Due to concerns over the spreading of the COVID-19 virus, we have taken the decision to close our retreat house and our public chapel as of today, March 14, 2020, until further notice. We are not panicking, just being cautious.
We know that Jesus our Divine Physician is watching over all people everywhere during this global health crisis. Please take sensible precautions yourself and stay well.
You shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12
“Retreat” is a strange word to signify something very positive: an opening of the heart to quietude and the opportunity to rest in the mystery of one’s inner longing. We welcome persons of all faiths as well as seekers unsure of what they are looking for.
"Everything was wonderfully prepared and far exceeded my anticipation of what it might be. Surrounding all of that was the peace, beauty and solitude of this place. Thank you for sharing it all with me. I feel blessed to have been able to visit and to join you in prayer."
K. 2017
"From the moment I arrived and picked up my key I felt the love of God was in the abbey ... Santa Rita Abbey has a special quietness and stillness that allows the retreat seeker ample opportunity to be still and listen for God's still small voice and respond with reflection, confession, redemption and love."
Richard, 2018
Santa Rita Abbey’s retreat house is beautiful; its surroundings are themselves a prayer. A vast western sky has things to tell us of God, both day and night. Mountains speak in solidity and reassurance. But we are a monastic place, a place in which the sisters’ simple life, their fidelity to silence, the sacred word, and liturgy lend meaning to the retreatants’ experience. Our retreatants are free to attend the sisters’ liturgical services from the guest chapel, or choose to enjoy the peace of the Retreat House chapel, their rooms or the majestic outdoors. They know that they have entered a living tradition in which prayer and laughter, welcome and labor run like a current just beneath the days of solitude they have come to enter.
Our retreats are individual and we do not give spiritual counseling or talks. The retreat is an encounter with God.
On a practical level, the retreat house offers a small kitchen and dining room, in which the guests prepare their meals from food provided. The rooms are simply and attractively furnished. The requested stipend is $40 a night. We ask retreatants to arrive before 6:00 in the evening.
To inquire about reservations call (520)455 5595, or email sraretreats@gmail.com
