Photo Credit: Zachary Meador Boazman

Rediscovering the centrality of God’s word in the life of the Church also means rediscovering a sense of recollection and inner repose. The great patristic tradition teaches us that the mysteries of Christ all involve silence. Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence. This principle — that without silence one does not hear, does not listen, does not receive a word — applies especially to personal prayer as well as to our liturgies: to facilitate authentic listening, they must also be rich in moments of silence and of non-verbal reception. –Pope Benedict XVI. 

Tomorrow, my brothers in the Spirituality Year at St. John Vianney join those from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Broomtree, SD for the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatian of Loyola, a 30-day silent retreat that aims at disconnecting you from the things of the world so that you may better hear the Lord. Just as our bodies need exercise to stay healthy and fit, so too do our souls. During this retreat, we will be praying 5 hours a day, not including Mass. We meet with our spiritual directors daily to discuss the graces we have experienced and to evaluate our spiritual fitness. And then we pray. And pray more. To me, this is like The Biggest Loser, except for our spiritual side. It will likely be the most intense 30 days I’ve experienced in my whole life. The Lord will push me to the limits of what I see as “doable.”  But, in return, the Lord is providing me an experience of a life time. Very few priests, let alone laymen, will ever get to experience the Spiritual Exercises. Those that do frequently remember back to the experiences and graces they received over their 30 day. As intimidating, difficult, and “unfun” as it seems to many, I have never heard of someone describe their 30-day as a bad experience. 

I am excited for what the Lord has in His providence over the next 30 days. It is also extremely out of my comfort zone (which is honestly probably where the Lord wants me). Please keep me and my brothers in your prayers. We will return to Denver on June 15th. I will be back in Oklahoma on June 21st.