Autumn Artists Retreat
2026-10-26 15:00 - 2026-10-30 10:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Saint Andrew’s Abbey, 31001 N. Valyermo Road, Valyermo, CA, 93563, United States
This retreat is open to artists at all levels, including beginners. Photographers, sculptors, and writers are also welcome to come and experience the colors and beauty of the high desert in the setting of the monastery. Escape the stress of daily life while deepening a spiritual vision in your art.

Presenter: GREGORY MICHAEL HERNANDEZ is a landscape-based visual artist living in Pasadena, CA. His paintings, photography and sculptures explore the religious and political dimensions of land use. Growing up in Hesperia, CA, cemented his lifelong connection to the Mojave Desert. See his work at www.gmhstudio.com

*If the event is listed as sold out, please call us at 661-944-2178 for real-time availability and a waiting list.

PRIESTS' RETREAT: Speak, Lord, your Servants are Listening
2026-11-09 15:00 - 2026-11-13 10:00
St. Benedict begins the prologue to his rule with the admonition, “Open the ear of your heart”. At this moment in our journey together as Church, we are called more than ever to listen deeply to the Spirit – the quiet whisper of our God speaking within our hearts.
The centerpiece for this retreat will be Listening Together: Meditations on Synodality by Timothy Radcliffe, O.P.
*(Priest ONLY Retreat)

Presenter: FR. JOSEPH BRENNAN has been a monk of Valyermo since 1994 after having served as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for over 20 years. He is a spiritual director at the Cardinal Manning House of Prayer for priests in Los Angeles as well as St. Andrew’s Sub-Prior.

**If the event is listed as sold out, please call us at 661-944-2178 for real-time availability and a waiting list.

Thanksgiving at Valyermo
2026-11-25 03:00 - 2026-11-27 10:00
This non-directed retreat provides time to reflect on all God has given to us and to enjoy the festive celebration of Thanksgiving with the monastic community.

*If the event is listed as sold out, please call us at 661-944-2178 for real-time availability and a waiting list.

Advent Retreat
2026-11-27 15:00 - 2026-11-29 10:00
On this first weekend of Advent, we will offer a potpourri of monastic insights, enabling participants to experience the Advent season as a time rooted in scripture, history, art, music, and liturgy.

Presenters: Monks of Valyermo

*If the event is listed as sold out, please call us at 661-944-2178 for real-time availability and a waiting list.

Pilares Indispensables para que Tu MATRIMONIO Sea Una Aventura de Amor
2026-12-11 15:00 - 2026-12-13 13:30
El libro el Cantar de los Cantares en su capítulo 2 dice “Mi Amado es para mí, y yo para mi Amado”. El retiro está basado en esta premisa de que somos el uno para el otro unidos en solo corazón. El matrimonio es una alianza y no un acuerdo social. Es el lugar donde dos corazones se unen eternamente para vivir en totalidad su aventura de amor. El matrimonio constituye una comunidad de amor y lo sostienen varias columnas: la fidelidad, la confianza, la entrega del uno al otro, el perdón mutuo, y en un contexto espiritualmente sano.
Durante este retiro tendremos momentos de oración, reflexión, sanación interior y renovación de los votos matrimoniales. Te invitamos a que pases un fin de semana con tu ser amado donde ambos puedan descansar, orar y reflexionar acerca de tu matrimonio.

Presentador: CARLOS OBANDO nació en Costa Rica y vive en Los Estados Unidos desde 1966. Está casado, tiene tres hijos y tres nietos. En el año 2009 obtuvo una maestría de la Universidad de Loyola Marymount, Los Ángeles, en Teología Pastoral, es instructor en la Escuela de la Renovación Carismática en la Diócesis de Orange. Ha sido Director Espiritual por más de 25 años. Trabaja con la comunidad hispana desde 1979 en los condados de Los Ángeles y Orange en la formación de líderes y dando retiros a jóvenes, adultos y matrimonios. Actualmente coordina los Ejercicios Espirituales para los Aspirantes y sus Esposas a través de la Oficina del Diaconado, en la Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles.

*If the event is listed as sold out, please call us at 661-944-2178 for real-time availability and a waiting list.

Christmas at Valyermo
2026-12-23 15:00 - 2026-12-26 13:30
On the Solemnity of Christmas, we first contemplate the mystery of the Word becoming Flesh. The liturgical celebration at the Abbey starts with First Vespers on Christmas Eve and ends with Night Prayer on Christmas Day.

*If the event is listed as sold out, please call us at 661-944-2178 for real-time availability and a waiting list.

NEW YEAR RETREAT - All Things New: The Mystical Theology of Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman, Doctor of the Church
2026-12-30 15:00 - 2027-01-02 13:30
In this workshop, we will invite Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman, the most recent Doctor of the Church, to be our guide for the coming year. We will reflect together on his spiritual journey and his understanding of Christian theosis as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and our union with Jesus Christ. Internet links to his writings and sermons will be provided both before and during the workshop.

Presenter: LUKE DYSINGER MD, DPhil, has been a monk of Saint Andrew’s Abbey since 1980. He studied medicine at the University of Southern California and theology at the University of Oxford. He is a professor of moral theology and church history at Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo, California, and has published books and articles in the fields of bioethics, early Christian spirituality, and patristics.

*If the event is listed as sold out, please call us at 661-944-2178 for real-time availability and a waiting list.
