Hermitage Spiritual Retreat Center

03/11/2026

Occasional Contact - https://mailchi.mp/b22cddaabe22/occasional-contact
Would you believe it! Two weeks ago here in Missouri we participated in an historic low temperature, well below freezing. And now today we seem aimed toward another record, the highest temperature on record, the high 70’s. These are strange and troubling times, whether the agent is global warming, or unprovoked wars, or a host of apparent uncontrollables...

01/29/2026

Occasional Contact - https://mailchi.mp/6c06221981b0/occasional-contact
It is interesting how happenings that feel negative or undesirably demanding, when viewed from a contrasting perspective can appear positive, even joyous. St. Paul had a knack for seeing a host of hardships reversed into gifts for elicited thankfulness. Perhaps this may have happened to many of us during these past several days.

01/06/2026

We were blessed that the Jones Extended family came to HSRC for our Christmas celebration. One day a work crew restored our Cliff Trail, a 12 minute hike that ends overlooking the lake! Afterwards, we discovered that not only restoring the trail, but it is marked with hearts all along to point the way. The flags from Nepal mark the entrance to the overhanging ledge! So grateful...

12/23/2025

Advent Hopes and Christmas Coming - https://mailchi.mp/840f1c97316b/advent-hopes-and-christmas-coming
As the traditional song sings, "it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere we go." Indeed, we are aware of the degree to which this sacred Christmas celebration has become secularized and commercialized. And each of us, in our own ways, are making preparations. Here, ours was the simple task of putting huge red bows at our Entrance.
And while acknowledging that the glitter and tinsel and busyness can become addictive, at a deeper level..

11/26/2025

Greetings all -- We are ready for Winter with our supply of firewood!

11/02/2025

November Gratitude - https://mailchi.mp/b27b804473bb/november-gratitude
As we are now living through mid-Fall and the end of Daylight Savings that brings us growing darkness, we are invited to “step away from the noise that feeds despair” and allow our souls to be cared for.

Here at HSRC we can, as Richard Rohr witnesses “pray sitting in the silence until it silences us, choosing gratitude until we are grateful.” We urge you to not let the outside forces of frenzy, of disconnection and doom scrolling grow panic within you.

10/02/2025

It was a lovely fall day at HSRC yesterday when Tom Johnson, a former retreatant who has a marvelous ministry in Bolivar MO called Sling and Stones, came to gift us with some powerwashing of our ramps! They are like new! and we are so grateful to Tom for his generosity!

09/21/2025

Peace - https://mailchi.mp/35cf13ec5da5/peace
These are certainly uneasy times, enough to make all of us tenuous and worried. So how good it is for HSRC always to be ready to offer you a place of solitude, rest, and peace.

Words from “Living Peace” by John Dear say it well:
When I fail to embrace the solitude of God’s peace, I get caught up in the world’s downward spiral of violence and turmoil…Solitude plucks us out of the world’s frenzy...

09/02/2025

Recently we needed to replace the refrigerator in the Retreat House. The fellow who removed the old one unfortunately took out our signs and two stone pillars as he was backing his flatbed truck back up our road!

Fr. Paul's creativity went to work and soon we had replacement signs.

05/28/2025

Thanks to Bill Tammeus for writing this column about area Retreat Centers and especially featuring our Hermitage Spiritual Retreat Center. The story is here: https://bit.ly/43LmhZt

Feel free to share it.

The heartland has many retreat centersQuite a few are created by — or connected to — faith communities but all are welcome.

05/22/2025

May Wow - https://mailchi.mp/f94731480c59/may-wow
Last night we had one of those fierce storms: torrential rains, dramatic lightning and rolling thunder...What a wonder to wake to morning sunshine...