“All of us who have given birth to a baby, to a story, know that it is ultimately mystery,” writes Madeleine L’Engle in Walking on Water.

retreat description

“All of us who have given birth to a baby, to a story, know that it is ultimately mystery,” writes Madeleine L’Engle in Walking on Water. She goes on, it is “closely knit to God’s own creative activities, which did not stop at the beginning of the universe. God is constantly creating, in us, through us, with us, and to co-create is our human calling.” Why begin with this quote? In part because it captures something crucial both about mothering and about making, that they are tied up in mystery, something beyond us. But we also wanted to begin here in order to commence exploring what this mystery of mothering and making might actually look like in the mundane, ordinariness of daily life. Through this retreat, we’ll dive into the spirituality and mystery of making, specifically as women and particularly as mothers, to explore what it means to see from this lens, to seek rest, and to find the sacred in the midst of it all.

Plough Quarterly is a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Bold, hope-filled, and down-to-earth, it features thought-provoking articles, commentary, interviews, short fiction, book reviews, poetry and art. Each issue brings together essential voices from many traditions to give you fresh insights on a core theme such as peacemaking, biblical justice, children and family, building community, man and woman, nature and the environment, nonviolence, or simple living.

MILKED is an arts publication that examines the undertones of the maternal figure and seeks to bring art that explores the maternal experience to the forefront of culture. Each issue’s theme centers around a pre-existing topic within art history and filters them through the lens of the maternal nature.

Image fosters contemporary art and writing that grapple with the mystery of being human by curating, cultivating, convening, and celebrating work that explores religious faith and faces spiritual questions. Image is animated by the vision to be a vibrant thread in the fabric of culture, contributing to mainstream literary and artistic communities by demonstrating the vitality of contemporary art and literature invigorated by religious faith.

Be A Heart is a brand and community that works toward heartfelt humanism by creating and offering beauty, experiencing beauty and coming together in the midst of beauty; for it is beauty that will resurrect the world.

Dappled Things is a journal of ideas, art, and faith for those who find that hope springs eternal. For those who see the other side and strike out for it. For those who live, as fictionist J.F. Powers hinted, “with one foot in this world and one in the next.”

The Collegium Institute was founded by faculty, alumni, students, & friends of the University of Pennsylvania, as an independent, academic community with a catholic vision: that is, it draws mainstream learning into conversation with the Catholic intellectual tradition & cultivates reflection on the catholic, or universal, questions that animate every human life.

Mothering Spirit is a new project spearheaded by mother & author Laura Kelly Fanucci. It is a gathering place to explore parenting and spirituality. With storytelling shaped by the liturgical seasons, their collaborative, ecumenical project will offer weekly essays and prayers from diverse voices on motherhood – plus virtual retreats, e-books, resources, and creative ways to connect our stories with God’s story.