12 JANUARY 2023
Dear Friends,
I have just returned to town from Camp Mokule'ia, having been to the diocesan clergy retreat. We began on Monday afternoon, and we finished on Wednesday at lunch. Gathering together, we celebrated mass, prayed the Daily Office, and enjoyed silence in the surroundings of the North Shore. Our retreat leader was Brother Randy Greve of the Order of the Holy Cross of West Park, New York. By Wednesday morning the waves of the famed North Shore were gaining strength, whipping up a lot of sea spray.
It was a lovely retreat, and I was reminded of our parish retreat of recent memory. Some of you have mentioned that it is time for another parish retreat, as it has been many years since our last one due to the pandemic. Retreats are beneficial in two primary ways for a congregation. First, they help deepen the faith of individuals. We often have little time to detach ourselves from our busy lives, and so when we do have the chance to focus solely on our spiritual life, and to be intentional in our following of Jesus Christ, the results are spiritually rich. Second, retreats for members of a congregation can profoundly strengthen the bonds of faith and support among the people. As we get to know each other better, sharing our faith stories, we grow stronger and more mature as the Body of Christ.
But we may not always have time to run off to a monastery or a retreat center for our spiritual enrichment and growth in Christ. We may only have thirty minutes or an hour to spare during a busy day or even a week. Yet even with this reality, we have options. There is the 12:00 noon mass at the church, which can provide a respite in Christ in the middle of the day. We frequently forget that the church is a worthy place for a short pilgrimage of a quiet half hour. Less optimal, but still effective, the noon mass is live-streamed. One can tune in and join the mass online, making a spiritual communion. Such spiritual communions undoubtedly increase our hunger for Christ in the Sacrament, resulting in our in-person worship when able.
When we make time for such prayer, whether it is a retreat or a half hour at lunch, God soaks into more aspects of our lives. From our worship and prayer, we discover that the most mundane tasks become worship of the living God. We no longer need to escape work or chores or people to be close to God. Rather in our engagement of these things, we become closer to God, and the everyday situations of life become acts of worship. Springing forth from our discipline of worship and prayer, all of life has the potential to become adoration of the living God, Jesus Christ.
I look forward to praying with you at the church.
Father Paul Lillie +
