Rev. James D. Conley, D.D., S.T.L. | Diocese of Lincoln website

Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Waverly will host a “Back to the Garden” retreat from April 19-21, led by Father Cole Kennett and Sarina Stokes.

“You were made for Heaven,” Stokes said. “You were made for Jesus. You were made to walk in the garden of your heart with Him."

Father Kennett shared that Jesus reveals that each part and place in each person is good, “and He enters in to reveal any place bound by darkness and shame as the focus of His personal love."

The retreat weekend will involve a “re-writing” of each retreatant’s personal story, in light of the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. Participants will draw from the wisdom of Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body,” the poetic love story of the Song of Songs, and personal testimony to encounter the beauty within themselves and the truth of who they are and Whose they are, Christ’s.

Check-in for the retreat is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday, April 19, with the retreat officially commencing at 7 p.m. The event will kick off with charcuterie and conclude on Sunday, April 21, at 1 p.m. Women are encouraged to bring their “beautiful Sunday best for women’s brunch, as the retreat culminates in celebrating the ‘Wedding Feast of the Lamb.’”

Father Kennett, ordained in 2017 for the Diocese of Lincoln, serves as the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Colon and St. Mary in Cedar Bluffs. He is also a moral theology teacher at Bishop Neumann High School in Wahoo.

Stokes, who is the outreach and ministry coordinator at Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House, is currently pursuing a graduate degree in applied Catholic theology at the University of Mary. A former FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionary at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Stokes brings a wealth of experience to the retreat.

For those interested in more information or registration, they can visit goodcounselretreat.org, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 402-786-2705.

Other upcoming retreats at Our Lady of Good Counsel include a Holy Week retreat for young women with the Marian Sisters from March 28-30, four-, five-, or eight-day Ignatian directed retreats from March 25-28 or May 3-10, and a women’s retreat with Janette Howe of Seven Sisters on May 10-11.