From the "Valley of the Sun"

Many religious orders and institutes of consecrated life preserve their group’s “birthplace” as a precious relic of their history. Such physical mementos of the history and spirit of their groups help them not only to recall but to continually renew the original charism of the early members. This is true of the property that Miles Jesu has in south Phoenix on Baseline Road. Purchased by the Community in 1973, it was home to our Father Founder and the now Servant of God Paul Murphy, along with other early members like Don Murphy, Fr. Romeo Salcido, Fr. Thomas Cahill, and Fr. Paul Vota. Our Baseline property can be considered the “cradle” from which the young Miles Jesu grew. It was there that the community began to be formed and modeled into the Institute of Consecrated Life that it is today.

Invigorated by the spirituality of the Cursillo Movement (many early Miles Jesu members and benefactors were among those responsible for the phenomenal growth of the Cursillos in the Diocese of Phoenix), the Baseline community incorporated the spirit of the Cursillo into the life of Miles Jesu. The Cursillo is an intense three-day retreat, a call to conversion through active participation in the sacramental life of the Church. The follow-up of the Cursillo, called “The Fourth Day,” is a plan of life designed to ensure that the fruits of the retreat will have an ongoing effect. It put a strong emphasis on frequent Confession, daily participation at Holy Mass, and weekly Adoration of the Holy Eucharist. These practices along with the “group reunion” (a weekly get-together for people to encourage each other in the spiritual practices they have undertaken) became the main vehicles of on-going formation for the Cursillistas (Cursillo “graduates”), and were embraced by Miles Jesu for the formation of its members and thus also for all the lay faithful who come to us for formation.

The Baseline community was the first of many Miles Jesu foundations worldwide to offer this dynamic and profound spiritual formation for the laity. It’s the basic Gospel message: first, a call to repentance and conversion of life, which then allows a person to listen attentively to the teachings of Christ and His Church, which in turn makes possible a personal response to Christ’s invitation to “come follow Me” (according to the unique calling He has given to that particular person).

This simple program of spiritual formation continues to bear fruit at the Miles Jesu Baseline Center in Phoenix. Retreats of all kinds—the Cursillo, Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, Challenge retreats for teens, Jesus Encounters, the Vocation Orientation Seminar and Days of Recollection—are continually offered to promote that call to conversion, to give people the chance to hear the words and call of Jesus Christ. Paul Murphy used to start off Days of Recollection that the Baseline community offered in his day with the idea that “what we do here today will not make the local newspaper, but will help us to make headlines in heaven because of the joy over one repentant sinner.”

Along with retreats, the priests of the Baseline Community are faithful to the Miles Jesu charism of making themselves available to hear confessions for many hours of the day. Since 2002, this apostolate has been greatly enhanced with the construction of a specialized confessional going beyond the conventional “box” style confessional. It is a small room with completely separated compartments for penitent on one side and priest on the other. It has plenty of big windows for light and is totally sound-proof. It is more spacious both for the penitent (allowing mothers to bring along their small children or infants, for example) and for the confessor to have room for a desk and shelves so he can work and study while waiting for the next “customer.” Faithful to the mind of the Church, it offers the penitent the option of confessing face to face or anonymously behind a screen.

The priests at Baseline are available for confession at least 12 hours a day and sometimes more for the early birds or latecomers. In other words, if a priest is here, he will hear confession whenever a person comes, unless he and the community are so sound asleep they don’t hear the doorbell ring! The saying, “build it and they will come” is proven true again by the hundreds of folks who come here for confession every month.

Our priests are formed not only to make greatly available “the treasures of the infinite Mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” but also to offer practical and consoling advice to the penitents. As a result, many people come back asking for spiritual direction. Several diocesan priests have become regulars to the Baseline Center, finding easy access and a friendly ear in our confessional.

The daily and especially Sunday Masses of the Community also offer an edifying and reverent celebration of the most important means of contact with our loving Savior. The homilies are intended to be practical applications of the Gospel message to the daily life of the laity. These homilies often turn into formation classes that can sometimes last as long as a typical college class, but are kept lively with lots of pertinent jokes and anecdotes to reinforce the lesson.

The Center at Baseline is also recognized officially as a bi-ritual community. In addition to the Latin rite liturgy, we also celebrate the beautiful Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (the Byzantine Catholic rite Mass). Variety is the spice of life, and offering this rich Eastern Catholic rite gives the predominantly Latin rite Catholics who frequent our Center the opportunity to “breathe fully with both lungs” the full patrimony of the Catholic Church, an idea that the Servant of God John Paul II greatly encouraged throughout his pontificate.

Eucharistic Adoration at the Miles Jesu Center puts the finishing touches to the available formation by giving the faithful the opportunity to learn directly from the Divine Master Himself, Who’s hidden in the Blessed Sacrament and waiting to strengthen, console and form all those who come to Him.

The Formation Center in Phoenix, the cradle from which Miles Jesu has spread to the whole world, continues to nurture the spiritual life of Miles Jesu members and many more of the faithful living in the Phoenix “Valley of the Sun.”

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