By Michael Motes

“It suddenly occurred to me that the path I was walking as I contemplated the retreat program was the same path I had walked over 35 years ago when I decided to enter the priesthood. It was good feeling to be home.”

Father John Schroder, SJ, is, indeed, at home; not only to his native Atlanta, where he was born in 1919, but to his family’s former estate of “Riverland,” now the location of Ignatius House (Manresa of Atlanta) Inc., 6700 Riverside Drive, NW.

The Jesuit returned to Atlanta in February following a career as a missionary of the Society of Jesus that has taken him from his early assignment in Augusta to work with Indians in Mexico and Puerto Rico, to Canada, back to the United States and Wounded Knee, South Dakota, and for the last two years as a priest in the mountains of Tennessee, where he ministered the spiritual needs of the Church in six rural counties.

“I’ve more or less lived the life of a hermit since coming to Ignatius House,” Father Schroder says. “I have spent day and night preparing the retreat program that we offer here. Now that I have the job somewhat under control, I want to let everyone know that we are here and tell them what we offer. I don’t think that very many of the Catholics in the archdiocese know about us and our retreats.”

Father Schroder describes his “new” retreat program as “a combination of the writings and teachings of Sigmund Freud, St. Ignatius and St. John.”

Since February, he has conducted three retreats and is extremely pleased that each weekend has averaged 39 persons. Father Schroder’s “neighbor, across the river,” Father John Mulroy, pastor of Holy Family in East Marietta, has been extremely helpful, the Jesuit says. Father Mulroy invited Father Schroder to tell Holy Family parishioners about the retreat program and the first three retreats have been attended primarily by the Cobb County Catholics.

“We’re off to a good start,” Father Schroder says, “and now we must let everyone know about our programs.”

A series of spring retreats has already been set up. The next is a Holy Week retreat set for April 7 (Holy Thursday) through Easter Sunday, April 10. The weekend of April 21-24 Ignatius House will host a group of retreatants from Augusta, to be followed May 20-22 by an Atlanta area spring retreat.

A typical retreat weekend begins with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening and ends with noon lunch on Sunday.

Cautioning that one must actually experience a retreat to fully understand it, Father Schroder briefly outlined what a weekend at Ignatius House involves:

“A retreat is a time to withdraw from ordinary occupations, a break in routine, a stopping, a place and time for stillness, listening and learning,” he said. “We guide and counsel the retreatants in a series of lectures and conferences according to the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, written in the 16^th century and now updated in contemporary language.

“St. Ignatius offers a series of meditations in which the retreatant examines God’s plan for him in the light of the Gospels and seeks to grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ to become a more Christ-like person.

“The spiritual exercises help a person to find himself – to accept himself – to love himself – and even to love others. The impact over the centuries of Ignatian retreats has been tremendous.”

One of the themes that Father Schroder has borrowed from Freud and incorporated into his retreat program is that an individual must learn to forgive himself, “because Christ has already forgiven us.”

Each retreatant at Ignatius House takes part in eight 30-minute discussions, based on talks Father Schroder has prepared. The retreat talks begin with the prologue to the Gospel of St. John, in which it is explained that God made us and we are His.

“When we get to the second talk, centered around the baptism of John, the main player enters our stage,” Father Schroder says. “We’re into real drama. We’ve had our prologue and now the central figure enters. The figure, of course, is Christ. Next, the mystery of the spirit is revealed to Nicodemus and through this, our retreatants meet Christ, they become a Christ-like person.”

Following talks offer other themes on which to meditate, including charity, which is demonstrated in the feeding of the multitudes.

“We ask ourselves, what are we doing about feeding those around us,” Father Schroder said. Talks continue through the Last Supper, the Passion and finally with Christ’s appearance to Thomas.

Between each half-hour talk, ample time is given for personal meditation and prayer. At some point during the weekend, each retreatant spends 15 minutes alone in the chapel with the Eucharist.

“Through the Gospel and writings of St. Ignatius, a retreatant can get it all together. It is a real spiritual experience and one never to be forgotten,” Father Schroder added. “The highlight is probably the time spent alone with Christ in the Eucharist. The retreatant is there and Christ is there. When will they be alone together again? That’s an excellent meditation!”

The history of Ignatius House dates to 1957, when Mrs. Suzanne Spalding Schroder offered her property and home to the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus for the purpose of establishing a retreat house for the men and women of Georgia. The offer was accepted on the condition that the property could be utilized for such a purpose. Then Bishop Francis E. Hyland of the Atlanta Diocese heartily approved the undertaking.

In May 1957, Father M.V. Jarreau, SJ, came to Atlanta to finalize plans. It was found that Mrs. Schroder’s property would not be sufficient for the purpose so she and her son, William, added to the original gift to complete the 19.72 acres of land now owned by Ignatius House.

The 50-bedroom retreat house was dedicated on December 16, 1960 and the first retreat was held the following January. Mrs. Schroder had died in December 1958, before she could see her dream finalized. The retreat house is the Suzanne Spalding Schroder Memorial in her honor.

Father Harold Cooper, SJ, was the first Jesuit in charge of Ignatius House. He was succeeded by Father John Lawrence Hein, SJ, who remained at Ignatius House for 16 years.

During the years, the facilities at Ignatius House have been used by groups of all faiths. The modern, air-conditioned retreat house has grown in popularity to the extent that it is often booked months in advance. It has been the settings for Cursillos and SEARCH of Atlanta programs and was the birthplace of the Marriage Encounter program in the state.

Father Schroder hopes that in years to come, a Catholic retreat will be booked at Ignatius House every weekend of the year. Immediate plans, however, are for retreats two weekends a month. In addition to local groups, Father Schroder plans to invite groups from other parts of Georgia and from areas around Chattanooga, Tenn., and Greenville, S.C., to attend retreats.

To assist with his ministry, Father Schroder will soon be joined by Father James Carroll, SJ, and another Jesuit, not yet assigned. Father Charles Bartles, who teaches at Marist, also resides at Ignatius House.

Reservations for retreats may be made by writing Ignatius House, 6700 Riverside Drive, NW, Atlanta 30328 or by calling Father Schroder at 255-0503. There is no charge for attending a retreat, although donations are accepted through unmarked envelopes left in the guest rooms.

Mrs. Ada Myers at 974-4670 maintains a schedule of events at Ignatius House and can confirm the availability of the facilities.

So, Father John Schroder is back home, literally, and he welcomes everybody to be his houseguest for a few days!