Faith Suggestions for the Year

Here are my ten humble suggestions for the Year of Faith.  I think they're more doable than parcing through the Catechism, or reading the Summa Theologica. 

 You can obtain a plenary indulgence on certain Solemnities and Feast Days, e.i., Immaculate Conception, by attending Mass, or Liturgy of the Hours, Confession, praying for the intentions of the Pope, and making a profession of faith.  

1.  Watch You Tube.  I like Father Barron's style of preaching.

 2.  Go to a concert.  Music can lead to contemplation.  I like John Polce concerts.

3.  Have a fun/learning night in your parish by having a contest between your parish priests and the Knights of Columbus (or some other organization).  Ask questions from the Bible, catechism, or parish history.

4.  Start or join a Catholic Book Club.

5.  Join a Scripture Study, or go to a Cursillo, Life in the Spirit, Alpha Course, or a Renew Program.  Alpha and Arise (Renew) were pretty successful in my parish.

6.  Go on a pilgrimage to deepen your faith.  Everyone talks about Medjugorge, nowadays, but if that's not possible, go to a local shrine.  My favorite is the Fatima Shrine in Holliston, MA.

7. Go on a retreat.  My very favorite was St. Stephen's Priory in Dover, MA.  Since that one has closed, I go to St. Joseph's Abbey, in Spencer, MA, not only because that's where my Spiritual Director, Father Aquinas is, but also because I like the atmosphere.

8.  Do Liturgy of the Hours for your parish.

9.  Go to a Catholic Speaker Forum.  The Lay Dominicans in New England have sponsored quite a few.  The St. Mary's Chapter in New Haven, Ct. has had Scott Hahn.  The Boston Pro-Chapter has had Father John Vidmar, O.P.

10.  Read Faith Moments, or start one in your parish.  You could publish these thoughts on your parish website.  eLumen, the Internet Newsletter for the Lay Dominicans in the Eastern Province, is running a contest for Faith Moments, in the December issue.  All one has to do is write a paragraph explaining when a moment of grace touched them.

I think these are all easy, fun, and educational and spiritual.  They're tailored made for the Year of Faith.

Retreat Day Five

In my last posting, I neglected to relate my spiritual direction session with Father Aquinas. It started off funny. Funny meaning odd. You see in January I wrote him a letter and instead of writing a letter back, he telephoned me to come on a retreat and we can talk then. The time finally arrived. He confessed that he lost the letter and didn't remember what I had written. Coincidentally, before I left for retreat, I looked through by computer files, and couldn't find that letter. So instead of being angry or hurt because of AQ's careless negligence of my letter and me, I just laughed. I was content with meeting with him at that time.

It was the best session I've ever had with him. He actually directed me. He gave me suggestions, and concrete practices to perform. He feels that as long as I stay close to the Eucharist, I should be alright.

My last day at St. Joseph's Abbey consisted of prayer and packing and good-byes. I wasn't sad. Most people commented that they wished they could stay there. Not me, I enjoyed my stay, but I looked forward to leaving to tell everyone about it. I guess I was anxious to spread the fruits of my contemplation.

Retreat Day Four

Every day we, as a group, had a conference with a monk. He was Father Robert. We concentrated on John 18 and 19. Father Robert was a man in love with words. He relished them. He rolled them over and over on his tongue. He'd hesitate and then repeat them again. He was obsessed with "Jesus was One with the Father." And He wants us to be One with Him, too.

Father Robert celebrates Mass like that, also. He emphasizes important words, stops, and then you can see him consciously speaking from his heart to pronounce the words for Consecration.

During meals we listened to a tape of Dr. Joseph Shaw. I don't know the name of it but he was talking about the parables.

I went to Father Robert for direction and we chatted about the Second Coming. It just may be that my dying and going to the Father will be Jesus coming to get me. That's a Second Coming.

In the afternoon, I spent my time waling around the other side of the lake. On the road down the hill, I came face to face with a deer. I tried to take her picture but she was indistinguisable from the shadows. Walking around I saw some pretty flowers, including one lady slipper springing up from the dead leaves. I found Grace House and a road leading out to the main highway. I met the deer, again.

I prayed my Rosary while walking because standing still was an invitation for mosquitoes to come feast. May flies were becoming more numerous, too.

