Relocation of the Papal Cross
After standing at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary since that event, the recent sale of the seminary necessitated a new home for the cross. Malvern Retreat House was chosen as the new location. On May 23rd, crews moved the cross to the parking lot behind Our Lady’s Chapel at St. Joseph’s in the Hills.
Robert Perricone, a member of the Malvern Retreat House community and an expert carpenter, volunteered his skills to refurbish the cross. This effort is part of a broader plan to resurrect the monument on the retreat house grounds, ensuring that the memory of the 1979 papal visit is preserved. This move not only saves a piece of history but also provides a new space for reflection and remembrance for visitors to the retreat house.
2024 Annual SixThree Spiritual Retreat
Our 2024 Annual Six-Three Spiritual Retreat at Malvern is scheduled for:
June 14, 15 & 16, 2024
Retreat will be back to a regular schedule, starting Friday evening, Saturday & Sunday morning, available in person or virtual.
We hope you enjoyed your retreat!
Menu: Retreat Director | Guest Speaker | Young Man Initiative | Carlo Acutis
2024 Retreat Director
Fr Douglas McKay, Spiritual Guidance and Liturgy
Fr. McKay is a nationally-recognized retreat director, author and evangelist. He became a priest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1982, and later founded Our House Ministries, a recovery-based ministry group located in Grays Ferry, Philadelphia. The Ministry is dedicated to helping those who are dependent on alcohol or drugs, who are depressed, or who have turned to crime. He has previously served as Chaplain for Holy Family Home and worked with Little Sisters of the Poor. Fr. McKay was awarded the St. Rita Peace Award in 2015.
Jennifer Hubbard, Guest Speaker
Jennifer Hubbard graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with a BA degree in art history and communications. Upon graduating from college, she worked for a Fortune 100 company for nine years. Jennifer left the professional workforce to raise her two children, Frederick and Catherine. Her youngest child, Catherine Violet, was a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Jennifer and her husband, Matthew, established the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation, Inc.® to support those causes that best represent their daughter and her life. The foundation’s current focus is in creating and developing programming that will sustain the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary® in Newtown, CT. Jennifer is a monthly contributor for the Magnificat. Her essays focus on God’s healing presence and His faithfulness. She is the recipient of a 2014 and 2015 Catholic Press Awards and has had her work published in Fairfield County Catholic.
2024 Retreat Special Feature – Young Man Initiative
This your we will be featuring a special initiative designed to cater to the needs of our younger retreatants (ages 17 to 40). On Saturday morning of our weekend retreat we will have a special exercise for these young retreatants that will help them focus on issues that are important to them. The session will include some material and discussion regarding the challenges of people your age and retreatants will be encouraged to offer feedback on how best to tailor our retreat to better meet your needs. The following video will help you understand some of the concepts we will attempt explore in this session…
We are excited to introduce our Young Man’s initiative at the 2024 retreat, scheduled for Saturday morning at 10:45am. This brief yet impactful session is designed for young men aged 17 to 40, drawing inspiration from the “That Man Is You!” program by Paradisus Dei.
The “That Man Is You!” program addresses the significant pressures and temptations that men encounter in today’s culture, focusing particularly on their roles as husbands and fathers. It integrates insights from current social and medical sciences with the teachings of the Church and the wisdom of the saints, aiming to develop the vision of a man fully alive.
Our session will provide materials and foster discussions about the challenges faced by young adults in our modern society. We encourage retreatants to actively participate and provide feedback to help us tailor the retreat to better meet their needs. To gain a deeper understanding of the experiences shared by men who have participated in the “That Man Is You!” program, we will show an introductory video.
Our ultimate goal is to accompany men on their journey, guiding them through the complexities of family and life, and leading them on the pathway to holiness. We look forward to your participation and valuable insights during this initiative.
Who is Carlo Acutis?
Despite what one might think of a young candidate for the honors of the altars, Carlo was an absolutely normal boy, like most of his peers, but with an absolutely special harmony, thanks to his great friendship with Jesus.
In addition to his main duties of his status as that of student and son, he manages to find time to teach catechism to children preparing for First Communion and Confirmation; to volunteer at the soup kitchen of the Capuchins and the nuns of Mother Teresa; to help the poor who live in his neighborhood; to help children in difficulty with their homework; to carry out apostolic works with the internet; to play the saxophone; to play football; to design programs with the computer; to have fun with video games; watching detective films and making home movies with his dogs and cats.
“To always be united with Jesus, this is my life plan” , he wrote when he was only seven years old. And since then he has always been faithful to this program until his departure for Heaven which took place between 11 and 12 October 2006 at the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza.
