Come as you are: pathways to embracing significant loss and trauma This eight-day retreat invites us to recognise ever more deeply God’s unconditional love for us, As we are. We will come to appreciate the ways Experiences of significant loss and trauma can lead us down paths of feeling lost, empty, sad and a sense of disconnection from ourselves, others and what is around us. Entering into these places of wounding can be an experience of transformation. Our hearts and minds can be taken down paths of solace, peace, gratitude and reconnection where we know the embrace by God’s abundant compassion and abiding love. Arrival time: Commences at 10am You are welcome to come the night before if you wish Cost is $85 Departure time: 11am Bookings are closed
Description: In this silent retreat, we will explore a selection of stories from across the gospels, focussing on the characterisation of women in these stories. Women’s discipleship, faith and initiative will be highlighted. Arrival time: Anytime after lunch and before tea which is at 5.45pm Departure time: Before 10 am
For until I am substantially oned to God I may never have full rest nor very bliss: that is to say, that I be so fastened to God that there is nought … between my God and me. Julian of Norwich In this silent retreat, we will bask in the simplicity of the prayer of silent love. Drawing on the tradition of contemplation, from Gregory of Nyssa’s Homilies on the Song of Songs, the tradition of Minne-Love and Julian of Norwich’s Showings of Love, we will create an atmosphere of silent-loving and support each other to enter into the repose of communing silence. Arrival time: Anytime after lunch and before tea which is at 5.45pm Departure time: Before 10 am
Drawing on connections to nature, a passion for learning, prayer, soul friends, music, art, poetry and pilgrimage, Celtic spirituality offers a deeply engaging way of relating to God. Director of The Abbey, Co-Director of The Living Well centre for Christian Spirituality, spiritual director, retreat leader and professional Celtic harpist, Cath Connelly is well qualified to lead us through a weekend of exploring the major themes of this form of spirituality. The retreat will be reflective, experiential and informative. It will include harp music, meditation, input sessions and time for personal reflection. Arrival time: Anytime after lunch and before tea which is at 5.45pm Departure time: 1.30pm
The last two words of Gerard Manly Hopkins’ poem are a powerful and poetic statement of faith. They provide a metaphor for the essence of who we really are - in Christ. It is an essence that we spend a lifetime seeking, one way or another. This retreat explores the movement of seeking that essence throughout our lives and the discoveries along the way, especially in the final season(s) of life. It invites us into the “heart seeing” needed to see more than externals and so respond to Love’s calling to sink into the deeps of the Ground of Being, there to discover the true self hidden within. Spiritual direction will be available, and some form of creativity is encouraged Arrival time: Anytime after lunch and before tea which is at 5.45pm Departure time: Before 10 am
Join us for a silent directed retreat in the beautiful Centre of Sants Casa Queenscliff. Each day the retreat will offer you space and silence for quiet prayer and contemplation and opportunity to meet daily with your retreat guide. We will gather each evening for prayer together to close the day. Evening Prayer. May these days of prayer and reflection lead us all to deeper awareness of the loving embrace of God - the One that is named Mercy. Arrival time: Anytime after lunch and before tea which is at 5.45pm Departure time: Before 10 am
Deepening our Encounters with God, Self, Others and Creation Need a break? Seeking an opportunity for renewal? This is a sacred time for you to stop, rest, explore, reflect, be nourished and emerge anew. Inviting lay and religious, women and men, who are ministering as Christian servant leaders in education, health, aged care and related pastoral and social work. We offer a wide range of topics including: prayer, scripture, spirituality, integral ecology, mystics, cosmology, indigenous spirituality, human and faith development, contemporary justice issues, and more ... A Six-day retreat is included Weekly spiritual direction is available for participants. Daily prayer and liturgies will sustain communal living. We have ensured a balanced timetable of input, personal reflection and free time for excursions and activities such as iconography, yoga, book club and film nights. Testimonials from 2025 participants “This has truly been a significant time in my life as I walk confidently into the future.” Anon “Wonderfully rich in the variety of topics presented and the presenters.” “I felt immediately at home; a beautiful place and a wonderful group of people helped make the experience one of genuine care and renewal.” Carmel B “This has been a wonderful 6 weeks of transition for me I am deeply grateful for all who contributed to make this experience possible.’ Monica W Cost includes accommodation, meals and elective activities. Please note travel costs to and from Queenscliff, and expenses for personal excursions on free days are excluded. To Book An application form is available from Lizzie Finnerty rsm, Manager santacasa@ismapng.org.au or call 0418 194 261. Places in this sabbatical are limited to 15 participants. Closing date for applications is 1st August 2026. Arrival time: Anytime after lunch and before tea which is at 5.45pm Departure time: Before 10 am
With thee, to behold is to give life; ‘tis unceasingly to impart sweetest love of Thee; ’tis to inflame me to love of Thee by love’s imparting, and to feed me by inflaming, and by feeding to kindle my yearnings, and by kindling to make me drink of the dew of gladness, and by drinking to infuse me in a fountain of life, and by infusing to make it increase and endure. Nicolas of Cusa (De Visione Dei, ch. IV) With these beautiful words, Nicholas of Cusa invites us into the beholding that gives birth to all life, and which itself imparts the sweetest love of Love. Silent, intimate, mutual, gifted and kenotic, beholding is the heartbeat of Advent, and we will draw on the writings of Nicholas of Cusa, Jan van Ruusbroec, Beatrice Bruteau and others who will help us to behold and see the Advent mystery unfolding in our world today. Arrival time: Anytime after lunch and before tea which is at 5.45pm Departure time: Before 10 am