This past week, House of Brigid went on retreat to Ballyvaloo! Ballyvaloo is a retreat and conference centre down in Wexford that overlooks the Irish Sea. When we first arrived on Friday evening, I couldn’t get over how quiet it was. The highlight of the weekend for me was experiencing peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle of living and working in city centre Dublin. It was a much needed opportunity to listen to my thoughts, pray, connect with nature, and remind myself why I am here (I also enjoyed two rejuvenating morning sea swims!).
Katy Stalter, a former House of Brigid member and our formation advisor for this year, ran our retreat. The book that helped guide our prayer and weekend was water, wind, earth & fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements by Christine Valters Paintner. The book is organized around “The Canticle of the Creatures” by St. Francis of Assisi and connects how praying with the natural elements can enliven our spiritual life.
St. Brigid had a strong connection with her environment and the mysterious beauty of Celtic spirituality, which perceives the presence of God throughout the breadth of creation. The images of the four elements of creation (listed below) are part of our program’s foundation and mission.
Water- Prayer and Spirituality
Air/Wind- Service to Others (and more specifically service through song with HOB)
Earth- Communal Living
Fire- Witness and Parochial Presence
Talking through, praying, journaling, and reflecting on these elements while also being able to go outside and experience them in Wexford was a needed reminder of why I felt called to this program.
I have been struggling with my prayer life and spirituality since I got to Dublin over four months ago. Praying in the same place where I work is difficult and something that I found out I cannot do. I wanted to use my time on retreat to focus on how I can recenter prayer back into my life. If prayer and spirituality is represented by water, I have to fill my cup before I can overflow and give to others. Reflecting on this while sitting on the dunes overlooking the sea proved to be fruitful. I love using imagery and I resonated with the feeling of being in the sand. Here are some takeaways that I had:
The sand is this in-between point between the land and the water, similar to the in-between of this postgrad year for me. It’s hard to run and even walk in sand, but the resistance makes you stronger in the end. You can find beautiful and unique shells and creatures in the sand and you can also find trash. I might pick up and take home a shell that stands out to me, but I am not going to take home an old napkin to remember my time in the sand. I have gotten frustrated in the past when I accidentally take the sand with me in my beach bag, shoes, or car. However, I have also experienced moments on a gloomy, cold winter day when I see leftover sand on the beach chairs in my garage and I am reminded of (and even might long for) a day out in the sun, listening to the crash of the waves, while laying in the sand.
