Sustaining the Practice Retreat (3 nights or more)
Flexible Dates
Benedictine Center
Often people who are feeling called to integrate the disciplines of silence and spiritual practice into their lives choose a retreat of three nights or more. A Sustaining the Practice Retreat invites a person to set aside a significant window of time (between 3 and 7 nights) for renewal and growth. One can explore the riches of […]
Peace Retreat (2 nights)
Package Dates
Benedictine Center
A Peace Retreat helps you settle in to the calm that greets you at the monastery doors. Day 1 helps you familiarize yourself with the beauty and resources. Day 2 allows you the freedom to linger without travel. Day 3 allows you to ease back into normal life. The Peace Retreat helps you begin to feel […]
Quiet Retreat (1 night)
Package Dates
Benedictine Center
A Quiet Retreat gives you one night away from responsibilities. The room and three home-cooked meals are prepared with a personal touch. You are welcome but not obligated to join the Sisters for prayer. Take in the art, read, or walk the labyrinth as you choose. The time is yours. Some guests find it helpful to […]
Day of Prayer (no overnight)
Package Dates
Benedictine Center
A Day of Prayer is a simple way to step into some quiet. Enjoy a private room and whatever degree of solitude you prefer. Some guests join the Sisters for midday prayer and visit with them at lunch. Others prefer to journal, read, pray and walk the grounds at their leisure. The monastic library, art […]
Ongoing Prayer Opportunities
Open Dates
Today's seekers are often looking for meaningful, low-obligation experiences. At the Benedictine Center, the Sisters' rhythm of daily prayer inspires unique possibilities for connection. Sisters and facilitators hold open a space, sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly. Women and men with any level of experience can then drop-in when it works works with their schedules and needs. Most […]
Guided Retreat for the Emerging Poet
With Victor Klimoski
Package Dates
Benedictine Center
Looking for a chance to spend time with your inner writer? This individualized retreat, guided by an experienced poet, provides space and support to explore ways of enriching your writing practice. Over the course of the 48 hours, you will have the opportunity to meet with writing coach Victor Klimoski to discuss your poems, the […]
Explore/Inquire About a Customized Personal Retreat
Open Dates
Benedictine Center
The experienced members of the Benedictine Center staff enjoy helping women and men like you find just the right blend of resources for their unique spiritual journeys. With a better sense of your preferences in terms of timing, special diets, accommodations and more, we will help you plan your retreat and gather any resources you might need, […]
Seeing God: 2020 Juried Exhibit of Sacred Art
January 29 - March 13, 2020
St. Paul's Monastery Gallery
Sacred art contributes to keeping us mindful of God’s abiding presence. The annual Seeing God Juried Exhibit features contemporary artists who work in that spirit. Over the centuries, Benedictines have encouraged women and men who use color, form, sound, and word to express the beauty one experiences in the encounter with God’s own creativity.
Listening for God with the Ears of Our Temperaments
With Rev. Kathie Nycklemoe
February 13, 2020
Benedictine Center
Temperaments, the general description of who a person is by nature, affect not only our personalities but also the ways we are most drawn into prayer. Utilizing the Myers-Briggs temperament inventory tool, Pastor Kathie Nycklemoe will help participants explore forms of prayer that are likely to resonate with the way individuals are wired to listen for God. A basic understanding of MBTI is helpful but not necessary. Participants will receive a link for an online temperament test upon registration.
SoulCollage® Sunday Circle
With Barbara Sutton
February 16 - August 23, 2020
Benedictine Center
SoulCollage Sunday Circle will provide open space for creating and exploring your SoulCollage cards with facilitator Barbara Sutton. It is a casual afternoon for the new and experienced SoulCollage to bring our circle wisdom forward each month! Sessions will include a soulful reflection, card making, gleaning the wisdom and pairing soul and labyrinth. Images, glue, scissors and cards will be awaiting you. No previous art experience is necessary! To learn more about SoulCollage, visit www.soulcollage.com.
What Benedict Says About Stability in Relationships
With S. Paula Hagen OSB
February 18, 2020
Benedictine Center
Benedict called for stability because he recognized that each human person needs to be grounded to form trusting relationships with God, self, and others. While it naturally includes stability of place, Benedict taught various forms of stability, internal and external, that contribute to fostering community and nourishing those who are seeking God together. S. Paula Hagen OSB is former Prioress of St. Paul’s Monastery and an experienced retreat leader.
