Friends,
Happy Monday to you! After 2 weeks of no Monday morning e-newsletter I’m glad to be back filling your inbox with all the best Catholic information our little parish (and my mind) have to offer.
I had an excellent retreat 2 weeks ago, thank you for the prayers. The retreat house I stayed at in Tucson, AZ is run by the Redemptorists. I’d never been to Tucson before and I have to say it was a remarkable time to be visiting the Sonoran desert.
Being from the Midwest I imagine the desert southwest to be, well, mostly dead. That was far from the truth in Tucson. Being that I was visiting in late April, early May I was able to see the desert in its most verdant time of year. Not to mention the above average amount of rain that part of the country received this past winter the desert was in exceptionally full bloom — it was beautiful.
While out there I did a fare bit of hiking. On one hike the trail took me by a small creek flowing through the arid landscape. Since it was the middle of the day and the sun at its peak I found a tree to sit under right next to the stream to rest and pray my breviary. You can see the exact spot and tree in the picture below.
It just so happened the psalm I began to pray from my breviary was from Psalm 1 verse 3. Referring to the just man who follows God’s law, it reads:
"He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that yields its fruit in due season, and it's leaf does not wither. In all that he does he prospers."
That moment, literally sitting under a tree in a desert next to a stream reading that Psalm seemed to me hardly a coincidence and in a certain sense summed up my entire time of retreat.
The metaphor of a tree planted by a stream of water producing fruit without any leaf withering speaks to me about my life as a priest. I need to be planted next to the stream of God’s grace through my own prayer and the sacraments. The life-giving water of prayer and communion with God is vitally important for me because of the harsh conditions in which I find myself as a priest. I have to accept that the secular culture isn’t exactly going to help me nurture a relationship with God such that I’ll produce the fruit of a healthy and holy priesthood. In other words, there is truth in acknowledging that in this post-Christian society, I live in a spiritual desert. Nevertheless, I can be hopeful, healthy, and secure by remaining rooted in the life-giving water that God offers me.
The image of a fruit producing tree in the middle of the desert planted by a stream is an image that will continue to sustain me for a long time I’m sure. I’m very grateful God gave that gift to me while on retreat and it gives me hope and encouragement to remain rooted in him and reminds me not to go wandering off into the desert looking for water somewhere else.
That was my retreat in a nutshell.
On another note, please consider coming out for the Rural Life Mass this coming Saturday at 11:00AM at the Octagon Barn in Gagetown. It will be an incredible opportunity to gather with the Bishop to celebrate the beauty of our rural community and ask God’s blessing upon the land for a fruitful harvest.
AMDG,
Fr. Stephen
