bryan sherwood

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:: Tuesday, December 20, 2005 ::
Reflections From My Retreat

A few random thoughts about my retreat time . . .

I'm glad I didn't go to Gethsemani with expectations of receiving some huge revelation from God. If I had have, I would have spent my time there in frustration because no huge revelations came!

I was reminded of some basic things that weren't necessarily "new" for me but things I needed to hear again. One of the most obvious things I was reminded of is the continued need for times of solitude and silence in my life. Fr. Anton said during our orientation meeting something to the effect of "if you'll practice silence, you will profit from it." I think he's right. The need for more silence in my life was obvious once I had been at Gethsemani just for a few hours. The silence was deafening. I wasn't used to it. That needs to change.

I'm thankful for the monks who pray seven times today as a community. They pray no matter the weather. No matter what's happening in our world. No matter how they "feel." They gather together and they pray. I think there's a lot to learn by their example. I have no doubt that there are times they don't feel like praying. I'm sure there are times, especially at Vigils, that they'd much rather sleep than pray. But here's the thing: they push through. They pray because they know it's a right and important thing they do. I was thankful for the extended times of prayer I had there. Again, like silence, I need to make room in my life for more of that.

On the lighter side of things . . . I ate more lettuce and salad there in three days than I've eaten at home in three months. :-) The food is . . . . sufficient. Yeah, sufficient is a good word. I was SO thankful there was coffee available! Oh, and I was reminded that I don't really like oatmeal all that much.

I guess that's it. I hope to retreat at Gethsemani at least yearly if not more often. There's much good that happens there.

:: Bryan :: 8:21 AM ::
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