Conference Day 4: Silent Retreat Day

            Well today was the silent retreat run by Brian, Missy, Father Steve and the Sisters. First off, props to them for reorganizing the day at the last minute. Originally Rachael and Tyler were planning the day, but both of them remained at the hospital all day. Despite having to make quick work of the planning, Brian and Missy did a fantastic job. Everyone, even the FOCUS students, thought it had been planned well in advance. 

            Breakfast started the silence and we were required to stay quiet until supper. The only talking allowed were the three main talks, prayers, Confession and Mass. I think this had a mixed reaction among the participants of the conference: some loved it and others really struggled. I know that regardless of the silence, everyone enjoyed the talks (Missy and Brian have both received many compliments both in Russian and English) and the Adoration time.

At the end of the retreat we had a Eucharistic Healing Procession. For those of you, like me, that don’t know all the fancy Church lingo, that is Adoration where the priest carries the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament around to each person. Then each person can grasp the humeral veil (cape thing the priest uses to hold monstrance) and have a face to face prayer or conversation with Jesus. This mirrors the story of the woman suffering from hemorrhages and as she touches Jesus’s cloak she is healed. Jesus tells her that her faith has saved her; in the same way by touching the veil, we grasp Jesus’s cloak and hope that our faith will save us as we pray directly to the face of the Lord.

Zoey during the Eucharistic Healing Service and Father Steve processing. Each member of the conference got a moment like this. 

I have to admit I cheated during the retreat a little. During our first long silent reflection time I ended up on the phone with Rachael (she sounded so much better even though she had to stay at the hospital) trying to coordinate getting her retreat materials to Father Steve and Missy. The second period I went to Confession with Father John, with had a lot of talking. Finally for the third reflection period I slept through half of it (which was allowed!) so the not talking thing was very easy. While I sort of cheated, the reflection and quiet of the day did have a strong effect on everyone.

            After our ban on talking was finally lifted, everyone had so much to talk about at supper. After supper we took the 20 minute walk to the beach and had a great night of fellowship. It is awesome for us Americans to say that we have all swum in the Pacific Ocean . . . on the other side! For some of us, we have been to both sides of the Pacific. The water was nice and the beach was a small taste of home for me. We also played beach volleyball with a bunch of random Russian people from the beach. Overall it was just a great time and a fantastic finish to a full day.