Bryan Sherwood

Front Yard Shots, Tools Matter and Sr. O'Daly

I thought I'd get my camera out and take a few shots around our front yard tonight.  It's a beautiful evening in Kentucky - not too hot, not too cold.  The close-up shots aren't too bad considering I took them all freehanded.  Unfortunately, the grass and tree pollen are "very high" and that's causing me and lots of other people all kinds of allergy problems.

I'm reading (slowly) a book called Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life by Meg Funk.  She gives a good overview of the book and its direction on page 1 of her introduction:

This book is a brief presentation of tools found in the Christian tradition and how they worked for the early monks and nuns.  These monastics were people like you and me.  They felt the same impulse we do--they needed help.  To find that help, they went to visit the early hermits, quiet dwellers in the desert, and asked them, "How do you do it?"  "How can I do it?"  These wise persons taught them to guard their hearts, to watch their thoughts, to spend time in vigils, to fast, to confess, to practice ceaseless prayer, to practice the prayer of the heart, and to do manual labor, to name a few of the recommended practices.

If you're interested in monastic spirituality, I'd recommend picking up this book.

There is a beautiful reflection about the passing of Sr. Monica O'Daly at Sr. Eleanor's Cistercian Vocation blog.  May she rest in peace.  If I'm ever in Ireland (and I hope to be one day), I'd like to stop by St. Mary's Abbey and visit with the sisters there.  Cistercians in Ireland - does it get any better than that?

Peace to you.

Retreat at The Close

This past weekend was busy but good. Heather and I picked up Jeana and drove down to The Close Retreat Center early on Saturday morning to catch up with the rest of the St. Pat's folks who went down Friday night. It was a good day. We met for Morning Prayer, spent time Hiking in the woods, ate lunch together, hung out and talked, etc. A perfect end to the day as we gathered in the chapel and shared bread and wine together in the Eucharist.

I dusted off my camera and took it along for the weekend. If you like tulips, old cemetery stones, not to mention a few pics of the retreat, check out my Flickr page.

Pax.

Things I Like . . .

Some things I like . . .

> Matt Maher's Music. Brandon tells me he has a new album coming out in a week or so. He's a young Catholic musician who I think is pretty talented and his music has depth. I think I originally discovered him on Brandon's blog a year or two ago. Thanks Brandon.

> Icons. Praying with icons has helped add a physical dimension to my prayer life. I like what Jim Forest writes in his book, Praying With Icons:

One of the odd things that has happened to prayer in much of western Christianity — in some churches with the Reformation, in others more recently — has been the drastic erosion of the physical dimension of spiritual life. Prayer has become mainly an activity of the head. Many of us have become like birds trying to fly with one wing. Icons can help us grow back the missing wing, the physical aspect of prayer.

I agree. Check out his website for more great info. on icons.

> Spending time at the Abbey of Gethsemani. Since I first visited Gethsemani for a retreat in 2005, that place and the community of monks there have meant a great deal to me. Seeing men faithfully live out the Gospel is encouraging to me. I find that when things are the darkest for me, Gethsemani is a place of refuge. I never go there that I don't feel better about life. Somehow, in the quiet this place offers, the Spirit does His work.

> Photography. Since I was a kid I've always had an interest in photography and cameras. Anyone remember Kodak's "disc" camera? I had one of those. It was all the rage back in the 80s. It took crappy photos though. The negative was teeny tiny. Anyway, I do enjoy photography. I think my photos tend to be of a contemplative nature.

I guess that's enough for now. I could go on and on (I like . . . Mary, Prayer Books, the Liturgy, etc.). Maybe I'll tackle a few more in another post (or maybe not).

Pax.

One Week Ago . . .

It's hard to believe that one week ago, I was looking at this. It was snowy and COLD! Today was rainy and in the 50's. Big change! I consider my retreat at St. Meinrad's a gift from God. The snow was just icing on the cake! I thought I'd post one of my favorite pics from last week. This will probably be my last snow shots of the winter. Resurrection is only a week away. It won't be long until the grass will turn green and I'll be wishing for snow again.

Pax.

Saint Meinrad Photos

Hey folks. I've put up my photos from my weekend at St. Meinrad's. Enjoy.

Packing for My Retreat

I'm packing for my retreat this morning and have been thinking about what books to take with me. Of course, St. Meinrad's library has over 170,000 volumes so why I'm taking any books with me is beyond me. There are a few books which have made their way into my luggage:
> Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright.
> First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew
> Benedictine Daily Prayer

I think that's probably enough. I'm packing my Canon S5 with lots of extra batteries so I can bring back some pics of this place. Oh, and with any luck, I'll get to enjoy some SNOW while I'm gone! I'll see you in a few days.

Pax.

Silent Retreat at St. Meinrad's

It looks like I'll be taking a silent retreat next weekend at St. Meinrad's. The Abbey of Gethsemani was completely booked for weekend retreats for months and so I decided to call St. Meinrad's which happens to be a Benedictine monastery. I'll be taking my camera so expect a lot of photos on my return.

Pax.

Lunar Eclipse February 20, 2008

A couple of shots of the Lunar Eclipse last night. Pretty cool event to witness.

Winter Sunset

(Click to see larger version)

Heather and I were driving from Lexington to Lawrenceburg last night and noticed this beautiful sunset. I had to pull off the road and take a photo. Enjoy.

A Day at Raven Run

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Heather and I decided to get outside and do some hiking today. We usually like to hike in the fall and winter but hadn't been out much at all this year. So, today was the day and we had a great time. We opted to go somewhere close to home so we chose Raven Run. It's a nice place for a day hike and doesn't cost a fortune to get there.

Of course, I have a few photos on my Flickr page.