Give yourself a spiritual renewal this Lenten Season! A variety of retreats and locations are available throughout the Toledo diocese. Listed below are the upcoming retreats and renewals.

Retreat & Renewal Centers

Lial Retreat Center, Whitehouse - http://www.toledosnd.org/lial_renewal.html

Do you desire to live a deeper spiritual life? Come closer to Christ in a monthly series focused on the themes of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: prayer, the principle and foundation of the spiritual journey, sinfulness, contemplation, the two standards and discernment, as well as the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Facilitators Srs. Joan Marie Recker, Mary Dean Pfahler and Anne Mary Molyet will provide materials for Scripture-based prayer between sessions.
Wednesdays from 7 – 8:30 p.m. on February 1, February 29, March 28, April 25 and May 23. Cost: $20 per session.

The Busy Person’s Retreat
Sunday, March 11 - Friday, March 16 Fee: $50
A Busy Persons’s Retreat is an opportunity to find God in daily activities, to pray with scripture, andto talk with a spiritual guide. At home participants set aside a half hour to pray each day for five days. Each participant also meets with a spiritual director at Lial Renewal Center for a half hour on these five days. The retreat begins Sunday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m. with a gathering at the Renewal Center explaining the retreat and a short prayer time together. The retreat closes with a light supper and ritual on Friday, March 16, at 6:00 p.m. Retreatants and their directors schedule convenient times to meet each day.

Taize Prayer
Sunday, March 18, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Free will offering
Taize is a small town in France where, in 1945, Brother Roger began an ecumenical religious order of men. Their mission was to pray for peace and reconciliation in the world, thus the term “Taize Prayer.” The brothers of all faiths and backgrounds gather three times a day to pray. The prayer is done by candle light and the form is simple: short sung mantras, scripture readings, petitions, the Our Father and a closing prayer. Including times of silence, the prayer lasts about 45 minutes. All faiths welcome.

Silent Guided Retreat
Mandalas Woven and Drawn
Sunday, April 8, 5:00 p.m. – Sunday, April 15, 11:00 a.m.*
Fee: $425 per person. $100 deposit due with registration.
Open to women only.
Mandalas are circular designs that are symbols for wholeness. During this retreat guided by Sr. Margaret Marszal HM, participants will create mandalas out of clothesline and yarn using a Native American weaving style.Retreatants will also create drawings using colored pencils on black paper. The designs will be used as resources for prayer. No art experience is necessary. A private room and all meals and materials are provided. Sr. Margaret Marszal HM is currently the retreat coordinator for Our Lady of the Pines Retreat Center in Fremont, Ohio.

Silent directed retreats are offered concurrently with the April guided retreat. Please call to check space and director availability.

*Saturday departure is an option

A Change of Heart:  Finding Renewed Reverence for Earth
Spring Discussion Series at 2 Locations

Overview:   
Planetarium Experience:  Our Whirling Solar System:
A Panorama of Beauty and Mystery
Sr. Rosine Sobczak, OSF,     Dr. Laura Megeath

Thursday, March 8, 2012, 4:30 -6:00 pm
Appold Planetarium, Lourdes University

Series 1       
The “Hidden Heart” of the Universe – a Cosmic Experience
Sr. Rosine Sobczak, OSF/S
Thursday, March 15, 2012
9:00 – 10:30 am  -  Lial Renewal Center, Whitehouse
4:30 – 6:00 pm  -  Evergreen Room, Rosary Care Center, Sylvania

Series 2       
Our Great Work – Humanity’s Role in the Universe Story
Facilitators:      Sr. Rosine Sobczak, OSF/S;  Sr. Roberta Doneth, OSF/T
Thursday, March 22, 2012
9:00 – 10:30 am  -  Lial Renewal Center, Whitehouse
4:30 – 6:00 pm -  Evergreen Room, Rosary Care Center, Sylvania

Series 3       
Finding Hope for the Future: A New Way Forward
Sr. Rosine Sobczak, OSF/S;  Sr. Julia Hutchison, SND

Thursday, March 29, 2012,
9:00 – 10:30 am  - Lial Renewal Center, Whitehouse
4:30 -   6:00 pm  -  Evergreen Room, Rosary Care Center, Sylvania

Cost:  Good Will Offering

Lial: Sr. Mary Dean, 419-877-0432 or mdpfahler@toledosnd.org 

Ongoing Opportunities:

