Back from Retreat

A retreat is a good thing: It is an attempt to leave the world behind for a period of time, to refresh one's soul, to take more time for prayer and reflection. I just returned from one which was quite packed with speakers and programs designed to enrich my spiritual life, and that of the other participants.

Returning from a retreat is frequently the biggest problem: It can be a bit of a culture shock, moving suddenly from a setting of peace and prayerfulness back to the "real world." I am in my first full day back in that real world. I have returned with a new resolve to rebuild my prayer life, to implement my spirituality in my daily life, and to try to help those around me to do the same.

I am a Discalced Carmelite Secular. I try to pattern my prayer life after that practiced by Carmelite nuns and friars, following in the footsteps of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. I try to pray portions of the Liturgy of the Hours--the prayer of the Church--on a daily basis, including Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer at a minimum. I try to attend the celebration of the mass as frequently as I can, daily if possible. And I attempt to set aside time during my day to just sit quietly, in the presence of the Lord, listening for that "still, small voice." I have fallen down on all three of these elements of my prayer life in recent months, in spite of my promise to uphold them.

All too real is the temptation to say, "I'm too busy doing the work of the Lord to pray like that." But the old saying holds true: "You need to pray at least a half-hour per day; and if you're too busy to do that, then you need to pray at least an hour per day." Our work must be a result of our prayer, or it will be empty, regardless of our good intent.

Perhaps that is the easiest explanation of how to integrate our spirituality into our everday lives: Pray first...really pray...and then work. Prayer will change our work and its fruits.

The third element of my "new resolve," to help others to enrich their spiritual lives, is also a natural result of the first two. If I continue to seek God and His will, and strive to carry it out, others around me cannot help but saying, "I want that." I know, because I have said that very thing about many whom I have encountered in my life.

Perhaps "bridging the gap" isn't nearly as complicated as we try to make it.