November 1-3, 2024

 

Our Fall Retreat is now Closed

If you wish to be on the mailing list for future events, please email Ed at [email protected].

A Retreat For Adult Children of Divorced/Separated Parents

Dealing with our parents' divorce is not easy but confronting this wound with faith can allow us to find great healing. We hope that you will become part of our supportive community and receive the many graces available through this ministry.

Healing Retreat

Attending the three-day retreat is a great way to start this journey of healing. The retreat focuses on discovering our identity as children of God, although it also focuses on overcoming the effects of parental divorce, forgiving our parents, and connecting with others from this background.

This retreat has something for any adult child of divorce or separation, no matter how much healing you have received or need.

The weekend includes presentations, small group sharing, adoration, spiritual direction, and Mass. This three-day retreat is the centerpiece of this ministry.

Themes covered on the weekend include:

• Finding Our Deepest Identity
• Faith and Our Relationship with God
• Love, Dating, and the Sacrament of Marriage
• Loneliness
• Anger and Anxiety
• False Guilt and Shame
• Forgiveness and Reconciliation
• Family Boundaries
• The Christian Meaning of Suffering
• Healing and the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist
• and more!

Fr Luke's testimony

Please contact Ed Hopfner for updates.

Retreat team leaders

Father Carl

Fr. Carl entered the Dominicans of the Western Province in 1990 and was ordained in 1998. He currently serves as Pastor at St. Dominic, Benicia, which is the oldest foundation of the Western Dominican Province. Prior to that he has served at a variety of parishes and campus ministries throughout the west, including the University of Utah and Stanford University. He is a San Francisco Bay Area native.

Fr. Carl is an only child whose parents divorced when he was seven. He is an alum of the first Life-Giving Wounds retreat on the West coast, in March 2022. On his retreat, he found a passion for helping other adult children of divorce overcome the pain and stigma of talking about the experience of being a child of separated or divorced parents, both among themselves and to those from intact marriages. He is excited by the rush of healing that comes from a LWG weekend and the long-term, ongoing healing that comes from staying engaged with fellow children of divorce.

 

Sr Maria Suso

Sr. Maria Suso grew up in Clearwater, FL. During Confirmation preparation, she began reading the Bible, met Jesus in the Word, and fell in love with Him and his Church. She immediately began discerning as she went from nominally Catholic to wanting to give her whole life to God. After attending Florida State University and working for a year in insurance, she entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, whose Motherhouse is in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sr. Maria Suso made perpetual profession in 2017.

After initial formation and first vows, Sister obtained a teaching certificate from Eastern Michigan University, and she has taught English and biology in Lansing, Michigan; Peoria, Illinois; and Kentfield, CA. She also recently finished a Masters in Theology from St. Paul Seminary in Minnesota. She is enjoying teaching senior English this year at Marin Catholic High School and lives in a convent with three other Sisters who also teach at MC.

 

Tanguy

Tanguy (tahn-GHEE) Hubert grew up in Southern France. After studying classical music at conservatory level during his childhood years, he switched to engineering and graduated from Supelec in Paris. He later received the MS and PhD in electrical engineering and the MS in public policy, all from Georgia Tech, and currently works in renewable energy research for a global non-profit corporation. Personal interests include backpacking, history, baroque music, and cooking for friends.

Most recently, Tanguy has been studying icon painting under several master iconographers, and theological anthropology at the Theology of the Body (TOB) Institute. In complement to his experience with Life-Giving Wounds, programs run by the John Paul II Healing Center have greatly influenced his healing journey, including the Restore the Glory podcast.

Tanguy is a parishioner at St Dominic’s in San Francisco.

 

Hallie

Hallie knew from a very young age that God created her to be a servant to others. As a young child she set up a folding lawn chair in her driveway and offered neighborhood kids advice for all their life’s problems. That love of helping others continues with her to this day, and she has spent her life educating herself in the field of psychology and mental health.

Hallie holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and has worked with several populations, including Catholic seminarians as adjunct professor at St. Patrick’s seminary in Menlo Park, and the school counselor for two archdiocese K-8 schools. Dr. Colorado has also spent years working with engaged couples leading Engaging the Heart, as well as working at Stanford Children’s hospital’s pediatric cardiology unit.

She is currently the Director of Parish Outreach and Community at St. Raymond Catholic church where she and her family have been parishioners for over a decade, as well as the Director of Health, Wellness and Counseling services at St. Matthew’s Catholic school.  Hallie is the proud mother of a beautiful group of little ladies and is happily married to her favorite guy. She is an adult child of divorce and is incredibly passionate about helping others through the grief, trauma and healing associated with this life altering event.

 

Katherine



Katherine grew up in the suburbs of Portland, Maine with her four siblings, and currently lives in San Francisco. She is a pediatric Occupational Therapist & works in early intervention services for children with Autism. She has a passion for building community and helping others maximize their potential. In her free time Katherine enjoys all things health and fitness, outdoor adventures including skiing and hiking, listening to audiobooks & podcasts, and catching up with loved ones over a cup of coffee.

Her parents divorced and annulled their marriage when she was 6 years old. She began the journey of intentional healing in early adulthood through therapy. During this period, she also rediscovered her Catholic faith. Through growing in relationship with God and frequenting the sacraments, she found a deeper way to reconcile many family-related wounds. Katherine attended her first Life Giving Wounds retreat in March 2022, and is honored to accompany all those sharing her wound of divorced parents.

 

Victoria

Victoria was born and raised in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado as a cradle Catholic and is the younger daughter of two children. She was fifteen when her parents divorced. She then attended Colorado State University studying education. It was there where she first experienced faithful Catholic community and was formed in the faith. After graduating from Colorado State University, she served as a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) Missionary at San Diego State University for two years and San Francisco State University for one year.

While serving as a FOCUS missionary, Victoria was introduced to Life Giving Wounds and attended her first retreat in November of 2023. After attending her first retreat, she experienced great freedom from the healing and community she experienced on the retreat. Through her ministry experience, Victoria has enjoyed walking with adult children of divorce as they process and seek healing and redemption in their wounds.

 

Before registering, please be aware of the following:

• All are very welcome to join us on retreat whether you are Catholic or not, but please be aware that the content of this retreat will be Catholic.


• A team of presenters will speak about this wound and its effects, and there will be moments for you to share your experiences with others in small groups.


• As with all retreats, everything will be treated on a strictly confidential basis.  This is a spiritual retreat, not primarily psychological, but we will have a list of counselors available as a resource outside of the retreat itself for those who are interested.


• Healing retreats pair well with counseling and/or spiritual direction. If you are not already working through this wound with someone, we would encourage you to consider it. If you would like a recommendation, please give us a call.

Begins on Friday (Nov 1) at 6:00 pm, and ends Sunday (Nov 3) at 3:30 pm.  Includes Holy Mass, chance for confessions and Adoration.