Guided Retreats: an inner experience

Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.
Mark 6:31

Throughout the history of the Church Christians have retreated from the world to spend extended time alone listening to the voice and call of God. In a world of noise, fragmentation and hurry the spiritual discipline of retreat offers a wonderful way to attend to the presence of God and His transforming activity in our lives.

Guided retreats are for those who long to:
• Go deeper with God
• Cultivate an awareness of God’s presence in their lives
• Change and be transformed
• Listen and attend to Scripture
• Break free of addictions to activity and busyness
• Get away with Jesus and find rest for their soul

Listen to the hunger in your heart. Then quietly reflect on and choose from the following guided retreats:

1. Opening to God's Transforming Spirit
This retreat is an act of hospitality towards the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Time is devoted to attending to the voice and call of God’s Divine Spirit. Explore how the Holy Spirit partners with you for long term lasting change.

2. Coming Home to the Arms of God
Leaving home is often tied to certain circumstances and historical moments. But leaving home is a metaphor for much of our journey. This retreat invites you to come home to your Creator while you explore the parable of the “Father’s Love.”

3. Encounter with the Good Shepherd
Bask in the presence of Jesus and cultivate an ear that recognizes His voice. Listen to the “I AM” statements of Jesus: I am the bread of life, I am the Light of the world, I am the Vine and I am the Good Shepherd. Discover how near Jesus is.

4. Cultivating the Soul
The seasons of a garden, the deliberate attentiveness of a gardener, the soil that yields to plow: all these images correspond to the life of faith. Attend to the life that God longs to cultivate in the soil of your heart.


Guided retreats can be taken alone, with one other person, or in a small group. Materials for guided retreats are available through the Spiritual Formation Office of Christ Church for $10. Information for retreat sites is also available.

For more information, please contact Adele Calhoun at (630) 321-3921 or by e-mail at acalhoun@cc-ob.org