Emmanuel Retreat: God With Us
An individually directed online Ignatian retreat, made at home, for individuals who are seeking to engage their imagination, intellect and emotions as they pray with Scripture passages that have Advent themes of hope, listening, patience, self-giving love and joy.
Dates: December 3 - 9, 2023
Registration Deadline: Sunday, November 19, 2023
How to prepare to make this retreat
As you ponder whether to make the retreat, we encourage you to look at your calendar and consider where, Monday through Friday, you will carve out 30 minutes each day to pray and 30 minutes each day to meet online or in person with a spiritual director.
Meeting in person assumes that you are fully vaccinated.
All our spiritual directors are volunteers and will reserve this week of retreat for you. We ask you to be faithful to your time commitment of praying and meeting with your spiritual director Monday through Friday. The registration form will ask you to identify the online platforms that you are comfortable using and inquire about the days and times when you can meet in person.
Retreatants who have made this retreat have found the opening and closing sessions to be integral to the experience. With this retreat, we will meet on Zoom for the opening and closing sessions. Information about how to access Zoom will be sent to you prior to the opening session.
The opening session is Sunday, December 3rd from 3:00 - 5:00 PM and the closing session is Saturday, December 9th from 8:30 - 10:30 AM. The opening and closing sessions take place online.
We recommend registering early as this retreat may fill before the deadline.
Registration deadline is November 19, 2023.
What past retreatants have found helpful about the retreat
"I had a wonderful experience. I found reflecting with a grace of the day especially helpful.”
“The opening session was beneficial especially since I did not know what to expect.”
"Being reminded just how many of us are on this very path is amazingly encouraging – reminds me again of the wideness of God and the encompassing nature of God’s presence in everyone’s life.”
“During my busy days, I savored the secret knowledge that I would be going home that night to spend 30 minutes in quiet communion with a God who loved me, and then waking up in the dark hours of the morning to come and sit with someone to talk about where I find love and sweetness in my life. Going forward, I want to keep all this peace in a quiet space inside myself that I can connect to and let ground me as I move about the world.”
“I thought I would be overwhelmed and unable to truly participate, but I did it! The structure was manageable and effective."
"Being a first time retreatant, the guidance with the sheets was perfect. I liked that there was a choice involved with the readings, but not so much that you felt unable to decide."
"The structure allowed for freedom and guidance at the same time."