Oblate Retreats
(Retreats are limited to oblates and those interested in becoming oblates.)
Oblates of Saint Benedict are Christians who have experienced in some way a call to embrace Benedictine spirituality. After a time of prayer and discernment they have desired a more formal, permanent commitment to a monastic community. By making this formal self-giving to Christ in communion with a monastic community, the oblate embraces the time-tested traditions and values of the Benedictine way. Oblates are united to the prayer and good works of the monastery to which they are associated while they continue to live out their Christian vocation in the world.
For more information on becoming on oblate, or if you are in need of financial assistance, please email Ariel Lynch, Associate Director of Oblates.
To register for a retreat, email retreat@mtangel.edu.
(Please note: All weekend retreats begin with Vespers on Friday at 5:15 and end with lunch on Sunday.)
Oblate Weekend Retreat Rates:
$220 Single
$330 Couple
$115 Commuter per person
Oblate Retreats 2025
February 7–9, 2025
Oblate Saints: St. Henry, St. Frances of Rome, Servant of God Dorothy Day and Nadeem Feroze (d. 2012)
Br. Cyril Drnjevic, OSB
May 23–25, 2025
Fr. Charles Gonzalez, OSB
September 19–21, 2025
From Head to Tail: Life and Death in the Book of Jonah
Br. Thomas Buttrick, OSB
November 7–9, 2025
Abbot Peter Eberle, OSB
Oblate Retreats 2026
February 6–8, 2026
Br. Louis de Montfort Nguyen, OSB
Lectio Divina & the Father’s Love:
A Contemplative Journey into the Parable of the Prodigal Son
Join us for a Lectio Divina retreat on the Parable of the Prodigal Son—Scripture’s luminous window into the heart of the Bible: the Father’s boundless love. In a contemplative rhythm of reading, meditation, prayer, and quiet rest in God, we will trace the parable’s rich tapestry: its cultural setting, theological depths, and resonances across Scripture. At its Christocentric center we will behold the true Son, Jesus Christ, who—unlike the sinner who abandons the Father’s house—freely leaves the glory of heaven out of love for the Father to seek and save the lost.
This profoundly human story unveils a divine mystery: the Father’s steadfast mercy. As we witness a father’s
tender love for his child, we encounter the unfailing love of our Father—healing our wounds, conquering sin,
restoring our dignity, and conforming us to the image of his eternal Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Come, be
immersed in the Father’s love; receive this parable as your own story—and be transformed.
Recommended Readings:
1. The Gospel of Luke Ch. 15
2. The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen
3. The Cross & the Prodigal: Luke 15 Through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants by Kenneth Bailey
4. Time for God by Fr. Jacques Philippe
5. Thirsting for Prayer by Fr. Jacques Philippe
May 15–17, 2026
Fr. Anselm Flores, OSB
June 18–21, 2026: Oblate Study Days
Fr. Stephen Rowan
The Lectionary in the Liturgical Year
Most Catholics encounter the Scriptures primarily through the proclamation of the readings at Sunday Mass. Those readings inform the celebration of each Eucharist by providing specific reasons for thanksgiving, and the Eucharist, in turn, forms the Church, the body of Christ.
The Lectionary, the liturgical book containing these readings, in a beautiful and well-conceived way, has set forth the riches of the scriptures more lavishly and systematically than at any time in the Church’s history. In this retreat, we will reflect in nine presentations on how the Lectionary helps to form the Church at each Eucharist as the people of God, the Body of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We will reflect on how the scriptures shape the celebrations of the Liturgical Year (the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Eastertime and the Sundays of Ordinary Time), even as those celebrations shape the Church.
In nine presentations, it will be possible to touch only briefly and by way of example on how the scriptures inform the celebrations of the Eucharist in the Liturgical Year. However, the purpose of the Retreat will be achieved if the general principles of arrangement are understood and their significance for celebrating the Eucharist is appreciated.
September 18–20, 2026
Fr. Ephrem Martinez, OSB
November 6–8, 2026
Fr. Michael Shrum, OSB