Silent Retreat - Final day with Reflective thoughts

Morning Prayers:

I awoke several times in the night again. At 4:40 am I was up and walking out the door. The sun had not risen yet, but again, the rest of creation certainly was making itself known. Morning prayers were pretty much the same as two days ago. Thirty minutes long with chants and readings. I especially like this morning’s reading on joy. Joy is expensive…very interesting. The sisters were not around, probably recovering from jet lag, and I noticed a couple of other guests decided to take the morning off. After prayers it was my final quiet breakfast. English muffins with that wonderful honey and raisin bread with honey. Delicious. I noticed the sisters had their napkin rings with names on them. This is going to be a crowded dining hall for the next week. I left the dining hall and made my final trip back to my room. Peaceful, quiet, and tranquil. It’s now time to clean up, pack up, and take my time driving through the mountains on my journey home. It’s 6:10 am…..any of you awake yet? : ) Closing Thoughts:

As my stay here draws to a close I wanted to comment on my time here. I’ll begin by saying that I’m not monk material (nor am I farmer material either BTW). This sort of quiet is not how God wired me. It was certainly good to come, pause, and reflect, but now it’s time to get back to my noisy family and somewhat busier life. I get the idea of monastic life, but am still not completely convinced of its value. The brothers do good work in Mexico with their sisters, and maybe some things around the Weston area, but staying in their monestary for 90 % of their week, praying four times each day, still doesn’t seem like the life God called us to. I do think Weston Priory has value in that others can come and find a place to be silent and listen for God’s voice in their lives, but I also got the sense that these brothers are revered a bit more than any one Christian should be. I learned a great deal from the prayer times, and my times of quiet, and for that I thank God. I come away from this time with a greater understanding of the need for times of quiet in my life, but I'm one who doesn't need to come to a Priory to experience it, I don’t think. I learned that my way of quiet is not the same as this monastic way, and that's ok. We are all created differently, the key is to find times of quiet in one's life for focus on God. I like driving and exploring God’s creation. I’m looking forward to doing that on my way home. That is relaxing, and almost a spiritual encounter for me. Would I come back here again? I might, but am really not sure. Others who are wired for this sort of experience (my other guest mates) seem to truly enjoy it. I grew from it, but at times it was more of an endurance thing than something I was enjoying. Quite honestly quiet is difficult for me (stop snickering all those who know me), but this experience has given me a framework for incorporating more quiet in my life - in my own way. I will take this experience and remember it for a long time (I have the pictures to help me: ) ).