The spirituality of the famous priest and writer Henri Nouwen will be the topic of a weekend retreat at St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, on April 29 – May 1, 2022, presented by Wil Hernandez, PhD, Obl. OSB, and titled, Everyday Spirituality: Living the Ordinary Extraordinarily.
Henri Nouwen
According to Henri Nouwen, “To live in the present, we must believe deeply that what is most important is the here and now” and, thus, “we must learn to live each day, each hour, yes, each minute as a new beginning, as a unique opportunity to make everything new.” Employing Nouwen’s rich insights into our spiritual life in conversation with the core features of both Benedictine and Ignatian spirituality, we will examine during this weekend retreat more closely how the ordinariness of our daily existence can be lived out extraordinarily when we learn to be truly present in the moment. Wil will also draw from his new book, Accidental Monk and share some of his experiences during his own prolonged retreat in a Benedictine monastery.
Wil Hernandez
Wil Hernandez is an international retreat leader, a spiritual director, and the author of Mere Spirituality: The Spiritual Life According to Henri Nouwen (SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2015), as well as of a trilogy on Henri Nouwen published by Paulist Press. All year round he conducts retreats, workshops, and seminars and teaches courses focused on the spirituality of Nouwen in both Catholic and Protestant institutions in the U.S. and abroad through The Nouwen Legacy, an outfit he manages which is dedicated to promoting the enduring legacy of Nouwen (www.nouwenlegacy.com). Wil is the founder and executive director of CenterQuest, an ecumenical hub for the study and practice of Christian Spirituality (www.CQCenterQuest.org). He holds a private practice in a professional office in Pasadena, California, doing counseling, life coaching, and spiritual direction. As an active member of Spiritual Directors International (SDI), he serves on the Editorial Panel of Presence Journal and regularly conducts Nouwen workshops at SDI conferences. Wil is also an active Benedictine Oblate of Saint Andrew’s Abbey in Valyermo, CA.
The retreat begins on Friday, at 7:30 p.m. and ends on Sunday after Lunch. The program fee is $ 70; room and board are additional.