St. Clare Retreat Center: polishing my halo

"Come apart and rest a while".
St. Clare Retreat Center will provide you a peaceful place to reflect, surrounded by nature.

St. Clare of Assisi is an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan , and wrote their Rule of Life.

Located in Santa Cruz Mountains California, St. Clare Retreat Center has a beautiful chapel, library, lounge, garden, dormitories, large dining room, swimming pool, and a hiking trail with Station of The Cross.

The retreat is conducted by the Franciscan Fathers and the Franciscan Missionary Sisters. There are conferences, masses, individual counseling/confession with ample time for private prayer and reading. Added attraction is Bear the dog (he looks like a bear) who was rescued from Hurricane Katrina. And you'll never get hungry at St. Clare, the sisters and the volunteer chef always make sure that they will satisfy your palate.

Traditionally specializes in Silent Women's Retreat, St. Clare also offer other types of retreats; married couples, mothers&daughters, Secular Franciscan, men and women, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, AA-Alanon, and Legion of Mary. Members of all denominations are welcome!

The sun shines at St. Clare! I usually get up before sunrise for my meditation walk up on the hill, to witness the breaking of a new dawn comes the light of a new day and the endless possibilities of that day. Solitude is my companion on my way up there. The trail has Station of the Cross where each cross has a built-in prayer that you will feel like having a personal dialogue with God.

Retreat has been a part of my life growing up in Catholic School. It was in 2006 when I started going to St. Clare. Since then, it becomes my tradition: a 3 day Silent Women Retreat every year. Personal preference is the Palm Sunday weekend in preparation for Lent when St. Clare's magnificent plants in Spring bloom.

And when life's goodness is overshadowed by critical challenges, it is at St. Clare where I pick up my life, renew my spirit and polish my halo o:-)

St. Clare Retreat Center website:
http://www.nonprofitpages.com/stclaresretreat/

Life is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged; life is a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end.” ~ Virginia Woolf

[click the images to enlarge, click the play button to play Beyonce's Halo]