Blessed Trinity Shrine Retreat

Blessed Trinity Shrine Retreat
Fort Mitchell, Alabama

“Come apart, and rest awhile,” Jesus told his disciples.
We invite all who hear this invitation to join us at Blessed Trinity Shrine Retreat,
whether for a planned program to nourish spiritual growth
or for time alone in a quiet, prayerful atmosphere to listen more deeply within.

Our retreat center, located in Alabama just across the river from Columbus, Georgia, is situated on holy ground for the Missionary Cenacle Family. It was here in Holy Trinity, Alabama, that the religious branches of Roman Catholic Sisters, priests and Brothers made their first home. It is here that the shrine we know as Father Judge’s Chapel stands as a witness to our birth. The Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity Motherhouse burned down in 1930, forcing the Sisters to relocate to Philadelphia, but we continue to maintain and develop our mission at this sacred place. Blessed Trinity Shrine Retreat was built here in 1965.

In addition to our own retreat programs, we are happy to host groups who provide their own programs. We welcome groups and individuals of all faiths.

Events and Retreats

Here is a list of retreats being offer in 2017:

• • Bible Institute: He Came to Teach and Heal: Jesus came to teach and heal; the disciples were called to do the same. We will make a careful, meditative consideration of chapters 4:23–9:35 in Matthew. This course is designed to know how to read the Gospel according to Matthew. We will use the best principles of narrative criticism. This weekend is for beginners or the best of Bible readers.

  • Bioethics on End of Life Issues: A one day workshop is offered on the major system of bioethics that stands in opposition to the secular-utilitarian way of approaching end of life issues and questions. American culture has shifted in the way it manages the process of dying. These changes affect the choices that patients and families face regarding end of life issues.
    

  • Becoming Fully Alive: Finding Our Music Inside Us: “Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside us.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes) Each of us comes into the world with a unique song, a special way of making a better world by giving and receiving love and life as only we can do. This session will focus on finding our unique purpose or mission that is to make us and our world fully alive.

  • Does God Really Care If I Get A Parking Space: How To Discern Any Decision: Does God care if I find it more than how I find it? Does praying for a parking space leave me with peace or with anxiety to find one before someone else takes it? If I believe that finding a spot is God’s blessing, then can I bless others who might find one before me? When I find a space, does my gratitude spill into the rest of the day or is it more limited to only when I get my own way? We will explore Ignatian discernment so whatever decision we face can become a time of finding deeper love and life.

Spiritual Direction

Spiritual direction is an ancient Christian tradition, dating back to the desert Fathers and Mothers and given new life by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Today this form of holy listening invites a seeker to explore her/his spiritual journey with the help of a trained spiritual companion to discern God’s movement in one’s life. In Spiritual Direction, a person meets with one’s director on a regular basis. This is also available for those making private retreats.

Arrangements for spiritual direction are made on an individual basis.

Hermitage

A hermitage is a small, private, single dwelling that provides solitude and quiet in order to assist a person in listening more deeply to what the Lord is speaking in one’s heart. It is a time to encounter self, a time for deepening one’s faith, hope and love in prayerful listening and reflection on Sacred Scripture.

Our Hermitage

Our hermitage, located in the Emmaus Garden, a short distance from the Retreat Center, offers a place of solitude and silence where one can be free to meet the Lord in a deeper and more contemplative way.

As with the disciples on their way to Emmaus, we too ask the Lord to come and stay with us as he continues to reveal himself more deeply through the Scriptures and the Breaking of the Bread. As with those disciples, we are then sent forth to share the fruits of our relationship with the Lord with others.

The Emmaus Hermitage consists of a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, prayer area and screened porch. It is equipped with heat as well as air-conditioning. Bedding and towels are provided.

Retreatants ordinarily provide their own food and have use of a microwave oven, toaster oven, 2-burner stove, and refrigerator for preparing meals in the hermitage. In the event one wishes to take advantage of the noon dinner provided by the Retreat House, there will be an additional cost.

Daily Eucharist is celebrated Monday through Saturday at the Retreat House Chapel and on Sunday at the local parish. Retreatants are welcome to join us.

Although we have other programs and activities going on at the main Retreat Center, we respect the hermitage as a place of solitude, prayer and reflection. Our retreat center is located on 1200 acres of woodlands. It provides ample space for solitude to commune with God through nature along wooded paths bordering the Chattahoochee River.