Retreat and refresh - in the solace of God

On the seventh day, God rested, the Book of Genesis says. The Gospels mention Jesus often went off to be alone to pray. Through the very example of God, we understand the importance of quiet time away, to replenish body and soul for the life to which God has called us. As stress from the world heats up in many ways, restorative time has become all the more crucial.

There are Catholic retreat centers offering an array of respite styles, from silence alone with God to directed regimens.

Here are a few examples of such retreat opportunities available this summer.

Pacem In Terris – silent hermitage setting

Pacem In Terris (Peace on Earth) is a retreat center in Isanti, Minnesota providing silence in a hermitage environment—alone in a small cabin. The executive director, Tim Drake, had been going on annual silent retreats there for over a decade. When he learned of the directorship position, it kept coming to him in prayer that he should apply.

“I told my wife about it,” Drake said. ‘’This makes no sense,’ I said to her about the feeling that God was calling me to apply as the director. She said, ‘No, it makes perfect sense. Every time you go there, you come back so peaceful.’”

Drake has worked in many professional roles including in communications, teaching, and as a church administrator. For the last four years as executive director of Pacem In Terris, Drake has served in the peaceful setting of 280 acres nestled in the natural beauty of forest, native prairie, trails, and a marshland and lake. Guests stay among 16 prayer cabins called hermitages. He explained that Pacem in Terris is a Franciscan center of spirituality serving people through prayer in an environment without distractions, allowing peace to come from God into their hearts. Their website states. “It becomes possible to listen, truly listen, to one’s inner voice and the voice of God — allowing God to become the sole retreat director.” The goal is to enter into an intimate union with God that heals, nourishes, guides, and transforms lives.

A part of the Pacem in Terris ministry is their prayer ministry. The staff and former guests can become Pacem Prayer Partners to pray for the visitors during and after their time in hermitage. This past year, the center has experienced a record number of visitors—the highest since the center opened 33 years ago. They’ve had to turn people away, so now plan to open three more cabins in the fall.

Drake explained his own experience on silent retreat as one reflected by other visitors: “There’s an initial stage of excitement, followed by a time of self-loathing, and finally a stage of feeling a strong love of God.”

He has heard many transformative stories from past guests. “One woman wrote a letter and told me that on her first day, all she did was cry because her marriage was falling apart,” Drake shared. “She said, ‘On the second day, God healed my marriage in the hermitage.’ Six months later, another woman who had received a breast cancer diagnosis shared, ‘I realized that I need to be kinder to my husband.’ I thought back to the other woman. When one is alone with God, He can do anything and can give insights that can lead to healing.”

Catholic Family Land – Christ-centered family encounter

At the opposite end of the retreat spectrum are those put on by the Apostolate for Family Consecration. They created Holy Family Fest as a week-long family vacation to reconnect with each other and God at Catholic Family Land® in Bloomington, Ohio. According to their website, “…each member of your family will be drawn to a life-changing encounter with Our Lord that makes the Faith come alive. Your family can begin to experience the peace, joy, and unity of a balanced and God-centered family life, and then take that experience home.”

Stasia Phillips, the Support Acquisitions Manager for the Apostolate for Family Consecration, began attending Holy Family Fests annually 25 years ago with her family of seven. “We bring families from all over the country to a Christ-centered, fun environment and allow them to grow in faith and receive the sacraments and be supported by one another,” she said. “As a kid, it impacted me that other families like ours were trying to live and grow in their faith. I had pen pals from all over the country.”

Activities include Mass, the rosary and chaplet of Divine Mercy, Confession, popular speakers, songs, trail rides, games, sports, and teen activities. There is a maximum of 900 people for each of the five events and next year a sixth one will be added. Families come in campers, put up tents, or stay in cabins on the property. Registration for next summer opens on January 10. There will also be a retreat for young adults, October 22-24.

“My family was very renewed after going each year,” Phillips said. ”I was always excited to go back and live my faith. I think it inspired my family to start praying the daily rosary. It had a transformational effect on my family.”

Santiago Retreat Center – in nature beyond Wi-Fi

The Santiago Retreat Center was founded over 15 years ago by Dan and Diane Dulac, members of the Orange County Chapter. It sits on 500 acres in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in the heart of Orange County. “We saw the need in our parish for retreats for confirmation students,” Dan explained. “Getting these kids out of their environment, away from their phone, and out in nature, the Holy Spirit takes over. There’s a metanoia conversion; a conversion of heart.”

The facility has 500 beds with four retreat areas, each with its own chapel, meeting rooms, recreational space, and dormitories. Activities include a swimming pool, whiffle ball field, trails, low ropes, and game rooms.

Their mission, according to executive director Mark McElrath, is to strengthen the domestic church—the family—and renew parish life. Camps include daily Mass, Confession, and Eucharistic Adoration. “Everything is centered on the sacraments and lends itself to live in relationship with Christ and with each other.” McElrath explained. “The highlight is always the Eucharistic procession to Mt. Zion and sunset Eucharistic Adoration.”

Each camp experience has a theme taken from the liturgical year, McElrath explained. “One had Divine Mercy as its theme, focused on the merciful heart of Jesus as a place of refuge. What would be a refuge for a boy? We built a Divine Mercy fort and painted one side red and other side blue. Another camp theme was St. Joseph and every boy carved a St. Joseph staff out of wood.” There are frequent additions to the camp, such as a 1,500-foot path for a St. Joseph consecration hike, and one with stations dedicated to all the Jewish patriarchs.

They host retreats for Confirmation groups throughout the school year. Summer camps include a Vacation Bible camp, Camp El Camino for junior high boys and girls discerning God’s unique invitation to them, Blossom Girls Camp for ages 8-12 using teachings of St. John Paul II’s Letter to Women on their dignity and mission, Quo Vadis for boys on meeting challenges and overcoming obstacles, and a Family Camp for fun and prayer together.

“Many people live online so getting out in nature is unusual for them. Cell phones don’t work here on purpose.,” McElrath said. “Nature, hiking, swimming, talking with friends, all surrounded by God’s majesty in nature is a great canvas to evangelize on.”

PATTI ARMSTRONG is a Legatus magazine contributing writer.