Sophia Spirituality & Retreat Center
Programmed Retreats

Through December 2012

Sophia Center is a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica. All retreats are on the grounds of the monastery, home to over 150 sisters. Spend prayerful time in the inspiring chapels, share in the spiritual and intellectual resources of the sisters and, most importantly, experience worship with a monastic community known for its reverent, beautiful liturgies.

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sophiacenter

2012

February 15
A Journal for the Journey
Thomasita Homan, OSB
Wednesday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Would you like to try different approaches for your own private journaling? Spend a day learning different methods of journaling based on Scripture, the Rule of Benedict, and life experiences. You need not be a proficient writer. Personal writings are shared only if the writer chooses to do so. (Please bring a notebook or journal and a pen.)
Fee: $50 Deposit: $10
Register by Feb. 1. Register on-line.

Sister Thomasita Homan, OSB, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and a director of oblates for the community. She is an emerita professor in the English Department of Benedictine College. She has also served as formation director for Mount St. Scholastica and as director of campus ministry at Benedictine College.


February 25
Lent and Easter with St. Benedict
Judith Sutera
Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Start your Lent in the monastic spirit. In this retreat we will explore humility, the tools of good works and other spiritual practices that will refresh the soul in preparation for Easter.
Fee: $50 Deposit: $10.
Register by Feb. 12. Register on-line.

Sister Judith Sutera, OSB is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica with degrees in counseling and in monastic history. She serves as an oblate director for Mount St. Scholastica, and as a writer, speaker and retreat director. She edits Magistra, a journal of the history of women’s spirituality. She is the author of Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Saint Benedict, and Lent and Easter Wisdom from Saint Benedict, both published by Ligouri Publications.


February 28
When Jesus Smiled
Sheila Carroll, OSB and Gabrielle Kocour, OSB
Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
A smile, like a word, helps tell a story. Jesus, human and divine, smiled.
Picture this Gospel scene. Peter, seeing Jesus, quickly realizing he is naked, wraps his body in his clothes, jumps out of the boat and swims toward Jesus. As we picture a smiling Jesus watching the first pope swimming toward him, we come closer to the mystery of the human Jesus and His life among us. Such a reconstruction will stimulate you to read the Gospels with new eyes and deeper understanding. Come for prayer, storytelling, discussion and a new perspective.
Fee: $50 Deposit: $10
Register by Feb. 15. Register on-line.

Sister Sheila Carroll, OSB, D. Min. is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and a member of the staff of Sophia Center. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa. She has taught high school and college classes and has served as campus minister at the University of Missouri and the University of Colorado. For the past ten years she has drawn on her graduate studies of mysticism and prayer of the saints to give retreats and talks on the mystics.
Sister Gabrielle Kocour, OSB, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and a Sophia Staff member. She has served as a teacher, religious educator, and social service administrator.  Her lifelong interest in spirituality and justice and peace has always marked her study, and service.


March 9-11
Enneagram
Therese Elias, OSB
Friday, 7:00 p.m. to Sunday, 4:00 p.m.
The enneagram is an ancient spiritual legacy with roots in the Christian desert tradition. It can be a powerful spiritual tool to help understand one’s personality and relationships and to grow in compassion for one’s self and others. This presentation attempts to remain faithful to the method of oral and visual instruction through which it has been passed on for centuries.  A major emphasis is working with participants in their search for self-identification. 
(Limited to 15 participants.)
Fee: $180 Deposit: $35
Register by Feb. 26. Register on-line.

Sister Therese Elias, OSB is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves as a retreat director, spiritual director and advisor as well as a lecturer with specialties in Benedictine spirituality, the mystics, contemplative prayer and Celtic spirituality. She leads pilgrimages to Ireland, Scotland and Wales.


March 24
Elizabeth of the Trinity: Everyday Mystic: Always Believe in Love
Sheila Carroll, OSB
Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
This prophet of the indwelling presence of God offers a model for our journey to God. In her we see all that we are called to be. A contemporary of Therese of Lisieux, she shows us that it is possible to have intimacy with God, as the Trinity, and be deeply involved with the world. An “Everyday Mystic” Elizabeth held that nothing is trivial and the ordinary is sacred. Although considered to be a little devil as a child and capable of rages as a young woman, Elizabeth’s fiery qualities were gradually channeled by her parents and God’s grace.
Fee: $50 Deposit: $10
Register by March 12. Register on-line.
(To make it an overnight retreat, arrive Friday evening by 5:00 p.m. Add $50.)

