Reflections from the Abbey of Gethsemani

Were you on our Feb 5-8, 2010 retreat? Please share your impressions via the comment tab.

It was a great weekend of rest, relaxation, reading, and prayer…… 7 times a day the monks stop whatever they are doing to pray and worship together…..I got a real sense of what its like when you stop whatever you are doing (however important that feels) to be with the Lord. Their day fits into the space between that, and I think that will change the way I look at my day from now on.

~ Jay

I loved it. Very restful, and God spoke to me a lot… pretty much talking to me non-stop about how I can better hear his voice in the future... and reminding me of how he speaks to me if I will listen. Directly, and straight into my brain from his mouth... not through circumstances, coincidences, or my feelings.

~ James

…Scripture says we should pray seven times a day – the monks do. Scripture makes the radical call to give up all we have and follow the Lord – they do that too. I appreciate that they are praying for the world, because when I first got there, I wondered what kind of person you'd have to be to become a monk. What are these men running from? Why isolate themselves from the world? But I realized that they were called by God to this lifestyle.

While I am an extrovert, I love having time in silence and solitude…My days are so busy and full that I can never get quiet enough to experience God….I took Father Damien's charge on Friday night to write down every preoccupation on my mind and heart and it was wonderful to pray through them and lay them at the foot of the Cross…. Since the retreat, I have found myself speaking less. I think that's pretty cool. Why say something if it's not going to be edifying to someone else or glorifying to the Father. This is a big step for me as I have a big mouth sometimes. Also I have a renewed appetite for time with my Father because at the end of the day, nothing else matters…..

~ Kyle

My weekend was filled with simply resting in God's presence. I met God in my room and when we were outside walking. Since I've lived in community, I feel like the time I try to spend in quiet is always interrupted……Instead of feeling like I was rushing through my list of prayers, I could instead just rest in quiet, listening to God. I think He was said throughout much of the weekend, “Don't you see what you've been missing? What are you filling your time up with that matters more than this?” I had been missing it. ... instead of filling my time with God by writing in my journal the whole time or reading as much scripture as I can, I've started just being still for a few moments, listening. That has made all the difference…. I'm comfortable being alone again, for the first time since Fellows started.

~ Jessica

In my room, I prayed, journaled, read the Word, paced, and slept…..
In the church, as we prayed with the monks in a manner not entirely comfortable for me, I saw how great it is that people can praise God in such different ways. I saw a clear picture of life that is ordered around prayer. Prayer is seven times a day and the rest of life gets fit in around those times. This is in stark contrast to my life where I fit prayer in around the other concerns of my life.

~ Nick

I was thoroughly blown away by the monks’ obedience and discipline…. to see their service to the Lord was life changing.…to shut out all the distractions and be with Him is something that I am rarely capable of doing. I found myself “fighting the quiet”, because I like to sing in the shower or listen to music….It was a sweet experience. I definitely will be going to going back – and taking friends with me! This trip was such a blessing, words can’t really do it justice.

~ Austin

…The fast pace of my first walk reflected my mindset of having to strive and earn the fullness of God’s presence, but as the rain washed over my face, I heard Him tell me, “I (not your efforts) have washed you. You are clean.”….God brought me to a place of deep peace and joy in who he is and an awareness of the Spirit dwelling within me….

~ Carolyn

The quiet and solitude provided an incredible time for reflection for me…..

~ Molly

Conversation with Robert Benson

Friends,

I met with Robert Benson last week, author of several books including the brown daily prayer guide many of us are using. I was in the midst of reading and praying over the Rules of Life many of you have submitted and it was helpful to talk over the purpose of living by a Rule with this wise and learned man.

I confided that I’d returned most of your first Rules back to you, asking you to be more specific.

You aspired to wonderful attributes: to be more loving; to be more patient; to be more trusting, etc. But a Rule of Life is one of the practical tools that help us to grow into the fruit of God’s spirit.

Benson reminded me that when Brother Lawrence wrote about knowing the intimacy of God amongst the pots and pans of the monastery kitchen, he had been praying seven times a day and taking the Holy Sacrament daily for 45 years! For us to presume that we can know such intimacy in our day-to-day lives without such faithful discipline shows a lack of humility and wisdom.

The Rule of Life is an ancient tool used by disciples for centuries. It needs to be practical, measurable, and concrete. What will it look like for you to “be more faithful?” Is God inviting you into a regular time of prayer and reading the Word each day? If so, when and where will that happen? What resources will you use?

If you seek to “be more hospitable,” will you be inviting people into your home once a week for a meal? Will you be changing your driving habits? Will you learn the names and stories of the cashiers at Kroger? The more specific you can be, the more likely it will actually happen.

Benson completely understood our quest for being a “contemplative, monastic presence” in our community. How can we incorporate the daily discipline of praying the hours into our homes, our churches, our workplaces? His goal is “to be a monk hidden in the world.” In other words, what we seek to do will not make the newspapers or the evening news. There will be no shingle hung over the doorway or billboards announcing our prayer meeting schedule. Yet if we are faithful to pray and serve our community in quiet humility, God will reveal himself among us in unexpected ways.

I am more excited about the journey than ever before! And I am grateful that you are a companion on the way.

Traveling mercies,

Susanne