--- title: "St. Cyril’s 2025 Lenten Retreat: Desert Spirituality · St Cyril’s" url: https://stcyrils.edu.au/news/st-cyrils-2025-lenten-retreat-desert-spirituality description: "On Saturday 29th March, our in-person 2025 Lenten Retreat immersed over 40 attendees in the wisdom of ancient Christian desert spirituality." --- 1. [Home](https://stcyrils.edu.au/) 2. [News](https://stcyrils.edu.au/news) # St. Cyril’s 2025 Lenten Retreat: Desert Spirituality 2 May 2025 ![St. Cyril’s 2025 Lenten Retreat: Desert Spirituality](https://stcyrils.edu.au/_image?href=https%3A%2F%2Fstcyrils.edu.au%2F_emdash%2Fapi%2Fmedia%2Ffile%2F01M5HJA026AERQKWCW43RF20DZ.jpg&w=1400&h=1050&f=webp&fit=cover&position=center) On Saturday 29th March, our in-person 2025 Lenten Retreat immersed over 40 attendees in the **wisdom of ancient Christian desert spirituality.** After commencing the day with Divine Liturgy, we drew from the teachings of the Desert Fathers & Mothers and explored their guidance on deepening our spiritual lives and strengthening our ascetic discipline. A key focus was the **Homilies of Macarius**, where we reflected on the importance of calling on God’s grace to drive out the demonic parasites that lead us away from God and bend our desires towards sin and evil. We also enjoyed a reading workshop on **the story of St. Pelagia**, which inspired us to meditate on the transformative power of repentance and true humility. ![](https://stcyrils.edu.au/_image?href=https%3A%2F%2Fstcyrils.edu.au%2F_emdash%2Fapi%2Fmedia%2Ffile%2F01M5HJA003BRC7FB30DXS5R42Q.jpg&w=1600&h=1200&f=webp&fit=cover&position=center) ![](https://stcyrils.edu.au/_image?href=https%3A%2F%2Fstcyrils.edu.au%2F_emdash%2Fapi%2Fmedia%2Ffile%2F01M5HJA044GTN8S9WM68KMV2GM.jpg&w=1600&h=1200&f=webp&fit=cover&position=center) This Retreat inspired attendees on their journey toward Pascha, filling us with insights that help one to embrace the spiritual struggle with renewed strength and devotion! St. Cyril’s looks forward to next year’s annual Lenten Retreat! ![](https://stcyrils.edu.au/_image?href=https%3A%2F%2Fstcyrils.edu.au%2F_emdash%2Fapi%2Fmedia%2Ffile%2F01M5HJA068QMHGH6SRRS7RP91H.jpg&w=1200&h=1200&f=webp&fit=cover&position=center) ## More from the College * [2 September 2026Unveiling Paul](https://stcyrils.edu.au/news/unveiling-paul) * [14 August 2026Sacred Hospitality with Fr Stephen Muse, PhD](https://stcyrils.edu.au/news/sacred-hospitality-with-fr-stephen-muse-phd) * [9 June 2026Enrolments for Semester 2 are now open!](https://stcyrils.edu.au/news/enrolments-for-semester-2-are-now-open-2) --- St Cyril’s Coptic Orthodox Theological College · 6/252–254 West Street, Carlton NSW 2218, Australia · +61 2 9546 6411 · registrar@stcyrils.edu.au Site guide for AI agents: https://stcyrils.edu.au/llms.txt