3 Lenten retreats that you can do at home

During the season of Lent, many Christians go on spiritual retreats, imitating how Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. But what if you can’t take a weekend away because of professional, familial, or personal obligations? Here are some ways that you can create a retreat within your own home. 

1. Online, self-paced retreat

The Pray More Retreat is a self-paced, online retreat that lasts for all of Lent, starting on Feb. 18 The retreat has 16 talks on different topics related to Lent, designed to help you slow down and grow closer to Jesus.

Since it’s self-paced, you can listen to, watch, or read the talks whenever it’s most convenient. You can schedule out a few times each week to spend in quiet prayer and contemplation.

2. Day of recollection

Opus Dei, an apostolate designed to help lay Catholics live out their faith in their day-to-day lives, hosts monthly Days of Recollection, which are like mini-retreats. The St. Josemaria Institute explains, “Although we spend time in prayer each day, a Day of Recollection is a time to withdraw a couple of hours from the noise and cares of this earthly life in order to spend some quality time in conversation with God guided by a meditation, spiritual reading, and an examination of conscience.”

Since not everybody lives near Opus Dei centers, the St. Josemaria Institute published a guide on making recollection days at home, and are publishing monthly articles to guide the faithful through these recollections.

The recollection consists of 30 minutes of meditation, 10–15 minutes of silent prayer, 10–15 minutes of spiritual reading, praying the Rosary, and making an examination of conscience. Since the whole recollection only takes two hours, you can fit it in on a Saturday morning, a Sunday afternoon, or an evening when your babysitter takes the kids!

3. DIY retreat day

Another option is to design your own retreat day. This will take a little more creativity and planning, and if you have children, you’ll need to find somebody to get them off your hands for a few hours.

Make yourself a schedule for the day — maybe it includes daily Mass, confession, and adoration. Plan out some spiritual reading or journaling, or take a quiet walk while asking God to help you be open to what He is trying to tell you. You can also put your phone and other screens away for a few hours so that you can enter into God’s presence without distraction.

If you want to take your personal retreat day up a notch with a change of venue, check out Refine’s DIY retreat tips here.

No matter how busy this season may be, Lent still offers an invitation to step back, grow in silence, and draw closer to Christ. Even within the ordinary rhythm of home and family life, a simple, well-planned pause can become the quiet desert where God speaks most clearly this Lent.