Sunday, June 8, 2014

9 days with Dorothy Day: online "novena retreat" begins June 24

(Reminder: full list of online retreats for summer 2014 here.)


Longing for some prayerful and reflective time in your busy life?

Interested in radical Christian commitment, justice, and mercy?



Dorothy Day: An Online Novena Retreat 


Dorothy Day
   
Dorothy Day (1897-1980) is best known as the co-founder of the Catholic Worker, an anarchist, pacifist, lay Catholic Christian movement, and of the newspaper by the same name. Journalist, activist, mother, speaker, she was also a person of prayer whose Roman Catholic religious observance cannot be separated from her work for social and economic justice and peace and from what Christian tradition calls “the works of mercy.”




Click here for an informative essay on Dorothy Day if you want to know more.



What, when, where

* An online nine-day spiritual retreat, June 24 - July 2, 2014, with the help of the writings of Dorothy Day (Nov. 8, 1897 - Nov. 29, 1980).
Dorothy and daughter Tamar Theresa
* Simple and accessible:

one quote per day
one spiritual exercise per day
one prayer per day


* At home, in your daily life: read, meditate, and pray in a way that suits your schedule.

* You'll need 20 minutes a day of focused time and a computer or tablet with internet access.

* $50 if you register (pay online or mail a check, see below) by Monday, June 16 .

* $60 if you register from June 17 to June 24.


Some discounts are available for those in financial hardship. Talk to me.

* Spiritual refreshment, nurture, and challenge.


"Novena retreat" ?

A novena is a sequence of nine successive days of prayer–usually prayers of either petition or thanksgiving. It is generally a public and popular spiritual practice and is found most often in the Roman Catholic religious tradition.

I am using the word “novena,” meaning nine days, as part of the description of this retreat to indicate that it is nine days long and involves daily meditation and prayer.


Dorothy Day was a Roman Catholic, but the novena retreat is ecumenical and open to all. It is a new twist on the traditional novena.


An online retreat? How does that work?

* The retreat offers daily resources (the quotes, spiritual exercises, and prayers mentioned above, with some images as well to nourish you visually) online on a blog. More specifically, a closed blog.


* What's a closed blog? It's a blog like this, but it is not public: it is open only to those whom the blog owner-administrator (that's me) has signed in. In other words, it is not open to anybody wandering around the internet. It is not "searchable": random web surfers will not be able to view either the blog or our conversations in the comments.


* Once you register for the retreat, I will send instructions on the one-time sign-in mechanism. After that, the blog will always recognize you.

* Here's a recent article about online retreats in which I am quoted.


Registration

To register, write me, Jane Redmont. I will send you full registration instructions with payment address and online sign-up information. (Both of these are simple.)

Cost and payment

* $50 if you register by Monday, June 16.
You may also take advantage of this discount (even if you register after June 16) if you are unemployed or if you are a student or retiree on limited resources.
* $60 if you register between Tuesday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 24, the day the retreat begins. (It's best to register before the 24th, but you still welcome if you arrive at the 11th hour!)

Payment is non-refundable and due upon registration, by check or online electronic payment.

If you prefer paying by check, I will send you the mailing address when you write me to register.


If you prefer to pay online by credit card or PayPal, please click below to pay via the Redmont Retreats secure PayPal account.  (Note: you don't have to have your own PayPal account to use this online payment method.)



Retreat fee (choose one)



Privacy and community

During the retreat, you can remain private and just read the blog and use the quotes, spiritual exercises, and prayers on your own.

or

If you are more extroverted and communal or in need of companions on your retreat, you can  share your thoughts, experiences, and questions via the comments function on the blog and engage in conversation with other retreatants and with the retreat facilitator.

2 comments:

Katherine Johnson said...

Those who may be hesitating should know that: (1) Jane's an excellent retreat leader, and (2) Dorothy Day was one of the most inspired and inspiring women of the 20th century.

Jane R said...

Thank you, Katherine.