MY SILENT RETREAT

My silent retreat was wonderful and empowering.  I went with Mary Ellen a friend who use to work with me.  She is the one who really really wanted to go and I'm so thankful she invited me.  I have been to St.Lazare's many times before but this retreat was extremely powerful for me.

I really like the two priests who are currently in charge ( I liked last years as well).  Fr. Frank Sacks gave talks about the work of Richard P. Johnson. PH.D.  He teaches that we all have spiritual gifts that we need to tap into in order to help us bring a balance between our body and mind and spirit.  He teaches the Motivation Model which breaks down into six steps. It begins with our believes which leads to our perceptions >thinking> feeling>decision and then finally our actions.

I guess what really hit me and stuck with me is that we are what we think!  For so long I have not been living in the reality that I am the daughter of the King!  That the Lord Jesus Christ really loves me!  Oh ya I knew all of this but something changed for me this past weekend.  Call it grace!  The Holy Spirit was able to break through in such a powerful way!

Dr. Johnson began his research when he noticed that  two people can have the same  terminal diagnosis and one responds and is devastated about another responds with grace and sees it as a challenge.  He describes these peoples as "spiritually healing, seem to be  "in tune" with something beyond themselves, some force that transcend this material plane.  It's almost as if they have received a gift of invulnerability to the otherwise tragic event we call sickness." From his book; "Body Mind Spirit-Tapping the Healing Power Within You"

Of course the whole time I'm readying this book I am thinking about my friend Annette!  She lived on the spiritual plane!  She touched everyone that she came into contact with!  People including myself where drawn to her!  This was because of the power of the Holy Spirit working within her. Her illness was not her!  Our bodies are only vehicles for this world we won't need them in the the next life!  This though so liberated me!

I'm getting old!  More wrinkles, grey hair and parts are sagging.  This was bothering me until reading this book because I agreed with what Dr.Johnson said!  I am not my body!  It will and it is failing me the older I get!  Because it is only a vehicle for this life!  I will not need it in the next life!  This is so freeing to me!  He writes: "Our bodies are of this world and, therefore, can suffer.  Our job is to separate our true self from our world self; a core lesson of sickness."  Our bodies and any sickness it gets is mearly a teaching tool for us.  Some of us fail and others like my friend Annette soar like an eagle!

I left that retreat a new person!  All I can say is God did a mighty work within me!  I am so grateful that I am a Christian and a follower of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!

Fr. Vincent O'Malley the Director is also an author.  He writes about the Saints and I bought his book,
"Ordinary Suffering of extraordinary Saints".  He gave a talk on prayer and it was wonderful.  He is very humble and honest!  I"m enjoying his book.  He liked me because I was shorter than him!