On July 28 - 30, 2023, award-winning author, poet, and journalist Judith Valente will come to St. Benedict Center, four miles north of Schuyler, and present a weekend retreat on the topic of Thomas Merton & Dorothy Day: Contemplative Wisdom for Crisis Times.
In their many writings, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton speak directly to the personal and social challenges we face in today's world. We will delve into what they have to say about healing division and conflict, meeting social needs, seeking peace, the importance of prayer and taking time to pause. We will look at how we too can become "contemplatives in action" and work to heal a broken world.
Judith Valente is a sought-after speaker and retreat leader on living a more contemplative life, discovering inner wisdom through poetry, and finding meaning in your work. She is an Oblate of the Benedictine monastery Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, KS, which is the subject of her award-winning 2013 memoir, Atchison Blue: A Search for Silence, a Spiritual Home and a Living Faith, chosen by Religion Newswriters Association as one of the three best spirituality books of that year. Her new book, How to Be: A Monk & a Journalist Reflect on Living & Dying, Purpose & Prayer, Forgiveness & Friendship is a dialogue between two spiritual seekers exploring life's complex questions. Her co-author is Brother Paul Quenon, a Trappist monk of the famous Abbey of Gethsemani who knew the great spirituality author, Thomas Merton.
Her 2018 book, How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning, and Community has been used by book group members throughout the world seeking to live a more contemplative life in the secular world. She is also co-author with Brother Paul Quenon of The Art of Pausing: Meditations for the Overworked and Overwhelmed, winner of a 2013 Catholic Press Association Award. She is a former on-air correspondent who covered faith and values for Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly on national PBS-TV. She contributes articles to National Catholic Reporter and U.S. Catholic magazine. Ms. Valente is also a poet whose poetry chapbook, Inventing An Alphabet, was chosen by Mary Oliver for the 2005 national Aldrich Poetry Prize. Her second collection, Discovering Moons, was published in 2009. Ms. Valente holds a BA in English and classical languages from St. Peter's University in Jersey City, NJ, and an MFA in creative writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is married to former Illinois Judge Charles Reynard, also a poet, with whom she co-edited the 2005 anthology, Twenty Poems to Nourish Your Soul, winner of an Eric Hoffer Book citation. The couple operates an alfalfa farm in central Illinois. She is vice president of the International Thomas Merton Society.
The retreat begins on Friday, at 7:30 p.m. and closes on Sunday after lunch. The program fee is $ 70; room and board are additional.