Since he was a child, Carlo has always shown a great attraction towards “Heaven” . By a special circumstance, given his uncommon maturity in matters of Faith and his great love for the Sacrament of the Eucharist, Carlo was admitted to First Communion at just seven years old and since then he has never missed his daily appointment with the Holy Mass and some Eucharistic adoration either before or after Mass and the daily Rosary.
Carlo writes that when “you stand in front of the sun you tan… but when you stand in front of Jesus the Eucharist you become saints” . For Carlo “the Eucharist is his highway to Heaven” , and also the most powerful means of becoming saints quickly. His famous phrase is: “Everyone is born original but many die like photocopies” .
In order not to die as a photocopy, Carlo draws from the source of the Sacraments, which for Carlo are the most powerful means to grow in virtue, effective signs of God’s infinite mercy for us. Thanks to the Eucharist, Charles heroically strengthens the virtue of fortitude, which will give him that courage common to all saints, to always go against the grain and oppose the false idols that the world constantly offers us.
The Eucharist also fuels in him a very strong desire to constantly tune in to the voice of the Lord, and to always live in his presence. By doing so, Carlo manages to bring that lifestyle learned at the school of the Eucharist: being at school, in a pizzeria with friends or in the square for a football match, or using the computer, becomes a lived Gospel. Carlo managed in an extraordinary way, despite living an ordinary existence like that of many, to dedicate his life, moment after moment, to the highest goal to which all men are called: eternal bliss with God.
Carlo, “the in love with God” , he experienced this strong presence of the divine in his earthly life and tried in every way to generously transmit it to others and still continues to intercede so that everyone can put God first in their lives and say like Carlo: “Not me but God” ; “Not self-love but the glory of God” ; “Sadness is looking towards oneself, happiness is looking towards God” .
Mary Bea Damico, Guest Speaker
Led to Jesus through Our Blessed Mother, Mary Bea is a passionate Catholic Evangelist, with a deep love for the Eucharist, Our Lady, and for our one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Her witness is one of giving her continuous ‘Yes’ at the calling of Our Lord – in the workplace, in the family and in the world. Most recently, she responded to the Lord’s whisper to create a place of Eucharistic Encounter for the youth at Malvern Retreat House, building upon the life and work of Blessed Carlo Acutis – and the challenge to become the saints we were created to be.
Mary Bea is the President of Vovéo Marketing Group, a full service B2B Marketing Agency which she founded in January of 1995. A graduate of St. Joseph’s University, Mary Bea has served on the Haub School of Business Marketing Advisory Board, and is an active member of the Malvern Retreat House Board, as well as the St. Patrick School Board. She serves on the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Eucharistic Revival Committee, and is an active member of St. Patrick Parish Malvern. Through her business, Mary Bea has worked to assist many Catholic Non-Profit organizations – such as World Meeting of Families, Miraculous Medal Shrine, and National Centre for Padre Pio.
She has been a retreatant at Malvern since 2018, and has attended nearly 30 retreats.
Cancelled – 2019 Guest Speaker – Joe Klecko
Due to an unfortunate schedule change Mr. Klecko was forced to cancel his speaking engagement for our 2019 Six Three Group retreat. We have secured an old friend of Six Three, Former Philadelphia Eagle, Kevin Reilly who is fresh off the release of his 2017 book “Tackling Life”. Kevin spoke at our 2016 retreat and will come with a fresh new look at his spiritual journey that includes discussion about his most recent successes and relationships. READ MORE about Kevin Reilly.
2018 Guest Speaker – Kathleen McCarthy
Kathleen McCarthy is a published author, Catholic radio broadcaster and has been a Catholic lay evangelist for almost 40 years. Her message of the Father’s merciful love, the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, and the power of the Holy Spirit are central to the doctrines of the Catholic Church.
Kathleen has traveled across the country and internationally as a sought after conference speaker and facilitates workshops, days of renewal and parish retreats. Kathleen has been involved in healing ministry for over four decades. She has the gift of storytelling that readily touches the hearts of all individuals. Her willingness to share her faith and wisdom has established her as a dynamic instrument for proclaiming God’s word to both believers and inactive Catholics of all ages.
Kathleen has experienced the death of a husband, loss of a house through fire, personal and family illness and loss. Through it all, her uncompromising love of God and faith in His love for her has been her source of strength in weakness and her light in darkness. She is a gifted speaker who shares with enthusiasm and motivates many hearts to experience the living God.
