Befriending Silence, Solitude and Stillness in Community: A Weekend Retreat back

Theme: BEFRIENDING SILENCE, SOLITUDE AND STILLNESS IN COMMUNITY.  We will cultivate a quiet environment on our retreat, but our primary focus on silence will be internal, on deep listening and inner quiet. We will seek to become still and turn our attention to our inner world to listen to ourselves. To observe and identify the thought patterns that take us away from the present moment so as to learn to live more fully in that moment. Silence and solitude connected to community and practiced with others, can be profound and help us relate to others with greater authenticity and intimacy. The community can support and encourage us to enter into the increasingly rare quality of being that is stillness. And what's the point of that? As our Creator said, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)

Leader: Thomas Ryan, CSP, is a member of the Paulist Fathers and directs their North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in Washington, DC. Spirituality is an abiding passion for him, as reflected in his 14 books relating to various aspects of the spiritual life. He leads ecumenical retreats throughout the U.S. and Canada.