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LAKE HOUSE OF PRAYER HOSTS A GLOBAL MARYKNOLL CONTEMPLATIVE RETREAT

by Judy Walter

The Lake House of Prayer hosted a Global Maryknoll Contemplative Retreat for 8 days the end of July. We were 10 Maryknollers from the 4 entities of Maryknoll: 4 Priests, 2 Sister, 2 Affiliates and 2 Lay Missioners. These 10 missioners represented mission experience in 9 countries: Korea, Japan, China, Cambodia, Latin America, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Why a Maryknoll Contemplative retreat? The challenges of our globalized world today demand a more contemplative approach to mission. Fr Jim wrote the vision and mission statement for such a retreat. He writes: The vision for this retreat “is to foster a more contemplative way of being Maryknoll Missioners that would empower us to be contemplatives in action in our broken world.” Thus, the mission of this retreat was to help create a Maryknoll culture of contemplative mission through a contemplative Intensive Retreat.

The participants sat in silence together for 6 hours a day. In the mornings and last session at night, we sat in our chapel dedicated to Elijah who heard God’s still small voice like a gentle breeze speaking to him in the depths of his being. In the afternoons we sat outside on our covered patio overlooking Lake Victoria, where we could experience the beauties of nature, the sound of the birds, and the cooling breezes from the Lake.

We were blessed to have Fr. Alphonse Kim MM as our retreat leader. Fr Alphonse has had much experience in leading silent contemplative retreats around the world. We were also blessed to have Maryknoll Sr Kathleen Reiley, Zen Roshi from Japan, who shared her experience of many years of practicing Zazen. The participants came from various contemplative practices, reminding us that there are many different ways to be contemplatives in action. What united us was the silence, sitting together in silence with the intention to help create a contemplative culture in the Maryknoll world.

On the last evening of the retreat, as experiences were shared, we were reminded of Maryknoll’s contemplative charism from the beginning, through the spirituality and vision of our Founders. From the very foundation of Maryknoll missioners were to be contemplatives in action. Our Maryknoll Contemplative Retreat was not only an affirmation of our original charism, but brought to light the urgency of the need for a more contemplative response to the overwhelming challenges in our globalized world today.

Update

by Fr. Jim

It has been since the later part of April since I wrote here, obviously many experiences along the way. Let me try to give a summary.

The Daughters of Mary an indigenous African group of Sisters have been coming to us for Directed Retreats, six sisters at a time. For all of them, now 20 have come, with a total of 73 will be coming when we reach Dec, this is the first time to have a Contemplative Directed Retreat.

We hosted the Society of Missions to Africa a Missionary group very much like Maryknoll. 25 SMA Missioners came, priests, a sister and lay enjoyed a reflection day at the House of Prayer.

In the beginning of May the Maryknoll Fathers/Brothers Superior General came for a visit. I was very encouraged by his support for our ministry; after all it is the not classical missionary work of action but more of one of silence and reflection.

We have a new Bishop who seems to be supportive of our Mission here at the House of Prayer. He is from the diocese; I knew him when I was in the parish. We are hoping for a good working relationship and understanding with him.

Four Franciscan Sisters spent a day of reflection and prayer twice during June. At the present moment I am giving a Contemplative Preached Retreat to 4 Sisters of Mary of the Poor. Two of the Sisters are from Indian and two from Tanzania. We also have Brother Francis from Kenya for a 7 day directed retreat.

So, we been very busy for May and June, stretching our capacity to the limit but still able to keep things simple to enhance an atmosphere of Silence, Simplicity and Solitude for our guests. This is a good challenge to have as our guests increase and we become more known: to keep to the saying, ‘Small is Beautiful’ so that we keep the ability to provide a ‘Good, Simple, Life’ for our guests and local community.

