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Retreats &
Sabbaticals...
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Prayer Sites
at the Pines
"We shall not cease from exploration
and
the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started
and know the
place for the first time."
T. S. Eliot
At
Benet Pines Retreat Center
our guests
will find unique and contemplative prayer sites and interconnecting meditative
paths throughout the grounds to renew the spirit, quiet the soul, and enhance
the prayerful experience of our guests and friends. Persons from all walks of
life and many different religious traditions seek God in the serenity and beauty
of this wooded setting.
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ZEN GARDEN:
Meditate on the beauty and wonder of creation in the ZEN garden. Oriental Zen gardens are
places set apart, places to appreciate the wonders of everyday things, places to
liberate the imagination, places to nourish the soul, places to be in touch with
our Creator. More than 600 years ago, the Zen priest-gardeners of Japan
developed simple techniques to create visually stimulating outdoor environments
that are also oases of peace and serenity.
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(The Zen garden was the first meditative site developed at
Benet Pines and was dedicated to Sister Mary Agnes McPhee.
Prior to her death, Sister Mary Agnes spent her days on earth at Benet Pines
tending to the needs of retreatants, and her own community and monastic spirit.
Her life was devoted to goodness and walking lightly, as the plaque on the
boulder within the garden suggests.)
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LABYRINTH:
Take a meditative walk, an archetypal journey to assist you on your journey
to inner peace and understanding. During the Middle Ages, when it was not
possible to complete a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Christians used the
labyrinth to
fulfill their obligation. A labyrinth has only one path into the center and back
out. Our outdoor labyrinth incorporates the Ponderosa pines and the undulating
forest floor. Allow 30 – 60 minutes to walk the labyrinth. Let it nurture your
relationship with your God, with yourself, and with others.
After
visiting a labyrinth, many people choose to pray the labyrinth at home with
a handheld
labyrinth.
Labyrinths are used for healing, prayer, and meditation. iSpiritual creates
hand held, personal labyrinths in a variety of sizes and materials.
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(On July 15, 2000, friends, oblates, family,
community and retreatants gathered to joyfully and prayerfully build the
labyrinth. In September, the labyrinth was dedicated in memory of Becky Reichardt, a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, teacher and faithful friend to
the Benedictine Sisters.)
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STATIONS OF THE CROSS:
Pray
in the more traditional devotional setting, once again surrounded by the
stillness of the forest. The
Stations of the Cross were designed and hand carved on redwood plaques
by Benet Hill Sisters during the 1960’s. The 14 stations hang on individual
pines trees throughout a wooded area next to the community’s cemetery.
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STONE GROTTO:
This beautiful stone Grotto which sits upon a rocky knoll in the pine forest was
constructed by Nancy Walter, a past volunteer and friend of the sisters.
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BENET HILL CEMETERY:
After prayerfully walking the Stations of the Cross, stop a moment in the
cemetery to quietly reflect in the presence of our foremothers.
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Back to
Benet Pines Retreat Center...
About Us •
Monastic Life •
Educational & Spiritual Offerings •
Retreats
BENET
PINES RETREAT CENTER
Sister Mary John Thomas, OSB
3190 Benet Lane
Colorado Springs, Co 80921
(719)
633-0655 ext 132
E-Mail:
bpinescs@benethillmonastery.org
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