The Prodigal Retreat for Men

Oct 24-27, 2025
with Fr. Christopher Barak, Matt Simmons, and Fr. Ben Holdren
(Spiritual Direction Available)

Retreat starts Friday with rosary and Mass at 8:00pm, ends Sunday with Mass and Noon lunch.

Men’s Retreat

Are you like the Prodigal brother, too angry to receive the Father’s love? Or more like the Prodigal son, too ashamed to come home? Or maybe you are like the Prodigal father, hoping and waiting for the conversion of a loved one? Many of us spend a lifetime avoiding or “going around” our most difficult feelings. To grow in our spiritual life, we must go through them to heal. The only way to truly heal from our wounds is to experience our anger, shame, sadness, abandonment, loneliness and more deeply with Jesus and allow Him to order the chaos and brokenness in our hearts.

The Prodigal Retreat will help men find rest in the arms of the Father; from sin, anxiety, fear and worry. This two-night retreat with other Catholic men will help you find or deepen your identity as a son of the Father and give you tools to know and experience God more intimately.

Time in contemplative prayer and honest conversation with God will be led by spiritual directors: Fr. Christopher Barak, Matt Simmons, and Fr. Ben Holdren who will help guide you through a process that will make lasting healing possible. Using “feeling prayer”, you will have time and space to experience God’s healing in a profound way, from the inside-out.

Though the Prodigal retreat is primarily focused on our individual interior life, we also recognize the need for community through vulnerability and true Christian intimacy as men. For this, we will also spend time in small groups engaging in fellowship and activities.

This is a space for men to be honest about their struggles, be authentic in prayer, better understand and navigate their own emotions and relationships, find healing, build trust, and discover God’s presence and support in their experiences and emotions.

Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House offers a sanctuary of prayer and recollection on a spacious acreage near Waverly. There are 50 single rooms, each with a private bath.

We want our retreats to be accessible to everyone, please consider an additional donation, or contact the Retreat House to inquire about financial assistance or if your parish pays part of the cost. If the retreat you’re interested in is full, contact us to be put on a waiting list. A few double rooms are available upon request. Airport transportation to/from LNK or OMA is also available upon request.

In-person at the Retreat House, retreats include meditations by the retreat master, the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation, the Liturgy of the Hours and other devotions, and opportunities for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.