In our busy lives and during our business-driven days, we often enter a marketplace - a bustling place of social and business activity. Sometimes it's challenging to live in a world that has "gone to the market," a pejorative phase for what seems distant from a deep and human experience. We might ask, "what is my direction, my grounding?" as we wander into a lively, active, almost overwhelming place in the world. Are we swept off of our feet, or, are we learning how to take a breath and follow our way through what seems like a maze?  

Goods are good, but a commodity-driven life can make us all feel like we are "things" to be traded or tried out, not necessarily to be treasured and cared for as the unique gifts we are. Yet, despite the distractive nature of the various marketplaces in our lives, we have within ourselves a sense of the Good News of Jesus Christ - who Himself was often found in marketplaces! ... Read more. 

Maura Parda reflects on her time at the Mountain

Thin places ... This ancient Celtic phrase refers to a place where the "membrane between physical reality and the reality of God's presence thins out to where it can be seen, touched, tasted or sensed in some unmistakable way."

When asked to provide a reflection of my recent weekend of spiritual renewal at Mt. Irenaeus, I realized that I had indeed experienced a grace-filled thin place. The richness of the weekend deepened my connection to God after having witnessed the majesty of the Mountain, the community of those gathered, and the whispers of God felt in the gentle breeze and heard in the voices of my companions.

St. Irenaeus teaches us that "God is glorified when His people are fully alive." Not only was I fully alive during the weekend, I could literally feel myself being drawn closer to God through the opening of my heart and the delighting of my five senses ... Read more.

Email Michelle Marcellin at mmarc@sbu.edu for more information and to register.   

Gift-gathering parties for the 13th Annual Mountain Auction will be held in the Olean, Buffalo, Rochester, Massachusetts and Virginia areas. Please contact Michelle Marcellin at mmarc@sbu.edu or call 716-375-2096 for more information, or if you're interested in sending a gift or coordinating a pick-up.

Gifts presented at the auction include a variety of new, unused gifts ranging from small appliances, china and crystal, home furnishings and handcrafts, tools, sports memorabilia and equipment, bottles of cheer, and various gift baskets. We also hope to offer vacation packages, weekend getaways and tickets to theater, concerts and sporting events.

We are grateful for any support you can provide as we prepare for this important fundraiser.

The 2013 auction will be held at St. Bonaventure University Nov. 2. Money raised helps fund the Mountain's general endowment and supports the general operating budget.
 

Auction tickets go on sale Sept. 15 and sell out quickly. Please contact Michelle to purchase tickets.