WAVERLY (SNR) - Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House will offer men and women the option of a three- or four-day Directed Spiritual Exercises over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4-7 with Father Christopher Barak and Father Gary Coulter.
The Directed Ignatian Retreat is based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who instructs the retreat director on how to lead a person to encounter God and experience his love through meditation on the scriptures.
“Sometimes we call this a silent retreat, for while all our preached weekend retreats are silent, on the Ignatian retreat there are no conferences,” said Father Coulter, director of the retreat house. “St. Ignatius provides a framework for meditation on the Gospels, allowing each person a customized retreat. Thus, the real director of the Ignatian retreat is the Holy Spirit.”
Dara Stephens of Seven Dolors Parish in Manhattan, Kan., described her experience on a four-day silent Ignatian retreat in July.
“I felt spiritually bankrupt and sought a place to refresh, recharge, and recenter.... I could not have drafted a better experience for myself and will definitely be returning!” she said.
“There are a few ‘scheduled’ things each day, such as your spiritual direction, Mass, and eating times, but otherwise the schedule of your day is left up to you to structure,” she explained. “Simple rooms minimize distraction, no technology to be found, ample open ground to be in nature, lots of little places to tuck away and pray. This place was a good, simple, healthy environment that supported the experience I so desperately needed.”
To learn more about the Ignatian way of praying with scripture, Father Christopher Barak, director of the St. John Paul II House, recommended the book “Meditation and Contemplation” by Father Timothy Gallagher.
Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House offers a sanctuary of prayer on a spacious acreage near Waverly. The facility includes 50 single rooms, each with a private bath.
The Directed Ignatian Retreat begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, and ends with Mass and lunch on the final day chosen.
Other upcoming retreats include a “Work of the Holy Angels” retreat Sept. 10-13 with Opus Sanctorum Angelorum; a men’s one-day retreat Sept. 26: “St. Joseph and Saints for Men” with Father Gary Coulter; and a Eucharistic Adoration retreat Oct. 2-4.
Learn more and register at goodcounselretreat.com, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 402-786-2705.
