Broom Tree Retreat Center

In the First Book of Kings 19: 4-8 we read about a broom tree. The passage goes like this:

Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death saying: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water.... He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

On the mountain Elijah found a cave where he took shelter. God instructed him to stand outside the cave because He planned to pass by. Then there were three phenomena, all of which one would expect to be a manifestation of God: a strong wind, an earthquake, and fire. But God did not come in those ways; He came in an unexpected way--as "a tiny whispering sound."

Tomorrow I'll be going to the Broom Tree Retreat and Conference Center in Irene, South Dakota where I'll be giving a retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius to a group of men. The dictionary has several definitions for "retreat," and while two of them are positive--a refuge or place of quiet, and time spent in religious retirement--the first definition is quite negative--"to go back or backward; to withdraw." We usually think of "retreat" in terms of a military battle in which one army "retreats" because it is losing. And no doubt life can feel like a losing battle at times. But I see a "retreat" as not so much the admission of defeat as a wise use of time.

Elijah was under attack from Queen Jezebel whose prophets he had just killed. God sent him to Horeb for his safety and the renewal of his strength. When he felt like giving up and surrendering to death, God intervened and fed him physically and spiritually. He left Horeb ready to return to the battle.

The same thing happens today in places like Broom Tree Retreat Center. People come away from the battles of daily life and are strengthened physically and spiritually during a time set aside for rest and prayer. Though this coming retreat is based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius--and "exercise" can be hard and unpleasant work, a real "work-out"--the major work of a retreat is to slow down enough to listen to what God is saying in the depths of one's heart. Usually God speaks, as He did to Elijah, in "a tiny whispering." To listen for and to that "whispering" requires time away from the noise and busyness of our ordinary routine. It means time in quiet and silence. It means slowing down.

That's a "retreat" that everyone can use annually. And it's always a privilege for me to be part of other people's retreat into the silence where God whispers words of love to His beloveds.

Villa

I'll be leaving tomorrow for villa. "Villa" is Jesuit parlance for vacation. This will be a short version of villa because I couldn't schedule a longer period right now. That will come later in the summer.

In the late 1800's some property on the Chain O' Lakes in Waupaca, Wisconsin was given to the Society of Jesus. The photo here is of a small island just across from this property located on Rainbow and Sunset Lakes. A large non-winterized house known as Loyola Villa was built to accomodate about a hundred Jesuit students who left the heat of St. Louis every summer to study in the Northwoods. Hot water for showers was added in the 1990's!

I'll be spending the time relaxing with about a dozen other Jesuits until next Tuesday. Though the area can get a bit noisy over the 4th of July weekend with all the fireworks, there will be plenty of time to sleep, to pray, to talk with friends, to swim, and to golf. Yes, a big part of my villa will be golf. I like to tell people that I learned to pray on a golf course when I was nine years old. That's when my father picked up the game and I became his golfing partner. I didn't hit the ball very straight and ended up walking by myself an awful lot. Walking and talking to myself. But actually, not to myself. I think those reflective moments alone taught me the value of silence, of being aware of God's presence in the surrounding beauty, and of simply telling God whatever was on my mind.

I won't be doing much walking alone now, though. Not because I hit the ball straighter but because I'll be sharing a cart with someone else. Still, I'm looking forward to this time away to be refreshed physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Now that's a good goal for any vacation whether it's a Jesuit "villa" or something else.

The Holy Father's Prayer Group

The March 17, 1991 issue of a newspaper called Catholic Twin Circle had an article entitled "The Pope's Own Prayer Group." It was about the Apostleship of Prayer which has a special spiritual bond with the Pope because he gives his monthly prayer intentions to the Church and the world through us. Pope John Paul II expressed his appreciation for this special bond in 1985 when he told Apostleship directors from around the world that the Apostleship of Prayer was "a precious treasure from the Pope's heart and the Heart of Christ."

He also told the directors: "You feel particularly bound to the Vicar of Christ and pray for him every day as the mother Church of Jerusalem did for Peter (Acts 12: 4); and you wish to deepen and make know to Christians the concrete problems that trouble the Universal Church, especially those of the Missions."

The passage to which Pope John Paul II referred is part of today's First Reading for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. As "the Holy Father's Prayer group," the Apostleship of Prayer is, as Pope John Paul II pointed out, very much like the early Christian community of Jerusalem that prayed for Peter when he was in prison. Today we continue to pray with deep affection for Peter's successor, Pope Benedict XVI.

