Through the ages, individuals young and old have found renewal in a retreat, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “a quiet or secluded place in which one can rest and relax.”
Even Jesus had to recharge his batteries: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31)
Guided by Jesus’ words, there are a multitude of Catholic retreat houses and experiences all over the globe for those looking to get away from the busyness of their lives and be refreshed in the Holy Spirit.
Laurie Power, director of evangelization and discipleship at Christ the Redeemer Parish, Atco, remembers her experience of spending a weekend at a Maryland retreat house while a freshman at John Hopkins University, Baltimore, with the school’s Newman Club.
“It was a great time to grow spiritually, and also to grow closer with my classmates,” she recalled of the three-day encounter more than 20 years ago, which led her to join Newman’s retreat committee as a student.
Most powerful, she recalled, was when the retreat leaders approached each retreatant and prayed.
“Since then, I’ve never stopped going on retreat,” Power said, noting some of the more notable ones: a Divine Mercy weekend at Pennsylvania’s Malvern Retreat House; a silent retreat at Saint Joseph in Milton, Mass., run by the Oblates of the Virgin Mary.
She praises these houses’ restorative landscaped grounds, spiritual libraries, outdoor Stations of the Cross, contemplative nature trails, chapels and furnished guest rooms.
It is this latter experience, which she usually immerses herself in for a week each August, that Power finds especially helpful, not only to revitalize herself but to remember her mission from the Lord, which has included organizing religious education classes and retreats for youth soon to receive the Sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation.
“For an extended period of time, I’m focusing on the Lord, why I’m doing what I’m doing, and asking him for the graces for the coming year,” she said.
These times of silence are “not just about being quiet, but using the time to talk to the Lord,” she added, explaining that they also allow her to “feel peace, renewed and more ready to begin a new year.”
As a retreat leader, Power talks about the daylong programs for second-graders preparing for Communion, as well as their families. These retreats include time for Eucharistic Adoration, prayer, art activities and a re-enactment of the Last Supper. She acknowledges that the youngsters may find it challenging at first but hears from parents later that the children went home inspired.
Understanding Power’s experience with retreats is Kari Janisse, coordinator of youth and young adult ministry at Williamstown’s Our Lady of Peace Parish, who has organized daylong and weekend programs for young people since 2009. She has led getaways to places such as Malvern Retreat House; Saint John Paul II Retreat Center, Vineland, and Saint Mary of Providence in Elverson, Pa.
Retreats, she said, “offer youth and young adults a great space to get away from the stress and worries, get closer to God and their peers, and know they’re not alone in their faith and struggles.”
What’s more, Janisse has seen youth-led retreats empower the young Church, encouraging high-schoolers to take an active role in preparing witness testimonies, facilitating faith-sharing, reading during the liturgy, or sharing their gifts as a musician or singer during praise and worship.
She has led such retreat experiences for more than a decade, because she has seen God’s graces at work not only in her professional, but personal life. “The retreat I went on as a high school student” – as a member of the senior youth group at Saint Thomas the Apostle in Bloomfield – “is the main reason I’m a youth minister,” she said, explaining that it “deepened and solidified my faith.”
Later, as a Rowan University student, she met her husband of nearly 15 years, Phil, during a Newman Club retreat to Saint Mary of Providence.
Looking back, she realizes that “without these experiences, I never would’ve considered that retreats could help impact and shape my life.”
It is the transformative power of these reflective times that keeps Power going back. “Retreats, for me, have been essential to continuing on this Christian walk, bringing me back into focus.”
Leaving on a Friday for an excursion after a “tiring and discouraging” workweek, Power always returns home “centered,” she said, adding that she finds these moments not unlike what apostles Peter, James and John must have felt on Mount Tabor.
At the Transfiguration, Jesus wanted the three to “remember this moment of glory when things got difficult in their lives,” she said.
In the same way, Christian retreats bring rest, solace, comfort, and hope that can last far longer than expected. “The mountaintop experience of a retreat, and the graces we receive, can carry us through,” Power said.
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