Summer retreats begin June 26

St. Gregory’s Abbey in Shawnee will offer three retreats during the summer: A Pilgrimage with St. Paul, June 26-28; St. Benedict and the Way of Humility, July 10-12; and Let Your Life Speak, July 30-Aug. 2.
A Pilgrimage with St. Paul, an ideal way to bring to a close the Jubilee Year of St. Paul, will focus on five principle themes: pilgrimage in following Christ, baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ, obedience in imitation of Christ, sharing in the sacraments of Christ, and being the Body of Christ. 
Conferences will be presented jointly by James Shelton, Ph.D., and monks of St. Gregory’s Abbey. Dr. Shelton is a noted author and professor of New Testament and Early Christian literature, teaching at Oral Roberts University and the Pastoral Studies Institute of the Diocese of Tulsa. He became Roman Catholic in 1996.
Several members of the monastic community will contribute to the retreat conferences by providing prayerful reflection on selected texts in the tradition of lectio divina, or “sacred reading.” Participants will experience the compatibility of the study of Scripture and prayer.
The second retreat, St. Benedict and the Way of Humility, will be presented by the Rt. Rev. Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B, Abbot of St. Gregory’s Abbey. Abbot Lawrence will explore the 12 steps of humility listed in the seventh chapter of The Rule of St. Benedict, reflecting on how these steps might be embraced by persons of all walks of life in our contemporary culture.
The retreat will coincide with the Feast of St. Benedict July 11. Abbot Lawrence professed vows as a monk of St. Gregory’s Abbey July 11, 1985, and was ordained to the priesthood Aug. 6, 1994. He holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology with an emphasis on Monastic Studies. He was elected as the 10th Abbot of St. Gregory’s Jan. 6, 2006.
The third retreat is called Let Your Life Speak. Fr. Charles Buckley, O.S.B., will use the book of this title by Parker Palmer. In this book, Palmer reflects on vocation, the life-long search to live out our lives in the ways of God. Retreatants will be guided in their own reflection on their pathway to God.
The Rev. Buckley professed vows as a monk of St. Gregory’s Abbey Aug. 15, 1966, and was ordained to the priesthood June 20, 1970. He holds a doctorate in math education from Columbia University. He has served in a variety of capacities at St. Gregory’s Abbey, including formation director, on the senior leadership council and as retreat coordinator and vocations director.
He has similarly held various positions in the university, including professor of mathematics, campus minister, dean of students and vice president for academic affairs.
Participants will stay in the St. Gregory’s University residence hall. Meals will be in the monastic dining room. Participants will be able to use the swimming pool, the aerobic center and the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art during their free time.
Cost for the retreat is $80 per person in advance and $85 for those not pre-registered. This fee includes lodging, meals and registration fee. The cost for those not needing lodging is $50. An offering is taken up for the retreat master.
For further information, consult the abbey Web site at monksok.org, or contact The Rev. Buckley at cjbuckley@stgregorys.edu, or call him at 878-5462.