By Jake H.
After June graduation Chris B. decided to celebrate his graduation in a rather unorthodox fashion. Instead of rushing off into his new life of sobriety right away Chris thought that it would be a better idea to visit a Catholic monastery to reflect on his stay at the Family School and to clear his head before taking on life. Father Stephen Morris and Chris attended the Sisters of Bethlehem Monastery for six days to get a little closer to God.
The retreat was centered on finding God through silence, prayer, and work; a simple, but rewarding lifestyle. During the six days spent at the monastery Chris took a vow of silence, only talking when necessary, in order to have ample time for prayer or meditation. “I don’t think that I have ever prayed that much in my life,” Chris explained.
During his stay Chris found himself battling thoughts of the alternative week after graduation. “I had thoughts about what everybody else might be doing,” said Chris. “But I was grateful for the opportunity to sit and reflect.” At the monastery he had all the time he needed to resolve any internal conflict he had about life after graduation. Often some students get too caught up in the fact that they are finally leaving the school that they do not lay a solid foundation for a practical spiritual life. The main struggle is when the student graduates a spiritual life is put on the back burner and this time allowed Chris to reconnect and ground himself in his spirituality. “ I had plenty of time to meditate on what my God was to me and what I should be praying for,” said Chris.
In the twelve steps of AA the eleventh step essentially says that we, through prayer and meditation, come closer to God as we understand him. The retreat was the perfect time for eleventh step work. “It was brought to a whole new level,” exclaimed Chris referring to his eleventh step. During the time he spent praying and meditation he realized how essential prayer and meditation was to his serenity. “They are the tree of my serenity,” explained Chris. “I found that when I fail to pray I miss out on the peace it has to offer.”
With all of the praying came a lot of humility. While praying and meditating Chris found himself very humbled by the revelations he came too. It was a chance Chris to step back and take a look at himself and take an accurate inventory of his morals. He was presented with the fact that he was still not the one in charge and that it was all too necessary for him to acknowledge Gods presence and will in his life. “I came to the conclusion that I will always have to check my thinking with God and another sober person,” said Chris. “Because no matter how long I am sober my thinking will still be crazy.”
The retreat also gave Chris the chance to apply God to the daily tasks of life. One of the main priciples at the monastery is keeping God close during work. The opportunity was great for him to discover ways to relate prayer in every day tasks.
After a full six days of meditation, prayer, and work Chris found himself in the heart of New York City; he went from complete seclusion to complete inclusion. “It was mind boggling to go from being alone all day to being surrounded by millions of people,” Chris remarked. “I was grateful to have had the time alone that I did, because with all the rush of daily life I tend to forget to keep God close.” Chris is now awaiting the beginning of the fall semester at Emmanuel College in Boston Massachusetts. He also attends AA meetings and Catholic Mass daily to keep him sober and on the right track.
