We had the opportunity to hear Brother Terry talk about his life. He discussed why he chose to be a monk, what kind of presence the monastery has in Northern Ireland, and about community life, which was really relevant.
I loved how he explained that living in community can bring about great joy but also great struggles. I found that really interesting and also nice to hear. Sometimes I forget that living in a community isn't easy. Not that I didn't know that, but I think it is a fact forgotten a lot because you want the community to work so badly, but need to remember that in any relationships there will be bumps and that is perfectly normal and fine.
We also were given the opportunity to worship with the monks. It was very moving for me. It is hard to explain what I felt during the worship but I would say I felt an instilled presence of peace. I really admire their lifestyle and how important prayer is to their daily lives.
I think prayer is a practice we could all become accustomed to doing more throughout the day. It is as Brother Terry said, you're relationship with God. So how can you build/have a relationship with God, if you never take the time to pray?
Below is a video that gives insight into the monastery and you can listen to Brother Terry talk. Just ignore the bits at the beginning and end. You may also watch the monks live if you click here.
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| Benedictine Monastery in Rostrevor |
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| Benedictine Monastery in Rostrevor |
After our time at the monastery we went back to the house to prepare for a hike in the Mourne Mountains. I was excited to get some good photos and less excited about the hiking mainly because I'm always worried I'll be the one dragging in the back. But I wasn't really, and it was also great to hike as a group because it really showed how much of community we are.
Everyone looked out for each other to make sure no one was left behind, everyone had the proper gear, and just in general. It was a really good feeling to be able to see someone waiting for me to catch up or vice versa, and for a hand to be extended each time the path got uneven. I haven't really experienced a lot of good community like this in my life and it is just really refreshing and incredibly comforting to know we are all looking out for each other.
When talking with Kathryn on the retreat we discussed how it is not a coincidence we are all serving here together in Belfast. God has put us all together here to create this amazing community. And it's not coincidence that basically all of us in Belfast were the ones hanging out together at the Placement Event and then we all ended up here. It is great!
The hike turned out to be a wonderful time. It actually wasn't that hard of a hike, the only "hard" part about it was that it was incredibly muddy. I thankfully had worn rain trousers so I managed to not get any mud on my actual trousers, but my shoes were less lucky. After stepping in mud and having my foot sink down in it, I figured oh well and didn't bother to stay away from the mud after that. The hike provided a lot of laughs and a lot of memories. And of course awesome photos!
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| The trail we hiked. |
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| Group photo. Don't mind the fact I'm not smiling |
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| Grace, Me, Kathryn |
That night we had fun making dinner and just lounging around the house together. I was happy because Doug got me some marshmallows for hot chocolate. But in the end I just ate most of them. It was just nice to be able to relax around a fire and also we spent more time in worship together. That may have been the night we all had a bit of a wee dance party in the living room as well. We danced around to different tunes and acted silly.
The next day we were able to have a bit of a lie in (term used instead of saying sleep in.) After milling around that morning and just taking our time, we (or Doug) made the decision to take us to Castlewellan.
It is a small town close to the coast in County Down. It is incredibly picturesque and provided us with the opportunities to walk around the lake and browse through the shops.
I chose to walk around the lake with Doug, David, and Kathryn because I wanted to be outside because all the fall colors were incredibly vibrant and I wanted to get some more photos. It was really peaceful and everything was very still around the lake. I wish I could have spent more time there just admiring how incredibly calm everything was, but we had to meet up with the rest of the group that chose to stay and browse the shops. I have been really happy that the leaves on the trees here change colors and it has been a glorious fall according to people here, so I have not missed being home for fall.
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| Peace Maze |
We also stopped at the peace maze on our way back to meet the others. David had seen it on a website and wanted to complete it. However, we didn't really go through the entire thing and got out pretty fast but we were in a hurry to meet the others. I would encourage you to read about the maze here and here. It has a lot of significance and more than just a maze. It was also incredibly gorgeous and provided an amazing view as the sun set over the Mourne Mountains.
That night was more of the same, except we partook in Communion. I have never experienced Communion in such an intimate setting and found that much more spiritually fulfilling than taking it in church because it is such a personal thing.
I think sometimes it can become sort of a routine when its done in bigger settings because you don't have to necessarily actively engage in it. Needless to say, I really enjoy sharing that with the rest of the YAVs and Doug. We each had a part in it and I really enjoyed it. I will say however, coming from a church that uses grape juice and forgetting we used wine this time, I was a bit shocked for a moment when it was my turn to drink from the cup.
Next morning marked the final day in our retreat. My house had been responsible for a devotion and had asked Doug if we could go to the beach for our time. So we drove to Murlough beach where we had previously been earlier this year.
Our devotion was centered on taking time out for yourself and God. I got the idea from a book my mom had sent me over here titled "Ostriches, Dung Beetles, and Other Spiritual Masters," (my first reaction to the book was Um What?) But I have found it to be a really great resource to read every day.
Anyways, it has a selection based on the Cheetah for solitude and making sure to spend time praying by yourself. The author gives a brief talk about why it is important to spend time in solitude and then gives Scripture to solidify her statement. I read that from the book and then everyone went off and found their own space at the beach to be alone with God.
Tricia took a video of the waves crashing in at the beach, so I thought I'd share that with you to give a perspective of what I saw that day.
I think everyone found the devotional time to be beneficial and also after a week of spending time as a community, it was nice to have some alone time.
To conclude this post about the retreat. I loved it. I loved spending time together as a community, I loved worship, hiking, walking, seeing God's beauty in nature. I just loved it all.
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