Every year, the community of Gethsemani takes a week of retreat for rest, prayer, and reflection. We don’t work in our industries, and our retreat house is closed.
We usually ask someone to give us conferences during the week. This year we were grateful to have Bishop John Stowe, bishop of Lexington, give our conferences. Bishop Stowe took his solemn vows as a Conventual Franciscan in 1992 and was ordained as a priest in 1995. He served in various capacities in Texas, eventually being elected Vicar Provincial of the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation. In 2015, Pope Francis named him Bishop of Lexington where he still serves.
Bishop Stowe based his conferences on the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te by Pope Leo XIV on the care for the poor. This exhortation was begun by Pope Francis before his death, so Bishop Stowe wove his talks together with reflections on Pope Francis’s Encyclical Dilexit nos and his own private recollections about Pope Francis.
The week was a welcome respite after the busy Christmas season. The whole community appreciated the week of rest and thanks Bishop Stowe for sharing his thoughtful and timely reflections.
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