There is an ancient tradition in Christianity, as well as other faith communities, to take time out of our routines for resting in the Spirit. These have become known as "retreats". As the name suggests, it is a time to retreat temporarily from the business of the world and allow ourselves to reconnect with the holy one without the distractions of everyday living.
Such times are opportunities for us to reflect on ourselves in light of our relationships with others and most importantly our relationship with God. A time of retreat gives us pause to search the soul and gain self knowledge, perserver in prayer, and seek the wisdom that God desires to give us in every moment. Usually they consist of quiet reflection, scriptural reading and some manner of study.
Over the next 5 days I will be attending a directed retreat at St. Benedict's Monastary which will focus on "Praying with the Mystics". Through silence, directed group sessions with a spiritual counsellor, and ample time for prayer and reflection we will be practicing prayer in the way of mystics like Julian of Norwich, Theresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, and Dorothy Day.
I won't be updating the Blog until this retreat is over, however, I will be texting "gems of wisdom" from the retreat to Sparling's Twitter page. If you'd like to know more about praying with the mystics - follow my retreat at www.twitter.com . You will need to sign in and follow sparlingonline@mts.net
Shalom
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