Saint Andrew’s Abbey

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. […]

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 parables. Through a psycho-spiritual lens, we will explore how the human psyche can experience significant growth through deep interaction with certain forms […]

  ¿Añoras unos días de tranquilidad emocional y espiritual? ¿Buscas unos momentos de silencio en tu vida? ¿Sientes la necesidad de estar a solas con el Señor a través de la meditación y contemplación? Si así lo desea tu corazón, te invitamos a nuestro retiro de silencio que se llevará a cabo en el pequeño […]

Join us as we reflect on the life and times of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a brilliant philosopher and poet, a mystic and searcher of the truth, and a Jew — a daughter of Israel.  Her encounter with the cross in the life of a Christian friend sparked an inner transformation that led to […]

  This retreat will introduce the spiritual vision of well-known medieval monks and nuns. Highlighted individuals will include the Cistercians Bernard of Clairvaux and William of St. Thierry, alongside the Benedictine Hildegaard of Bingen, the anchoress Julian of Norwich and the Augustinian Canon Thomas à Kempis. Though not all of these individuals are Benedictines, the […]

We give them, we suffer them, our bodies hold on to them for years: Wounds. We can imprison ourselves in them and wither emotionally far too long without the transforming power of forgiveness. It is Divine Love that liberates us from resentment, self-pity and isolation. The love that forgives opens a path to inner freedom, […]

    In the Benedictine tradition the Sacred Scriptures have always been at the center.  In the whole of the Bible, and especially while chanting the Book of Psalms, Benedictines daily encounter Jesus Christ in prayer.  In this workshop we will consider the history and modern use of the ancient Christian practices of lectio divina (praying the […]

       In the early Church, and especially in the Christian monastic tradition, the result of deepening relationship with Christ was often described as “blessedness” (sometimes translated as “happiness”) or even “divinization.”  In modern psychology and spirituality the term “flourishing” is often preferred.  In this workshop we will reflect on our personal salvation history […]

  The Rule of Saint Benedict asks us to go inward and to cultivate a gentle pace and slow rhythm, listening not to external sounds but to God’s presence with “the ear of our hearts.” In many ways, this is at odds with the understanding of progress that shapes American culture, and indeed the Western […]

This retreat will be inspired by many writers’ reflections on spirituality for the “second half” of life, writers including Sister Joan Chittister (The Gift of Years) and Parker Palmer (On the Brink of Everything). Creative living within the season of wisdom, greater and ongoing maturation, and positive transformation of the inner life will be some […]

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 […]