Retreat - Sunday

Date: 02 December 2005 22:10:52

The final day. And the sickness had, thanks be to God, completely departed.

The day started with the service of Divine Liturgy. The Melbourne people use a slightly different translation to us (we don't have a Book of Common Prayer in Australia as yet: even among churches in the same city you'll find differences), and there were a few differences in practice, but these were wonderful to partake of and wonderful to experience.

The choir from Melbourne was very impressive and they led us through some beautiful chants for the various hymns. One of the key differences I noted was that during the Litanies (where petitions are made and the people respond with "Lord, have mercy"), while we in our parish respond after the priest has said each petition, at the retreat we continually chanted "Lord, have mercy" while the priest petitioned: it was very beautiful.

Another difference were the pre-communion prayers of preparation. There were a number said which we do not say, and I found the imagery and content awe-ful. For example, here is one of the prayers said: in our parish we only say the first and final paragraphs:

I believe and confess, Lord, that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. I also believe that this is truly Your pure Body and that this is truly Your precious Blood. Therefore, I pray to You, have mercy upon me, and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, known and unknown. And make me worthy without condemnation to partake of Your pure Mysteries for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life. Amen

How shall I, who am unworthy, enter into the splendour of Your saints? If I dare to enter into the bridal chamber, my clothing will accuse me, since it is not a wedding garment; and being bound up, I shall be cast out by the angels. In Your love, Lord, cleanse my soul and save me.

Loving Master, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, let not these holy Gifts be to my condemnation because of my unworthiness, but for the cleansing and sanctification of soul and body and the pledge of the future life and kingdom. It is good for me to cling to God and to place in Him the hope of my salvation.

Receive me today, Son of God, as a partaker of Your mystical Supper. I will not reveal Your mystery to Your adversaries. Nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas. But as the thief I confess to You: Lord, remember me in Your Kingdom.

And there were several others. Beautiful, deep and awe-ful. Thanks be to God.

The sermon was based on the Gospel reading of the day (The Rich Young Ruler), and we had a challenging sermon on money as well: is it evil? what should our attitude to it be? does the church need it? No, not in itself, but it can lead to lust in a person for more; we should be thankful to God for it and remember our need to give back to God; yes, the church does need it: money helps it to run. They were the basic answers, though the actual sermon was deeper and nuanced. Regardless, it did get me thinking greatly about how I spend and how I help the church: not just in terms of money, but in terms of all that has been given to me: time and talents also. An interesting reflection was that in Israel, as a 10% tithe was instituted, only 10 people were needed to support one priest (Levite). Pondering could 10 of us support one priest was a humbling exercise.

After the sermon we had breakfast and a bit more free time before the final Question and Answer session. Some very interesting questions on a variety of topics from pre-marital sex to some of Christ's words in the Gospels. A wide range of topics, wonderfully answered by Fr Geoff.

Time for a quick photo -- I hope to put a link up to some photos soon -- and then it was time to go.

All too quick. Even with the Saturday illness, I truly did feel a sense of peace and quiet. Which continued until about Wednesday. As I mentioned to a friend on Tuesday, even while I was driving to work and being cut off by various drivers, it didn't bother me. I truly felt peaceful. Though this changed by Thursday when I returned to getting upset and frustrated. :bangs head:

The retreat was truly a blessing: as all retreats should be. I got to meet many, many new people, including the wonderfully delightful Unordered; I got to know those at my parish on a deeper level; and I learnt a great deal about living the Christian life and about the Christian faith.

Thanks be to God.