Sister Sheila Carroll, OSB, D. Min. is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and a member of the staff of Sophia Center. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa. She has taught high school and college classes and has served as campus minister at the University of Missouri and the University of Colorado. For the past ten years she has drawn on her graduate studies of mysticism and prayer of the saints to give retreats and talks on the mystics.


March 31
Why Am I the Way I Am?
Esther Fangman, OSB
Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
There are many way to explore our personal history that will aid us in understanding ourselves.  In this one day workshop participants wil explore their own personal histories through the use of a genogram (a psychological family tree).  A genogram helps a person understand the influences from the past on his/her current behaviors  and state of mind. Limited to 10 participants
Fee: $75 Deposit: $25
Register by March 10. Register on-line.

Sister Esther Fangman Ed.D. will direct the process for the day. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor presently working in private practice. She has had over 25 years of counseling experience  with individuals and families seeking help for a variety of issues.


March 31
Body, Mind and Spirit
Linda Zahner, OSB
Saturday, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The body’s energies are the key to health, vitality and well-being. Learn how to unlock the secrets of the vital medicine contained within the body for wellness and wholeness. Through a daily energy routine you can enhance your health, reduce stress, strengthen the immune system and boost energy and stamina. When your energies are vibrant, so are you—body, mind and spirit.
Fee: $40. Deposit: $10.
Register by March 15. Register on-line.

Sister Linda Zahner, OSB, a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, is a certified Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner as well as a state and nationally certified licensed massage therapist. She also serves as a spiritual director, having completed her certification in spiritual direction through the Creighton Spirituality program.


April 5-8
Triduum Retreat
Staff
Thursday, 4:30 p.m. to Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
Experience the beautiful liturgies and the profound silence of the monastery, beginning with the Holy Thursday banquet and closing with Easter Eucharist and dinner. Please arrive by 4:30 pm on Thursday for this retreat.
Fee: $225 Deposit $50 Limit 8.


April 17
Lectio Divina
Joanne Yankauskis, OSB
Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Come away to a monastic setting and experience the voice of God in the quiet, through the ancient art of prayerful reading. Listen to the texts of Scripture in conversation with Christ - read, reflect, respond and rest. There will be time for practice, silence and sharing.
Fee: $35 Deposit: $10
Register by April 10. Register on-line.

Sister Joanne Yankauskis, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica. She served for over ten years as co-director of the Office of Worship and Spiritual Life for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Most recently she has served on the staff of the Red Plains Spirituality Center in Piedmont, OK. She received her M.A. in theology from St. Michael’s College, Winooski, Vt.


April 27
Fully Alive In God :Celebrating Our Humanness
Maureen Conroy, RSM
Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
"God's greatest glory is a person fully alive!" says St. Ireneaus. God's deep desire is that we develop in total humanness - body, mind, and spirit - as we journey with God and one another through life.
This workshop will reflect on holistic spirituality and a holistic approach to spiritual direction as ways to foster holistic spiritual growth such as, the interrelationship of body, mind, spirit; body awareness and praying with our body; the healing power of touch; the art of breathing and breath prayer; and the art of self-nurturance. Through input, creative prayer experiences, and body prayer exercises, spiritual directors will ponder these topics in relation to their own as well as their directees' journey toward wholeness.
Fee: $85 Deposit: $15.
Register by March 25. Register on-line.


April 27-29, 2012
Healing Trauma: The Gift of Prayer and Spiritual Direction
Maureen Conroy, RSM
Friday, 7:00 p.m. to Sunday, 12:30 p.m.
God desires that we be whole- -living from our divine essence.  Psychological and physical trauma as well as various forms of abuse deeply affects our ability to be our authentic self.  However, prayer and spiritual direction can be powerful ways to help heal our trauma and to experience being fully alive in God.
Fee: $225, meals included. Deposit: $35 Lodging: $45 per night
Register by March 25. Register on-line.

