I drive six miles south into Los Altos from Palo Alto, past the Shoup Park entrance to the Redwood Grove, seeking the landmark for my turn on to Manresa Way: the gray stone pillars and the simple sign – “Jesuit Retreat Center.” And there it is, the massive windows of the Gellert Rotunda blinking in the sun with a wink to Mt. Hamilton across the bay. It always catches my breath, these gray stone light-filled buildings, as if they were appointed guardians of the bay and its densely populated cities. It belongs there, as though it rose from the land and beckons all who drive up the steep hill to a place of rest and renewal.
It's a spiritual home for many. It is for me. The word silence usually means sound-less. And sometimes when I’m there for a retreat, there are moments of such stillness but I’m thinking about a different kind of silence, a living silence with sounds that belong to the holiness of the place: the peace of the wind lifting the limbs of redwoods and oaks, the buzz of insects, the screech of redtail hawks. I’m reading Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. She writes: “prayer ‘ones’ the soul to God.” That’s it. The Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos is a prayer that “ones” the soul to God. People come from all over for that. I know I do.
Preparations are afoot for the centennial celebration in spring 2025. Histories have been researched, photo albums of the first retreats in the early 1920’s fill shelves in Loyola Hall, tours are being planned, docents trained. And the year-round retreat calendar of opportunities for rest, silence, and conversation abounds. Honoring the great teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola, most retreats are grounded in love and service to the Spiritual Exercises. I am coming to know St. Ignatius in the Pierre Favre program like many before me in this comprehensive three-year study. I am drawn to Ignatian devotion to Jesus in the gospels, to learning methods of practice and service in my daily life, to following in his footsteps as a spiritual guide. Our instructors are Jesuit scholars and teachers - both men and women, steeped in Ignatian practice and spiritual directorship. Recently Dominican Sister Ingrid joined the faculty – a singing nun!
About the retreat calendar: there’s something for everyone every weekend, every month and every occasion of the liturgical calendar. Silent retreats offer experiences in guided contemplative practice and spiritual direction. I’ve attended retreats for women, for married couples, with Father Greg Boyle and his hommies, and silent retreats for days at a time. I’ve been inspired and brought to tears and returned again and again to walk the Rosary Path, the Stations of the Cross, the labyrinth, and Jesus kneeling in prayer in the Garden of Olives. The sunrise from the Rotunda (or at the very top of the property with a cup of coffee) are a religious experience when the escape from our daily lives seems most necessary. It’s spacious at the retreat center, no matter where you are; spacious in the sense of being present to the stillness, to listening from the heart, expectant - and met.
I’ve fallen in love with the Anima Christi – prayer of St. Ignatius. It is complete unto itself, a prayer that “ones” the soul to God.
Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
Oh, good Jesus, hear me
In your wounds, hide me
Never let me be separated from you
From my malignant enemies, protect me
At the hour of my death, call me
And bid me come to you
That with your angels and your saints
I may sing your praises forever and ever
Amen
Pat Clough is a writer living in Palo Alto, CA. She is a second year student in the Pierre Favre program and a frequent retreatant at El Retiro.
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