Theology and Prayer
Abbey Retreat Courses are offered every summer through St. Bernard’s School of Theology.
Contemplative Prayer: A Monastic Immersion - June 2024
This course will introduce students to the world of contemplative prayer within the context of Catholic theology and lived experience. Three online classes focusing on the experiences of prayer in the lives of the saints will serve as preparation for the five-day retreat at the Abbey of the Genesee. During the retreat, students will be invited to the experience of contemplation within a monastic environment that fosters silence, presence, stillness and spaciousness.
Spiritual Formation: Abbey Immersion Course - July 2024
This course seeks to approach the world of prayer in its unity with lived experience. Beginning with a consideration of the witness of the Son of God who “teaches us how to pray” in and through his relationship to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, we will then move to consider the lives of various saints, including Ignatius of Antioch, Anthony of the Desert, Bernard of Clairvaux, Teresa of Avila, Ignatius of Loyola, Therese of Lisieux, Charles de Foucauld, and Tagashi Nagai. The attention to each figure will include both an awareness of their place in the history of Catholic spirituality and a consideration of their lived experience of the encounter with God. The course will include particular topics in the “practicum” of prayer, including spiritual direction, lectio divina, and Ignatian meditation and contemplation.