Sister Maureen Conroy, RSM, D. Min., is Co-Director of the Upper Room Spirituality Center in Neptune, New Jersey. Her ministries include spiritual direction, the education of spiritual directors, giving directed retreats and offering workshops on spiritual direction, supervision, discernment, and holistic spirituality. Maureen teaches spiritual direction at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska and at Milltown Institute, Dublin, Ireland. Maureen holds a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from St. Mary University in Baltimore, Maryland.


July 12-15 Fri-Sat
Oblate Institute
Speaker, Fr. Terrence Kardong, OSB


July 21
Centering Prayer
Marie Ballmann, OSB
Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 pm
Centering Prayer is a prayer of deep silence. It can be an important step in the process of interior transformation. It is a friendship initiated by God, leading to contemplative prayer. Come learn about and practice this silent, ancient style of prayer.
Fee: $50. Deposit: $10.
Register by July 10. Register on-line.

Sister Marie Ballmann, OSB, a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, is a spiritual director and directs both private and group retreats and workshops. Most recently she served on the staff of Red Plains Spirituality Center in Piedmont, Oklahoma.


July 27-28, 2012
Toasting the Women On Our Family Tree
Mary Kay Whitacre 
Friday, 7:00 p.m. to Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
Gather the women of your family (sisters, mothers, adult daughters, etc.) for a weekend of laughter and tears; memories and dreams; time away and time together. You juggle schedules, responsibilities, and relationships, but when did you last have time to just be together away from a myriad of other demands? You plan family dinners, family reunions, and family vacations, but have you ever thought of a family retreat?  You celebrate graduations, birthdays, and weddings, but how often do you have the opportunity to specifically celebrate God’s presence in your family? Our facilitator, Mary Kay Whitacre, the oldest of seven sisters will lead us in honoring the women from our past; applauding the women we are today; and dreaming God’s dream for the women of future generations.

Mary Kay Whitacre , RCIA coordinator for St. Thomas More, is an adjunct instructor for Avila University. She is an experienced pastoral minister and spiritual director. Currently serves on the Souljourner’s Spiritual Direction Formation staff and the Sophia Center Advisory Council. Mary Kay’s master’s degree in religious studies was earned at the University of Seattle.


August 7-12, 2012
Silent Directed Retreat
Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. to Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
Come away for a time and experience the Sacred through personal prayer and daily meetings with a spiritual director. Come away to the quiet of a monastic setting. Give yourself time to listen to the deep desires of your heart. You will have opportunities for daily centering prayer and shared lectio.

Certified spiritual directors available for this retreat include: Sheila Carroll, OSB, Evelyn Gregory, OSB, Bernelda Nanneman, OSB, Marie Ballmann, OSB, Micaela Randolph, OSB, and Marcia Ziska, OSB.


September 8, 2012
Discovering the Mystical Path: John of the Cross
Sheila Carroll, OSB
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
As you explore the life and teaching of this great mystic, you will meet the human side of John experiencing his charity, humility, suffering and patience. His guidance will lead you into a closer and deeper relationship with God. John will show you the way to the healing and transforming awareness of the “God Within.” Hopefully, this will result in your become more loving to yourself and others. True mystics help transform the lives of others in ways that seem sublimely plainspoken and level- headed. Talks, a video, quiet prayer, questions, answers, and comments will fill your day.
Fee: $50 Deposit: $10
Register by Sep. 1. Register on-line.
(To make it an overnight retreat, arrive Friday evening by 5:00 p.m. Add $50.)

Sister Sheila Carroll, OSB, D. Min. is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and a member of the staff of Sophia Center. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa. She has taught high school and college classes and has served as campus minister at the University of Missouri and the University of Colorado. For the past ten years she has drawn on her graduate studies of mysticism and prayer of the saints to give retreats and talks on the mystics.


September 14-16, 2012
Everywhere a Blessing: A Celtic Spirituality Retreat
Therese Elias, OSB
Friday, 7:00 p.m. to Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
This retreat is not just for the Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and Breton, but for everyone who has searched for God in the ordinary and in the everyday. In true Celtic fashion, we will celebrate the goodness of creation, the nearness of the Saints, and the power of the Trinity in our midst. Presentations will utilize ancient poetry, art, song, storytelling, and Celtic Christianity's beautiful legacy of prayers and blessings. (Bring your journal)
Fee: $180 Deposit: $35.
Register by Sept. 1. Register on-line.

