Editing Retreat (spiritual)

{{Short description|Period spent in reflection or solitude}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
[[File:000000000 WinShape.jpg|thumb|The WinShape Retreat Center in [[Rome, Georgia]]]]
[[File:BJ23-chapel.jpg|thumb|An aspiring [[Seminary|seminarian]] prays during a vocational discernment retreat in the chapel of [[Blessed John XXIII National Seminary]] in [[Weston, Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]]]
The meaning of a '''spiritual retreat''' can be different for different religious communities. Spiritual retreats are an integral part of many Buddhist, Christian and Sufi communities. There are many different types of spiritual retreats such as wellness retreats, mindfulness retreats, spa retreats, adventure retreats, detox retreats, yoga retreats, and religious retreats.{{better source needed|date=January 2024}}

In Buddhism, meditative retreats are seen by some as an intimate way of deepening powers of concentration and insight.

Retreats are also popular in [[Christianity|Christian]] churches, and were established in today's form by [[St. Ignatius of Loyola]] (1491{{ndash}}1556), in his ''[[Spiritual Exercises]]''. Ignatius was later to be made patron saint of spiritual retreats by [[Pope Pius XI]] in 1922. Many [[Protestantism|Protestants]], [[Roman Catholicism|Catholics]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]] partake in and organize spiritual retreats each year.

Meditative retreats are an important practice in [[Sufism]], the mystical path of [[Islam]]. The Sufi teacher [[Ibn Arabi]]'s book ''Journey to the Lord of Power (Risālat al-Anwār)''<ref>{{cite book |title=Journey to the Lord of Power: A Sufi Manual on Retreat|last=Ibn Arabi|author-link=Ibn Arabi|others=Rabia Terry Harris (trans.)|year=1981|publisher=Inner Traditions|isbn=978-0-89281-018-5}}</ref> is a guide to the inner journey that was published over 700 years ago.

==Buddhism==
[[File:Young monk in meditation cell, Yerpa, Tibet. 1993.jpg|upright|thumb|Young monk in meditation retreat, [[Yerpa]], [[Tibet]] in 1993]]
A retreat can either be a time of [[solitude]] or a [[community]] experience. Some retreats are held in [[silence]], and on others there may be a great deal of conversation, depending on the understanding and accepted practices of the host facility and/or the participant(s). Retreats are often conducted at rural or remote locations, either privately, or at a retreat centre such as a [[monastery]]. Some retreats for advanced practitioners may be undertaken in [[dark retreat|darkness]], a form of retreat that is common as an advanced [[Dzogchen]] practice in the [[Nyingma]] school of [[Tibetan Buddhism]].

Spiritual retreats allow time for [[Human self-reflection|reflection]], [[Prayer in Buddhism|prayer]], or [[meditation]]. They are considered essential in [[Buddhism]],<ref>[http://www.padmaloka.org.uk/calendar/being-on-retreat ''What is a retreat?'' at Padmaloka.org]</ref> having been a common practice since the [[Vassa]], or rainy season retreat, was established by the founder of Buddhism, [[Gautama Buddha]]. In [[Zen|Zen Buddhism]] retreats are known as [[sesshin]].

==Christianity==
=== Catholicism ===
[[File:Palac w Wodzislawiu Slaskim Kokoszycach.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Wodzisław Śląski]] "Retreat House" of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Katowice]]]]
The Christian retreat can be defined most simply as a definite time (from a few hours in length to a month) spent away from one's normal life for the purpose of reconnecting, usually in prayer, with God. Although the practice of leaving one's everyday life to connect on a deeper level with God, be that in the desert (as with the [[Desert Fathers]]), or in a monastery, is nearly as old as Christianity itself, the practice of spending a specific time away with God is a more modern phenomenon, dating from the 1520s and [[St. Ignatius of Loyola]]'s composition of the Spiritual Exercises.<ref name="OMalley">O'Malley, J W 1993, 'The First Jesuits', Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts p. 4</ref> The fasting of Jesus in the desert for forty days is used as a biblical justification of retreats.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=VCH5ZmnLO4AC&dq=retreats+jesus+fasting+in+the+desert&pg=PA52 ''Desert Living'' 2009, page 52]</ref>

The retreat was popularised in Roman Catholicism by the [[Society of Jesus]] (Jesuits), whose founder, [[St. Ignatius of Loyola]], as a [[layman]] began, in the 1520s, directing others in making (participating in) the exercises.<ref name="OMalley"/> Another form the Exercises came in, which became known as the nineteenth "Observation", 'allowed continuing one's ordinary occupations with the proviso of setting aside a few hours a day for this special purpose.'<ref>O'Malley, J W 1993, 'The First Jesuits', Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts p. 129</ref> The spiritual exercises were intended for people wanting to live closer to God's will for their life.  In the 17th century, retreats became much more widespread in the Catholic Church.{{r|Hastings Selbie Gray 1919 p. 744}}

