What is a retreat? A retreat is a withdrawal from ordinary activities for a period of time to commune with God in prayer and reflection.If you're going full spead ahead right now, the last thing you may have in mind is to retreat. But think about it anyway.

No one can go full speed all the time. It wears you out. Often the best way to win a war is to stop and retreat. Just rushing ahead can be dangerous. Sometimes you have to stop and get your bearings.

That's a retreat. A time to stop and rest so you can go on again. A time to return to basics: basic attitudes, basic beliefs, the basic balance of life. Above all, a retreat is a rest in God, in whom "we live and move and have our being."

"Be still and know that I am God!" (Psalm 45,10) A retreat means not only to be physically quiet (we're so deluged by noise!), but to put aside cares and preoccupations.

"Come aside and rest awhile," Jesus told his disciples. Otherwise you will get too tired and uncertain of your way.

So pick a quiet time and place, if you can, and put what you are doing aside for awhile. Enter the room of your own heart, and listen.

Copyright 1998 by Passionist Publications, Union City, NJ USA