Sister Therese Elias, OSB is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves as a retreat director, spiritual director and advisor as well as a lecturer with specialties in Benedictine spirituality, the mystics, contemplative prayer and Celtic spirituality. She leads pilgrimages to Ireland, Scotland and Wales.


September 29-30, 2012
Lectio Divina
Micaela Randolph, OSB
Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to Sunday, 2:00 p.m.
Come to learn about and practice the ancient art of prayerful reading. This can lead you to a contemplative attitude toward life and enable the word of God to become for you a means of union with God. There will be time for sharing, silence, solitude and reflection.
Fee: $100 Deposit: $20
Register by Sep. 15. Register on-line.

Sister Micaela Randolph, OSB, a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica is a staff member of Sophia Center and director of the Souljourners program, a spiritual director and retreat leader. For many years the Director of Formation for Mount St. Scholastica, she introduced new members to the contemplative life. She has an M.A. in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in Omaha, NE, 1989.


October 6, 2012
Anger, Conflict And Forgiveness 
Marie Ballmann, OSB
Saturday,   9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
This spiritual approach helps you to identify the unresolved anger and conflicts that affect all your relationships. Learn the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, and let go of the pain.
Fee: $50. Deposit $10
Register by Sep. 25. Register on-line.

Sister Marie Ballmann, OSB, a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, is a spiritual director and directs both private and group retreats and workshops. Most recently she served on the staff of Red Plains Spirituality Center in Piedmont, Oklahoma.


October 12-14, 2012
Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton:
Writing Yourself into the Book of Life
Sisters Sheila Carroll and Gabrielle Kocour
Friday, 7:00 p.m. to Sunday, 12:00 p.m.
This retreat will lead you on a journey toward personal, spiritual transformation and a more contemplative and peace-filled life. With an introduction to Merton and contemplative living through prayer you will be led into silence and quiet being with others. Merton tells us that by being attentive, by learning to listen, or recovering the natural capacity to listen, we can find happiness that cannot be explained. We become one in the hidden ground of love. We will have readings from Merton and other spiritual writers, dialogue, and quiet time for reflection.
Fee: $180. Deposit: $35.
Register by Oct 1. Register on-line.

Sister Sheila Carroll, OSB, D. Min. is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and a member of the staff of Sophia Center. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa. She has taught high school and college classes and has served as campus minister at the University of Missouri and the University of Colorado. For the past ten years she has drawn on her graduate studies of mysticism and prayer of the saints to give retreats and talks on the mystics.
Sister Gabrielle Kocour, OSB, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and a Sophia Staff member. She has served as a teacher, religious educator, and social service administrator.  Her lifelong interest in spirituality and justice and peace has always marked her study, and service.


October 18, 2012
Dorothy Day: Woman of the Gospel
Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Barbara McCracken, OSB
Come spend a day learning about Dorothy Day and her life long growth in holiness. Dorothy is best known for co-founding the Catholic Worker, a lay movement that is still a force for peace and social justice. She has been called the most interesting and influential Catholic American woman of the 20th century. Efforts to have her declared a saint are underway. Time for reflection and discussion included.
Fee: $50. Deposit: $10.
Register by Oct 5. Register on-line.

Sister Barbara McCracken is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves on the staff of the Keeler Women’s Center in Kansas City, Kansas. She has served as a consultant for peace and justice with the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and as an instructor with the Benedictine College Institute for Religious Studies.


November 8, 2012
Saint John’s Bible: Letters and Revelation
Irene Nowell, OSB
Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The final volume of the Saint John’s Bible contains the letters of Paul and the early apostles,  offering instruction to the churches and helping them learn how to live the Gospel.   The Book of Revelation offers us a vision of the end of history itself. Sister Irene, a member of the planning committee for the Saint John’s Bible  will use illuminated texts to lead a reflection on selections from this volume  and their meaning for our lives today.
Fee: $60 Deposit $10.
Register by Nov. 1. Register on-line.

Sister Irene Nowell, OSB. Ph. D, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and teaches Scripture both in the classroom and on the web. She has written two books, “Sing a New Song: The Responsorial Psalm in the Sunday Liturgy, and Women in the Old Testament, both published by Liturgical Press and 101 Questions and Answers about Angels and Devils published by Paulist Press. She was a member of the committee on illuminations and texts (CIT) for the Saint John’s Bible. She is past president of the Catholic Biblical Association.


