Retreat and Reconstruction

In January I spent a week in New Orleans, where I was on retreat mentally, spiritually and physically.

A retreat in military terms means to fall back and get reorganized, and it’s not so different in spiritual terms. Our Community recommends that priests and brothers participate in a retreat at least once a year.

I chose a directed retreat, which means I was generally alone or meeting one-on-one with a spiritual director. My ordinary day-to-day schedule is very hectic and so it was important that I had some quiet time to enjoy my relationship with God and God’s world. I even opted to drive down to the Crescent City, rather than flying, so that my time of contemplation could begin as I slipped behind the wheel of my van and pulled away from Gaspar House of Initial Formation, in Dayton, Ohio, where I live.

But my week wasn’t all about peace and contemplation. God blesses us with a wonderful diversity of interests; I like to work with my hands. I’ve done some of my best thinking when I’ve been working construction with my dad and my brothers. So during my week of retreat, I spent every other day as part of a rebuilding team with Habitat for Humanity.

It was my second time working to rehab houses in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. I was there the first year after the hurricane, tearing out what could not be salvaged in the homes of St. Bernard Parish. It was one of the areas that suffered the most in the flooding following the hurricane, and I’ll never forget the piles of debris, 10 feet high and as wide as the building lots along every residential street, waiting to be hauled off so that life could begin anew in the neighborhood.

I was thinking about those piles of debris when I was on retreat. Those piles were symbolic to me of all the belongings—some good and necessary, some not so good and not so necessary—that we all accumulate as we go through life.

It was wonderful on my return visit to see that those piles are no longer part of the landscape. This time, we were building, not demolishing. Again, it was a good image for me to take along on the days when I was quietly contemplating my spiritual life on retreat. As Christians we are all builders. As Precious Blood people we spend our lives promoting reconciliation, as Christ came to offer reconciliation and redemption to all people. Rebuilding and renewing are activities of hope, at the core of our identity as people of God. It was a wonderful week for me, and I pray for all of you that you find a similar way to renew your spirit and refresh your outlook for the work that lies ahead.