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for such a time as this
The fig trees are budding and the grapevines are in blossom; how delicious they smell. Yes, spring is here. Arise, my beloved, my fair one, and come away. Song of Songs2:13
On the third day of spring about 100 women came together at Silverstream to welcome our speaker Terry Modica from Tampa, Florida to the 2010 Dove Retreat; believing also that their lives would never be the same again – spring has come. We had women from Kerikeri to Timaru- truly wonderful that distance is not a problem for some.
Our theme for Friday night was ‘Keep your eyes upon Jesus’ as He yearns for us to humble ourselves and become fertile soil. He wants our tears, yearnings and burdens but we have to give them to Him. Our tears are seeds that we plant in God’s heart. Our homework before we went to bed was to write a letter to Jesus giving our yearnings and burdens to Him so that these can be lifted off us and left behind.
Some of us heard and felt the windows shaking around 4.30 am and awoke on Saturday morning to hear of the devastation from the strong earthquake in Christchurch and prayed for a day of grace for those in that area; also prayed for our own ‘earthquakes’ in life
After a good (or not so good night’s sleep) Terry began speaking on the Rosary and how we can experience the joy of Christ in the stresses in our own lives. This put me personally into a bit of a quandary as I don’t know the Rosary, have rarely prayed the Rosary and we never prayed the Rosary as a family. So I have to say that I wondered what I was going to learn and how this ‘mystery’ would be revealed to me
She began with the Joyful Mysteries telling us how we could put these into our own daily lives. Annunciation: – good news is spoken to all of us and we must respond in humility – we are the fertile soil. Visitation: a leap of recognition that the Holy Spirit visits our spirit and our seed cracks open and sprouts. Birth of Jesus: the seed cracks open and Jesus is restored, rebirthed and there is renewal – the cracked seed becomes new life.
Presentation of Jesus: we rededicate our lives to God; dedicate our own earthquakes. Finding Jesus in the Temple; finding Jesus in our earthquakes; our soil gets watered by more good news; we become more fertile and stronger.
Terry said that we have been bought up under a misconception and need to know that Jesus is all loving; all smiling and all joyful. Joy is a very normal part of a God-centred life. Jesus Our Yoke. Let Jesus be the stronger ox in the carrying of our burdens – let Him carry the bulk of the yoke.
Luminous Mysteries – these are for growing in the Mission of Christ. Baptism of Jesus- saying ‘Yes’ to growth; surrendering to Jesus; we are all called to prayer and intercession and speaking God’s word to others Matt3:13-17. Miracle at Cana –this was a revelation of the divine. We must do what Jesus tells us to do. When we are in the moment of what God wants us to do, we get the grace to do it. Preaching of the Good News – sharing Christ. We need to show and live the Good News ourselves before speaking out. The Transfiguration – we become holier when we really listen. Matt 17. The Last Supper –we become what we receive. Spend time worshipping what we have received. Sing songs of worship and live them. Share your love with others. John 15:12-17
Sorrowful Mysteries – in Communion with Jesus – becoming Eucharist. Agony in the Garden – making the decision to follow Christ all the way to where it hurts; to sacrifice; to see the Gem’ in others. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you. The Scourging at the Pillar – this is the pain of faith being rejected by those we try to help. Crowning of Thorns – when our minds are attacked by doubts and fears; we feel falsely accused. Carrying the Cross – the burdens we carry become easier when we realise that a better fruit will grow in us. The Crucifixion – we need to die to our own desires
In the final presentation on Sunday morning Terry showed us that after the crucifixion comes the resurrection in our lives. The Glorious Mysteries of the rosary deal with the resurrection – we are given the grace to evangelise and should find a spiritual director to help us recognise what God is doing in our life. The Ascension – whatever God calls us to do He enables us to do. Descent of the Holy Spirit – enables us to live the abundant life and to go out and help others. Mary’s Assumption – Mary’s holiness is our role model; she pondered and she trusted and we need to do this also. Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven – we are daughters of Mary and God has given us everything that belongs to Him.
Interspersed with Terry’s teachings we had wonderful Praise and Worship throughout the weekend; a time of Reconciliation with 6 priests from around Wellington; Saturday night was extra special as we had Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Fr Ron Bennett blessed every woman individually as he prayed over us; as women we were delighted to have delicious food served to us at very regular intervals; we had Mass both days and as the weekend drew to a close we were each anointed by the Prayer Ministers for our journey ahead.
The women who left the retreat centre on Sunday afternoon were changed from those who arrived on Friday evening. With the teaching of Terry they are now more able to use Mary as a role model; to saying ‘yes’ to what God wants for them through reflection on the rosary. And as for myself – my view (or lack of view) of the rosary has changed and I can see the richness of this type of prayer.
It was truly a wonderful weekend. I have been to as many of these weekends as has been possible over the past 20 years – what can I say – words cannot cover the blessings I have received – no two weekends are alike and I look forward in anticipation to next year. See you there!!!
Pat Carson
Palmerston North