It’s winter and many of us are snuffly and heartily sick of everything. There’s that EOFY (end of financial year) feeling in the air.
It’s cold, it’s rainy, and not everyone enjoys this. Ordinary Time has also begun again in earnest.
So let’s look at some ways to give yourself a spiritual jump start during the colder months.
A parish in my diocese holds an annual bonfire night around the feast of St John the Baptist (24 June).
They burn anything that’s been blessed, because we can’t just throw those things away – they need to be disposed of properly.
Locally, I am a known conduit for cast-off religious tat of all kinds, especially after the death of an elderly Catholic relative.
Bewildered non-Catholic or non-Mass-going younger people simply don’t know what to do with all the pictures and devotionals.
They know I’m a Catholic, so they ask my advice and usually end up offloading it on me.
So guess what? On to the St John’s Bonfire they go!
The parishioners at that parish end up having a good time and some hot soup and fellowship, especially if the rain holds off.
And that way, everyone knows that Granny’s disintegrating missal and very tattered prayer cards have been disposed of properly.
The second thing is the option of a mini-pilgrimage. Is there a chapel, religious community, church or shrine within a few hours of where you live?
Have you thought about making a pilgrimage there? It’s a good time to do it, especially with holy doors open all year for the Jubilee of Hope.
The thing about a pilgrimage is that you go somewhere different, which gives God a chance to help you undergo some spiritual change or benefit.
The journey itself is also part of that process. Pilgrimages began in an era when travel was much more dangerous and difficult than it is now.
So it was an opportunity to show God how much you really loved him and wanted his help – you were prepared to go through real discomfort to get there.
It’s not really like that now, unless you are a diehard person who does the Camino or other arduous pilgrimage (not for me).
My parish arranged a Jubilee pilgrimage to our local Carmelite convent, where our parish priest said Mass. Then some parishioners had lunch together later.
The third option is a retreat – either a private one by yourself, or a mini-parish one.
Once or twice a year, I take myself on private retreats along with some female Catholic friends, all of whom also like a private retreat.
I bring along a good spiritual book or two. Having equipped myself with material for fruitful reflection, I usually then go to sleep for around 12 hours straight.
This is another essential part of my private retreat – to get some rest so that all the noise in my head can fade away for a little while.
No one organises this for me. I do it for myself and I invite my friends along, so that we can be hermits in community, as it were.
If you are waiting for someone to do this for you, I’d strongly recommend you have a go at arranging it for yourself instead.
You can also keep your eye out for day retreats in your area. These can be a helpful brief way to recharge your spiritual batteries.
When was the last time your parish had a day retreat? Is it time to suggest this to your parish priest?
Better still, could you help him organise it? The usual format is 9am-ish to 3pm-ish on a Saturday.
There are several ingredients in a good parish retreat mix. You should try to include Mass, opportunity for confession, and some silent Adoration.
I insist on periods of silence and peace for any retreat, even if you are one of those parishes where everything is done at 120 decibels. Try just this once to give the Lord some space to speak?
In between all this, you can usually fit in some lunch and maybe even morning tea.
You should also try to get at least one good speaker from outside the parish who can give you a lively and relatively brief talk on something helpful.
A day retreat is not complicated, and it can be really enjoyable and uplifting for everyone who comes.
So if you can’t get away, why not try this instead? Or go to a neighbouring parish retreat.
Winter can be a time for spiritual recharging, even on a small scale. Give it a go.
