Mount Carmel is home to the Canadian National Shrine to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
Mass available Monday- Friday at 11:15am
Mount Carmel Spiritual Centre is pleased to offer a variety of retreats, days of prayer and renewal, and workshops throughout the year. Click on the links below for program information and registration instructions.
Retreats and Workshops
Ongoing Activities
COME AWAY DAY
Call 905 356 4113 for details and dates
SILENT MEDITATION
​
Mon, Wed at. Fri at 10am
​Hosted by: Fr. Thomas Hakala O. Carm.
Meditation will be held in the Niagara room on the 4th floor.
Cost: Free will offering
​
You are invited to come and experience meditation as a way of bringing peace, harmony and joy to your life. Meditation is a way to assist you live a mindful life, to enhance your day-to-day awareness by living in the present moment.
​Being is the capacity of our being: and now, in this moment, we recognize, acknowledge , and submit ourselves. We remind ourselves of this each time we live in the moment. This particular moment this is now making us joyous becomes the continuing moment of every day of every year.
​
“ New to silent meditation? If you want, plan to arrive 10 minutes before starting time, to receive some simple instruction on the process. It’s really as simple as ‘just sitting there!’ in God’s Presence and listening. “
​
​
DAILY MASS - 11:15 AM
Monday thru Friday
​
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated on weekdays at 11:15 AM in the Canadian National Shrine of St. Therese the Little Flower.
All are Welcome!
​
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION
Monthly Sessions
​
Spiritual direction sessions are available on a monthly basis. Please call Centre at 905-356-4113 for information.
​
SEPARATED AND DIVORCED MINISTRY
see dates at READ MORE button
​
A group of separated and divorced Catholics meet every other Monday for prayer, input and sharing. Call the Catholic Centre 905-684-0154 for information. Please note that you do not have to be Catholic to attend. Everyone is welcome!
​
​
Directed and Private
Retreats
Call the Centre Office for availability
​905 356 4113
Call for rates and availability
​​​
A directed retreat for can be an inspirational experience. There is daily opportunity to meet with a spiritual companion who listens as you share your prayer experience. Sometimes we need time away from our busy schedules to relax, pray and reflect. A directed retreat can be arranged for three to seven days.
For those who seek time alone without a spiritual companion, a private retreat may help nurture your inner self. A private retreat can last from one to five days.
​
Accommodation and meals are provided.
​
​
​
Emotions Anonymous
​
Now led virtually. Please contact missisc2@hotmail.com for details
​
​
LAY CARMELITES
An Ancient Path for Today’s Pilgrim
Lay Carmelites are Roman Catholic men and women who seek to embrace God’s Will in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life.
We are part of an 800-year-old tradition of contemplative prayer, community and ministry.
​
For more information contact:
Trudy at 905-732-0670
​
​
​
One Day Workshops
​​​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​​​​​
​
THE ART OF DETACHMENT: ​
The pathway to peace.
​
​
Date: Sat. June 6 9:30-3:30
Led by: Anna Racine
Cost: $70 (includes lunch)
When we become deeply attached to people, possessions, or outcomes, we often experience a rollercoaster of emotions. We may feel happy when our desires are fulfilled, but we experience disappointment, sadness, sorrow, and frustration when things don’t go according to plan. The Art of Detachment show us how to give up the need to control other people and the outcomes of situations in our lives.
Detachment is the process of letting go or being flexible in achieving what you want. It allows you to find release from frustration and disappointment.
By doing this you release your mental and emotional energy. This allows you to put the focus back onto what matters in life.
Explore tools and methods to learn how to detach, enabling you to remain calm and focused in order to find fulfillment, happiness and peace in your life.
​​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
Open Hands, Open Heart
Summer Retreat Day
​
Date: Saturday, July 25th 9:30-3:30
Cost: $70 (includes lunch)
Led by: Beth Woelk and Sharon Soderholm
Through story, poetry and song, this retreat invites you into the gentle practice of receiving the gifts and holy surprises life offers.
Inspired by the story of St. Kevin—who welcomed a blackbird to nest in his open, praying hands—we will explore what it means to live with radical hospitality and patient expectancy. Together we’ll practice welcoming our full selves with love and compassion, and opening our hands and hearts to all that Divine Love longs to give.
This day will offer space for stillness, personal reflection, sacred conversation with kindred souls and options for creative expression, walking the labyrinth and/or a contemplative walk outdoors.
Come with open hands and an open heart, and discover the quiet grace of a life ready to receive.
