Dear Saints,

In the next few weeks our parish will run both women’s and men’s retreats. Contrary to the common understanding of the word, a retreat is not an escape or a surrender. Rather, it’s a deliberate return to First Things.

A retreat creates space for a silence and a deeper attentiveness to the still, small voice that never stops speaking to us. In a culture filled with noise and distraction, it allows us to be re-collected, re-ordered, and re-created.

Of course that renewal is not just an end in and of itself, but also a launch pad to undertake one’s mission with even greater zest. Because a retreat invites a more intentional encounter with grace, it generally means new freedom from disordered attachments and for God’s own plans and purposes. The retreatant can return to life’s many roles and responsibilities with greater charity, clarity, courage, and joy.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