Into great silence, Adirondack-style

September 6, 2013 | Nature

I am so honored and humbled by the many, many prayer requests that have come pouring in from friends on Facebook. I asked people to send me their special intentions so I can carry them with me on silent retreat this weekend, and I now have three full pages — and I’ll be adding to the list right up until I leave at 3 p.m. in case you want to email me or leave an intention in the comment section before then. What a beautiful thing, to have people trust me with their worries and needs. I promise I’ll honor all of them. Although I’m not supposed to read on this silent retreat, I will make an exception for my prayer list so I don’t forget or miss anyone.

This will be the second time I attend the Merton in the Mountains silent contemplative retreat at Pyramid Life Center in Paradox, N.Y. It’s a beautiful place. The photo above is from when I was there five years ago. I will enter the silence tonight and be back to reality on Sunday afternoon. Not nearly long enough to really, truly get acclimated to the quiet, but I’m hoping even this little taste of silence will be enough to help me get a little more centered, reacquainted with regular deep prayer, and less inclined to distraction when I get home. That’s a tall order for a weekend retreat, but based on past experience, it is possible.

On top of that, this peace-focused retreat will coincide with Pope Francis’ call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world on Saturday, so I’m sure we will be joining our silent prayers with the prayers of millions around the world. No more war.

I’ll be back next week to talk about this retreat experience. Until then, just know that I will be praying for all of my NSS readers and Facebook friends. If you could say a quick prayer for me at some point this weekend, I would really appreciate it. Peace and blessings!

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