Retreats: Come Rest Awhile
We live our lives oftentimes without minding the presence of God, His works, and His love. That cannot continue. Let us give God the importance that He deserves. Take a RETREAT!
“Be Still And Know That I Am God!” (Ps 46:11)
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will GIVE you rest.” (Mt. 11:28)
“At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.” (Lk. 4:42)
“As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.” (Ps. 42:2)
Click on Link Buttons Below to Relive Past Retreats
Silence is very important to have a fruitful retreat. Prepare yourself before entering into retreat. Strive to quiet down before beginning your retreat. I made a video about this topic, kindly watch it below:
Petition the Lord Jesus to help you be quiet internally. Beg Him to give you the same disposition He had whenever He would go out to a deserted place to pray. Implore Him to accompany you in this holy moment…
View Our Introduction Video To Orient Yourself About How You Are Going To Benefit From This Site Page:
Opening Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, Come! Bless me with Your Presence. Let me be attuned to You so that I may be able to Listen to the Heaven Father, and to the Lord Jesus. Purify my mind and heart in order that I may spend this moment of personal-retreat fruitfully. And whatever insight and lesson I may learn may I translate it into my way of life, so that I may give honor and glory to You my God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who lives and reigns forever. Amen.
General Instructions For Entering a Retreat Using the Guides Below
- Make the Sign of the Cross…
- Pray the opening prayer… (see above)
- Read the Reading for the chosen retreat… (Read slowly and give some time for silence)
- During the moment of silence after the reading, STATE or EXPRESS what are your intentions in making this personal spiritual retreat… ask yourself the following: A. why am I taking this time for prayer and reflection – retreat? B. what am I wishing or hoping to attain in having this retreat with the Lord? – tell the Lord about your answer in this question… C. what is/are the challenging element/s or situation/s, or attitude or vice, or anything that you want to confront during this mini-retreat?
- After this prayerful moment, prepare to watch and listen to the Videos –{it is highly advisable to use a headset so that if you are in a Church you will not disturb others around you}
- View and listen to the FIRST VIDEO…
- After the Video – read the Activity Guide/SPIRITUAL WORKSHOP for your prayer and reflection-meditation, or you may have your own questions or insights to reflect about during this period. Spend time from 5 to 15 minutes as your time allows…
- I high recommend to make some sort of journal of your own insights and inspirations – write or express the insight/inspiration in short and simple sentences. Be able to express your insight/inspiration in such a way that it can be easier to translate it/them into action. =>After your making notes or even just making a note in your head, PRAY spontaneously – your own words express what you discovered and give thanks to God for this moment.
- Then, view the SECOND VIDEO and the THIRD VIDEO, follow the same pattern of the First Video and its activity. After the video, read and follow the SPIRITUAL WORKSHOP… have the period of silence and reflection, followed with writing your insight and ending with a personal prayer.
- CONCLUDING PART 1: PETITION PRAYERS – petition the Lord to bless all your insights, inspirations, discoveries during this mini retreat, or you may pray other intentions – like praying for those who ask you to pray for them. Or pray for whatever has been bothering you in this time of your life…
- CONCLUDING PART 2: Pray your Thanksgiving prayer – thank the Lord in your own words, end by blessing oneself with the Sign of the Cross. Amen.
Or pray this THANKSGIVING PRAYER:
My Lord and my God, thank You for this time of my retreat. Thank You, for the good thoughts, affections, and inspirations that You bestowed upon me during this time of prayer. I beg You to help me put them into practice. O Mother Mary Immaculate, Saint Joseph my father, and my Guardian Angel, intercede for me. Amen.
Songs To Help Us Get Into the Disposition of Prayer and Reflection
NOTE: These songs or music brought or cited here belong to their own authors, composers, musicians. They are purely being linked here as help to situating oneself to prayer and spiritual retreat; never being owned by this website.
Mainly English Version
I recommend pray - sing along or pray with your heart - this beautiful and calming song to the Holy Spirit before or anytime you want during this retreat. Let the lyrics rise up from your heart to God Holy Spirit to grace you with a docile disposition in this retreat and for always.
This Version is with Filipino or Tagalog parts...
“Hail Mary – Gentle Woman:” I like this song to let Our Blessed Mother Mary Accompany our quality time with the Lord. She will help us attune to God, as She Herself did.
