The Path of Desire: Adventures in Spirituality
A Retreat for LGBTQ+ People, Family, Friends, Pastoral Ministers, and All
September 5-7, 2025
Lisa Fullam
"You have made us for Yourself, Almighty God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You," Augustine wrote. Deep in Christian tradition rests the conviction that we are created with a holy thirst for God. This retreat will explore spiritualities of desire, spiritualities that seek God in the longings of our hearts and the yearnings of our imaginations.
Our companions in the tradition will be Ignatius of Loyola, Julian of Norwich, and our reflections on how God has called us, and is calling us, in and through our own desires. A soundtrack of rock music will accompany our pilgrimage into the spiritualities of desire.
Our time together will combine talks, small group discussions, silent meditation, communal prayer, and socializing.
Offering: Overnight Guest, Friday through Sunday - $425
Overnight Guest, Friday through Saturday - $200
Commuter - Friday through Sunday - $150
Commuter - Friday through Saturday - $75
Commuter - Saturday only - $50
This program is sponsored by New Ways Ministry.
Founded in 1977, New Ways Ministry is an affirming ministry of advocacy and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+)Catholics, and reconcilitation within thelarger Catholic and civil communities.
Schedule
*Schedule subject to change*
Friday, September 5, 2025
3:00 pm - Arrival and check-in to room
6:00 pm - Dinner
7:00 pm - Introductions, Spiritualities: The Pilgrim and the Anchorite
8:30 pm - Evening Prayer
9:00 pm - Social
Saturday, September 6, 2025
8:00 am - Breakfast
9:00 am - Morning Prayer
9:30 am - The Pilgrim: Ignatius of Loyola
10:30 am - Quiet time
11:00 am - Small group discussion
11:30 pm - Large group discussion
12:15 pm - Break
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:30 pm - Free time
2:00 pm - The Anchorite: Julian of Norwich
3:00 pm - Quiet time
3:30 pm - Small group discussion
4:00 pm - Large group discussion
4:45 pm - Break
6:00 pm - Dinner
7:00 pm - Evening Prayer
7:30 pm - Film: Brother Sun, Sister Moon
9:00 pm - Social
Sunday, September 7, 2025
8:00 am - Breakfast
9:00 am - The Pilgrim, the Anchorite, &Us
10:00 am - Break
10:30 am - Eucharist
11:45 am - Wrap-up and Evaluation
12:30 pm - Lunch
1:30 pm - Departure
Presenter Profile
Lisa Fullam
Lisa Fullam, D.V.M., Th.D. is professor emerita of moral theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, and Associate Veterinarian at the New Baltimore Animal Hospital in West Coxsackie, NY. She has written and spoken about the spiritualities of St. Ignatius, Julian of Norwich, Joan of Arc, and Francis of Assisi.
She finds the music of Melissa Etheridge (not to mention U2, the Indigo Girls, and Bruce Springsteen) spiritually powerful. She has written about virtue ethics, conscience formation, women in the church and other topics. With Charles Curran, Lisa co-edited four volumes of Readings in Moral Theology. She plays guitar, though with more enthusiasm than skill. Some years ago, she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and says that the view from the top is "just glorious”!
Dietary restrictions? Holy Family is committed to making your stay as comfortable and enjoyable as possible, and to that end, we can accommodate most dietary needs. Please email Ted, our registrar, at tjastrzebski@holyfamilyretreat.org, if you have any dietary restrictions or food allergies, so that we may make preparations in advance of your retreat.