Fr. Gerald Murray, JCD, ChM, known to many from his appearances on EWTN’s “Papal Posse,” was the keynote speaker and retreat master at the Michigan Area’s annual retreat and First Saturday on April 6.

Nearly 70 Knights, Dames, Associates, family and friends gathered at the Blessed Solanus Casey Center in Detroit for the retreat. The retreat theme was “Holiness in the Church – Our Christian Devotion.”

Fr. Murray, canon lawyer and pastor of Holy Family Church in Manhattan’s Turtle Bay neighborhood, discussed Robert Cardinal Sarah’s 2015 book, God or Nothing, in which the Cardinal spoke out against the “heresy of activism” and warned about “rebellion against the teaching of Jesus and of the Magisterium.” Cardinal Sarah encouraged the faithful to be conveyers of God’s word, rather than interpreters who twist the word of God to their own ends.

Interspersed with Fr. Murray’s reflections were periods for prayer, including the recitation of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Fr. Murray celebrated Mass and was available, along with several Capuchin Franciscan Friars, for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

The retreat concluded with a no-holds-barred Q&A session with Fr. Murray about the state of the Church throughout the world and recent controversies in the Vatican.

Jesus “flipped the script” by humbling Himself for our sins, Fr. Murray reminded the retreatants; he encouraged them to center their lives on sanctification, the journey to heaven to be with the Father.

The Michigan Area observes the First Saturday devotion each month, including Mass, recitation of the Rosary, and opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Area’s next First Saturday is set for May 4 at Old St. Patrick’s in Ann Arbor.

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