Retreat Dates: February 26-28, 2027
Location: Galilee Centre, 398 John St. N, Arnprior
Speaker: Fr. Mark Slatter, Associate Professor of Theological Ethics, Saint Paul University
Click here to register online or call the Galilee office at 613-623-4242 x21.
Click here to download retreat poster.
The Cross is Christianity’s universally recognized symbol, displayed on our steeples, worn as jewelry, rendered in icing décor on First Communion cakes, attractive pub signs, Swiss Army knives, and tattoos. It also anchors theories of salvation and is the great mystery present (with the Resurrection) in every Eucharistic celebration.
But Christianity has always struggled with a tendency to suppress and domesticate the cross’s awful, revolutionary properties disclosed by the realities of crucifixion. They’re different.
The historical context of execution by crucifixion in antiquity, and that Jesus of Nazareth suffered this kind of execution and not another might be Christianity’s best–kept secret — from Christians themselves.
A second or third century Christian would be appalled at the sight of a crucifix hanging over our church sanctuaries and would conclude that something had gone terribly wrong with us. For the early Christians a cross would never be brought into a worship space any more than we would mix black magic with the mass. Saint Paul called the cross “foolishness” and a “scandal” for good reasons; it might be the most unreligious part of Christianity. It’s little wonder that for three centuries the symbol for Christianity was the Ichthys, the “Jesus Fish”.
What’s the crucifixion’s origin story, and does knowing it make any real personal difference? Can it reconfigure our faith communities? Can it change our experience of the world? This Lenten Retreat will visit the original meanings of crucifixion to reinform what we understand about the cross and to renew its revolutionary properties.
Retreat Schedule:
The retreat will begin with dinner on Friday evening and conclude with lunch on Sunday. A more detailed retreat schedule will be available soon.
Registration Pricing:
Private Room – $446 (includes 2 nights accommodation, 6 meals, program fees)
Shared Room (2 beds) – $372 (includes 2 nights shared accommodations, 6 meals, program fees)
Commuter – $230 (includes 6 meals, program fees)
Fr. Mark Slatter, a priest with the archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall has worked with the homeless, drug addicts, and poor for most of his ministry. He is associate professor of Theological Ethics with the Faculty of Theology at Saint Paul University in Ottawa.