took and mixed in with three measures of flour until
all of it was leavened." Matthew 13:33
From the December 2007/January 2008 Issue
Thanks for Nothing
Sharon Beshoar
Sharon Beshoar is a 1994 graduate of Regis University and worked for twenty years in her local parish, St. Mary's, in Montrose, Colo. She is a long-time member of Friends on the Journey, a Small Faith Community of women who meet weekly. Presently, she is semi-retired and enjoys family, friends, poetry and nature.
Most, if not all, readers of Leaven are familiar with the words "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10). These same words are often used by retreat centers as an invitation to retreatants to join one of their offerings. Responding often to such an invitation, as many of you have, I generally come away with a sense of enrichment, relaxation and calm, glad that I have gone. Occasionally I am frustrated because too much material has been crammed into too little time, leaving little left to delve deep into my Center. It is sometimes burdensome to go back into the world and somehow fit yet one more thing, recommended by the retreat master, into my busy life. After any retreat or "spiritual conference," the greatest questions to be answered are "Has this experience helped me connect with God? Has it enhanced my spiritual life? Will I now be able to enhance the well-being of those closest to me? Has it given me energy to create positive, life giving action as I continue my path?” Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes not at all.
However, there is one place of retreat that I return to over and over because of the rich opportunities to connect with God and nourish my spiritual life. The answer to one or more of the above questions is always a resounding "yes" when I come home from a retreat at Nada Hermitage, near Crestone, Colo. About four and a half hours from Denver, Nada is one of two places of retreat, the other being Holy Hill in Ireland, that are part of the Spiritual Life Institute founded in 1960. Part of the spiritual energy of the place comes from the small group of vowed men and women with roots in the Carmelite contemplative tradition, and how they carry out their mission. A portion of their mission statement reads, "we aspire to create a vital environment characterized by solitude, simplicity, and beauty, where community thrives, love is nurtured, prayer flourishes, and the whole person can be transformed."
Another part of the refreshing and renewing energy comes from Nada’s physical location. The monastery sits at 8000 feet, nestled in the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and overlooking a wide panorama of the San Luis Valley. Desert sands sweep up to the sides of the small hermitages, since it’s located not far from the Great Sand Dunes. Each hermitage is placed on the grounds for a maximum of quiet and spacious solitude. Native brush and wildflowers (in season) spring from the desert floor, and abundant wild life roams the piñon-studded hummocks and ravines.
Nada is not heavy into organized programs, though some are offered on occasion. Retreatants are invited to participate in the monastic rhythm of the community, or to remain in solitude during their retreat time. There is a large library of books and tapes available for use by all who are on retreat and each hermitage is equipped with a tape/CD player. The monks' music is available for the listening and retreatants may join in work if they so desire. Simple, healthy food is provided and wood is stacked by each hermitage for augmenting the solar heat of the building.
Quiet retreat time provides the opportunity to find out what we really are called to, deep inside ourselves. It can be a time to define life differently, or to simply celebrate and appreciate the good things in the life we already have. God is not in the hubbub and hurry of life, the Hebrew scriptures teach us, but in the silence. St. Augustine said that there is a God-shaped hole in the heart of every one of us that only God can fill. Nada provides a wonderful opportunity to drink in the solitude and silence and richly feed one's spirit and soul, while letting the body rest and renew. It is a place to fill that hole with the presence of God. It is a place of spiritual wealth in the tradition of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and Thomas Merton.
If you yearn to lead a more soul-centered life, if you are looking for a place that gives you the time and space to think and pray to your heart's content, if you wish to slow down to a walk in a world going at warp speed, if you yearn for a place where you can decide between what must be done and what can realistically be dropped from your personal or professional agenda, then Nada is for you. Why not give it a try?
I always come away from my annual retreat with a deeply grateful heart. Thanks for nothing (nada)? Nothing can become everything, giving a little glimpse into Merton's Palace of Nowhere, in which God becomes a palpable reality.
For more information go to www.spirituallifeinstitue.org or write to Nada Hermitage, P.O. Box 219, Crestone, CO 81131