Nature Writing as a Language of Hope
With Victor Klimoski
February 24 - April 27, 2020
Benedictine Center
Writing that comes from one’s encounter with nature carries with it a rich vocabulary that reconnects us to the Earth and her elements. The more we become fluent in the language of nature, the greater our capacity to rekindle hope for the world, our communities, and ourselves. In each session, we will read some of the best nature poems and essays, using them to guide our own practice of writing.
Beyond Fear: Helping Communities Choose Welcome
With S. Kathleen Atkinson OSB and Rev. Zanne Ness
February 27, 2020
Benedictine Center
We are called to welcome others with a presence that is more than just polite and that extends beyond our reservations. We are called to the kind of hospitality that is communal, revolutionary, and transforming. But there have always been challenges to such hospitality, like unknown travelers stopping for assistance and newcomers who come with their own ideas about community life. All the more reason for Benedict to insist that we “Welcome all guests as Christ.”
Radical Hospitality: Living With Real Generosity (Public Presentation)
With S. Kathleen Atkinson OSB
February 28, 2020
Benedictine Center
Seven years ago, S. Kathleen Atkinson did something that she had often thought about doing but had never pursued. She picked up the phone, called the chaplain of the North Dakota State Penitentiary and asked if there was anything she could do as a volunteer at the prison. That phone call began a journey that has changed her life and set in motion Ministry on the Margins, a volunteer-based ecumenical ministry committed to supporting those who fall through the cracks during times of transition. Now serving over 800 people a week with an average of 90 weekly volunteers, Ministry…
Everyday Prophets: How Small Acts of Courage and Compassion Change the World (Retreat)
With S. Kathleen Atkinson OSB and Rev. Zanne Ness
February 28 - March 1, 2020
Benedictine Center
Being called a prophet may seem beyond the ordinary circumstances of our everyday lives. But what if it’s true? What if something needs to be done to confront the world’s numbness, and we’re the ones to do it? Even small acts of compassion and courage inspire hope. S. Kathleen Atkinson OSB and Rev. Zanne Ness are seasoned partners in ministry and skilled guides in awakening the imagination of ordinary people so that we might create more compassionate, just communities. Settle in to the prayerful monastic rhythms of St. Paul’s Monastery for a weekend, exploring how you are uniquely and…
Day Away for Artists and Creatives
With Victor Klimoski and Kathy Fleming
March 11, 2020
Benedictine Center
Day Away is an opportunity for artists and writers to set aside a few hours to enter a creative space of quiet and beauty. After a brief gathering in the morning with one of the hosts, participants have the day to work on/think about their art and ideas. The day closes with a time of reflection with the host.
The Uncluttered Mind: A Day Retreat for Writers
With Victor Klimoski
March 21, 2020
Benedictine Center
This writing workshop is for those who want to recharge their writing practice, have a place to connect with other writers, and perhaps rediscover the deeper reasons they create art with their words. The daylong experience begins with a period of meditation and offers periods for writing, conversation, and thinking forward. The model assumes we are all learners and teachers, bringing our gifts to be in service of one another. The facilitator will provide ideas, structure, and guidance for the day. For those who may be at a distance, the Center generally has overnight accommodations available depending on its program…
Embracing the Holy Time of Lent
With Peter Watkins
March 22, 2020
Benedictine Center
This retreat is an invitation to holy renewal. Take time to go deeper during this Lenten season—deeper into your heart and deeper into your relationship with God. There will be time to listen to the Spirit through scripture, simple ritual, journaling, and conversation. Retreatants are also invited to join in a communal meal together at the end.
Lean Times, Living Stories
With Diane Millis and Samuel Rahberg
March 26, 2020
Benedictine Center
When pressures and limitations seem to outweigh our sense of strength and possibility, how do leaders avoid becoming disheartened? By learning how to tell a more life-giving story. Narrative Theory suggests that the ongoing discipline of leadership requires crafting a more genuine story, one that is both rooted in the reality of the moment and expands our sense of mission. During tough times, our narratives often become rote. Therefore, it is all the more incumbent that we reflect upon the stories we are telling ourselves as our communities navigate the difficulties of transition, loss, and diminishment.
