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A retreat is a
period of time spent ascetically for a spiritual purpose. Think of
Elias (Elijah) and the forty days and nights he spent in the desert,
which we read about in III Kings 191. Think of Christ
spending the same amount of time also in the desert, where He was
tempted by the Evil One (Matthew 4). And think of how Christ Himself
invited His apostles to a retreat:
Mark 6:30-32
And the apostles coming together unto Jesus, related to him
all things that they had done and taught. And he said to them: Come
apart into a desert place, and rest a little. For there were many
coming and going: and they had not so much as time to eat. And going up
into a ship, they went into a desert place apart.
The desert Fathers spent their entire lives in a sort of retreat,
giving rise to the great religious orders
of today, and St. Francis received his stigmata while on retreat at
Mount Alverno, in the Apennine Mountains that run the length of Italy
like a spine.
But it was St. Ignatius of Loyola who formalized and popularized
retreats as we know them today. With his "Spiritual Exercises," St.
Ignatius began a system of penance and contemplating God's will over
the course of thirty days, a system that soon became a part of the rule
of his Society, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
St. Charles Boromeo introduced Ignatius's "Spiritual Exercises" as a
regular practice among the seminarians and secular clergy, and the
laity, too, took up the practice. SS. Francis de Sales and Vincent de
Paul popularized retreats, with the former writing "Introduction to the
Devout Life" which is often used by retreatants today. All over Europe,
retreat houses were built just for the purpose of hosting retreats.
Today, retreats are often taken in the way pilgrimages
are made: to "shake oneself up" by removing oneself from routine and
the endless distractions of modern life -- the phones, email, social
media, work, the demands of family -- in order to re-focus on what's
most important. Retreats are also made in penance,
for the cause of making reparations for sin. They're made in times of
crisis or great change, such as before marriage or graduation. They're
often made for the cause of vocational discernment, in order to
determine God's will for one's life. They can be made to break cycles
of
addiction. Or they're made simply to rest.
They're made by individuals, a few friends together, engaged couples,
or larger
groups, such as members of Third Orders, Catholic doctors, Catholic
teachers, high school groups, men only, women only, etc. They're made
at retreat houses built for the purpose, at monasteries, at parish
churches with the necessary facilities, or, less formally, in places of
nature with nearby access to a church or chapel. Some may make a
retreat by renting a cottage or cabin and bringing along spiritual
reading, and some even make retreats in their own homes by setting
aside a place and disciplining themselves to make spiritual use of it
for a certain period of time.
What
Happens on a Retreat
What happens on a retreat can vary wildly given the differences in
where retreats are made, and whether they're directed, highly
structured, and formal, or private retreats made by individuals. Formal
retreats at monasteries can involve rising at an early hour, engaging
in formal prayer with the religious, being assigned a spiritual
director, attending conferences, daily Mass, confession, etc. Other
retreats can be highly individual, with no structure at all, allowing
the retreatant to schedule his time in his own way.
Some directed retreats are based on St. Ignatius's "Spiritual
Exercises," typically abbreviated from the original thirty days to
three days; others may have a specific focus, such as marriage
preparation, vocation discernment, or bettering one's marriage.
Some retreats can be silent ones in which talking is forbidden or
allowed only during very limited times; others are not.
Some retreats last for a day; others can last for 30 days (the
three-day retreat is likely the most common). There are also "retreats
in daily life" online programs that one can follow for a small amount
of
time each day
for a period of some months while otherwise still carrying on one's
life as usual.
Retreat overnight facilities can range from private rooms in large
retreat houses, to shared rooms (usually by no more than two people) in
smaller such houses, to individual hermit cabins, and anything in
between.
As to board, some retreats will supply all you need with regard to
food; with others, you'll be feeding yourself.
Some retreats can be rather expensive; others are free.
Necessary to any good retreat, though, are access to the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist
when needed. It's
advised, too, to have a goal in mind: Why
do you want to make your retreat? What
are you seeking?
How to Make a Retreat
You can make a private retreat any time, of course, and most anywhere,
but to use retreat facilities or for formal, directed retreats, you'll
have to find a monastery, retreat house, or religious or priestly
fraternity to direct you. Your dioceses's website2
will likely have information about retreats in your area, but don't
limit yourself to those if you're able to travel; look also into what
neighboring dioceses offer.
There's the standard caveat, though, when it comes to what dioceses may
offer: since Vatican II, Catholic teaching and practices have been watered down
horribly by many hierarchs, and what those in charge of diocesan
retreat
facilities offer may be weak (or worse). Looking, instead, to retreats
offered by traditionalist groups is highly recommended. The Fraternity
of St. Peter (FSSP) and Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) both offer
Ignatian retreats, and traditional religious orders may as well. Check
their websites3 for information.
