{"id":2106,"date":"2011-10-09T17:22:17","date_gmt":"2011-10-09T22:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=2106"},"modified":"2011-10-09T17:22:17","modified_gmt":"2011-10-09T22:22:17","slug":"seeking-the-silence-is-a-true-gift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=2106","title":{"rendered":"Seeking the silence is a true gift. . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

I spent a few days this past week enjoying a silent retreat at the Benedictine Center in Maplegrove, MN\u00a0. \u00a0In fact, the retreat was more than enjoyable. \u00a0It was a blissful experience. \u00a0I had gone to many retreats in my lifetime and have led even more retreats than I have attended. \u00a0But I have never been silent for three days<\/strong>. \u00a0I unplugged my phone; left my computer at home; had no television, radio or newspapers at my disposal. \u00a0The quiet claimed my attention. Nothing more.<\/p>\n

Many asked me what was I looking for, including the spiritual director I met with on two occasions. \u00a0My answer was freedom from the noise in my head. \u00a0Did I get it? \u00a0I’d have to say, yes and no. \u00a0At first my mind still talked to me. \u00a0But before the first day was over, I got the hang of it and simply enjoyed my time with the God of my understanding. \u00a0 He is there always, of course, but the distractions in my life are many. \u00a0Not all of them troublesome or even unwanted. \u00a0But I did need to “escape” from the world and the only way that seemed viable was to do what I did.<\/p>\n

During those three days I was reintroduced to Brother Lawrence<\/strong><\/em> and his wonderful “conversations” as printed in the book: The Practice of the Presence of God<\/strong>, a tiny book of barely 100 pages that my mother-in-law introduced me to in my early recovery when I shared with her my struggle to know God.<\/p>\n

Brother Lawrence was a 17th Century Carmelite monk who lived in France. \u00a0He entered the order when he was 18. He was on kitchen detail for the first 15 years he lived in the monastery and it was while washing dishes, peeling potatoes, cooking meals and tending to other kitchen duties that he learned to walk in the presence of God. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When Sister Carol gave me two reading assignments, that had come to her in prayer even before she met me, \u00a0I was stunned when one of them referenced Brother Lawrence. \u00a0How did she know? \u00a0God is indeed mysterious and so ever-present. \u00a0To all of us. \u00a0Rereading his words and those of Teresa of Avila too, I felt centered once again. \u00a0Let me be clear; \u00a0I don’t consider myself “a religious person,” but I am eager to find answers, peace of mind and comfort. \u00a0All three are available from the God of my understanding. \u00a0Having the time for three days to reconnect, while in the silence, was a wonderful gift to myself, one that I intend to experience on regularly scheduled intervals from now on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I spent a few days this past week enjoying a silent retreat at the Benedictine Center in Maplegrove, MN\u00a0. \u00a0In fact, the retreat was more than enjoyable. \u00a0It was a blissful experience. \u00a0I had gone to many retreats in my lifetime and have led even more retreats than I have attended. \u00a0But I have never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSeeking the silence is a true gift. . . | Karen Casey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.womens-spirituality.com\/?p=2106\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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