Coury House Retreats, Reservations, Tours
Types of Retreats
Retreats are available for individuals or groups for a day, several days, week, or weekend.
Private Retreats are for individuals or small groups who want a quiet time of prayer, reflection, meditation, or reading. There are no scheduled conferences but a priest can be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation upon request.
Private Directed Retreats, which an individual or small group meets with a retreat director, can be arranged. The number of conferences are agreed upon by the retreatant(s) and the director. The remaining time is spent in private reflection, reading, or prayer.
Directed Group Retreat is a retreat in which a group makes a retreat under the direction of a retreat director. Usually set for three days, these retreats generally begin with the Friday evening meal and end with the Sunday noon meal or begin Tuesday evening and end with noon meal on Thursday. Longer group retreats can be arranged. We will be glad to work with you for a time period that best suits your particular needs.
Days of Recollection include two or three conferences, an opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Eucharist, or a Holy Hour with Benediction. Days of Recollection can be arranged for church groups or organizations throughout the year. Days of Recollection usually run from 9 am to 3 pm.
Meetings: Coury House is pleased to offer its facilities to church groups or other organizations for retreats or meetings. These groups will provide their own retreat director or speaker. Such retreats can be arranged for virtually any group: families, parishes, religious, priests, deacons, special interest, and youth groups. Groups of all denominations have visited Coury House.
Ecumenical Meetings and Retreats: One of the unique things about a Benedictine monastery is that we especially cater to groups from other denominations and churches. You do not have to be a Catholic to utilize our facilities and you will, in fact, find the experience quite prayerful. Why? Well, some say it is because the Benedictines were founded well before the Orthodox separation in 1054 or the Protestant Reformation in the 1500's. As a result, our way of prayer (the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office, as it is called) is grounded in the scriptures that we communally chant and pray four times a day. Further, if you read the section on our method of private prayer known as lectio divina, you will find that it, too, is grounded in the Bible. Thus, the experience of chanting and praying the Bible with the monks is an experience that crosses all denominations. No one is required to attend these services while here, but everyone is invited to do so should they choose. We can even have a monk meet with your group to answer questions about our monastic way of life. The monks also celebrate a daily Catholic mass as well. We regularly host meetings, retreats, church group weekends, men's or women's prayer gatherings, and similar such gatherings across all denominations. Plus, we gotta tell you that when you tell your friends and family that you spent time with the monks, well....let's just say you'll be talking about that experience with others for years to come.