Translation form

Text block 1

This week as we focus on the word ‘refresh’ we speak to a retreat prayer guide.For those in need of spiritual refreshment after a year of lockdowns, the idea of being on a retreat may not be immediately enticing. The thought of removing yourself from society to a quiet place where you can indulge in some self-reflection loses appeal when you have been stuck at home, with limited distractions and company, for so long already.Yet it is that ‘forced retreat’ lockdown has meant for so many of us that has heightened our need to be refreshed and renewed, says the Revd Sally Harper, a prayer guide at St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre, near St Asaph. Lockdown may have given us more time and space than we have ever had but it has also brought in its wake anxiety, depression, uncertainty and fear.“The first lockdown last spring evidently had very positive ‘retreat qualities’ for some, especially where it allowed release from an over-full diary or a punishing daily commute,” says Sally, who is also a priest at St Asaph Cathedral. “People spoke of the chance to reprioritise their work-home balance, rediscovering more creative ways of using time, revaluing relationships and generally appreciating a slower pace.“But in normal circumstances we choose to go on retreat, and for many the series of enforced lockdowns has clearly been utterly dismal. There’s very little chance to find refreshment if you’re stuck at home in a confined space, and frantic with worry about family or money or illness, or simply paralysed by boredom. Lockdown may well leave us feeling that life has shrivelled – the exact opposite of what we might hope to find on retreat.”Like everything else over the past year, retreats and quiet days have adapted to the times and moved online. Sally’s weekly prayer groups, called ‘Prego’, held across north Wales as part of St Beuno’s Outreach, are now held on Zoom.“Zoom Prego has worked surprisingly well,” says Sally. “People now join from all over the UK and the world, as well as from North Wales.”The response to the online retreats offered by St Beuno’s itself this year has also been wonderfully positive, she says.“Some retreatants initially felt they’d signed up to a kind of ‘lesser’ retreat to help fill the gap before the house reopened. There was inevitable sadness around losing the stillness of actually being in the house, and having the support of other retreatants. But many have expressed surprise at the great depth their ‘at home’ retreat has reached, and they go away with a genuine sense of refreshment and wanting more of the same. Retreat guides also speak of the overwhelming sense of the goodness and fruitfulness of retreating online and the deep level of encounter it can allow. The associated rhythm of prayer set up on the retreat can also have a very significant afterlife. Familiar places and practices that have become part of daily routine on retreat (probably including more effective management of social media) have now become ‘sanctified’.“My own experience of engaging with online retreats this year has also been very enriching – and there is a blessing in being able to explore new things from home.”The success of the online groups proves that you do not necessarily need to go anywhere physically to go on retreat.“For me ‘retreat’ means an intentional setting aside of time and space from everyday distractions to become open to the movement of the Holy Spirit – giving God a chance to get a word in edgeways,” says Sally.

Quote block 2

Refreshment lies at the heart of that, as reflected in Jesus’s invitation to the disciples: ‘Come away to a quiet place all by yourselves and rest a while'

Mark 6:31

Text block 3

“But the form a retreat takes can be very varied. It may mean a residential stay in a cherished ‘holy’ place alongside a praying community, but we can also ‘retreat’ very effectively in everyday life in our home surroundings, even for just a short period each day. At the heart of any retreat – whatever its length or location – lies the discipline of intentionally placing ourselves before God, and seeking the inner silence to hear how God is calling us and seeking to refresh us.”Our need for refreshment differs in us all, says Sally. “We may set out on retreat with great hopes for an extended period of fruitful prayer and meditation, but then find our greatest need is simply to sleep. (I always remember one wise old Jesuit saying: ‘Don’t worry about that – just make a large sign of the cross and fall into bed!’) But it’s often just having ‘time to be’ that counts – whether that’s simply pottering or walking or being more actively engaged in prayer.“The unexpected can also play a significant part in our refreshment, and so often we encounter unexpected gifts when we deliberately step away from the clutter of life for a period. One online retreatant recently put that beautifully, describing a retreat that moved away from ‘resentment’ to ‘refreshment’ – in a completely unexpected and very surprising way. God is so often full of surprises.”The desire for retreats extends far beyond faith communities. The term “well-being” has entered mainstream culture and is a high priority for most forward-looking organisations.“There’s a widening acceptance of the need to ‘retreat’ from our daily (and often frantic) routine, and find refreshment as we attend to our ‘inner life’,” says Sally. “Recent initiatives to offer free retreats for exhausted frontline workers, or mindfulness sessions in the workplace, are great examples. There’s also an emphasis on ‘multidimensional wellness’ nowadays, sometimes within a leisure context – evident in the number of ‘bespoke retreats’ on offer, ranging from surf-therapy or creative writing to Tuscan cookery. Many places, including Christian retreat houses, are very aware of how people are searching for different experiences of spiritual wellbeing. St Beuno’s itself offers a variety of themed retreats, including mindfulness, yoga, models of Christian manhood, and the psychology of flourishing, alongside the more traditional pattern of silent, individually guided retreats.”Despite the trauma of the pandemic, the legacy of lockdown could include some positives, such as a more spiritual outlook on life, says Sally.“I think the reality of this pandemic is something of a tipping-point or kairos moment – a propitious time when God seems be calling us, challenging us with questions, and presenting us with some fundamental choices. The way in which things have come to a head has nudged many of us into pondering what is of ultimate value in our own lives and our world. For some, that may well include the desire for a slower pace of life and more time to focus on the things and people that really matter – which may include more time for God. I’m sure that what we’ve discovered about enabling worship and prayer through social media and technology is here to stay in some form, too.“It’s hard to know whether the immediate legacy of lockdown will include a desire for more space and stillness or a yearning for much more social interaction, but I hope and pray that the trauma of this pandemic might deepen our yearning to shape a better world that cares for the whole of creation.”Find out more about retreats and courses at St Beuno's at https://www.pathwaystogod.org/org/st-beunos, or saintbeunosoutreach@gmail.com for more information.