Sophia Spirituality & Retreat Center
Programmed Retreats

Through December 2010

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.

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

Centering Prayer
Micaela Randolph, OSB
February 23-24, 2010, Tuesday 10:00 a.m. to Wednesday 2:00 p.m.
Centering prayer is a deep prayer of trust and surrender, involving place, posture, word and silence. Learn this method and dialogue with others as you practice this prayer together.
Fee: $100 Deposit: $20 Register by Feb. 15. Register on-line.

Sister Micaela Randolph, OSB, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves as 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 her M.A. in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in Omaha, NE, 1989.

Prayer and Spirituality in the Christian Life
Sr. Constance Krstolic, OSB
Tuesdays March 9, 16, 23, 30, 2010, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
This series begins with the question, “What is prayer?” and continues with another basic question, “How do we pray?” This is an opportunity to reflect on the foundations of the spiritual life, one’s own spiritual journey, and the great themes of the Lord’s Prayer as outlined in the Book 4 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Participants will experience various prayer forms.
Fee: Free will offering. Register by March 1. Register on-line.

Sister Constance Krstolic, OSB, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and has over twenty-five years experience as a Benedictine, teacher, religious educator, vocation/formation minister and spiritual director.  She has given retreats and workshops for individuals, for religious communities, and for corporations and institutions, both at her monastery in Atchison and across the country. She completed her M.A. in Spirituality and Scripture at St. Louis University and earned a Certificate in Spiritual Direction at the School for Spiritual Directors in Pecos, New Mexico.


Brigid Of Ireland: Celtic Poet, Healer, Soul Friend
Sheila Carroll, OSB
March 13, 2010, Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
This Irish saint, the Flame of Ireland, is described as one who puts songs and music in the wind and glows like a flame upon dry grass. In her mystical awareness, she reaches out to the poor; she brings the voice of love, care, and guidance to all. Brigid is Patron of Ireland but is often overshadowed by Patrick, also Patron of Ireland. She lives in the collective memory of the Irish as they remind visitors, “Patrick came from outside but Brigid, she’s one of our own.” We will have brief talks, stories, and quiet time for prayer. Participants who wish are welcome to come on Friday night and join the community for prayer on Saturday morning.
Fee $50. Additional night: $45 Deposit $10 Register by March 1. Register on-line.

Sister Sheila Carroll, OSB, D. Min., is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves on the staff of Sophia Center. 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.


Holy Week/Triduum Retreat
Staff
April 1-4, 2010, Thursday 4:30 pm to Sunday 1:00 pm
Experience the beautiful liturgies and the profound silence of the monastery, beginning with the Holy Thursday banquet and closing with Easter Eucharist and dinner. You must arrive by 4:30 pm on Thursday for this retreat.
Fee: $200 Deposit: $50 Limited to 8 participants. Register by March 30. Register on-line.


Ministering to the Body, Mind, and Soul
Linda Zahner, OSB
April 10, 2010, Saturday 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
This is an introductory course about using our energies that animate our total being. Energy is your life force, animating the body, creating movement and vitality in your whole person. Participants in this introductory workshop will learn a daily energy routine that can enhance over-all health,  helping reduce stress and its effects, adding vitality and joy, heightening clarity of mind and relieving pain. When we work with the body's life-force energy we steward God's gift of life and enhance the radiance of our total being.   Learn to listen to and work with the innate wisdom with which our Creator has gifted the human body.
Fee: $40 Deposit: $10 Register by April 1. 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.


Blessed are Those Who Mourn, for They Shall Be Comforted
Sister Chris Kean, OSB
Saturdays: April 10, April 17, May 1, 2010
10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Three sessions for people who are currently working through the pain and loss of death and who gather in the name of Jesus to draw strength from Him and from each other in prayer, reflection, discussion or just simply by being with each other. The group is not a professional counseling session. It is a gathering of grieving people who come together to find support in their Catholic faith.
Participants are invited to join the community for 9:15 Mass on these Saturday mornings.
Fee: Free will offering. Register by April 1.


Hildegard of Bingen: Sister of Wisdom
Therese Elias, OSB
April 16-17, 2010
Friday 7:00 p.m. to Saturday 3:00 p.m.
Hildegard can be described as a visionary, poet, prophet, musician, healer and advisor to popes and emperors. The revelations of this 12th Century Benedictine Abbess continue to inspire awe for their significance for, not only her own time, but ours as well. This presentation will focus on Hildegard’s cosmic vision of God’s love enfolding and permeating the universe.  We will explore her legacy for its relevance to our personal and communal journey today.
Fee: $100 Deposit $20 Register by April 9. Register on-line.


Listen To The Spirit
Sheila Carroll, OSB, and Gabrielle Kocour, OSB
May 4, 2010, Tuesday 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Come and explore the richness in the experience of the Holy Spirit of God who lives, acts, works, in our lives. Listen to the Spirit of Truth as you read, reflect, and pray over passages of Holy Scripture, join in discussion, reflection and quiet prayer, you will discover the voice of God speaking to your heart.
Fee: $50 Deposit: $15 Register by April 28. Register on-line.

