"Prayer is a work of spiritual mercy, which wishes to lead everything to God's heart, 'You take charge, who are a Father.' It should be this way, to say it simply. Prayer is to say: 'You take charge, who are Father. Look at us, who are Father.' This is relation with the Father. Prayer is this. It is a gift of faith and of love, an intercession of which there is need as of bread. In a word, it means to entrust: to entrust the Church, to entrust people, to entrust situations to the Father - 'I entrust this to you' - so that He takes care of it. Prayer, therefore, as Padre Pio loved to say, is 'the best weapon we have, a key that opens God's heart.' A key that opens God's heart: it is an easy key. God's heart is not armored with many means of security. With prayer, you can open it with an ordinary key, because He has a heart of love, the heart of a Father. It is the greatest strength of the Church which we must never abandon, because the Church bears fruit if, she does as Our Lady and the Apostles did, who were 'with one accord devoted to prayer' (Acts 1:14), when they awaited the Holy Spirit - devoted and concordant in prayer." - Pope Francis, Address, February 8, 2016
The Institute for Priestly Formation has partnered with the Marian Servants of Divine Providence at the Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence to offer an eight-day silent retreat for alumni of any of our programs.
The eight-day retreat features: