Booking Retreats & Events
We are currently redeveloping the Retreats & Events section of this website. Pending completion of this project bookings can be made using this Booking Form or by calling 1 300 EXAMEN.
Directed Retreats During Isolation
Do you have a yearning to know God in a deeper way? To ‘Rise-Up’ with the Easter hope that is available for us all? Some of our offerings are listed below, but we are not restricted by the dates, so if the suggested dates don’t suit, just let us know what you would like and one of our directors will be able to accompany you. We will use Skype, Zoom, Facetime or telephone – whatever works best for you. If the suggested cost for the retreat is not within your means, please let your spiritual director know.
Directed Retreats NEW DATES
During these 3 to 8 day retreats (your choice) the spiritual director will provide prayer material and accompany you for an hour each day in spiritual direction.
- September 12th -19th
- October 5th – 12th
- November 9th -16th
- December 7th – 14th
Suggested donation: $60 per day.
Bookings can be made by calling 1300 EXAMEN or by using this Booking Form,do not complete the payment, dietary and special needs sections of the form. NB these retreats are online only
The First Spiritual Exercises – over 4 Weeks
You are invited to pray for an hour each day with material supplied by your spiritual director, and taken from a series of retreats ‘Inner Peace…’ devised by Fr Michael Hansen SJ.
You will engage once a week with your director for guidance. Dates for this retreat negotiable.
Suggested donation: $60 per week
Please email secretary@campion.asn.au or phone 03 9854 8110 to express your interest in this retreat.
The Full Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius
Do you have the desire to deepen your relationship with God? The Spiritual Exercises are a life changing retreat and offer rich prayer material, different methods of discernment and the opportunity to discover the ways in which God is calling you at this particular time of your life.
What St Ignatius called the ’19th Annotation retreat’ runs for about 30 weeks and is called the Retreat in Daily Life. During this retreat you commit to an hour of prayer each day with set material and then each week you engage in spiritual direction for an hour.
Suggested donation: $60 per week.
To download an application form, click here.
Connecting with God in Nature – a 5 Day On-line Group Retreat – led by Peter Saunders, Iain Radvan SJ and Marg Moore RSM
Monday 18 May to Friday 22 May between (9.30am to 10.30am) – fully booked – names now being taken for a waitlist
We live in an unusual time of self isolation and social distancing because of the COVID-19 restrictions. How can you stay connected to God in all Creation during this time?
This online retreat via Zoom will offer you the opportunity to stop and reflect on your connection with God in Nature during COVID-19. You will join other kindred spirits each day for an hour to listen, reflect, pray and share about your experience of connection with God in Nature during this time.
Drawing on Pope Francis’ encyclical “On Care for Our Common Home”, during Laudato DSi Week, we will give you some material to reflect on during each day inviting you to connect with Nature around you.
For a copy of the flyer, click here, and for information contact Peter Saunders at peter.saunders@campion.asn.au or 0421 643 705.
For bookings email secretary@campion.asn.au or phone 03 9854 8110.
2020 Program Summary
The following is a summary of the retreats and events already planned for 2020. For further details contact secretary@campion.asn.au or call 03 9854 8110.
To download a copy of the Being with God in Nature 2020 Program Booklet, click here.
The Full Spiritual Exercises
33-Day Full Spiritual Exercises – Monday 22 June to Monday 26 July OR Monday 5 October to Monday 9 November 2020 – at Sevenhill Centre of Ignatian Spirituality, Sevenhill South Australia
The Full Spiritual Exercises can be made over 33-days as an individually-directed live-in retreat. In an atmosphere of prayerful silence and surrender, one is drawn into a deeper relationship with God through daily prayer, reflection, liturgy and spiritual direction. For a confidential application form or more information, please contact Sevenhill Centre of Ignatian Spirituality for an Application Form on (08) 8843 5935 or email SevenhillJesuits@tpg.com.au
Silent Retreats
To deepen your relationship with God, we offer you silence, a peaceful ambience, a spiritual director and ample time for prayer and reflection. There is no input or group work, just silence and Spiritual Direction for you to hear God’s word.
6-Day Silent Directed Retreat – from Friday 17 January, 5:30pm to Friday 24 January, 9am
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 -3 to 8-Day Silent Directed Retreat – between Sunday 22 March, 5:30pm & Tuesday 31 March, 9am – You have the option of doing from three to eight days silent retreat. Active at 5:30pm Sunday 22 March and depart after breakfast the morning after your last retreat day. To download a copy of the flyer, click here.
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 – 3-Day Silent Directed Retreat – Holy Week – from Sunday 5 April, 5:30pm to Thursday 9 April, 9am
To download a copy of the flyer, click here
Pilgrimage CANCELLED DUE TO COVD-19
Footsteps of Ignatius – led by Michael Ryan SJ & Colleen Leonard SGS
Monday 28 September 2020 to Wednesday 14 October 2020
Join Jesuit Fr Michael Ryan and Good Samaritan Sr Colleen Leonard on a Pilgrimage through Paris, Loyola, Montserrat, Barcelona, Venice, Verona, Padua, Assisi and Rome, following the footsteps of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus in 1534.
Highlights include: a picturesque train trip across France, exploring Ignatius’ home town of Loyola, Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, a spiritual retreat in Manressa, Church of Gesu & Ignatius’ rooms, Vatican City (The Scavi & Papal Audience) and guided city tours.
To download the itinerary, click here and the flyer, click here.
For more information, or to reserve your place, go to myselah.com.au/ignatius2020, or contact the team at Selah on 1300 230 271 or contact Colleen Leonard at cleonard@goodsams.org.au.
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 – Ignatian Trail, Kapunda to Sevenhill, South Australia – 4 day Walking Retreat – Guided by the ‘Being with God in Nature’ Ministry Team.
Tuesday 5 May to Monday 11 May
In May 2020, a small group of pilgrims will walk part of the route in South Australia taken by the first Jesuits who arrived in Australia in 1848. This section of The Australian Ignatian Trail will begin at Kapunda. From there, the route proceeds along quiet country roads, the Rattler Trail and the Riesling Trail finishing at Sevenhill where the Jesuits established the first vineyard of Clare Valley in 1851. Four consecutive days of walking covers 76km.
This camino experience provides an opportunity to step aside from everyday life, spend reflective time walking, experience nature day after day and have time in silence and gentle conversation, listening to God’s presence in Nature.
The group will be supported by two experienced leaders.
A reasonable degree of fitness is essential with average daily distances between 15km and 24km.
To download a copy of the flyer, click here.
Cost: $1,395
Australian Ignatian Trail, South Australia – 7-day Walking Retreat – Guided by the ‘Being with God in Nature’ Ministry Team
Sunday 23 August to Tuesday 1 September
This camino experience provides an opportunity to step aside from everyday life, spend reflective time walking, experience nature day after day and have time in silence and gentle conversation, listening to God’s presence in Nature..
The Trail brings a focus on the history of the first Jesuits in Australia at Sevenhill and compliments the Mary Mackillop-Woods Way (Portland to Penola) and other Australian pilgrimages/caminos. The trail starts in Gawler with overnight accommodation in motels and caravan parks – stopping in Lyndoch, Tanunda, Kaunda, Tarlee, Riverton, Auburn and ending in Sevenhill. The route includes sections of the Heysen, Jack Bobridge, Rattler and Reisling trails that link the Barossa and Clare valleys.
The group will be supported by two experienced leaders.
A reasonable degree of fitness is essential with daily distances between 15km and 32km.
To download a copy of the flyer, click here.
Cost: $1,690
Other Retreats & Events
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 – Alone and on Foot? Are you Looking for Inner Peace in Friendship with Jesus? – A First Spiritual Exercises Retreat over 5 evenings – led by Margaret Claver FCJ & Annmaree Sutton
Thursday evenings 2, 16, 23, & 30 April & 14 May – 7pm to 8:30pm
Learn different ways of praying with weekly guidance using a First Spiritual Exercises retreat of St Ignatius. You can pray this in your own time at home with guidance provided on the Thursday evenings.This retreat brings our desires to light and into the presence of a personal God.
To download a copy of the flyer, click here.
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 – Wilderness Retreat – Far North Queensland – a 6-day Walking Retreat based in Cairns – led by Peter Saunders & Helen Lucas
Monday 13 July to Monday 20 July
This immersion retreat in an invitation to experience the spiritual depth of God’s Creation as it unfolds in the beauty of Nature in Far North Queensland.
To download a copy of the flyer, click here.
Cost $2,190 – includes accommodation, all meals, guided trips to key places in Far North Queensland, entry to Tjapakui Cultural Centre, Mossman Gorge, trip to Fitzroy Island.
A Broken Church for a Broken World Retreat – led by Terry Fanning & Jacinta Bright CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Saturday 25 July, 9:30am to 4pm
In a time when many church people feel bewilderment, shame, anger and despair: as our longing for a Christ centred church feels more urgent and palpable than ever, what are we to become?
This day of reflection invites us to consider our vulnerability as gift, painful as that might be, so that the Spirit might transform us, at this time, to be a church of integrity: a church for the margins: the broken body of Christ for, and in and with a broken world.
Care for Our Common Home – Clean Up Day – Yarra Bend Park – with Helen Lucas
Sunday 30 August- 9am to 12pm
Earth “cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled to plunder her at will.” Pope Francis, Laudato Si (2015)
Pope Francis invites us into an ecological conversion whereby our hearts encounter that deep connection with the Presence that is God in Nature.
This day at the beginning of the Season of Creation offers “individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation”. Pope Francis
Participants are invited to spend a morning helping to clean up rubbish in the Yarra Bend Park around the Yarra River. Please wear some old clothes, bring some gloves and bring a bottle of water.
Walking with Inigo: The Ignatian Camino – led by Josep Lluis Iriberri SJ
Dates for 2020:
- CANCELLED due to COVID-19 –16 April to 2 May
- 23 September to 22 October
For bookings or more information, please email Josep Lluis Iriberri SJ at : oficina.central@caminoignaciano.org
Laudato Si – On Care for Our Common Home – Four-week Reflective Seminar with Dr Peter Saunders CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Wednesday 2, 9, 16 & 23 September, 7pm to 8:30pm (venue TBC)
“The entire material universe speaks of God’s love and boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God”. Pope Francis – Laudato Si.
Pope Francis has established the Season of Creation from 1 September to 4 October. It is a month whereby we are invited to reconsider our relationship with God’s Creation in particular with Earth. In these four sessions we look at Pope Francis’ encyclical – Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. Through this encyclical Pope Francis invites us into an ecological conversion of our heart that inspires us to live differently with Earth and all of Creation.
This small group seminar will prayerfully reflect on Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment – Laudato Si – and how it can apply to our lives and parishes.
Cost $40 (including Care for Our Common Home workbook).
Aboriginal Wilderness Retreat – Lake Mungo – led by Vicki Clark OAM & Dr Peter Saunders CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Sunday 6 September to Saturday 12 September –
This six-day immersion retreat is an invitation to experience the beauty of Lake Mungo National Park and to appreciate Aboriginal Spirituality of Lake Mungo and the connection with the Christian story.
Vicki Clark is a descendant of the Mutthi Mutthi tribe of southwest NSW, her home country is centred on the Mungo National Park area. Vicki is the former co-ordinator of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Victoria.
Cost $2,520 (includes shared room accommodation, single room for additional $300, and all meals)
To download a copy of the flyer click here.
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 – Kathleen Duffy SSJ – Teilhard de Chardin
In October St Kathleen Duffy SJ will be visiting Melbourne.
Sr Kathleen, a Professor of Physics, is one of the leading experts on Teilhard de Chardin. She is editor of Teilhard Studies for the American Teilhard Association. Kathleen has published two significant books on Teilhard – Teilhard’s Mysticism: Seeing the Inner Face of Evolution (2004) and Teilhard’s Struggle: Embracing the Work of Evolution (2019) as well as many papers.
Sr Kathleen will give two evening talks: NOW CANCELLED DUE YO COVID-19
- Tuesday, 13 October : 5:30pm – 7:00pm – An Evening on Teilhard de Chardin at the Catholic University, East Melbourne.
- Thursday, 15 October : 5:00pm – 6:30pm: An Evening on Teilhard de Chardin at Newman College, Parkville.
Sr Kathleen will lead a retreat day: ALSO CANCELLED
- Saturday, 17 October: 10.00am to 4:00pm on “Teilhard’s Mysticism” Venue: TBA
Drawn to Follow the Road of Fire: Teilhard and Struggle – Don Bosco Retreat Centre, Lysterfield – led by Kathleen Duffy SSJ CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
5-Day Residential Retreat – Sunday 18 October to Friday 23 October, 2020
Sr Kathleen will lead a retreat on Drawn to Follow the Road of Fire: Teilhard and Struggle. This contemplative retreat invites the retreatant to stop and reflect on the life and work of Teilhard de Chardin. It is an invitation to listen to how you are being called to a deeper experience of God in all Creation.
Venue: Don Bosco Retreat Centre, 465 Lysterfield Road, Lysterfield VIC
Cost: Early Bird $950 (until Friday 18 September 2020). Full Fee $1,100 (includes single room accommodation and all meals).
To download a copy of the flyer, click here.
Contact: Peter Saunders on 0421 643 705 or email secretary@campion.asn.au
Weekend Retreats
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 – Women……then until now – led by Marg Claver FCJ & Rachel McLoughlin IBVM
Friday 13 March, 7pm – Sunday 15 March, 3pm
A weekend silent retreat, with optional spiritual direction, reflecting on the feminine face of Ignatian Spirituality over 500 years. There will be some sessions of input for reflection on women over these centuries, some single, some married, some rich some poor.Do you know any of these women? Can they teach us something for our times?
