A Sojourner’s Thoughts

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Unknown Pilgrimage #6 – Alone with God

Brace Cove Eastern Point Retreat HouseIt’s been a while since I last wrote, the 8th of March to be exact. I had just ended a 3-day silent retreat and was writing about the an icon called the Trinity. And today, I am just ending the first day of an 8-day silent retreat at Eastern Point Retreat House in Gloucester, MA.

So where did the last seven months go? COVID-19!

This quote is from my first blog of 2020, written in my hermitage at Pacem in Terris –

I am now a couple of weeks into my unknown pilgrimage and I thought I would clarify why I am actually calling this adventure an “Unknown Pilgrimage.” Let me start with the work pilgrimage. According to Merriam-Webster a pilgrimage is the journey a pilgrim is one and a pilgrim is one who is traveling to a sacred or holy place.
The pilgrimage I am on this year is one to know both myself and God in a deeper, richer, more intimate way. This pilgrimage may include physical travel, but will defiantly involve an inward journey to my soul. The thing that makes pilgrimages tough is that they take us away from our normal routines and force us to encounter God (and ourself) in places where we might not feel at ease. It is in this uneasiness that God can do His transformational work. 

These last seven months have been a time of desolation. God has felt so far away. My desire to continue this “Unknown Pilgrimage” melted away when the 8-day silent retreat, which was to start on my 60th birthday fell victim to Covid. I got away to Ely, but even there I felt all alone. Seeking but not finding God. I think my work reorganization killed that retreat.

Political angst, calls for racial equality, and Covid quarantine filled the summer. I got a camper built. Broke it in on an 8-day trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota with my wife and 9-year old grand daughter.

And now I am here, at Eastern Point pondering two questions. First, “What are you doing here?” and “What do you want me to do for you?” The first question was asked by God of Elijah in the cave at Mt Horab and the second of the blind man by Jesus as he enter Jerusalem for the final time.

Neither of these question are new to me. Both of these questions can be answered on a number of levels.

In my next blog post I will explore these two questions more fully.

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Unknown Pilgrimage 2020 #5 – Stepping Up to the Table

It has been a bit since I last wrote about this year of pilgrimage. I recently completed my second retreat of the year. It was a three day silent Ignatian retreat. The retreat leader was from the Eastern Church and brought to the conferences a rich display of icons. In this setting an icon is a piece of religious art (images) that is written by on iconographer. They are said to be written because the purpose of the icon is to tell a story that helps draw one closer to God.

The Trinity by Andrei Rublev

The icon above is call “The Trinity” and depicts God (on the left), Jesus (in the middle), and the Spirit (on the right). There is a lot to the story that is written in this image, but the thing that I want to focus on is the invitation into the unknown that the icon invokes. The way the Trinity is laid out presents to the view an invitation to join God, Jesus, and Spirit at the table. Imagine stepping into the image and joining these three at the table. What might that conversation be like? What do you imagine they might invite you to do? All it takes is a willingness to step into the unknown.

Is there anything stopping you from taking your place at the table? How would joining the three at the table deepen your relationship with God? Sit with this image for a while and imagine.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you need someone to help you to the table.

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Unknown Pilgrimage 2020 Entry #4 – Wonderment

Wonderment. Isn’t that an interesting word. I first came across this word a couple of years ago, and it has stuck with me. Wonderment is defined as awed admiration, curiosity, or wonder. If you think about it, wonderment is about exploring the unknown.

writing deskI took a personal day to sit in my hermitage (two space heaters going to keep warm on this cold Minnesota winter day [-11 this morning]) and see what God was inviting me to ponder. The topic that came into focus for me was “intimacy with God.” I have been invited again into a state of wonderment about nurturing and growing my deep, rich, intimate relationship with God.

In his book The Naked Now, Richard Rohr says that it is in loving something that we can truly know the object of that love. For me, this is what wonderment is about, holding God in awed admiration, yet being curious as to what new thing I will learn about him. After all, this is the purpose of the pilgrimage I’m on, embracing the unknown to make it known.