This morning I ran across the following in Fr. Francis Fernandez's meditation book In Conversation with God:

Cephas was not a recognisable proper name, but it was one chosen by Our Lord to denote Peter's new function, a function that would be fully revealed to him later on, when he would become the Vicar of Christ. In our prayer today we can examine the sincerity of our love--shown with deeds--towards the one who takes Christ's place on earth. Do we pray for him every day? Do we make his teachings known? Do we second his intentions? Do we promptly spring to his defence when he is attacked or scorned? What joy we give to God when He sees that we love, with deeds, his Vicar on earth!

Good questions for every Catholic to consider today.

A Culture of Vocations

June is a month of celebrations, a time for weddings and ordinations. I've been to several such celebrations this month. And I gathered with other Jesuits from my Province to celebrate anniversaries. One man celebrated 80 years as a Jesuit, two celebrated 60 years of priesthood, and others celebrated golden anniversaries of priesthood and religious life. Some good friends of mine in St. Paul celebrated 50 years of marriage and I sent a remembrance to them of how we first met 38 years ago when I was a Jesuit novice.

All of these are celebrations of vocations, God's call to individuals and couples.

It's been said that there is a "vocation crisis." When we hear that expression we usually think of the call to priesthood or consecrated life, but this is a crisis that also affects the vocation of marriage. Many people are choosing to live together outside of marriage and many marriages break up.

I think what's needed is to foster a "culture of vocations." The word culture comes from a word meaning "to cultivate" or "to till." Basically a culture is the environment within which one grows or develops. It's the soil, as Jesus pointed out in the Parable of the Sower, within which the seed of the Word of God is received. It's the soil in which a vocation is planted.

One way to develop a "culture of vocations" is to practice the Daily Offering and to teach it to the young. Notice: we need to "practice" the Morning Offering prayer; we need to really pray it and not just say it. When we pray the Daily Offering we offer ourselves with Jesus for the salvation of the world. Doing this creates a habit of offering, a mind-set of giving as opposed to taking.

With this habit of offering the seed of a vocation is more easily planted and can grow. This is true for all vocations. Certainly those who receive a call to the priesthood or consecrated life will more readily respond because they have been developing, over time, a spirituality of offering themselves to God and His service. But this is also very true for the vocation of marriage. Individuals who practice the Daily Offering will be more ready to commit themselves whole-heartedly and, in the living out of their marriage vows, will be in the habit of making a total offering of themselves to the other. Finally, this is true for the single vocation. Those who are called to this vocation are not following it because they are selfish or afraid of commitment or afraid of losing their independence. Those who are called to the single vocation find in it a way to offer themselves to God's service in ways that the other vocations do not allow.

The key is that every true vocation involves a call and a response, a gift of oneself. Every vocation involves an offering of oneself. God does not call people to be self-serving, to look out only for themselves, or to take and keep. God calls everyone who is baptized to a particular vocation which requires making an offering of oneself. By using the Daily Offering to foster the habit of making an offering of oneself, we will address the crisis of vocations and create an environment in which every vocation can flourish.

Two Hearts Beat as One

“Two Hearts Beat as One”—the title and lyrics of a song by U-2. It’s a nice description of romantic love but it most accurately applies to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary used to be celebrated on August 22 but was moved to the day after the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That makes sense. These two Hearts were physically close as Jesus developed in Mary’s womb and they were spiritually united in surrendering completely to the will of God the Father for the salvation of the world.

In the traditional Morning Offering prayer of the Apostleship of Prayer, we make a daily offering of our lives to Jesus “through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” That also makes sense. The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son of God, took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary. As Jesus came to us through her, so we go to Jesus through her.

Praying in this way—“through the Immaculate Heart of Mary”—we express our desire to have hearts like hers. We want to have clean hearts, with no stain of sin, no obstacle for grace to work in our lives and in the hours of our day. We want to have pure hearts, hearts purely devoted, 100%, to the will of God.

Pope John Paul II, in his Angelus Address of July 2, 1989 said:

“The Spirit molded the Heart of Jesus in the womb of Mary, who collaborated actively with him as mother and educator. As mother, she adhered knowingly and freely to the salvific plan of God the Father…. As educator, she had molded the Heart of her son; with Saint Joseph she introduced him to the traditions of the Chosen People, inspired in him a love for the Law of the Lord, communicated to him the spirituality of the ‘poor of the Lord.’ She had helped him to develop his intellect and exercised a sure influence in the formation of his character. …Therefore we can truly say: in the Heart of Christ there shines forth the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit; in it there is also reflected the heart of his Mother. May every Christian heart be like the Heart of Christ: obedient to the Spirit’s action and to the Mother’s voice.”

