In our hectic lives punctuated by work, noise and ceaseless activities, spiritual retreats are welcome. More and more religious and secular establishments offer to take a REAL break for a few days. What does the spiritual retreat consist of? How to prepare for it? What are its benefits ? Answers with Elisabeth Nadler, member of the Foyer de Charité de Tressaint community, located in Brittany.

Taking a spiritual retreat is allowing yourself a break of a few days away from everything that makes up our daily life. “It consists of taking a break of calm, a time for yourself, in order to connect to your often neglected spiritual dimension”, explains Elisabeth Nadler. Concretely, it is about spending several days in a particularly beautiful and relaxing place to find yourself and slow down the usual pace. One of the important points of spiritual retreats is silence. Retreatants, as they are called, are invited to experience, as much as they can, this break in silence. “We offer our retreatants silence as much as possible, even during meals when soft background music is heard. Silence allows you to listen to yourself but also to others. Contrary to what you might think, you can get to know others without talking to each other. Looks and gestures are enough ”. Within the Foyer de Charité de Tressaint, prayer times and religious teachings are also offered to retreatants several times a day. They are not compulsory but are part of the journey towards one’s inner self, says the Foyer, which welcomes Catholics as well as non-Catholics. “Our spiritual retreats are obviously open to everyone. We welcome people who are very religious, people who have recently returned to the faith, but also people who reflect on religion or who simply take time to rest ”, specifies Elisabeth Nadler. Spiritual retreat also means taking advantage of this free time to rest and recharge your batteries in a vast natural place conducive to relaxation or physical activity for those who so desire. 

Originally, spiritual retreats had a strong link with religion. The Catholic and Buddhist religions recommend that everyone practice spiritual retreat. For Catholics, it is going to meet God and better understand the foundations of the Christian faith. In Buddhist spiritual retreats, retreatants are invited to discover the teaching of the Buddha through the practice of meditation. Thus, most of the spiritual retreats that exist today are held in religious places (charity centers, abbeys, Buddhist monasteries) and are organized by believers. But you can also do your spiritual retreat in a non-religious establishment. Confidential hotels, rustic villages or even hermitages offer spiritual retreats. They practice meditation, yoga and other spiritual exercises. Whether they are religious or not, all these establishments have one thing in common: they are located in particularly beautiful and calm natural places, cut off from all the external bustle in which we bathe the rest of the year. Nature is a major player in spiritual retreat. 

There is no particular preparation to plan before going on a spiritual retreat. Simply, retreatants are invited not to use their cell phone, tablet or computer during these few days of break and to respect silence as much as possible. “Wanting to do a spiritual retreat is to really want to cut, to have a thirst for a break. It is also to challenge oneself, to be ready to do an exercise that may seem difficult for many: to make oneself available to receive and to have nothing to do absolutely. But everyone is capable of it, it’s a matter of personal decision ”. 

The decision to go on a spiritual retreat never comes by chance. It is a need that most often arises at significant periods of life: sudden professional or emotional fatigue, a break-up, bereavement, illness, a marriage, etc. “We are not here to find solutions to their problems but to help them face them as well as possible by allowing them to disconnect to reflect and take care of themselves”. Spiritual retreat allows you to reconnect with yourself, to listen to yourself and to put a lot of things into perspective. The testimonies of people who have lived a spiritual retreat at the Foyer de Charité in Tressaint confirm this.

For Emmanuel, 38, the spiritual retreat came at a time in his life when he was living his professional situation as a “Complete failure” and was in a “Violent revolt” against his father abusing him during his childhood: “I was able to enter into a process of reconciliation with myself and with those who hurt me, more particularly my father with whom I was able to renew relationships. Since then, I have been in deep peace and joy. I am reborn to a new life ”. 

For Anne-Caroline, 51, spiritual retreat met a need “To take a break and see things differently”. After retirement, this mother of four felt “Extremely serene and deeply poised” and admit never having felt such “Inner rest”.