| Typical Course Descriptions | Sabbatical Schedule | Rates & Reservations | Testimonials |
Atmosphere and Daily Rhythm:
T
he emphasis of the Contemplative Study and Retreat Sabbatical is on spirituality, specifically spirituality that is anchored in a contemplative attitude and approach towards life. The atmosphere provided by the Sonoran Desert is essential to the experience. The desert, if we allow it to serve as a metaphor for our spiritual journey, can provide unique access to God. We believe that the desert experience is an important part of what makes the Contemplative Study and Retreat Sabbatical opportunity unique.
The Retreat Sabbatical is envisioned as a program that will complement the Sonoran desert experience. Each participant will receive a private room with bath. There are no telephones or televisions in the rooms.
A common room is provided for the participants where television is available and where conversation is permitted and encouraged. The common room area is fully stocked with fruit, an assortment of drinks and snacks, and the daily paper.
The teaching and study component of the Retreat Sabbatical is offered Monday through Friday for two hours, usually in the morning. Opportunity for daily meditation, Morning Prayer, and Eucharist is provided. Participants are free to come and go as they wish and free to participate in any part of the course they may find appealing. The afternoons and the evenings are unscheduled, providing plenty of opportunity for reading, rest, and recreation.
Three meals a day are served; every effort is made to accommodate all diet requests. Multiple choices are routinely provided by the kitchen staff and for those participants requiring or preferring a vegetarian option.
The staff of the Redemptorist Renewal Center understands that Retreat Sabbatical participants are coming to the Center for a variety of reasons. An essential component in a sabbatical program is to provide a welcoming atmosphere and a sense of belonging. Our only expectation will be to serve you and to contribute to the best of our ability to your renewal of mind, body and spirit.
Top of Page
Descriptions of Typical Course Offerings
Orientation Week
Since ancient times people have gone to the desert to encounter God. The physical desert can be a metaphor for our spiritual journey and lead us into a new understanding of the nature of God. Field trips to some of the following: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park, Mount Lemmon, Mission San Xavier and other places of interest will help sabbatical participants to understand the mysteries of the physical desert. (Tran, Fruge, Carlin)
Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina is the one method of prayer fostered by all traditions of Christian spirituality. Sometimes this method is translated as "meditative reading" or as "spiritual reading". The "lectio" of Lectio Divina is a listening with the heart, as one does quite naturally and spontaneously while appreciating a sunset, or when pondering with fondness any touching human experience. One listens with the heart also when one reads slowly, with pauses and "relishes or drinks in" the words of scripture or any other special writing. By thus listening with the heart one is led automatically to reflection upon the experience, or writing, or event. (Srubas)
Desert Spirituality
In the desert, the seeds of flowers are everywhere only waiting the heavens' rain. The week will begin with the prophet Isaiah's imagery for God's grace at work everywhere. During the week participants will explore how the austerity of the desert landscapes can lead to solitude, silence, prayer and contemplation. (Mevissen & Birzer)
How Archaeology Teaches about Religiosity of Desert People
This two-day course encourages students to think about how the ways of ancient desert people teach us about living a religious life today. How did these people relate to their god or gods? How did the desert help form their spiritual or inner life and help them relate to the divine? What can we infer from evidence of religious values of the Hohokam peoples who inhabited southern Arizona that might be comparable to or remind us of who we are? The study will include real ancient artifacts to help students travel back in time mentally, to envision the lifestyle, possible beliefs and worldview of the Hohokam. It also includes a visit to the petroglyph site here at the Redemptorist Renewal Center.
