Retreats 2026

Each January our sisters gather for retreat. These are cherished times of renewal and rest. We thank Sr. Rose Rucobma, FMI for her reflections on her time with Giving Voice sisters in Phoenix, AZ.

Called to Transformation Through Sisterhood

For me, the most comforting thing about Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery is that Mary is EVERYWHERE. She literally never leaves you alone. No matter what corner of the property you are in – inside, outside – she is there watching over you. Last summer, I had the opportunity to see her for real on the original tilma of Juan Diego that hangs just outside Mexico City at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. But whether I see her on pilgrimage in Mexico or on retreat in Phoenix, Arizona, Our Lady always challenges me to deepen my faith and my relationship to Jesus every time I see her. This time around, during the annual Giving Voice 20’s/30’s Retreat, Our Lady challenged me through the retreat’s theme: “Called to Transformation”.

A lot has happened in the past year since I was last at this retreat. I renewed my vows as a temporary professed sister. One of our sisters who had been living on her own for a while re-entered my community. Friends and family got married. Friends and family moved away. I went on pilgrimage to Mexico. Through all this I have indeed been transformed as our theme this year indicates, but it took me until I was actually on retreat to truly appreciate how much I had been transformed and to really give myself some affirmation for all the ways I have grown through that transformation. That’s what the Giving Voice 20’s/30’s Retreat is, it’s a space that affirms young sisters as they are and reminds them that while we may have a long way to go, we also need to stop and rest and appreciate how far we’ve come.

And yet every time I gather with my sisters for a Giving Voice retreat, it’s actually not the morning or evening prayers, nor the Psalms, nor the altar and candles that help me reflect on the growth I’ve endured or even the reason I became a sister in the first place. Rather, it is: the laughter; the hours-long talks in the garden; the friendly, yet intense volleyball games; the inside jokes created; the dinner table debates; the dance parties; and the sheer joy of just being a sister hanging out with other sisters for the weekend that really remind me of how far I’ve come and who I’ve become along the way. 

Mary and the sisters of Giving Voice. Those are my girls. I never would have made it this far in religious life without those ladies. It is always life-giving to attend the 20’s/30’s retreat and receive wisdom and affirmation from all of them. And I can’t wait until next time to hear what they have to say.  

– Sr. Rose Rucoba, FMI (Daughters of Mary Immaculate/Marianist Sisters)