Last week, I had the chance to attend a gathering of people who lead retreats at Bon Secours Retreat and Conference Center in Marriottsville. This is the first time the center has gathered us together, and I was so grateful for the chance to meet other directors and hear about the work they are doing, which include retreats on all manner of topics.
As it happens, I also had the chance last week to engage in an email conversation with the person who led me through ten annual Ignatian Retreats, all taking place at Bon Secours. A decade of annual eight day retreats with the same person guiding you can be life-changing if you let it, and I can truly say that they were for me. At one point in the pandemic lockdown, when I was so worried about my own health, family and friends, my job, etc., a thought came to me, “Read your retreat journals.”
I went to my bookself and pulled out more than two feet of journals and brought them downstairs and put them on my coffee table. Then I went to make a pot of coffee. With a nice cup of joe in my hand, I sat down on the sofa and picked up the journal (an old spiral bound college notebook from Walmart) from my 2008 retreat and began to read. Although that first retreat over fifteen years ago was a spiritual game-changer for me, I quickly realized how much I had forgotten about that initial experience of an eight day retreat, done in silence.
As I began looking through the journal, I was happy to see that the first page was filled with prayer intentions. I wrote those down before I left for the retreat and prayed each day with them. I still pray for some of those people today!
At my first session with Stephen, he asked me the following two questions: “Who is God for you right now?” and “Who is the God you’ve come to be with?” Then he gave me Psalm 139 to pray with, and asked me to write down my thoughts in my journal after my prayer. That reflection, filling three pages, included where I did the reflection, how was I feeling, what I was seeing around me (the rising sun, the pond, etc.) and what I was sensing.
I think I’ll do another post (or maybe several) about all that I wrote down about my retreat experiences, which were rich, rich, rich and God was so present to me, just as He is today.
Speaking of today, I’ve begun getting my handouts together for the eight day retreat I’m leading at the end of July. It takes me a lot of time to discern what God might want me to offer this year’s group of retreatants. Some will be coming back to join me, just as I did with Stephen, and others will be meeting with me for the first time. I pray about all of them as I choose the Scripture passages, Ignatian quotes, and images which might be helpful for their daily reflection and discernment.
Our Annual Eight Day retreat this year will take place from July 27 through August 3rd, and we still have a few openings. If you are interested, you can learn more here. In addition to me, there are three other directors, all well versed in Ignatian Spirituality and wonderful, faith-filled people. Please consider joining us!