In our “production oriented” society we strive to excel on time management squeezing into our daily routine as much ‘profitable tasks’ as possible. We have been schooled into believing that our worth is synonymous to what we manage to produce, that which is visible to the human eye as ‘successes’. It is in this context that I dare to propose a three to five day residential spiritual retreat and invite you to share a few reflections of how such a break could prove to be an exceptional turning point in your life.

What is a Christian retreat?

A Christian retreat is a time of withdrawal from daily preoccupations and tasks to spend quality time with God. This withdrawal does not signify a retraction from our responsibilities but rather an exercise leading to a careful reassessment of the same in the light of God’s will for our life. It is a time of discernment, a time of personal stock take, a time of examining life’s priorities, a time of re-ordering one’s life. But most of all it is a time for listening to God who speaks into the core of our very being. For once it is not my agenda, but God’s!

Models of Christian retreat.

Private retreats

A private retreat is undertaken by individuals who seek a place and set a specific time to be alone for the purposes of prayer and reflection. Private retreats are normally sought by individuals who have already embarked seriously on their spiritual journey and who seek an environment of solitude for personal growth. In this kind of retreat the individual is left alone to listen attentively to God’s voice and there is no dialogue with a leader or a spiritual director to assist in the retreatant’s spiritual progress. The dialogue is with God.

Preached retreats

Throughout a preached retreat the leader presents at various intervals the Word of God in some preached manner. Allowance is made for group sharing or group exercises and for a period of individual quiet time. This type of retreat is one of the most common and is mostly availed of by substantially large groups such as the Charismatic Movement. The logistics of preached retreats do not permit much time for personal direction by the leader although this is not categorically excluded.

Dialogical retreats

Dialogical retreats are normally designed for small groups. This kind of retreat permits substantial time of spiritual conversation between the members in the form of discussions on some specific spiritual issues. Time is also allowed for short inputs by the leader and personal time for reflection.

Personally guided retreats

Personal guided retreats are of extreme benefit to the individual and are highly recommended to persons seriously seeking spiritual growth. As the name indicates this type of retreat allows a spiritual guide or companion to accompany the retreatant in his journey. The guide usually makes use of material such as the renowned spiritual exercises of St Ignatius which accompany the retreatant’s own experiences resulting from prayerful meditations. There are relatively long periods of solitude and silence to allow the retreatant to reflect, read, pray as well as time to meet privately with the guide to discuss what is happening in the times of personal reflection. In this kind of retreat, the role of the guide is not to direct the retreatant into some kind of formal preset pattern but only to co-discern the various movements being deeply experienced by the retreatant in his eager surrender to whatever activity is motioned by God.

Retreats in daily life (non- residential)

Other than private, preached, dialogical and personally guided retreats which are ideally experienced on a residential basis, the retreatant can opt for a retreat in daily life. Retreats in daily life entail a daily commitment to a period of prayer and a weekly meeting with a guide, but these are dovetailed in with normal daily commitments. Unlike a residential retreat where the retreatant is away from it all, in a daily life retreat everything else carries on as usual. In this type of retreat, the retreatant is guided over a period which could extend even up to six months. The guide normally makes use of a set of spiritual exercises which progressively lead the retreatant through a spiritual journey strengthened by and incorporated into daily life.

The intrinsic value of the retreat

What is at the centre of such retreats? A retreat is a heart to heart experience of the living Christ. It is a period of experiential love and divine grace. It is a time of being rather than doing. It is a time of letting go into the loving hands of the Heavenly Father. As a unique experience, it may prove to be a time of recalling joyful and painful memories, a time of healing of past and present experiences, a time of re-ordering our life in the reality of the Gospels, a time of integration of faith and daily life, a time of discerning God’s will, a time of physical stillness enabling us to consider the wondrous works of God, a time of insight into the mysterious world of the Divine, a time of thanksgiving and worship.

An on-going process

Setting a daily quiet time for prayer and reflection is the starting point of every spiritual journey. Just as much as life is sustained by each breath we take, the spiritual journey is sustained through a constant thirst for a meaningful life. It is a continuous yearning for the Divine, implanted in us by God himself for our wholeness and sanctity. Indeed, our heart will never be at rest until it finds rest in Him (St Augustine).

(This article was published in the SUNDAY CIRCLE magazine issued with The Times in Nov 2005 renamed “In the name of the Spirit) AUTHOR Gordon P Vassallo