ONTARIO: SILENCE IS GOLDEN AT LOYOLA HOUSE
One space is left and I sit down with five other people at the table. It's during mealtime that the silence is most noticeable, 30 people in this large dining hall and not a word is spoken. You can always find quiet isolation in a crowded room at Loyola House.
Located north of Guelph, they’ve offered silent retreats since 1964, based on the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, who lived for 10 full months in a cave in Manresa, Spain. St. Ignatius created a program of spiritual exercises to withdraw from the world for 30 days. Loyola House is one of the few Jesuit retreat houses in North America that offers the "40 day Spiritual Exercises Institute," a 30 day retreat with a few days at either end to prepare people upon entering and leaving the program. They also offer Scheduled and Individual Directed Retreats, as well as Weekend Retreats and a Day of Quiet.
The stillness is enhanced by an austere bareness inside Loyola House. The dormitory wing is filled with a sacrosanct hush and my room is sparse with a single bed, sink, small writing table and sitting chair. A row of toilets is located in one room and three stall showers in another. I put the sheets on my bed, set the temperature for my room and unpack my own amenities. That's all. The external surroundings are kept to a minimum, so participants can focus internally.
At Loyola, silence is met at every turn. I don't say hello when I see a person, nor do I greet someone when walking the grounds.
This isn't a retreat where you come to meet people, exchange addresses and promise to stay in touch. No small talk is exchanged or "getting-to-know-you" ice breakers. This is a weekend for thought and contemplations and the only conversation you can have is with a spiritual director. Other than these brief moments of interaction with a spiritual director, the rest of the day at Loyola is spent in silence. There are no radios or TVs and the only telephone is in the cloakroom off the main entrance. The closest you'll get to sound are relaxation tapes in the yoga room.
It’s amusing to see how fellow retreatants react to this code of silence. As time wears on, gestures assume the place of words and they become accustomed to the notion - a slight tap on the shoulder becomes a suitable replacement for "excuse me', a nod of the head means "Thank you." Toward the end of the weekend retreat, doors close slowly and people walk quietly through the dormitory wing.
For those who are still uncomfortable with silence, Loyola offers ways to enter such an atmosphere. They have a craft room and music tapes as alternative methods to help a person reach further within. A guitar awaits strumming in the yoga room.
when I see a person, nor do I greet someone when walking the grounds.
This isn't a retreat where you come to meet people, exchange addresses and promise to stay in touch. No small talk is exchanged or "getting-to-know-you" ice breakers. This is a weekend for thought and contemplations and the only conversation you can have is with a spiritual director. Other than these brief moments of interaction with a spiritual director, the rest of the day at Loyola is spent in silence. There are no radios or TVs and the only telephone is in the cloakroom off the main entrance. The closest you'll get to sound are relaxation tapes in the yoga room.
It’s amusing to see how fellow retreatants react to this code of silence. As time wears on, gestures assume the place of words and they become accustomed to the notion - a slight tap on the shoulder becomes a suitable replacement for "excuse me', a nod of the head means "Thank you." Toward the end of the weekend retreat, doors close slowly and people walk quietly through the dormitory wing.
For those who are still uncomfortable with silence, Loyola offers ways to enter such an atmosphere. They have a craft room and music tapes as alternative methods to help a person reach further within. A guitar awaits strumming in the yoga room.
On my weekend retreat, I wander through the rolling hills, wetland and forests that sorround Loyola House and find the voices of nature a soothing complement for the silence. The wind blows through trees, water gurgles in the creek and songbirds chirp from their treetop lookouts. I stand on the bridge and watch Marden Creek wind through an open field and flow onto the Speed river, then follow the walking path as it crosses the creek and winds into a cedar forest. The bench is my stopping point, where I reflect on the weekend, enough to set a stage for inner solitude. Once you’ve experienced silence, the sound stays with you and it’s easier to tap into.
Although founded on Jesuit beliefs, Loyola is open to people of all faiths. While many of the retreatants are bishops, priests and sisters from religious communities, others come from diverse backgrounds -- from Judaic to Hindu faith, from young to old, from students to business people. On this weekend, licence plates in the parking lot are from Alberta to Indiana. They all have traveled to this little-known Ontario retreat, where silence is not only golden, it's paid for.
For more information on Loyola House: www.loyolahouse.ca
Katherine Jacobs is an Ontario-based freelance writer.