One of the spiritual joys of the liturgical calendar is an unhurried schedule. For many of us, life is crammed with things to do, deadlines, things we want to accomplish, and perhaps not a few “should do’s”. I find keeping the liturgical calendar (through prayer and devotional reading) provides a beautiful counterbalance.
For example, in the world Easter has come and gone. It is finished. It is now time to move on to the next holiday marketing opportunity. But in the Church, we celebrate the Great Fifty Days of Easter! We have seven weeks to reflect and meditate on the Resurrection and our new identity as baptized members in the Risen Christ.
Perhaps this is another great difference between Christ and the world. The world wants our time, wants to take it away, telling us there is never enough time. Christ wants to give us time. Christ wants to give us eternity.
I am coordinator for a retreat in everyday life program. We just started a month long retreat today. What a wonderful way to embrace this joyous season, for much more than a day or so...to breath deeply and wait and welcome the coming of God's Spirit on Pentecost.
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent idea... How do you carry out a month-long retreat? Can you post a link?
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