Nurturing Hope
in a Dark Time
An In-Person Retreat with
The Rev. John Michael Hayes, PhD, ABPP,
Priest-Psychologist-Psychoanalyst
Friday, February 7 – Sunday, February 9
Retreat Theme The psalmist tells us “weeping spends the night, but joy comes in the morning”, but night can be very long and dark, and morning far off. Indeed we share a very dark night – the environmental crises advance, wars once thought unthinkable are brewing and boiling over and terrible alliances drawn. Political strife and chaos threaten.
This retreat falls just after both the ominous inauguration of the second Trump presidency, and the feast of Imbolc, the feast of St. Brigid, that ushers in spring in Celtic lands.
Looking at the world today, it’s easy to feel disheartened by the amount of hate and division. So much of humanity seems bound to the lowest levels of consciousness, caught in cycles of fear, judgment, and pain. Yet, even in the midst of this darkness, there is a glimmer of hope.
Each of us has the power to transform, to awaken through contemplation. By peeling away the layers that keep us from healing, we allow love to flow through us, transforming us from the inside out. In this transformation, we become a refuge, a safe place where others can pause, breathe, and feel something gentler, something truer. In doing so, we invite others to experience this same love within themselves, breaking the cycle of projecting pain onto others.
From a dark and terrible time Holocaust martyr Etty Hillesum tells us: "It is our moral duty to reclaim more and more peace within ourselves."
In this time apart, we will hopefully deepen our awakening, open ourselves to the voice of the Holy within, and be fortified to face the dark times ahead. The Irish poet, priest and philosopher John Donohue’s poem is most fitting for our time:
On Courage
When the light around lessens
And your thoughts darken until
Your body feels fear turn
Cold as a stone inside,
When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen,
When one voice commands
Your whole heart,
And it is raven dark,
Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world.
Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light,
Know that you are not alone,
And that this darkness has purpose;
Gradually it will school your eyes,
To find the one gift your life requires
Hidden within this night-corner.
Invoke the learning
Of every suffering
You have suffered.
Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.
A new confidence will come alive
To urge you towards higher ground
Where your imagination
will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!
Presenter Bio The Reverend John Michael Hayes, Ph.D., is a priest of the Episcopal diocese of Maryland and a psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst. He serves on the faculties of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, the Washington Baltimore Psychoanalytic Institute, and the Ecumenical Institute, St. Mary’s Seminary and University.