NDOLELEJI MISSION AND THE WATATU PEOPLE

by Judy Walter

A few weeks ago, Fr Jim and I took a trip to Ndoleleji Mission where Fr Jim was based the first few years after his ordination. From this mission he would go out to live among the Nomadic Watatu People. Maryknoll Fr Hung Minh Dinh is now Pastor of this mission. The 3 of us drove out to Watatu land to visit the people, some of whom remembered Fr Jim from some 30 years ago. One of the families we visited was Nasoro’s family. Nasoro is an Elder of the Watatu People. He was so overjoyed at seeing Fr Jim after so many years he let out a great yell, and kept rubbing Fr Jim’s head and asking if it were really him. The day after our visit to Nasoro’s home was the feast of the Visitation- Mary visiting Elizabeth- and I couldn’t help but see the parallels in the joy that each experienced in simply being present to one another. After visiting for some tome and reminiscing about Fr Jim’s time with them, Nasoro and Fr Jim parted giving each other a blessing. It was a very moving experience to visit these people and witness what Fr Jim’s presence among the meant to them.

SACRED SPACE

by Judy Walter

One of the things we are able to offer our neighbors here at the Lake House of Prayer is a sacred space where people can feel free to express prayer in a bodily way. Our chapel is called “Pango ya Eliya”, Cave of Elijah. It is a simple uncluttered space for prayer. There are no benches or pews but mats on the floor for people to sit as comfortable as in their own homes, with space to give expression to body prayer. There are arm chairs against the wall for the elderly and those preferring to sit on chairs, or as an alternative way of “making oneself at home” in God’s House.

The Altar is a low table that we gather around for Eucharist. Behind the Altar an African Jesus hangs on the Cross. The Tabernacle is a symbolic native vessel for storing food. Our Madonna is African. There are Icons on the walls. When our neighbors come to pray with us, the space they enter is both familiar and sacred.

I am always very moved by the way our local neighbors use their bodies to express their prayer in our Pango. A Parish Church is a more formal setting with gestures and rituals common to all. In a small chapel such as our Pango is, people feel free to express their pray in a more spontaneous way, and for our local neighbors bodily prayer seems to flow so naturally. Their body prayer, for me, speaks of adoration, surrender, loving devotion, trust. Witnessing their prayer, I am drawn into a deep experience of communion with them in the silence and bodily expression of prayer that needs no words.

We all need sacred space in our lives. It may be a special tree, a room we call our cell, a mountain top, a lake shore. Whatever that space is for us, it helps us open to another whole dimension of life that returns us to the ground of our being. I feel one of the gifts we offer to our people here is this sacred space where they can come home to themselves and to God.

Update

by Fr. Jim

It has been months since writing here. In the beginning I was having trouble getting on to log, later I got lazy. I’ll try to give you some highlights of the last few months.

We made an agreement with the Daughters of Mary (Tanzanian Sisters) to a series of 13 Directed Retreats (6 at a time). Our first group has already come for retreat and all went well; hopefully this will be the case until Dec. 2019.

We also had a big test in receiving 11 guests for 5 days for a Directed Retreat. Judy and I split up meeting our guests for Spiritual Direction. But the main challenge was food, keeping enough good food on the table for 11 hungry Missioners. We are thankful for a great effort by our staff and God’s Grace.

We have a new Bishop who will be officially installed next month; his name is Bishop Renatus. He is a former priest of this diocese whom I know. I believe he will be supportive of our efforts and vision here at the House of Prayer.

We have added the Taize prayer service to our small group retreats. The beautiful chants, readings, prayers, silence and prayer at the Cross have really touched people.

We have also added “Mary Undoer of Knots” to our small group retreats. This prayer service was started in our Pope Francis’ diocese in Argentina while he was Archbishop there. The people really like the reflections and prayers; it helps them express what is bothering them deep inside.

We are completing a ‘house’ to place a picture of “Mary Undoer of Knots” from which people can to sit and pray. Along with this house we’ve built a “Stairway to Heaven” ladder up in front of our front entrance up to a patio area on our roof.

We continue our regular morning and evening meditations and Eucharist with our praying community of local Christians.

Timing is Everything

by Fr. Jim

It has been almost three weeks since I returned to Tanzania from a 6 weeks vacation in the States. Slowly, ever so slowly my timing is coming back. Usually we think of timing in regards to sports but essentially, it is a life skill of engaging life in the rhythm that life demands. If a day is going slowly, go slow; if fast, pick up the pace. But mostly timing is about patience.

While the culture is changing, most of our people still know the timing of being patient. They have to, they do a lot of waiting. So knowing how to be still and wait is a vital aspect of timing; being away in a fast paced culture (USA), coming back to Africa at 600mph on a jet plane has thrown my timing off a bit. What do I need? Patience, the timing needed will come.