Amen!

"Irreplaceable" and "Indispensable"

Happy and Blessed Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!

We often speak of devotion to the Sacred Heart but I think there are some problems with that word “devotion.” There are many devotions in the Catholic Church and by speaking about Sacred Heart devotion the impression is that this is an optional devotion that depends upon an individual’s inclinations and preferences.

Not so, according to Pope Benedict. We can still talk about having a devotion to the Heart of Jesus, but we shouldn’t think of this as being one devotion among many others from which we are free to pick and choose. For Pope Benedict, devotion to the Sacred Heart is “irreplaceable” and “indispensable.”

Those are words he used in a letter he wrote to Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach on May 15, 2006. The occasion was the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius XII’s great Sacred Heart encyclical Haurietas Aquas. At that time Fr. Kolvenbach was the General Superior of the Jesuits and the General Director of the Apostleship of Prayer. It’s a beautiful letter that can be found on the Vatican web site. [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20060515_50-haurietis-aquas_en.html]

Here’s part of what the Holy Father wrote:

"When we practise this devotion, not only do we recognize God's love with gratitude but we continue to open ourselves to this love so that our lives are ever more closely patterned upon it. God, who poured out his love 'into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us' (cf. Rom 5: 5), invites us tirelessly to accept his love. The main aim of the invitation to give ourselves entirely to the saving love of Christ and to consecrate ourselves to it (cf. Haurietis Aquas, n. 4) is, consequently, to bring about our relationship with God. This explains why the devotion, which is totally oriented to the love of God who sacrificed himself for us, has an irreplaceable importance for our faith and for our life in love. …

"Love is never 'finished and complete' (cf. Deus Caritas Est, n. 17). Thus, looking at the 'side pierced by the spear' from which shines forth God's boundless desire for our salvation cannot be considered a transitory form of worship or devotion: the adoration of God's love, whose historical and devotional expression is found in the symbol of the 'pierced heart', remains indispensable for a living relationship with God (cf. Haurietis Aquas, n. 62)."

So today’s celebration is not the expression of one devotion among many but of the devotion that we all have as Christians—our love for Jesus who loved us first and showed that love by dying and being pierced for us. In the words of Pope Benedict, this “cannot be considered a transitory form of worship or devotion.” It’s the Heart of our faith!

Retreating in Alton

I'm in Alton, Illinois giving a retreat to 35 Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George [www.altonfranciscans.org]. My retreat is based on the 33 invocations in the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It's been said that when you give a retreat you also make a retreat and I have to say that being on retreat with these Sisters is a wonderful way to prepare for the Feast of the Sacred Heart on Friday.

This community has a deep devotion to the Heart of Jesus. I'm told that their foundress, Mother M. Anselma Bopp, wanted her congregation to be known as the Sisters of St. Francis of the Sacred Heart, but that name had already been taken when they began in the late 1800's. They had their beginnings at St. George Parish in Thuine, Germany and thus became known by the title of this early Church martyr. Mother M. Anselma died in 1887 and her congregation was officially approved by Pope St. Pius X in 1909.

Their devotion to the Heart of Jesus is seen in their vocation brochure which says that they were "Founded for His Heart," and are "Seeking His Heart," are "Formed after His Heart," are "At One with His Heart," are "Serving His Heart," and are "United in His Heart."

Their Constitutions state:

"The spirituality which is the heritage of our congregation finds expression in the scriptural text: 'They shall look on the one whom they have pierced' (John 19: 37; see Zechariah 12: 10). The vision that we possess, drawn out of the overflowing sources of salvation of our crucified and glorious Lord, is indicated by Christ himself when he says: 'If any man is thirsty, let him come to me! Let the man come and drink who believes in me.' Scripture says, 'From his breast shall flow fountains of living water,' and the evangelist goes on to say: 'He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believe in him were to receive' (John 7: 37-39). His Spirit began to flow as 'living water' when the side of the Crucified One (who will forever be glorified--see John 19: 34) was pierced.

The Sisters shared with me the prayer book of their congregation and there, in the Midday Prayers, I discovered a page entitled "Prayers for the Apostleship of Prayer." Every day, at noon, the Sisters gather to pray an "Our Father," a "Hail Mary," and the "Apostles' Creed" for the Apostleship of Prayer and the intentions of the Holy Father. I've always said that one of the great things about the Apostleship of Prayer is knowing that millions of people around the world are praying for me, for you, and for all Apostles of Prayer, but it's always special to put a face on some of those millions. And to know that a group of women like this--so devoted to the Heart of Jesus--are faithfully praying for us every day at noon.