- 2025 -
"I love coming here, it feels like a second home. It's warm, inviting, & the sense of love is everywhere here, like being wrapped in a warm blanket. Thank you for providing this beautiful centre for relaxation, healing & regeneration."
~Guest comment from recent February 4-Day Silent Retreat
~Guest comment from recent February 4-Day Silent Retreat
Volunteer Days:
Tuesdays May - September 10 am - 12 noon
TUESDAYS from May to September 10:00 am- 12 noon. Volunteers play an important role
at Loretto Maryholme by lending a hand with projects. If you’d like to help, you can come
any Tuesday and spend any amount of time you have between 10 am and 12:00 pm. Secondary students needing community service hours are welcome. No registration necessary.
Calling all hands on deck for annual
Labyrinth Blessing and Turn-out*
Tuesday May 27
9:30-Noon
Facilitator: Sr. Jane McDonell
Learn about the time-honoured sacred practice of labyrinth-walking… share stories of encounter with the Holy in the labyrinth… while preparing ours for a new season of retreats, a new season of seekers and friends of the Divine making retreat at Loretto Maryholme. It helps if you can bend, kneel or crouch for a spell, but there are no pre-requisites.
Suggestion: bring a water bottle and your favourite insect repellant. Light refreshments will be provided.
Registration not required, but welcome.
*Turn-out: a clearing out and cleaning; set straight; refresh; renew
_______________________
Maryholme’s labyrinth is a full mile-long winding path (in + out) nestled in the forest.
Cardinals and Blue Jays have been known to accompany pilgrims in the labyrinth.
It is fashioned after the famous labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral in France, matching the size and pattern.
______________________
Two years to construct with the help of many volunteers, Maryholme’s labyrinth needs just a few hours each Spring to renew it after the winter’s storms… to set straight, if you will, our winding path.
Sr. Jane McDonell, Maryholme’s founder, will lead off with a blessing and brief walk into the labyrinth. She will share brief story-time about meaning and history of labyrinths. Our land team will provide tools and buckets for gathering fallen branches, weeds, etc. While working together, we’ll share experiences in labyrinths – which are often surprisingly breath-taking.
Labyrinth: a pathway… a journey… a pilgrimage… a physical manifestation of the interior workings.
Fashioned from field stone, mosaic tile, turf, canvas, paving stone, glass brick….
Found in almost every major religious tradition, including Judaism – Kabala or tree of life;
Native American – medicine wheel; Christianity – Chartres and other cathedrals;
Tibetan Buddhism – sand paintings/mandalas
Ultimately a journey of the heart and soul to discover and uncover that which lies hidden deep within.
at Loretto Maryholme by lending a hand with projects. If you’d like to help, you can come
any Tuesday and spend any amount of time you have between 10 am and 12:00 pm. Secondary students needing community service hours are welcome. No registration necessary.
Calling all hands on deck for annual
Labyrinth Blessing and Turn-out*
Tuesday May 27
9:30-Noon
Facilitator: Sr. Jane McDonell
Learn about the time-honoured sacred practice of labyrinth-walking… share stories of encounter with the Holy in the labyrinth… while preparing ours for a new season of retreats, a new season of seekers and friends of the Divine making retreat at Loretto Maryholme. It helps if you can bend, kneel or crouch for a spell, but there are no pre-requisites.
Suggestion: bring a water bottle and your favourite insect repellant. Light refreshments will be provided.
Registration not required, but welcome.
*Turn-out: a clearing out and cleaning; set straight; refresh; renew
_______________________
Maryholme’s labyrinth is a full mile-long winding path (in + out) nestled in the forest.
Cardinals and Blue Jays have been known to accompany pilgrims in the labyrinth.
It is fashioned after the famous labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral in France, matching the size and pattern.
______________________
Two years to construct with the help of many volunteers, Maryholme’s labyrinth needs just a few hours each Spring to renew it after the winter’s storms… to set straight, if you will, our winding path.
