Preached Retreats

Living with Hope in an Imperfect and Beautiful World

May 24-28, 2021- via Zoom

Daily Zoom presentations will be at 10:00 am CST and 3:00 pm CST

As Christians we are called to be people of hope.  But how do we do this amid the gloom and doom that sometimes pervade the daily news – and our personal lives? This retreat will explore the nature of hope and its relation to faith, love and courage.  It will also offer some ways we can nourish hope in our everyday lives through nature, service, playfulness, friendship and dealing with pain and sorrow in a life-giving way.  Using scripture, music, short videos, stories and humor, we (hopefully!) will be led more deeply into the Mystery of God, the ultimate source of all hope.

Sr. Melannie Svoboda has been a Sister of Notre Dame of Chardon, OH for over 50 years. During that time she has served as a high school and college teacher, novice director, and provincial (president) of her congregation. She also ministered in the Jesuit novitiate in De-troit for six years. Currently she writes and gives talks and retreats nationally. A free-lance writer, her articles have appeared in numerous publications including America, Catholic Digest, National Catholic Reporter, Liguorian, Living Faith, Review for Religious, and Country Woman.  She is also the author of thirteen books including Traits of a Healthy Spirituality; When the Rain Speaks: Celebrating God’s Presence in Nature; With the Dawn Rejoicing: A Christian Perspective on Pain and Suffering; Just Because; When the Blue Heron Flies; The Lord Is My Shepherd (Twenty-Third Publications); and Gracious Goodness (Loyola Press) and Gospels on the Go (NCEA). Her favorite pastimes include walking, reading, listening to music, conversing with friends, working crossword and sudoku puzzles, playing Scrabble, and cheering on her beloved Cleveland teams.