Posted: August 28

A good point of view

(Salvador do Bahia, Brazil) My favorite place to pray remains a plastic chair set in front of the low parapet that overlooks the sea. The community has its own chapel as well as the public church, but I find it easiest to lift my mind to the Lord while looking at the vast immensity of the ocean. Perhaps this sense of finding God in nature comes from my growing up in Colorado, although the dry, high plains of that state thousands of miles from the nearest ocean could not be more different than this community perched above the sea. I think it is being up above the water that makes a difference, just like being on a mountainside. You can see much further, without all the normal clutter. And that is what an annual retreat is about anyway. Step back from the normal press of daily to-do lists, with no phone ringing insistently claiming instant attention for some problem you would prefer to ignore, if you could. Being on retreat means that you are not supposed to be getting phone calls or worrying about tasks. You just spend an hour praying, then walk around long enough until it is time to pray again. Then you eat something, and have a great nap. Naps are an important part of any good retreat. And the afternoon walk—that is essential as well. And this is a good place to walk, down to the beach and along the sea wall past the lighthouse and up to the statue of Christ on the other side of this promontory. There is almost always a strong breeze, and the late afternoon light when I take my walk makes all the colors more intense as it glints off the water.

I will be back in Rome in a few days, with all the unanswered emails to answer and probably lots of little problems to attend to. Right now, though, I am just here, feeling very Zen (just be in the present moment) and aware of God’s blessings, grateful for the obligation of making a retreat each year.