Retreats connect God and nature

"The seasons of our lives are analogous to the four seasons in nature," he said. "I think we go through the four seasons every day."

Father Roos will join Rev. Paul Engel and Dr. Harry Owens in leading two retreats, "Meeting God in Nature" (August 22-27) and "Seeking Creation's God in God's Creation" (August 27-29) at Pyramid Life Center in Paradox.

Seeing God

The analogy of the four seasons of nature to the stages of spiritual development is based upon Father Roos' interpretation of the teachings of Thomas Merton:

* Phase one is what's given by God in creation, and Father Roos compares this to the dark and mysterious season of winter.

* A person's awakening to this spirituality and awareness of God and her relationship with Him is comparable to spring.

* The response to this awakening and awareness can be likened to summer, when nature comes alive to its fullness.

* Finally, a person's entering the fullness of the Kingdom of God is similar to autumn, when life is complete.

Life cycle

"We awaken through the night, have our morning, midday and evening," he said. "We also go through it throughout our lives, from birth to death, and we can learn a lot about that through nature and our relationship with God."

People who don't care for a particular season, such as winter, can still identify with the mystery of God-given spirituality.

"I think they are missing out on an experience, but maybe they compensate for it by having a similar experience in another way," Father Roos said. "All of nature provides us with metaphor to our relationship with God, but they're not the only metaphors."

Meeting nature

Dr. Owens will give afternoon presentations on how to manage stress with a spiritual emphasis, "how we slow ourselves down, how we get into spirit, mind, body balance," he said.

An instructor and consultant based at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon, Dr. Owens got involved in these types of retreats about 10 years ago, when he was co-facilitating a retreat on stress management at Pyramid Life Center.

BY using all senses, participants can focus upon nature on many levels and gain from the retreat "the idea of taking time out, resting, maintaining a balance at the end of the week, when we don't have the beautiful lake and forest with us, and not wait 51 weeks until we get our Pyramid Life Center fix," he said.

During the evenings, Father Engel will celebrate creative liturgies, using fire, recorded sounds of nature and liturgical dance. He also will discuss famous people in history who have found God in nature, including Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi and Vincent van Gogh.

Elemental

Father Engel has enjoyed leading such retreats at Pyramid Life Center, a spot that has played an important role in his priesthood.

"I was at Pyramid Lake as a seminarian and have been going there for 45 years," he said. "I have an affinity for nature, and I have just found God in that place. There's no disturbance or interruption."

(To register for these retreats, e-mail [email protected] or call 426-8076.)

(08-12-99) [[In-content Ad]]