How long can you go without talking?  A few hours? A day? A week? We Sisters are blessed with a week of silence except for conversations with a spiritual director or necessary communication. (“Get up! The tornado alarm is going off!”) Not speaking aloud, turning off social media, avoiding TV gives the mind the rest to penetrate deeply into one’s soul. “But isn’t that boring?” you may ask. No, our God is full of surprises. We listen to God’s words in our hearts, and sometimes those words leave us speechless (which really is the point of a week without talking). Have you ever had a heart-to-heart conversation with God? A silent retreat provides lots of quiet hours to lay our heads on Jesus’ lap. Retreats are a time when God’s message may come in dreams—those of day or night. Many sisters choose to make their annual retreat in summer when the breeze blows blessings, when the water catches waves of a new baptism, when the trails of a park cut new paths in our lives. Sisters look forward to this week of retreat with anticipation. Who wouldn’t get excited about a vacation with God?