Back by popular demand, I want to share a little bit more
about my personal experience of the new connection between the Franciscan University Austria Program
and Direction for Our Times
Lay Apostolate. Before coming to Gaming this fall, I was able to go on the
retreat with Anne, a lay apostle and the Direction for Our Times missionaries.
What a blessing it was! Before going on the retreat I really had minimal
knowledge about the apostolate and had only read Anne’s Volume Nine, but this
retreat opened my eyes to the heart of their mission and it certainly was a
pilgrimage filled with new lights and consolations from the Holy Spirit. We
(the thirteen Franciscan students signed up for the retreat) were greeted and
picked up from the airport in Dublin and driven by friends of Anne to Cavan
county for the retreat, which was a blessing in itself since it was our first
time travelling and even more importantly it was free! It’s important to
mention this because the Lay Apostles gave us a place to stay, food to eat, and
transportation for the duration of the retreat.
The first day, was filled with spiritual activities, but it
didn’t even feel too busy because the leaders of the retreat were so in tune
with each of our needs (especially our jet lag) and they were very flexible.
From the beginning I saw how much the lay apostles simply desired to serve us
and meet our needs on this retreat. We began with mass and afterwards proceeded
to listen to an address from Anne. My first reaction was honestly surprise with
just how normal she was. I didn’t initially know what to expect from this woman
who receives daily locutions, but I was affirmed by her peace, honesty, and
genuine desire to be the Lord’s servant. Her message to us was about the role
of the laity in the Church, especially us as young adults.
After her message we
were able to ask her any questions about the apostolate, her messages, and her
locutions. It was intriguing to hear how simple it was for her to accept her
experiences merely as just another part of her daily prayer life. Later she
prayed over each of the retreatants individually. My overall experience was
that she and the other missionaries genuinely saw us as their brothers and
sisters and simply wanted to empower us in our baptismal call as laity in the
temporal order. It was such a peaceful experience. That night we made a Holy
Hour in the quiet, small chapel in the back of one of the missionary’s homes.
This was the chapel where Anne wrote Volume Two: Conversations with the
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.
The next day was so powerful; we began with a pilgrimage
hike of Croagh Patrick. Some of the guys with us decided to hike it barefoot
like the 80-year-old women. As for me, I suffered even with my shoes on! It was
a grueling and steep hike to the top, and I had to stop a few times, but it was
one of the most beautiful spiritual experiences in that I was able to learn a
lot about perseverance in suffering. About an hour or so in I realized how much
my thoughts were becoming increasingly negative. I wanted to complain, but I
knew this would make it so much more of a challenge for all of us. I knew that
it was necessary to give from my poverty of spirit and so I simply prayed “Come
Holy Spirit” in order to tame my natural instincts.
God is SO good and
faithful, because after that prayer I was able to start to make so many
parallels between this hike and my spiritual life. I recalled many things I had
learned from St. Therese and St. Jose Maria Escriva which motivated me to
continue making the steps up the mountain. I know that these lights came from
the Holy Spirit because He is faithful to all who call and the consolations I
was able to provide for the others around me were inspirations for me as well! We
certainly bonded as a group through this climb. All I wanted was to make it to
the top because Jesus was waiting for me there. Once we arrived at the summit
we received our Source and Summit in the Eucharist at Mass in the small chapel
on top of the mountain.
Despite the harsh weather conditions, we spotted a rainbow
over Clue Bay after mass. The view was absolutely spectacular! Even though I
was soaked to the bone I was overwhelmed with joy because I realized that
though the mountains, plains, and islands in the bay were so beautiful and a
testament of God’s power, I was convicted of how much more glorious each of us
were upon receiving Christ in the Eucharist. Of course there is much more I
could say about the lights we all received from this hike, but I must tell you
it’s something you certainly don’t want to miss, the view alone is the best I
saw in all of Ireland. We finished our retreat with a visit to the Shrine of Our
Lady of Knock... AWESOME... and then ate dinner at Bed and Breakfast for
pilgrims run by the Daughters of Charity. Overall, this retreat was an
incredible opportunity for me spiritually and it’s something I definitely
recommend for those planning on really experiencing Ireland before future
Austria semesters.
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