Sisters of Bon Secours: Pray With Us/Retreats

Retreats nourish the soul

The Sisters of Bon Secours are dedicated to those seeking a more fulfilling spiritual relationship with God, and offer many opportunities to allow time and gentle space for quiet spiritual reflection at the Bon Secours Spiritual Center or where you are at this moment with the retreats in this section.

Taking time away from the rest of the world is difficult with the demands of our life, yet there is nothing to replace the experience of being in a place where you can ask the questions that puzzle or trouble you, contemplate the answers, engage in growth-filled spiritual exercises, and listen to what God is saying to you. To simply rest here in the arms of God is sure to convince you that you'll want to return.

There are many kinds of retreats. Those that are held in retreat centers such as ours, or at times when you are gathered with your friends in spiritual reflection, and there are those you can experience by yourself. All retreats share a common thread in that you enter into the "inner room" and listen for God's Voice. Read further to contemplate the ways of experiencing God in a contemplative time.

Journey to the Center (10 Minute Retreat)

Breathe in stillness…breathe out busy-ness.
Begin by taking deep breaths and slowly exhaling three times; each time filling your being with stillness and breathing out the busyness around and within you.

Desired Grace: I ask for my heart to be open to hear God's desire for me, and to trust that God will speak within me. "Oh that today you would listen to His voice" – Psalm 95:7

Reflection: Our society seems to reinforce a busyness that keeps us from seeking the Center of our life. God is the Center and to know who I truly am I must in freedom enter into the quiet to find the Center. "Seek the Lord while he is to be found, call on Him while he is near." Is.55:6.

Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk, in his book Intimacy with God, says," We consent to God's presence… and gently establish an attitude of waiting upon the Lord with loving attentiveness."

I can close the door on the busy world by shutting my eyes. I can ignore the cell phone, computer screen, palm pilot, MP3, beeper, noise and whatever else demands my attention. I retreat into the stillness by letting go of the flow of thoughts and feelings and allowing my heart to open to God.

As thoughts and feelings invade my being, I mentally repeat a word like 'God,' 'love,' 'Jesus,' or 'peace' to still the thoughts and feelings; returning gently to the presence of God.

Reflection questions:
- Do I find myself able to enter into the quiet and to find God, or do I need to be free of fears or that which keeps my heart hardened? (Or is the window of my heart closed?)
- Where do I find God?
- What allows me to experience God's love for me?
Thanksgiving:
I give thanks to God for these moments with Him and allow that which touched me to carry me into the rest of the day. I may choose a mantra ("All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."– Julian of Norwich) or recall throughout the day the presence of God, this experience of being God centered.

Visual prayer reflections

www.interviewwithgod.com

For more information about the wide range of retreats the Sisters of Bon Secours offer at our spiritual center in Marriottsville, Maryland. Visit other sections of this web site by clicking below.

BON SECOURS RETREAT CENTER

VOCATION RETREAT offerings

View calendars of upcoming Bon Secours community events or the Roman Catholic Church calendar.

OUR PRAYER LIFE • YOUR PRAYER CORNER • DAILY REFLECTIONS
PRAYER REQUESTS • RETREATS