In this immersive retreat, we will devote a day to each of four visionary figures whose experience of God gave them strength to contribute in radical ways to the aliveness of God in their day and age.  In the mornings we spend time reviewing their lives, contexts and choices made as they sensed invitations to collaborate with God in the world around them. In the afternoons, we will reflect on the spiritual practices that anchored their lives and gave them courage to change, strength for the journey and insights to share.  By remembering how visionary friends of God experienced the call to love in a needy world, we will find courage and wisdom for today.

Retreat facilitator Gillian T. W. Ahlgren is Professor Emerita of Theology and Church History at Xavier University.  An educator and writer known for her ability to open up the Christian mystical tradition as a practical resource for living, she is the author of seven books, including Entering Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle: A Reader’s Companion, Spiritual Exercises for the 21st Century and The Tenderness of God: Reclaiming our Humanity.  Gillian integrates her academic and pastoral work in creative ways, developing resources for the spiritual empowerment for women in recovery from trauma, domestic violence and substance abuse.