Father’s Notebook - March 24, 2020

Greetings brothers and sisters,

It’s been a strange two weeks. I miss seeing everyone, and I’m sure you miss celebrating the Eucharist with our wonderful parish family. In these trying times, as we find ourselves with less and less to do, after all our chores and work around the house that needed to get done is done, it will be trying for many of us.

I often speak with parishioners about going on silent retreats and how refreshing and rejuvenating it can be. The reality is that for many people “retreating” does not come easily. The excuse is often because we don’t have enough time, but in my experience, it is because I am too anxious about what I “need” to do.

Often when I go on retreat, it takes at least a day if not two or three for me to let go of this mentality of “doing” and transition into a place of “being”. To be on retreat, does not mean that I go and DO a lot of prayer, but rather it means to take time to simply BE with God. St. Augustine’s says in his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless, until the rest in you, Lord.” To go on retreat means to rest in the Lord, in his presence, simply being there. It is there, resting in the Lord, that I cease from “doing” things and God begins to “do” things in my soul.

In the following weeks, we can begrudgingly accept the need to stay at home and not be able to do everything we want, or we can choose. I can choose to make a retreat. I can choose to be with the Lord instead of doing. 

Some practical tips for choosing to make this time a personal retreat for you (and your family):

1. Keep a structure schedule. Often on retreats, there are prescribed prayer times. My suggestion is that you build in 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. If you are with family, to make it a family schedule. Same time each day for this. I would also suggest schedule meal times as well.
2. Unplug from technology. It may impractical to unplug completely at this time, as you are trying still do some work and be up to date with the news, but that does not mean that you can have a few hours of unplugged time. My suggestion is 3 hours during the day, where you put away phones and laptops, turn off tv and radio, and just be. What you do with the unplugged time is up to you and your family. Tea/Coffee time, Board games, Personal prayer time, sit outside and be in nature. 
3. Read a spiritual book together. One of my favorite things on silent retreats are the spiritual readings that are read at meal time. In a Benedictine Monastery, meals are silent and reflective, and a chosen reader will read from a book while the others eat. Perhaps one meal (lunch) can be a “listening” meal where you rotate readers for the day and have them read from one book for the week/month. 

God bless you and your family! Be assured of my prayers.

Pax Christi,

Fr. Khoi