Spiritual direction encourages the seeker to become more keenly aware of how God is present and at work. You may seek direction as you sense a call to something deeper, something more. You may desire a deeper relationship with God or feel the need for a companion on the journey to walk with you.Spiritual directors are available at Lial Renewal Center to listen with you to the Holy Spirit, ask reflective questions, point out resources, assist with roadblocks, and celebrate breakthroughs. These directors have received extensive training and formation in spiritual direction and come with various pastoral and educational experiences. To make an appointment or to learn more about our directors, please contact Lial Renewal Center. Suggested offering: $30 - $50 per hour

BE-Days are opportunities to take a day away to be attentive, be creative, be quiet in the open spaces at Lial Renewal Center. Pack a lunch, take a walk, bring a book, sit by the lake or the warmth of a fire, kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, write your musings or draw what you see within or around you. Let the day unfold and leave renewed. Please call ahead, and a staff member will be waiting to greet you. Suggested offering: $15

Our Lady of Pines Retreat Center, Fremont - http://www.pinesretreat.org/

Lenten Book Study: The Other Side of Chaos
Thursdays, February 23, March 1, 8; 9:00am to 10:30am
Life offers many changes that can be difficult to navigate through. This book offers reflections that can help us get through these transitions. We will be using the text: The Other Side of Chaos by Margaret Silf. You can purchase the book on line or we can order you one if you contact us by February 2, 2012.
Presenter: Sr. Margaret Marszal, HM is the Retreat Coordinator at Our Lady of the Pines Retreat Center.
Cost: $20 (includes all three sessions with refreshments--$34 with the book included—registration required)

Lent by Candlelight
Sunday, March 4; 6:00pm to 8:30pm
Come to an elegant evening in candlelight for women hosted by your neighbors and friends. We will have prayer and a presentation to enhance our Lenten Journey. This year’s topic will be “Lent: A Time to Sort Out Inner Clutter and Gain Some Clarity.” Table hostesses are needed for this event to create a table setting and bring refreshments for their table. The hostess also invites the guests for her table. If you would like to host a table call the Pines at 419-332-6522. Beverages will be served.
Presenter: Sr. Margaret Marszal, HM is the Retreat Coordinator at Our Lady of the Pines Retreat Center.
Cost: $5

Reflection with a Cup of Tea: A Cup of Hope
Tuesday, March 6; 9:00am to 10:30am
Our reflection will focus on the virtue of Hope. Many people struggle to find hope when faced with our current challenges. Holding a gentle cup of tea can open your spirit for a special time to nurture your heart and your attitude toward hope.
Presenter: Sr. Marianne Longo, RSM, former Director of Our Lady of the Pines for over twenty years, is now involved full time in the ministry of spiritual direction. Cost: $7 (registration is required)

Mental Health Retreat Day of Prayer and Reflection: Movement toward Recovery
Saturday, March 10; 10:00am to 4:00pm
The day will include sessions of creative movement designed to promote and nurture mental and physical health, wholeness, and personal fulfillment. The retreat will aid in the exploration and experience of self-discovery and self-expression—the externalization of interior emotional and psychological issues. No dance training is needed to participate. If you can move, you can dance into wholeness. This day is sponsored by Equal Access Ministries, NAMI of Seneca, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties, Our Lady of the Pines Retreat Center and the Ursuline Sisters of Brown County.

Presenters: Kathryn Mihelick and Andrea Shearer, Directors of Leaven Dance Company, a professional sacred dance ensemble. To Register, contact Marsha Rivas, Equal Access Ministries, 419-244-6711 or 800.296.8277 or mrivas@toledodiocese.org Cost: $15 (includes lunch)

Lecture and Book Signing: John Dear, SJ
Friday, March 23; 7:00pm
We are excited to have the opportunity of having Rev. John Dear, SJ at Our Lady of the Pines Retreat Center. Rev. John Dear, S.J. is a Jesuit Priest, Peace Activist, Organizer, Lecturer, Retreat leader, and author/editor of 28 books on peace and nonviolence. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. We are part of his cross-country tour promoting his new book, Lazarus, Come Forth! The evening will include a lecture, questions, and a book signing followed by refreshments.
Cost: $20 (includes a copy of the book and refreshments—registration is required). Additional books can be purchased for $15.

