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Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit: A Retreat Guide on the First Beatitude

Fr. John Bartunek, LC
Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit | A Regnum Christi Retreat Guide on the First Beatitude

The Sermon on the Mount is St. Matthew’s summary of Christ’s preaching, of the New Law Jesus gives us from this mountain of the New Testament, just as Moses gave his people the Old Law on Mt. Sinai. This New Law begins with the Beatitudes, the summary of the summary of Christ’s teaching. The Beatitudes offer a portrait of Christian life. And the first characteristic of that portrait is this: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). What does being “poor in spirit” really mean? What does it mean for you and me in today’s world? It’s worth digging into those questions, because we all ardently desire to inherit the kingdom of heaven, to enter into the fullness of life that comes from living in perfect communion with God. And digging into those questions is exactly what this Retreat Guide will do:

    • The First Meditation explores the meaning of the words and how that meaning is clarified by Christ’s own life, and by other biblical passages.
    • The Second Meditation explores what this beatitude looked like in the life of one of history’s most well known saints.
    • The Conference gets practical by showing how we can grow in the virtues required by poverty of spirit.

The Personal Questionnaire/Group discussion questions and the full text are available in the Companion Guide Book.  The Small Group Companion Guide has the questions and quotations. Either download the PDF Companion Guide Book or purchase it. The Companion Guide Book is available for purchase as a paperback at Amazon. Pause the video at any moment to go to the Companion Guide Book or continue to the next meditation.

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How to Use A Retreat Guide

How to Use A Retreat Guide

Gather together, start with prayer, and then watch the Intro and First Meditation together. At the end of the First Meditation, spend 5 – 10 minutes in silent meditation/prayer with the reflection questions. Then watch the Second Meditation and have 5 – 10 minutes of silent time. Lastly, watch the Conference and use the meditation questions as the springboard for personal prayer or group discussion.

You can use this format to gather in person or virtually. If virtual, someone could run the videos (sharing their screen, e.g., using Zoom or any other video conference platform), pausing for silent reflection.

The Conferences (the last video of each Retreat Guide) are designed as stand-alone videos offering practical applications for living out the Retreat Guide theme. They always work well with the Meditations, but you could use the Conference separately for a shorter gathering to kick off a topic for discussion.

Seasonally, you may want to use a Retreat Guide at home or with a closer group of friends. For Advent or Lent, you could select one Retreat Guide a week, watch one video each night, and discuss it as a family.

These are just some suggestions. Feel free to experiment with a format that works best for your group. With almost 60 Retreat Guides, you have a great library of retreats to pick from. 

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!