October 4, 2007
Focus: Old Friends, New Relationships!
Dear Friend,
What do you do when you are with a friend for a day? Shop? Golf? Dinner out? Movies?
And when you look back over such days, days when you have both taken some time off from work to just do something different, which are the ones that stand out as extra-ordinary?
Yesterday was such a day for me. If I had to put words to it I’d say it was nurturing, grounding, celebrational – just what I needed in another usually hectic week of ministry.
What may be strange is some of what we did from noon to 8:00pm. We began with prayer, shared the readings for this coming Sunday, and then took a half-hour of silent meditation. We then came back together and shared our thoughts on how the readings were speaking to our lives. And no he’s not a priest.
Then came lunch after which we did some driving through the hills and over the streams of southern PA. The excursion ended with a long walk along the Susquehanna River to the Holtwood Dam. Much of the time was silent with a communion grounded in the earlier prayer, the beautiful surroundings, and the opportunity of having two friends just “being” (versus “doing” something) together.
All it takes for time with a friend to be extra-ordinary is not to have a lot of the “noise” that merely entertains or occupies us, but rather deeper realities of silence, God’s Word, nature, and gentle presence.
As the fall colors begin to blanket the countryside, “dust off” an old relationship and take it out for an airing!
Fondly,
Father Nick Amato
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