Silent Prayer Retreat: Dipping the Toes into the Ocean of Silence

I had a good retreat at St. Vincent Archabbey. The Mass and Divine Office were beautifully done. The talks were informative. The schedule struck a good balance between structured and unstructured time. The room and bed were comfortable, and the food was good. The grounds and church are very attractive.

This is my second retreat at St. Vincent’s Archabbey, where the first one was also four-day private retreat in September 2024. This recent four-day retreat was a hybrid as a private two-day retreat which preceded the scheduled Merton two-day retreat. This private retreat under Fr. Joe, also provided the opportunity to volunteer for Fr. Fred to help him with garden projects and the cleaning of the greenhouse. This was “Ora et Labora” in action which may also be a worthy emulation of Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si” where potential future St. Vincent’s scheduled retreats may be an attractive theme for work and prayer combination for retreatant gardeners!

Fr. Shawn’s Merton retreat schedule maintained an intricate balance for the retreatants between the five 90-minute insightful Merton lectures by Dr. Patricia Sharbaugh, Divine Liturgy (which provided the spiritual renewal and the opportunity to attend the rarely performed compline!), several scheduled Adorations, and nourishment through the delicious communal meals which allowed the retreatants to reinforce the lectures through meaningful discourse and respectful dialogue.

Dr. Sharbaugh’s lectures and handouts epitomized the complex nature of Merton and his writing, which also included his life’s chronology. Each of her bespoke handouts began with a Merton opening prayer poem, Merton’s quotations including passages from his writings, and ended with a Merton closing prayer. One also included a recommended bibliography of several of Merton’s books as well as excerpt readings as after-class assignments! The final lecture contained a full Question & Answer via note cards by the retreatants the night before which reflected the depth and understanding for Merton and his works.

The Merton Retreat met and exceeded all expectations! Congratulations on this successful retreat program.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Thomas Merton themed retreat I attended.. There was a wonderful blend of worship tome and lecture. Saint Vincent Archabbey is a great place to retreat as always. Father Shawn and the brothers were great hosts. Dennis G

The Thomas Merton retreat was very well run and by Fr. Shawn and the other monks. Patty Sharbaugh did an excellent job presenting the history and background/context for Merton's immense body of work. The examples she gave covered many points in his short life and let us see the many thoughts and ideas that he grappled with.
Logistically, there were signs everywhere to show us the way. My one suggestion would be for a map of the labyrinth that we negotiated to get from one site to another. Maps of the campus were provided, which is nice for folks who want to walk around and visit other buildings. But a more detailed map of the hallways connected the Basilica, Dipadova, Brownfield and Leander would be helpful.
Thanks for a great time!

I knew I wanted the time and space to listen better, and listen to, The Lord; though what that entailed and how were left to Providence. And truly through both my guide and various circumstances and people throughout the retreat, God indeed did speak to my heart on a few occasions -- revealing something of Himself and perhaps more impooertantly, where i needed to focus on myself, my spiritual blindspots as it were came to the fore. Another element perhaps not so obvious -- though taking our meals and greeting one another in silenve, nevertheless, the power in being surrounded by others of deep faith was such a wellspring to draw from. Lastly, for me personally, my guide helped me to re-engage with Scripture through lexio divina -- not a mere devotion or practice, but an encounter with the living Word! Amen!