Last Monday I arrived at the  St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer Massachusetts for my annual weekly retreat with the 70+ monks living there. It was probably my most significant retreat of the last seven years. The following journal entries from my first day (that is until vigils at 3:30 am Tuesday morning) will give you a glimpse into my time:  “The goal of this retreat is to keep company with You Lord, to be with You detached from all else, to get rid of all baggage and be cleansed of the world, and, most importantly, to listen.  I am holding the following questions Lord”: How do I expand and strengthen the boundaries of my inner hermitage in order to live in deeper communion with You? What new direction and strategies do You have for me? How do I expand and strengthen my inner hermitage that Geri  and might live more fully in an exceptional. Read more.