4th Recent Favorite Book(s): Retreat Aftermath

 

    

    I'm sorry that these reviews haven't been weekly lately... but I'm back with another review that was worth the wait!

    My retreat was wonderful in every way, and I'm still on a 'retreat high'. So... you get to hear about it :) Pre-retreat, I had mixed feelings about it. The silence sounded wonderful, but the General Confessions and sermons on Hell obviously didn't sound appealing. Sure enough, the (abbreviated; 5 day) Ignatian Retreat started with conferences on Hell, the malice of sin, etc. But the atmosphere of silence and holiness was wonderful. And midway through the week, after General Confessions, the conferences focused on much lighter topics :) On a very natural level, the retreat house was on a lake, and the cooks served us delicious meals all week... I can't think of a single reason that you shouldn't go!

    Ok, so to get to the books. Christian Warfare (pictured above and sold by Angelus Press) was used throughout the retreat. We prayed morning and night prayers out of it, and used the meditation points for each of the 17 meditations (found toward the back of the book). It was super helpful that we had a 45 minute conference before each 30 minute meditation, but the book reminded us of the points. We don't own Christian Warfare, so mom and I borrowed copies for the retreat, but now I am on a mission to buy myself one!

    Also, the word SILENCE keeps coming to my mind after the retreat... it is amazing how much easier it is to 'be good' when you keep quiet! And inner peace is so much easier to attain in exterior silence. Since the retreat, I have started to read Cardinal Sarah's Power of Silence, and today I started to re-read the wonderful little book by Angelus called The Doors of Silence. I have also listened to a couple Sensus Fidelium podcasts recently about music and the power it has over the listener. The other night, my siblings and I were cleaning the kitchen after dinner, to which we usually listen to loud, upbeat music (and sing to it!). But I realized that the kids were already shouting at each other and arguing, and loud, upbeat music would only amplify that crazy mood. So I turned on Gregorian Chant and started whispering the tasks to my siblings. They thought I was weird, but it definitely quieted things down. #largefamilyhack :)

    God bless us, everyone! I wish you a peaceful, grace-filled end of the summer!