Turn off or silence your phone and all electronics. Use these only during times of playlists/prayers/songs. Most of your day will be spent in silence. Acknowledge that there will be inconveniences in this day’s journey with Jesus Christ. Recognize that there will also be times of closeness to Christ. Do not anticipate what the day will bring, but set aside preconceived ideas about what the inconveniences will look like or how/when the consolations will occur. You have planned the day, but Jesus is the Master Planner of this day.
Journeying
With Jesus
Create a schedule that works for you. The following retreat schedule is a suggested schedule only. We have chosen 33 moments, one for every year Jesus walked this earth. Feel free to add any devotions that are important to your walk with Christ. The retreat should reflect the length of your Day of CHNRetreat and a schedule like the following:
1
2
Light your candle and Recite
“I said to my soul be still.”
T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets
3
Ask yourself why you want to make a retreat. Spend some time contemplating this question as it applies to this moment in your life. Let the Holy Spirit help you to pose and answer the question. Narrow it down to one sentence or one phrase. Keep this in your mind throughout the day, but be ready to hear Christ’s reason for calling you to make a retreat. Be ready to take His reason and make it your own.
4
Pray the Morning Offering
5
Pray Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, adding your intentions/petitions to the Intercessions.
7
Retreat Prayer #1
(Extinguish your candle after praying)
A Surrender Prayer from St. John Henry Newman
I sacrifice to Thee, O Lord, this cherished wish, this lust, this weakness, this scheme, this opinion: make me what Thou wouldest have me; I bargain for nothing; I make no terms; I seek for no previous information whither Thou art taking me; I will be what Thou wilt make me, and all that Thou wilt make me. Amen
8
Eat: break your fast (breakfast)
9
Read from a spiritual book, encyclical, or watch a video.
10
Walk through nature and play your music playlist or spend your nature walk in silence.
11
Make time for Mass & Confession and/or Spiritual Direction. If you are not Catholic, seek Christ in a way that is familiar to you.
12
Sit with your powerpoint of beauty, setting it to play the presentation as you meditate on the creativity of the Holy Spirit.
13
Spend an hour creating something with your hands. Play instrumental music. Let your mind wander with Christ as your companion. Invite Christ to enter into this time of play and creativity.
14
Eat Lunch
15
Adoration & Rosary
16
Read for one hour—Bible, Catechism of the Catholic Church, spiritual reading, etc.
17
Light your candle. Create a written prayer request list: What are your anxieties, what discourages you? What angers you? Who do you need to forgive? Do you suffer from health issues, financial difficulties, or spiritual crises? Name each one and lay each of these like wrapped gifts at the foot of the Cross. Do you have a decision to make? Something you need to discern? Ask for wisdom from the Holy Spirit so that you can make a prudent decision. Do not try to make these decisions on your own. Let Christ lead. Now, look over your written prayer request list and quiet your heart. It is time for extemporaneous prayer. Talk to Jesus about each thing on your list. Punctuate your time in prayer with silence, listening carefully as Christ speaks to you. Highlight or underline those things that rose to the surface during prayer and jot down anything Jesus had to say while you talked together. Extinguish your candle.
18
If there is time, return to your creative project and listen to instrumental music or work in silence.
19
Do at least 10 minutes of manual labor—not because it is needling you. The goal here is just to do something humbling, something that requires you to set aside your titles, goals, thoughts, self-indulgent behaviors. Mop a floor. Clean a toilet. While you work, talk to Christ. Ask Him to teach you something about offering up the work of your hands and how that simple act of love can be an efficacious prayer. Remember Mother Teresa would retreat to bathrooms to clean toilets just to be with Jesus in an act of humility.
21
Rest until 3:00pm
22
Pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at 3:00pm
23
Retreat Prayer #2
(Extinguish your candle after praying)
Prayer of St. Claude de la Colombiere
Lord, I am in this world to show Your mercy to others. Other people will glorify You by making visible the power of Your grace by their fidelity and constancy to You. For my part I will glorify You by making known how good You are to sinners, that Your mercy is boundless and that no sinner no matter how great his offenses should have reason to despair of pardon. If I have grievously offended You, My Redeemer, let me not offend You even more by thinking that You are not kind enough to pardon Me. Amen.
24
It is time to acknowledge your sins before Christ. If your sins are minor/venial in nature, ask for Christ to forgive, grant mercy, and offer grace. Be sure to offer these things at your next Mass or consider doing an act of charity as you offer up this sin to the Cross of Christ. If your sins are serious in nature, determine to go to Confession the first time it is available if you were unable to schedule Confession for the Day of the CHNRetreat. If you are not yet Catholic, lay your sins down in private prayer between you and Jesus, asking for forgiveness, mercy, and grace, and promise to name these sins in your first Confession, or lay them down when you are baptized. Commit to leaving these sins in your past and begin relying on grace to help you avoid sin and the near-occasion of sin.
25
Do 10 minutes of manual labor — See #19
26
Read Sacred Scripture, perhaps seeking out a Psalm that speaks to you today. Reread the passage again, practicing inner listening. If you are familiar with Lectio Divina, utilize this method as you meditate on the passage you have chosen. Be present with the Holy Spirit and the passage. Choose a line or a phrase that would be edifying if committed to memory. Then memorize that part of the passage.
27
Take a 15-minute walk (this is a good time to pray the Rosary or continue your extemporaneous conversation with God. Let the conversation flow easily. Don’t overthink what you say to Christ.)
29
Sit with a blank piece of paper. At the top, write JMJ—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—the Holy Family. Then write down the theme of your retreat as it unfolded today, capturing what you have heard Jesus saying. Are there any action-items that you need to complete after the retreat in order to fulfill something Jesus has said today. Is there an element of this day that you would like to continue practicing after the retreat. Include the piece of Scripture that seemed to captivate your heart/mind today. Give Jesus a few more minutes without talking to see if there is anything more He would like to say before your day of intimacy with Christ concludes.
30
Tell Jesus that you love Him and thank Him for this day of retreat. Let Him tell you how much He loves you. Sit with these thoughts for as long as you feel led. If you are not used to experiencing love from others, you may feel the need to hurry this moment along. Resist that impulse. Thank Jesus Christ for the work of this day and the moments that He ordered well.
31
Examination of Conscience. Conclude your day with Jesus by offering an evening prayer.
33
Conclude your retreat. Go in peace with Christ.
