Community inspiration for deeper discipleship.
The Mark 5:19 Project has spiritual depth options for every season of parish and church organization spiritual life. Lent, Advent, Easter/Pentecost; women’s retreats, Ignatian retreats; a “day away” renewal for staff, ministers, teachers, employees, and service providers; and of course a parish mission designed to kickstart your mission launch! Susan Windley-Daoust has done retreat work and spiritual director work for over a decade, Jerry Windley-Daoust wrote the popular books “Imagine you Walked with Jesus” on Ignatian prayer and “The Daily Examen,” and our affiliates have even more experience to bring. If you have an idea, bring it to us. Some of our ideas are below.
You are SENT: The 30 Day Mission Kickstart (2-3 day parish mission)
We are approaching the Eucharistic Revival’s third year, the “Year of Missionary Sending,” and there may be no better way to launch this reality than a parish mission that inspires, equips, and renews the baptized for “being his witnesses.” The Mark 5:19 Project will offer a 2-3 evening (or evening + Saturday morning) parish mission that excites people to embrace the mission field of their own life, anchored in the Eucharistic Lord through Mass or adoration time. (And if you haven’t had a chance to fully embrace the Eucharistic Revival, this still works as your parish mission launch!)
What separates this parish mission from many others is that it has follow-through: it deepens the first fire of discipleship and establishes mission habits. For the 30 days following the mission, registrants receive an email or text with encouragement on embracing the mission, as well as a simple booklet for a Lectio prayer exercise each day.
Contact Susan for conversation, typical structure, scheduling, and rate sheet.
Advent 2024: Advent Waiting and Contemplative Prayer
Advent is, ironically, the busiest, noisiest, and fullest time of year for most Americans. The only way to embrace Advent the way it was intended is to create times of sacred silence and holy waiting. This retreat focuses on teaching people to pray through Ignatian contemplation (sometimes called imaginative prayer), with a focus on fostering sacred silence and the narratives of advent. This retreat can be a morning, an evening, or a full day event.
Contact Susan for conversation, typical structure, scheduling, and rate sheet.
Lent 2025: The Art of Forgiveness: How Do You Forgive When It’s Hard?
Forgiveness is a powerhouse spiritual practice of the Christian faith, that radically changes how we approach our lives. Yet most disciples have never been taught why to forgive, or how to forgive. Since this is a command of Jesus Christ that we utter with every recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, this retreat unpacks the mystery of forgiveness: How Christ has forgiveness us, what forgiveness means and does not mean, what keeps us from forgiving when it is hard, and how to ask Jesus to lend us his grace to forgive. The retreat ends in the Church, encouraging people to privately pray through forgiving a person in his/her life.
Contact Susan for conversation, typical structure, scheduling, and rate sheet.
Testimonials
Very grateful for Susan leading our Parish Lenten Retreat. Susan’s talks communicated the essential truths of the Gospel (kerygmatic proclamation) in a joyful and relatable way. Susan gave two talks for our parish: one on “Belonging and Healing” and the other on “Being Sent: Our Mission and the Great Commission”. Susan explained things lovingly and passionately – actively engaging the hearts, minds, and souls of her listeners. — Nathan Schuster, Coordinator of Evangelization, St. Mary’s of the Lake (White Bear Lake MN)
Susan’s spiritual direction work is so important! With a particular sensibility to embodiment, ability and family, she shares her knowledge of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius Loyola with individuals and groups. Her approach is the work of the Exercises is simultaneously empathetic, relatable, and grounded in both theology and experience. — Retreat co-leader Eric Styles (Rector; University of Notre Dame residence life)
Working with Susan to coordinate a Forgiveness Retreat for our parish was an absolute delight. She had everything well planned and organized, and it was clear she was both well versed in coordinating events and hosting them. Everything was prepared in advance for our parish, whether it be resources, retreat materials, or pieces to create a retreat atmosphere. The event ran very smoothly and was a beautiful day… and attending the retreat was a transformative experience. Susan led my parish group through a day filled with growing in understanding of what forgiveness means, examining how it can impact not only our lives, but the lives of those around us, and walking us through an exercise on how to forgive and heal. I highly recommend this retreat to everyone I know. It was a day of renewal and healing that will have long lasting effects in my life. — Camille Withrow, parish staff at St. Peter’s Church, Hokah MN
Dr. Susan led a wonderful Jesus centered retreat on the Ignatian Contemplative Prayer style. I highly recommend her leadership in retreats…I definitely had the experience of growing closer to Jesus during my retreat experience. Come Holy Spirit! — Madonna Fohrmann, retreatant