Sponsored Day Retreats

Facilitated by Sue Ballotti and Paul Craig ~ Hosted by Mary and Joseph Retreat Center
Solvitur Ambulando -- This is a Latin phrase often attributed to St Augustine and used to describe the benefits of walking and using motion to clear the mind. Prayer in motion is an ancient form of prayer, and the labyrinth walking pattern was common across civilizations for more than 4,000 years. Physical movement connects body, mind and spirit and can be a powerful way of praying. We will introduce forms of prayer-in-motion, with particular reliance on the labyrinth – history, purpose, and creative ways to put labyrinth walks into our prayer practice.

Hosted by all Los Angeles retreat centers, faciliated by Dr. Michael Cunningham
In preparation for Holy Week and the end of the Lenten journey the teams from the retreat centers will pray the Stations of the Cross and then review and discuss the input and wisdom gathered during the journey together on the program.

Art Theme: Lenten Journey ~ This is a meditational event through the expressional form of painting. The participants follow a pattern and start with the same subject, but have artistic freedom & flexibility. This session will allow time for contemplative prayer using silence, music, scripture, and sharing as each artist creates their masterpiece. During this unique form of gathering, individuals will be able to connect with others on a spiritual level while creating art. All skill levels are invited and no artistic experience is required.

SoulCollage® (Recortes de Tu Alma) es un proceso intuitivo y creativo que consiste en crear pequeñas tarjetas de collage que los participantes utilizan como una poderosa herramienta para la autorreflexión, la conciencia de sí mismo y la construcción comunitaria. SoulCollage® es un proceso de reflexión para crear tarjetas de collage que puedan usar como herramientas para la oración, la meditación y la conexión con su espiritualidad interna o la sabiduría del alma.

Join Mary & Joseph Retreat Center for the sixth annual Pilgrim Walk, a 4.8 mile walk through the streets and trails of Palos Verdes to the sacred grounds of the retreat center. As pilgrims, walkers will be blessed, walk to various stations for reflection and to have passports stamped. Modeled after the famous pilgrimage, “the Way”, to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, this half day walk is adapted to our own time and neighborhood. All ages and faiths welcome. All activities will be outdoors.

*Remote Via Zoom* Dr. Berger and Herb K. continue to explore the core components of emotional sobriety in this series of workshops. They will help you: Become more aware of your emotional dependency and how it automatically and unconsciously impacts your life and influences your behavior; How to break free from the shackles of this dependency; Develop a practice of emotional sobriety which will increase your ability and confidence to cope with reality as it is rather than how you expect it to be or think it should be. We invite you to join us for what we promise to be a very stimulating and thought-provoking experience.

This creative workshop will explore the mandorla as a means of meditation and art-making. A mandorla is an element of Sacred Geometry like a mandala but is constructed of not one, but two overlapping circles. The mandorla has been used to depict sacred moments that transcend time and space throughout history. This workshop will focus on discovering creative ways to recognize and balance the body, spirit and mind through prayer, meditation, art-making and group sharing. All
materials, handouts and supplies will be provided. You are invited to bring your own art material if you wish. No previous art experience is required.

Every year on the first Saturday in May, thousands of people around the globe participate in World Labyrinth Day as a moving meditation for world peace.  Many “Walk as One at 1” across the globe in their own local time to create a rolling wave of peaceful energy passing from one time zone to the next. Join Mary & Joseph Retreat Center in this worldwide moving meditation, a prayer for peace. At 12:00 Noon we will gather for an introduction to our Labyrinth Bonaventure and preparation for the walk at 1:00 p.m. Join our team of Labyrinth facilitators for this celebration of the labyrinth experience.

SoulCollage® is a gentle, intuitive, creative process that involves creating small collage cards that participants use as a powerful tool for ongoing self-reflection, self-awareness and community building. Through the use of images, symbols, and pictures from magazines and periodicals and other sources, the participants in this workshop will engage in the reflective process to create collage cards, that they can use as tools for prayer, meditation & connecting with their inner spirituality or soul wisdom. As part of the workshop, we will integrate the labyrinth of Mary & Joseph Center. We will provide the materials – magazines, scissors, glue sticks, SoulCollage®cards, etc.