Climbing the Sycamore Tree

Sometimes we need to just run away and climb a sycamore tree like Zaccheus did in hopes of catching a glimpse of Jesus.  Well, that's just what I did last weekend, and what a blessing it was. 

My friend Margaret, who is so in love with Jesus that she simply glows, invited me to come along with her to the monthly retreat offered at The Sycamore Tree.  The retreat center is a quaint little hermitage about 3 hours away in the breathtakingly beautiful Seely Swan Valley.  The moment I arrived I felt tranquil grace descent upon my soul.  The mission of the retreat center became clear the minute I arrived when I was invited to go say good morning to Jesus in the chapel where He was waiting to great me in the Blessed Sacrament, fully exposed in a simple monstrance.  What a reminder that I need to start every day greeting my Lord and asking for His grace to guide me all day long.

Next, we celebrated Mass, which is literally a taste of heaven here on earth.  That gift alone was worth the 3-hour drive.  Then we sat to listen to the first part of the lecture by Fr. John, a full-time hermit, whose topic was to share with us about the Pope's announcement that this is to be a year devoted to the "Porta Fidei", or door of faith, for all Catholics.  Pope Benedict XVI is asking all Catholics to truly study what their Catholic faith teaches through reading their Catechism and the 16 documents of Vatican II so that we can become "a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world...a world in particular need today of the credible witness of people enlightened in mind and heart by the word of the Lord, and capable of opening the hearts and minds of many to the desire for God and for true life, life without end."

Fr. John was a gifted speaker, but my first impression of him still makes me giggle.  He has the look of a hermit:  very tall, long grey beard with long grey hair.  He kind of reminded me of Gandolf from The Lord of the Rings.  But then when he opened his mouth to speak, a thick, Southern Texas accent spewed forth and an image of Mater the rusty tow-truck from the movie Cars replaced the image I had just a second earlier.  So that's how I would describe Fr. John---a clash of Gandolf and Mater--and that makes him all the more like-able once you get beyond your preconceived notion of what a hermit is supposed to be.  He was a delight and truly enlightened us with his teaching that day.  Fr. John shared with us the Pope's vision of what this year of faith should be like, how it should strengthen the Church by uniting all Catholics to the truths of our deeply beautiful faith passed on to us by Jesus and his apostles.  He said it is such a fitting time for this theme because so many Catholics are straying into the false beliefs of the culture...they are becoming "cafeteria Catholics" who are only picking and choosing the teachings of the Church that fit their lifestyle and throwing some of the harder to accept truths into the garbage.  However, if Catholics truly started studying their faith like the Pope is asking, they would come to understand that there really is only one Truth, and His name is Jesus, and if we only follow the teachings of Jesus that we "like" we run the risk of losing eternal life.

The retreat restored my tired spirit.  Indeed, I caught more than a glimpse of Jesus there.  He wanted to invite Himself home with me, just like He invited himself to Zaccheus' house in the Bible.  He re-invited Himself into my heart, into my daily life, to increase my faith and help me through whatever joys and trials lie ahead.  I am so thankful to have Jesus as my Savior and friend to guide me on this exciting, yet sometimes very challenging, journey towards eternal life.  As Pope Benedict reminded all of us in his Apostolic Letter announcing the Year of Faith:

The "door of faith" (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church.  It is possible to cross the threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace.  To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime.

Blessed Mother, please help me in this year of faith to increase my faith in your beloved Son, to increase my knowledge of the Church He established to guide us.  Give me the grace to live my Catholic faith like you did, in everything I think, say, and do, all for the glory of God and the salvation of souls (especially my own!).  Amen.

For more informative links on "The Year of Faith," visit my friend Kim's recent post on the topic:
http://transitustiber.net/blog/2012/10/11/the-year-of-faith/