The Retreat starts with Dinner on Friday and ends with Breakfast on Sunday

A paradigm is a model or illustration that is so fundamental to a certain subject that it is applicable in almost any circumstance. When it comes to the spiritual journey, the process of becoming a spiritual person, do we have such a model?  Yes, we do…or maybe, yes, there is one offered to us if we choose to accept it. It resonates through scripture. And it is recognizable in our daily experiences. What is really going on in the events of our day, and in the midst of our world?  And how can we come to recognize it in the course of our everyday lives?  This retreat looks at the spiritual underpinnings of our reality, and seeks to address what our choices and decisions could mean in relation to God, to one another, and to our own spiritual well-being.

Fr. Bernie Tickerhoof is a friar of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. He is a member of Franciscan Pathways, the community's retreat ministry. Fr. Bernie offers retreats and spiritual programs in retreat centers, parishes, and religious congregations. These are tailored to the particular needs of the specific groups and organizations. He has developed a variety of programs on contemporary spirituality, faith and biblical conversion, and leadership development.

Fr. Bernie received his Master of Divinity (MDiv) from St. Francis Seminary, formerly in Loretto, PA, in 1978, and a Master of Theology (ThM) in spirituality and liturgy through the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, CA (now part of Santa Clara University) in 1979. He received a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2001. He has also pursued graduate studies at the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University and at the Catholic University of America.

Fr. Bernie was ordained in 1978 and has been involved in spiritual ministry and retreat work since 1979. He has traveled widely throughout the country in a ministry of preaching, spiritual conferences, and retreats. He has served on his community's initial formation team as vocation director, novice director, and has served as director of Ongoing Formation. He has done extensive work in Franciscan Spirituality through the Franciscan Federation of the U.S. and as a spiritual assistant for the Secular Franciscan Order at the local, provincial, and regional levels. Fr. Bernie was on his province's leadership team from 2008 to 2012.

His recent book, The One Body of Christ in a Quantum Age, is published through Orbis Books.