Guide To A Successful Retreat
The loving One asks us to come aside and rest a while.
As contemplative monks confronting our own human frailty daily in prayer, we continually experience the healing hand of the Lord in our lives. We offer that healing light to others through our special scheduled retreats. The Monastery of the Holy Spirit invites you to come and experience a retreat for a day or a few days of restful recollection and spiritual renewal in a prayerful and peaceful environment. Your time spent in retreat will renew and refresh you. You will be re-energized, able to bring new perspective and fresh vitality to your daily living, to your relationships, your work, and your ministry.
There are two general formats for retreats: preached and private. A Preached Retreat is a "scheduled retreat" where there is a leader or presenters who offer conferences each day and leads prayer. Private Retreats are made without a leader or director where the individual combines personal quiet time and spiritual inspiration and is free to follow their own schedule.
In all retreats, some degree of silence is maintained and there is an emphasis on the practice of a healthful lifestyle in regard to food, relaxation, and exercise. Many enter a retreat in order to make a serious decision or commitment, or to take the opportunity to examine the quality of their spiritual lives.
What may you expect from a retreat at the monastery?
The experience will vary with each individual:
- The leisure to slow down, relax, and dwell with God in love
- The opportunity to soak in a spiritual book, especially the Scriptures
- To be alone to pray and reflect on an unresolved problem
- To share in the worship of God with the monks
- To listen in silence to the Holy Spirit bringing enlightenment and peace
- Retreatants hope for a deeper conversion, purification, and spiritual growth.
These and other experiences can be yours according to God's gift of grace. Above all, your time of retreat is to help you experience the Boundless Love of God for YOU. The benefits of a retreat may be summed up in the word: PEACE -- God's Peace which surpasses all understanding. Peace that empowers you to bear God's truth into the world, and so to BE real love for all.