Silent retreat for Men and Women
Giving thanks, praise and petition are forms of prayer
deeply rooted in our tradition. This retreat will focus on
thanks, as we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, considering our
blessings, even those we reap when we give thanks.
Fr. Peter Togni, S.J., born in King City, CA, and raised on a dairy farm in Greenfield, graduated from Yale before entering the California Province of the Jesuits in 1975. He has taught in the theology department at USF and served there as an Associate Dean for students' issues. A volunteer at San Quentin for six years, Fr. Peter helped to set up and coordinate for the prisoners the offerings of the School of Pastoral Leadership for the Archdiocese of San Francisco, also teaching in that program.
Fr. Peter has a deep devotion to the working of the Holy Spirit and wrote his dissertation on a novitiate in the early Society of Jesus.
Ms. Barbara Nelson is a spiritual director and a graduate of the Pierre Favre Training Program on the Spiritual Exercises at the Jesuit Retreat Center. In January 2009 she attended the international Ignatian Common Apostolic Discernment workshop in Rome. She is a native and resident of San Francisco. Barbara does retreat work at JRC and in her parish, St. Agnes, where she also offers the 30 week Spiritual Exercises. Ignatian Spirituality is her passion. She enjoys photography.
Assisting
Fr. Bernard Bush, S.J. is a spiritual director and psychotherapist by training— background that he believes enables him to see people's lives in a rich and diverse way. He says he enjoys the challenging adventure of helping others find God in their lives— something he recognizes is different for every person. He defines a spiritual director as one who is a servant to others as they grow in their relationship with God.
Born in Humboldt County, California, Fr. Bernie entered the Society of Jesus following graduation from Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose, CA. He was ordained in 1965, and then trained as a spiritual director and psychotherapist, earning a Ph.D. in human science (psychology and theology) from the Saybrook Graduate School, San Francisco.
Early in his career, Fr. Bernie taught at St. Ignatius High School, San Francisco, and assisted the chaplain at Alcatraz, San Francisco. For 13 years, he directed the House of Affirmation, a clinical treatment center for emotionally troubled clergy and religious. Fr. Bush is the author of the Book called Living in His Love: Essays on Prayer and Christian Living, and the Editor of Coping: Issues of Emotional Living in an Age of Stress for Clergy and Religious. He joined the Jesuit Retreat Center staff in 1993 after working in the Diocese of Norwich (Conn.), developing continuing education programs in social justice and the prevention of child abuse for the clergy.
Fr. Bernie continues to advocate for children. He also looks back fondly on his piloting days when he was truly "out of reach, looking down on the world a sort of God's eye view."
Fr. Joseph Fice, S.J., spent 25 years as a religious educator in Jesuit high schools in California and Arizona. He taught at Jesuit High School in Sacramento, Loyola High School in Los Angeles, and Brophy Preparatory School in Phoenix. His academic interests evolved from mathematics to a deep interest in scripture and ethics. After earning a B.S. in Mathematics from Loyola University of Los Angeles, he received an M.A. in Philosophy from Gonzaga University and an S.T.M. in Theology from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. A lecturer in Philosophy at Loyola University of Los Angeles from 1967 to 1969, his subsequent high school teaching focused on Scripture and Catholic Christianity.
Janet Perucca-Kleinhofer holds a Masters degree in Spirituality from
Santa Clara University Graduate School of Pastoral Ministry, a certification
as a Spiritual Director from the Spiritual Director's Institute at Mercy
Center, Burlingame, and a Master Catechist Degree from the Diocese of
San Jose. Janet ministers in Adult Faith Formation as a retreat facilitator,
spiritual director, and presenter at the Diocesan Institute for Leadership
in Ministry. She has been involved in some facet of religious education
or spiritual direction for the past thirty years. She has developed programs
for those desiring to deepen their relationship with God, for women's
spirituality, and for those suffering loss. Janet has journeyed with
those facing 'end of life issues' and
has held workshops on planning the Culminating Celebration
of One's Life.
She has a passion for the Ignatian exercises and will continue her training
in the JRC Pierre Favre Program. Janet is the grateful mother of three
adult children and grandmother of a joy-filled granddaughter.
Fr. John Privett, S.J., long a professor of communication at Santa Clara University,
Fr. John was Rector of the Jesuit community there from 1988
to 1993. He has continued in leadership roles as Provincial of the California
Province of the Jesuits (1993-1999), as Rector of the Jesuit community
at the Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts (2000-2006),
and as Superior of the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center Jesuit community (2007-present),
where he cares for many of the retired men of the Province.
Fr. John had earlier studied and taught in Taiwan, and he keeps up his
fluency in Mandarin. He enjoys cycling and is ever an enthusiastic host
for gatherings of his brother Jesuits. Fr. John, noting that he had
been a Jesuit for more that 50 years, writes, “In that time I
have done some interesting things. I spent 20 years teaching and working
at Santa Clara University. The past twenty years I have been doing “in-house” Jesuit
administrative jobs. All in all, it’s been a good ride!”
