"To the Author" band at the Pan de Vida Retreat in Redding

Joe, Sheila, Matthew, Claire and I spent Divine Mercy Sunday in Redding at the first Pan de Vida Retreat of the West Coast. It was certainly a grace filled weekend for everyone. You can see the pictures of Sheila and Claire with the band members. They had a great time especially with the guys who played for Our Lord all weekend.
Great group of young men. It is always a blessing for our family to participate as a group sharing the faith with others, including and most importantly young people. John Paul II was beatified over the weekend and during the retreat we remember his call for a "New Evangelization." We can reflect on his own radical conversion to Christ and strive to achieve that.  I desire and meditate on this kind of conversion often, and tried to call this to mind throughout the weekend. We attempt, as a family, to live the message of the Second Vatican Council that encourages everyone to be a saint, and calls each of us to holiness. It is true that when we live the missionary spirit of striving for holiness we call others to holiness. Our challenge is to exemplify that call that Jesus made to His disciples and go and teach the good news. When we live the Gospel message we become missionaries of Jesus Christ to others. During the weekend there were many graces and we were so blessed to be a part of it. You can tell who enjoyed it the most with these pictures of the girls.
May the peace of our Lord be with you all!!!