Prayer Evening: Lent Taizé
Monday, March 26; 7:00pm
Come to this prayer form of light, scripture, music, and quiet. We will have live musicians and fellowship with refreshments afterwards. Take this time of reflection to prepare for the Easter Season.
Cost: Free will offering

Lunch and Lecture: American Women Saints: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Frances Cabrini
Wednesday, March 28; Noon to 2:00pm
We will review the lives of these two great women who gave major contributions to Education and Health Care in the United States.
Presenter: Fran Benlein is a liturgist, musician, spiritual director, and presenter in the Diocese of Toledo.
Cost: $15 (includes lunch and lecture—registration is required)

Outdoor Stations of the Cross
Sunday, April 1; 2:00pm
As part of your Lenten practice, come to the Pines to pray the Stations, walking our outside Way of the Cross. We will conclude the prayer with conversation and refreshments.
Cost: Free will offering

St. Francis Spirituality Center, Tiffin - http://franciscanretreats.org/

Centering with Pottery and Prayer
March 16 – 17, 2012
Presenter: Jane Omlor, OSF
Sr. Jane will help you get in touch with your spirit through working clay on the wheel and flat form. No experience necessary, but also welcome.
Fri. 7:00 p.m. – Sat. 8:00 p.m.
Suggested donation $150.00
Commuter $110.00

Re-Centering Days   
Come to the Spirituality Center whenever you can get away, to quiet yourself and re-center on who you are and how you are responding to daily life.  We will provide you with space for quiet, to reflect, to converse with God. Also provided is dinner at noon and beverages throughout the day.  
Suggested Donation $20.00 
  
Evening Yoga Classes   
Tuesdays 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Drop in anytime or come weekly. No registration required.   
Suggested Donation $6.00 per class

Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania

Hermitage

Looking for a place to reflect and recharge your spiritual batteries? Need to get away from the demands of your everyday life to sort out your priorities? Want a place that will give you space for quiet reflection?

Then come to the Motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio and spend a few days or a week in peace and solitude in one of our Hermitage cabins. La Verna, named after the Italian city where St. Francis received the stigmata, and San Damiano, named after a church near Assisi, Italy, where St. Francis heard the call of God, are identical, full service log cabins built in 1998.

For more information, visit: http://www.sistersosf.org/PrayWithUs/Hermitage.aspx

Reading the Book of Hosea: The Prophet of Compassion
2/24/2012 - 2/26/2012
Rev. Eugene Hensell, OSB
Reading the Book of Hosea: The Prophet of Compassion.
$225 single, $375 double

Praying the Psalms
3/2/2012 - 3/4/2012
Rev. Harry Hagan, OSB
A consideration of praise and thanksgiving, petition and lament in the psalms along with an exploration of the images of God and Israel in order to nourish our own prayer life.
$225 single, $375 double

To Jerusalem and Beyond: The Stations of the Cross (Midweek Retreat)
3/13/2012 - 3/15/2012
Fr. Vincent Tobin, OSB
To Jerusalem and Beyond: The Stations of the Cross.
$225 single, $375 double

Searching for What’s Missing
3/16/2012 - 3/18/2012
Br. Adam Edwards, OSB
St. Benedict writes in the prologue of his Rule that God is calling for those “who yearn for life and desire to see good days.” Yearning and desiring imply an absence of something and that something can be discovered. In light of the Rule of St. Benedict and monastic practice in general, this retreat provides an interpretation of the searching that yearning and desiring inspire in us. Participants will hear some thoughts on how to live peacefully in the trying situations in which we find ourselves.
$225 single, $375 double

St. Benedict’s Way
3/30/2012 - 4/1/2012
Br. Maurus Zoeller, OSB
This retreat will focus on the Rule of St. Benedict and how it can apply to living in today’s fast-paced society. Many chapters of the holy Rule can be applied and adapted and can suggest how we may glean ideas from it that will greatly enhance our spiritual lives. This retreat should help us become better Christians and give us a greater appreciation for preparing for our heavenly home.
$225 single, $375 double

Reflections on the Triduum (Holy Week Retreat)
4/4/2012 - 4/8/2012
Very Rev. Denis Robinson, OSB
The experience of the sacred Triduum forms the background for the conferences, reflection sessions and prayer experiences. Emphasis will be given to the exploration of different Christian traditions in celebrating the Three Days. Included will be a celebration of the Divine Liturgy (Byzantine Rite) and the burial service of Good Friday evening.
$395 single; $650 double

In addition to regularly scheduled retreats, Saint Meinrad offers other opportunities:

Group Retreats: By special arrangement, groups can reserve the Guest House or School of Theology facilities for their retreats or workshops. Call for additional information and costs.

Guided Retreats: Through the Guest House, an individual can meet with a director once a day. In the Benedictine tradition, Scripture is used to prayerfully discern the workings of the Holy Spirit in one's life. The fee is $75 per day, which includes lodging, meals and taxes. A fee of $35 per conference is suggested for the first conference, and $25 for each additional conference.

Private Retreats: These self-directed, "do-it-yourself" retreats provide the opportunity to experience time alone with God in a prayerful setting. The fee for the Guest House retreat is $75 per day, which includes lodging, meals and taxes. Many previous retreats are available on videotape for viewing while on private retreat.