Read about our 2018 Retreat Director –>
2018 Retreat Director – Fr. Scott Reilly
FATHER SCOTT REILLY, LEGIONARY OF CHRIST, REGIONAL DIRECTOR PHILADELPHIA
?Fr Scott is from Kankakee, IL but later moved to St. Petersburg, FL. He has two sisters and one brother, who is a priest as well in the Legionaries of Christ. In 1983 he joined Immaculate Conception Apostolic School of the Legionaries of Christ located in Center Harbor, NH graduating in 1984. He has studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain for 2 years and in Rome, Italy where he earned a Bachelors in Philosophy from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas and Theology with the Legionaries Christ. He was ordained to the priesthood on December 24, 1997 and served as chaplain at Pinecrest Catholic Academy Cumming, GA from 1997-1999. From 1999-2005 he served as chaplain at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, GA. Between 2005-2010 he served as Territorial Director for the Legionaries in the USA. From 2010-2015 he served in Houston as superior for the Legionary community and held different responsibilities: 2010-2013 President of the Board for Northwoods Catholic School, 2013-2014 he served as President for Northwoods Catholic School, 2014-2015 chaplain for Regnum Christi in Houston. Presently he is the Regnum Christi Local Director chaplain to the Regnum Christi Movement in the Philadelphia locality. He enjoys, golf, tennis, hiking, working out and reading. Scott Reilly LC Bio here along with contact information.
Read about our 2018 Guest Speaker Kathleen McCarthy –>
Listen To Father Scott Reilly on Soundcloud
Our Beautiful God – Homily by Fr. Matt Guckin
This week Father discusses how Paul explains the beauty of God; that Jesus reveals to us a beautiful God through a humble human existence and ultimately through the Crucifixion. Our God is a giving God.
Survey Says…Success!
Gentlemen, we want to share with you the results of our 2017 post-retreat survey. As you know, the Six Three Group has been working hard and leading the way to improve the retreat experience across all Malvern Weekend retreats. Our primary focus in this effort has been on improving the quality of the spiritual guidance and message by inviting high quality retreat directors and special guest speakers. We judging from the survey results below, we think that most will agree that our 2017 retreat was very successful in moving us toward our goals. In particular, the response to Fr. Guckin and Miriam Horrocks and Paul Isenberg was very positive.
Please take a moment to review our 2017 survey results and feel free to leave a comment.
2017 Six Three Group Survey Results
Number of Attendees: 207
Number of Responses: 130
Hear Fr. Matt Guckin’s Weekly Sermon Right Here!
Father Matt ranks very high on our list of awesome Retreat Directors and it was great having him our for our 2017 Six Three Group Retreat. Recently Fr. Matt started a Soundcloud feed so you can get a steady diet for spiritual enlightenment by listening to Father’s weekly sermons.
To receive notifications each time Fr. Matt posts a new track, click the follow button below to follow Fr. Matt on your Soundcloud account.
2017 Guest Speakers – Thank You Miriam Horrocks & Paul Isenberg
The Six Three Group would like to extend our gratitude to Miriam Horrocks and Paul Isenberg (“Ice” LOL) for sharing their powerful message of love with us on our 2017 Six Three Group Retreat! It is by your example we are brought closer to the calling of our Lord. God bless both of you, your beautiful family and may souls of Michael and Nichole rest in peace. We will keep you all in our prayers.
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On 9/11 our whole world was traumatized by sin and death. When Michael Horrocks’ plane crashed into the second tower, his wife Miriam and her two small children suffered in shock. At the same time Paul and his two children cared for his wife who was dying of cancer. We will listen as Miriam and Paul witness how their faith in Jesus Christ offered them the miracle of hope and healing. Just as Jesus offered hope and healing by raising his friend Lazarus from the tomb of death, Miriam and Paul experienced the grace of God to help them live and love again.
Read about our 2017 Retreat Director –>
2017 Retreat Director – Thank You to Fr. Matt Guckin
The Six Three Group would like to extend our gratitude for the spiritual guidance and enlightenment provided by Fr. Guckin during our 2017 retreat. Father’s willingness to engage the Six Three group throughout the entire weekend was very refreshing. Starting with an inspirational introduction and blessing at our Friday evening meal and extending through to his final homily at Sunday Mass, Father Guckin worked to reinforce the spiritual message of our retreat. Most impressive, and not overlooked, was that Father attended our guest speaker session on Saturday, and tied the message of Paul and Miriam back to our message of living the Abundant Life overflowing with Jesus.
Thank you Father Matt for an outstanding retreat that will remain in our hearts and minds for years to come. God Bless you and we thank the Lord for bringing you to our retreat.
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Rev. Matt Guckin is a graduate of Father Judge High School and Penn State University. He worked as a Consultant to the Transportation Industry for Manugistics, Inc., outside of Washington D.C. and in Strategic Planning for Rite Aid Corporation in Camp Hill, PA. He entered the Seminary in 1992 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1999. He was assistant pastor at St. Cecilia’s parish in Philadelphia and chaplain at Fox Chase Cancer Center. He has been an educator and chaplain at Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
He currently serves as Director of Catholic Mission and Identity for Universities and High Schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
