Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1912-10-11


" VERY Friday afternoon there
are some twoscore men aboard
the five o'clock boat for Staten
island, bound on an unusual un-
dertaking. They are men of many
different stations and walks Of life.
All are strangers to each other, and
they do not meet until the end OF
their journey. They are going away
for sixty-two hours of spiritual stock
taking. Each Is DESTROYS of learning
just what he is making and what he
opportunities he is neglecting entire
ly or developing too little. To do
this they are going to a place Of
peace and quiet, the House of Re-
treats at Mount Marensa, Fort Wads-
worth, which was dedicated last June,
and is the only retreat for laymen in
America. The house is on the crest
of the hill at the gate of New York
and commands q wide view of sea
and city.
Each weekend sees a different
company. Except under unusual cir
cumstances no man is permitted to
enter the retreat more than once a
year. Yet so deep is the impression
that is made on the individual con-
science that 1t Is rare for a man to
feel the need of more frequent look
ing over spiritually. Except for fif-
teen minutes after the evening meal,
when the ban is lifted, these men
spend the time between six O'Clock
Friday afternoon and eight o'clock
Monday morning without exchanging
word with each other. The rest Of
the time they battle silently with
their difficulties, under the general
ship of one skillful in such work
though obedient to the tactics of one
greater than he, a famous fighter and
q memorable commander, Ignatius
Loyola.
Men of Varied Occupation.
Here are some of the occupations of
the twoscore men who gathered at
Mount Marensa last week to mediate
upon the condition of their souls: An
ex-clergyman. metal polisher, fire
chief, plumber a We'll street mag
nate, postman, three newspaper
men, driver for grocer's wagon, a
book publisher, department store
clerk, a doctor, several merchants and
several lawyers. All these men re-
tired voluntarily from the world for
brief space in order to find out, dur
ing a weekend of prayer, Of medita-
ton and silence, how to confront it
more manfully. 1t was no ordinary
sermon that they heard now ard
again from the spiritual director,
There are no heads nodding sleepily
while he talks. Every one listens
with strained attention. AS one man
said: You seem to feel the thumbs
of God at work on the clay of your
soul"
Although retreats have been part of
the churchs work for centuries, it
was only in 1882 that definite plan
was adopted so their benefits could
be made available for laymen. In
that year Father Henry of the Jesuit
order established in Belgium the first
House of Retreats for laymer The
movement spread to Spain, France,
Portugal and South America The
second House of Retreats in England
was opened last April, about eight
miles from the center of London. The
first retreat for laymen was estab-
lished in America about three years
ago at Fordham. Later, during the
summer, 1t was at Kaysers island on
the sound. The latter part of last
year the Mount Marensa property on
Staten island was secured, and was
opened September s, 1911. 1t was ded-
icated as a permanent House of Re
treats June 16, of this year.
No Doctrinai Instruction.
A retreat is not made up of preach
ing or doctrinal instruction. At
Mount Marensa Father Terence :.
Shealy, who is in charge of the move
ment, gives frequent talks upon the
various phases of the spiritual life.
They are not doctrinal expositions,
for any one who believes In the fun
damentals of Christianity is well
coined. They apply largely to bust
ness ethics, the standard of honesty
and justice being applied to every
phase of daily work. They are earn