We are bombarded in the electronic and print advertising mediums with ways to improve one’s physical body: how to lose weight, how to lessen facial wrinkles, how to whiten teeth, how to hide age spots, how to color hair, how to lengthen eyelashes. The list goes on and on.

But God created us as human beings with not only a body, but also a spirit. When was the last time you saw an advertisement promoting the formation of the spirit? “You are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:9)

One of the main goals of the mission of the Spiritual Life Center is to offer a place for a pilgrim people to gather, to rest, to renew their heart, to restore their hope, to respond to the Word of God. To nourish and form the spiritual life of the human person is essential for every disciple of Jesus.

How does such spiritual formation occur? The primary answer to this question is prayer, both individually and communally. St. Therese of Lisieux once wrote, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and love, embracing both trial and joy.” Retreats and spiritual direction have long histories in the Catholic Church, as means of nurturing the prayer life of the human person.