I enjoy religious days of reflection and retreat weekends, but due to the pandemic and perhaps to my being overly cautious, I have not indulged in such a program since February 2020. Any of us, however, can choose a day and make it retreat-like. It would have to be a work-free day, maybe on a weekend, on which we could somewhat separate ourselves from family and friends to create a private holy space in which to think, read, and pray.

Starting the retreat day with a Mass is a good idea. Invite the Body of Christ to walk with you. It would not be necessary to lock yourself in your bedroom. Retreat houses have various rooms and comfortable furniture. Many of them also have lovely grounds on which to take meditative, prayerful walks. On this self-retreat day, a walk or two in your own yard or around your neighborhood is a possible activity, weather permitting. Praying with nature often prompts reflection on the beauty and grandeur surrounding us: the vastness and bounty of our Creator. We may have to direct our eyes upward with more attention on small wonders or simple miracles of creation. Look again, and again.

Prayer books or spiritual reading material can provide food for reflection. I have books I keep promising myself I am going to read and never quite get to them. On this proposed “day away,” allowing time to relax with good spiritual reading material can allow the Holy Spirit to teach and inspire you.

As soon as I learned how to tell time, I became an ardent clock-watcher. I still always seem to know what time it is—unless, of course, there is a power outage, and no battery clocks are close by. Consequently, I am rarely late for an appointment and have little patience with people who tend to be tardy.

I have some ideas about using time in our quest for holiness. Priests and religious pray the Liturgy of the Hours every day. Consisting of psalms, hymns, sacred scripture readings and other prayers, the Liturgy of the Hours is regularly prayed at various times of the day and night. More information about this type of prayer can be easily found on the internet.

I got thinking about a “Liturgy of the Ours” in which we could pray, at set times of the day, for things that are ours, i.e., our families, our friends, our healings, and our blessings.

It is up to each of us to take the time to communicate with our loving God, to build on the relationship we are so privileged to have.

Yes, we are busy, but, in many cases, we can make time for activities that we deem important. I am not suggesting that we spend endless hours in prayer, but I know from personal experience how easy it is to get caught up in worldly activities, get tired, and skip over prayer time on a given day.