Retreat Report & Photos

     The retreat went pretty well. As I said beforehand, I had wanted to strengthen my prayer life. Every "retreatant" was assigned a director. Each director had 4 or 5 retreatants to direct.I told mine what I was hoping for, and she did a good job of suggesting scripture passages for me to read and think about and pray over. So I think I ended up better off than I had started.

     Apart from meals and daily mass and our meetings with our directors, our days were pretty unstructured. So we could pray when we were ready, and relax when we wanted. Two of the days were nice enough for extended walks, and some of the neighborhood where I walked reminded me of the area where I grew up — large houses with extensive grounds.

     I found that I went to bed much earlier than I do at home — between 9:00 and 11:00 — and got up by 6:00 instead of 7:30.Obviously, with so much time, and so little else to do, I spent much more time praying and reading scripture that I could possibly do at home, but I find I am doing more now than I did before the retreat. So, so far so good.

     Here are some pictures.

The main house at dawn, as seen from my room.

The dormitory wing, where I stayed. My room is on the first floor. There are two near the middle with the curtain open. Mine is the one on the right.

Central portion of main building. In the middle of the second floor level is a sundial, with a legend at the top that reads, "Carpe Diem." The wall in the foreground really is curved — it's not some sort of illusion.

"Fireplace room." It occupies the ground floor of the wing nearer the dormitory. Above the fireplace is a copy of the "Old Testament Trinity" icon by Rublev — showing the three angels who visited Abraham. The first part of daily Mass and the conclusion took place in this room. The doors open into the glassed in one-story conservatory area visible in the picture from my room.

Central foyer. The liturgy of the Eucharist took place around the table. The bread and wine were offered and consecrated, and the people received Communion. We then went back to the fireplace room for the concluding prayer and blessing. You can see the advent wreath (suspended from the ceiling).

Blessed Sacrament Chapel, in the other wing of the main building.

My room.

My room.

Sunrise.

Niles Pond, which separates Eastern Point from East Gloucester. A narrow strip of land on each side of the pond separates it from Gloucester Harbor to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The retreat house is on Eastern Point. This view is toward East Gloucester. There is some ice on the pond in the middle foreground.