Retreat for Priests at Le Barroux

There are some places left on a Spiritual and Liturgical Retreat for priests, organised by the Society of St Catherine of Siena, to be held at the Abbey of Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux, from 25th to 29th May 2009. The theme of the retreat will be ‘The Monastic Heart in the Everyday Life of a Priest’.

The foundation and growth of this Benedictine monastery has been one of the remarkable stories of faith arising in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. The courage of its founder, Dom Gérard Calvet who died only last year, has been richly rewarded in the establishment of what is now an active and thriving community of young monks. Full details can be found on the monastery website.

Retreatants will share the life of the community, joining them for the glories of the traditional monastic office and Conventual Mass and taking meals with the monks in the monastic refectory. There will be a series of spiritual conferences which will include the insights of members of the monastic community. Priest retreatants will be able to celebrate private Masses each day using either form of the Roman Missal.

The retreat will run from Monday afternoon until lunch on Friday. those coming will need to be there in good time to settle in and be ready to begin the spiritual exercises with Vespers at 5.30pm.

Travel - Avignon by plane or Eurostar/TGV, and then by car or taxi via Carpentras to the village of Le Barroux. For those applying, fuller details can be given and the cars needed for the last leg of the journey can be organised.

The cost of the retreat is £300. An application form may be obtained from Susan Parsons.

From the SSCS:
The Society of St Catherine of Siena seeks to foster knowledge and understanding of the intellectual and liturgical tradition of the Catholic Church, and sponsors this retreat as a service to all priests. It is intended to integrate the love of the Roman liturgy into our daily spiritual life and pastoral mission through immersion in and reflection upon the character of the monastic heart.

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