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Cardinal Stritch Retreat House |
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Spiritual Direction at Cardinal Stritch Retreat House The books or the music in which we thought the beauty
was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came
through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own
past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols,
breaking the hearts of their worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they
are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never
yet visited.—C. S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory.”
If
you are interested in pursuing or exploring spiritual direction, please call the office to make arrangements to speak with
one of our directors. Rev.
Edmund Siedlecki, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, holds a Master of Divinity degree, as well as an S.T.D., both
granted by the University of St. Mary of the Lake. His doctoral dissertation
examined the Greek and Latin Fathers’ commentary on John 6,54-55 (Vulgate). Fr.
Siedlecki was ordained in 1952. He has spent his life as a teacher of liturgy,
as a parish priest and pastor, as an advocate for Polish-speaking Americans and as a former administrator of Cardinal Stritch
Retreat House. He is today in the final stages of preparing for publication an
English-Polish catechism for bilingual families. Fr. Siedlecki brings literally
decades of pastoral experience to his practice of spiritual direction. Other
information about Fr. Siedlecki is on “The Staff” portion of this website.
Fr. Siedlecki’s particular interests include liturgy, contemporary spirituality and social justice. Deacon
Richard F. Hudzik is the current director of Cardinal Stritch Retreat House, a position he has held since 2005. Certain details of his biographical data are set forth on “The Staff” portion of the Stritch
webpage. To amplify those items, Richard was licensed as an attorney in 1978
and ordained a deacon by Cardinal George in 1998. He holds a Masters in Pastoral
Theology (St. Mary of the Woods, 1995), Master of Divinity (Catholic Theological Union, 2005), and a Juris Doctor (University
of Illinois, 1978). He is married, the father of three and proud grandfather
of one. His interests include looking at the interplay of culture and faith. Of particular interest is how mass media affects our ideas of faith, marriage and
family life. Moreover, as an attorney, it is interesting to see how the legal
system is used to decide contentious social problems, such as life issues, marriage and the public practice of religion. As
a spiritual director, he is interested in the wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola, as well as seeking to discern the presence
of God in family life, in friendship, and in the joys and sorrows associated with life, whether as a minister or otherwise. __________________ The suggested offering requested to help defray some of
the expenses of the Retreat House is from $35 to $50 per monthly session. |
