Silent retreats – stillness, silence, solitude

Ever since I was introduced to setting aside time to go for a silent retreat, separately by two friends, I have held it as a meaningful and beneficial practice.

I meant to do so annually since Jan 2017 when I went for my first day long retreat with a friend at the Community for Spiritual Formation. However, 2018 came and went without me making time to ‘come away’.

So in the lead up to 2019, I decided to be more intentional about it, and schedule in a residential retreat as part of my birthday ‘treat’ to self.

What is a silent retreat?

There are various types of silent Christian spiritual retreats. At its most basic, it is just taking time out for silent prayer and meditation, with the intent of spending focused time with God, being quiet before Him and seeking His purposes for us.

At my first day-long retreat, I basically spent it in a room at the CSF reading the Bible, praying, reading Christian books, singing hymns and journalling.

Most Christian silent retreats have an element of ‘spiritual direction’, where you can arrange to meet with a spiritual director (usually a pastor or theologically trained counsellor) for an hour, just to share your thoughts from being in the retreat, and having a conversation with them on spiritual matters.

At this first retreat, I was also introduced to the practice of Lectio Divina, which is latin for “divine reading”. There is nothing mystical about it, since in essence it refers to reading scripture slowly a few times, meditating on the verses, and allowing them to sink into our hearts and minds. A guide with a suggested ‘how-to’ is in the picture below.

Where was this residential retreat held?

I searched around online and decided to sign up for this 3D2N retreat run by CSF, held at the Canossian Lifesprings Spirituality Centre, which is set in serene surrounds.

Located at 100 Jalan Merbok, it is also opposite the Bukit Batok Nature Park, where I went for two consecutive mornings on a silent nature walk.

The actual accommodation for retreatants is very simple, spartan almost, but very clean and conducive. I could easily have seen myself staying for a week. But at my stage of life, given work and family obligations, coming away for 3D2N is already quite a luxury. And I felt so privileged and grateful to be able to do so.

What were the highlights of the retreat?

Our mornings started early with a nature walk from 630am to 830am, where we were supposed to use all our senses to be fully aware of God’s creation, and meditate upon a Psalm.

I realised that the morning light was such that if I took a picture of the beautiful blue sky at the quarry, the cliffs would be very dark. Suddenly I realised that I could capture cliff and sky in their true colours, if I caught the sky’s reflection in the clear quiet waters of the quarry.

And so it is, that oftentimes it is only in reflection, that we can see with clarity.

Our spiritual director shared that “silence, solitude and stillness” are crucial practices in the Christian life, not just in retreats like this, but also in our daily lives. She cited various passages in the Bible where Jesus ‘went away alone’ to pray in the midst of active ministry.

“In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God.”

Luke 6:12 ESV

So it is with us, that we should hold a good balance between the active and contemplative aspects of our Christian walk. For it is only so that we can have the right focus, be propelled by the right motivations, and be trees that are planted by streams of water, drawing regularly from springs of His grace.

Apart from one morning session and one evening session daily of ‘sharing in community’ where we would gather to share briefly and pray, the afternoon was left to us for quiet reading. We were also encouraged to take a nap if we needed, since this was also meant to be a retreat for rest. So from 1pm to 630pm everyday, I managed to read a book, journal, and rest in these lush surrounds.

On the last day, there was also the chance to reflect and pray though a ‘labyrinth’. Basically you enter the labyrinth through one path drawn on the court, and stop where indicated to think through a question on the list. After you have reflected sufficiently on it, then you can proceed to walk further to the next ‘checkpoint’. After a series of winding in and out of the floor maze you will finally emerge. I thought it was an interesting and useful exercise.

Incidentally, I was quite surprised by a BabyCenter mail that I received during those days as it couldn’t be more apt. This will probably speak to busy parents.

All in all, I think it is a good practice to take time out to be quiet before God. Those few days away made for an intensely refreshing time of contemplation.

So I do hope to set aside at least one day a year for silent reflection, for a scheduled re-orientation, amidst the endless onslaught of activity between home, work and church. I would highly recommend that all Christians consider setting aside time for this too. In fact, the busier you are, the more crucial this would be!