Retreats were not originally seen as suitable for women, but in 1674 [[Catherine de Francheville]] ([[:fr:Catherine de Francheville|fr]]), supported by the Breton Jesuit [[Vincent Huby]] ([[:fr:Vincent Huby|fr]]), founded a retreat house for women in [[Vannes]].   This developed into a community of laywomen, who also founded a daughter house in [[Quimper]], but were dispersed by the French Revolution.  Some however came together to found schools, and additional communities were established in England, and later in  Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.  These developed in the course of the 19th century, under the name of ''[[La Retraite]]'' ([[:fr:Congrégation de la Retraite|fr]]), into a religious Congregation of nuns.  The active involvement of the sisters in retreats was curtailed later in the 19th century, but blossomed again after the Second Vatican Council, involving among other activity an extension of the community into Chile, South Africa, Cameroon and Mali.<ref>[http://www.laretraite.ws/en/i_news/i1/i1_history.htm ''La Retraite'' – history]</ref>

[[File:Chapel of Manresa Jesuit Spirituality Renewal Centre, Pickering.JPG|thumb|220px|right|[[Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre|Manresa Retreat Centre]], [[Pickering, Ontario]]]]

Following the growth of the [[Cursillo]] movement in Spain in the 20th century, similar retreats have become popular, either using licensed Cursillo material or independent material loosely based on its concepts, leading to the development of the [[three day movement]]. 

The Family [[Lent]]en Retreat is an annual [[three-day movement]] (held at the [[Araneta Coliseum]]) founded in 1983 by Msgr. Cesar B. Pagulayan and organized by [[Our Lady of Perpetual Help]] (OLPH) Parish under the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Aventurado |first1=Neil |title=Celebrity priests to talk in annual Cubao Lenten retreat|url= https://mb.com.ph/2023/3/28/Celebrity-priests-to-talk-in-annual-Cubao-Lenten-retreat#google_vignette|accessdate=November 26, 2024 |work= [[Manila Bulletin]]|date=March 29, 2023}}</ref>

=== Anglicanism ===
Spiritual retreats were introduced to the [[Church of England]] by priests of the [[Anglo-Catholic]] [[Society of the Holy Cross]] in 1856, first for clergy, and then also for laity.<ref name="McIlhiney 1988 p. 25">{{cite book | last=McIlhiney | first=D.B. | title=A Gentleman in Every Slum: Church of England Missions in East London, 1837-1914 | publisher=Pickwick Publications | series=Princeton Theological Monograph Series | year=1988 | isbn=978-0-915138-95-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftFJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 | access-date=11 January 2020 | page=25}}</ref><ref name="Bodington 1905 p. 176">{{cite book | last=Bodington | first=C. | title=Devotional Life in the Nineteenth Century | publisher=SPCK | year=1905 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6qAYe3ZavOUC&pg=PA176 | access-date=11 January 2020 | page=176}}</ref><ref name="Walsh 1899 p. 57">{{cite book | last=Walsh | first=W. | title=The Secret History of the Oxford Movement | publisher=C.J. Thynne | series=His Synthetic philosophy | year=1899 | url=https://archive.org/details/secrethistoryox00walsgoog | access-date=11 January 2020 | page=[https://archive.org/details/secrethistoryox00walsgoog/page/n109 57]}}</ref> These retreats lasted five days.<ref name="Hastings Selbie Gray 1919 p. 744">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Stone |first=Darwell | article=Retreats |editor-last=Hastings | editor-first=J. | editor-last2=Selbie | editor-first2=J.A. | editor-last3=Gray | editor-first3=L.H. |title=Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics | publisher=Scribner | issue=v. 10 | year=1919 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqRMI-NCc2wC&pg=PA744 | page=744}}</ref> The Society of the Holy Cross's first retreats were held in secrecy.{{r|Bodington 1905 p. 176}} The practice was spread by Anglo-Catholic priests such as [[Francis Henry Murray]],<ref name="Yates Yates 1999">{{cite book | last1=Yates | first1=P.E.H.N. | last2=Yates | first2=N. | title=Anglican Ritualism in Victorian Britain, 1830-1910 | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-19-826989-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=55aaZGqqh6oC}}</ref>{{rp|99}} [[Alexander Forbes (bishop of Brechin)|Alexander Forbes]],{{r|Yates Yates 1999|p=73,127}} and [[Thomas Thellusson Carter]].{{r|Yates Yates 1999|p=186}} The [[Oxford Movement]] further spread the practice of retreats to many devout men and women, borrowing upon Catholic practices. Their retreats were typically 3–4 days, and featured much silence and prayer.{{r|Hastings Selbie Gray 1919 p. 744}}

At the end of the 19th century, and in the first years of the 20th century, retreats began to spread among the working classes and beyond those of notable devotion. These retreats were less [[Asceticism|ascetic]] in character, and included more conversation and leisure. They typically lasted 1–3 days.{{r|Hastings Selbie Gray 1919 p. 744}}

=== Evangelical Christianity ===
[[File: Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center - panoramio.jpg|thumb|right| Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center in [[Linden, Tennessee]], United States]]
In [[Evangelical Christianity]], times of spiritual retreat were encouraged by the development of [[camp meetings]] of the 19th century, in order to promote spiritual renewal, far from the city and in nature.<ref> Brett Grainger, ''Church in the Wild: Evangelicals in Antebellum America'', Harvard University Press, USA, 2019, p. 58-59</ref> These camps were an opportunity to pray, sing and listen to sermons for several days.

