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New Year’s Day of Reflection (Sketching as Prayer)
2023 is just beyond the turning of the calendar. A New Year full of hopes and potential and… unknowns. The turning of the calendar provides a context for looking back to reflect on the year we’re just closing out and looking forward as we give thought to our path for the coming year. We all have hopes and perhaps dreams for the next 12 months, but much is unknown to us and beyond our control. We can have the certainty of knowing we are in God’s loving care, and that all our days are known to him, but with health concerns, a challenging economy, and general societal turmoil it can…
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Personal Advent Retreat
I spent a wonderful 24 hours at Holy Cross Monastery this week. While I didn’t have a particularly Advent-themed plan for my retreat, I had wanted to take time for silence and reflection at the start of Advent, which is also the start of the Church Year. The monastery was in complete silence for their Advent Contemplative Days, and the whole time there was richly quiet. I went with the idea of pondering a Rule of Life for this season of my life and as a new liturgical year begins (a Rule of Life is a way of intentionally planning for the pattern and practices of one’s life, in particular…
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Rest for Your Soul
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 I went away by myself for a personal retreat this past week, and one thing I realized was how weary I have been. It seems that sometimes I can go from one activity to the next and I just keep going without realizing how tired I’m becoming. When we take time apart, as I did, we can…