Sr. Jane McDonell, Maryholme’s founder, will lead off with a blessing and brief walk into the labyrinth. She will share brief story-time about meaning and history of labyrinths. Our land team will provide tools and buckets for gathering fallen branches, weeds, etc. While working together, we’ll share experiences in labyrinths – which are often surprisingly breath-taking.
Labyrinth: a pathway… a journey… a pilgrimage… a physical manifestation of the interior workings.
Fashioned from field stone, mosaic tile, turf, canvas, paving stone, glass brick….
Found in almost every major religious tradition, including Judaism – Kabala or tree of life;
Native American – medicine wheel; Christianity – Chartres and other cathedrals;
Tibetan Buddhism – sand paintings/mandalas
Ultimately a journey of the heart and soul to discover and uncover that which lies hidden deep within.
Solstice Celebrations
National Indigenous Peoples Day & Summer Solstice
June 20th
June 21st will recognize and celebrate both The National Indigenous Peoples Day and June 20th The Summer Solstice.
We invite you to walk/pray the labyrinth using the handout (below and available at the front gate kiosk) to guide your reflection. You may wish to stop by the Peace Pole, New Beginnings garden, and Sisters in Spirit cairn going to or from the labyrinth. This area of the property is open to the public while the remainder is private for those making retreat. Please respect their privacy. Parking is available on Bouchier Street and just inside our gate. The Labyrinth entrance is on the right side of the lane. No washroom is available.
June 20th
June 21st will recognize and celebrate both The National Indigenous Peoples Day and June 20th The Summer Solstice.
We invite you to walk/pray the labyrinth using the handout (below and available at the front gate kiosk) to guide your reflection. You may wish to stop by the Peace Pole, New Beginnings garden, and Sisters in Spirit cairn going to or from the labyrinth. This area of the property is open to the public while the remainder is private for those making retreat. Please respect their privacy. Parking is available on Bouchier Street and just inside our gate. The Labyrinth entrance is on the right side of the lane. No washroom is available.
"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.
~David Viscotte
~David Viscotte
Winter Solstice
Winter Solstice Gathering and Ritual
Saturday, December 20, 4:00pm
Suggested minimum: $20/person
Gather with community as we enter the longest night of the year. A telling of the Universe Story around the fire will start as off. As the sun sets, we will have time for personal reflection on the challenges and gifts of the past year and voice our hopes for the coming year. A simple, hearty winter supper in our main house will warm us up and round out the evening.
Dress warmly to be outdoors for the ritual, weather permitting. Will be held indoors if weather is too fierce. All ages welcome. Registration not required but very helpful for the dinner planning. Supper will be vegetarian; lactose-intolerant and gluten-free options available. Contributions requested to cover cost of supper and materials. Suggested minimum: $20/person
Overnight accommodations available for additional fee; must be reserved in advance.
*Because Solstice occurs at 10:03am on Dec. 21 and the nights of Dec 20 and 21 will be the same length, we elected to honour the solstice at its start, in the midst of the weekend rather than the night before many people’s work-week begins.
Saturday, December 20, 4:00pm
Suggested minimum: $20/person
Gather with community as we enter the longest night of the year. A telling of the Universe Story around the fire will start as off. As the sun sets, we will have time for personal reflection on the challenges and gifts of the past year and voice our hopes for the coming year. A simple, hearty winter supper in our main house will warm us up and round out the evening.
Dress warmly to be outdoors for the ritual, weather permitting. Will be held indoors if weather is too fierce. All ages welcome. Registration not required but very helpful for the dinner planning. Supper will be vegetarian; lactose-intolerant and gluten-free options available. Contributions requested to cover cost of supper and materials. Suggested minimum: $20/person
Overnight accommodations available for additional fee; must be reserved in advance.
*Because Solstice occurs at 10:03am on Dec. 21 and the nights of Dec 20 and 21 will be the same length, we elected to honour the solstice at its start, in the midst of the weekend rather than the night before many people’s work-week begins.
No taxes charged on prices
