Retreats in the Roman Catholic Tradition

At the end of May those members of the Subpriory of our Lady of Lourdes who are professed Knights of Justice; those who have taken the Promise of Obedience and those who are considering taking the Promise of Obedience came together in the beautiful setting of Malvern Retreat House in Pennsylvania for their annual five-day retreat. An opportunity to spend time with each other as a religious community in silent prayer and reflection is a special time that the Subpriory makes available each year. The theme of the retreat was “virtues and values in a fast-changing world”, provided by Fra’ Richard Wolff a member of the Subpriory and a member of the Sovereign Council.

In reflecting over the summer on the inner peace that going on retreat brings I thought it might be interesting to revisit the origin of retreats for us as Members of the Order of Malta.

The practice of retreats in the Roman Catholic tradition represents more than a devotional innovation; it is the theological continuation of a scriptural pattern of withdrawal for the sake of divine encounter. From the earliest biblical texts through patristic monasticism and into the Ignatian spirituality of the early modern period, retreats have served as essential moments of renewal and discernment. The Sovereign Order of Malta, which requires its members to undertake an annual silent retreat, offers a striking contemporary example of the enduring relevance of this tradition.

In the Old Testament, the wilderness emerges as a privileged space of divine pedagogy. Israel’s forty years of wandering were not accidental but formative, a time in which the people were humbled, tested, and sustained by God. The Exodus narrative shows how retreat into the desert becomes the archetypal model of withdrawal for covenantal renewal. Similarly, the prophet Elijah encounters God on Mount Horeb not in wind, earthquake, or fire, but in the sound of sheer silence. As Origen noted, the Word is apprehended not in noise but in the stillness of a quiet soul. Moses’ ascent of Sinai and Elijah’s retreat into the wilderness thus establish the paradigm of solitude leading to revelation.

The Gospels present Christ himself as the model retreatant. Following his baptism, he withdraws into the desert for forty days of fasting and prayer, echoing Israel’s journey and Elijah’s sojourn. This period of retreat is both preparation and testing, and it inaugurates his public ministry. The evangelists also record Christ’s habitual withdrawal into deserted places to pray, showing that solitude and prayer were not exceptional for him but an integral rhythm of his life. The apostles continue this pattern: Paul’s retreat into Arabia after his conversion has been understood as a period of divine instruction, while the early Christian community is depicted in Acts as fasting and praying before major missionary undertakings. Retreat thus belongs to the apostolic life as a necessary interval for discernment and empowerment.

The patristic era institutionalized this biblical pattern in the lives of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Antony of Egypt became the paradigmatic figure of retreat, with his solitude understood not as escape but as radical pursuit of God. Evagrius Ponticus deepened this theology, teaching that solitude created the stillness necessary for pure prayer. In the West, the Rule of St. Benedict integrated retreat into community life, balancing silence and lectio divina with communal prayer and work. Medieval mystics such as Bernard of Clairvaux emphasized the blessedness of solitude, while scholastic theology, exemplified by Thomas Aquinas, maintained the superiority of contemplation even as it was ordered to action.

The modern Catholic retreat owes much of its form to St. Ignatius of Loyola. His Spiritual Exercises provided a structured program of meditation, prayer, and discernment, democratizing what had previously been largely monastic and making it available to clergy and laity alike. Karl Rahner would later describe the Exercises as a pedagogy of encounter with God, rooted in the biblical and patristic tradition but adapted for the modern world.

The retreat tradition continues into the present in many forms, one of which is embodied by the Sovereign Order of Malta. Though historically shaped by its chivalric identity, today the Order is best known for its religious charism of service to the sick and the poor and the spiritual growth of its members. Its Constitutional Charter and Code require members to participate each year in a spiritual retreat. This obligation is not a mere formality but reflects the conviction that service of the poor and sick must be continually rooted in prayer and discernment. For the Order’s members, charitable action flows from an interior life sustained by silence, sacramental encounter, and renewal in Christ. Many of these retreats draw on Ignatian spirituality, emphasizing discernment of God’s will in everyday life.

Taken together, the Catholic retreat integrates multiple dimensions. From the Exodus paradigm of covenantal renewal, to the prophetic model of purification, to the Christological example of preparation for mission, and the apostolic witness of communal discernment, retreats represent a recurring biblical rhythm. The Desert Fathers, Benedictine monastics, and Ignatian methodology each preserved and adapted this pattern for their contexts. The Order of Malta’s requirement of an annual silent retreat; eight days for Professed Knights, five days for those in Obedience and three days for all other Members of the Order, highlights how this practice remains vital for the Church today, ensuring that action in the world remains firmly grounded in the encounter with God. Retreats are not optional embellishments but a constitutive element of Christian discipleship, embodying the rhythm of withdrawal and return that defines the life of faith.

We are indeed blessed that the Religious Order to which we belong has a deep and long understanding of how vital attending retreats is to our progress towards sanctification. This also presents an opportunity to remind ourselves that we are indeed members of a Religious Order of the Catholic Church, a Community, and that we in the American and Federal Associations are all members of the Subpriory of Our Lady of Lourdes. It may be more easily expressed, as with many Religious Orders of the Catholic Church, we live and Pray together in the Subpriory and each day we go to serve our Lords the Sick and the Poor in the Associations.