In the afternoon, I went to a video, With Hearts Expanded, which is a history of the monks at St. Joseph's Abbey. They have always been counter cultural. They could legitimately be considered as living a deviant lifestyle.

Only two of us showed up for the video, Sister Vivian and myself. A great blessing happened. I asked Sister Vivian what Order she was from. She responded, "Religious of Jesus and Mary." "Mmmmmm", I thought that was the Order my great Aunt Blanche belonged to, but that was so long ago, after all, she was my Grandmother's sister. I asked her if she had a house in "Goffstown, N.H., because I vaguely remembered visiting Aunt Blanche, there. Vivian said, "Yes." So I told her what I remembered of my Aunt. Gradually, I pieced together enough information for Vivian to pop out, "Mother Mary of the Trinity," better known as "Mother Trinity!"

Wow! Guess what my religious name is--Sister Faith in the Blessed Trinity.
My nickname--"Trinity!"

The blessings kept coming. This time for Sister Vivian. She asked me where I was from. Upon hearing that I was from Franklin, she asked if she could ride home with me because she lives in the town adjacent to Franklin, Plainville. "Of course," I was happy to oblige.

That night, since it was my last night, I lingered a bit, after Vespers, looking at the altar, the church, the Tabernacle. I saw the Abbot, Dom Damian walk around turning the lights off. As he came towards me I saw him pick up something and approach me. "What the hell?" He threw something directly at me!

I jumped right out of my skin as soon as it hit me! But I instantaneously knew what it was as soon as I felt the smack. Holy water, the Abbot was blessing everybody. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. The people behind me were chuckling because they saw me jump out of my skin.

Walking back, I asked them if they knew that the Abbot was going to do that. They all were laughing at me and told me that if I hadn't left so soon after Vespers, all week, I would have known that the Abbot does that every night. He goes around blessing his monks and all visitors.

Well, at least I got a blessing the last night.

Who knew?

Retreat Day Three

Wednesday was a new day. Alleluia! Praise God. I woke up pain free. The stomach ache was gone. And! On my way to Lauds, I saw one of my fellow retreatants go in the visitor's chapel, and not in the cloister, where we were told to go. I followed her to tell her that she was going in the wrong place. But! She told me that we didn't have to go into the cloister with the monks; we can go in the visitor's chapel, which is better.

Way, way, way...much, much, much better. The visitor's chapel is adjacent to the altar; so close you feel like you are concelebrating. The priest comes to us to give Communion.

THERE'S NO GAUNTLET OF MONKS TO PARADE THROUGH!

Praise be to God! God is good, all the time!

What a wonderful start to a wondrous day!

After breakfast, I walked. The trouble with St. Joseph's Abbey is that it's on top of a hill, a very steep hill. This means that wherever you walk will involve coming back uphill. I did it. I walked all week. Sometimes when I felt the pressure in my shins I wondered if I was getting shin splints. And sometimes walking up those hills I had to stop because I didn't have my inhaler with me, but I did it. All week I did it.

There's a lake on the property. Today, I walked to the left of the lake thinking of walking around it. The weather was perfect. 80 degrees and I'm walking in the cool woods, it doesn't get much better than that. I passed the hermit's hut. It's abandoned. I was appreciating all the sights and sounds, when I heard some thrashing through the woods. I saw bright blue. It was one of the ladies on retreat with me.

We greeted each other and sat down to talk. Every "silent retreat" should have a session like this. Her name is Kate and she's the mother to a young family. May God bless her and her loved ones. She was telling me about herself and happened to say that she can't take criticism.

She can't take criticism! She happened to be sitting next to me in the stalls when that old crosspatch monk signaled me to take off my baseball cap. I reminded her of that incident and then I told her how it bothered me all day, resulting in severe acid reflex.

We hashed it through. The whys, wherefores, and no wonder he's a monk--the old fart. She had me laughing over the whole episode. Kate was good for me. Thank you, Jesus. You know what we decided was behind the monk's request?

He was a Yankees fan. I was wearing a Red Sox baseball cap.

Seriously, the monk was across the room. He saw a person, 5'7" tall, wearing a sweatshirt, pants, sneakers, and a baseball cap. Get the picture.

