Retreat: A Vacation with the Lord
We recharge our laptops and our cell phones. Sometimes our spiritual lives need recharging too. We religious have the luxury of making a week-long retreat every year. This is a time to withdraw from the busyness of ministry and world events and concentrate on deepening our relationship with God. Its a time to ask big questions, such as What am I doing with my life? What needs to change? Who is God for me? Anyone can make a retreat.
Retreat houses as well as parishes offer opportunities for solitude, silence, prayer, and reflection. These range from thirty-day retreats to half-days of recollection. Usually they are conducted by a retreat director. But private retreats are also an option. My community has the practice of making a morning retreat on one Sunday each month. Family and work commitments can make it difficult to get away for a formal retreat. But those who take their spiritual life seriously can carve out a few hours now and then to spend time with the Lord. I heard of one woman who drives to a quiet street, parks her car, and enjoys free time there praying.
A retreat may lead us to God through the wonders of creation. This past week God touched me through a running stream with thousands of darting tadpoles, thirteen soaring chicken hawks, and a fiery red sunset. God spoke through the Bible I read in my room and the readings at Mass. He spoke through the director, who presented Jesus as a rule-breaker who followed his heart. And God showed me a new way to pray.
God tells us in a psalm, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). In the gospel Jesus invites, “Come apart and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). A wit pointed out that if we don’t come apart and rest awhile, we may just come apart!
Has a retreat ever made a difference in your life? How?
Why the Sacred Heart?
The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Not so long ago I was in line in the library. When the man in front of me opened his wallet, I glimpsed a Sacred Heart badge. Today some people consider this devotion passé or sentimental, and children may think the art is morbid. Still, the heart of Jesus is a powerful symbol. What does the heart mean in our culture? Life, love, our whole being. (Hebrews thought kidneys had this role!) The heart of Jesus stands for his total, tremendous love for us. And that is the heart of the matter!
Mantras like the Jesus Prayer: Default Prayers
In an operating room awaiting surgery, I found myself praying, “Even though I walk through the valley of death, you are with me!” After I came to I kept repeating, “The Lord is my shepherd” all night. In the morning I remarked to a nurse that the machine next to my bed that sounded like a stream flowing over rocks had been very soothing. She said, “There’s no machine next to you.” When we are sick, tired, plagued with a problem, or stressed out, we may not be able to muster enough energy to pray a Hail Mary or pick up our Bible. At such times we can fall back on the simplest prayer: a mantra. This is a word or phrase that is repeated. It is a restful and comforting form of prayer. Praying a mantra makes us God-conscious. Of course, God is always present. A mantra gently leads us to become aware of him and his love for us. Mantras are also known as prayer of the heart.
Act As If for Spiritual Growth
As a young sister I was taught that “act as if” is a spiritual principle for growing in virtue. This strategy works on the natural level. For example, if you dread speaking to a group, imagine that you are an accomplished speaker full of confidence. Ask yourself what the signs of a good speakers are. Picture yourself demonstrating them: speaking without your voice or knees shaking, smiling, using pauses and gestures. Then go out and act as if you are a great speaker. The mind is a powerful tool. It can shape our actions. Before you know it, what you imagined will become reality. (It works the opposite way too. If you picture yourself failing, chances are you will.) So how can we use this strategy to bolster our spiritual life? (more…)
Holy Boldness in the Face of Crosses
In my backyard there is a sapling that was planted directly under a chain-link fence probably by a squirrel. As it grew, the tree not only wove itself around the bars but swallowed them into itself. Nothing could inhibit the life force that impelled the tree upwards. You can see it in the photo. This tree right now is a symbol for me of the Christian life. As we follow Jesus, we encounter all kinds of obstacles. 
We can either succumb to them and let our faith wither and die, or we can plough our way through them. (more…)
