On May 17, 2018, the 150th Texas Tropical Trail monthly partner event was celebrated at Lebh Shomea, the house of prayer at La Parra Ranch, in Sarita, TX.
With great excitement we toured the original Big House, a wood structure that now belongs to the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and the Blessed Sacrament; the Big House, a stucco structure which took five years to complete; and the Sacred Heart Chapel, flanked on the right and on the left by family cemeteries, the bigger of which includes a Lourdes grotto “in loving memory of John G. Kenedy, 1932” (plaque).
Still, what Steven and I enjoyed most was our Tuesday through Thursday stay at the Zechariah and Elizabeth hermitage, which included daily Mass, meals, walks, afternoon visits to the main chapel, and nature’s sights and sounds at La Parra’s Listening Heart.
Handouts
Sign at the Kenedy Ranch Museum – Sarita, TX
Links of interest… Be quiet: What do you do on a silent retreat (more)… Elizabeth & Zechariah: about / biography / elder patrons of patience & praise / Jesus’s familial line / Mary’s relatives / saints… Five ways to increase patience… How to practice contemplative meditation… If you love me you will do my will (prologue)… Interior life: How to be one through contemplative prayer… Jesus found time for solitude & prayer… Kenedy County’s celestial battle / Ranch Museum (actual site)… La Parra Ranch cemetery… Lebh Shomea: anecdote – discovering prayer – school of theology – spiritual renewal – story)… Modern-day hermits: Answering the call to solitude, prayer… Oblate La Parra Center: New focus, new direction (name change from Lebh Shomea)… Petra Kenedy: about / legacy / profile… Practice of contemplative prayer… Sarita Kenedy East (foundation)… Sarita’s secret… Solitude… Texas Tropical Trail: facebook… Why & how to make a spiritual retreat…
WP posts… Heart of hearts… Home again… Promise of hope… Quiet prayer time
Filed under: chapels, retreats, spiritual gifts | Tagged: building community, Lebh Shomea-Sarita TX, TX Tropical Trail Region |
Shared thoughts... 
Beautiful photographs! It looks like a very special place.
Yes indeed. We’re counting the days till we’re back there again. Thanks so much for dropping by!
And so much more! The joy of the Oblate seminarian from Bangladesh when we smiled at him, talked, and shared our love for our former parish priest, a missionary from India. The hooded orioles that flashed through the trees and then posed to let us admire their beauty. The panorama of stars splashed across the incredibly dark skies at night. And the constant welcome and inclusion— the love of brother that Christ enjoined us to show— from Maurice and Regina, Lebh Shomea’s caretakers. I look forward to another time there, a retreat however brief from the press of the world, to wrap myself in serenity, awe, and peace with God in one of his special places.
I can totally relate! I was there to share in all of it! We are so blessed!