First Timer: A Fictional Vignette Based on Real Retreat Experiences
First Timer: A Fictional Vignette Based on Real Retreat Experiences
I’ve heard about this place from loved ones. My sister, brother-in-law, even my boss has been on one of these silent retreats. So here I am on the road leading out to Cloisters on the Platte. The road twists and turns and isn’t that kind of fitting, given how I’m feeling inside? But yeah, it’s pretty out here in the country, they were right about that. Good view, so far so good. I’m really doing this. They told me
Read More
What I Seek and What I Find
Every year, when I make my annual retreat at The Cloisters on the Platte, I arrive with great anticipation. I look forward to the quiet, to putting my phone away, and to giving myself permission to get lost in my own thoughts. It is time set apart to reflect on how I live my life
Read More
Reflecting on 2025: Year-End Review at The Cloisters on the Platte
As the calendar turns to a new year, we pause to reflect on the remarkable journey of 2025 at The Cloisters on the Platte. This year, our community: 2025 was also filled with meaningful events including our second annual marriage retreat, grounds clean-up, two waitlist retreat sneak peeks, our inaugural Shop and Sing Christmas event, and the upcoming Christmas at the Cloisters celebrations. At the heart of
Read More
The Power of People
The Cloisters on the Platte campus is known for its beauty. Our lodges, each unique and welcoming, are celebrated for their comfort. The Stations of the Cross sculptures that line our grounds offer moments of reflection and awe. The landscaping, architecture, and trails. Truly, it would be easy to go on and on about the physical beauty found at Cloisters on
Read More
Stewardship in Every Season – Managing the Cloisters Campus
Few people understand how much work goes into keeping the Cloisters campus looking beautiful year-round. From snowstorms to summer mowing marathons, our dedicated grounds crew manages it all. We sat down with our head groundskeeper – Heath Albright to learn what it really takes to care for a campus of this size and beauty. Q: How long have you
Read More
From Indianapolis to Gretna: A Small World Connection
The Cloisters community is not only strong – it’s far-reaching! Just ask Melissa and John Joerger and staff member Holly Ortmeier, who experienced this firsthand over the past year. Their story began in Indianapolis at 2024 National Eucharistic Congress. That event included thousands of attendees and three of them – Holly, John, and Melissa –
Read More
How Something Small Becomes Holy
My name is Margo, and I have made five Cloisters retreats. I like to say I’m a cradle-to-college Catholic. Religion has always been part of my life—but it’s been the retreats that have brought me back to my faith, again and again. From Christ Renews His Parish to Kairos retreats, and now here, at the
Read More
From Hand Drawings to Reality
When we sat down with Liz Robb and Dana Talbot from Elizabeth Robb Interiors, one thing became clear right away – this was no ordinary project. It all started when longtime collaborator and architect, Jonathan Foote, reached out with what he called a dream project. He believed it would be unlike anything they’d ever worked
Read More
Ignite Your Ignatian Spirituality
The next time you pray, invite the Five Actors into your prayer. You won’t regret it! Start the day off right by, first and foremost, inviting God to direct your day with His wisdom. And remember, we need His wisdom in both the big and the small moments of our days. Spend some time in
Read More
On God’s Stage: The Five Actors of Ignatian Spirituality
The Jesuit theologian Joseph de Guibert pointed out that just as there are many kinds of bridges—truss, suspension, simple, elegant, some built cheaply and others at great cost—so too there are many kinds of spirituality in the Church. Each has its own design and purpose. Franciscan spirituality emphasizes poverty and closeness to the poor. Dominican
Read More
Three days of silence,
a lifetime of transformation
Experience a weekend at
The Cloisters on the Platte.