​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​
​
Finding God in the Every Day
​
Date: Sat July 25 (930am-330pm )
Led by: Anna Racine
Cost: $70 (includes lunch)
​
Do you feel like you can't find God? What if he is waiting for you right where you are? The most amazing thing happens when we decide to search for God in the everyday. We find Him in the most unexpected places. God is always there, waiting for us to seek Him.
In this Workshop learn how to search for God in the little things, the small moments, the everyday. Be amazed what you will find when you commit to search for God in your everyday life.
​
​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​
​
Listening to the Wisdom of the Falls
​
Date: Sat. Aug. 1 9:30am-330pm
Led by: Anna Racine
Cost: $70
​
Most know Niagara Falls as one of the seven wonders of the world but what if it represents so much more. The Falls is a powerful metaphor for life, representing the balance between life’s chaotic momentum and the need for purposeful pause. Just as the Falls consists of a massive, unstoppable flow of water, life is an unrelenting forward progression. Both share themes of unstoppable momentum, unpredictable turbulence, and the transition from calm to chaos.
Reflect on the image of the waterfall through the stages of our lives: The Flow of the River, (The Journey) The Plunge (Transition and Change) and the Basin (Retreat and Renewal).
Spend the day exploring the profound observations between Niagara Falls and the tree of life. An opportunity to step away from the rapids of your own life in a peaceful restorative space.
“Thank you for the path, not because it was easy, but because it was necessary.”
​
​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​
​
​
​
A Paradise Within Thee …
Prayer and Meditation through Visual Art
​
Led by: Patricia Rocco
Date: Sat Aug 8 9:30am- 330om
Cost: $85
$70 (includes lunch) + $15 art supply fee
​
​
Art making as prayer and meditation is a means of making visible the Paradise within each of us.
This workshop is purposefully designed for people with little or no experience in the creation of
visual art. Participants will be introduced to Christian and Jewish writers and mystics, from both the past and the modern era, and will respond to their words through the use of printmaking, drawing and painting.
Participants will engage in a materials-based approach which means that the emphasis will be on process rather than product. To support them, they will be provided with the tools and basic
information necessary to apply media, and will have opportunities to practice using them.
Participants will be guided incrementally through the creative process, at first as a group, and then
individually, and will make meaning through the elements of design: line, shape, texture, colour and value. As an essential part of the process, everyone will be invited to reflect on the process either silently or by sharing within small or large groups.
​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​
​
​
​
​
Overnight Retreats
(Prices include accommodation and meals)
​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Seasons of Grief
Are you in a Season of Grief?
Date: June 26-28
Led by: Anna Racine
Cost: $350
​
Grief moves and changes like the seasons. Come and explore grief through the seasons of loss, change, growth and renewal.
This retreat is for people experiencing loss through death/separation/divorce/lost relationships and life changes.
An opportunity to examine your loss by using the seasons as a metaphor to discover the personal impacts of loss and grief. In a supportive and understanding environment, you will be guided with the steps required to heal and move on.
​
​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com​​​​
​
​
ICON WRITING RETREAT
​
Led by: Phil Zimmerman
Cost : $820 for room and board +(art supply fee extra)
Date: June 28- July 4
Master Iconographer Phillip Zimmerman will guide students through creating one complete icon (to be determined).
Any level of experience is accepted. Each step is demonstrated to students, followed by time to copy what has been taught. Students will learn: filling in, rendering clothes and flesh, 23 karat gold leafing, and varnishing. In addition, students will gain familiarity with ruling pens and ruling pen compasses, and information of preparation of panels for painting.
Students will need to pre order their art boards and supplies directly through Phil Zimmerman at phil@iconworkshop.art
Enrollment is limited so register early.
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​
Paintings and Passages, Sacred Art and Sacred Texts
​
Led by Fr. Craig Morrison, O. Carm.
Date: July 5-8 (Sun dinner through Wed lunch)
Cost: $510 (accommodation and meals included)
Through the centuries, artists, intrigued by particular biblical passages, have cast them across their canvases in living colour. The black and white ink of the biblical page rises from their palette into a three-dimensional vibrant painting by the stroke of their brush. They allow us to see Jesus, his disciples, Mary Magdalene and the other biblical characters through their eyes. During our time together we will read the Bible passages that impacted the lives of Caravaggio, Chagall, Titian, Emily Carr, Briton Rivière and others and then consider how these artists imagined the biblical scene. We want to observe carefully the particular details they amended to the biblical passage that express their own experience of the Bible. Through music, art, and discussion we will engage the works of these artists in order meet them in the place where they encountered various biblical scenes.
