BACK TO LIST

A Desert Day is typically a one-day retreat taken at regular intervals. It is a time set aside for prayer, renewal, and rest, an opportunity to unplug from technology and remain connected to God, a time to enter into the contemplative experience of “being” more than “doing.”

Activity must always be preceded by intense prayer, adoration, and contemplation. Without prayer, action is completely useless, and it is even harmful, because it makes us rely on ourselves instead of on God.

For those who are able, Desert Days can be spent at retreat centers or places set apart for silence and prayer—such as Our Lady of Solitude Monastery (learn more on our Desert Day page). While it is ideal to find such a contemplative place of prayer, Desert Days may be spent at home as well.

For Catholics, Holy Mass and Eucharistic Adoration are pivotal parts of a fruitful Desert Day. Taking time for Lectio Divina, spiritual reading, journaling, and private prayer — in silence and solitude—helps the soul to spiritually recharge. A Desert Day is also a wonderful opportunity to experience authentic leisure, like taking a long walk, spending time in nature, or simply relaxing with the Lord.

Setting aside time for regular Desert Days is a great way to grow in our spiritual health, much in the same way that regular exercise and healthy eating buoy our physical health.

If you are wise, you will show yourself rather as a reservoir than as a canal. For a canal pours out as fast as it receives; but a reservoir waits until it is full before it overflows, and so communicates its surplus without loss to itself.

BACK TO LIST