The Desert Fathers 2018

If the event is listed as sold out please call us at 661-944-2178 for real time availability and waiting list. Office hours are from 8:30.a.m.- 5:00 p.m. (closed for mass & lunch *11:45 a.m- 1:30 p.m.) Check in time starts at 3:00 p.m. Check out time is at 10:00 a.m (exceptions may apply).

The Desert Fathers

Friday, September 28 - Sunday, September 30, 2018

Retreat Description: A rich heritage of "wisdom literature" on contemplative prayer, discernment, and community life is available to all Christians through the literature of the early monastic movement. This workshop will provide an introduction to our monastic heritage by inviting participants to read, study, and pray texts and traditions from spiritual master of the fourth and early fifth centuries.

Topics for study will include: "The desert - a place of repentance and transformation;" "The rhythm of spiritual growth - From inner struggle to contemplative vision;" "Reading and praying the scriptures in the desert;" and "Spiritual direction and teaching in the desert". Participants are encouraged (but not required!) to have purchased and read beforehand The Sayings of the Desert Fathers tr. by Benedicta Ward (Cistercian Press), available in the Abbey Art Shop. Additional texts, including the Life and Letters of St. Antony, will be provided as handouts to workshop participants.

Presenter: Father Luke Dysinger has been a monk of Valyermo since 1976. He is a priest and physician who writes and teaches to the fields of mystical theology and biomedical ethics. He earned a Ph. D. at Oxford University and currently teaches at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, CA as well as online courses.