RETREATS
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INTRODUCTION
Conference Retreats at Manresa last 3 or 4 days during which a retreat director will offer reflections to people as a group. The conferences or talks are about the spiritual life in general, and the retreats are for either men or women.
HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR YOURSELF?
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A RETREAT IN DAILY LIFE
Click HERE to register for this retreat or Call the Office at 248.644.4933 Ext. 0
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CONFERENCE RETREATS
Conference Retreats are a series of talks presented to a group of people by a retreat director to prepare them for individual reflection and prayer. They typically last three or four days, over a weekend or midweek. The retreats usually follow the themes of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. They are sometimes called “preached retreats” because the conferences somewhat resemble preaching, or “group retreats” because the director speaks to a number of people at the same time rather than to individuals one at a time.
Among those attending these conference retreats are often parish or family groups or members of some other association. Many return annually at about the same time each year. As a rule, however, any man may take part in any men’s retreat and any woman may take part in any women’s retreat, whether or not the person belongs to a group scheduled for any given retreat.
Besides the conferences, other offerings often available during a retreat are:
- Mass
- Healing Services
- Rosary
- Reconciliation
- Morning Prayer
- Video Presentations
- Benediction
- Faith Sharing
- Stations of the Cross
- Eucharistic Adoration
- Praying with Scripture
- Lessons in Prayer
- Click here for “Retreat Calendar”
- Click here for “Retreat List“
- Click here to download the retreat form to register by mail.
CONFERENCE RETREATS ON A SPECIAL TOPIC
Retreat directors adapt the Exercises in different ways. Sometimes the adaptation is such that we may speak of “Topical Retreats.” These are retreats that complement Ignatian spirituality, rather than explicating it, and some retreats are special in the sense that they address particular audiences, needs, times or themes. Among such retreats that are usually offered at Manresa are:
2022 Dates: Upcoming events
(2/4-2/6) Retreat for Men in Recovery. Click HERE.
(2/11-2/13) Healing Retreat for Men and Women. Click HERE .
(5/6-5/8) Mother’s Day Weekend Retreat. Click HERE.
(5/20-5/22) Christian Meditation for Men and Women. Click HERE.
(5/27-5/29) Retreat for Women in Recovery. Click HERE.
(6/10-6/12) Retreat for Al-Anon for Women. Click HERE.
(7/1-7/3) Hispanic Retreat. Click HERE.
(7/29-7/31) Married Couple’s Retreat. Click HERE.
(8/5-8/7) Retreat for Men in Recovery. Click HERE.
(9/2-9/4) Christian Yoga Retreat. Click HERE.
(9/23-9/25) Healing Retreat for Men and Women. Click HERE.
(9/25-9/30) Sisters’ Six-Day Retreat. Click HERE.
(11/25-11/27) Retreat for Women in Recovery. Click HERE.
Registration: If you want to register for one of these retreats, click on the link of the date on the list and you will be presented with more information about the retreat and a “Register” button to register. Complete the form and pay the required deposit.
RETREATANT’S DAY OF REFLECTION
Many people have said that they wished there were an opportunity for a spiritual tune-up between their annual retreats. Twelve months is such a long time to go without some kind of revitalization. Manresa is now offering afternoons for those who have experienced a retreat to renew their retreat experience or to introduce a friend or family member to Manresa.
The day will include a talk or discussion, time for private prayer/devotion, Mass and a dinner to round out the evening. Our first sessions have been very well received. Here are some comments from some of the attendees:
- “I didn’t realize the beauty of Manresa. I never had a chance to see it at this time of year.”
- “I appreciated the time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.”
- “This opportunity to enjoy the serenity of Manresa has reinvigorated the promises I made while I was here last spring. Thank you for the chance to touch base.”
- “It was very nice to spend the day in prayer, reconciliation and then attend Sunday Mass. I remembered my experience during my retreat here and it gave me the impetus to be more ready when I come next year.”
- “My friend invited me to come and see Manresa for myself. He was after me for many years. I am glad I took the few hours this Sunday to do this. I will be back in the spring for retreat. No wonder he loves this place. It is easy to know that God is close.”
The program starts at 2:00 PM on a Sunday and lasts until 7:00 PM. You can arrive as early as 1:30 PM. The cost for the afternoon is $35, payable upon registration.
Make plans to reserve a place for yourself, a family member and/or a friend for one of the dates shown below; spaces do fill up quickly! Allow the opportunity to meet God in the serenity. You can register today by calling the office or you can register online.
INDIVIDUALLY DIRECTED RETREATS
Individually directed retreats involve three parties, the Lord, the retreatant and a spiritual director. They are based upon the principles of St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises.
The Lord desires to draw closer to each of us in a relationship of love, and invites and inspires us to come aside to a secluded place and rest a while for that purpose (Mk 6:30-32).
