Be attentive to blessings found in quiet contemplation
Winter arrives December 22 and so we are still in autumn, the Season of Harvest that invites us to gather and reflect on our blessings.
Some of mine have come through suffering, some through meaningful relationships with family, friends and companions on the journey, some through communing in nature. My most recent blessing was a retreat to St. Gertrude’s Monastery in Cottonwood, Idaho.
The Benedictine Sisters live a life of prayer in community, caring for one another and creation, extending gracious hospitality to pilgrims who stop in.
St. Gertrude’s was built in 1908. It is beautifully preserved, sitting high on a hill, in the breathtaking landscape of northcentral Idaho. Such places of prayer and service exist all over the world. I somehow knew that in my head; at St. Gertrude’s I got to live it and taste it! Their food is harvested from their own garden. It is healthy, wholesome and scrumptious, as is the environment at the monastery.
The sisters who live there are not cloistered or cut off from the outside world. They are active and very much aware of the concerns of earth, church, war, tragedy, and suffering.
Prayer is the rhythm of the day. Psalms are sung in the chapel as part of their liturgy practice. I complimented one of the sisters on her beautiful voice.
“You could hear my voice!” she said. “Oh, I need to soften it … I should be blending in with the other voices.”
This struck me as a stark contradiction to our ego-driven culture.
Contemplative lifestyle teaches us, experientially, how to return to our true selves where there is no separation by religion, nationality, skin color, gender or any of the many ways we see ourselves as different from others. Franciscan Friar Richard Rhor says, “The illusion of separation is the root of all violence. We don’t know how to live out our union with love and hence we resort to violence fighting people who are not like us.”
Monastic life teaches us a better way to live.
On one of my outings, I meandered off into the woods. The trail I chose had a very steep drop off, which I managed carefully. As I continued, I had no idea where I was going. It reminded me of childhood days growing up on a farm. Many times, I ventured too far from home, getting lost, yet feeling a sense of being at home in nature.
A deer suddenly appeared out of nowhere, gracefully leaping over a fallen log. As the hart leapt, my heart leapt. My breath taken away by the deer’s beauty and grace. Later, I reflected on having had a unitive leap of consciousness in nature. How cool of God to surprise me!
The blessing I gleaned from my short retreat is the desire to pay attention to how I care for my environment, the Earth and all of creation. I am so very grateful.
Cathy Rhoads is a board certified Catholic chaplain and co-founder of Spirithaven Hospitality Retreat Center. She attends Christ the King Church in Richland. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 333 W. Canal Drive, Kennewick, WA 99336. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.
This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 6:10 AM with the headline "Be attentive to blessings found in quiet contemplation."