“Heal Me Oh Lord:” Coming to retreat surely we have many things to let God intervene on; for one, we can ask for His healing grace…
“Power of Your Love:” This song is up-lifting. As you enter into your personal retreat or spend mental prayer, this can help in disposing oneself more to God’s presence.
“Spirit Song or O Let the Son of God enfold you:” This is another song that I like to just hum myself to calm my mind and heart to prayer.
“He Will Carry You:” Many times we feel beaten or sad, but always remember we have the Lord Jesus to help and carry us through…
“Open Our Eyes:” This song I like to sing as an opening one’s personal retreat or into meditation & reflection.
You may click on the title to connect to the YouTube Playlist of the Three Meditations. Or you may access the meditations one by one by clicking on the buttons bellow.
RETREAT ONE : THIRSTING FOR GOD
In this retreat allow yourself to be like the Samaritan Woman, who went out on a journey of thirst, and found the great surprise of her life; the encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. She was led by the Lord to find not a well made by human hands, but the Well of the Living Water. She found herself in Christ able to drink from the wellsprings of salvation. Dear retreatant, I pray that you may find what you are looking for and more! May the Blessed Mother Mary and all the saints accompany you in this quality time with the Lord. Amen.
First Video: Human Thirst Image of Divine Thirst
Spiritual Workshop:
Guide Questions:
- What are you thirsting for in your life?
- Can you say that you need God and long for Him?
- What are the things or ways that you are drowning your thirst for God?
Second Video: God’s Living Water Quenches and Cleanses
Spiritual Workshop:
- Go over in your mind to the questions mentioned in the videos…
- Evaluate your life if there are things and ways that you want God to purify you of…
Like the Samaritan woman, pray: “Lord, give me this living water, quench me and cleanse me. Amen” (repeat 3x)
Third Video: Revive and Renew the Joy of the Lord
Spiritual Workshop:
- Think of ways how are you going to share to others God’s work in you…
- Think of ways how you are going to promote joy in you with others…
Make your petition and intercessory prayers…
Make your Thanksgiving prayer…
End of Retreat
May you live each day in God’s abundant life!
God bless you, + In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Retreat II : Living Life to the Fullest
This Spiritual Retreat aims at re-centering one’s life again in God. Life in its fullness is simply living it the godly way, however, this is easier said than done. That is why, we need to discover the ways in which we are complicating our life, then, make some changes. What are the ways we are willing to do to regain again our God-oriented life in order to live our daily life to the fullest before God and humankind?
The First Meditation: The search for life to the fullest in the human order; this seeks to uncover the snares that most of us, if not all of us, fall into. All things in this life are good, but they can be bad when we think that with them such is already what life is about. In the human order, God is present, but when He is forgotten, the good things though they are good with our rebellious heart can be the ways that may lead into empty and meaningless life. I suggest you view and listen the first meditation with openness of heart picturing all the nooks of your daily life’s journey. You may stop in each point to give time for silence, or you may spend silent prayer after, before you view and listen the second meditation.
The Second Meditation: Life to the fullest is found in the divine order; this tries to encourage us to cultivate whatever is already the noble, the truthful, the godly in us. The seven ways where we can experience life to the fullest, life in its fullness, are not alien to our daily living of our faith and love of God. Now that we identified them, let us nurture them and persevere in them. You may view and listen to each point and then spending time for silence or doing it at the end.
Conclusion: Living life to the fullest is no other than the imitation of God’s divine life in relation to us; which is all about LOVE. All the seven points mentioned in the first meditation forget to put love in their equation. While all the seven points in the second meditation presuppose and can never happen unless love is the reason or the motivating power in each of them. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not say, “remain in me… remain in my love…” for nothing. It is in living love and love while living that we capture God’s life in this life genuinely and will be continued and boundless in the next.
What is life fully lived for you? You may not have found connection to the points mentioned, it is fine; they can be just keys for you to unlocked your own personal discovery about how you will live your life to the fullest pleasing God.
God bless You!
let us pray
Personally, I love the Divine Mercy Chaplet. So I am putting it here this video. When you will have your prayer time during your personal retreat you can use this video or simply pray it yourself. May God bless you with the intentions that you have in making this quality time with Him!