New to our retreat program is the offering of mid-week preached retreats adapted to meet the individual's needs. The mid-week retreats are much like our weekend retreats though often at a more leisurely pace, providing more time for personal prayer and reflection. We have included the more popular presentations to accommodate the many requests. Come and enjoy this time of prayerful reflection in the peace and silence of our retreat center. The conferences are scheduled Monday thru Thursday, You will check in on Monday after 1:00pm and check out by 12:00 noon on Thursday.

January 14-17 (MW)
Everything You Wanted to Know About Monks but Were Afraid to Ask
(Frs. James & Tom Francis, Brs. Michael & Elias)
A weekend in which we invite you to ask the monks about their lives: What brought you here?  What do you do?  Why the cloister?  What is the most difficult part of being a monk? What is the joy?  Why do you stay?  Monks will share with you what it means to live, work and pray in the Cistercian tradition. The weekend will include a generous display of photographs taken here at the Monastery, with commentary by the monks. We look forward to your questions.

February 4-7 (MW)
Praying with the Scriptures
(Frs.Tom Francis & Gerard, Br. Michael)
The practice of Lectio Divina, meaning divine reading, is a form of prayer in which one ponders sacred scriptures as a means of seeking communion with Christ. This retreat will discuss the steps of Lectio Divina and how we can practice this form of prayer in everyday life as a tool to deepen our relationship with Christ.

March 24 – 27 (MW)
Vocation Discernment
(Br. Michael)
Open to single Catholic men, ages 18 - 49. For some people an experience such as a Vocational Discernment Retreat comes at a point in their life when they have begun to feel — or have felt for some time — an inner pull toward a religious life, or perhaps the monastic way. This can prove to be a trying and confusing time in which it is hard to discern the basic direction in their lives. Vocational Discernment Retreats provide a prayerful atmosphere of silence, beauty, and peace in which men come together with others to listen to God and their own hearts. We offer these retreats free of charge as a way of helping men to discern more clearly what they want and what God wants for them.

March 31 – April 3 (MW)
Yoga for Christians
(Jeanette Meyer)
Moving into Stillness & Contemplative Prayer during Mid-life and Beyond.Quieting the mind using yoga postures, the breath and silent prayer.  Listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit within the deep recesses of one's being. For those new to Yoga or the experienced practitioner wishing to further explore the fundamentals, this retreat will provide an understanding of the different practices & their context.

May 5-8 (MW)
Spirituality of Imperfection
(Abbot Francis Michael & Br. Michael)
The spirituality of imperfection speaks to those who seek meaning in the absurd, peace within the chaos, light within the darkness, joy within the suffering—without denying the reality and even the necessity of absurdity, chaos, darkness and suffering. This is not spirituality for the saints or the gods, but for people who suffer from what the philosopher-psychologist William James called “torn-to-pieces-hood.” We have all known that experience. To be human is to feel at times divided, fractured, and pulled in a dozen directions ... and to yearn for serenity, for some healing of our “torn-to-pieces-hood.”

June 9-12 (MW)
Contemplative Prayer
(Frs.Tom Francis & Gerard, Br. Michael)
See April 4-6 for description.

July 14-17 (MW)
Praying with the Scriptures
(Frs.Tom Francis & Gerard, Br. Michael)
See February 4-7 for description

July 28-31 (MW)
Yoga for Christians
(Jeanette Meyer)
See March 31- April 3 for description

August 11-14 (MW)
Stewardship of God’s Creation
(Dom Francis Michael, Fr. Gerard)
Creation is God’s gift to us. We are called as Christians to care for this precious gift. We must not leave care of the environment to others. As we are called to care for the life of all people from the womb until natural death, we are called to also cherish the gift of our planet earth with its soil, water, plants and animals all knit together in the Web of life. We do not see care of creation as opposed to care for all human life, but rather, care for humans demands that we care for our home, the earth. To love God is to love all His good gifts. Please bring hiking shoes for walks in nature in our forests and Wetlands.

September 8-11
Joyful Challenges of Life after 50
(Frs. Anthony, James, Tom Francis & Br. Mark)
The autumn of years is the time when the greatest riches of life can unfold. Suggestions on how to nourish our inner lives, and stir our souls through challenges that make the most of this stage of life. The spiritual practices of praying, nurturing, to center and ground our lives, enabling the Spirit to speak through silence and solitude.

September 22-25 (MW)
Merton & Prayer
(Fr. James & Victor Kramer)
This retreat draws on Merton’s systematic writing about prayer as well as in his journals. The development of his concerns about prayer moves from a predictable certainty about its importance to a sense of mission in relation to the needs of all persons for the contemplative. Merton demonstrates that prayer (including the Psalms) and quiet meditation strengthen the vocation of all Christians as they become more aware of their brothers and sisters in Christ, in the Church, and within the wider culture.

October 20-23 (MW)
Beginning to Pray
(Frs. Anthony & Gerard)
What is prayer? This retreat focuses on kinds of prayer according to the different traditions: Carmelite, Ignatian, and Monastic. Contemplative Prayer and the different modes of attaining it will also be discussed as not everyone is called to Centering Prayer of the Heart.

November 17-20 (MW)
Spirituality of Thank-Fullness
(Frs. Tom Francis, Gerard, Anthony)
Practicing the spirituality of thankfulness strengthens our faith as we remember the evidence of God’s presence in our lives. Thankfulness encourages others, giving them strength and joy for their journey.

December 1-4 (MW)
Christmas Stories
(Fr. James & Br. Mark)
Fr. James and Br. Mark will share some of their Christmas stories and memories. We will also invite those of you who would like to share your stories with us to do so.

 “We are an ecumenical retreat house welcoming people of all faiths. We are here to share our faith and be open to the faith of others. We are however, careful to not teach anything contrary to the authentic Magisterium of the Catholic Church.”

Schedule Subject to Change.

If you have further questions please call 770-760-0959
10:10 AM to 12 Noon and 2:10 PM- 4 on Monday - Saturday
e-mail us at retreat@trappist.net

The Archbishop has these requirements of priest presenters: In addition to faculties, a priest who comes here to give a retreat to persons outside our community, needs a letter stating that he is in good standing in his own diocese and his teaching in accord with the authentic Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. He needs to have a background check and fill out other paper work from the Archdiocese.

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