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Skip to calendar of Weekend Retreats.
If you're interested in participating in a spiritual journey but only have weekends available, these retreats are for you. Our Preached Retreat program provides a rich variety of spiritual presentations for men and women. In these preached retreats there is a leader or presenters who offer conferences each day, leads discussions and is available for private counseling. A retreat might be designed around a theme of Scripture, contemplative prayer, the spiritual life, or some spiritual writing that seems suited to the needs of the individuals involved.
These individual and group retreat experiences inspired by the Cistercian Spirituality offer retreatants time to simply be with God in love and listen to him speak personally through the Scriptures. On this weekend journey, in an atmosphere of silence, you will have solitary time for prayer, journaling, discerning, and quiet meditation in nature by our lakes, on our lawns, and on our peaceful walking trails.
The programs develop the rich traditions of Catholic spirituality. They offer sacred moments in time where God transforms lives. Some retreats provide a quiet and contemplative atmosphere conducive to prayer and reflection while others offer opportunities for sharing and mutual support.
During a special Preached Retreat, the presenter gives a presentation in the morning, followed by suggested readings to be used during the retreatant's personal prayer throughout the day. The day also offers an opportunity to share in the Eucharist, and invites you to spend your day, including meals, in prayerful silence.
Please note that there is limited space for these popular weekend retreats. Due to the presenters and well-liked themes we have scheduled, the retreats will fill to capacity very quickly! Your space is reserved when you make your deposit.
JANUARY 2008
January 4-6
Good Grief—Moving from Loss to New Beginnings
(Frs. Gerard, Tom Francis, Anthony & Br. Mark)
Grief can help us to move from the pain of loss into new hope. One door is closed and the window of fresh air blows into our lives. We can get stuck in the mud of endless tears or look up to God waiting to draw us up on eagle’s wings. We can pretend there is no pain in our loss, letting it mysteriously rob our energy, hope, and love or we can wake up to its pain into new and fresh horizons. God is waiting to be gracious to each of us.
January 25-27
Image, Faith, & Photography
(Fr. James & John Spink)
“Humanity is made in the image and likeness of God”. Photography at its best can bring to view beautiful images that provoke a powerful sense of God’s presence in our world. John Spink, a well known photographer whose work graces the pages of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, will share his insights and images. Father James Behrens will lead the retreat and will share his photographs and comments on faith and the photographic imagination.
FEBRUARY 2008
MARCH 2008
March 14-16
Palm Sunday Meeting Jesus During Holy Week: Alienation, Reconciliation and Transformation
(Frs. Tom Francis and James)
In the Passion Narratives of the Gospels we met three facets of Jesus: Jesus who plumbs the depths of human pain and alienation, Jesus who reaches out to others in concern and forgiveness even on the road to Calvary, and Jesus who freely lays down His life and embraces death as victory. Contemplating these facets assures us that God is listening even in our darkest hours of pain, failure, and alienation; that we can find God in suffering when we open ourselves to His reconciling compassion and forgiveness; and that even the worst evil and distortion in our world have no power over Jesus and those to whom He gives Life.
March 20-23
Sacred Triduum and Easter Sunday
(Frs. Gerard, Anthony & Tom Francis)
This retreat will help you to enter deeply into the powerful events that are the very foundation of our Christian lives. On Holy Thursday, we celebrate the gifts of the Eucharist and loving service to one another in the washing of the feet. On Good Friday, we walk with Jesus in his Passion and death. On Holy Saturday, we spend time with Jesus in the silence of the tomb in preparation for the joy of the Resurrection on Easter.
March 28-30
Risen Lord, Be Known to Us!
(Martha Gross, MTS, CSD)
Even Christians who observe Lent often fail to appropriate the graces God lavishes upon the Church during Eastertide. We will explore the Easter appearance narratives as opportunities for prayerful reflection. Contemplating these narratives enables us to recognize and respond to the Risen Lord as He reveals Himself today to His Beloved. With hearts prepared through 40 days of Lent, we open ourselves to be initiated by the Risen One into the Living Mystery of Trinitarian Life throughout the 50 days of Eastertide.
APRIL 2008
April 4-6
Contemplative Prayer
(Frs.Tom Francis & Gerard, Br. Michael)
Prayer is a loving exchange with Christ. When we learn to receive the gift of God’s presence through loving silence, we are able to develop our personal relationship with Him. One way to receive this gift is Centering Prayer, traditionally known as Contemplative Prayer. This type of prayer is a Christ-centered practice which enables us to rest in God, leading to a more intimate relationship with Him.
