Some of us are well aware of the fact that June 24th is supposed to be the solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.  The fact that it is one of our Sisters’ nameday might be responsible in part for the date sticking in my mind. 
 
This year, however, since it is the Friday after Corpus Christi, June 24th will be the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 
 
Whoever, in the Church, makes decisions about the liturgical calendar decided to move our celebration of John the Baptist’s birth to today, June 23rd. 
 
As I reflected a bit upon this, it occurred to me that this arrangement, actually, is quite appropriate on a deeper level. 
 
John the Baptist is sometimes referred to as the “forerunner” or “precursor.”  In the words of his father, Zechariah, he went “before the Lord to prepare His way.” 
 
I think it is beautifully fitting; this year John the Baptist’s great feast day immediately precedes our commemoration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom he so faithfully “ma[de] ready the way.”

As I neared the end of our annual six-day silent retreat, I started getting a bit restless.  During these days of quiet reflection, words from our constitutions resonated in my mind.  Although not speaking specifically of retreats, I think the passage’s application here was appropriate: “General penitential times of the Church and days of recollection should awaken in us a wholesome unrest.”  (Constitutions, 3:7)
 
I couldn’t help but wonder: What in the world is wholesome unrest? 
 
I could understand the unrest part.  Over 140 hours of silence (except for common prayer, table reading, and instrumental music at dinner), coupled with lack of one’s usual work routine, can make those of us with extrovert inclinations a bit stir crazy. 
 
Why, I wondered, is such a feeling considered “wholesome” by the writers of our constitutions?  Usually, we don’t think of things that disrupt our peace of soul in a positive light.  Wouldn’t unrest seem to fall into the category of “desolation,” which spiritual masters advise us to be cautious of? 
 
There must be something to it, though, some benefit derived from this restlessness of spirit which we consciously inflict on ourselves each year. 
 
In his closing conference, our retreat master compared annual retreats to stretching in the morning, as his cat routinely does. 
 
Perhaps, then, wholesome unrest stretches our spiritual muscles for better functioning throughout the year.

I'm sorry it's been a few weeks since I wrote last.  Between writer's block and other complications, I haven't gotten back here for a while. 

Truth be told, it's been kind of busy...between planting our gardens, helping with the rummage sale, and spending some days helping with projects at our provincial house in Hankinson.

While I was down there, I was grateful to have evening walks with one of my fellow Sisters just about every night.  It was so nice! 

One morning at breakfast, though, we were informed that there seemed to be a mountain lion in the vicinity.  People had heard it screaming.  A day or two later, the report was confirmed. 

We weren't too worried, and continued our evening walks, though avoiding the pasture area where we thought the feline would be more likely to roam. 

We had been advised that, if we saw it, we should raise up our arms so as to appear bigger, and slowly back away from it.  I also heard that mountain lions aren't prone to attack people.

The whole thing reminded me of the scene in the original Parent Trap, where the twins trick their dad's fiancee into making a fool of herself by knocking sticks together as she walked.

It became a little joke throughout my days there, as we reminded each other about danger of the potential intruder.