Various church associations have also established [[campgrounds]] or [[conference center]]s in isolated locations, which provide retreat times for children and adults.<ref> Samuel S. Hill, ''The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 1: Religion'', University of North Carolina Press, USA, 2006, p. 177</ref>

==Sufi retreats or spiritual khalwa==

The translation of ''[[Khalwa (Sufism)|khalwa]]'' (from [[Arabic]] الخلوة) is seclusion or separation, but it has a different connotation in Sufi terminology in which it refers to the act of self-abandonment in desire for the Divine Presence.
<ref>Landolt, H., "K̲h̲alwa", in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 06 August 2022 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_4178>.</ref> In complete seclusion, the Sufi continuously repeats the name of God as a highest form of [[dhikr|remembrance of God meditation]]. In his book, Journey to the Lord of Power, Muhiyid-Did ibn Arabi (1165-1240 A.D.) discussed the stages through which the Sufi passes in his [[Khalwa (Sufism)|khalwa]].

Ibn Arabi suggested: "The Sufi should shut his door against the world for forty days and occupy himself with remembrance of Allah, that is to keep repeating, "Allah, Allah..." Then, "Almighty God will spread before him the degrees of the kingdom as a test. First, He will discover the secrets of the mineral world. If he occupies himself with dthikr, He (God) will unveil to the secrets of the vegetable world, then the secrets of the animal world, then the infusion of the world of life-force into lives, then the "surface sign" (the light of the Divine Names, according to Abdul-Karim al-Jeeli, the book's translator), then the degrees of speculative sciences, then the world of formation and adornment and beauty, then the degrees of the qutb (the soul or pivot of the universe-see #16) Then he will be given the divine wisdom and the power of symbols and authority over the veil and the unveiling. The degree of the Divine Presence is made clear to him, the garden (of Eden) and Hell are revealed to him, then the original forms of the son of Adam, the Throne of Mercy. If it is appropriate, he will know his destination. Then he will reveal to him the Pen, the First Intellect (as it is called by Sufi philosophers), then the Mover of the Pen, the right hand of the Truth. (The "Truth" as defined by al-Jeeli is that by which everything is created, none other than God most High.){{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}

The practice of khalwah is regularly followed by the Sufis, with the permission and the supervision of a Sufi authority.

The Sufis base the assigning of forty days of [[Khalwa (Sufism)|khalwa]] period on the forty days Allah had appointed for Musa (Moses) as a fasting period before speaking to him, as mentioned in different chapters in the Qur'an. One of them is from surat al-Baqarah.

[[Khalwa (Sufism)|Khalwa]] is still practiced today amongst authorized Sheikhs, such as [[Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani]], [[Lefka]], [[Cyprus]].

==Meditation==
[[Meditation]] courses or retreats, either in a group or solo, are a common part of many [[meditation]] traditions.<ref>[http://www.giri.dhamma.org/qanda Dhamma Giri - Vipassana International Academy]</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=How an intensive ten-day meditation retreat could transform your life |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/how-an-intensive-ten-day-meditation-retreat-could-transform-your-life-for-the-better-10461380.html |work=The Independent |date=18 August 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dunford |first1=Jane |title=The best yoga, mindfulness and fitness breaks for 2018 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/jan/13/best-yoga-meditation-retreats-fitness-breaks-mind-body |work=The Guardian |date=13 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=10 of the world's best meditation retreats |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/best-meditation-retreats/index.html |work=CNN Travel |date=25 June 2013 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[The Abode of the Message]]
*[[Dark retreat]]
*[[Enlightenment Intensive]]
*[[Kairos (retreat)]]
*[[Simple living]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Cooper |first=David A. |title=Silence, Simplicity & Solitude: A Complete Guide to Spiritual Retreat |publisher=SkyLight Paths Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-893361-04-1}}
* {{cite book |first1=Merianne |last1=Liteman |first2=Sheila |last2=Campbell |first3=Jeffrey |last3=Liteman 
|year=2006 |title=Retreats that Work: Everything You Need to Know About Planning and Leading Great Offsites |publisher=Wiley |isbn=0-7879-8275-X}}
* {{cite book |first=Stafford |last=Whiteaker |year=2004 |title=The Good Retreat Guide |publisher=Rider |isbn=1-84413-228-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Zangpo |first=Ngawang |title=Jamgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual |publisher=Snow Lion Publications |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-55939-029-3}}

==External links==
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[[Category:Spiritual retreats| ]]
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