A half-day spiritual retreat: alone, without screens, resting in God
There is a weariness that a weekend doesn't cure: the weariness of those who carry, who serve, who have been giving for a long time. Jesus knew this need: he regularly withdrew to be alone with his Father. This monthly quest invites you to a half-day retreat, alone, without screens, to read, pray and listen to God.
What it looks like in your day
Choose the place. A spot away from daily life: a forest, the countryside, a monastery or retreat center that welcomes day visitors, a guest room, an open church, a hiking trail.
Pack your bag. A Bible, a notebook, a pen, water, a simple meal, clothing suited to the weather. No screens: leave your phone off, or give it to a loved one.
Have no agenda. This is the difference from a half-day of prayer. Here, you don't over-plan: you let yourself be led. You can have a few landmarks, but with no pressure to fill the time.
Alternate the gestures. A few ideas:
- Walk slowly, in silence.
- Sleep if you need to: rest is a form of prayer.
- Read a psalm, a chapter of a Gospel, slowly.
- Sit and look: a landscape, a tree, the water.
- Write whatever comes, uncensored.
- Pray with words or without.
- Be quiet.
Let God speak in his own way. No obligation to receive a word. Sometimes it is enough to be there.
End by gently resuming. Before going home, note two or three things: what nourished you, a decision, a gratitude.
This retreat is addressed particularly to those who are exhausted, who feel spiritually dry, or who need to take a step back. If the fatigue is deep, also consult a doctor.
If you are short on time, three hours are enough. If you are shy about solitude, start with an hour in a familiar place. If you have children, arrange for someone to take over.
What the Bible says
Luke writes of Jesus:
“But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”
While his fame grows and the crowds press in, Jesus “withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed”: this withdrawal is not an escape, it is the source of his mission. Matthew notes that after sending the crowd away, he goes up on the mountain to pray apart (Matthew 14:23). The prophet Elijah, exhausted, flees to the wilderness and asks to die:
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.”
God doesn't lecture him: he lets him sleep, has an angel prepare bread and water for him, then lets him regain strength. Sometimes God's first answer to weariness is sleep and food. A retreat is the extension of that.
Pitfalls to avoid
Making the retreat a performance. The goal is not to have a powerful experience, but to rest in God.
Filling it with activities. If you bring ten books and a timed schedule, you are not resting.
Isolating yourself in an unhealthy way. A retreat is a limited time, not an escape from your relationships or responsibilities.
Judging yourself when nothing happens. Sometimes the retreat consists of sleeping and walking. That is already a lot.
Forgetting the return. Plan how to reenter your daily life: a few notes, a decision, a small ritual.
This month, block out a half-day. Go alone, without screens, with a Bible and a notebook.