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St. Mary & St. Moses AbbeySt. Mary & St. Moses Abbey
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  • St. Mary & St. Moses AbbeySt. Mary & St. Moses Abbey
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Clergy Individual Registration

  • COVID-19 ASSUMPTION OF RISK, WAIVER, AND RELEASE Actions
     
    There are no Waiver, Release, and Indemnifications.

    Maximum number of waiver, release, and indemnifications reached.

  • Overnight Clergy Registration (Males Only) - New Important Guidelines (Read Carefully):

    - This registration is for Clergy members only (i.e. Bishops, Priests, Full Concentrated Deacons, etc...).  


    - It is highly recommended for all vaccinated and unvaccinated overnight retreatants to get a PCR COVID-19 test within 3 days before their arrival date and if possible send their negative results to the Retreat House as soon they receive it.


    - Female retreatants are allowed to stay for an overnight retreat at the Abbey  ONLY when accompanied for the whole duration of their stay by: 1) a Priest, 2) father, 3) husband, 4) brother - only if he is 18 years of age or older, 5) son - only if he is 18 years of age or older, 6) son in law.

     

    -The maximum stay for any overnight retreat is two weeks. If you need to stay more than two weeks in the Monastery, you MUST obtain permission from His Grace Bishop Youssef (bishop@suscopts.org).

     

    -Due to the limited number of rooms available in the retreat house, all retreatants may have to share rooms with each other, which will be a maximum of 4 retreatants per room.

     

    -Due to the limited number of rooms available in the retreat house, all visiting priests may have to share rooms with other priests, which will be a maximum of 2 priests per room.

     

    - All visitors must be wearing a mask at all times and in all places at the Abbey without exception.

     

    - Are you trying to register for more than one family? If so, please have each family register separately with their own email address.

     

    - All family retreatants (males only) are asked to register at a minimum of 4 days in advance before their arrival.


    - All families (males only), who seek a retreat at St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey, are required to:

     

    1. Read and follow the Retreat Center Rules and Guidelines.

     

    2. Complete the Retreat Registration form and receive confirmation of their request.

     

    3. Get an approval from their confession Father, if it is their first time visiting the monastery.

     

    May God bless you.

     

    For registration inquiries, please contact us at (361) 236-7589 or send an email to stmarystmosesretreathouse@gmail.com

  • Please take a few minutes to thoroughly read and understand the rules and guidelines of St. Mary and St. Moses Abbey and that of the retreat house.

    Visiting the Monastery

    St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey is a Holy Monastery of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a place of repentance and redemption for those men leading a monastic life and for the pious visitors. Yet, St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey welcomes all visitors, but through advance arrangements for those who would like to stay overnight.

    Daylight Visit

    The Abbey's grounds are open to those who wish to visit from 4:00 AM to 10:00 PM every day.

    Retreat Center Facilities

    The Retreat Center's facilities include two buildings — St. Mary Hall and St. Moses Hall. St. Mary Hall, for women, contains 17 rooms and each room has four beds and a full bath. This building accommodates 70 occupants. St. Moses Retreat House accommodates men only. All retreatants must bring their own bed sheets and pillowcases to use during their stay at the Retreat Center.

    The Abbey does not offer Wi-fi.

    If you are driving, please note that the gate hours of operation are from 4:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily. Also, those with cars who are planning to go out during the length of their stay, please notify the 'Robetta', or Economus - the Father responsible for the monastery before doing so. Thank you for your cooperation.

    As much as possible, the monastery attempts to check retreat requests daily and respond accordingly. Typically, you will receive a confirmation for your request within three days after the monastery receives your permission letter. Therefore, please work with your father of confession to ensure it is submitted.

    If your application is denied, you will be notified through e-mail. The Abbey reserves the right to deny any application without explaining the reasons.

    DO NOT book any plane/bus tickets, until you receive a confirmation email from the retreat house stating that your registration has been approved.

    If your final flight destination is not Corpus Christi, you will need to book a bus ticket to the Corpus Christi Greyhound bus station.

    Permission Letter

    A permission letter is required from every individual that visits the monastery for the first time. Once you submit your registration, a permission letter will be sent automatically to your father of confession via email. Please note that the registration will not be complete except if the individual's Confessor Father or the Church Priest sponsoring the overnight retreat at the Abbey has approved your retreat.

    Female Retreatants

    Female retreatants are allowed to stay for an overnight retreat at the Abbey only when accompanied for the whole duration of their stay by:

    1) a Priest,

    2) father,

    3) husband,

    4) brother - only if he is 18 years of age or older,

    5) son - only if he is 18 years of age or older.

    6) son in law.

    In order for your registration to be approved and not denied, you have to provide the name of the priest that will accompany you.

    Thank you for your understanding.