Top of Page
Birthing Your Hopes and Dreams
Explore and clarify what is truly important to you in a supportive and spiritual environment. This experiential retreat offers you an opportunity to uncover your inner hopes and dreams as well as what gives you life. Once you are clear as to how the Spirit energizes you from within, you can then give shape to God's dreams for you, and take the steps necessary to manifest them in your own unique ways. (St. Pierre)
Many Ways to Pray
Prayer is essential to a good relationship with God but how we do it varies greatly from person to person. Explore many different ways to pray with Teresa Blythe, spiritual director and author of 50 Ways to Pray: Practices from Many Traditions and Times. Learn a variety of ways to pray with scripture, explore praying with icons, body movement as prayer and art as prayer. Each day will feature one or more prayer practices to learn about, practice and explore in discussion. (Blythe)
The Eastern Christian Spiritual Tradition
Within the churches of the Christian East, which includes the Eastern Orthodox and the Uniate Catholic Rites, a rich spiritual heritage has been nurtured and maintained for centuries. Grounded in the pre-monastic experience of the Egyptian desert, the spiritual tradition grew and took root from Russia to India. Geographically removed from the philosophies of the enlightenment and dualism, the Eastern Christian tradition maintains an integrated understanding of the human person in relationship to the Divine. (Kavar)
Mystical Teaching of Jesus as Found in the Gospels
"I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly" (Jn. 10:10). Participants will look at the sayings of Jesus, especially those from the Gospel of John, by reflecting on the writings of such modern mystics as:
Caryll Houselander, Henri Nouwen, Evelyn Underhill and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Discover the experience of God through everyday human interaction of life. (Korn)
Uncovering the Spiritual Through Art
The imagination is a living river that seeks an outlet into the world. One of the outlets you can discover on your spiritual journey of renewal is Art. This course will invite you to engage in an art medium that you feel drawn to. You will then use this medium to explore your own imagination and your spiritual journey. The medium will help you to relax, engage your imagination, and ultimately find a spiritual path to a higher creativity. (Coury)
Top of Page
Retreat Experience
Choose your own retreat experience during this week of sabbatical. Choices include your own private retreat; a directed retreat based on the principles of St. Ignatius of Loyola or St. Alphonsus Liguori; the 12-Step program; or a contemplative retreat experience with Father Pat Hawk. (Availability of all retreats is subject to prior scheduling of the retreat director).
Praying with Icons
Religious art has always had a place in Catholic churches and Catholic hones. Stained-glass windows, statues, paintings and holy cards have filled churches and homes with both an aesthetic beauty and a divine beauty. The same is true for icons. Icons are a visual prayer - a prayer of color, light and humility. Through the icon, the invisible becomes visible. Presenting contemporary Roman Catholic icons by Father William Hart McNichols and Br. Robert Lentz, ofm, we learn the spiritual process of "writing" an icon as well as praying before an icon. Icons also remind us of the communion of saints as we learn about the lives of the saints and how they are role models in our lives. The more we place ourselves before Christ, Mary and the saints in an icon, the more we get to know God and ourselves. Icons speak to us at the very core of our being. (Doran)
Saints and Solitude
In his book, Beauty~The Invisible Embrace, John O'Donohue, acclaimed writer and poet from the west of Ireland, reflects: "At its heart, the journey of each life is a pilgrimage through unforeseen sacred places that enlarge and enrich the soul." For many saints and mystics down the centuries, these unforeseen places of soul-enrichment were places of quiet and solitude. In this course, participants will 'go on pilgrimage' into the solitary souls of an eclectic group, ranging from St. Patrick to Japanese poet-recluse Ryokan - all of whom have something to teach us about mining the graces of solitude in a restless and fear-ridden world. (Murphy)
Taking the Sabbatical Home
A sabbatical can be a time of refreshment and renewal, different from the often frenetic pace of our everyday lives. It can be a time of new spiritual insight and decisions for change. A variety of guided meditations, exercises and journaling will help guide participants in the identification of life areas that may need change. How the learning from the sabbatical - emotional, intellectual, and spiritual can be integrated into daily life will also be explored. (Renouf)
Rates & Reservations:
Participation is limited to fifteen persons. The complete cost for the full seven weeks is $4,125.00 (or $3500 for the 6 week program). This cost includes full board and accommodation (including weekends) and all course work. A non-refundable deposit of $150.00 is requested in order to confirm your reservation. For those wishing to attend on a weekly basis, the fee is $725 per week.
For those who wish to arrive early or extend their stay, arrangements should be made at the time of registration. There is an additional cost of $50.00 per day, which includes three meals.
Application Forms:
Testimonials:
"The greatest strength of the program was the schedule and the presenters (who used adult learning techniques); their input was well balanced to answer needs and the schedule allowed for flexibility. The desert is a perfect backdrop for spiritual growth."
-Sr. Carol Karnitsky, SSCM
"A very effective process because there was lots of personal time to reflect; the length of time for the program was excellent. The bonding that occurred among the participants was a great gift for me. There were no ego issues."
-Patrick Lenon
"The perfect combination of content and solitude! We were able to engage into solitude as each of us desired and needed. Individual persons could freely choose and select what they needed on any given day. No finer place to begin my sabbatical year."
-Rev. Jim MacNew, OSFS
"The supportive elements of the sabbatical experience that I found valuable included the excellent topics and presenters, an abundance of free time, the desert climate and nearby hiking trails, the fact that our rooms were cleaned each week by housekeeping, and a great group of people."
-Sr. Rita Birzer, OP
Top of Page