Rest in His Light - A Joyful Retreat

On Friday June 1 to Saturday June 2 we hosted a women’s retreat at our Mother of the Light Convent. We had seven energetic young women attend from St. Theresa’s Church, Brockton and Our Lady of the Cedar’s Church, Boston. The theme of the retreat “Rest In His Light” was planned to give the women a chance to come away from the hectic rush of daily life and rest their body and soul by nurturing their relationship with Jesus, and in joyful fellowship and communal prayer.

The program included presentations on the life of prayer, Sacred Scripture, personal reflection, guided adoration before the Holy Mysteries, Ramsho & Safro, recreation and even dabke on the beach!  We shared great laughs, beautiful times of quiet, healing and deep prayer, as we drew closer to one another in Christ’s radiant light.
This short time apart was grace-filled, as expressed in the words of some of the participants:

“The resting in his light retreat was so beautiful. There are honestly no words to describe the Holy Spirit’s presence, but you know when he is there. The first time we had adoration in the chapel I had a hard time hearing God, because I was doing most of the talking, and even when I tried to listen it felt as if there was a wall between us. It’s kind of like talking and I wanted him to hear me, but there was a wall; maybe I was asking him things that he did not want to answer at that moment.

Well, any way on the second day I went to confession. After confession I felt like the eyes of my heart were again open, and the wall was broken. It felt wonderful to receive with a pure heart. The second adoration when by so quickly, and I wish wished it could have lasted longer. When I quieted my mind and my thoughts, I could feel the Holy Spirit’s presence. The Sprit does do not really speak in words, but I know he is telling me something, I not really sure what, but it was beautiful. It was so nice to dedicate 24 hours to talking to and learning more about God. 
I learned that there is always room for our relationship with God to grow, even though sometimes it feels like we have reached our limit. God is infinite.” -- Emily
Another young woman writes,

“I had a wonderful time at the convent with Sister Marla and Sister Therese. The weekend was filled with many activities that engaged me to think deeply about being a Maronite and what we believe in. Due to our fast moving lifestyle, and being busy with several things such as school, work, and other activities, I sometimes feel that I do not devote enough time to prayer and to myself. While at the convent, I decided to power off my cell phone so that I wouldn’t be distracted with the “outside world”. I wanted to dedicate my full time to prayer and to the people that were around me. If I had any questions about the Maronite faith the sisters explained each question and gave reasoning to the answer. After spending a whole 24 hours with the sisters, I have learned many new things, met new people and had an overall great time. I would love to repeat this experience again.” -- Julie

"I just want to thank you again for hosting us at your home this past weekend. It was truly a nice (but short) time away to come relax, pray, reflect and get to know you better! I only look forward to more events such as these." -- Sandra