Six day Silent Retreat for Advent
16th – 21st November, 2023
Directed by Robyn Fitzgerald and Sr Madeline Duckett, rsm
In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Through the Word all things came into being,
not one thing had its being but through the Word.
All that came to be had life in the Word
and that life is the light of all humankind.
John 1: 1-4
Be at leisure, taste and see how dulcet and how remarkable is the spouse whom you have chosen above thousands.
Gertrude of Helfta, Jubilas, SE, VI: 57-60
This directed six-day silent retreat is an invitation be at leisure and to rest in the Word, and to taste evermore deeply the original consciousness within which we have our being and from which all life flows, and to enjoy our lives as spouses of Light. As a small community, we will create a field of gentle Silence as we become more and more sensitive to the birthing of Word in our lives and in the world. The retreat will be offered online and will include daily spiritual direction (by phone or online) and communal morning and afternoon silent prayer, which can be supportive of our meditation. The cost is $350.00, and spaces are limited. Those new to silent retreat are warmly welcome. For more information or to book please contact Robyn at robyn@conversationsoftheheart.com.au.
Personal Retreats
Personal Retreats are also offered on request. These are retreats prayed at home and developed in response to your own desire to deepen into a mystic you feel drawing you or have longed to spend more time with. These can be taken over any length of time depending on your life circumstances and spiritual needs. Please contact Robyn if you are interested
Previous Retreats
God loves nothing better than the desert, where the seeker goes to give birth to God and participate in the joy of birth, the joy of preexilic birth.
David Applebaum
Blossoming in the Desert
Five-Day Silent Retreat for Advent
4th -10th Dec, 2021
Guided and Directed by Robyn Fitzgerald and Madeline Duckett rsm
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. Isaiah 40:3
This Advent, we will walk the path taught to us by John the Baptist who had learned to empty himself so completely, to be “empty and bare as the desert” in which he lived, and where he discovered and enjoyed God’s birthing within himself. In the subtle beauty and the colourful hues of the silence of the desert, we will create the necessary quiet to prepare our hearts for the birthing of the Word, personally and communally. Over five days, we will soak in the wisdom of St John the Baptist, accompanied by the mystics, artists and poets who know this blossoming place in the soul, and are deeply versed in the wisdom of unitive consciousness.
The retreat will be facilitated by Robyn Fitzgerald who will be joined by Sister Madeline Duckett rsm to offer spiritual direction. The retreat will be offered on-line. The cost of the retreat is $350.00 and includes daily teachings, guided meditations and spiritual direction. Recordings of the material will be made available each evening. You are warmly invited to contact Robyn Fitzgerald at robfitz65@gmail.com for further information.
Teilhard de Chardin and the Way of Transformation Through Love and Suffering
Six-Day Online Silent Retreat
12-18th October, 2020
Guided and Directed by Madeline Duckett rsm and Robyn Fitzgerald
This retreat will explore central aspects of the spiritual journey of Teilhard de Chardin for our own inner unfolding of being in the Cosmic Christ, It will focus on the hidden, mystical power of love and suffering to transform our hearts to becoming prophets of hope in a world in need of love. There will be opportunity for spiritual direction and we will celebrate the Mass on the World during the retreat. This retreat was offered online through Santa Casa, Queenscliff, Victoria.
World Without End
Six-Day Online Silent Retreat for Advent
6 -12 Dec 2020
Guided and Directed by Catherine Hefferan rsm and Robyn Fitzgerald
“When I know I am going to walk forever, I have time for now” says Thomas Hubl, echoing the wisdom of mystics over centuries who proclaim our eternal personhood and our timeless nature. This Advent, we invite you to come together to create a community of Silence where we will sink into the Eternal Presence that lies beneath all that is fragile, tender and hurting in our world. Here, in the ground of our heart, we participate in the eternal birthing of Christ Omega shining through each one of us and our communal heart where we will see, as Teilhard de Chardin writes, “the whole universe has become the temple of the living God….where…..everything that exists is sacred, and everything that happens is adorable”.