April 25-27
Retreat for Peace
(Joe Giarrusso,
M.P.S., J.D)
“I leave you peace, my peace I give you.” Peace is Jesus’ gift to all of us. This retreat will reflect on this gift in our lives: peace in one’s heart, with one’s family, the community and indeed with the world. By using the peace prayer of St. Francis we will pray for peace so that the spirit of the risen Christ can open our eyes, calm our fears, open our hearts and still the waters of turmoil and dissension. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
MAY 2008
May 2-4
Meditation with Abbess Hildegard of Bingen (1098 -1179)
Dr. Dewey Weiss Kramer
God called Hildegard, German Benedictine Abbess and Visionary of the twelfth century, to reclaim for her day the Good News of God's vibrant love for all of Creation. Her insights are equally relevant for us today. The weekend uses Hildegard's own writings, visionary art, and music to draw retreatants into closer relationship with the Trinitarian God who continually seeks us.
May 9-11
Science and Religion
(Dr. Fred Silva MD, PhD)
This retreat will explore the relationship between science and religion. Topics to be discussed include: 1.) an introduction into the Interactions of Western Theology and Science, 2.) Cosmology: God, Genesis, and Hubble, 3.) Darwin and God: Evolution and Religion, 4.) Genetics, Ethics and Eve, 5.) Open Forum on the Relationship(s) of Religion and Science.
May 16-18
12 Step Spirituality for Everyone
(Br. Michael)
This retreat will show how everyone can use the Twelve Steps of AA (recovering alcoholics) in their spiritual lives. The retreat will provide practical ways to use the Twelve Steps as spiritual “tools” on our journey to God.
May 23-25
Writing – Journal Keeping
(Fr. James)
Explore your personal connection between the inner life and the written word. This weekend includes time for silence, for journaling, and for reflections on the relationship between writing and the spiritual life. Suitable for professional and amateur writers at all skill levels, this weekend does not include personal criticism or feedback. Instead, it simply creates a space where you can write, you can pray, and perhaps even combine the two into a unified spiritual practice.
May 30- June 1
Stewardship of God’s Creation
(Dom Francis Michael, Fr. Gerard)
Creation is God’s gift to us. We are called as Christians to care for this precious gift. We must not leave care of the environment to others. As we are called to care for the life of all people from the womb until natural death, we are called to also cherish the gift of our planet earth with its soil, water, plants and animals all knit together in the Web of life. We do not see care of creation as opposed to care for all human life, but rather, care for humans demands that we care for our home, the earth. To love God is to love all His good gifts. Please bring hiking shoes for walks in nature in our forests and Wetlands.
JUNE 2008
June 20-22
Vocation Discernment
(Br. Michael)
Open to single Catholic men, ages 18-49. For some people an experience such as a Vocational Discernment Retreat comes at a point in their life when they have begun to feel — or have felt for some time — an inner pull toward a religious life, or perhaps the monastic way. This can prove to be a trying and confusing time in which it is hard to discern the basic direction in their lives. Vocational Discernment Retreats provide a prayerful atmosphere of silence, beauty, and peace in which men come together with others to listen to God and their own hearts. We offer these retreats free of charge as a way of helping men to discern more clearly what they want and what God wants for them.
June 27-29
Listening to God
(Frs. Anthony & Gerard)
This retreat focuses on learning to listen to God with the ears of our heart. We will learn to how to listen to God speak to us through the Scriptures, how to listen in the monastic tradition (Rule of Benedict), how to listen to Conscience, the Silence of God and finally how to listen to the hearts of our brothers and sisters. Please bring a notebook for journaling
JULY 2008
July 11-13
Spanish Retreat
(Fr. Roberto Orellana)
Los retiros espirituales son importantes porque nos hacen caer en cuenta a través de la oración, meditación y reconciliación, que el hombre es creado para alabar, reverenciar y servir a Dios y de esa manera salvar su alma. Este retiro será una oportunidad para tener un encuentro personal e intimo con Dios nuestra Seńor, lo cual se logra venciendose a si mismo y ordenando nuestras vidas de acuerdo al motivo para el cual fuimos creados.
July 18-20
Matrimonial Spirituality
(Fr. James, Jacqueline & Ron Rychlicki)
Married and engaged couples are invited to a weekend of discovering anew the graces lavished upon us by the Lord through their sacrament. . The development of matrimonial spirituality through prayer and practical application of discovering God in and through each other in the call to holiness will be explored.
July 25-27
The Monk Within
(Br. Michael)
As we are all contemplatives, we all have a “monk within”. Come and discover "the monk within you". This retreat will focus on ways to nourish the contemplative dimension in you through prayer, silence, solitude, work and community.
