Silent Retreat in July

Silence. Silence. Silence. The most powerful word spoken is The Word who speaks without noise, the Word who is Jesus. Six young ladies had the opportunity to spend time in silence this weekend with Him at the Seberger House, close to our home in East Chicago.

The Seberger House is a farmhouse and property willed to us by Leona Seberger, who was always a loyal friend. I said to Sr. Mary Brigid, "Perhaps we planned the date, and the meals, we cooked, we cleaned the house (many thanks to Sr. Mary Michael), we drove the cars, and made the schedule, but we didn't pick these ladies, we didn't plan the weather, we didn't foresee the wisdom with which Fr. Jerry Schweitzer would speak, we didn't come down from heaven to be present for adoration in a little host; the Holy Spirit did all of that. The bottom line is that God brought this together, and the sisters who did the most for this retreat were the ones who assisted by their prayers (and I happen to know that many of them were praying very fervently!)

So with perfect weather, young ladies on fire with love for Jesus, a quiet country house with a chapel, and the Blessed Sacrament, what did we do? We remained silent and we adored Him. On Friday afternoon, after an enjoyable lunch in East Chicago, we drove out to the Seberger House, unpacked and began the retreat with a prayer. From then on, the retreatants were left to themselves. They almost always joined us for the praying of the Office, which we did in the chapel out loud. We came prepared with books for that purpose. Fr. Jerry came on Saturday and gave two conferences. I was in the kitchen during the conferences trying not to overcook the spaghetti, helping Sr. Mary Brigid improvise a cheese grater (a potato peeler works very well), and experimenting with ice cream to try to make soft serve. (A last minute decision, I am infamous for changing menus at the last minute.) Fortunately, the spaghetti wasn't mushy, the cheese grated nicely and the ice cream was just right. And if you need any further proof that the Holy Spirit was at work, I made meatballs (no recipe) and they not only stayed together, but turned out tasty too. Hallelujah. I wonder how I can make that happen again.

On Saturday night we had adoration for a couple of hours, which was, I think, the pinnacle of the whole retreat. Adoration was silent as well, and we saw our retreatants take full advantage of their free time, reading, going for walks, praying in the chapel, and resting. On Sunday we ended our silence with a joyous breakfast, and quickly packed up the car. We went to St. John's for mass and then visit The Shrine of Christ's Passion afterwards. God truly blessed our plans. Mass was lovely with five baptisms! What a surprise! Father welcomed us warmly. (I always get embarrassed when the priest points us out in front of everybody, but they seemed to enjoy seeing us.) The day was hot, but we prayed the stations of the cross anyway at The Shrine of Christ's Passion. I had never been here before, and found it overwhelming, but on such a hot, dry day, it was easy to put myself in Palestine on that day in Jerusalem when Our Lord began His walk to Calvary. That was a wonderful way to end the retreat, and we all came back home refreshed and renewed, thanks be to God!