    Helpful Tips:

    • The Abbey's mailing address is: 101 S Vista Drive, Sandia, TX 78383 - Do NOT use for driving directions.
    • The Abbey's physical address: 102 Scout's Path, Sandia, TX 78383
    • Corpus Christi Airport (CRP) is approximately one (1) hour and 15 minutes, 56 miles, away from the Abbey.
    • The monastery only offer rides to overnight retreatants.
    • If you fly in, we will pick you up and drop you off at the airport in Corpus Christi or the Greyhound bus station in Corpus Christi.

    Please read the rules and guidelines of St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey and also of the retreat center.

    For registration inquiries, please contact us at (361) 236-7589 or send an email to stmarystmosesretreathouse@gmail.com

    Thank you.

    Please scroll all the way down in order to confirm that you've read the rules and guidelines. Thank you.

  • Please enter the "Retreatant Cell Phone Number" because the Abbey will use it to contact the retreatant.

  • Please enter a number greater than or equal to 15.
  • Travel Plans

    - Please do not book any travel plans until confirmation is received. Once we have approved your registration, you will be prompted to enter your final travel plans then. Thank you.

     

    - Individuals are asked to register at a minimum of 4 days in advance before their arrival.

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    Please Note:

    - The Monastery's Gates close at 10:00 PM (If you need a ride, pleaseDON'Tbook any flights that landat the airportlater than 8:00 PM .)

    - If the dates are not available, that means the retreat house is fully booked.

    - The Abbey will only provide a ride for you from/to Corpus Christi Airport or Corpus Christi Greyhound Bus Station (602 N Staples St, Corpus Christi).

    - The Abbey won't provide rides for large church groups coming for retreats. They will be responsible for their transportation to and from the abbey.

    - Rides are available only for small groups, that is groups of 7 people or less.

    - The monastery can't offer rides on those days:

    • Nativity Feast: Jan. 6th, 2022, & Jan. 7th, 2022
    • Great Friday: April 22nd, 2022
    • Joyous Saturday (Bright Saturday): April 23rd, 2022
    • Resurrection Feast:  April 24th, 2022

    We apologize for any inconvenience

    Thank you

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • Please provide us with the names, relationships, and phone numbers of all your emergency contacts. Press the "Plus" sign to add more rows.
    NameRelationshipPhone Number 
  • Once you have submitted this form, you will be redirected to the diocese website. Please donate there by selecting “St. Mary and St. Moses Abbey” or one of our project designations as the option. Thank you for all of your support.
  • _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Note:

    Please review your form before submission.

    - At this point, you have finished filling out your registration, you may now scroll down to submit the form and we will get back to you soon. 

    For registration inquiries, please contact us at:

    - Phone/Text: (361) 236-7589

    - Email: stmarystmosesretreathouse@gmail.com


  • Submission Preview:

    Please note, you will also receive a confirmation containing these details to your email. Thank you.


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  • Admin: Switching between arrival/departure methods

    Please choose the empty value if switching an entry with arrival/departure methods (for example, flight to bus) so that the sheets does not show confusing values. So if switching to airplane arrival, unset both bus options below to the empty value please. Thank you.
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St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey

Mailing Address

101 S Vista Dr Sandia, TX 78383

Driving Address

102 Scout's Path Sandia, TX 78383

Contact

- Retreat House:

(361) 236-7589

Retreats & Visitation Inquiries

- General Inquiries:

(361) 389-2674

General Inquiries

Sayings of the Desert Fathers
monks learning

117

On Repeating Prayers when Thoughts Wander

When your mind does wander during prayer, bring it back. When it wanders again, bring it back again. Each and every time that you read a prayer while your thoughts are wandering (and consequently you read it without attention and feeling,) then do not fail to read it again. Even if your mind wanders several times in the same place, read it again and again until you read it all the way through with understanding and feeling. In this way, you will overcome this difficulty so that the next time, perhaps, it will not come up again, or if it does return, it will be weaker. This is how one must act when the mind wanders.

– Bishop Theophan the Recluse

Prayer Request
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Glory be to the Holy Trinity, our God, unto the Ages of all ages, Amen.
  • Home
  • About
    • St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey
    • The Coptic Church
    • Holy Theotokos Saint Mary
    • Saint Moses the Strong
    • His Holiness Pope Tawadros II
    • His Grace Bishop Youssef
    • Bishops from our Monastery
  • Donate
  • Gallery
  • Retreat Registration
  • Daily Schedule
  • Retreats & Visits
    • Statement of Faith
    • Abbey & Retreat House Rules
    • Service Schedule
  • Resources
    • Audio
    • Monastic Library
  • Media
    • Bishop Youssef Channel
    • SUSCOPTS Channel
  • St. Moses Bookstore
  • Contact