Spiritual Retreat Opportunities

Listed, in order of distance, are places that are within about a three-hour drive of St. Monica where one can go for either a private retreat or one with a spiritual director. These places also have some group retreats. Also listed are two opportunities for you to dig deeper into your spiritual lives.

1. Red Plains Monastery in Piedmont, OK, offers a day of solitude, private retreats, and directed retreats. See http://www.redplainsmonastery.org/spirituality.html or call 405-373-4565.

2. Our Lady of Mercy Retreat Center is located at 2801 South Shartel Ave. in Oklahoma City. It is inside Mount St. Mary High School. Sr. Betty Elmer, RSM, coordinates the center. Space is available for private retreat time and the center offers some weekend retreats. The opportunity to get away and be quiet long enough to truly hear God is very available at the center. The prayer garden—grotto—includes the Stations of the Cross and is such sacred space. People come to the grotto day and night to pray. Call 405-634-1968.

3. St. Francis of the Woods is in Coyle, OK. It has comfortable space and beautiful grounds for private retreat time. Call 405-466-3774.

4. St. Gregory’s University and Abbey is a Benedictine community in Shawnee, OK sponsors retreats. Check the calendar in the Sooner Catholic, call 405-878-5491, or visit http://www.monksok.org/guestroom.htm.

5. Osage Monastery is a Benedictine retreat center in Sand Springs, OK outside of Tulsa. There are prayer hermitages, a beautiful chapel, woods to walk, and a community to pray with. Call 918-245-2734 or visit http://www.laycontemplative.org/thesites/osage.htm.

6. Spiritual Life Center is part of the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas. Call 316-774-0167 or visit http://www.slcwichita.org/.

7. Montserrat Retreat Center is located at Lake Dallas, Texas and is easily assessable. It is a Jesuit retreat center and has many Thursday night to Sunday afternoon retreats. Their website that lists the retreats. All their retreats have preached conferences by a Jesuit priest. The whole time is spent in silence. Individual visits with a priest and the sacrament of reconciliation are available. You do not have to be Catholic to attend. Call 940-321-6030 or visit http://www.montserratretreat.org/.

8. St. Scholastica Retreat Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas is a wonderful place for retreat. Call 479-783-1135 or visit http://www.stscho.org .

Digging Deeper

1. The Archdiocese of Oklahoma’s Office of Worship and Spiritual Life (405-728-8477) can provide a list of spiritual directors who meet one-on-one with those seeking to grow that way. Most of the persons on that list have been trained through the five-year program sponsored by the Sisters of Benedict and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma.

2. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius is a 30-week process for discerning God's call in our lives. It is a big commitment. An hour of prayer each day for seven months is a life-changing experience. There is a small-group meeting each week and individual spiritual direction twice each month. It gives one who is faithful to the daily prayer, given by God to St. Ignatius 500 years ago, a keen inner knowledge of God's personal love for him or her. The retreat begins in October and ends in early May. The Sisters of Benedict at Red Plains Monastery in Piedmont, OK are the contact persons. In particular, Sr. Benedicta continues to be very involved in the directing of the retreat. The main number for the monastery is 405-373-4565, or visit http://www.redplainsmonastery.org/spirituality.html.