Jon Krekelberg
612-810-8284 (C)
Kermit Duncan
612-685-3030 (C)
Thursday, October 31 – Sunday, November 3, 2024
We hope that you are enjoying a pleasant summer with time to spend with family and friends. We would like you to take a moment to check your calendar and prepare for your weekend retreat at the Jesuit Retreat House. If you plan to invite someone to attend the retreat, please take this opportunity to notify them to allow them time to prepare and attend.
This notice is for all the men who have made regular or occasional Demontreville retreats on this weekend or have made a previous retreat on another weekend and wish to join us on this weekend.
This retreat is also for men ready to experience that first retreat and the benefits of a personal retreat at Demontreville.
The Retreat House is operating at its full capacity of hosting 70 men for the retreat weekend. As always, it is the responsibility of each man to determine if attending on this weekend is an acceptable time to be away from his family and work life. Your comfort and well-being help you to be properly “Disposed” to make a retreat. The retreat at Demontreville continues to adhere to its principles to provide a safe, comfortable environment to encourage men to make a retreat. For the new men (first timers), as well as a refresher for those who have made past retreats, it helps to review the purpose of a retreat and what one might expect from spending a spiritual weekend at Demontreville. With each of us at a different station in life, a retreat is deeply personal, and gives us an opportunity to reflect and meditate about that life. Demontreville provides not only a structure for us, but a remarkable glimpse of God’s beautiful and wondrous creation to ponder our life and relationships.
A retreat:
- Is a time to take a step back from everyday life and see where you are going.
- Is a time to examine: Am I living my days as a young adult, working adult, husband, father, senior adult, or community member in a Christian way?
- Is a time to improve your spiritual connection and give a better idea of who you are in this life’s journey.
- Is not just a 3-day respite each year, but the beginning of a process that may spiritually affect the rest of your life.
Retreat Master for 2024
Fr. Jim Shea, SJ
Fr. Jim Shea, S.J., was born near Chicago in Skokie, Illinois. He credits his mother (a lifelong Catholic) and father (a convert) for his Catholic faith. He first met the Jesuits as an undergraduate at Loyola University Chicago. There he sought out courses taught by Jesuits, despite warnings about their tough grading and the heavy workload they assigned. These Jesuit teachers sowed the seed of his vocation.
After graduating, Fr. Shea spent a year living in community and volunteering with the Passionists at a social service agency for people with HIV/ AIDS in Detroit. Later, he worked in Chicago with Misericordia, a home for people with developmental and physical disabilities. Discernment of the priesthood led him back to the Jesuits and he entered the Society of Jesus in 2004.
Fr. Shea received a master’s degree in philosophy from Loyola University Chicago and a Master of Divinity degree from the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. As a Jesuit, Fr. Shea taught English at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago. Additionally, he served as a deacon and confirmation class teacher at Blessed Mother Teresa Parish in Dorchester, Massachusetts. You may recognize him from his time as an assistant here, at Demontreville, in the first part of 2016.
Currently, Fr. Shea is on the retreat staff at the Jesuit Retreat House near Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Thursday evening, October 31, 2024, through Sunday evening, November 3, 2024
Instructions
The Retreat House has a limit of 70 men that can attend the retreat. Reservations can be made through this website form for the weekend listed below. Please note that reservations are on a “first-come, first-served” basis, so please respond as quickly as possible to reserve your spot. Early registration is especially important for family and friends that you invite to attend this retreat weekend.
Please follow the registration instructions and reply no later than Monday, September 16. Make sure to include all the information requested. If you do not register early, you risk being placed on the waiting list if the registration fills up.
In the “Message” box, please send the names of any new men that you would like us to contact. Please include their complete contact information (Full name, email address, telephone/ cell number).
After you register
The Retreat House will send by U. S. Post your confirmed reservation about 2-3 weeks before our October 31st retreat date.
PLEASE WATCH YOUR POSTAL MAILBOX BEGINNING IN MID-OCTOBER FOR THE LETTER.
Starting the weekend before the retreat, we contact everyone By Telephone to reconfirm your attendance. We do this to check in and see if you have any issues or questions or if something has come up requiring you to cancel your attendance. We expect to have a full house, so please respect your colleagues and let us know in advance as soon as you know that you cannot attend, even if it’s only a few hours before the retreat. This may allow someone on the waiting list to attend.
Opening & ending schedules
Arrival time is between 4 PM and 6:30 PM on Thursday, October 31, 2024. (Please do not arrive before 4 or after 6:30)
Dinner is served promptly at 7:00 PM.
Checking in and bringing your personal effects to your room takes a few minutes. If you are new to the retreat, you may want a friend or someone else to give you a quick orientation of the grounds and buildings, so please arrive closer to 4. Make arrangements for a particular diet when you arrive on Thursday evening.
The retreat ends after dinner on Sunday, November 3, 2024.
Allowing return to the Twin Cities area by 8:00 PM.
Casual clothing is recommended.
Watch the weather forecast to help plan for your comfort.