He thought I was a man.

The simple solution is the fact, I bet. There, end of the story! I put the entire occurrence to bed. Thank you, Kate. God speed, and may He always be your strength and consolation.

I continued my walk in peace. I went as far as I could go before I was stopped by a small waterfall. I sat down on a rock and prayed my Rosary.

The mosquitoes found me. Here are some pictures I took during my walk.

One more thought: on my way to my cell, after Compline, I heard AQ's voice. I followed it. There he was sitting in his office. Finally, I got my hug and greeting. He apologized for being so absent these last couple of days but the abbot was using him to transport the monks to doctor's appointments. We made an appointment for Thursday, after Compline.

I went to bed much happier than last night and had a peaceful rest.

Retreat Day Two

I was awake for Vigil but too warm and cozy to get up. Then I slept right up to the time when the bells for Lauds rang. I jumped out of bed, threw on my clothes and looked in the mirror and scared myself.

Awk! No time for hair fixing, so I grabbed a hair elastic and put my hair in a pony tail and put on my baseball cap.

As retreatants, we are allowed to sit in the stalls, like the monks, only way, way, way in the back. It's a long church. The altar is way up there away from us.

As I sat and watched the monks come in through the door, one old monk did a double take when he saw me. He pointed to my hat. At first I thought he was telling me that he liked my Red Sox baseball cap. But he motioned for me to take it off. TAKE IT OFF!

OH NO. :-( It's not that my hair was ugly; it's that I am ugly like that. Remember that I had Cronkhite Canada Syndrome and my hair didn't grow back like it was before. I am bald on the sides of my head. My hair grows only on the top of my head, so I just wear it down, or cover my head with a scarf, or hat. Now I had to take my hat off. Why?

I don't know why, but I obeyed. A thousand things ran through my mind: am I breaking some rule that no hats are allowed, men or women's, is it the type of hat I'm wearing that's objectionable, am I showing lack of respect..........why?

So I sat there, bald, wispy head sticking out like an old plucked chicken. I was embarrassed.

It gets worse.

At Communion, the priest didn't come down to us; we had to walk all the way up to him. Remember the monks, about 50 of them, are sitting in stalls gawking at we visitors. I felt like I was walking through a gauntlet of inspecting eyes. To add another humiliation to the pile, I happened to be last. As I walked behind everyone else, I could feel my red face travel all the way to my neck. The back of my neck burned.

It was not a good Communion. I could not take my mind off myself. I did offer my misery up.

This ordeal bothered me all day. Immediately after lunch, I had acid reflex. I was in pain. I tried to pray it away, ignore it, take anti acid medicine, but nothing worked. I couldn't attend None, or Vespers. I didn't eat Supper, and I was asleep by Compline.

One picture is the Abbey Church and the other is the long cloister walk to our stalls in the back. The church is large, cold, dark, and dreary. As far as I was concerned, the church atmosphere, added to my mood. Despairing is all I could think of.

Spiritual Direction

Fr. Ted and I were talking about retreats and spiritual direction, in the sacristry, tonight. We both like Cistercian retreats. We like the contempletive atmosphere and the nuns and monks. We laughed because we're both going on retreat at the same time, but Fr. Ted is going to the nuns at Mt. St. Mary's Abby and I'm going to the monks at St. Joseph's Abby.

I told Fr. Ted about my Spiritual Director, Fr. Aquinas, who is now at St. Joseph's Abby. I hooked up with Fr. Aquinas via the nuns. I was looking for one of the sisters to be my spiritual director, and Fr. Aquinas offered his services. AQ said that he would make a better SD than any of the nuns because men complement women and vice versa. IOW, women should be spiritual directors to men, and men should be spiritual directors to women. God created us that way--to complement each other.

Fr. Ted agreed.

I, however, am not so sure. I just think that women are naturally better spiritual directors. As Margaret Guenther says in Holy Listening, the Art of Spiritual Direction, "spiritual direction is a ministry of compassionate presence." Women tend to be more compassionate and nurturing.

I've only had one woman spiritual director, and she was the best one I've ever had. All the others I've had are priests. And, except for my first bizarre experience, spiritual direction gradually succumbed to be a nice comfortable chat with Father.