Living a Retreat
We are called into the desert
Jesus himself gives us an example of entering into a retreat: “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed” (Mk 1:35). Jesus retreats from his ministry in order to spend an extended time of silence with God the Father. He goes off to a “deserted place” away from distractions. Not only does Jesus give us an example, but He also invites us to do the same, as He invited his disciples:
“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mk 6:31).
The goal of a retreat is to enter into a more prolonged and deeper silence in order allow God to draw us into deeper communion with Himself. The silence is not an end in itself, but a way to better hear God’s voice. The image of the desert can help us: “Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:16). In Scripture, the desert is a place of intimacy with God. It lacks vegetation, so there are no hiding places. In the desert you will find yourself, face yourself, and encounter the gaze of the Lord. You have to leave a place of security and comfort and pilgrim to a place of solitude and uncertainty. In the desert, there is only one way to live: relying on God, trusting in Him, and surrendering to Him. The desert is also a place of truth, where you cannot hide and where you could be pushed out of your comfort zone.
We need to entrust ourselves to the Holy Spirit, who is the true protagonist of this time of retreat. He teaches us from within our hearts what it means to pray. We can ask the Holy Spirit to give us His gifts, especially for the gift of Wisdom. The Latin translation of “wisdom” is “sapientia” from the root “sapere” which means “to taste.” It is the Lord who will teach us to taste with our interior and exterior sense the things of God: His sweetness, His tendertness, His love towards us. St. Ignatius of Loyola writes: “For it is not knowing much, but realising and relishing things interiorly, that contents and satisfies the soul.”
Creating exterior silence
Living a retreat well starts with embracing exterior silence:
Turn off your cell phone, iPad, computer, etc.
Don’t listen to music
Avoid unnecessary talking
Fostering interior silence
There are several ways we can help enter into silence in our hearts:
Try to intentionally set aside worries and preoccupations
Put away your to-do list
Have faith that God will help you live the retreat and avoid discouragement
Avoid spending the whole time reading books
Don’t fill up all the silence with vocal prayers
What to do during a retreat
Spend time meditating on Scripture
Simply rest in front of the Blessed Sacrament
Do a good examination of conscience to prepare for confession
Spend some time journaling about the thoughts, feelings, and desires that arise during the silence
Take a walk, trying to encounter the Lord in the beauty of nature
“We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the starts, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence…We need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~St. Mother Teresa
“It is best to silence the faculties and to cause them to be still, so that God may speak.” ~St. John of the Cross
“Silence is the beginning of purifying the soul.” ~St. Basil the Great
The fruitfulness of our retreat is in God’s hands. Even if we feel like we have failed to live it well, He sees and rewards our good intentions and our love for Him. Let us entrust ourselves to Mary, who “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). We can imitate her example of prayerfulness and ask her to intercede for us during our retreat.