sr.mfaustina@archphila.org<\/a> or call 215-587-3795. Attendees are encouraged to make a free will offering, with a $20 suggested donation.<\/p>\nThe exhortation, which Pope Francis is said to have begun but which Pope Leo said is 100% his own, has a title that translated in English as \u201cI Have Loved You.\u201d<\/p>\n
It explores a love that includes brotherly love but goes far beyond it, in a way that Sister Marie Faustina believes is a fantastic way to open a new liturgical year while putting a bow on the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe begins by (describing) the foundation of Christian life, that God\u2019s initiative is of love; that Christ\u2019s declaration, \u2018I have loved you,\u2019 grounds all morals and spiritual duties that we have, and at the same time, that God\u2019s love is revealed in the Incarnation. That\u2019s what Advent is all about, preparing for the coming of our incarnate Lord,\u201d said Sister Marie Faustina.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the letter, he doesn\u2019t just stay at those two profound principles. He then draws from those principles of God\u2019s love being revealed in the Incarnation and uses those principles as ways that we can then express humility and service by others. He\u2019s calling us to this active charity, one that receives God\u2019s love, but then goes out and gives God\u2019s love, and he does it in a way that\u2019s so inviting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sister Marie Faustina reminds retreatants to dive deeply into the sacramental life, and to look beyond it in the everyday moments to find people we are called to serve in love.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod\u2019s so present in those whom we are with, and those whom we serve,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat serving can come in so many different forms. Of course, you know, that serving comes in the poor who are often overlooked by many, even by ourselves at times.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his letter, the pope is \u00a0\u201cdrawing from this depth, this wellspring of Catholic tradition, of sacred Scripture, of Catholic social teaching, of examples of the saints,\u201d she said, \u201cto really paint a portrait of invitation and reminder and encouragement to press forward in being witnesses to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The six-hour retreat includes Mass, eucharistic adoration, the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, lunch and a pair of talks given by Sister Marie Faustina on Pope Leo\u2019s first apostolic exhortation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a short day, but it\u2019s one which is going to be very much with the goal to have God at the center, and to give God the room and the chance to really speak to our hearts, and especially through our new Holy Father and the words that he has given to us in his new letter,\u201d said Sister Marie Faustina.<\/p>\n
Even as the retreat comes just 12 days before Christmas, at a time when center city will be filled with people doing Christmas shopping and scrambling to prepare for Christmas celebrations, the six hours will give people a chance to step away from the high-speed race of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod cannot be outdone in generosity,\u201d Sister Marie Faustina said. \u201cWhen we give Him a moment, He provides an abundance in the most perfect way for all things to work out according to His loving will. In His timing and in His will, He brings the order that we desire at the depth of going from here to there and in our very, very full lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust have a brief pause,\u201d she invites those considering the retreat, \u201cto just be with God and to be home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jay Sorgi \u2022 Posted December 4, 2025 The Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul is hosting…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":425959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[198313,5229,44941,19494,1448,2830,1311,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-425958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-advent","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-cathedral-basilica-of-saints-peter-and-paul","11":"tag-jay-sorgi","12":"tag-pa","13":"tag-pennsylvania","14":"tag-philadelphia","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115665793131707937","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}