As the wind howled around Graymoor’s Holy Mountain Retreat Center, it was a physical reflection of what was going on inside the building. From February 8th-12th, Fr. Eric Nielsen, L.C., led 34 women from NY, NJ, and CT in the annual Triduum of Renewal Retreat, with this year’s theme appropriately, The Holy Spirit.
Fr. Eric immediately challenged the ladies. “What is preventing you from doing God’s will? Ask Him to show you. Ask the Holy Spirit. Ask big. Do not be afraid to ask God for big things. He wants us to go into the deep.” With that powerful beginning and the wind whipping around outside the retreat center, the ladies began to wade into the deep.
Walking the halls in silence with a lot of hugs and smiles, the ladies embraced the silent weekend community that is Triduum. The weekend was organized and executed seamlessly, thanks to the heroic efforts of Lisa Leonard, the NY/CT Women’s Section Director who made sure everyone who desired received spiritual direction and confession and helped keep everyone organized and in the right place.
For one woman, it was her first Triduum; for another, it was her 24th; and for another, it was her first retreat of any kind, but it didn’t matter. By the end of the weekend, they all agreed the Holy Spirit was on the move. With a final meditation, as the women were ready to break their silence and return to their homes, Fr. Eric had one last poignant reminder. He told the ladies that people think that, after a retreat, they are returning to the “real world,” but that world is just a “bubble;” it is what we can see and hear with our senses. This retreat, he assured them, these moments of inspiration, of peace, of love with our Lord, THAT is the “Real World.”
Written by Laura Esposito, a NY Tri-State Regnum Christi member
