Divine Retreat Centre

The great seeker St Augustine of Hippo revealed: “Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.” Within every human person is placed a spiritual thirst to be in communion with the Maker. In seeking to quench this interior longing, the human person was led by the deceptive offers of this world and left with a deeper emptiness. Dissatisfaction and despair set in. However this was never meant to be the destiny of humankind.

God chose to become Emmanuel – a ‘God with us’ to be seen, heard and experienced. Jesus, the Son of God came into this world as the Good Shepherd to nourish, heal and revive the human soul. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). This mission He entrusted to the Church to continue the spiritual feeding of the flock. As Vatican II clarified the mission of evangelization was the sole purpose of the existence of the Church. Through the centuries, religious congregations committed themselves for the spiritual renewal of the Church.

Divine Retreat Centre run by the Mary Matha Province of the Vincentian Congregation, has been at the service of the Church for this mission of the spiritual renewal of the people. It has been raised by God as the venue where the word of God is preached and the Sacraments are administered that people may experience the reality and liberating power of God. It stands as the largest Catholic Retreat Centre in the world. Since 1989 weeklong spiritual retreats in English, Hindi, Konkani, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu are held simultaneously, every week of the year

Features of the Retreat

“My House shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7). People flock into the Divine Retreat Centre from across the nations, cultures and walks of life to spend a week in prayer.

Prayer here is firstly, an encounter with the love of God where God chooses to speak through the Word, and to touch and heal through His powerful presence in the Sacraments.

The deep experience of God leads to the healing of mind, body and soul and to the reconciliation in relationships and with the past. The return to God is not an isolated event. It sets the person on a trail of healing. Firstly, from the consequences of sin, where the spirit is freed from addictions. Secondly, the individual becomes a channel of peace and families are reunited. Thirdly, the person discovers the mission and purpose in life and radiates the healing received to those one encounters in the world. testimonies.

This spiritual journey of healing and sanctification culminates in the experience of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, where they are empowered to go out into the world with the mission of peace, love and life

Details of the Retreat

The retreat based on the Catholic sacramental and charismatic spirituality is patterned over 6 days, where there is daily worship with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, prayers with Eucharistic Adoration, preaching of the word of God, proclamation of faith through testimonies and praise and worship. Personally every person gets the opportunity of the sacrament of Confession and spiritual counseling with gifted elders.

The retreats in seven languages are held in separate halls in two campuses that lie on either side of the NH 544 Salem Kochi highway. In the Divine Retreat Centre English campus, retreats are held in English, Konkani, Hindi and Kannada. These retreats begin every week on Sunday at 10 am and conclude on Friday at 2 pm. Retreats for children and a ‘Bible Nursery’ for tiny tots are held simultaneously along with the weekly retreats. In the Divine Retreat Centre Malayalam campus, retreats are held in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. These retreats begin every Sunday at 2 pm and end on Friday at 8 am. Accommodation and dining facilities are provided for the participants on campus.

The retreat based on the Catholic sacramental and charismatic spirituality is patterned over 6 days, where there is daily worship with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, prayers with Eucharistic Adoration, preaching of the word of God, proclamation of faith through testimonies and praise and worship. Personally every person gets the opportunity of the sacrament of Confession and spiritual counseling with gifted elders. The retreats in seven languages are held in separate halls in two campuses that lie on either side of the NH 544 Salem Kochi highway. In the Divine Retreat Centre English campus, retreats are held in English, Konkani, Hindi and Kannada. These retreats begin every week on Sunday at 10 am and conclude on Friday at 2 pm. Retreats for children and a ‘Bible Nursery’ for tiny tots are held simultaneously along with the weekly retreats. In the Divine Retreat Centre Malayalam campus, retreats are held in Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. These retreats begin every Sunday at 2 pm and end on Friday at 8 am. Accommodation and dining facilities are provided for the participants on campus.

Accessibility of the Retreat Centre

Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor, Chalakudy, located at Muringoor, by the National Highway (544) in the district of Thrissur, is 2 kilometres from Chalakudy town, Kerala.

The retreat centre is easily accessible by all modes of transportation.

By air

The Kochi (Cochin) International Airport, Nedumbasserry is a half hour drive from the centre. Pre-paid taxis are available at the airport and we recommend these.

