Retreat High…Why?

Retreat. What comes to mind in the context of this word? The best weekend of your life? The time when you felt most out of your comfort zone? Something foreign and scary? Something foreign and uninteresting? I’ve heard all of these responses and more in conversations with friends and acquaintances about retreats.

Some people love ‘em, some people don’t consider themselves “retreat people,” and some are indifferent. But no matter your stance on the matter, if you are reading this you have most likely been exposed to retreat culture in some capacity.

Regardless of the individual theme of a retreat, the length of time spent retreating, or the specific activities participated in, a retreat is typically designed to be an “escape” from “normal life” with the goal of powering off, focusing up, and working towards a goal. In the context of a religious retreat, this goal is typically to refocus on one’s relationship with God. On many Notre Dame retreats, both silent reflection/prayer time and communal small group time help to accomplish this strengthening, deepening, and renewal of faith. By looking for support in the Church around us, we are able to better engage in our personal spiritual lives and vice versa.

My Sophomore Road Trip retreat family from this past September

Many of those who answered “the best weekend of my life” to my original question can relate to the phrase “retreat high” – that incredible, floating-on-air-on-top-of-the-world-everyone-and-everything-is-awesome-and-life-is-perfect-and-people-and-especially-God-are-so-so-so-good feeling that accompanies many retreatants through an experience on Notre Dame- (and Jesuit-; shout-out to my Crusaders) esque retreats and follows them home. But how does one sustain that potential retreat high?

Welp. Bad news, folks. You don’t.

…to a certain extent. Retreat highs are incredible; don’t get me wrong. I have been on and led many, many retreats, and the feeling of being high on life and God and friends and fellowship has never and will never get old. But whether one experiences a “retreat high” or not, “real life” gets in the way (in the best way possible). Life isn’t perfect, and neither are people – especially me. Here’s where the good news comes in. God is. God is perfect.

So while retreat highs gradually (or abruptly) transition back into the highs and lows of everyday life, the really cool thing about such experiences is that they hopefully give us the opportunity to slow down and remove ourselves from our general busyness and human worries enough to catch a glimpse of ourselves and others in light of God and in light of His love.

That’s the real retreat high and the real retreat secret. What we bring home from retreats, and what we’re called to “bring home” in every day life (regardless of whether we have participated in zero or ninety nine retreats) is what we pray for in the Our Father: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

On earth as it is in heaven.