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​
​
​
NAVIGATING TRANSITIONS:
Who Am I Now and Where Do I Go From Here?
​
Date: Mon Jul 20 - Fri Jul 24
Led by: Kathryn McMorrow
Cost :$680
Of interest to anyone who has experienced major changes that they are still working through or who is anticipating or planning a major change in their life. We will explore the nature and dynamics of change and the often difficult period of transition between what we have left or has been taken from us and where we are headed as a result. This includes the effects on our health, spiritual well-being, and relationships.
We will also explore how our sense of self is formed and how it changes across the lifespan, examining the aspects of ourselves - qualities, capabilities, responsibilities and values - that will help us to navigate change - as well as those we need to develop, modify, or let go of - in order to live fully.
Mornings will consist of opening prayer, mini-presentations, group work and personal reflections. Afternoons can be spent in quiet time, artwork, lectio divina, walking the labyrinth and other spiritual practices. For those who wish to attend there will be optional activities to deepen the morning themes. Participants are invited to customize the retreat to meet their needs.
THIS IS NOT A SILENT RETREAT but periods of reflective silence are encouraged. Meals can be taken in silence or in conversation. If you’re not sure if this is the right time or the right retreat for you or if you have any questions about the retreat email Kathryn at innovationsca@yahoo.ca
REGISTRATION IS THROUGH MOUNT CARMEL
​​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com​​​​
​
​
​
SUMMER STILLNESS
Date: Mon Aug 10 - Fri Aug 14
Led by: Kathryn McMorrow
Cost:$680
Relax, renew and re-energize in the tranquil and welcoming environment of Mount Carmel. The theme this year is DANCE OF THE SPIRIT: A Tribute to Maria Harris and Joyce Rupp. Topics will include: dance as a metaphor in the development of a woman’s spirituality and her connection with the divine; music and dance as a way of deepening spiritual practices; dance as a form of healing and empowerment; dance in community worship and celebration.
THIS IS NOT A SILENT RETREAT. Input sessions will be balanced with meditative activities and periods of silence for prayer and reflection, lectio divina and walking the labyrinth. Meals can be taken in silence or in conversation. If you wish, bring materials for artwork, a journal, loose clothing for gentle stretching and movement, and comfortable walking shoes.
Participants will be invited to customize this retreat to meet their needs. Registration is limited.
Recommended but not required reading: The Dance of the Spirit: The Seven Steps of Women’s Spirituality by Maria Harris and May I Have This Dance? By Joyce Rupp
For more information about the retreat, email questions to Kathryn at innovationsca@yahoo.ca
REGISTRATION IS THROUGH MOUNT CARMEL
​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​
​
OWNING YOUR VOICE: CELEBRATING YOUR UNIQUENESS
I have called you by name. Isaiah 43:1
Date: Fri August 14 - Sun August 16
Led by: Kathryn McMorrow
Cost:$350
 A retreat of healing and empowerment for women, exploring the voices - both internal and eternal - that have kept us from speaking our truth, discovering our gifts, honouring our intuition and pursuing who we are called to be. Themes will include: deepening spiritual practices and learning new ones, understanding the voice as a conduit for both the heart and the head, the importance of internal and external boundaries in healthy communication, and the effects of stress on how we communicate to ourselves and to the world.
Input sessions will be balanced with meditative activities and periods of silence for prayer and reflection, lectio divina and walking the labyrinth. Meals can be taken in silence or in conversation. If you wish, bring materials for artwork, a journal and comfortable walking shoes.
For more information about the retreat, email Kathryn at innovationsca@yahoo.ca
​
​
​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​
​
Stop and Smell the Roses--Treasure Today Retreat
Date: August 21 to 23
Led by: Anna Racine
Cost: $350
Spending time in the past or in the future is something we all struggle with. When we do this too often, we rob ourselves of living in the here and now. This weekend is an opportunity to disconnect from the outside world and to slow down.
Being present means not only appreciating the moment you are living in, but actually living in that moment!
Rest, relax and refresh and learn how to truly experience the gift of being present. Find tools on how to enjoy life more fully and not dwell on the past or live in the future. Explore becoming aware and awake of the beauty of each new day.
​​
​​
​​
​​
To register call 905 356 4113 or email reservations@carmelniagara.com
​​
​​​​​​​​​
​​​
​​