seek God everywhere

#11  Retreats


I am not sure if I could tally--on my fingers and toes--the total number of retreats that I participated in or lead during my stay in Cleveland. For that, I am utterly grateful.


Some have been silent, others have included seemingly endless games of Mafia, while one ended in a particular field of dreams. 

I do not believe that it is ironic that I was hired by my current principal to serve as a high school Campus Minister this school year. In fact, I consider it grace. However, it was these fruitful days, weekends, and oftentimes weeks of spiritual exercise and community building that has filled me with a hefty ministerial backpack. These diverse experiences have prepared me for all the many spiritual discourses that I have become privy to in addition to the many crosses that I have been asked to bear. There are certainly reasons why I retreat, but I am not always aware of every one of them. 

Retreats have been--and probably always will be--a wonderful opportunity for me to take time out of my hectic life to be grateful for as well as re-evaluate my physical and spiritual health. They have been encounters with my God that I will warmly welcome in the future, especially if the registration fee (which it has occasionally) is waived.


For whether it is writing letters/notes to my fellow retreatants on my first "silent" retreat or helping freshmen students make connections with one another, I am going to keep looking for God in everyone & everything. It's the Ignatian (and my) way!