Pausing to Pray
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Faith on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 6:43 PM
Today, I did something very luxurious - I went on a retreat! Yes, the day before my son heads off for his Junior year in high school, with errands on my list, a mound of laundry to be done, and work piling up, I spent seven hours on retreat!
Since I work part time for my parish, the retreat was not my idea but rather part of my work responsibilities and a mandated event. I’ll admit that when I saw it looming on my calendar for this week I wasn’t excited. We have this retreat every year in anticipation of the new school year. The parish staff and teachers gather together off site for a day of spirituality in advance of the new academic challenges that lie ahead.
When I woke up this morning, I thought to myself, “I don’t want to go. I want to stay home with my boys.” We had arranged for my wonderful husband Greg to be on dad duty for the day, so I was fortunate to be able to avoid logistical arrangements with my sons. I just plain wanted to stay home in my pajamas rather than going off to a meeting for the day.
Boy, am I glad that I didn’t listen to that inner voice who wanted to call in sick! Instead, I spent the day in the company of our wonderful staff and teachers focusing on prayer, faith community and the true meaning of “ministry”. Our spiritual director for the retreat was Sister Donna who will celebrate fifty years as a nun this year! She started the day off inviting us to spend twenty minutes outside in silent prayer - what a gift!
Like most of you, my daily prayer life tends to come in fits and spurts - especially when life is at its busiest. During the remainder of the morning, we focused on the importance of active prayer in our lives, reiterating the well known truth that the more busy we are in life, the more we need to be praying. We gathered into small groups to examine the “ministry” role of Catholic school teachers and parish staff and spent time talking about being a more supportive and spiritual faith community. We ended the day with the Eucharist, leaving with hearts and souls reinvigorated to face the months ahead with zeal and a servant attitude.
Days like today are a constant reminder for me that there’s no better way to spend my time than nurturing my relationship with a God who loves me unconditionally, despite my many flaws. We are blessed as moms to have the opportunity to offer each day we spend in loving service to our families as an offering to God.
Most of us moms don’t often get the opportunity to take a mid-week retreat. We may be lucky to carve out time to meditate upon a Rosary! But as we anticipate the start of a new school year full of opportunities, challenges and growth, it is good to pause for prayer.
Whether you have a toddler or a teen, if you’re a mom you are constantly pondering the lives of your children in your heart! I would love to hear from you how you make time in your day to day life to pause for prayer. Like me, do you ever feel “too busy” or too overwhelmed by life to take time to pray? What’s working for you? What’s not?
Please know that today I prayed for each of you, our Faith and Family readers, and that I took your intentions with me to Mass. My prayers for each of you continue and I’d beg that you keep Danielle, Rachel, Rebecca, Arwen and me in your prayers too! Together, as we minister to our families and to one another, we make our world a better place one soul at a time.
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