Heart-Warming Weekends
Transform your weekends with a journey of personal and spiritual growth, fostering deeper connections with yourself, others, and a Higher Power.
Thank you to all who attended our Heart-Warming Weekends program series. Our fall programming will be posted summer 2024.
Love Changes Everything: Remember to Remember
Couples Retreat
Saturday, February 10
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
$75 per couple (includes lunch)
$45 for virtual attendance
Presented by Teresa Tomeo & Deacon Dominick Pastore
Teresa and Deacon Dom share their personal marriage journey of hope and healing. In this presentation, Teresa and Dominick talk about sacrificial love in marriage and help couples remember their love story and rekindle the romance. Their presentation covers a brief overview of their marriage testimony, Scripture and Church teachings on remembering God's impact, guidance on rekindling romance, key ingredients for joyful marriages, overcoming difficulties, and practical steps for growing together in faith and love.
Thank you to all who attended!
Teresa Tomeo is an author, syndicated Catholic talk show host, and motivational speaker. Founder of Teresa Tomeo Communications, LLC, she hosts the daily radio program "Catholic Connection" on Ave Maria Radio and EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network, reaching over 500 Catholic stations globally. Teresa is a prominent figure on EWTN Global Catholic Television, co-hosting "The Catholic View for Women" and serving as a correspondent for EWTN News in Depth. As the wife of a deacon, she contributes to Our Sunday Visitor’s The Deacon. With over 10 books, Teresa is an international speaker, focusing on media awareness, activism, and her reversion to the Catholic Church. Alongside her husband, Deacon Dominick Pastore, she travels the world conducting marriage and diaconate couples’ retreats.
Ordained a deacon in 2012 in the Archdiocese of Detroit, Dominick Pastore ministers to couples through retreats, pilgrimages, and conferences. He serves as a deacon at St. Joan of Arc church in suburban Detroit and holds a master's degree in pastoral studies from Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Recently retired from Smith Group after 40 years, he was the vice president and senior electrical engineer. Pastore is a knight in the Order of Malta, a board member of Mary's Mantle (a Catholic home for pregnant and unwed mothers), and, along with his wife, leads pilgrimages to Rome and other parts of Italy for married couples.
The Many Ways to Pray
Saturday, March 9
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
$35 (includes lunch)
Presented by Sr. Jane Gawlik, CSSF
Having faced challenges with personal prayer during the early years of her religious life, Sr. Jane discovered has not only discovered but is eager to share the diverse methods that can enhance our experience or prayer and deepen our connection with God. Through her insights, she aims to offer a variety of styles and options for prayer, fostering a collective journey as we all endeavor to strengthen our relationships with God.
Sr. Jane Mary Gawlik, CSSF, serves as Co-vocation Director, aiding young women in discerning their call to religious life. A native Texan, she joined the Felician Sisters right after high school. Sr. Jane Mary holds a BA in Elementary Education with a minor in Art, a MA in Pastoral Ministry, and certificates in Youth Ministry and Spiritual Direction. Recently completing a program for Initial Formation, she has ministered in schools across California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, including teaching in the public school system.
Wonderfully Made: God's Design for Men and Women
Young Adults (ages 20-35)
Friday & Saturday, April 19-20
Friday: 5:30 - 9 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
$110 includes overnight stay and includes three meals
$50 for daily walk-ins, includes three meals
Presented by Dawn Hausmann and Fr. Mike Casser
Attendees, ages 20-35, will be exploring the how and why God created us as male and female and for what purpose. What are we here on earth for and how do we live a human life, fully alive! We will be exploring Saint John Paul II's great masterpiece, Theology of the Body, you are in for a great adventure this weekend!
Thank you to all who attended!
Dawn Hausmann serves as the Director of Consecrated Vocations, Coordinator of Young Adult Ministry, and Delegate of Consecrated Life for the Lansing Diocese since 2011. With a social work degree from Michigan State University and a master's in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington D.C., she is passionate about spreading John Paul II's Theology of the Body, teaching Ignatian Spirituality, and guiding others in vocational discernment. Responding to her own call, Dawn was consecrated to a life of virginity as a bride of Christ on November 16th, 2019, by Most Rev. Earl Boyea on the Feast of St. Gertrude.
Fr. Mike Cassar, now in his second role as the Vocation Director for the Diocese of Lansing, holds a Master's degree in philosophy from Northern Illinois University. He studied English at Eastern Michigan University and was ordained in 2020 after attending Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. His initial three years as a priest were spent as a parochial vicar at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing and St. John Student Center at Michigan State University.
Twelve Steps Spirituality in Everyday Life
Friday & Saturday, May 10-11
Friday: 6 - 9 p.m.
Saturday: 9.a.m. - 3 p.m.
$110 includes overnight stay and includes three meals
$50 for daily walk-ins, includes three meals
Presented by Sr. Judith Marie Blizzard
Explore the many ways to have a free, wholesome and peaceful life amidst chaos. The spiritual framework of the Twelve Steps offers practices that empower us to cultivate profound connections with our Higher Power, ourselves and others. Discover the transformative potential inherent in these steps for a more fulfilling and peaceful existence.
Sr. Judith Marie Blizzard is the vocation director for the Felician Sisters of North America, serving as a spiritual director in Pittsburgh. Engaged in evangelization, retreat ministry, and parish missions, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Religious Studies from Felician University and a Masters in Spirituality from Creighton University. Sr. Judith's diverse past ministries include education, leadership, vocation ministry, formation, retreat ministry, spiritual direction, and mission leadership for Mooncrest Neighborhood Programs.
