“Compassion is My True Self” Weekend Retreat

"Compassion is a way of life, an external expression of an inner attitude."
~ Joyce Rupp in her book "Boundless Compassion"

"Change is possible when I see the spark of the divine within self and others."

That spark, described by spiritual guide and author Joyce Rupp in her book "Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life" is inspiring people to discover and deepen the role of compassion in their lives and communities. Joyce's vision is heartwarming: "With compassion at the core of humanity’s lived experience, we will be able to approach one another with true respect and dwell in peace."

We are thrilled to welcome Boundless Compassion facilitators Mary Dean Pfahler SND and Kathleen Loughrige, mindful practitioners who share this passion and vision to Dominican Center Marywood at Aquinas College.

Compassion is deeply rooted in our human DNA. However, strategies we learn and adapt through life can block the openness to feel compassion and respond to our own and others’ suffering. Through this retreat experience Sr. Mary Dean and Kathleen will help us develop insights and learn practical skills to cultivate compassion in our lives and communities.

• Explore healthy self-compassion.
• Learn approaches for compassionate living.
• Consider creative ways to nurture and sustain compassion all around you.
• Explore compassion through the lens of the Enneagram as a tool to guide us back to our essence, to what is most true.

Offering presentations, quiet reflection time, conversation, and common prayer, this weekend retreat serves as a catalyst for a renewed commitment to becoming a compassionate presence.

COMPASSION is being moved in one’s depths by the pain or bliss of another
and responding in ways that intend to ease their suffering and promote their flourishing."
~ Dr. Frank Rogers, Jr. author of “Practicing Compassion"

“Compassion is a way of life - an inner posture of how to be with suffering, both our own and others, and a desire to move that attitude into action. Compassion involves an ‘inside-out’ movement. A radical change unfolds in us when compassion becomes a way of life, a transformation as far-reaching as an acorn growing into a tree, an egg producing a chicken, or a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly.”
— Joyce Rupp in Boundless Compassion: Creating a Way of Life