The Most Important Sort of Retreat:
Interior Retreats
The idea of making a sort of "interior retreat" is best explained in
Chapter XII. ("On Spiritual Retirement") of St. Francis de Sales's
"Introduction to the Devout Life":
Strive as often
as possible through the day to place yourself in God’s
Presence by some one of the methods already suggested. Consider what
God does, and what you are doing;—you will see His Eyes ever fixed upon
you in Love incomparable. “O my God,” you will cry out, “why cannot I
always be looking upon Thee, even as Thou lookest on me? why do I think
so little about Thee? O my soul,
thy only resting-place is God, and yet how often dost thou wander?” The
birds have nests in lofty trees, and the stag his refuge in the thick
coverts, where he can shelter from the sun’s burning heat; and just so,
my daughter, our hearts ought daily to choose some resting-place,
either Mount Calvary, or the Sacred Wounds, or some other spot close to
Christ, where they can retire at will to seek rest and refreshment amid
toil, and to be as in a fortress, protected from temptation. Blessed
indeed is the soul which can truly say, “Thou, Lord, art my Refuge, my
Castle, my Stay, my Shelter in the storm and in the heat of the day.”
Be sure then, my child, that while externally occupied with
business
and social duties, you frequently retire within the solitude of your
own heart. That solitude need not be in any way hindered by the crowds
which surround you—they surround your body, not your soul, and your
heart remains alone in the Sole Presence of God. This is what David
sought after amid his manifold labours;—the Psalms are full of such
expressions as “Lord, I am ever with Thee. The Lord is always at my
right hand. I lift up mine eyes to Thee, O Thou Who dwellest in the
heavens. Mine eyes look unto God.”
There are few social duties of sufficient importance to
prevent an
occasional retirement of the heart into this sacred solitude. When S.
Catherine of Sienna was deprived by her parents of any place or time
for prayer and meditation, Our Lord inspired her with the thought of
making a little interior oratory in her mind, into which she could
retire in heart, and so enjoy a holy solitude amid her outward duties.
And henceforward, when the world assaulted her, she was able to be
indifferent, because, so she said, she could retire within her secret
oratory, and find comfort with her Heavenly Bridegroom. So she
counselled her spiritual daughters to make a retirement within their
heart, in which to dwell. Do you in like manner let your heart withdraw
to such an inward retirement, where, apart from all men, you can lay it
bare, and treat face to face with God, even as David says that he
watched like a “pelican in the wilderness, or an owl in the desert, or
a sparrow sitting alone upon the housetop.” These words have a sense
beyond their literal meaning, or King David’s habit of retirement for
contemplation;—and we may find in them three excellent kinds of
retreats in which to seek solitude after the Saviour’s Example, Who is
symbolised as He hung upon Mount Calvary by the pelican of the
wilderness, feeding her young ones with her blood.
So again His Nativity in a lonely stable might find a
foreshadowing in
the owl of the desert, bemoaning and lamenting: and in His Ascension He
was like the sparrow rising high above the dwellings of men. Thus in
each of these ways we can make a retreat amid the daily cares of life
and its business.
Perhaps having a "go-to" image prepared in your mind, an image that
helps you feel close to Christ, would be helpful in making an "inner
retreat" throughout the day when you need one. Maybe you will imagine
sitting next to the Baby Jesus as He
lies
in the manger, or holding Him in your arms. Maybe picturing yourself at
His feet while He preached the Beatitudes, sitting beside Him while He
suffered in the Garden of Gethesamani, at the foot of the Cross, or
keeping vigil as He lay in His tomb or when He rose again is what would
work
for you.
Or, if you're not the sort of person to whom visual imagery comes
easily, perhaps an imagined sound -- or simply mentally speaking His Holy Name -- would be beneficial. If you're
of a tactile nature, perhaps imagining what it would be like to be in
His embrace is the thing. If you're of an imaginative type, you may be
able to conjure a mental scenario that involves all three of those
senses.
The point: have something ready in mind to mentally "retreat to" and
which
brings you closer to Lord Christ throughout the day, especially in
times of stress or sadness.
This site's page on Adverting to God:
Making Life a Prayer may also be of help to you.
Footnotes:
1 I
Kings in Bibles with Masoretic numbering
2 Find your diocese here: https://www.usccb.org/find-a-bishop-and-diocese
3 The FSSP website: https://www.fssp.org/en/
The SSPX website: https://sspx.org/en
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