The retreatant is seeking a more intimate relationship with the Lord and perhaps the Lord’s will in some particular area of life. The retreatant responds willingly under grace to God’s call. She or he sets aside the normal occupations and preoccupations of daily life and takes the time to grow quiet, to center and to listen for what the Lord will say. Retreatants need experience in prayer, the ability to enter into silence, enough self-awareness to recognize his or her inward movements and feelings, and moments of consolation and desolation in prayer. Retreatants also need enough openness and trust to share these experiences with the director.
The spiritual director is the “spiritual companion on the journey” with the retreatant . . . the journey being led by the Lord. The director listens to and encourages the retreatant in daily meetings to give voice to his or her experience in prayer and to come to a deeper understanding of that experience. Together they try to discover the movements of the Holy Spirit, to discern the direction God appears to be leading, and to choose topics for prayer that seem the most appropriate at that moment.
On a typical day, the retreatant may spend up to four prayer periods in meditation and then share the prayer experience with the director. For Roman Catholics the Eucharist is a focal point of the day. The remainder of the day is spent in other activities designed to deepen awareness of God and our relationship with God. These activities are solitary and contemplative and may include journaling, reading, listening to music, or walking and resting on Manresa’s 39-acre grounds.
The number, nature and length of periods of prayer will depend upon each retreatant’s needs and ability, as will the length of the retreat itself. Most people make retreats of five to eight days. A retreat should be a minimum of four full days because it takes some time to slow down and get into the silence.
To inquire further contact us.
To apply for a retreat of 4 to 8 days select the dates most convenient for you and register by clicking the link below. Among other considerations, acceptance of the application will depend upon the availability of rooms and an appropriate director for the time chosen.
SCHEDULING AN INDIVIDUALLY DIRECTED RETREAT
May to August Sessions
Each summer, May to August, we set certain dates aside for individually directed retreats. We invite experienced men and women, Jesuits and others, to form a team so that amid this variety of directors each retreatant may have a compatible person to walk with them through the Spiritual Exercises. The dates allow for 8-day retreats as well as retreats of shorter duration. Retreat arrival begins at 5:00 PM on the first day of the summer retreat session. Dinner is available at 6:00 PM, with the retreat itself beginning at 7:30 PM. The retreat ends at 10:00 AM on the closing date of the retreat session. Those who wish to make a retreat shorter than 8 days should stay within the respective start and end dates and times.
Click here for 2022 Summer schedule.
For summer session retreats of 4 to 8 days you may register online by clicking on one of the sessions above. Or you may download the appropriate application form HERE, fill it out, and mail it to:
Fr. Peter Fennessy at Manresa Jesuit Retreat House, 1390 Quarton Rd., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304.
Cost for Individually Directed Retreats:
– May through August (within dedicated session dates and times only): $80/day
– All other times throughout the year, based on calendar and director availability: $85/day
Summer sessions fill up quickly so we recommend that you register early.
September to April Sessions
From September to April individuals may generally choose the dates they wish for individually directed retreats (minimum 4 days required), provided staff is available and no youth retreats are in session.
For September through April retreats apply online here or download this application form, fill it out and mail it to Fr. Peter Fennessy at Manresa Jesuit Retreat House, 1390 Quarton Rd., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304.
Cost for September through April Individually Directed Retreats: $85 per day.
To inquire further about individually directed retreats call the office at (248) 644-4933 Ext. 0.
THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES
St. Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Society of Jesus, underwent a profound experience of God during his stay in the little town of Manresa in Spain in 1522. His heart’s desire was, as a lay person, to share with other lay people this same experience. As time went on he wrote a small book to assist in doing this. He called this book of directions The Spiritual Exercises. It was intended to help the person who directed another in a structured 30-day or even 10-month long program of prayer and contemplation.
All Jesuits make the full 30-day Spiritual Exercises. St. Ignatius also provided for people to make the Exercises over a 10-month period. Over the centuries the Jesuits have adapted the Exercises into shorter individually-directed retreats of 6 to 8 days, and into conference or group retreats of a few days’ duration, in which the director presents various themes of the Spiritual Exercises to a group of people, who pray on their own over the material presented. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are usually experienced in these shorter adaptations, but some people are moved by grace to give themselves to the full Spiritual Exercises in the form of the 10-month The Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life retreat or in the more intense 30-day Retreat.
Some of the major themes normally addressed in the four “weeks” or phases of the Exercises are:
Week 1
- God’s unconditional, ever-faithful love.
- Sin: our failure and the failure of the human family to respond with love to God’s love.
- God’s ever-greater love, mercy and forgiveness.
- The person and life of Christ.
- Our call to discipleship, ministry and friendship with Jesus.
- Knowing Christ more intimately, loving Him more ardently, following Him more faithfully.
- The ultimate expression of God’s love.
- The suffering and death of Jesus for us.
- The victory of Jesus over death.
- His sharing His joy with us.
- Being missioned by Jesus.
- Being empowered by His Spirit.