MROP 2009

What is the Rites of Passage?

The program is a five-day / four night deeply prayerful and soulful experience that builds on the classic patterns of male initiation through simple and moving rituals and teaching. Each day includes group prayer, major teachings on central masculine spirituality themes, quiet time for reflection, and sharing in the context of a "home group."

This is not about religion, but about spirituality, about age old traditions that guide us into manhood, about coming to trust that there is something much greater at work in our lives.

What the MROP is ...

• A personal discovery about masculine
  spirituality and 'the Holy Mystery.'
• A time to savour the healing and awesome
  power of nature.
• A process to address issues of loss,
  grief, and relationships with father,
  other men, and others.
• An opportunity to examine life's priorities
  and ask courageous questions
  about your 'next step.'
• An invitation to listen to the 'quiet
  voice of God.'
• A chance to return to life with a renewed
  commitment to your gifts.

What the MROP is not ...

• A traditional lecture-based retreat.
• An informational workshop on men's
  spirituality.
• A sensitivity training or deprivation
  experience.
• A threatening process that requires
  participants to engage in anything
  strange or unsafe.
• A test of physical stamina.

In the words of the program's founder, Richard Rohr OFM :

"Men are asked to come with a willingness to participate from beginning to end and not as an observer. All participants begin at point zero with no agendas to live up to or down to. All that is required is for a man to come with a 'beginner's mind' and the readiness of a young novice seeking wisdom. Ultimately, initiation, like life itself, is not a spectator's sport."

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