Franciscan Retreats

What's New at Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center

2012 Retreat Theme             Darkness and Light are But One: Embracing Our Seasons of Faith
3rd Week Ord Time 2012   Daily Homilies, January 22 - 28, 2012
4th Week Ord Time 2012 Daily Homilies, January 29 - February 4, 2012
Calendar                              Schedule of upcoming events and retreats
Register                              Register online for a Retreat or a Day of Prayer
How to Get Here              Directions and Maps to Franciscan Retreats

Welcome to Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center

Franciscan Retreats and Spirituality Center is a spiritual oasis for people of all faiths who are seeking a deeper relationship with the Almighty. Our lovely grounds, beautiful chapel and comfortable accommodations, along with the care and concern of the friars and staff provide a quiet and reflective environment for personal prayer and reflection. We are situated on 60 acres of land near the communities of Prior Lake and Savage, southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Mn.

"What has God caused to happen to you that you need to share with others to show how much God loves us? Run and do it today! Don’t just think about it. Don’t keep the Good News to yourself!"   Fr. Howard 4th Week Ord Time 2012

"Relationships are of the greatest importance to all of us. Alone we cannot survive for very long. We need others to help us, affirm us, encourage us and give us purpose and the wherewithal for living. Our relationships are lumped into two categories in the Great Commandment: God and Neighbor. There we are told we must love, be in relationship with, God and neighbor. And the greater and more intimate the relationship, the better."                              Fr. Howard   3rd Week Ord Time 2012

"God’s love for us is a mystery. Remember, a mystery is not something we cannot understand, but rather it is something that is endlessly understandable, something we can go on and on about and never resolve it or exhaust it. God’s love is unconditional and limitless".                               Fr. Howard   2nd Week Ord Time 2012

2012 Retreat Theme:
"Darkness and Light are But One: Embracing Our Seasons of Faith"

Life is filled with peaks and valleys, with direct routes and with many detours (on some of these detours the road can be quite rough or uneven). Each of these moments offers us an opportunity for grace. Popular culture would have us believe that grace is found most readily in the “warm-fuzzy” times of our lives. But it is often during moments of pain or crisis that we are invited to plumb the depths of our being; during moments like these, grace seems to be conspicuous by its perceived absence. Like Job, well-intentioned “comforters,” try to ply us with platitudes and sound-byte answers when we really need someone to respect our experience, to listen to us, and to walk with us, no matter how rocky or uncertain the path ahead.

Conferences:

1. Embracing Our Seasons of Faith

2. Forget Fairness; Find Forgiveness

3. The Mystery of Suffering

4. Staying Faith-Full

Our 2012 retreat theme will focus on honoring the various seasons of faith in our lives. How can we honor and embrace the totality of our faith life? Does our preoccupation with the apparent lack of fairness in life impede us from really living? Where is forgiveness in all of this? How does the paradox of the Cross speak to our hearts and form our responses to the demands of everyday life? What are the ways in which we nurture and support our Faith?

We welcome you to this beautiful and sacred space,
a space of prayer, of healing, of rest and renewal.
We hope to see you soon.

May the Lord give you peace!