In this retreat, the first point that seemed a little odd was that the retreat master stood and sung “Be still and know that I am Your God.” She sung it over and over, leaving off a word each time. Fine and well, but the verse from Hebrews 46:10 doesn’t have the “Your” in it. Adding it really changes the whole meaning, and pretty much renders it meaningless in the context of Hebrews, which she admitted was her intent. Odd.

Then, after more “God is everywhere” pantheistic poetry reading, we got to one of the main points of the retreat. Here we saw Moses and God speaking, Exodus 3:5, and God is telling Moses to take off his shoes. And the point is? Well, God is telling Moses to take off his shoes so that he will be comfortable in God’s presence up there on the mountain. It also puts him in direct contact, through his feet, with the earth. It’s a very earthy thing, we were told.

Taking off one’s sandals is so pregnant with meaning in the context of Sacred Scripture. What a teachable moment it could have been! But no, it’s just so that Moses would feel okay. Wow.

And the “burning bush,” (quotations theirs), is merely God’s way of getting Moses’ attention in case he was so busy with the sheep that he might miss God’s call. Then we were all invited to think of a “burning bush” in our own life’s experience and share this event with others. It was nice to hear of all the ways in which God is alive in our lives, and even made me feel proud to tell about my very own “burning bushes,” but somehow when it was all over, I felt that I had kind of belittled God in a way. How can I really compare myself to Moses and not come up wanting?

In all fairness, some of the little prayer/poems were nice, and the retreat master seemed very sincere. But again, I personally just had a sense that something was missing. The following is one of the prayers:

Creator of fire and water,
Your burning bush has turned
into a bubbling brook
And I have taken off my shoes
Having heard you call my name.
You do not speak in fire only, Lord.
In all of creation your presence is felt.
today you chant a memory song to
my grown-up heart.
You are washing my anxiety away
You are reminding me of days of old
when I had time to play.
I stand barefoot upon the stones of life.
Creator of the rocks and streams,
I’m growing up once more
I’m taking off my shoes and remembering to adore.
My feet are getting tough again but
My heart is getting young.

Well, okay, but what does that all mean? Everything seems to be brought to a kind of ethereal nothingness.

After a few more “thinking and sharing” topics, we were given clay and shown how to make little pots. Before beginning to sculpt we participated in centering prayer. Then we pretended that we were God and the little pots were ourselves. We were told to use plenty of water because that would be like God’s grace smoothing out the cracks. Funny, I always thought of God’s grace as being more infused than throwing water on the surface to smooth out the cracks. If we were really illustrating God’s grace, wouldn’t we see the rough, gray clay becoming a better type of clay altogether; porcelain, for example?

“What qualities of God do we see as we reflect on God the potter,” we were asked. And, “If God were to re-create you, what (chip, crack or bulge) in your life’s jar would you like God to fix the second time around?”

The second time around? What does THAT mean?

I’m telling God what to fix? Sorry, but no. I pray and ask God to help me to become a better person, a better version of myself, maybe even a saint. He knows what needs “fixing,” and then, through the awesome power of the Holy Spirit, He leads me on. The sacraments of Holy Mother Church supply the grace! The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the source and summit of my Faith. Power flows from this most Blessed Sacrament, this wonderful gift Jesus has given to us.

God is the Father, the Almighty, creator of all. His thumbprint is on all creation, but He is not contained in that creation. We alone, of all creation, are made in His image and likeness.

None of this was even alluded to in this “Catholic” retreat.