Silent (yet Singing) Retreat for Women & Men
The chants and songs, carols and hymns of Advent and Christmas invite us to contemplate the entire mystery of God's saving action in our world. We will sing and pray of the desire of each Advent and of the grace of God-with-us.
Fr. Thomas Carroll, S.J., a San Francisco native, has served as Executive Director of El Retiro San Iņigo, the Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos, since 2005. Long on the faculty of Loyola High School of Los Angeles, where he developed a vital choral music tradition, Fr. Tom also ministered for five years as Director of the Jesuit Urban Center and Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boston. Fr. Tom enjoys playing the organ, especially for singing congregations.
Ms. Julie Paavola is a writer, retreat leader and trained spiritual director. She has a Masters in Religion from the Graduate Theological Union and studied Carmelite spirituality for ten years. She is bilingual and has spent years ministering to the Hispanic community, serving as Assistant Director of Religious Education for Hispanics in the Archdiocese of San Francisco and as Minister to Community for the growing Hispanic community in North Carolina. There she worked at a Franciscan parish doing community organizing, social justice education and ministry to the Hispanic community.
Julie has contributed to retreats and conferences nationwide on a variety of subjects from prayer and discernment, to peace and justice, stewardship and family life. Her most recent work is a book on the spirituality of motherhood for our times and she is currently working on a book about motherhood as vocation. Julie feels blessed to also be taking part in the Pierre Favre course at the Jesuit Retreat House in Los Altos, which provides training in giving the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She makes her home in Northern California with her husband and two children, Joseph (7) and Daniel (4).
Assisting
Fr. Kevin Ballard, S.J. was born in San Francisco and raised in a traveling military family, joined the Society of Jesus in 1972 and was ordained in 1985. His ministry, mainly in parishes, has also included community organizing, high school teaching, and retreat work. Three years in Kathmandu, Nepal were a highlight and delight. His ongoing interest in Ignatian Spirituality has entailed directing the Spiritual Exercises in their various forms. Since 1981, the blessings of the 12 Steps have been key to life and work. Judaism has been an ongoing inspiration. He is blessed to live sober, one day at a time, since 1981. Kevin is recreated by languages, bird-watching and "staring into space!"
Ms. Randi Schmidt studied psychology in Oslo, Norway, and worked on research projects there and in the USA and Switzerland. With a spiritual awakening, she turned to training and work in pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Randi holds a certificate in spiritual direction from Mercy Center and an MA in spirituality from Santa Clara University. At present, she is training in the Pierre Favre program at El Retiro.
Fr. Duc Vu, S.J., a software engineer before joining the Jesuits, was ordained in 2002 and served in a parish until 2007. An M.F.A. in Creative Writing reflects his interest in life as story. He likes to explore the creative dynamic among stories human and divine, as well as the fascinating dialectic between our corporeality and spirituality.
