Behold Who You Are:
A Guided Silent Retreat Opportunity
One Day Spiritual Retreat on August 28, 2008
Ignatius House, Atlanta, GA
May God make Christ dwell in your hearts through faith so that, rooted and grounded in love, you may receive the ability to grasp, together with all God’s holy people, what is the width, the length, the height and the depth. . . and to know the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, so that you may be filled to overflowing with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19
Do you not know that you are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells within you? I Corinthians 3:16
If I were to ask you, “Who are you?” what would you say to me? Would you begin by describing your professional job? Would you begin by telling me about your family? Are you a mother? A father? A child? Thinking of my roots in South Arkansas, some might describe themselves as “a hunter” or “an outdoorsman!” There are many ways of describing ourselves, and each of our descriptions tell something profound about who we understand ourselves to be.
What would it mean if we first thought to describe ourselves as “Beloved Children of God” when someone asked us who we were? Does this seem to abstract to us? Does this connect to how we see ourselves? Does this, somehow, “ring true” in a way that challenges us to move beyond where we have felt “stuck?” Does this image invite you to move into a deeper relationship with the God who created—and still creates—you.
St. Augustine of Hippo reflected on how we understand our identity as the Beloved of God, and he offers us such rich Eucharistic imagery to describe ourselves. To paraphrase him, he invites us to imagine ourselves, as it were, on the paten and in the chalice during the Eucharistic celebration. By doing this, we see that it is we as a body who are transformed through Christ by our common worship in God’s grace. “Behold who you are,” he would say. What a rich image! And what an encouraging challenge to us as we strive to live our lives faithful to God’s purpose and love.
St. Augustine’s image is one that we can carry with us throughout our days; it is one that connects with any situation in which we may find ourselves. Whether we have struggled with grief, addiction, job loss, family issues, doubt, health concerns, or just the basic “busyness” of life, we can find hope and peace in this simple and profound image: “Behold who you are.”
I invite you to join with us on Thursday, August 28, for a guided silent retreat at the Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center, 6700 Riverside Drive, NW, as we explore our identity as the Beloved Children of God. The retreat will last from 9 am until 4 pm, and there will be guidance offered for times of deep silence and reflection. You may choose to pray silently, meditate, journal or just be present in this sacred space on the banks of the Chattahoochee River. We will break our silence at lunch for a shared Noon Eucharist before going into our afternoon time of continued silence.
As noted on their website, “The Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center is open to individuals of all faiths who are sincerely seeking to discover and to live out God’s will in their lives." Ignatius House is owned and operated by the Jesuit Fathers and Brothers of the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus,” a major Roman Catholic monastic order.
The cost for our retreat will be $25 per person for the entire day. Breakfast, snacks, juice, drinks, and lunch will be provided, so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Come, be present, listen, and pray. If you would like to attend, please respond to me by July 31 at by registering online or by emailing or calling me: Stuart.Higginbotham@MySaintB.org or 678-279-4303.
Blessings
Stuart+
