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I'm back from my eight day retreat at the Campion Renewal Center, a Jesuit house in Weston Mass. The retreat was in silence which offers time away from distractions and the agendas of others that bombard us non-stop on a daily basis. My only concession to the gods of electronics was my phone and a portable CD player. The phone doubled as a clock and the CD player gave me Joss Ackland reading C.S. Lewis' book The Screwtape Letters. I would listen to this great actor read instructions on how to use a toaster if that were all I could find. I highly recommend the book, a remarkable example of great writing by a master of the craft.
Here are the first two tracks of The Screwtape Letters from the CD's:
Introduction: https://app.box.com/s/95httq0k4nizhjzkne2w
The first letter: https://app.box.com/s/5o2q1ulgkfh6r5tjt33h
The images below are captioned with a few of the insights I received during the retreat. I found myself paying great attention to my surroundings and entering into a place what I will call "contemplative photography" which asked me to slow down and click the shutter with care. This is an experience of the present moment enjoyed first and captured second. I don't think the images reflect this in the way that I saw what I was looking at with a slowed down viewing of the scene. The important thing for me was continuing to "see" with both the eyes of the head and the heart first, then if applicable with technique to capture something of what is in front of me. Mostly technique is an automatic as a lot has been learned over the years making the camera a tool to be used and not the purpose behind "getting the picture." It is easy to get swallowed up in the equipment and miss the events that are presented for our enjoyment.
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The day before leaving for retreat we had a foot of snow here in Maine.
- The scene outside where we live -
In contrast Weston Mass. was still in fall foliage.
First admire the stained glass windows in a church,
wonderful creations by master artisans;
then leaving, go into the woods
to see the "windows" offered by God's creative hands.
Campion Retreat House
The main chapel on the left and one of three wings on the right which has the rooms for retreatants. The other two wings house the Jesuit community and the infirmary for the aging Jesuit population who require full time care. A very big house.
All the prayers we practice are apprenticeship.
The big prayer is our life ...
The effective, useful prayer is how we live our life.
( A statue of Mary at the Cross )
"A grain of wheat must die to grow - "
Dead to the world but living in God,
or
Living in the world and dead to God.
The choice is ours.
Those who have gone before, giants all ...
Jesuits who lived their lives in the service to others,
nameless in death, as it is best -
memory of their work is everywhere.
We are not servants of God,
We are friends of God.
Those who say that we are worms, sinners in God's eyes,
try to make us servants to their ideology -
burdening us with their scripts.
Love speaks with clarity and lightness.
"A drop of water on a sponge."
Rarely more.
Take all the stumbling blocks life throws in our path,
lock them up, bind them to themselves,
the company of demons belong in the company of their peers.
Deep in our hearts
The Light of Heaven is shinning
Upon a soundless sea
Without a shore.
There are stairs leading to the heart's door ...
Descend, go within, find life's Source,
the Journey of a lifetime well taken.
Birds in flight practice reaching for the heavens,
where God implores them to try harder as they are almost there.
practice now so when we arrive at the 'Golden Gates,'
we will already know how to fly with the angels.
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Bar Tailed Godwits, shorebirds of remarkable endurance,
none-the-less are risk takers of the highest order;
finished with nesting in Western Alaska they take off,
seven thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand,
seeking food and a warmer climate,
they make the trip in one jump.
"Nice." you say,
but did you know they can't swim?
A lesson for us all.
Once turning away from the world's shores,
the process of flight and right direction cannot be stopped -
there is no turning back, no return ticket,
following the Spirit to Home is the traveling.
Spiritual food is the necessity for this trip without a net,
which is by its nature is not the last distance to travel -
it is only the next stage of our life.
The Godwits do this round trip for thirty or more years,
Another lesson for us all.
Arrival at the final destination,
is the final destination for this time here.
A path is a door leading to the many rooms of the heart.
When the bridge is there waiting for our footsteps,
take it, cross over and continue walking.
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A little humor:
Peace until we meet again,
Bill Lagerstrom
