“Tell me what’s on your heart today,” the older woman says gently.Ī common element of many retreats is one-on-one meetings with a spiritual director. Work, classes, family, and friend commitments pack your days-but for the next hour you are on the aptly named “busy person’s retreat.” Across the room sits your spiritual director, ready to listen. If you’re looking for spiritual guidance. The retreat sessions include a talk from Fanucci and optional small-group discussion time.įor more information and upcoming retreat dates, contact or visit /events. Retreat participants receive an e-book written by Fanucci to pray with throughout Lent. People who feel like life is moving too fast can use the liturgical year as an excuse to hit the brakes.Īward-winning author Laura Kelly Fanucci shares her research and wisdom on some often overlooked biblical characters: the Myrrhbearers who cared for Jesus at the time of his death. Perhaps you felt pulled to come on retreat after your pastor posed a powerful question in a recent homily: How will you prepare for Christ’s coming? While others are busy decking the halls, you gather with fellow parishioners for the annual parish Advent retreat to ready your heart for the birth of Christ. The ancient chant fills the sanctuary on a frigid December afternoon. If you want to connect with the liturgical year. Expert teachings on the ancient monastic prayer practice of lectio divina lead into ample times for personal, silent reflection.įor more information and upcoming retreat dates, contact or visit. The School of Lectio Divina immerses participants into an intense time of meditative prayer. Paul’s Monastery in Saint Paul, Minnesota Cocooned in the stillness of a retreat, you hear the Son of God pose the same question to you. Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. As you pray, you pause over a line from the Gospel of Matthew. The stories of Jesus flash before your eyes-familiar parables and prophecies that now have the space to speak. You settle into an easy chair and flip open the Bible.
Following are profiles of 10 types of retreats to get your discernment started. We would do well to follow his lead.Ĭhristian communities offer a wide range of retreat options with various themes and formats. The Son of God made a habit of withdrawing to deserted places: at the start of his public ministry, in times of grief, as big decisions loomed. They offer the chance to step outside of a normal routine and into intentional spiritual practices such as prayer, reflection, and rest.Įven Jesus took time to retreat. Retreats gift people precious space to encounter God and to take stock of their lives. Spiritual retreats can happen anywhere from a retreat center to a parish hall to the kitchen table. It helps every now and then to press pause and get away on retreat-for a week, a day, or even an hour. Who among us does not need renewal these days? The demands of daily life challenge even the most disciplined spiritual seekers. An invitation from a local retreat center beckons to the worn and weary.
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