Coming Down from the Mountain...

Hey folks,

Yesterday, my 45 classmates and I returned from our retreat in the town of Ariccia, nestled in the beautiful hills just an hour or so south of Rome. We stayed at a lovely little retreat house overlooking Lake Albano, a pristine volcanic lake surrounded by quaint Italian towns and beautiful foliage (green is a color we don't get to see so much in the busy streets of Rome!).

On a clear day, it is possible to see the dome of St. Peter's Basilica off in the distance, little more than a speck on the horizon. West of that, we could look out onto the shore of the Mediterranean! Even though our retreat took place in silence, almost every evening was the occasion for many of us seminarians to gather silently on the large patio overlooking the lake, taking in the beauty around us and meditating on the tremendous graces which God has given us in allowing us to live amidst so much beauty. We were even blessed with a little crazy weather during the week too! Wind and rain and funky clouds and everything that was awesome...we got to see it all!

The retreat itself was grace-filled beyond belief. Outside of Mass and Evening Prayer as a group, each of us spent half an hour each day meeting with a spiritual director, receiving a few Scripture passages to meditate upon for that day, and sharing any particular graces or struggles on his heart. While not formally an Ignatian spiritual exercises retreat, it certainly had a similar feel. The focus was on imaginative prayer, in which you attempt to delve more deeply into the Sacred Scriptures, oftentimes through imagining yourself in the particular scene. As you might be able to imagine, this can be pretty difficult with all distractions and random thoughts which run through the average person's head in an hour! But the Lord calls us to be faithful, not successful! Through persevering with the Lord and continuing to be generous toward Him with your time, it is amazing what beautiful things He can accomplish.

This coming week, my class is at the College for our final week of conferences before the diaconate weekend craziness rolls into town. This week, it will be a series of homiletic conferences, combined with a couple opportunities to give some practice homilies. Should be a very growth-filled experience, as usual!

Until next time,

Colin