At this moment, our church is without a Pope.  We wait anxiously to see who the Spirit will call forth to the papacy.  I find great comfort that the week before Pope Benedict resigned he went on his annual silent retreat.  I know that the Spirit worked within him on his retreat to nurture him and to fill him as he begins his new journey.  We can accept the same invitation that Benedict was given to retreat away to be with Jesus.  Last week on dotMagis, I reflected on this invitation to go on retreat:

The invitation to retreat away from daily life to spend time with God is not just an invitation for Jesus or the pope. The invitation is ours as well! We are invited to take time away just to be with God. There are multiple opportunities this Lent and throughout the year to go on a retreat. Silent retreats provide the quiet time and the space to be alone with God. Gifting ourselves with this sacred time deepens our relationship with God. God meets us where we are and in all that we bring with us on retreat—our fears, our tiredness, our health issues, our desires, our joys, and our questions. In this sacred space, this time away, God tends to us and nurtures us, empowering us to go back into our daily lives ready to face what is ahead.

If you have never gone on a retreat, I encourage you to consider the gift of time away to just be with God.  For more information on where to find retreats, check out my retreat resource page!

Becky Eldredge

Becky is an Ignatian-trained spiritual director, retreat facilitator, and writer. She is the author of the Busy Lives and Restless Souls (March 2017, Loyola Press) and The Inner Chapel (April 2020, Loyola Press). She helps others create space to connect faith and everyday life through facilitating retreats and days of reflection, through writing, and through spiritual direction. With nearly twenty years of ministry experience within the Catholic Church, Becky seeks to help others discover God at work in the every day moments of people’s lives by utilizing St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises and the many gifts that our Catholic faith and Ignatian Spirituality provide.