As a new retreat season begins at Passionist retreat centers, we once again open our doors to people seeking something that can be difficult to find in the pace of everyday life: time to become quiet, to pray, to reflect and to recognize the presence of God.
For the Passionists, retreat ministry is more than one of the many ministries we offer. It reaches back to the beginnings of our Congregation and remains an important expression of who we are.
A Tradition Rooted in Our Beginnings
In 1740, St. Paul of the Cross began gathering companions around a simple but powerful conviction: that keeping alive the memory of the Passion of Jesus could transform hearts and lives.
Those early Passionists lived together in houses known as “retreats,” places shaped by community, prayer and solitude. Before long, others were invited to spend time with them and share in the prayer and quiet these places offered.
Nearly three centuries later, that tradition continues in Passionist retreat centers around the world.
Retreat ministry gives us a particular way of living the Passionist charism. In remembering the Passion of Jesus, we remember the depth of God’s love for us. We are also drawn into greater compassion for the joys, struggles, hopes and suffering people carry in their own lives.
A Ministry of Welcome
Hospitality is at the heart of our retreat ministry.
People arrive at a retreat center for many reasons. Some are looking for a deeper relationship with God. Some are discerning an important decision or living through a time of change. Others may be carrying grief, uncertainty or weariness. Some simply know that they need to step away for a while.
Whatever brings someone through our doors, a Passionist retreat center seeks to offer a place of welcome.
Retreatants are invited to step away from the noise and demands of daily life and enter a space where there is time for prayer, reflection, silence, community and rest. It is not about escaping ordinary life. It is about creating enough space to see that life, and God’s presence within it, more clearly.
Sharing in the Joys and Sorrows of Others
The Passionist mission calls us to keep alive the memory of Christ’s Passion and to reach out with compassion to the crucified of today. Retreat ministry gives that mission a home.
At our retreat centers, we have the privilege of accompanying people through many seasons of life. We share in their joys and sorrows and offer a place where they can bring their whole lives before God.
The quiet of a retreat can create room for an encounter with God’s love, grace, compassion, healing and mercy. Sometimes that encounter brings new insight. Sometimes it brings renewed hope. Sometimes it is simply the gift of knowing that we do not carry our lives alone.
Opening Our Doors Again
As another retreat season begins, we give thanks for everyone who makes this ministry possible: Passionists, staff members, volunteers, retreat leaders, benefactors and all those who create places of prayer and hospitality for others.
Most of all, we look forward to welcoming the retreatants who will walk through our doors in the months ahead.
The reasons they come will be as varied as the people themselves. Our invitation remains the same: come away for a while. Bring the life you are living, with all its joys and sorrows. Find a place to rest, listen and pray.
And in the quiet, make room for God.
