Fall has always been my favorite time of year. The crisp mornings, the beautiful clear blue skies, and the changing color of the trees fill me with peace, comfort and awe. It is also the time during which the Companions of the Precious Blood hold their annual retreat in this part of the country. This is an event I look forward to each fall. The beautiful Marillac Center in Leavenworth, Kansas afforded a perfect venue for this retreat and the much-needed time for reflection, prayer, reconciliation, and companionship.
We were graciously welcomed to the retreat house at the center, shown our rooms, and then gathered with other retreatants to spend a few minutes renewing friendships and relaxing in conversation. This is but another plus to our retreats. It provides a time to reconnect with Companions of other groups to share our triumphs and perhaps our challenges.
This year’ s retreat,“ Four Irritatingly Beautiful Questions for Disciples and Companions of the Precious Blood” piqued my curiosity. What in the world would this be about? What kind of questions are we talking about? Who is Fr. Ben Berinti? How will this awaken my spirituality? Questions I had about the four questions! I did not need to worry, because this year’ s retreat proved to rate in my top choices for a truly spiritual retreat. Fr. Ben is a gifted speaker who asked intriguing questions that left me with much to ponder and many seeds for further reflection.
The four irritatingly beautiful questions that were the frame of Fr. Ben’ s talks opened my eyes to a whole new world. To begin we discovered that the questions are not questions we bring to God— questions like will you help me, will you save my beloved from disease or death, and so on. No, they are questions God asks us! What an interesting concept. Father Ben used scripture to guide us through the questions God is asking of us!
The first question God asks us in scripture comes in Genesis,“ Where are you?” This question set me to reflecting on where I am in my relationship with my spiritual journey, my family, and my fellow companions. Father Ben told us if you don’ t know where you are, how can you know where you are going? What a simple question, yet so difficult for me to answer. Taking an
Precious Blood Companions
Four Irritatingly Beautiful Questions by Rena Tulipana, Liberty Missori Companion inventory of where I am in my world is just the beginning of becoming aware of where I am going.
The first question led us to other questions that stirred me to ponder my awareness of the people, the gifts given by God, as well as to my surroundings— an opportunity to contemplate on the distractions in my life. Am I awake? Am I allowing the busy world to distract me from God and from taking time to pray and praise Our Lord for the gifts given?
We were challenged by Fr. Ben to take an inventory of our spiritual abundance, or lack thereof. Fr. Ben’ s third question reminded us to take stock of our“ abundance” or“ scarcity” and questioned what to do when we feel insufficient. This question resonated with me. Often I feel overwhelmed by the many“ things” to be done in life, things that leave me with little time to pray or to be there for others. It seems to be the way of the world— too busy! We are called to give this to God, to“ offer it up,” and give thanks for what we have been given. Such an easy but fresh outlook to have. I pledge to work on this question!
Perhaps the most meaningful part of the retreat for me was Fr. Ben’ s exegesis of Isaiah 6:1-8. This passage is God’ s call to Isaiah. Fr. Ben presented this passage as a series of steps in God’ s call to Isaiah. These steps are a culmination of all the questions asked during the retreat. They are a perfect conclusion to these( not so) irritating beautiful questions: We have it( supply), we take inventory of what we have; whom do we know who can help our brothers and sisters in need? How can we answer“ Send me!”?
If you did not attend the annual retreat yet, mark your calendar for the upcoming retreats in Orlando, Florida or Menlo Park, California. You are in for a wonderful journey into seeing ourselves as we truly are. As Fr. Ben said, our mission today is to share the Incarnation in our hurting world by helping others through seeing Christ in them. W
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