GTA  CATHOLIC  

 ABBEY  OF  GETHSEMANI  

RETREAT 2014

SPECIAL  THANKS  TO  OUR  VIDEO  SPONSOR 
KRICKET  SHOTS

Thank you to our amazing Video Sponsor - Kricket Shots for capturing our 
 retreat experience at the Abbey of Gethsemani last year! God bless you!

                                                                                         Video Credit: Kricket Shots

Video Credit: Kricket Shots

GTA  CATHOLIC  - ABBEY  OF  GETHSEMANI  RETREAT 2014

GTA Catholic Events went on a spiritual journey to The Abbey of Gethsemani (Trappist monastery) during Holy week starting Good Friday to Easter Monday 2014. 

We spent four amazing days at this monastery, which was the home of famous writer                  Fr Thomas Merton, located in Louisville, Kentucky USA .  We stayed at their beautiful retreat house and got the extraordinary opportunity to celebrate the Easter Vigil with the monks and learn about their community. We experienced God in everything we did and left truly blessed and restored. 

Trappist Monks
The Abbey of Gethsemani is a school of the Lord's service, a training ground for brotherly love. Following Christ under a rule and an abbot, we Trappist monks lead lives of prayer, work, and sacred reading, steeped in the heart and mystery of the Church.     

The Abbey is a monastery in the Order of the Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO), part of the body of the Roman Catholic Church.

Fr Thomas Merton, 
Trappist Monk

GTA  CATHOLIC  - RETREAT  TESTIMONIALS

"In my busy and noisy life, I have a frequent need for silence! This is my only way of getting things done and being able to face my responsibilities both personally and at work. The retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani offered me the peaceful environment I was looking for. 

To go on a retreat like this, you somehow have to be nuts: a 1,000 km drive with a group of people you barely know, to spend a long weekend with bunch of old dudes (aka monks) who have dedicated their life to prayer. Might has well party with your friends in Miami beach! But after 3 days of waking up for lauds, walking in nature, sharing on your life and faith struggles and joys with your retreat fellows, you come back changed. 

After a retreat like this, you live your life with a new perspective."                                                                                                                                                                                                         - Pilgrim

"Going on a pilgrimage to the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky was the most memorable experience for me as a Catholic.  I have gone to a number of retreats before.  All retreats have given me "faith high" one way or another after coming back, but the silent retreat to the abbey really helped me to link myself to my faith.  

There were fun times on the way and back but there were also plenty of silent prayer times just for myself and God.  We walked in the woods and praised God in so many ways in that beautiful setting. And we attended the most beautiful Easter Vigil Mass. 

The retreat  gave you time for collective worship and individual contemplation in a perfect balance.  I recommend any pilgrimage planned by GTA Catholic Young Adults without any reservation."
                                                                            - Seung Hyok Lee, Pilgrim

QUEBEC-OTTAWA-CANADA  DAY PILGRIMAGE (JUN 27-JUL 1/15)