Having forgotten what it felt like to lie down on a bed of clover in the shade on a hot summer day, I began to understand what an outdoor retreat was all about last Friday.
Memories of a carefree childhood (spent mostly outdoors) came rushing back as I felt the soft warmth of Mother Earth on my back in the shade of a magnificent white spruce, as Brother Michael of Mt. St. Francis Retreat Centre set out the group’s options for the next segment of our retreat.
We could stroll the pathways through the forest, wander the fields alone or in small groups discussing what we’d learned about ourselves so far, spend some quiet time in the chapel, meditate, take a nap, or do whatever you felt like doing.
“Or stay right where you are and I’ll be back in a minute with ice cream,” he said with a knowing smile.
On a 31 degree day, getting in touch with the clover of my childhood, the choice was easy.
After attending the Blessing of the Pets at the Centre last year, and reading up a bit, I wondered what the retreats were all about, so I accepted the invitation of director Susan Campbell months later, after she suggested the best way for me to understand what they do would be to attend one.
So I found myself at the Brother Sun and Sister Moon ‘pilgrimage’ retreat on a sweltering day last week. It was not what I expected.
Turns out it was much more.
Cochranites may know the Centre for the Blessing of Pets, an outdoor Christmas Pageant and the outdoor Way of the Cross on Good Friday. People from the community regularly walk the property whether it is on Bill Hill or the trail along Big Hill Creek. There are several hundred acres of property to explore.
Although the Centre was founded as a faith-based facility some 75 years ago, it welcomes secular individuals to its many and varied retreats.
Our nine-hour retreat was like a “mini pilgrimage,” with Brother Michael leading our group through a series of short walks highlighting the intersection between science, the environment, and spirituality.
And even though the spirituality aspect certainly formed the framework for the nine separate stations, (outlining the goodness of: light, celestial bodies, the sky, earth and sea, plants, water and sea creatures, land creatures, humans, and the ‘goodness of everything’) it was balanced with corresponding scientific outlooks about the Big Bang and how the earth was formed, for example.
The discussions took place at the intersection of science and the Bible – again, not what I was expecting, but surprisingly it all meshed. (Imagine someone in flowing robes standing on a rock in the Galapagos, holding Darwin in one hand, with the Book of Genesis in the other.)
All the mini talks were outdoors, often nearby an appropriate backdrop.
Did I come to any revelations about how to reconcile the history of our planet as seen from a scientific viewpoint or from the strictly religious perspective?
Well, we only had nine hours. That could take at least a week.
What the retreat centre does
Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre opened its doors in 1949.
There is a rustic log cabin – electricity but no water - that is often booked for a hermitage experience, i.e. being totally alone with ourselves without all the distractions that we get caught up in. People living a hermitage often fast.
So, who comes on a retreat and why do they come? They come from all walks of life and different backgrounds. Many want time away from busy lives. They recognize they need a spiritual place to connect or reconnect with the sacred in their lives.
A weekend at a hotel in downtown Calgary is different than a weekend at the Mount. Things are stripped down to their most basic – simple but comfortable: a typical room has a single bed, desk, sink. One businessman was overheard saying to another retreatant as they walked to their rooms: ”I like coming here. It reminds me of where I came from.”
The food is homemade, nutritious and accommodates any dietary restrictions. A large garden provides some freshness to the daily menu.
Basic needs are taken care of so you can focus on what really matters in your life. Fees cover costs, but no one is turned away because of a lack of finances. Most of the staff are from Cochrane.
So people use the time to slow down and take stock. It’s easy to get caught up in projects, ways of thinking and behaviours that escalate until you feel out of control or out of sync.
Campbell said one comment they get is, “This doesn’t sound too Catholic. I thought you were a Catholic organization.”
“I told one Catholic pastor that we see people you will never see,” Campbell said.
Although not affiliated with AA, they offer a series of “serenity retreats” based on the spirituality of the 12 Step program. Fellowship is key in the recovery community. Individuals know that they will not be able to sustain their recovery without fellowship for support. They offer hospitality and share reflections on the spiritual principles of their program that allow individuals to build a new life; principles such as humility, integrity, courage, service, love, faith, and forgiveness.
My experience
So, on a personal level, what was the takeaway?
I highly recommend stepping away from the sound and fury of everyday life to get back in touch with nature in any way. If that means going on a retreat, it’s worth a try.
Coincidentally, I’ve been looking into mindfulness for some time, and the practice of slowing down to take stock of where you’re going and what you need to do to foster your own mental health – it’s all good.
And as my grandpa used to say, there might even be ice cream.
