RETREATS
2025 GUIDED RETREAT
Our Guided Retreat is designed to offer you a deeply enriching experience—one that nourishes your soul and supports your continued journey in faith. Through prayer, rest, themed presentations, personal reflection, and optional individual guidance, this retreat creates a sacred space for silence and stillness.
Theme: Living the Song of Songs.
The Song of Songs is not simply a collection of love songs that celebrate nuptial love between husband and wife. From the Judeo-Christian perspective, it is a celebration of the covenanted love between Israel and Yahweh, and for the Christian mystics, particularly, it is a revelation of the individual soul and the workings of Divine Love.
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Mystical writers, who have commented on the text, point us to the one reality. The story of the Lover and the beloved in the Song of Songs is our story. It is the story of our journey into intimate communion with God.
Though called the Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s, this poem could not have been written by the son of David, who lived in the tenth century. It was possibly written around the fifth or fourth century BCE or even earlier to evolve slowly and mature in the hidden heart of Israel.
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During this retreat, we will explore our deepest longings and the journey of the human soul along the path of love to mystical union with God. The double movement of the experience of Christ’s presence followed by an absence, that increases the soul’s desire, forms the pattern in the text of the Song.
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‘Our wholehearted openness to love is the condition to which you and I and every human being is called. It demands a great deal, but in the end, we will find that all we have lost are our limitations” (John Main OSB).
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In her very practical way, Teresa of Avila says, “I know someone who for a number of years had many fears, and nothing gave her assurance, but the Lord was pleased that she heard some words from the Song of Songs, and through them she understood that her soul was well guided … she understood that is was possible for a soul in love with its Spouse to experience all those favours, swoons, deaths, afflictions, delights and joys in relation to him. It does so after it has left all the world’s joys out of love for him and is completely given over and abandoned into his hands, and … not just in words … but confirmed with deeds” (Collected works, 218).
Guided by: Pauline Compton, fdnsc
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Cost: $950 per person (fully catered)
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Date: Friday 12th September – Friday 19th September 2025.
This retreat begins with the evening meal at 6pm on the 12th and concludes after breakfast on the 19th.
How to book: To book your place in the retreat, please call (02) 48613223 or contact us using the button below.
MINDFULNESS RETREATS
Openground Weekend Retreat
'Living Wholeheartedly' with Libba Granger
Friday 18th - Sunday 20th July, 2025
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Join us for "Living Wholeheartedly", a transformative weekend retreat to help you engage more deeply with life—embracing each moment just as it is.
Through guided meditation, mindful practices, and meaningful dialogue, you’ll explore how to welcome life’s joys and sorrows with greater presence and acceptance. Held mostly in silence, the retreat offers space for reflection, with optional small group discussions to share insights and deepen your understanding.
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Whether you're seeking intentional living or looking to enrich your practice, this retreat offers a nourishing space to pause, reflect, and reconnect. You'll leave with tools for greater clarity, joy, and resilience. Enjoy private rooms, wholesome meals, and time in nature—ideal for rest, renewal, and growth.​​
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Mindfulness Training Institute (MTI) 7 Day Retreat
'Four Foundations of Mindfulness' With Timothea Goddard and Mary McIntyre
Monday 8th - Sunday 14th December, 2025
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​A Device-Free, Silent Retreat for Deepening Practice.
This retreat invites you to unplug from devices and the constant pull of “doing,” allowing your nervous system to settle and restore. An emergency contact will be available for loved ones if needed.
Designed for those wishing to deepen their mindfulness practice, the retreat blends silent meditation, gentle movement, and guided inquiry. Teachings will focus on embodied awareness, quieting the mind, opening the heart, and cultivating insight into both personal and collective suffering. We’ll also reflect on our relationship to broader challenges—such as device dependence and the climate crisis—asking how our practice can support wise, compassionate responses.
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Through periods of silence, daily talks, and opportunities for individual or group dialogue, you’ll be supported in developing a grounded, open, and flexible inner life. Prior meditation experience is recommended (e.g., MBSR or equivalent). If unsure, feel free to get in touch before registering.
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HOST YOUR
RETREAT AT HARTZER PARK
Are you interested in hosting a retreat or group gathering at Hartzer Park? Check out accommodation for more information on our room options or contact us for enquiries.