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Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House: A Place to Truly Encounter the Lord
Modern life is busy. We are so often hurrying from one event or responsibility to the next, never feeling like we have adequate time to accomplish what we are “supposed to” in a day. For many of us, this is what makes the idea of a retreat — particularly a silent one — so daunting. Where on earth can we find the time for such a luxury? How can we possibly stay still and silent for three whole days?
Parishioner Al Schneider says this is exactly how he felt about silent retreats until he attended his first one — begrudgingly, he admits — at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House roughly 30 years ago.
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“I really went kicking and screaming,” Al says. “I had avoided going for years, and was finally persuaded to go by The peaceful grounds at Montserrat, which lend a fellow who was a retreat captain at our parish back then. themselves to prayer and reflection But then, after I went that first time you couldn’t have kept me away. It was one of those things that the more often I went, the more often I wanted to go. And I’ve never missed my yearly retreat since.”
Parishioner Andrea Popp also initially held some reservations about attending a Montserrat Retreat. A born talker, she wondered how she could possibly remain silent that long. But when she finally agreed to go, she was amazed to discover how easy it was to maintain that silence.
“Just like my friend promised, I had no trouble not talking,” Andrea says. “The retreat center consists of 30 acres which you are free to roam around and explore throughout the retreat. That makes it easier not to talk to each other, spending that time instead talking to God and looking inside yourself.”
So, while the silent aspect of the retreat is often thought of as a barrier, both Al and Andrea describe it as the great gift of the retreat experience. There in the silence, free from all the noise and distractions of life, retreat participants are able to truly focus their hearts and minds on God, and hear God’s voice in a profound and life-changing manner.
“I remember looking up on the stairwell wall while I was walking up the stairs to my room that first time and noticing a sign that said, ‘Listen.’” Al says. “That sign really jumped out to me and it’s what I’ve carried with me year after year — because in that silence, you have time to truly think and be with God.”
“When I am either walking the campus at Montserrat or sitting in a chair on the grounds, it is impossible for me not to see God in everything around me — the sky, the water, the clouds, the beauty, even the squirrels, the ducks and birds,” Andrea adds. “When you truly focus and reflect and listen like that, you can actually see more clearly any issues you might be experiencing, whether it’s with family, a spouse, relationships, friends, work and such. I definitely experienced several of those issues in the years I have been to the retreats, and each time I came out with a perspective that I had not seen before. One just gains a peace by just being here. And this just lends itself to becoming closer to God.”
For those unfamiliar with Montserrat, the retreat house is located on the peaceful shores of Lewisville Lake in Lake Dallas, and is meant to be a place of external silence so that individuals may truly listen to and converse with God. Weekend retreats are offered for both men and women throughout the year, typically beginning Thursday evening and ending Sunday afternoon with lunch. Though each retreat varies slightly in terms of retreat presiders and participants, each one revolves around the Jesuit spirituality and its concept of discovering God in all things. It truly is a time to retreat from the hustle and bustle of the world so as to become spiritual rejuvenated.
“I think that we don’t give enough time to just be — to stand back and really reflect,” Andrea says. “That is exactly what you can do at Montserrat. It is a place of quiet, peace and prayer — a time to gain a deeper perspective on your life, a place to come to know God better in an intimate and personal relationship.”
