Ignatian Silent-Directed Retreats
“You called me from the sleep of nothingness merely because in your tremendous love you want to make good and beautiful beings…You have given me breath and light and movement and walked with me every moment of my existence…Create in me the faithfulness that moves you, and I will trust you and yearn for you all my days.”
~ Joseph Tetlow, SJ
Is God inviting you to a deeper relationship at this moment in your life? Are you discerning an important decision in your life, or a deepening and renewal of a choice already made?
An Ignatian-directed retreat is an individually guided silent prayer encounter following the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola. When you make a silent-directed retreat, the “container” includes time for silence, prayer (with scripture assigned), exercise, and rest.
At the West Virginia Institute for Spirituality, our Ignatian Silent-Directed (Almost Heaven) Retreats are offered year round. The Almost Heaven Retreat is an opportunity for you to set aside time to listen to the voice of God and hear what is in your own heart. Retreats can last a single day or up to eight days. They are a wonderful chance to unplug from the outside world and recharge your spiritual batteries.
Individuals choose to make a Silent-Directed Retreat for different reasons and with a variety of desires, hopes or questions. For some, they are reflecting on a significant change or loss in their life. For others, it is the desire to reflect on considering a vocation or a new career. Whatever the reason, making a retreat can bring greater clarity, open your heart, and give you strength. The fruit of the retreat is to understand how God is present in this stage of your life.
Retreatants are invited to approach the time with an open heart and a willingness to rest into what God wants to reveal in the silence. God really does speak to us in the silence. Often we’re just too busy or surrounded by too much noise to hear what God is saying. For many, the idea of observing silence can seem challenging, but we’re never alone. God is with us.
What to expect
As part of your retreat, you will meet with your personal spiritual director for two 30-minute sessions each day to help guide you in this process of reflection and spiritual discernment. If you do not have a spiritual director, you will be assigned one for your time on retreat. This individual will provide you with a schedule for each day of your retreat that includes prayer time (with scriptures assigned), exercise, rest, and mealtimes.
On the first evening of your retreat, your director will spend time with you listening to better understand your current relationship with God, what graces you hope for on the retreat, and why you felt called to make this retreat at this time. They will walk you through a typical day of prayer which includes four scripture passages as well as guidance on different ways you might enter into each prayer time.
Choose Your Location
When considering making your Retreat, you have a variety of options. You can choose to:
- Come to WVIS and stay at the retreat house where you will have a private room and a shared bath (requires individuals to be fully vaccinated);
- Stay in the Hermitage which is a private space on the WVIS property offering a private room, bath, and kitchen; (Call to check availability)
- Experience your retreat from the comfort of your own home via Zoom or FaceTime.
To protect both our retreatants and the members of the retreat house, Covid protocols remain in place. Reservations are taken on a first-come basis.
To reserve your time, please select the button below to view the application, select the dates you’d like to attend, and submit your request as indicated on the application. We look forward to seeing you.
Questions: If you have any questions about making a silent-directed retreat, please call Sister Carole Riley at 304.345.0926 or email wviscr@aol.com.
WVIS is a 501 (c)(3).
Contact
1601 Virginia Street East
Charleston, West Virginia 25311
304.345.0926 (main)
304.345.8206 (fax)
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