Finally able to talk about the retreat....

So, I show up in this little town south of Sedona for a weekend retreat, not quite sure what to expect, have what appears to be a normal dinner with some nice guys I don't know (turns out only one was from our parish) and I overhear: "So, you guys are getting ready to go silent any minute now, right?"

So, um, yes, turns out this is a *SILENT* retreat. It's Friday night ~6pm and I'm aware that the official dismissal time is 1:30pm on Sunday...So, welcome to my recap of my first Silent retreat! *not to mention, but cell phones didn't work up there anyways (thanks AT&T!)

Led by Father Anthony Bannon (Irish-born priest, former North American Director of Regnum Christi and Legionarie Priest extraordinaire (so I was told later), we engaged in what ultimately were 8 "Meditations" followed by quiet, personal time to reflect, pray and meditate on what we had just been taught. The meditations were primarily centered around the Parables of Jesus as well as His Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection as well as the calling and enlistment of the Apostles and the power of the Holy Spirit in their (and our) lives. Being that it was Pentecostal Sunday, the rushing wind outside for 2 days really helped enliven the atmosphere.

To the outsider, it looked a lot like going to 1-hour lecture sessions in College where there was 40 minutes of lecture and then 20 minutes of personal time spent sitting on the edge of the lake or walking the grounds or what have you, but for us insiders it really was a powerful weekend. I received what may have been one of the best confession sessions in my life; I went through my first "spiritual direction" session; I spent time saying the Rosary and doing the Stations of the Cross with 15 fine, upstanding Catholic Men and I was able to spend time reflecting on my personal deficits and failures and devising a plan to help me address those failures in real-life terms...things I can see, do and plan for every single day.

...It is a practice created by St Ignatius after all, right? so you know the ultimate direction is going to be about using your head instead of your emotions to reason what's right and what's wrong and to do what you can to put your brain in charge of your senses and not the other way around.

Hands down, I came away with a newfound appreciation for the real-world nature of Jesus, the apostles and myself and how I can take actionable, definable steps to be more in-tune with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I have an action plan that calls for more time engaged with God on a daily basis, which was lacking in the past. I feel better about where I've been b/c I know where I'm trying to go now...and I met a dozen gentlemen of very high caliber (at least I think, we didn't end up talking all THAT much, after all) who provided high quality examples of Catholic living in real life who may end up being role models for my own personal development in Christ.

So, that's it in a nutshell. Let me know if you have thoughts or questions. If you get the opportunity, take a chance and try one of these things. Great for removing the distractions of daily life and for improving the quality of time you have with yourself and other high quality people.