The great seeker St Augustine of Hippo revealed: “Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.” Within every human person is placed a spiritual thirst to be in communion with the Maker. In seeking to quench this interior longing, the human person was led by the deceptive offers of this world and left with a deeper emptiness. Dissatisfaction and despair set in. However this was never meant to be the destiny of humankind.
God chose to become Emmanuel – a ‘God with us’ to be seen, heard and experienced. Jesus, the Son of God came into this world as the Good Shepherd to nourish, heal and revive the human soul. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). This mission He entrusted to the Church to continue the spiritual feeding of the flock. As Vatican II clarified the mission of evangelization was the sole purpose of the existence of the Church. Through the centuries, religious congregations committed themselves for the spiritual renewal of the Church.
Divine Retreat Centre run by the Mary Matha Province of the Vincentian Congregation, has been at the service of the Church for this mission of the spiritual renewal of the people. It has been raised by God as the venue where the word of God is preached and the Sacraments are administered that people may experience the reality and liberating power of God. It stands as the largest Catholic Retreat Centre in the world. Since 1989 weeklong spiritual retreats in English, Hindi, Konkani, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu are held simultaneously, every week of the year
Family Healing Retreat
August 14 - 19, 2022
Youth Renewal Retreat
August 20 - 21, 2022
(Saturday & Sunday)
Inner Healing retreat
August 21 - 26, 2022
Youth Renewal Retreat
October 22 - 23, 2022
(Saturday & Sunday)
Inner healing retreat
October 23 - 28, 2022
Waiting for the Lord Advent retreat
December 4 - 9, 2022
Waiting for the Lord Advent retreat
December 11 - 16, 2022
Emmanuel Retreat
December 18 - 23, 2022
(Welcome to stay for Christmas)
“My House shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7). People flock into the Divine Retreat Centre from across the nations, cultures and walks of life to spend a week in prayer.
Prayer here is firstly, an encounter with the love of God where God chooses to speak through the Word, and to touch and heal through His powerful presence in the Sacraments.
The deep experience of God leads to the healing of mind, body and soul and to the reconciliation in relationships and with the past. The return to God is not an isolated event. It sets the person on a trail of healing. Firstly, from the consequences of sin, where the spirit is freed from addictions. Secondly, the individual becomes a channel of peace and families are reunited. Thirdly, the person discovers the mission and purpose in life and radiates the healing received to those one encounters in the world. testimonies.
This spiritual journey of healing and sanctification culminates in the experience of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, where they are empowered to go out into the world with the mission of peace, love and life
The Divine Institute of Bible and Spirituality was begun in 1998 for those who wished to do an in-depth study of the Bible. It has been a tremendous success with students from all over the world flocking in, to learn from renowned Bible scholars. It offers three courses in Bible & Spirituality - the short term courses in Malayalam and in English, and the one-year course in English.
It is a spiritual journey through all the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, in an atmosphere of prayer and personal reflection. Renowned Bible scholars unravel the mysteries contained in the Bible. The course is offered to priests, religious and laity, in view of their spiritual growth and ministry.
The Divine Institute of Bible and Spirituality is affiliated to St Joseph’s Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Alwaye and the one-year course is a certified course. Candidates between the ages of 20-60 are welcome.
Divine Retreat Centre has a 200-member-strong trained spiritual counselling team, to offer spiritual guidance on a personal level to retreatants every week. They also counsel the residents of the various homes run by the Divine Charitable Trust, assisting them in their journey of healing and reconciliation.