Programs

Women's Health

Questions of the Mind and Heart: Caring for the terminally ill
Presenter: Marie D'Onofrio, APRN

February 5   -   7:00 - 8:30pm
Cost: $25

Are you caring for a terminally ill family member or friend?  We will speak honestly of what to say to loved ones who are facing death and what questions they are asking-aloud and in the silence of their hearts.  Marie D'Onofrio, a nurse practitioner with Evercare™ Hospice & Palliative Care, provides compassionate care and support for those facing end-of-life issues and their families. She'll help you learn to face this life challenge with care and respect, while reducing your own anxiety as you continue to support your loved one.

Living with Dementia: A Caregiver's Perspective
Presenter: Maria Tomasetti, Family Services Coordinator,
Alzheimer's Association of Connecticut

February 20  -  7:00 - 9:00pm
Cost: $25

Are you living with someone who suffers from Dementia? Discover how you can still make important connections, despite the presence of this disease.  Explore effective communication techniques and learn about activities that will enable you to make a real difference in both your life and the life of your loved one.

Roadblocks & Detours: Continuing the Journey Back to Self
Presenter: JoAnne Ceccarelli-Egan

Session I:  April 17
Session II: April 24
7:00-8:30pm
Special Rate: $15*

Session I: Examine the Roadblocks in your life, while considering the factors that have designated you a "Giver."  Learn how your Myers Briggs personality type identifies you as a natural caretaker, and explore factors-such as birth order and family dynamics-that have shaped you into a "go-to" person.   Uncover common "hooks" that have enabled your behavior as an "over-helper" and hone your skills at disengaging from unrealistic requests.

Session II: Learn the difference between "nurturing" and "enabling" as you begin to determine when your help is appropriate and useful as opposed to unhealthy.   Discover ways to make Healthy Detours, as you set clear boundaries and personal standards.   Realize practical, easy ways to rejuvenate your life and reconnect with your buried dreams.

*OLC recognizes the importance of helping women identify and deal with the stresses of daily life; the cost of these sessions will be subsidized through gifts to the Annual Appeal.

Lenten Series

Lenten Day of Reflection
Presenter: Sister Pauline Semkow, RSM
February 13  -  9:30am - 2:00pm (includes lunch)
Cost: $25

Lent - a time to ponder God's passionate love for us, in Christ Jesus.   Allow this Love to transform your heart.   Become attentive to the mystery of Christ living, dying and rising within us.   Registration required by Feb. 11th.

Keeping Your Eye on the Prize
Presenter: Shawnee Baldwin, M.A.

February 27
Day - 9:00-11:30am (includes lunch) OR
Evening - 7:00-9:00pm
Cost: $25 (each session)

Like Jesus in the desert, carving out time to reflect on his life mission, how will you focus your time and energy this Lent to reflect on the Christ living in and working through you?

WALKING WITH MARY, MOTHER OF SORROWS:
A Lenten Experience
Presenter: Sr. Ann Rodgers, CP

March 12
Day - 9:30am - 2:00pm (includes lunch & Mass) OR
Evening - 7:00-9:00pm
Cost: $25 (each session)

Explore the life of Mary, a woman of compassion and courage.   Learn how the painful pieces of Mary's life can help us endure our own difficult moments.   Through prayer, presentation, music and reflection, ponder how the seven sorro ws-dolors-of Mary contain a message of strength and encouragement for those who hurt, and why they impart hope and inspiration to our daily struggles.

Spirituality & Art

THE HEART OF CREATIVITY: CONTEMPLATION, ART AND MYSTERY
Br. Michael Moran, CP

Michael Moran, an accomplished artist and Passionist Brother, presents a method of meditation that enables you to begin to develop a contemplative stance toward life.   Explore "correct looking" as a form of prayer...Discover the place of "surrender" in prayer and the Christian life...examine "wounds of the heart" that may arise during meditation...delve into the mystery that surrounds us and the Christ who encounters us in prayer.   With Br. Michael's help, you can begin to see with the eyes of an artist.   Two programs, below.

Prayer as Looking

February 28  -  7:00 - 9:00pm
Cost: $25




"And they came to Bethsaida and they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him.  Then...He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly." -Mark 8:22, 25

Take the time to meditate in order to truly see.  Explore the fact that we often look, but don't really see what is in front of us.   If we can learn to become "mindful" - really be present to what is before us-we enter into relationship with what we see, which can lead to a clearer, deeper understanding.  Br. Michael will use one of his painted icons as a focal point for meditation.




Surrender: Towards a Less Muscular Spirituality

March 6, 2008  -  7:00 - 9:00pm
Cost: $25




"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who ... did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant...He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." -Philippians 2:5-8

Explore the concept of surrender in our lives.  Look at the many "wounds of the heart" we encounter in life, and investigate how embracing the Cross in meditation can begin a process of healing them.  Program will take place in the chapel, using the crucifix as a focal point for discussion and meditation.

PYSANKY WORKSHOP (Egg Decorating)
Instructor: Adele Kasinskas

April 15  -  6:30 - 9:00pm
Cost: $25 (includes all materials)

Come learn the art of Psyanky, a Ukrainian handcraft with a history rich in symbolism and legend.   In this tradition, the humble egg represents the sun, which brings forth new life.   When ancient Christians came spreading their message to the pagans, they adapted the pagan belief of honoring the sun to a Christian message of honoring the "Son."   Thus, the Easter holiday season-complete with eggs-replaced a springtime pagan ritual of sun-worship.   Designs, too, have their own unique history: a bird signifies Spring; flowers, beauty; a circle represents eternity, a triangle the Holy Trinity.   Even colors have their meaning, with yellow signifying spirituality, green the new growth of Spring, blue for health and white for purity.   Red is reserved as the sun-color, depicting happiness, hope and passion.   No artistic talent is required to create your own beautiful egg-just an enthusiasm for learning and spiritual awareness through art.

To register for Our Lady of Calvary retreats or day and evening programs
call 860-677-8519 or mail this form.