Ordination Eve: Retreat within the Quotidian

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I haven't had the ability to get away for a pre-ordination retreat. That doesn't mean that I haven't had my time of quiet and meditation. My sisters-in-law are in town, so we had a little dinner get-together with two other couples. I had great fun cooking the feast, and had pleasure simply being alone and doing prep work while PH and his sisters visited museums amid the snow downtown.

As Brother Lawrence found a deep spirituality in the quotidian work of the kitchen, so too do I find quiet pleasure and communion there. Chopping, measuring, preparing, stirring, cleaning, it all soothes me and gives me room to bask in the glow of the love of God. I can pray in the silence, with the feel of of running water over my hands.

Tomorrow will be a good day. Not silent, like this afternoon in the kitchen, but the repetition of ancient words will feel like the repetition of the tasks of the meal. Not in solitude, but the feel of hands on my head and on my shoulders will remind me of the singularity of my call in the midst of the blessed communion of those who have followed a similar call. Not quotidian, like the baking of a loaf of good crusty bread, but sanctified by the daily-ness of the work to come, in the repeated rituals and words and acts.

It is all good. Thank you, God, for this day and this call and this light in my heart.