Ora et Labora Retreat

Service Description

The retreat begins on Tuesday, September 2 at 10:00am and ends on Thursday, September 4 at 1:00pm. Cost for the two nights & seven simple meals is $150 per person (children 6 to 12 - $100, children under 6 are free). Your nonrefundable deposit today of $100 will reserve your space. We look forward to sharing Ora et Labora together. Benedict (c. 480-c. 547) set the basis for this pattern of daily prayer in his Rule for Monasteries. The seven “hours” are: matins and lauds (usually counted as a single hour), in the middle of the night; prime, at sunrise; terce, 9 a.m.; sext, noon; none, 3 p.m.; vespers, sunset; and compline, bedtime. All in all, the Rule of Benedict is designed for ordinary people who live ordinary lives. It was not written for priests or mystics or hermits or ascetics; it was written by a layman for laymen. It was written to provide a model of spiritual development for the average person who intends to live life beyond the superficial or the uncaring. - Joan Chittister, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today One of the streams of Wisdom comes from very, very deep in the Christian tradition—the Wisdom of Benedictine Monasticism. Its brilliant and stable legacy of “Ora et Labora” (Prayer and Work) offers a fundamental rhythm for the balancing and ordering of human life, and for the growing of that beautiful rose of Wisdom. This retreat offers us the opportunity to work and pray together in community. The work required is inclusive, in that there are tasks for all levels of ability and energy. The prayer will be in the same Spirit. Led by Director Dan Oberg, we look forward to spending a couple of days in simplicity, community and slower, intentional living.