Retreat on the Spirit of Fun
Surprising Gifts: Living the Life of the Spirit in Joy, Beauty, and Fun
Fr. David Robinson, SJ  
This is a silent retreat

Many of us learned at an early age that the Holy Spirit brings 7 gifts: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. However, we have also learned that the Spirit blows where it will, and can infuse our lives in a multitude of ways. During this retreat, we shall explore the presence of the Holy Spirit in our experiences of Joy, Beauty, and Fun. Those aspects of our daily walk that enliven our sense of fulfillment and rejoicing, individually, and as families and communities are the "simple gifts" that God pours into our minds, hearts, and bodies, to amaze us with the bounty which is ours in every time and place. We gather to embrace that bounty together!   $204 per person, $318 couples, (includes two nights lodging and 5 meals) and $118 commuters This retreat is silent.

Bio - Rev. David C. Robinson, S.J.
Fr. Robinson was born and raised in Billerica, Massachusetts, in the historic shadow of Lexington and Concord. After completing undergraduate studies at Boston University, he went to UC Berkeley for graduate work in English Literature. His spiritual journey then led him to migrate ‘across the road’ to the Jesuit School of Theology and the Graduate Theological Union, immediately north of the Cal campus, where he commenced an odyssey of exploration in varied areas of philosophical studies, biblical literature and languages, systematic theology, and the sociology and anthropology of religion. After entering the Society of Jesus in 1982, he began a decades-long connection to ministry in the Latino community, as well as pursuing advanced studies in music. He earned his Ph.D. in Theology and the Arts from the Graduate Theological Union in 1995.
 
On the professional front, he spent nearly fifteen years at the University of San Francisco at the College of Professional Studies, in the areas of Interdisciplinary Studies, Academic Administration, and Educational Mission and Spirituality. From 2007 to 2009, he was Director of the Nestucca Sanctuary Spirituality Center on the Oregon coast. His ministry at the Loyola Institute for Spirituality includes liturgical work with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, support for Latino community groups, Ignatian pedagogy workshops for professors at Jesuit Universities, and spirituality and the arts projects focused on music, photography, and website development. On the personal front, he considers himself a work-in-progress—mingling interests in music, tennis, media, and global networks with an ongoing connection to international Jesuit educational ventures (especially online), organizational spirituality, and the impacts of complex-systems theory on contemporary models for learning and communication.