Weekend Liturgies

Come celebrate weekend Liturgy with us in the main chapel of Mariandale Retreat and Conference Center on Saturdays at 4:00 pm.
Beginning September. Please call in advance.

Presenters: Nancy Erts, OP; Janet Marchesani, OP  Learn more . . .

Group Spiritual Direction: Holy Listening
Do you sense the need to pray and share with others about your spiritual life? The heart of Group Spiritual is prayerful small-group sharing. Participants gather with a facilitator to focus on discerning and articulating God's presence in daily life and to engage in the process of deep listening to self, God and others. Join others who seek a greater awareness of God in all of life. Attend the orientation to discover if God is calling you to this type of spiritual direction.

Facilitator: Gaynell Cronin  Learn more . . .

Tuesday, September 21, 7:00 – 9:00 pm, Orientation for new members
Tuesday series: October 19, November 9, December 7, January 4, February 8, March 8, April 12, May 17
Choose time: 10:00 am – 12 noon; 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Friday series: October 22, November 12, December 10, January 7, February 11, March 11, Aprial 15, May 20. 10:11 am - 12:00 noon
Fee:  $130 for series of 8

[Online registration form]

Come for a Fall Weekend or Reflection Day: Tending Our Longings: A Call to Deeper Relationships
What calls us to relationship? What do we do with the deep longings that arise from the solitude of the soul? This reflection day or weekend retreat will engage us in pondering the nature of desire and its significance in forming relationships with others and God. We are invited to awaken and channel our desires into depth and meaning that opens us up to the mystery of contemplative love. These reflections will come from the Christian tradition and from insights from Jungian depth psychology.

Presenter: Brother Don Bisson, FMS Learn more . . .

Living an Evolutionary Faith
“Unlike the previous static views of the world and faith, evolution invites us to picture nature as the unfolding of a spiritual promise that has been internal to the universe from its beginning.” – John Haught This six-week study, discussion and prayer experience, based on Diarmuid O’Murchu’s book Evolutionary Faith, will invite participants to grow in understanding of the shifting world view and new cosmology, and become more attentive to encountering the Holy in on-going places of revelation. Books may be purchased upon registration for $12.

Presenter: Nancy Erts, OP Learn more . . .

Communing with Some "Shining Ones"
“We humans must move into the future as contemplatives or perish.” -- Thomas Berry Come receive and reflect on the legacy of spiritual practices we’ve inherited from renowned Christian mentors of the past. In a comfortable and informal atmosphere, we will discover what God’s Spirit has to say to each of us today through the words and actions of some ‘shining ones’: Catherine of Siena; Theresa of Avila; Meister Eckhart; Julian of Norwich and Hildegarde of Bingen.

Presenter: Nancy Erts, OP Learn more . . .

Communal Contemplation: Deepening Conversation from a Contemplative Heart, A Special Workshop from The isntitute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue
“The future is unfolding in ways we could never have dreamed. We experience a church in crisis and a world in structures and systems that have served us well in the past, no longer capable of moving us into the future. How do we make sense of it all? How do we explore critical questions of identity and meaning at such a time? What can we offer this evolving future?” - Nancy Sylvester, IHM
From the Executive Director of the well-established and highly-regarded Engaging Impasse: Circles of Contemplation Experiences, this new program has been designed to help us address these critical questions that Sr. Nancy so clearly articulates and all of us confront. Following in the Institute’s process of commitment to experiential processes within safe space, these two days will introduce key concepts of the contemplative approach and assist individuals and groups to discover a new way of addressing the complex issues of our time. Come and stay overnight (limited capacity) or come as a commuter. Early registration a must!

Presenter: Nancy Sylvester, IHM Learn more . . .

Spiritual Directors' Annual Seminar Day: A Prayer Bridge to the Divine: Jung's Active Imagination and Spiritual Direction
The unconscious forms the greater part of our personality, according to Jung, probably the 20th century’s most profound depth psychologist. A very effective way to reach out to the images born in our unconscious psychic life is through ‘active imagination.’ We may assume, as he did, that these images (from dreams, intuitions, synchronicities) are carriers of messages having to do with our own divine destinies and that they are some of the most important means by which we are approached by God. It is helpful when spiritual directors are comfortable in this territory and can assist their directees to befriend the images that come up and help them to trust the concealed invitations therein. This seminar day of both presentation and practical application will aid directors in exploring, playing, and working with active imagination as a legitimate type of spiritual practice or method of prayer and will help directors to work with directees in dialoguing with the riches of the unconscious that seek to become conscious.

Presenter: Jean Hess Green, Ph.D., DAPA Learn more . . .

Advent Taize Prayer
Come join us in an Ecumenical Evening Prayer service modeled upon those designed by the interdenominational Christian community of Taize, France. These sacred candlelight services include beautiful seasonal chants and songs, reading of a psalm and Gospel passage followed by a generous time of silence for personal reflection, prayer of intercession for global needs and closing prayer around the cross.

Presiders: Nancy Erts, OP; Linda Rivers, OP Learn more . . .

An Advent Day of Prayer and Reflection: Hope in a Time of Darkness
As a new liturgical year begins, letting go of the past with all its hurt and disappointment is the first task of every pilgrim. Like Mary finding Jesus in the temple, our task is simple: whether we have lost a job, a home, a spouse, a friend or a church, we must acknowledge and accept the loss in the present if we want to have hope in the future. Through prayer, music, reflection, story, art and ritual, this Advent Day will challenge us to reenter the great journey of faith as a people of hope.

Presenters: Gaynell Cronin; Jack Rathschmidt, OFM, Cap Learn more . . .

Come for an Advent Weekend Retreat or Reflection Day
Advent prepares us to celebrate God’s incarnation and self emptying love in an embodied life. This reflection day and retreat weekend will challenge us to deepen our Christian awareness of living fully in our bodies: the sacred dimensions of transformation in aging, acknowledging and living with our limits, and what it means to imitate Christ.

Presenters: Brother Don Bisson, FMS Learn more . . .

Directors: Gaynell Cronin; Rose Marie Harkins, OP; Beth McCormick, OP; Judy SchiavoLearn more . . .

Burrowing Deep Mini Retreat
If you cannot come for the whole Burrowing Deep retreat (described above), come for a weekend. The same gentle quiet, prayer and meetings with a spiritual director will be waiting for you.

Directors: Gaynell Cronin; Rose Marie Harkins, OP; Beth McCormick, OP; Judy Schiavo Learn more . . .