"This is the most beautiful place.
I have been coming here for 20 years with a group,
but have always wanted to come on my own
and stay in one of the cabins. I had everything I needed.
The very busy squirrels were an endless source of delight
& entertainment during my stay.
During these challenging times,
as the whole world deals with the pandemic,
I am so grateful to have Maryholme in my life.
Spending 3 days here gives me what I need
to go back out into my world/the world
to share whatever I can with others, with love.
Thank you all, for all you do."
From a guest Autumn 2020
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Our mission as a spirituality centre continues to be
"To encourage individuals and groups to explore and restore the energies needed
for personal, communal, and world transformation."
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Our world has changed and is not finished changing. How do we find "home" in the daily unfamiliar? Writing is one way, writing so that we encounter our own ground and center in these shifting times. You will have time, quiet, guidance, and the opportunity to hear how others are also "writing their way home" in this weekend gathering.
Private room, home-cooked meals and meeting with your facilitator, if desired, are offered as part of these days. COVID protocols followed.
Facilitator Brenda Peddigrew rsm
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Loretto Maryholme is not available to offer onsite retreats during these latest restrictions, yet anxiety, fatigue, and stress continue to be the experience for many. Loretto Maryholme offers this contemplative space to meet with others. Please register in advance by emailing maryholme@rogers.com. An invitation link will be sent prior to the gathering. Donations welcome, please send an EFT to booking@lorettomaryholme.ca.
Let us enter into the Advent-Christmas holiday season lighting candles of hope, peace, joy, and love rather than dwell in hopelessness, anxiety, discontent and isolation. Sr. Jane McDonell will offer quieting and meditative exercises to help live from a more contemplative and compassionate stance each day.
Facilitator Jane McDonell ibvm
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In the dark of this winter season with disease, poverty, unemployment, unrest and uncertainty surrounding us let us remember that light, warmth, community, love, and good will are present too. Together, as many traditions celebrate LIGHT e.g. Diwali, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, we will gather to mark the first slow turning of our planet toward greater daylight, filling us with hope for the coming year and the return of Spring.
OUTDOOR RITUAL with music, fire, blessings, reflections. Gather near the Peace Pole by the gate entrance.
Bring a source of light - preferably a lantern or candle (battery or flame). If not, a flashlight or phone will do.
There will not be a party or communal labyrinth walk this year due to health and safety requirements. However you are welcome to pray/walk the labyrinth before or after the ritual.
Attention: No washroom facilities.
No registration necessary.
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Come relax, refresh, rejuvenate and receive the gifts of silence waiting for you. Private room, home-cooked meals, and spiritual direction, if desired, are offered as part of these days. COVID protocols followed.
Please email booking@lorettomaryholme.ca to register.
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We are blessed to be able to serve during these times.
Truly our ministry is meeting a need...
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Missing Library Books
Our recently refurbished library is such a source of inspiration and encouragement to our guests during their stays.
Thanks to all who returned any borrowed items. We appreciate your effort.
To send back remaining books, please mail them to:
Loretto Maryholme, 379A Bouchier St., Keswick, ON L4P 3C8
or leave them in a bag at the office door. No fines, no recriminations, just our thanks.
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Lovely words
from one of the books we offer for sale during retreats:
Folding
Let your soul,
your heart,
be folded into the
Holy One
so that nothing at all
will keep the world's
sweetness from you.
Meister Eckhart's Book of the Heart
"Meditations for a Restless Soul"
Jon M.Sweeney and Mark S.Burrows
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A November to remember... |
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"Teach us love, compassion and honour...
that we may heal the earth... and heal each other."
Ojibwa Prayer
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Come spend time in this sacred space. Rest, reflect and re-focus in an atmosphere of beauty, peace and solitude on the beautiful shores of Lake Simcoe.
Corporate, staff and organization groups are welcome for weekday retreats of envisioning, reflection & planning. New Smart TV, Surround-Sound & Blue Ray player available for presentations and workshops in our gathering space.
In an effort to make things easier for fast registration, we now accept e-transfers! If mailing in payment however, please note our new mailing address is: Loretto Maryholme Spirituality Centre, 379A Bouchier Street, Keswick, ON L4P 3C8.
Individuals may book time throughout the year. Spiritual direction is available upon request.
for availability.
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"I and my soul are fed here."
"I longed to be here all summer but never made it. As usual, I felt at home, even with masks. Enjoyed the spirit of the place and the silence. Food was great, and sitting by the lake was relaxing and nourishing. Thanks to everyone for making it possible to be here even in these hard times. It is a real refuge and a place to boost your spirits and get away from the realities we face away from here."
"Everything was done to make us feel safe and comfortable and at home."
"Glad to see this continue to be a resource in difficult times."
"I needed a dose of quiet in nature after 6 months in an apartment during COVID restraints and before the cold weather sets in. It also appealed to me that there is an introspective, contemplative atmosphere here."
"I came to this retreat weary and stressed. I needed time and a place of stillness and healing. The beauty and peace of Maryholme and the wise guidance of my director allowed me to experience the inner peace I needed and the affirmation of my journey to deepening union with God. Thank you."
"For this particular time, being out of the city among the trees and by the water/in the water, was pure gift! It was truly healing."
"It's like "coming home"."
"Fantastic!! (I've been feeling very anxious lately and I desperately needed a getaway where I could pray, reflect, walk and be by the water to sit & stare, kayak, and swim. I'm 100% satisfied.)"
"Such a gift to be here... SILENCE. Canoeing! Swimming, spiritual direction. This place, so cared for, so held... Thank you all the staff & sisters & volunteers who make it possible. Divine Presents. Divine Presence..."
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Find your centre at our Centre. Come and see ... |
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Tel. 905.476.4013
© Loretto Maryholme Spirituality Centre 2020
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Regular Office Hours:
Weekdays 9am-12pm,
afternoons by chance.
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