Lectio Divina, the ancient Christian art of praying the scriptures, is a way of allowing the Bible, the Word of God, to become a means of union with God: in other words, through lectio divina, the reading of sacred scripture becomes the gateway to contemplative prayer. In this workshop, ancient and modern approaches to the […]

¿Qué debo hacer? Es la pregunta clásica que nos hacemos la mayor parte del tiempo especialmente aquellos que anhelan tener una intimidad con Dios y no se sienten satisfechos. Hay momentos donde el ser humano experimenta una "añoranza santa" y al mismo tiempo desean llenar sus vacíos emocionales y espirituales, pero no saben cómo. ¿Cómo […]

Benedictine spirituality. The focus of the retreat is the Rule of St. Benedict and the liturgy of Pentecost. Presenters: Monks of Valyermo

This retreat will provide an opportunity to appreciate the Wisdom Christology that John of the Cross employs in all of his writings. Special attention will be paid to John's process of spiritual development, especially in the Spiritual Canticle, and the key role that Sophia plays for him. Retreatants will have an opportunity to pray with […]

Cinema Divina uses the form of Lectio Divina with film. It is a time of prayer, reflection, and conversation to dive deeper into story and recognize our call. This unique experience takes the participants on a journey through film as we reflect together on our common human experience and the ability to live a virtuous life.  Film to be announced. Presenter: Sister […]

Our modern culture places a high value on non-fiction, deeming it to be the “reality,” while largely minimizing or dismissing the rich source of meaning that can be found in fiction, myth, and parable.  Through a psycho-spiritual lens, we will explore how the human psyche can experience significant growth through deep interaction with certain forms […]

The early Christian community in Jerusalem (Acts 2: 42-47) prayed and shared all things in common.  St. Benedict proposed that those monks who live a community life are the strongest kind of monks, because growth in love must be concrete: involving mutual encouragement, inspiration, obedience to higher shared values, correctives to ego-centeredness, and constant reminders […]

A workshop based on the book Claiming Your Voice: Speaking Truth to Power by Norvene Vest.  Her book received honorable mention in the ‘Faithful Citizen/Religious Freedom’ category of the Catholic Media Awards this year. In her book she integrates our relation to public life in America with Benedictine spirituality for the benefit of the common […]

This intensive icon painting workshop will provide an opportunity to experience the process of icon painting. Participants will learn traditional iconographic techniques, working with egg tempera on gesso and the Byzantine four-color (tetrachrome) palette. This practical instruction will be combined with theoretical instruction in the history of iconography, iconographic composition, and the theology of icons. […]

monastery. Virtually every Benedictine monastery has a guest house to provide the disciple-monks the opportunity to ‘welcome guests as Christ Himself.’  This retreat will show that the virtue of hospitality can be seen through the larger lens of human and spiritual relatedness.  We all have implicit and explicit relationships with God, with self and with […]

"Adviento significa venida." Es el tiempo en que los cristianos nos preparamos para la venida del Señor. Se dice que el Antiguo Testamento fue el gran tiempo de espera y después de esa espera de muchos siglos, Cristo se manifestó en toda su gloria dándonos la oportunidad de una nueva vida en el Espíritu. En […]

How does a boy who gave up Christianity because of God’s failure to answer prayers for a dying mother become a best-selling Christian teacher of prayer? Come to our C. S. Lewis workshop and also feel free to join the Benedictine monks for their prayer. In morning and afternoon conferences, Dr. Ford will lead discussions of all of Lewis’s […]