As we wrap up the summer travel season, I am sharing a couple of experiences that offered me fresh insights on the theme of hope. This is the Jubilee Year of Hope after all, and I needed a good midyear reminder!
Last month, I shared about a trip to Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., for a gathering of friends who share a common profession as Lay Carmelites. In July, I returned to Chicagoland for an annual retreat in Carmelite spirituality and received some good reminders about the role of family, and how we find courage together in the spiritual life.
It has been a full Carmelite summer, and I am glad you can join me on the journey.
Coffee’s on!
Darien, Illinois is a quiet suburb on the west side of Chicago, and home to the provincial headquarters of the Carmelite Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary, which supports the friars, sisters, and Lay Carmelites in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, El Salvador and Honduras.
For the past eight years, the campus retreat center has hosted “Into the Land of Carmel: A Retreat in the Carmelite Tradition,” where pilgrims attend preached topics and make time for daily prayer and solitude.
The original hermits on Mount Carmel in the 1200s dedicated their desert wadi to “Our Lady of the Place” and Carm-el literally translates as “God’s Garden.” The retreat center campus is large and filled with meditation gardens, waterscapes, stunning flowers, curious wildlife and quiet peace.
Many of the same people return each year for this gathering, where relationships and traditions have become like that of a family. The sunrises are spectacular on this campus, and a few of us are early risers. We often meet at the coffee pot around 5 a.m. to brew up a fresh batch and go for a silent walk in the stillness before sunrise. When families gather, a gift of shared time also means that someone has the privileged position to announce “coffee’s on!”
WWED
Many of our session topics this year seemed to reference courage in the spiritual life. We all face the reality of a “dark night” at times, when we feel alone or abandoned. Perhaps it is due to the distance that forms when we are not living our most authentic life. It is during these times that we can trust in God’s limitless mercy and the peace that comes from reconciliation and the sacraments of our faith.
Other times, the dark night can be when God intentionally leaves a void in our spiritual life to call us deeper into relationship, or to pursue new experiences along the spiritual journey. This is the essence of the dark night as expressed in the beautiful poetry of St. John of the Cross, where he says “Where have you hidden, Beloved, and left me moaning? You fled like the stag after wounding me; I went out calling you, but you were gone.” This image is one that expresses desire for closeness and fellowship.
A prominent feature of the retreat center campus is a large fire pit that is constructed into a hillside and surrounded by stone seating for about 30 people comfortably. Each year, we pick an evening to light a fire and simply enjoy each other’s company. The chef at the retreat center always surprises us with snacks, and a bottle of wine or two always seems to miraculously appear.
A few years ago, we asked “WWED … what would Elijah do” with the prospect of a fire pit, and the spontaneous idea of S’mores! came about. When families gather, closeness can happen through a spontaneous act of playfulness that becomes that thing we do together.
Family matters
Summer often involves time with family. For those with children, it might be an annual vacation to a favorite place where traditions form. For others, a brief respite from the grind of daily routines where we can reflect.
At this point in my life is the opportunity to gather with friends from far and wide, as a family of sorts. We have traditions and stories and find ways to express closeness at the morning coffee pot or evening fire pit. This year, I needed the reminder that hope can be experienced in unique ways together.
The journey of faith can be challenging at times, especially when God feels distant or elusive. Finding help in each other along the way can be just what is needed to make things right again. When families gather, hope can blossom through the mutual self-giving that occurs when we take the time to realize that family matters.
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