Retreat/Vacation

In summers past, this column has invited parishioners to consider using their summertime as something between a vacation and a retreat. Each time the invitation appeared in the bulletin many conversations followed with tales of noble attempts at renewed prayer and meditation. Parishioners shared their excitement and their successes as they revisited their summertime spirituality.

Here we are at the beginning of another summer and it might be a good time to utilize the season for spiritual renewal. My suggestion is once again to retreat a bit from life during this vacation time. Retreats are part of our Catholic prayer tradition, where we slow down, sit still, take a look over our shoulders, and cast an eye to the future. We give God a chance to act in our lives and we attempt to fashion a renewed response to the action of God in our lives.

Summertime, at least in our perception, is a slower and more relaxed time of year. The sun and the warmth invite us to slow down and move just a bit slower. The image of summer is the possibility to sit out on a deck, or under a tree, or by the sea, or on a quiet mountain top.

Summertime Normal
Summer is an invitation to a new normal. We slow down our work clocks and our fast moving pace of life. Many of us gather a few books with the hope of reading a few of them. To accompany the reading, there is the hope of getting a few minutes alone with a cup of coffee on the deck in the morning. The other possibility is a chilled drink as the evening gives us some refreshment and a break from the heat. Many parishioners report the urge to have some quiet time alone with oneself.

Such are the images of a summer to be well spent. The other side of this summer revelry is the hope of increased quality time with others. It’s vacation time with family and friends, a time to notice and listen more carefully to others. In that listening we become the better. From our quieted lives we move to invite friends and family over for an evening, maybe some shared food and drink.

We are more likely to accept more social invitations to join others at their home or in recreation. The longing is to be re-created, made new within ourselves and with our friends.

Summertime normal is our usual time renewed and transformed, even if just a bit. We are the same people, we chat and mix with the same people, but we are renewed and we see things in a new way. We come away with a bit more hope for our world. We see others a little more lovingly. Who knows? we might even feel the presence of God in the whole experience.

Beginnings
Where do we start this summer retreat/vacation? Step one is to move from our fast pace, from our on-edge impatience with people, with traffic, and with tasks. It’s about knowing how frenetic we have become. We begin, as on all good retreats, by “retreating” which is to say, by looking inward, taking stock of where we are in our lives. Where am I in my hopes and dreams? Where am I with God? When was the last time I stoppped to listen and talk with God? Where are other people in this endeavor of searching for God and being sought by him?

Set aside some time, even if just briefly, on a summer morning or in the cool of the evening. Is ten or fifteen minutes possible to set aside for prayer and thought? After finding the time, then the task is the place: the back deck, the front porch (for those lucky enough to have one), my desk at work before others arrive?

Remember the Catholic custom of visiting Churches? How about a stop on the way to work or on the return trip? The Church is a perfect fit (not surprisingly). There we find the Eucharist reserved, the candle reminding us of the Presence of Christ, a quiet place alone. Along with yourself, bring a bible, a rosary, a spiritual reading book. What wonderful surprises wait in the back seats as we sit alone with the Lord?

Summertime prayer and reflection are good thoughts. They are better experiences in the trying. We can wait for God to happen.

CDH