I would add to Vincent's invitation to come. Cost for national communities are less than for the standard retreat. Visitors are entranced by the beauty of the natural surroundings and the buildings. The place itself has a restorative value as well as the prayer life into which visitors are immersed.

We say that meditation comes before action. Meditation has made me aware of gifts I didn’t know I had, and how to use those gifts for the benefit of others rather than for my own needs. The insight that “meditation shrinks the ego and allows the soul to grow into the space that’s left behind” is both true and liberating.