School of Lectio Divina
With Kathleen Cahalan, Samuel Rahberg, S. Virginia Matter OSB, Kami Pohl and Tod Twist
March 27 - April 1, 2020
Benedictine Center
The Benedictine Center of St. Paul’s Monastery's School of Lectio Divina adapts the ancient monastic riches of sustained lectio divina to contemporary people. Through an intensive retreat experience set in the rhythm of life at St. Paul’s Monastery, participants receive teaching about lectio, spend time meditating on a sacred text significant for them, have the opportunity for individual spiritual direction, and participate in reflective conversation with other participants.
Shape of the Divine: Working with Clay as Spiritual Practice
With S. Virginia Matter OSB
April 6 - May 11, 2020
Benedictine Center
Under the direction of an experienced potter and gentle teacher, learn how making hand-built vessels can be a process of meditation.
Day Away for Artists and Creatives
With Victor Klimoski and Kathy Fleming
April 8, 2020
Benedictine Center
Day Away is an opportunity for artists and writers to set aside a few hours to enter a creative space of quiet and beauty. After a brief gathering in the morning with one of the hosts, participants have the day to work on/think about their art and ideas. The day closes with a time of reflection with the host.
Great Conversation: The Battle for Idealism
With Victor Klimoski
April 16, 2020
Benedictine Center
Someone has remarked that a cynic is often an idealist with a broken heart. In an era in which the fires of social anger, fear of The Other, intolerance in all its forms, and concern over what seems to have been lost burn out of control, the path to cynicism is smooth and all downhill. In this conversation we explore how we balance our troubling concerns with our deepest convictions about what is true, good, and beautiful so that we continue to aspire to our idealism despite the evidence.
Hermitage Retreat
With S. Virginia Matter OSB
April 17 - 19, 2020
Benedictine Center
After a common orientation, participants spend time in silence as they read, pray, meditate, and rest in the hospitality of the monastery. Guests enjoy a private room, prayer with the monastic community, lunch, and access to the monastic library, art exhibits, and grounds. Questions welcome. $150 includes lodging and meals Fri-Sun $25 for Saturday only.
Day Away for Artists and Creatives
With Victor Klimoski and Kathy Fleming
April 17, 2020
Benedictine Center
Day Away is an opportunity for artists and writers to set aside a few hours to enter a creative space of quiet and beauty. After a brief gathering in the morning with one of the hosts, participants have the day to work on/think about their art and ideas. The day closes with a time of reflection with the host.
Peace Be with You (John 20:19-31)
With Fr. Michael Byron
April 23, 2020
Benedictine Center
Into the disciples’ fear and restlessness following the Passion, the Risen Christ stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” He found them behind locked doors and spoke into the very heart of their circumstance. With this assurance and breathing the Spirit upon them, he then sent them into the world. Join Fr. Michael Byron, a theologian and pastor of Pax Christi Catholic Church in Eden Prairie, to explore Christ’s word of peace and sending for today.
Tell Me True: Practicing Ways to Speak Truth with Robust Love
With Kiely Todd Roska and Eily Marlow
April 24, 2020
Benedictine Center
We often struggle to have important conversations, not for lack of good intention, but because of imbalance. If we speak bluntly, we can be unnecessarily hurtful. If we speak indirectly, we avoid the heart of the matter. The most healthy and life-giving communication involves both candor and care.
Find the Balance: Bringing Intentionality, Clarity, and Integration into One’s Rhythm of Life
With Mary Martin
April 30, 2020
Benedictine Center
In addition to being steeped in Scripture and spiritual practices, St. Benedict was an astute student of human nature. He realized that relying on good intentions would not be enough when he established a “school for the Lord’s service.” Rather, for people to live each day aware of God’s presence and their call to manifest Christ in all things, there was a need for purposeful rhythm so that work, prayer, study, and leisure existed in balance and encouraged people to pay attention to God’s presence in all of life. The measure of a ‘good’ rhythm is its ability to sustain…
Day Away for Artists and Creatives
With Victor Klimoski and Kathy Fleming
May 13, 2020
Benedictine Center
Day Away is an opportunity for artists and writers to set aside a few hours to enter a creative space of quiet and beauty. After a brief gathering in the morning with one of the hosts, participants have the day to work on/think about their art and ideas. The day closes with a time of reflection with the host.
Intro to Centering Prayer
With S. Jacqueline Leiter OSB and Rev. Peggy Thompson
May 15, 2020
Benedictine Center
This ancient spiritual practice is a Christian way of meditating that teaches one how to listen for God’s invitation to deeper relationship. Peggy and Jackie have trained closely with S. Virginia Matter OSB, a seasoned teacher and practitioner of centering prayer who was commissioned by Fr. Thomas Keating OSCO.
