Carmel Guild to offer Day of Recollection

By KENNY KEANE, Globe staff reporter
Posted March 27, 2002

This past year saw the release of the new Luminous Mysteries of the rosary, which will be prayed as part of a special retreat held from 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 7 at the Carmelite Monastery in Sioux City.

In addition, Msgr. Leonard Ziegmann, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Laurens, will provide "Reflections on the new Stations of the Cross." He will serve as the main speaker at the Day of Recollection retreat sponsored by the Carmel Guild Board.

"It is a day to promote the spirituality of people and to help them draw closer to our Lord," said Shirley Kennedy, Day of Recollection committee chair. "We're hoping to explain the new Stations of the Cross. According to Msgr. Ziegmann, the pope had brought these forth over five years ago, and there really has not been much said or done about that."

Msgr. Ziegmann said that years ago Pope Paul VI came up with these new stations, which have not caught on, but the pastor said he uses them everyday.

"I want to talk about them and share some of the insights that I have based on my reflection on the new stations," Msgr. Ziegmann said. "They can be used in place of the current stations. A few are the same, but there are quite a few different ones.

"I think the most interesting thing is that they're very, heavily biblical oriented. With the old stations, a lot of the events are not in the Bible. For example, the three falls of Jesus are not mentioned in the Bible. So in the new stations, each event is based on a definite portion of the suffering of Jesus beginning Holy Thursday night into Good Friday."

After the stations' talk, those in attendance will gather for Mass at 11 a.m. followed by lunch at noon. There will be about a 30-minute question and answer period with Msgr. Ziegmann during the lunch hour. Everyone will be invited to pray the Luminous Mysteries at 1 p.m., and then the day will conclude with benediction.

All are welcome to participate in the retreat, which Kennedy said should give everyone an opportunity to gain a little deeper knowledge and understanding of their faith.

As for Msgr. Ziegmann, he said there are two things he wants to get out of it.

"Every time I reflect on the passion, I hope to get a little closer to Jesus to the point of understanding his suffering and his love for us," he said. "Secondly, I want to see the response of those in attendance. It will be good to see that they will grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus."