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A Hermitage Retreat Center |
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Read What Some of our Guests Experienced on Their Personal Silent Retreats1991 Star Tribune article, "Alone With God." |
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The following are excerpts from just a few of the hundreds of written testimonials we have received from those who have made hermitage retreats at Pacem In Terris. |
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"Thank you - I feel as if I've discovered a new definition of peace!"
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"I just wanted to thank you for making a place like Pacem In Terris possible and available. I did not leave Pacem the same person. I know my faith and relationship with God and the world have been enhanced."
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"What an amazing blessing it has been for me to still myself in the presence of God, free from any distraction. From the moment I entered this place I felt peace flooding my soul."
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"I've always thought of the Lord in the things that are powerful: thunder, multitudes of people in musical worship. But I have learned He also comes through and speaks to me in a gentle whisper. I have experienced an incredible gift from the Lord, to be still - alone- and know that He is God."
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"How can I thank you for what I've experienced here? To walk in the beauty of God's creation - to pray to Him and to listen - to listen in a way that I never have before. I don't leave here with answers to all my problems. I leave with peace - knowing that He is all I need. Bless you all! Bless this place. I will return." |
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"Just a note to let you know what a wonderful and special prayer experience it was for me staying at your hermitage. The silence was golden and the solitude enfolding - an experience I will return to have again. Thank you again for everything. It was a beautiful day in a sacred space."
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"The hermitage experience was like nothing I have ever done before. I cannot think of one thing that needs to be changed. I know deep within me that God is ever-present in this place, working miracles inside of people who come here. God bless all of you - I shall return."
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"Thank you so very much for the role you played in my blessed time with the Lord! This is a beautiful place, beautifully maintained and a beautiful reflection of God's love and provision. I leave with a whole new and refreshed perspective on God's will for my life and ministry."
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"I just wanted to thank you again for your hospitality, prayers and caring. God spoke to me in so many ways at Pacem. I feel peaceful, renewed and challenged to a deeper faith life. Pacem was just what I needed and just when I needed it - God's perfect timing."
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"It was dusk as I walked the trail to St. Peter's. The woods, which envelop the hermitage, were shadowy. The walls of the little
prayer cabin reflected the last of the daylight. For the first few minutes, I rattled about, hanging up my jacket, exploring the cupboard, testing the gas lamp then turning it off, changing into my slippers, peeking into the food basket. I lit the altar candle (not sure why, but it seemed appropriate), mentally registering a quick and awkward prayer. I'm not quite certain what to do next! What do pilgrims do? The rocking chair, situated in front of the large, wrap-around windows, is comfortable, both for sitting and gazing, but also because it provided me something to do: rock. I wrap myself, Indian-style, in a big blanket and rock, the motion a calming outlet for my impatient energies. I'm still making mental notes about next week's "I have to's" and the "I should have before I came..." Conversations from this morning and last week distract me. It's so hard to shut it off! The woods are disappearing into the night. Inside, there is only the dancing of the altar candle, softly highlighting the cross and the two icons. Outside, the only light comes from a few stars flickering through the trees, which are now just silhouettes against the fading sky. It's so very quiet. One can't ignore the quiet. There's a moth fluttering against the window, attracted perhaps by the candle light inside. I rock the minutes past, minutes building upon minutes. The motion and the blackness is calming, healing, satisfying. Without quite realizing it, I've begun to put away the preoccupations of this morning, tomorrow, next week, next month. In the rocking chair, in the quiet, in the hermitage, in the woods, the "real" world is distancing itself from me. I rock... Suddenly I hear myself saying out loud, "What will you teach me, Lord? What are we going to do?" There's a feeling of awkward, yet intimate, expectation in the air. As I sit here, rocking, rocking, rocking, I understand. I have been offered a precious gift as well as a challenge: solitude. An invitation to listen, to reflect, to grow. I realize I need only say 'yes' (trusting God will be satisfied even with a hesitant 'maybe'). May this Pilgrim's adventure begin!" |
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