I’m sure you do not need me to tell you why you come to Holy Family. But let me share with you reflections from my own experience. We live in a difficult and changing world, a world that makes demands; creates pressures and forces us into an endless cycle of continuous motion; of running from this thing to that. A world that often imposes cultural values that are at odds with what we believe; with our faith life.
We are engaged in the stressful effort to continue to support our families; to fulfill job commitments and demands; to nurture and support our families; our wives, our children and grandchildren. The need to participate in our church and political communities.
And then there are the personal issues; the surprises that life holds; an illness to a loved one; an unexpected death or injury; or, our own health issues; events which always seem to come at the worst time in our lives. The fragility of life seems to become more apparent as we get older. Or maybe we are just tired, worn out, exhausted and in need of refreshment, a moment of peace, a time to meditate, to pray, to rethink our goals and objectives to reevaluate the direction of our lives.
It is at times like these that Holy Family is there as an oasis in a world of chaos and stress; an island of peace and serenity. We come with all our baggage; and regardless of what we carry, we are accepted as we are into this community of peace and security. We come with our brothers and friends for a period of comradery. We can gather together or be alone as we chose. We can attend informative sessions provided by the retreat team or just rest, if that is what we need. And then there is the spiritual refreshment; the prayer sessions; the liturgy and music ministry; the opportunity for reconciliation.
We come away refreshed, rejuvenated; spiritually alive and ready to meet the challenges of our world or our personal situation with new vigor and firm purpose; encouraged, inspired and filled with hope. This is my experience of Holy Family and this is why I want to ensure that we can continue for the many years to come.
Walter Twachtman
