April 2010

Meeting Christ in Prayer

8-Week Experience of the Spiritual Exercises
If you need or desire a retreat, but simply cannot get away, please give yourself the gift of this at-home retreat that invites you to pray with Scripture each day using the format of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. We will meet for faith sharing and input on the next week’s prayer. In this retreat you will:

  • Learn to pray more deeply
  • Meet your God in a personal way
  • Grow in personal identity
  • Come to know Jesus more intimately
  • Savor the Word of God as a primary means of recognizing the presence and action of God
  • Learn God’s unique language of communication with you and discover how you respond

Dates: 8 Fridays:   April 9, 16, 23, 30 and May 7, 14, 21, 28
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Donation: Love offering

Centering Prayer Evening

We meet one Tuesday a month for 20 minutes of Lectio Divina and 40 minutes of Centering Prayer. These evenings really help to keep your Centering Prayer practice alive. There is power in the group. This is preceded by a study of the classics.
Dates: April 13
Time: 7:30 – 8:30 PM
Donation: Love offering

Personal Retreat Day

Take a day away from the busyness of your life to rest awhile in the Lord and experience God’s presence. Come to Francis House for silence, personal prayer and optional Spiritual Direction. The day begins and ends with a brief prayer together. Not a series.
Date: Wednesday: April 14
Time: 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Donation: $10; $40 with Spiritual Direction
Please bring a bag lunch.

Mid-Week Overnight Retreat

We will begin and end with prayer together. The rest of the time is for your own silence, prayer, reflection and rest. Spiritual Direction is optional.
Dates: April 14 – April 15
Time: 7:00 PM Wednesday to 4:00 PM Thursday
Donation: $65

Mid-Life Directions: Spiritual and Psychological Growth in Life’s Second Half

What Happens at a Mid-Life Workshop?

  • A time to look at mid-life as a crisis, transition and renaissance
  • A time to ask anew the ultimate question: What is the purpose of my life?
  • A time to unleash the dynamism of the second half of life
  • A time to allow my past, present and future to come together anticipating my coming integration
  • A time to learn how to relax, how to contemplate
  • A time to reflect on my deepest beliefs as they illumine my life

    • Date: April 16 – 18
    Time: Friday 7:00 PM to Sunday 1:00 PM
    Donation: $150 – Residents; $120 – Commuters. Meals and materials included for all.

    Living in God’s Friendship

    Here’s My Heart, Here’s My Hand
    It is a difficult proposition for many of us to believe that God—eternal, unchanging, all-knowing—could actually desire a relationship with us. Once we have accepted the premise that God indeed does want our friendship, it can be even more challenging to think about how to actually engage in that friendship, foster it, and remain anchored in it when life tosses us about. Father William Barry’s book, Here’s My Heart, Here’s My Hand, will follow this theme and help us to grow in intimate friendship, a friendship like no other.
    Date: Tuesday, April 20
    Time: 7:00 – 8:30 PM
    Donation: $25 includes book ($15)

    Directed Retreat Weekend

    Due to the frantic pace of contemporary life, it is essential for our spiritual and physical health to take time to pray. The Weekend Directed Retreat offers you the opportunity to experience the graced rhythm of life in which rest restores your body and God revives your soul. Liturgy, Spiritual Direction and optional Centering Prayer periods are included.
    Dates: Apr. 23 – 25
    Time: 7:00 PM Friday to 1:00 PM Sunday
    Donation: $125/ $40 non-refundable deposit with registration

    Soul Searching: Merton Series

    Merton speaks to the soul like no other. He gently leads us toward spiritual transformation and a more contemplative and peace-filled life. Merton reminds us: “Your life is shaped by the ends you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.” We will study Merton in these 3 sessions and let his pursuit of his true self in God foster our own search. Topics include:

  • Entering the School of Your Experience
  • Becoming Who You Already Are
  • Living Your Deepest Desire

    • You will receive a book each evening to lead you through your two weeks of prayer between sessions.
    Dates: 3 Wednesdays:  April 28, May 12  &  May 26
    Time: 7:00 – 8:30 PM
    Donation: $50 for the series, including books, or $20 each session. Come to as many as you can, but please come to the first one if possible. Please register early.

    The Dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises

    This weekend retreat is designed for those familiar with the Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, for spiritual directors and for those in training to become spiritual directors. We will re-visit each “Week” of the Exercises to assimilate the graces desired. We will pray with the “Hinge” meditations of Ignatius to see how they are at the heart of the matter and connect the “Weeks” with Ignatian genius. This retreat will engage head, heart and faith as we taste and savor the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises.
    Dates: April 30 – May 2
    Time: 7:00 PM Friday to 1:00 PM Sunday
    Donation: $150 Residents; $120 Commuters

    Please, always register for programs! To register by mail, send your name, address, phone number and email to: Francis House of Prayer, PO Box 392 Rancocas, NJ 08073. You may also register by calling: 609-877-0509.

    If you are registered and you cannot come, please call and let us know! Thank you.