Canonical Retreats
CANONICAL RETREATS
We offer six-day canonical retreats in Baltimore, MD and around the United States for candidates to the transitional diaconate and presbyterate.
During a canonical retreat, seminarians attend spiritual conferences, chant the Liturgy of the Hours, participate in daily Mass, spend time in Eucharistic Adoration, receive spiritual direction from Dominican friars, and prepare for ordination to the diaconate or the presbyterate.
“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” (John 14:1-5).
Canonical Retreats
at a glance…
At the invitation of individual seminaries or dioceses, The COR IESU Project can lead and help facilitate a Canonical Retreat.
Our canonical retreats for candidates to the transitional diaconate and presbyterate include ten spiritual conferences on the Order of Deacon or Priest, the ministry of the Word, and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Ideally, this six-day retreat would occur in close proximity to the date of the candidates’ diaconate or presbyteral ordination.
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The schedule of a canonical retreat can vary, depending on the seminary or diocese. However, we recommend having no more than two conferences per day.
Eucharistic Adoration is a hallmark of our canonical retreats, allowing seminarians to encounter the Heart of Jesus over and over again.
Recommended Schedule:
An evening conference, immediately followed by a Eucharistic Holy Hour, sets the tone of the retreat on DAY ONE.
DAYS TWO, THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE proceed similarly, if not identically. After Lauds at 8:00am (Breakfast in private), the first conference of the day is scheduled for 9:00am, with Mass at 11:30am and Lunch to follow. An unstructured afternoon is allotted for the purposes of spiritual direction and additional rest. Vespers and Dinner precede the second conference of the day, before a Eucharistic Holy Hour brings each night to a close.
DAY SIX begins with Lauds at 8:00am, but is notable for its one conference and closing Mass (departure by 1:00pm).
N.B. It is recommended, though not required, that the “canonical retreat for candidates to the transitional diaconate and presbyterate” be observed in silence.
If you are interested in planning a canonical retreat for your seminary or diocese, please contact us.
“Prior to ordination to the diaconate and the priesthood, the candidate is to make a canonical retreat.”
~ PPF VI, no. 174, 176