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One of the things we do as consecrated Religious women each year is to make a retreat.  For us, as Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, Florida, our Constitutions say the following: "Annually, each sister sets aside at least six consecutive days for retreat." (p. 52) The times and the places of our retreats vary, but many make them in the summer.

 A retreat for us is different from those retreats made by corporate teams.

For Catholic women Religious it is a time of silence, prayer, and solitude except for meals, liturgy, and meetings with directors or confessors. Some sisters make preached retreats, some make silent directed retreats, and some make other types of retreat such as contemplative or centering prayer, nature retreats, or artistic retreats of some kind. Some make private retreats, often using books or tapes or CD's for input and reflection. Silence is needed in order to quiet one's mind and heart and really listen to God.



This year there were two silent preached retreats offered here on our campus in St. Augustine. There was a Lourdes Convent preached retreat held at the Motherhouse chapel in June, and another preached retreat held at St. Joseph Renewal Center from June 30 to July 7. The photo at the start of this blog entry shows five of us who made a silent directed retreat at the Franciscan Center in Tampa in early June. Two sisters will make directed retreat at Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center in North Palm Beach in July. Some sisters drive out of state to make retreat at Jesuit retreat centers in the Southeast.

Jesus went away to the desert to pray before his public ministry and to the garden before his Passion and death. As Religious we want to deepen our relationship with Jesus and we make a commitment of time to do this on our annual retreat.



"Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while." Mark 6:31.




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