The Hurly-Burly of life

I shall be attending a Carmelite Retreat in a couple of weeks.  I am in a minority of one among my fellow Carmelites because they all seem to love retreats, but I find retreats very difficult and I go on them because annual retreats are something we Secular Carmelites commit to doing.  It’s partly that my life circumstances mean that I spend a lot of time alone at home and I have plenty of silence here as it is.  People tell me that in the hurly-burly of life they find the opportunity to withdraw for a few days and devote themselves to prayer and reflection, and my mind tells me that this makes perfect sense.  In my daily life however there is generally speaking no hurly-burly, though there have been periods in the past when I became engulfed in it, so I know what it is.  I have always been intrigued by the notion of Enclosed Carmelite Sisters having retreats, which of course they do.  Surely the life of an Enclosed Carmelite is a permanent retreat?  However, since I learned that their lives are strictly regulated by bells, I have begun to make better sense of this.  But the point about retreats for me is that Carmel has been such a gift in my life that I know that whatever is prescribed in our lives as Secular Carmelites will have good in it.  In short, there will be graces in a retreat, whether I feel them or not.    

Intercessions:

Cancer - Brian D, Marie, Bernard, Jacqui, Sue B, Theresa K

Siena, Elara – sick children

Wojtek – massive heart attack leaving him incapacitated

David - housebound

Sophia – blind infant

Joy Smith OCDS – seriously ill