Dear Friends,
As I write this, I’m getting myself ready to head out on my first monastic retreat since I’ve been at Trinity. By the time you read it, I’ll be on the tail end of that retreat, about to head home.
I try to take these kinds of retreats twice a year – usually sometime in early Lent and right before Advent begins. Immersing myself in the monastic rhythm for a time helps to center me in my vocation. Intentional time of reconnecting and nurturing my relationship with God – in a way that pushes me beyond my day to day routines – helps to ground me.
Spending a few days in silence and going to church five or six times a day isn’t for everyone, I know. To be honest – while this kind of thing is nurturing for me for a time, it would be tough for me if I had to do it all the time. But, as Christians, it is important for us to find the ways that we are spiritually fed. What works for you? Aside from your day to day routines for connecting with God, what are the ways that you shake yourself up from time to time to find that “reset” that we all sometimes need?
Next week, November 30th, is the first Sunday in Advent. It’s a sort of “reset” button for the church’s devotional cycle. We conclude the church year this Sunday with the Feast of the Reign of Christ, and the next week we rewind and start all over again in Advent – waiting for Jesus, growing in expectation of the coming Christ.
How might you reset your own spiritual practice so that you’re ready to align with this shifting focus in the church? How might that reset help to ready yourself for the busyness of the holiday season and the wonder and joy of the coming Christmas?
Chat with me about it sometime. I’d love to explore this with you.
In the meantime, know that I am praying for you. Please pray for me, too.
Blessings,
Jon+