Silent Retreat at Maranatha House

"When we pray, we have a tendency to ask for this thing, ask for that thing ..it's one request after another. But do we ever listen to what God has to say to us? Do we put ourselves in a proper environment that would enable us to discern what he wants us to do instead of what we want to do?"

Fr Colin Tan, SJ, Country Director

JRS Singapore

The words of Fr Colin Tan above kicked off the start of JRS Singapore's first Silent Retreat from 10 – 12 Feb 2006, at the Jesuit's Maranatha Retreat House, located in the foothills of Genting Highlands in West Malaysia.

The Retreat House is on a hillside, right in the midst of lush greenery: tall pine trees, cool breeze, monkeys swinging in the trees nearby, the sound birds chirping – an idyllic setting reminding us of the beauty of God's creation. It was indeed the perfect environment to pray and listen to His words.

Guided by Fr Colin Tan and St Ignatius' "Spiritual Exercises", the group of 18 JRS S'pore volunteers and their family members spend most of their time alone in different areas of the Retreat House, reading selected passages from the Bible, reflecting on the readings and praying. Mass was celebrated daily and it was the only time when the participants were allowed to speak.

Participants found the retreat to be a truly enriching experience and one that helped them to develop a deeper relationship with God.

Despite initial misgivings of having to spend 2 days together without being allowed to talk to one another and torture of the four-hour bus rides between the Retreat House and Singapore, at the end of the retreat everyone supported the proposal to make the Silent Retreat an annual event on the JRS Singapore calendar.

Click here to read a personal sharing by Sarah Gardner on the Silent Retreat.