relationship with the Holy Spirit is not a one-way street. Like any relationship, we have to give as well as receive.
I recently came across an article that described the 6 sins against the Holy Spirit. The article really made me stop and take stock of myself. I offer you this list only in the spirit of self-reflection. Some of the items on this list aren’t the typical, run-of-the-mill sins one might think of. Nonetheless, I have a feeling that they are all very common and easy to fall into.
The six sins against the Holy Spirit are:
Despair: Believing that one's sins are greater than God's mercy
Presumption: Living a life of sin, assuming that God will forgive
Opposing the known truth: Deliberately resisting what is true
Envy: Resenting another's spiritual good
Obstinacy: Continuing in sin, even after receiving the Holy Spirit's help
Final impenitence: Refusing to give up sin and seek forgiveness
These are mortal sins that harden the soul by rejecting the Holy Spirit.
I think these items above are all worth your time to mediate on and pray about. If you feel convicted in any way as a result of your reflection, I urge you to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so that you may find peace through Christ.
Suggested Links You Might Enjoy:
Fruits from the Fields video podcast on YouTube, which is also produced by Our Lady of the Fields Camp & Retreat Center and features great Catholic content.
Song of Mary - a new music ministry that some folks at OLF have recently started. Song of Mary has just published a Christmas “Album” called “A Savior is Born”. Please listen to it HERE!
If you like what you see at either one of these sites, I encourage you to please subscribe to their YouTube channels, so you can see all of the new videos!
To learn more about the mission and the needs of Our Lady of the Fields Camp & Retreat Center, please click the link below.
See you next week!
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