“The Portiuncula Center for Prayer nestled in St. Francis Woods and rooted in the Franciscan tradition, is a sacred space of welcome for those seeking peace of mind, body, and spirit.” Mission Statement
Dear Friends,
Please contact us to schedule a retreat, massage, hermitage, or spiritual direction. We are open for groups up to 25 for day and overnight retreats. Call 815.464.3880, email info@portforprayer.org, or use this site for online scheduling. Our grounds are open if you choose to come by and walk the paths or labyrinth. Finding the peaceful center in the storm is a challenge we all face. Let us know if we can help. Take care, Mary Lou Nugent
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Listen… are you breathing just a little, and calling it life?”
~Mary Oliver