I JUST had my annual closed retreat
some days ago. It’s
always a very special time when one can afford to savor the joy and
beauty of silence and the spirit of recollection, reflection and
discernment.
Silence helps one to see the basic structure of his mind
and heart, and the objects to which they get oriented. This is where
he sees whether these human powers are in their proper condition and
are properly used.
They are supposed to be locked on God always, immersed in
him even as we grapple with our earthly affairs. But if one does not
take pains, they can dare to detach themselves from God and work on
their own, an anomaly gripping many of us today.
Silence also facilitates internalizing things, attuning
our senses and faculties to their proper object. It also merges us
with the stream of time, allowing us to run from the present to the
past and then to the future, rectifying and refocusing things along
the way, until we reach the doorsteps of eternity and infinity itself.
The need for the spirit recollection during the retreat
simply indicates that our life consists of different aspects and
levels that we have to orchestrate to be able to reach our final end.
We just cannot go about reacting spontaneously to things, depending
solely on instincts and feelings. We are meant for something much,
much more than these.
It’s amazing that there are things that one can only see
when he closes his eyes rather than when his eyes are open. There are
things that one can only feel and realize more vividly when he is kind
of isolated rather than when he is the middle of people and things.
The days of closed retreat provide one with the occasion
to see more closely and from different angles and in God’s presence,
at his inner life and the different aspects that it possesses. The
content and workings of his thoughts and desires become more palpable.
The movements of his heart get more felt.
Even when one has already developed a degree of
contemplative life where he can readily discern God’s will and ways in
the different circumstances of his daily life, he still can discover
many other things and can enter and explore the more mysterious parts
of life when he is in some spiritual retreat.
In a retreat, one’s perception and understanding of things
in general tend to get deeper and more extensive. Fresh, new insights
come pouring in like rain. The finer points of what usually are taken
for granted on ordinary days get more pronounced.
Especially these days when the pace of developments is
increasingly fast, and more things are bombarded on us, and
circumstances and situations can become more complex and complicated,
the retreat provides a good time for one to sort out things with
leisure, rooting them on a deeper source, and relating them to a
higher purpose.
It’s where one can regain his proper bearings emotionally,
psychologically and spiritually. It’s also where he can update himself
with the new developments, and monitor better the signs of the times
and the evolving ethos.
The funny thing about the retreat is that while one is
kind of removed from his usual environment, he actually enjoys a
greater sense of communion within himself, with others, with nature
and with God ultimately. A stronger sense of intimacy is achieved.
His consciousness expands more widely somehow. His soul
soars and flies. He never feels alone. In fact, he feels well
accompanied, quite absorbed in a sort of spiritual adventure. One sign
a person is making a bad retreat is when he gets bored instead of
excited.
The good thing about the retreat is that he gets another
global review of the basic doctrine of the Christian faith. He gets to
consider the many possible implications and consequences of that
faith, thereby enriching his understanding of things.
With its essential feature of self-examination, one gets
to see what he needs to do to improve and to grow in the virtues like
faith, hope and charity, humility, patience, fortitude, prudence,
temperance, etc.
If done well, the retreat can give a person a sharp
sensation of growth and rejuvenation. His life of piety gets another
boost. He develops a greater zeal and interest in his different
responsibilities, spiritual, family, professional, apostolic, etc.
He can also manage to update or replenish his spiritual
and moral strength to tackle his duty to seek more frontiers in his
spiritual and apostolic life and to defend what already has been taken
and occupied, so to speak.
always a very special time when one can afford to savor the joy and
beauty of silence and the spirit of recollection, reflection and
discernment.
Silence helps one to see the basic structure of his mind
and heart, and the objects to which they get oriented. This is where
he sees whether these human powers are in their proper condition and
are properly used.
They are supposed to be locked on God always, immersed in
him even as we grapple with our earthly affairs. But if one does not
take pains, they can dare to detach themselves from God and work on
their own, an anomaly gripping many of us today.
Silence also facilitates internalizing things, attuning
our senses and faculties to their proper object. It also merges us
with the stream of time, allowing us to run from the present to the
past and then to the future, rectifying and refocusing things along
the way, until we reach the doorsteps of eternity and infinity itself.
The need for the spirit recollection during the retreat
simply indicates that our life consists of different aspects and
levels that we have to orchestrate to be able to reach our final end.
We just cannot go about reacting spontaneously to things, depending
solely on instincts and feelings. We are meant for something much,
much more than these.
It’s amazing that there are things that one can only see
when he closes his eyes rather than when his eyes are open. There are
things that one can only feel and realize more vividly when he is kind
of isolated rather than when he is the middle of people and things.
The days of closed retreat provide one with the occasion
to see more closely and from different angles and in God’s presence,
at his inner life and the different aspects that it possesses. The
content and workings of his thoughts and desires become more palpable.
The movements of his heart get more felt.
Even when one has already developed a degree of
contemplative life where he can readily discern God’s will and ways in
the different circumstances of his daily life, he still can discover
many other things and can enter and explore the more mysterious parts
of life when he is in some spiritual retreat.
In a retreat, one’s perception and understanding of things
in general tend to get deeper and more extensive. Fresh, new insights
come pouring in like rain. The finer points of what usually are taken
for granted on ordinary days get more pronounced.
Especially these days when the pace of developments is
increasingly fast, and more things are bombarded on us, and
circumstances and situations can become more complex and complicated,
the retreat provides a good time for one to sort out things with
leisure, rooting them on a deeper source, and relating them to a
higher purpose.
It’s where one can regain his proper bearings emotionally,
psychologically and spiritually. It’s also where he can update himself
with the new developments, and monitor better the signs of the times
and the evolving ethos.
The funny thing about the retreat is that while one is
kind of removed from his usual environment, he actually enjoys a
greater sense of communion within himself, with others, with nature
and with God ultimately. A stronger sense of intimacy is achieved.
His consciousness expands more widely somehow. His soul
soars and flies. He never feels alone. In fact, he feels well
accompanied, quite absorbed in a sort of spiritual adventure. One sign
a person is making a bad retreat is when he gets bored instead of
excited.
The good thing about the retreat is that he gets another
global review of the basic doctrine of the Christian faith. He gets to
consider the many possible implications and consequences of that
faith, thereby enriching his understanding of things.
With its essential feature of self-examination, one gets
to see what he needs to do to improve and to grow in the virtues like
faith, hope and charity, humility, patience, fortitude, prudence,
temperance, etc.
If done well, the retreat can give a person a sharp
sensation of growth and rejuvenation. His life of piety gets another
boost. He develops a greater zeal and interest in his different
responsibilities, spiritual, family, professional, apostolic, etc.
He can also manage to update or replenish his spiritual
and moral strength to tackle his duty to seek more frontiers in his
spiritual and apostolic life and to defend what already has been taken
and occupied, so to speak.
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