Rev. Paul Wierichs, C.P. - Director:  Fr Paul most recently served as Pastor of St. Ann's Basilica in Scranton, PA, beginning February 2004.  Fr. Paul was professed a Passionist on March 8, 1964 and was ordained a Passionist priest on May 18, 1978.

Fr. Paul's missions over the past years include teaching high school in Philadelphia, running retreats for high school and college students, serving as Retreat Director at the Bishop Molloy Retreat House in Jamaica, NY and serving as administrator at Shelter Island which houses St. Gabriel's, the only retreat house on the east coast dealing with youths of all cultures and religious backgrounds.  Fr. Paul's assignment as FBI chaplain has taken him to the sites of two of the worst disasters in the metropolitan area, the crash of TWA flight 800 and the attack on the World Trade Center.  Fr. Paul administered spiritual counseling to family members, law enforcement agents, emergency workers and the injured, as well as administering the Last Rights to the victims at the scenes of the disasters.

Also, Fr. Paul’s assignment as Passionist Director for Special Gifts included the responsibility of the Annual Award Event that recognizes those individuals who distinguish themselves in their own fields. Past award recipients include Cardinal O’Connor, Cardinal Egan, The Honorable Louis Freeh, The Honorable Elizabeth Dole, Mary Higgins Clark, General Barry McCaffrey, Governor Frank Keating, James Kallstrom and Brother Louis De Thomasis FSC.

FROM THE DIRECTOR, April, 2008

My Dear Friends:

As you drive into Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center your eyes are drawn immediately to Jesus Crucified. Yes, as you can see from our front cover we have a beautiful crucifix that was donated to us by Elayne Fischer in memory of her family. At the base as you can see so clearly the Passionist Sign and the words of St. Paul, “We Preach Christ Crucified.” Yes, this is the message of every Passionist and this retreat house.

There is something special about making a retreat. You come to a place where God is active. This is HOLY GROUND. Time and time again so many people of all ages share with me their faith story and in that story they recount how God in a special way touched them. It can be someone that has suffered with a serious illness but the retreat gave them peace and rest from their pain. Another person tells of how they have been out of the Church for years but because their friend encouraged them to come on retreat they too have found the peace that only God can give. This is Holy Ground where people will find the gifts that only God can give us:  JOY and PEACE!

I want to encourage you to come to our Days and Evenings of Prayer the first Wednesday of each month. What a wonderful way to reconnect with your retreat and to introduce people to Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center. 

Check out some new retreats that we have added. One in particular will be a HEALING RETREAT May 23-25^th. Also, our YOUNG ADULTS retreat July 11-13^th. This retreat is for young adults aged 18-30. It is important that you tell your sons and daughters and grandchildren about it. Our young people must realize that they don’t stand alone in their faith and that there are many others like them who believe and practice their faith. 

One other thing:  Fr. Don Senior, C.P., President of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago addressed the Eastern Passionist Province Chapter (an assembly of the entire Passionist Community in our Province held every four years) in 2006 with what I and others consider to be a stunning reflection and presentation of how God's love is reflected through the lens of the Cross.  Although originally intended for only the members of the Chapter, I include it here because we all need to hear and understand the most beautiful message of Christ Crucified.

Above all, please be assured of my prayers for you and your family.

FROM THE DIRECTOR, December, 2007

Florida is well known for its beautiful beaches and abundant sunshine. But there are many things in Florida that people don’t know about until a friend shows it to them. The best kept secret in Florida is Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center. Unfortunately, many people don’t know about this Spiritual Center and what we can do to enhance their lives. People come to Florida to be refreshed physically, but the most important aspect of their life – the refreshment of the “SOUL” – goes unfulfilled.  I need your help to change that.

Please invite one new person when you come on retreat to join you. Please view this as your apostolic mission to help bring another person closer to Christ. As I pray every morning “Lord let me be an instrument to help people come to know you today and not an obstacle that keeps people from you.” Please invite that new person and you can be their instrument to know Christ better and more fully.

You will notice that we now have a new name for our newsletter.  With this second issue we continue to bring you to “The Light”. “You are the light of the world,” we read in Matthew 5:14. Again Matthew reminds us, “A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” As Christians we must bring the Light of Christ to a broken world.

Our theme for the new season is, “I heard the voice of Jesus say…”.  What a great theme!!  We all are listening to those voices that seem to bombard us each day with phrases like “buy me”, “sell me”, “turn the music up louder”. So why not let Jesus whisper into our ears things like: “I love you, I forgive you, I need you, and you are special”, just as God did for Elijah when he heard the voice as a tiny whispering sound in 1 Kings 19.
 

I am happy to tell you that we will begin Evenings of Recollection this new retreat season. The same day that we have Days of Recollection we will also have evenings beginning with registration and optional confession, dinner, conference and Mass.  We will have you in your car by 9:30 PM so you can be home early enough for your next day of activity. These evenings will be an excellent way to refresh and keep alive your retreat experience.

I am also happy to tell you that in July, 2008 we will have our first Young Adults retreat for 18-30 year olds. More about that later, but please begin to think about inviting your children, grandchildren and any young person to come on this special retreat given by other young adults.

You remain in my prayers each day and I hope you will please keep me and our Retreat Center in your prayers. Prayers can and do move mountains.

Click here to read Fr. Paul's Sun-Sentinel interview dated March 31, 2007.

Click here for Fr. Paul's 9/11/01 interview and audio file from the five year anniversary.

Last Modified: April 30, 2008