Originally I was invited to give an eight-day preached retreat to our Sisters in Africa. However, my visit lengthened so I could also speak to different groups: our Associates, novices, and temporary professed Sisters. For the retreat I chose the theme Pillars of Religious Life. Each day I presented two talks on a topic fundamental to our life as consecrated women. Afterward the retreatants participated in an activity related to the topic.
On the evening before the retreat, I spoke about the procedure and how the Sisters could get the most out of the retreat. I explained that every day they would have questions that they might use to go deeper into the topic and personalize it.
Day 1: Intimacy with Jesus
During the day the Sisters were to ponder quotations about love for Jesus on a handout and look up Scripture verses about it. The activity was to write a letter to Jesus and sign it “Love” and their name. But this wasn’t all. They were also to write a letter from Jesus to them, just letting the words flow, not imagining what he would say to them. They would be surprised.
Day 2: Love of God for Us and Our Love for God
During the talk the Sisters received Sacred Heart badges and cards with Fr. Pedro Arrupe’s reflection “Falling in Love.” In the evening the Sisters met in small groups to share their favorite name for God or Jesus. Some of them sang hymns to express their thoughts. Following this, volunteers shared their favorite names with all 35 Sisters.
Day 3: Scripture as God’s Word
The retreatants viewed a PowerPoint presentation on Scripture. They received a small card with a Scripture verse they were to consider as God’s love note to them. On the reverse side was another verse that would be revealed after scratching off the coating. The Sisters also had a Bible IQ test to take during the day.
For the activity, each Sister received a square of aluminum foil for a prayer activity. First, she was to think of her favorite Bible story. Second, come up with an object that would represent that story. And third, somehow make that object using the foil: tearing it, folding it, or writing on it. All was to be done in silence while speaking to Jesus about why they chose that story. After a while, the Sisters shared what they had made and why. One striking symbol was flames of fire.
Day 4: Praying with Scripture
During the day I explained praying mantras as well as using all five senses to bring a Bible story to life St. Ignatius style. The story of Bartimaeus served as an example. The retreatants received cards with the Jesus prayer. Then they listened to a presentation on lectio divina, (sacred reading). The evening activity was praying lectio divina in small groups using a psalm on a prayer card.
Day 5: The Eucharist
The presentation included a PowerPoint on the Eucharist. The Sisters sang the song “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.” The activity was silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
Day 6: Creation
After a reading from Genesis, was a talk about God speaking through creation. The retreatants were to spend time outside enjoying nature and finding something that spoke to them. Or they were to dwell on an experience they had with creation that became a cherished memory.
For the activity, the Sisters brought something from creation to the whole group and explained what God said to them through it. Sisters brought soil, branches of a bush, and flowers. One Sister presented herself. Another Sister told of seeing a donkey with its child walking behind. The little donkey followed its mother closely, never looking from side to side. We concluded with a litany in which each Sister named her created thing and everyone responded, “We praise and thank you, God.”
Day 7: The Holy Spirit and Ministry
After a talk on the Holy Spirit as our invisible partner, the Sisters listened to ten tips for staying on fire for the ministry. They were to choose a motto for themselves similar to St. Francis’s “My God and my all” and St. Julie’s “How good is the good God.”
For the activity, the retreatants created a bookmark with their motto and then placed them on a table.
Day 8 Our Blessed Mother
This was the Feast of the Assumption. The talks were on Mary and how we can follow her, the first and best Christian. A PowerPoint presentation on the Blessed Virgin was included and a review of the Rosary. The retreatants received prayer cards with a Marian prayer and my tatted flowers:
The reverse side read:
The activity was a celebration of the end of retreat. It included a ritual: I, with my three “guardian angels” to help, sliced heart-shaped cakes, lifting the knife three times as Sisters repeated “Happy New Life.” The cakes were cut into cubes and toothpicks inserted. These were set on the dining room tables for supper dessert.
I was impressed by the Sisters’ spirituality and their joyful simplicity. Meeting them made getting the nine shots and Visas and flying over the ocean twice worthwhile.
What was the most memorable retreat you ever made? Why?