By road

The Divine Retreat Centre is situated next to the national highway (NH 544). Those coming by bus can get down right in front of the centre at Muringoor. The nearest town is Chalakudy.

By train

The Divine Retreat Centre has a railway halt of its own called 'Divine Nagar'. The Divine Nagar station has a direct access to the Malayalam campus of the centre, from where the English campus, located on the other side of the highway can be reached by exiting the Malayalam campus and crossing the road. Certain long distance

Distance

If your train does not have a stop at Divine Nagar, then you could look for a train halt at any one of the following stations

Chalakudy (5 KM)
Thrissur (32 KM)
Shoranur (96 KM)
Aluva (21 KM)
Ernakulam (41 KM)

Facilities at Retreat Centre

Food

Rooms

AC rooms

Two/Four-wheeler parking

Laundry service

Travel reservation counter

Taxi bookings

Dispensary/Pharmacy

Ambulance service

Telephone Doctor on duty

Religious articles

Refreshment/General stores

For any queries

Please contact:

Fr Joshi Kochukudiattil
Director,
Divine Malayalam Section

divineretreatcentre@gmail.com

Retreat Malayalam

During the retreats for the sick, special accommodation will be provided for the bedridden if informed in advance. Medical facilities which include an ambulance service are available on request, to transport the sick and disabled from Divine Nagar Railway halt to the retreat centre.
Jesteen Retreat for children takes place every week. Growth retreats and other special retreats are held in Malayalam.

The Divine Institute of Bible and Spirituality

The Divine Institute of Bible and Spirituality was begun in 1998 for those who wished to do an in-depth study of the Bible. It has been a tremendous success with students from all over the world flocking in, to learn from renowned Bible scholars. It offers three courses in Bible & Spirituality - the short term courses in Malayalam and in English, and the one-year course in English.

It is a spiritual journey through all the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, in an atmosphere of prayer and personal reflection. Renowned Bible scholars unravel the mysteries contained in the Bible. The course is offered to priests, religious and laity, in view of their spiritual growth and ministry.

The Divine Institute of Bible and Spirituality is affiliated to St Joseph’s Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Alwaye and the one-year course is a certified course. Candidates between the ages of 20-60 are welcome.

For any queries

Please contact:

The Director
Divine Institute of Bible
and Spirituality

divinebiblecourse@gmail.com

Divine Community

Christian proclamation is exercised through the preaching of the Word, the sacramental life and the exercise of the charisms of the Holy Spirit and through the community life. The retreats at Divine are a powerful expression of the witness of a praying community. As described of the early Church, there is a community of religious and lay persons devoted to “the breaking of the bread, the teaching of the apostles, prayers and fellowship” (Acts 2:42).

The community is held together by the spiritual leadership of the Vincentian Fathers. The priests, sisters and lay members work together for the retreat ministry. While some are devoted to prayer, some to service, some are involved in the preaching and counseling ministries.

Preachers

Imbuing the spirit of the Vatican II, Divine Retreat Centre’s Fathers have taken lay persons and the religious into the proclamation mission, and have trained them to preach the word of God, to share their testimonies and to lead worship sessions.

Spiritual Counsellors

Divine Retreat Centre has a 200-member-strong trained spiritual counselling team, to offer spiritual guidance on a personal level to retreatants every week. They also counsel the residents of the various homes run by the Divine Charitable Trust, assisting them in their journey of healing and reconciliation.

Intercessors

The duty of every Christian and at the heart of every spiritual ministry is selfless prayer for the needs of the suffering humankind. Right from its beginnings, Divine Retreat Centre has prioritized intercessory prayer. At the heart of the retreat campus is the prayer ministry, where prayer groups pray for the needs of the people round the clock.

Volunteers

All the services at the Divine Retreat Centre are carried out in clockwork precision by its 1,200 volunteers - both men and women. They are those who have made retreats and wish to serve and pray.

For over 30 years Divine Retreat Centre has been preaching spiritual retreats every week bringing the salvation of Christ to millions. It opened its doors to receive over 2500 persons rejected by society. This work of the Lord has been realized day after day, because of the faithful prayer support and financial contributions. Since the beginning of the lockdown, the Retreat Centre has been closed. It continues daily to proclaim God’s word. However the food and medical requirements of the 3000 residents of Divine are to be met. If you are inspired to support the Divine through a financial contribution, whether big or small click here