Time for Reflection

The whole purpose of a retreat - either a group retreat or an individual one - is to carve out time to be with God. Since this is an individual retreat for me, it's time to be alone with God. Being at the monastery facilitates this. The rhythm of worship times and meal times creates several natural zones for you to find a place to be alone. Even the group retreaters can be seen doing this from time to time.

Last night after Supper and before Compline, I was able to steal away on the porch looking over the Hudson. The moon was around 10 days old so it was bright and Jupiter shone brightly right next to it. Across the river, I heard a horn and saw the lights in the passenger cars on one of the Amtrak trains going south. It almost seemed like a model railroad. I reflected on the strange mix of astronomy and trains - both key features of my history. Last week in our J2A readings we spent a day on reflecting on where we have been in order to know where we are going.

This morning after Matins and Breakfast, I walked down the hill to the river. The Hudson this far north seems serene. I understand there's some boat traffic, but none was moving during the morning. Little (1-inch) waves lapped softly onto the crushed slate beach. I let my thoughts wander and recorded them in my paper journal. One thought I had was that people need to be more thoughtful and remove their "spiritual litter". The slate bench that I sat on had the remenants of 3 candles and an oily mess that must have come from an incense burn. A little to my left was a cracked votive candle hanging from a tree. But even this reminds me that I'm one of countless pilgrims over the years who have journeyed to this place. In some sense they too are my companions and I took a moment to pray for them.

This afternoon, I spent time reflecting in a more "normal" way. I got in the car and drove. I was planning to go tour a nearby site, but got distracted and caught in traffic. But since I had nowhere to go and nowhere to be by a certain time, I spent the time reflecting on some of the bigger questions we all face from time to time.

Finally, before Compline tonight, I spent 20 minutes in the chapel in the (mostly) dark just trying to sense the place. As part of that I lit my first candle ever (itself a form of prayer) for Dan - a teen on life support that some of my kids in the youth group are concerned for - and his friends.