Students will visit St. Augustine’s House monastery in Oxford, MI next weekend, April 14-16. The annual trip is meant to be a break from the busyness of everyday life, and students are encouraged to leave their screens, homework, and other distractions at home, according to Director of Health and Wellness and clinical counselor Brock Lutz. 

Lutz has been visiting the monastery for the last eight years, and began taking students along five years ago after Hillsdale College Chaplain Adam Rick suggested the idea. 

“The monks there are very hospitable and welcoming,” Lutz said. “We appreciate that as guests we are able to participate more in the service than at other monasteries.”

Days at the monastery are peaceful but filled with activity, Lutz said. There are seven prayer services per day, and each one is centered around the Psalms, according to Lutz. This ample time to spend worshiping God is essential for students, Rick said.

“Our students are stretched thin, especially this time of year, and carving out times of true rest when still embedded in the rhythms and pressure of campus is just straight hard to do,” Rick said. “Getting away helps make space to connect with God possible.”

Although it’s especially difficult to take time away from schoolwork at this point in the semester, Father Rick said students never regret spending time at St. Augustine’s House – in fact, they come back refreshed.

“The most important part of this retreat is the atmosphere of rest, away from campus, and in an idyllic, holy, and quietly ordered environment that promotes true sabbath rest,” Rick said.

While the retreat is at a monastery, both men and women are encouraged to attend, and each student will have a single room for a small fee. 

Spending time at the monastery can be an effective reset for a struggling prayer life, Lutz said. 

“It’s challenging me to try to find more time for devotional life throughout the day instead of just a limited time each morning,” Lutz said. “I think the trick is to try to find how we can live a monastic type of life while still doing what each of us has been called to do outside of monasteries.”