Who Am I in Community? The Enneagram as a Tool for Improving Relationships
With Audrey Lucier
June 5 - 6, 2020
Benedictine Center
The Enneagram is one way to explain and better understand nine basic personality differences that people have observed since ancient times. These differences shape our spiritualities, our vocations, and even our approach to relationships. By better understanding how each of us uniquely reflects the divine image, we can better practice compassion for ourselves and one another.
Day Away for Artists and Creatives
With Victor Klimoski and Kathy Fleming
June 13, 2020
Benedictine Center
Day Away is an opportunity for artists and writers to set aside a few hours to enter a creative space of quiet and beauty. After a brief gathering in the morning with one of the hosts, participants have the day to work on/think about their art and ideas. The day closes with a time of reflection with the host.
Directed Retreat Experience
With S. Jacqueline Leiter OSB and S. Virginia Matter OSB
June 19 - 26, 2020
Benedictine Center
Settle in for eight days of quiet and renewal, solitude within the rhythm of the monastic community. Each day you will meet one-on-one with a spiritual director who will accompany you wherever the Spirit leads. The remainder of the day you are welcome to join the Sisters for prayer, walk the labyrinth, take in the exhibit, explore the resources in the library, or simply enjoy the privacy of your own room for prayer and rest. Questions are welcome if you are considering such an experience for the first time.
Visions of Nature in Art: A Retreat on the Gunflint Trail
With Rev. Peggy Thompson and S. Jacqueline Leiter OSB
July 11 - 18, 2020
Cabin in the North Woods
God the Creator has infused the world with a spirit of life and vitality, leading us to wonder and calling us to ever greater attention. Artists know this sense of wonder and practice sharpening their skills of attention so that they, too, might communicate God’s presence through their mediums. Steal away to Northern Minnesota and and join painters Peggy Thompson and S. Jackie Leiter OSB for a soulful experience of nature and hands-on forms of reflection. The week-long experience takes place at Peggy’s family cabin, nestled between lakes 45 minutes outside of Grand Marais.
Condensed School of Lectio Divina
With Samuel Rahberg, S. Virginia Matter OSB and Kiely Todd Roska
July 24 - 26, 2020
Benedictine Center
Learn the art of sustained lectio divina, "a dialogue with God through the text over time" (Kathleen Cahalan). The Condensed School of Lectio Divina adapts the Benedictine Center’s keystone experience retreat into a shorter, less-expensive format. The core teachings and the monastic experience remains intact. Sam Rahberg leads in cooperation with BC staff.
Centering Prayer Retreat (Summer)
With Carol Quest and Jody Reis Johnson
August 7 - 12, 2020
Benedictine Center
Experience a time of profound silence and praying the Scriptures as you enter into deeper relationship with God and self. Blends a rhythm of centering prayer, lectio divina, and prayer with the monastic community. $375 includes lodging and meals.
Rooted and Branching: What Our Souls Learn from Trees
With Samuel Rahberg
August 13 - 15, 2020
Benedictine Center
The more we learn about the nature of trees, the more we see the wisdom of God they communicate through their growth and decay; strength and vulnerability; and solitude and reliance on others. Join Samuel Rahberg, a tree farmer and spiritual director, to explore hands-on some insights for the spiritual life you can harvest from the woods.
Great Conversation: Simplify, Simplify, Simplify
With Kiely Todd Roska and Samuel Rahberg
August 20, 2020
Benedictine Center
Benedict emphasized the vital practices of simplicity and moderation because he recognized the difficulties of aligning our everyday rhythms with our spiritual lives. This conversation will explore how we center ourselves, practice gratitude, and focus our energy in meaningful ways. We will draw on insights from St. Benedict, Scripture, poets, and the wisdom we each bring into the room.
School of Discernment
With Kathleen Cahalan, Samuel Rahberg and S. Virginia Matter OSB
December 4 - 6, 2020
Benedictine Center
The School of Discernment is an opportunity to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit under the guidance of skilled teachers and listeners and with the benefit of wisdom from the monastic tradition. The framework includes a daily rhythm of prayer with the monastic community, sessions on the practice of discernment, reflection questions for quiet time, and one-on-one meetings. No one will be obligated to share publicly about the particulars of their own stories, but each will have the opportunity to do so as they choose. Spiritual directors will assist with the process of discernment and considering questions and insights…