Get Started
 
Retreat Schedule > The Gift of This Life: Cultivating a Grateful Heart in an Uncertain World

The Gift of This Life: Cultivating a Grateful Heart in an Uncertain World

A Day of Reflection for Adults

Tuesday, November 24, 2026 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Location: Barrington, IL
Program Cost: $80.00 (includes Lunch)
Retreat Leader: Al Gustafson

Register

Summary

In times of darkness and uncertainty, gratitude is more than a feeling. It is a spiritual stance that opens our eyes to the gift of life, nurtures hope, and resists despair.  St. Paul encourages us to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Not necessarily for all circumstances, but in them. Gratitude does not require us to ignore life's difficulties. Rather, it invites us to recognize the grace, beauty, and love that remain present even amid life's challenges.

Join us for a contemplative day of prayer and spiritual practice as we explore what it means to live with a grateful heart. Through guided meditation, reflection, silence, and simple practices of grateful living, we will learn to notice the gifts of everyday life, treasure the bodies and relationships through which we experience those gifts, and discover how gratitude can become a way of being in the world.

Description

A day or evening of reflection, grounded in the Jesuit tradition, is a shorter version of the Ignatian Weekend Retreat. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, a day or evening program is sure to give you the peace and serenity needed to be still and to rest in God's loving embrace.

Your day or evening of reflection includes thematic talks from our skilled Retreat Leaders, time for private prayer, celebration of Mass and a meal.

Bellarmine has two libraries, a resource center, two chapels, and many other common areas.  Outdoor spaces include a various walking trails, various prayer gardens, a gazebo, stations of the cross, as well as a few patios and outdoor chairs and benches. 

Retreat Experience Gallery

Retreat Leader

Al Gustafson

Al Gustafson is a spiritual director, retreat leader and creator of the online prayer chapel at Old St. Patrick’s Church. He is founder of the Career Transitions Center of Chicago, a not-for profit-organization serving the needs of those who are unemployed and in the throes of job transition. He serves on the board of the Institute for Catholic Bioethics at St. Joseph University in Philadelphia. He holds a doctorate of Ministry from Catholic Theological Union as well as degrees in accounting and theology.
Register