The Retreat was cancelled

I should have been on retreat [the religious sort] since Sunday afternoon but it was cancelled because of low enrollment. This is a major disappointment because I could really have used the time for reflection and renewal. The topic would have been Franciscan spirituality which is centered on a preferential option for the poor and on instrumentality ... all of which resonates very deeply for me. I am just going to have to soldier on until Spring when I will again be able to carve out some time for my own spiritual renewal. I'll have to look at what is available at the Bethany Retreat Center or maybe at the Domican Sisters of Hope motherhouse. It won't be exactly the same sort of thing but it will go some part of the way to filling in the gap.

And just because there have been too many posts without pictures these past few days while I am trying to blog daily for NaBloPoMo, I am including this photo of two adorable little sock monkeys purchased from my parish's Prayer Shawl Ministry ... they'll be Christmas gifts for Liam and Piper. I just love that I was able to get them sized for Big Brother and Baby Sister. I have a kit to make a couple of sock monkeys stuffed in the very back of one of my dresser drawers but I doubt I'll get to it any time soon ... certainly not in time for my little grandchildren to enjoy such toys. So I was absolutely delighted to see these on the sales table when the Prayer Shawl ladies were setting up for after-Mass hospitality this past weekend. I can give sock monkeys that I didn't have to make myself and I have the satisfaction of knowing I was able to support a useful ministry.