Why do Sisters Make Annual Retreats?

Angel Trumpet plant in Motherhouse gardens. 

During June this year the Motherhouse campus of the Sisters of St. Joseph has hosted two different retreats for the Sisters. The first retreat, held June 15-23 (which I made), was a silent directed retreat with two Sisters of St. Joseph from the Philadelphia area serving as directors. Most of the directed retreat participants stayed at the St. Joseph Renewal Center across the street from the Motherhouse. The second one, being held June 26- July 3, is a guided retreat led by Jesuit Father Bill Noe from Ignatius House in Atlanta, Georgia, with most of the retreatants staying at the Motherhouse or Our Lady of Lourdes Convent.

What is a retreat? The on-line Merriam-Webster dictionary defines retreat as “a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study or instruction under a director.” Wikipedia says “Spiritual retreats allow time for reflection, prayer, or meditation,” and goes on to define the following: “The Christian retreat can be defined most simply as a definite time…spent away from one’s normal life for the purpose of reconnecting, usually in prayer, with God.” Wikipedia credits the Jesuits with popularizing retreats in Roman Catholicism after their founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, began directing others in making (participating in) his Spiritual Exercises in the 1500s.

Maria Sanchez Lake as seen during a walk while on retreat in June. 

Our Congregation, in its Constitutions (p. 52) states the following: “Annually, each sister sets aside at least six consecutive days for retreat.” Making an annual retreat is one of the “perks” of consecrated religious life for me. I look forward each year to time away from every day work and my daily routine to deepen my relationship with God. Although we pray daily as Sisters of St. Joseph, there is something special about making a commitment of several days of silence, prayer, and reflection on retreat.

We are blessed to have a beautiful campus and surrounding neighborhood in which to walk. On the east we have the Intracoastal Waterway with the lovely Bridge of Lions, and on the southwest there is Maria Sanchez Lake. God is good!

Another Maria Sanchez Lake view on a June morning in St. Augustine.