Retreat Week

Dear Friends in Christ -

Ever been on a retreat? Ever been on a retreat longer than a couple of days?

For most people, the answer is no - to one or both of those questions. And you might wonder: why would Christians who are supposed to be praying all the time go away to pray? Doesn't that just increase our carbon footprint?

Even before I wore the white collar, I went away on retreat pretty much every year, beginning in college. The first time, I went on a whim at the invitation of a girl in my dorm. Mary, a Catholic girl who lived down the hall, introduced me to a monastery in the rolling hills of Oregon's Willamette Valley with breathtaking views, wonderful walking trails, gentle monks, delicious food and services of chanted prayers. I was hooked.

There really isn't any substitute for leaving "it" all behind and going away to a place you know for sure is going to be quiet. The "it" I leave behind me varies from year to year; basically it's whatever is weighing me down at the time. Depending on the needs of my body, mind and spirit, sometimes I take my computer, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I allow myself to read the newspaper; sometimes I go news-free. Sometimes I make it a point to sleep in every morning; other times I rise early and exercise before the first bell calls us to morning prayer.

In place of the things I leave behind, there are long, slow (this week, sweaty! - there's no AC here) periods of quiet in which I can think a whole thought in a row. Space in which God and I can get to the bottom of things. By the end of the week, it's like my soul has had a chiropractic adjustment and massage.

Since I've lived in Connecticut, I go on retreat every year to the same place: Adelynrood in Byfield, Massachusetts. It's the "mother house" of the "Companions" (Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross), a group of vowed prayer warriors with a rule of life that includes prayer, simplicity, justice and mission.

So here I am on my retreat week. I'm praying for you. One of my prayers is that, when the time is right, you'll know the quiet joys of being on retreat.

Please pray for me, too.

Blessings,
Janet+