December 1, 2012
A Spirituality Of Waiting
Marie Ballmann, OSB
Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Gospel of Luke and the Psalms give us many hints about how to wait
during this holy season. Advent also provides the time to let Mary, Elizabeth and Zachary,  Simeon and Anna show us the way.
Fee: $50. Deposit $10.
Register by Nov. 20. Register on-line.

Sister Marie Ballmann, OSB, a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, is a spiritual director and directs both private and group retreats and workshops. Most recently she served on the staff of Red Plains Spirituality Center in Piedmont, Oklahoma.

Coming Soon: Retreat in Daily Life
Are You Taking Time to Grow Spiritually?
The Retreat in Daily Life is a 30 week experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, under the direction of Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica.
It is a way for busy people to grow deeply in their relationship with and commitment to Jesus Christ. This form of retreat involves giving time each day to prayer, committing to the method of the Exercises for one hour each day. Groups of 6 to 8 persons will be led through 30 weekly group sessions. Persons doing the retreat will likewise have a personal spiritual guide who will meet with them in individual sessions every other week.
The retreat is open to Christians of all faith traditions.

For 28 years, the Benedictine Sisters of Red Plains Monastery , Piedmont, OK offered the Retreat in Daily Life to people in the Oklahoma City are. To date, 1800 people in the Oklahoma City area have completed the retreat. In 2009, the Sisters of Red Plains Monastery merged with the Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica. We are pleased to welcome them and their ministry to Sophia Center. In the fall of 2012, we will begin offering the “Retreat in Daily Life” at Sophia Center, under the direction of Sister Marie Ballmann.

Inquiry Days:
If you feel God calling you to this kind of spiritual journey, come to meet the director and learn more about the Retreat in Daily Life .
Thursday, April 19, 2012 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 5, 2012 2:00 p.m.

NOTE for all offereings: Fees include cost of workshop, housing and all meals occurring during the duration of the workshop. If overnight space is available, retreatants may arrange to arrive earlier or stay later.

Participants of all denominations are welcome to attend liturgy with the monastic community. Those attending Saturday workshops that begin at 9:00 a.m. are welcome to join the monastic community for morning prayer at 8:30 a.m. Please arrive at the chapel by 8:15 a.m.


Offerings For Any Time of the Year

Clay/Fire Retreat
Alberta Hermann, OSB
Create with clay to express your inner awareness of God working in and through you. Call Sister Alberta at 913-360-6200 or e-mail her at ahermann@mountosb.org to schedule dates.
Fee: dependent on length of retreat arranged.

Massage & Reflexology
Agnes Honz, OSB
Fee: Massage: $40; Reflexology $25
Call for appointment: 913-360-6168


Days of Prayer and In-service, Hospitality for Retreats, Workshops for Faculties and Parish/Congregation Organization The Sophia Center Staff will assist you to develop programs according to your needs. Groups and organizations who wish to schedule retreats or workshops at Sophia Center should do so preferably six months ahead of time to insure that housing and other arrangements will be available. Cost arranged. To request further information.


Scholarships

To request an application form for a scholarship to attend the retreats or programs we sponsor, write or call Marcia Ziska, OSB, at 913-360-6161. E-mail your request to mziska@mountosb.org. Donations for scholarships will be gratefully accepted. Cash and checks made payable to Sophia Center Scholarship Fund are always welcome.


Sophia Center Gift Certificates

Gift Certificates are available for a family member, friend, associate to participate in a program(s), to receive a massage, or to come away and rest for awhile. Contact Marcia Ziska, OSB.


Ensuring the Future of Sophia Center

Contributions and gifts-in-kind from persons who want to support the future offerings at Sophia Center are essential to the growth of our spiritual ministry. Your gift will help insure the future of Sophia Center. For more information on how you can include Sophia Center in your will or charitable giving, please contact Mary Agnes Patterson, OSB, Development Director, 801 South 8th St., Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, KS, 66002-2724, 913-360-6215.

For more information about programs offered by Sophia or to be placed on their mailing list, click here.

Questions?
To contact Sister Eleanor Suther, OSB, Director of Sophia Center
emai:l sophia at mountosb.org
or call: (913) 360-6173
or write:
Sophia Center
751 South 8th St.
Atchison, KS 66002