Sister Sheila Carroll, OSB, D. Min., is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves on the staff of Sophia Center. 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 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.   She is a member of the Sophia Center Staff and currently chairs the Guilfoil Justice Day committee.


Lectio Divina
Micaela Randolph
May 22-23, 2010, 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 May 10. Register on-line.

Sister Micaela Randolph, OSB, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves as 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 her M.A. in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in Omaha, NE, 1989.


Centering Prayer
Micaela Randolph, OSB
August 3-4, 2010, Tuesday 10:00 a.m. to Wednesday 2:00 p.m.
Centering prayer is a deep prayer of trust and surrender, involving place, posture, word and silence. Learn this method and dialogue with others as you practice this prayer together.
Fee $100 Deposit $20 Register by July 25. Register on-line.

Sister Micaela Randolph, OSB, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves as 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 her M.A. in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in Omaha, NE, 1989.


Silent Directed Retreat
Staff
August 10-15, 2010, Tuesday 7:00 pm to Sunday 1:00 pm
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. You may choose an experience working with clay, with art, or with Tai Chi.
Certified spiritual directors available for this retreat include: Sheila Carroll, OSB, Evelyn Gregory, OSB, Bernelda Nanneman, OSB, Cecilia Olson, OSB, Micaela Randolph, OSB, and Marcia Ziska, OSB.
Fee: $350 Deposit: $50 Register by August 3. Register on-line.

Trinity and the Eucharist
Mary Collins, OSB
Thursday, October 14, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Catholic spirituality is both Trinitarian and Eucharistic. The well known 14th century Rublev icon of the Trinity connects these two mysteries visually in a rich and complex image. Spend a day contemplating the icon and deepening your grasp of Catholic spirituality.
Fee: $50 Deposit: $15 Register by October 1. Register on-line.

Sister Mary Collins, OSB, Ph.D., is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and has served on the faculties of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C., the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and Benedictine College in Atchison, Ks. She has written widely in the field of liturgical studies as well as in the theology of religious life. She served as prioress of Mount St Scholastica from 1999-2005.


Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton
Sheila Carroll, OSB and Gabrielle Kocour, OSB
October 22-24, 2010, Friday 7:00 p.m. to Sunday 2:00 p.m.
Join the monastic community in prayer and meals and experience the “Bridges to Contemplative Living” process in a weekend retreat setting. This process gently leads people into a deeper more contemplative and reflective mode of living in God’s presence. Each session includes quiet prayer, time for reflection guided by texts by Thomas Merton and other well-known spiritual writers.
Fee: $180 Deposit: $35 Register by Oct. 15. Register on-line.

Sister Sheila Carroll, OSB, D. Min., is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves on the staff of Sophia Center. 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 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.   She is a member of the Sophia Center Staff and currently chairs the Guilfoil Justice Day committee.


Illuminating the Word: The Gospel of John
Irene Nowell, OSB
November 11, 2010, Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The Gospel of John is read primarily during the Christmas season and, in Year A, throughout the Lenten and Easter Season.  Sister Irene, a member of the planning committee for the Saint John's Bible, will use the illuminated texts to lead a reflection on the Gospel and its meaning for our lives today.
Fee: $50. Deposit $15. Register by Nov. 3. 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. 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.


Lectio Divina
Micaela Randolph, OSB
November 13-14, 2010, Saturday 10:00 a.m. to Sunday 1:00 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 Nov. 1. Register on-line.

Sister Micaela Randolph, OSB, is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and serves as 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 her M.A. in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in Omaha, NE, 1989.


Forgive and Remember
Donna and Robert Bacic
November 13-14, 2010, Saturday 9:00 a.m. to Sunday 4:00 p.m.
Retreatants are invited to take time out to reflect on what forgiveness means to them, to explore what has helped and what has hurt their attempts at forgiving another person, and to consider how they might cultivate an inner life that is open to the possibility of forgiveness. The retreat will provide people interior space in which to think, discuss and pray about one of the greatest gifts and challenges in human life.
Fee: $100 Deposit: $20 Register by Nov. 1. Register on-line.

Robert Bacic is a pastoral minister on staff at the Church of the Holy Cross in Overland Park, Kansas. He also mediates family, community and workplace disputes on a part-time basis. Donna Bacic is currently a clinical social worker in private practice in Overland Park, KS. She has facilitated the outreach support group for Johnson County Safehome, and has directed retreats.


Qualities of a Healthy Spirituality
Marcia Ziska, OSB
December 4, 2010, Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Wonder if you are on the right path in living your faith today? This Advent retreat focuses on some specific qualities to test whether your own spirituality is healthy or not. Begin the new liturgical year by reflecting on your own Christian spirituality and enhancing your daily awareness.
Fee: $50 Deposit: $10 Register by Nov. 20. Register on-line.

Sister Marcia Ziska, OSB, a member of the Benedictine Sisters at Mount St. Scholastica is Associate Director of Sophia Center. She has her M.A. in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in Omaha, NE, 1989. She is a certified hospital chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains, a certified spiritual director and recently received a professional certificate in spiritual gerontology from the Johnson Institute.

NOTE: 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 8:15a.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 913-367-6161. 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 Eighth 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