AUGUST 2008
August 1-3
11th Step Retreat
(Br. Michael, Fr. Gerard, & Roberta Oster)
This retreat is open to all — not only people in 12-step recovery programs. The 11th step calls us to seek, through prayer and meditation, to improve our conscious contact with God, praying for knowledge of His will for us, and the power to carry it out. In this retreat, you will learn the ancient tools of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina. You will also be introduced to imaginative prayer as taught by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
August 8-10
The Riches of the Rosary
(Frs. Anthony, Gerard)
The Rosary, precisely because it starts with Mary’s own experience, is an exquisitely contemplative Christ-centered prayer. Without its contemplative dimension, the meaning of the Rosary is lost. As Pope Paul VI clearly pointed out, “Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul.” In this retreat, we will discover the depth of the mysteries through the eyes of the Cistercian Fathers and Pope John Paul II. In ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE, the Pope tells us, “To look upon the face of Christ, to recognize its mystery amid the daily events and the sufferings of his human life, and then to grasp the divine splendor definitively revealed in the Risen Lord, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father.”
August 15-17
St. Theresa of Lisieux
(Fr. Jacques)
This retreat focuses on living the truth of the Gospel according to the spiritual teachings of St. Therese of Lisieux – Doctor of the Church. An emphasis will be placed on spiritual friendship and spiritual direction. It would be helpful to purchase the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux – Story of a Soul.
August 22-24
Divine Mercy (Chaplet) Retreat
(Frs. Anthony, Gerard & Br. Mark)
God has revealed to us His boundless merciful love in His Son Jesus. His heart was broken with love as He wept over a Jerusalem that would later refuse His love, nailing Him to a cross. But that cross brings us hope today. The message has rung throughout the centuries, yet we have often become deaf to His merciful love. This retreat will focus on how we can receive the healing love poured out from the radiant heart of our Lord once we learn to put our trust in Him.
SEPTEMBER 2008
September 5-7
Cistercian Spirituality Retreat
(Fr. Anthony)
This retreat will explore how the Charisms, such as patience, humility, Liturgy of the Hours, lectio, silence and solitude, that define the life of the monastic community can be readily translated to the lay community. Both monastic and Lay Cistercians will discuss how they live the Charisms in their everyday life.
September 19-21
Prayer and the Image of God
(Frs. James & Anthony)
Discovering and exploring our images of God and how they affect our prayer. As St. Teresa of Avila learned, discovering the images of God can profoundly affect our prayer life and ultimately our relationship with God. This retreat will explore how to discover our images of God and how our images of God affect our prayer life.
OCTOBER 2008
October 3-5
Anger, Resentment, & Forgiveness
(Abbott Francis Michael & Fr. Anthony)
Forgiveness of all is a central challenge of Jesus’ ministry. We often can get stuck in anger or resentment. History teaches us that this has led tribes and nations to marginalize, dehumanize and kill other tribes, nations, and peoples. This retreat will help us own our anger and resentment. While we have no pat answers, Christ is with us to empower us to forgive, to live forgiveness, and thus, be the leaven of love our communities, in our modern world.
October 24-26
When the Cookie Breaks
(Martha Gross, MTS, CSD)
We all encounter setbacks, failures, disappointments and times when we can see life as we have known it coming to an end. Loss of a job or career, divorce, illness or diminished health, the death of a loved one, a recently emptied nest, or a gnawing dissatisfaction with the status quo – all these place us at a threshold, in luminal space. Luminal space is an ideal place for us to recognize and respond to God’s initiative and allow Him to lead us into lives of greater purpose and meaning.
October 31 - November 2
African Christian Spirituality
(Fr. Anthony & Veronica Unegakwe)
The African Church is credited with many contributions to Christian spirituality. For example, Simon of Cyrene, an African follower and disciple carried the cross for Christ and became a leader in the Church. The African Church is also credited with the establishment of the first catechetical school and formulation of the Nicene Creed. This retreat uses personal experiences in Africa and talks on African Saints to recognize these and other unique gifts the African Church has given to the Christian community at large.
NOVEMBER 2008
November 14-16
Vocation Discernment
(Br. Michael)
See June 22 - 22 for description
November 21-23
Yoga for Christians
(Dayna Gelinas, & Fr. Tom Francis)
For those new to Yoga or the experienced practitioner wishing to further explore the fundamentals, this retreat will provide an understanding of the different practices & their context.
DECEMBER 2008
December 5-7
11th Step Retreat
(Br. Michael, Fr. Gerard & Roberta Oster)
See Aug 1-3 for description
December 12-14
Contemplative Prayer
(Frs. Tom Francis & Gerard & Br. Michael and Jocelyn Lyons)
See April 4-6 for description
Click here to see midweek retreats
“We are an ecumenical retreat house welcoming people of all faiths. We are here to share our faith and be open to the faith of others. We are however, careful to not teach anything contrary to the authentic Magisterium of the Catholic Church.”
The Archbishop has these requirements of priest presenters: In addition to faculties, a priest who comes here to give a retreat to persons outside our community, needs a letter stating that he is in good standing in his own diocese and his teaching in accord with the authentic Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. He needs to have a background check and fill out other paper work from the Archdiocese. |
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