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 – Stillness Weekend – Exploring our Spiritual Connections with the Ocean – Santa Casa Queenscliff – led by Peter Saunders
Friday 20 March, 6pm – Sunday 22 March, 2pm
This weekend will offer a time of rest and quiet in Nature. The retreatant is invited to listen to how God speaks to their heart through Nature. During the weekend, retreatants will have the opportunity to relax and contemplate the beauty of Nature and God’s presence in the Ocean calling them to new life. Cost $320, Bookings through Santa Casa either (03) 5258 2661 or santacasa@ismapng.org.au.
To download a copy of the flyer click here.
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 –Seeking the Spiritual in the Cosmic Sanctuary: Earth – St Paul’s Missionary College, Wantirna – with Norman Habel
Friday 1 May to Sunday 3 May
In this reflective weekend retreat, Norm will explore our deep spiritual relationship with Earth. The retreat is based on reflections found in Norm’s book: On Being and Earth Being: Exploring the Spiritual in a Cosmic Sanctuary Called Planet Earth.
Norman Habel is a Professorial Fellow at Flinders University, South Australia. He is a biblical scholar who has specialised in the Book of Job, ecology and the Bible, and Wisdom Literature. His initiatives include The Earth Bible Series, The Earth Bible Commentary, The Season of Creation. His recent works include: Discerning Wisdom in God’s Creation and The Earth Care Charter.
To download a copy of the flyer for this walk, click here.
Cost: Live-In $360 (single with ensuite) $310.00 (shared) Live-Out $240.00
CANCELLED due to COVID-19 – Hildegard of Bingen and Teilhard de Chardin – Exploring the Mystical Experience of God in Creation – St Paul’s Missionary College, Wantirna – led by Colleen Leonard SGS and Peter Saunders
Friday 26 June – Sunday 28 June
Led by Colleen Leonard SGS and Dr Peter Saunders.
This reflective weekend retreat is an opportunity to explore the mysticism of Hildegard of Bingen and Teilhard de Chardin. Both of them experienced that deep encounter with the Presence of God in all Creation.
“Everything that is in the heavens, on earth, and under the earth is penetrated with connectedness, penetrated with relatedness.” (Hildegard of Bingen)
“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world , humanity will have discovered fire.” (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin)
Venue: St Paul’s Missionary College, Nortons Lane, Wantirna VIC 3152
Cost: $360 (single room with ensuite), $310 (twin-share), $240 (live-out)
To download a copy of the flyer, click here.
Booking through secretary@campion.asn.au or phone 03 9854 8110
Contact Peter Saunders 0421 643 705 or peter.saunders@campion.asn.au
A Weekend in Nature on Phillip Island
Friday 13 November, 7:30pm to Sunday 15 November, 3pm
Led by Dr Peter Saunders and Helen Lucas.
This weekend will offer the opportunity to stop and spend some time communing with God in Nature in the beautiful surrounds of Phillip Island. You will have the opportunity to walk in different parts of Phillip Island, to visit the Nobes, the Discovery Centre and Cape Woolamai. The retreatant is invited to listen to how God speaks to their heart through Nature during the weekend.
“Earth is calling us back to itself, and not only to us but to all its components, calling them into an intimacy with one another and to the larger community within which all earthly realities have their existence…” (Thomas Berry)
Weekend include: meals, prayer, guided walks, Magis circle.
Accommodation: Big4 Caravan Park, 24 Old Bridge Drive, Newhaven on Phillip Island in holiday two bedroom cabins, single rooms with shared bathroom facilities.
Cost: $390 Live-in $250 Live-out
For further details contact Peter Saunders on 0421 643 705 and to make a booking hone 03 9854 8110 or email secretary@campion.asn.au
To download a copy of the flyer, click here.
Prayer Days – Walking with God in Nature
To download a list of the 2020 Prayer Day Walks, click here.
Gippsland – Leongatha to Koonwarra – Saturday 14 March
To download a copy of the flyer for this walk, click here.
POSTPONED due to COVID-19 Sherbrooke Forest – to be rescheduled
To download a copy of the flyer for this walk, click here.
Yarra Bend Park – Saturday 8 August
To download a copy of the flyer for this walk, click here.
Ferny Creek – Saturday 19 September
To download a copy of the flyer for this walk, click here.
Cape Woolamai / Phillip Island – Saturday 3 October
To download a copy of the flyer for this walk, click here.
Daylesford – Saturday 21 November
To download a copy of the flyer for this walk, click here.