Ahh! It's been a rough moving week. Sort of can't believe that I get to slip off to a SILENT Carmel retreat for three days this weekend.
I love my husband because he signed up to go to our Carmel retreat himself. The man took one look at me coming sobbing out of our new grocery store (have I mentioned yet how much I HATE change?) and graciously said "You go to the retreat while I stay home with the kids, you need it more!"
Devil that I am, I didn't even pause to argue with my spouse.
I took his offer to spend some refreshing time alone with Jesus and RAN WITH IT Baby!
So prayer intentions? I'll pray for you!
You come too!
We're studying Blessed Elizabeth of the Cross. An excellent Carmelite saint for all of us lay people, especially parents. Elizabeth had one sister, Marguerite. Her father died when they were young, so Elizabeth, her sister and her Mum became a very close trio. When Elizabeth joined the convent of Carmel, she mentally took along her married Sister with her.
Elizabeth very much appreciated the equal dignity of vocation between married life and religious life. She didn't want her Sister to miss out on any of the splendid insights Elizabeth was gaining during long hours of prayer, simply because she was busy carrying for a large family. On her deathbed, Elizabeth wrote out a very sweet 10 day "spiritual exercise" for her Sister to complete which easily fit into her busy life as a mother of small children.
Hopefully, I'll be able to post that 10 day retreat for everyone on this website soon.
Meanwhile, get a head start and read this luminious author yourself. You can order
her complete works here. (Last Retreat is in vol. 1).
(Special note for my friend Tharen. A religious person told Elizabeth that her name meant "house of God" She took that so seriously she mystically started to understand "the indwelling of the Trinity"--a deep Catholic doctrine. Anytime I read her work I think about our own dear Skylar Elizabeth. You've definitely got a little "house of God" with that dear baby!)
