Retreat Formats

Choosing a Retreat

Trying to decide which retreat is right for you?

Determine how much time your schedule allows, then search our calendar for that type of activity. Retreat formats are described below — beginning with the shortest formats and ending with the longest.

Classes and Series (“Enrichment” programs) generally meet for a few hours in the evening, while “Days of Reflection” are 3-6 hour events during a traditional business day. Overnight retreats are available as weekend, week-long, and month-long formats.

Short on Time?

Pause at Ignatius House for as long or little as your schedule allows. Ask for a special, outdoor prayer guide to help you find places to pray along the trails, then recharge and re-enter the world ready to do God’s will.

Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm

Classes & Series

A variety of classes, book clubs, workshops, and other series are offered throughout the year – usually meeting weekly for 1-2 hours after work or school. A class may occur once while a series generally meets for 3-13 weeks. Topics include interfaith studies, mindfulness meditation, Ignatian methods of prayer, and more.

Half-day & Single-day

Spend a day in silence and dive into a focused topic of spiritual interest on a single-day retreat, or “Day of Reflection.” Topics may be seasonal, related to a historical figure, or designed for a demographic group. Events typically begin at 9 am with light breakfast, include multiple guided talks, time for silence or a relevant activity, lunch, and a closing liturgy mid afternoon.

Weekend

Retreats begin with dinner and an introduction to the weekend’s theme by your Retreat Director. Silence begins after dinner. Each day offers 2-3 group “invitations to prayer,” or 30-minute talks, when a topic is presented for private reflection. The remaining time each day is yours to read, pray, journal, hike or simply rest. Retreats conclude with Sunday Mass and a social brunch.

Semi-silent retreats for mindfulness, couples, art or yoga may follow a different schedule.

A lo largo del año podemos ofrecer retiros de fin de semana en español. Haga clic aquí para ver los retiros. Un director de habla hispana también puede estar disponible en los retiros personalizados.

Customizing a Retreat

We also offer individually directed retreats (IDR) at Ignatius House or virtually wherever you are. Choose the dates when you’d like to attend or meet online with a spiritual director. A minimum duration of three nights (or three virtual meetings) is required.

During an IDR, you’ll meet at least once daily with a spiritual director. These conversations are about the questions you bring regarding your relationship with God and whatever it is that you wish to discern together. There are no group gatherings or presentations, other than optional daily Mass for those on property. Your time at Ignatius House may coincide with other groups who may not always be in silence, however we will do our best to offer you dates that align with your preferences and goals.

Ignatius House is pleased to work with any individual or group to customize an experience that recharges and nourishes heart, mind and soul. As a non-profit, we are unable to offer accommodations like a hotel. Experiences offered at Ignatius House are centered in prayer.

Week-long

Embrace extended silence and solitude over 5 or 8 nights. Meet daily with your retreat director for prayer and Scripture selections tailored to your needs. Offered monthly. Includes private room & bath, all meals, topics to pray, unscripted time for rest and full use of 20 acres. Search the calendar for 5-night or 8-night retreat, and complete an application.

Month-long

Complete the full Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola during a 30-day retreat. Spend a month in serene silence at Ignatius House and meet daily with a spiritual director for personalized guidance. Offered at specific times of the year. Search the calendar for “30-day retreat” or call us to schedule the right time for you. By application.

Individually Directed / Personalized

Customize a retreat length and focus to your needs by requesting an “individually directed retreat” for personalized guidance. Meet daily with a spiritual director for one-to-one guidance. A minimum of three nights to to less than one month is suggested. Availability may be seasonal, depending on other property activities. By application.

How to Make the Spiritual Exercises

Ignatius House offers two formats for completing the Spiritual Exercises — as a 30-day retreat or as the “19th Annotation.”

The Spiritual Exercises by St. Ignatius of Loyola were written to bring people into a deeper relationship with Christ and to free them from anything that might be inhibiting that relationship. The Exercises traditionally are made as a 30-day silent experience at a retreat house, aided by daily meetings with a spiritual director. The other alternative is to make the Exercises as a “retreat in everyday life” via daily prayer across 8-9 months and weekly meetings with a spiritual director. This method was scripted by St. Ignatius in a note called the “19th Annotation.”

Learn more about the 19th Annotation or the month-long format.

Begin Your Silent Getaway

Let us help you choose the right retreat experience.

Staff can assist with choosing the right retreat, understanding what to expect, making payment arrangements or other questions you may have. We look forward to welcoming you.