2018 Online Lenten Retreat

During the solemn penitential season of Lent, we prepare ourselves physically and spiritually to walk through the desert with Jesus Christ. The use of purple vestments, and the absence of the Gloria and the Alleluia at Mass and in the Divine Office, are sober reminders of Holy Week and the great feast of Easter to follow. We should examine in earnest our sins and detachments. This period of atonement, prayer and fasting calls us to greater holiness in imitation of Christ.

Lent is a time to strengthen our prayer lives — to pray more, and to pray better.

Pray More Novenas has a Lenten retreat starting Ash Wednesday, February 14.

The retreat features inspiring talks to deepen your prayer life and love of God.

This online offering features sixteen talks on prayer. Each comes with a study guide of questions, prompts and reflections. You may download the talks as an audio recording should you wish to listen to them later. (See complete list below.)

List of Retreat Speakers

Fr. Chase Hilgenbrinck was ordained for Diocese of Peoria by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky on May 24th 2014. He currently serves as the Assistant Chaplain at the St. John Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois in Champaign, the nation’s largest Newman Center. His talks include the following Lenten themes:

"Renewing our Covenant with God this Lent"

"Created to Love & Live in Relationship with God"

"God's Ways Are Not Our Ways"

Beth Davis is the Director of Ministry Advancement for Blessed is She. In this role she writes curriculum and directs retreats, provides support to parishes and small groups, and develops community from the ground up. She served as a youth minister for eleven years in Flagstaff. These are her presentation topics:

"Jesus and the Storms of Life"

"Our Deepest Identity"

"The Father's Heart"

"Extravagant Love"

Dr. Scott Powell is a teacher, theologian, author, and the director of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Thought, an outreach to the University of Colorado in Boulder. Scott has spent the last decade speaking and teaching theology and the Scriptures to groups of all ages. He will discuss the following Lenten subjects:

"Let Your Servant Go in Peace: Responding to God in Prayer"

"Embrace the Awkward: Deuteronomy and the Foundations of Prayer"

"Facing our Goliaths: The Most Famous Old Testament Story We've Never Heard"

Allison Gingras is the founder of Reconciled To You where she blogs, shares and speaks about the Catholic faith in our everyday life and the many opportunities life presents to discover the grace of God. She will talk on "The Grace Trifecta".

"The Grace Trifecta, Part I: Prayer"

"The Grace Trifecta, Part II: Scripture"

"The Grace Trifecta, Part III: The Sacraments"

Fr. Thomas P. Quinn was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark. in 2015 and currently serves as a parochial vicar at Saint Michael's Parish in Cranford, NJ, where he leads the RCIA program, an apostolate for young families, young adult activities, and adult spiritual formation. His Lenten topics include:

"Whoever serves me must follow me"

"For God So Loved the World"

"Palm Sunday"

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Lenten Prayer for Holiness

May this Lenten season strengthen you to love God completely and to grow ever more holy. May your humanity be more fully united with Christ’s own humanity, so that, at the end of time, you may claim the inheritance won for you through the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Lamb of God, your supreme sacrifice saved mankind. Help us be your disciples.