During this Advent season, spend a weekend with the feminine power of the Black Madonna. Through presentations, prayer, and silence, allow her power of healing and rebirth to touch your soul.
About This Retreat
Advent is a season of waiting for a birth—and all birth and rebirth comes through the feminine. This truth is captured in one of the most enduring images the Christian tradition: The Black Madonna.
In this retreat, you will be invited you into a new relationship with Mary as a living presence in the work of healing and wholeness. Drawing on Jungian-Christian dialogue, case material, and the rhythms of the season itself, the retreat explores:
Why this devotion has endured across centuries, and what it has meant to those who turn to her — then and now
The psycho-spiritual work of healing a soul that has learned to repress the feminine
What it costs us, individually and as a culture, to live with an immature and often anti-feminine reality
How Advent can move from piety into something more alive: an actual experience of rebirth with Christ in the inner world
What to Expect
A guided silent retreat punctuated with reflective sessions as a group. Short individual sessions (20 minutes) with the retreat director are available across the weekend.
Event Details
Check-in: December 11, 2026 from 3:00pm
Retreat Begins: 5:00pm
Checkout: December 13, 2026 at 11:00am
Retreat Ends: 11:30am
Resident Cost: $385, includes program, meals, and lodging
Commuter Cost: $325, includes program and meals
A $100 non-refundable & non-transferrable deposit is required to reserve your space.
Registration deadline: December 4, 2026
Scholarship funding is available. Apply here.
About the Facilitator
Don Bisson, FMS, D.Min.
Don Bisson Is a spiritual director, trainer and supervisor of directors. He is widely respected as a commentator and workshop leader on the interrelationship of spirituality and psychology. A Marist brother based in New York, he has graduate degrees in Liturgy, Spirituality, and Transpersonal Psychology.
Traveling to Mercy Center Auburn
We are nestled in the Sierra foothills of Northern California, just minutes from historic downtown Auburn and easily accessible from Sacramento, the Bay Area, and the surrounding region.
BY CAR:
Driving Directions are on our website.
BY TRAIN:
People coming from the Bay Area can take the Capital Corridor AMTRAK train to Sacramento's Valley Station or the Auburn station. From there, you can an Uber/Lift to the retreat center.
BY PLANE:
The Sacramento International Airport is the closest. From there, you can take an Uber/Lift to the retreat center.
Interested in learning about future retreats and events at Mercy Center Auburn?