By Deacon Oran Struecker
I spent this past weekend on a silent retreat at the Cloisters on the Platte. You may wonder, why would I do that? A lot of us work out every day—we run, walk, or lift weights to keep our physical life fit. A retreat is something we can do to keep our spiritual life fit.
At the Cloisters, the silence helps us remove ourselves from the noise of the world so we can hear God. God speaks to us, but most of us are too busy to hear Him. It is a time to put away our phones, step out of the world, and enter the spiritual world with God. Silence helps us see where God is working in our lives and recognize His movement. It is about opening our hearts to God. You may already be doing that, but a retreat can take you deeper into the heart of our Lord.
You need to go into a retreat with an open heart. And yes, the evil one is going to come and put thoughts into your mind. During the retreat, he will try to keep you from getting closer to God. Remember to dismiss those thoughts. God will bless you as you step out to get to know Him more. He will meet you where you are, whether it is at the Cloisters or another retreat center. We all need quiet time to renew and reset our spiritual life. We need to walk away from our worldly life into a spiritual life. As the old saying goes, we need to “stop and smell the roses”.