focus: Life at sea - a way into prayer
Province of France
Noëlle Favet, rscj
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"Life at Sea - A Way into Prayer" is a programme of the Ignatian Youth Network of France; people of Ignatian spirituality: Jesuits, Sisters and laity, all work on it together.
It isn't always easy for young people, whether students or those who already have a career, to take the plunge and go to a spiritual centre to discover a form of prayer, or experience the riches of a time of retreat. In such a noisy world, so full of distractions, daring to face up to silence, solitude and confrontation with God and with oneself is no simple matter! Nor is it easy for those whose days off are limited, to give up a week of refreshing, much-needed holidays, and shut themselves up in a retreat house! So what's the alternative?
"Life at Sea - A Way into Prayer" is a programme which tries to respond, at least partially, to these expectations. Its aim is to give young people (between 18 and 30) a taste of Ignatian prayer, to show them how to set about this business of prayer, while enjoying all that the sea has to offer, in a rambling cruise aboard a sailing-boat. So every July, twenty-four people embark for a week on three sailing-boats, to ramble around the islands and coasts of Brittany. An integral part of the retreat is the apprenticeship of sailing, of living on board and getting to know the marine environment. The boat dictates a certain simplicity of life; you learn how dependent you are on the elements (winds, tides, sun or rain), and on the community life that you simply can't avoid when eight people are living on a boat 9 metres long. The beauty of the setting also lends itself to contemplation, and you easily learn to be silent and remember all the wonderful things the Creator has done. Learning to navigate also reinforces the spiritual undertaking. Many re-discover the Spirit's action in their lives while adjusting the sails to the prevailing wind; while casting off, many have understood that you sometimes have to let go so that you can launch out into the deep. And how could you fail to think of discernment when you have to take your bearings, set the course and stick to it?
Mornings begin in the big group with the presentation of some aspect of sailing: what does it mean to "embark, weigh anchor, set the course?" These sea metaphors are the backdrop for the day's spiritual attitude: learning to accept God's gift, which has no strings attached; being ready to let go, to cut loose from what hinders our freedom; discovering our personal landmarks and learning to choose. A short time of personal prayer, in the method of the Exercises, is then suggested; guided at first, it becomes progressively more personalised, and each one learns to use the means proposed by the team of directors. Then, back to the boats for the day's cruise! While sailing, an hour's silence is suggested, and a time for sharing after looking back on one's life. The evening ends with a time of prayer or reflection in teams or in the big group, according to possibilities. And so the voyage itself sets the rhythm for each one's personal itinerary, and for the life of the group. Halfway through the journey, a day on an island gives everyone a chance to take their bearings and pluck up courage to have a more personal talk with the person accompanying them. There is no need to be a great "pray-er", nor a great sailor, to enter into this process. You only have to want it, and to be bold enough!
I've taken part three times in the direction of this retreat, and I have never met a single participant who was disappointed by the programme. Some, after this first initiation, overcame their fear of silence and solitude, and found the courage to go into a retreat centre; others have appreciated the joys and riches of Ignatian prayer or of spiritual direction, and have pursued this path. Others again have found a new face of the Church and have sought to renew their links with it. Many have asked to repeat the experience. And so a second scheme has been drawn up, offering a further step in the spiritual process and in the experience of navigation.
Several Religious of the Sacred Heart in the French Province take part in the direction of this retreat. It's always a joy for us to be able to sail together (even if we are not on the same boat!) and to bear witness to a single charism, which the retreatants very soon pick up. There is no need to be an expert in navigation; it's enough to have a taste for adventure and to accept the basic conditions of the experience. The harvest always reaches the hundredfold, far outweighing the weariness and service.
So let's allow ourselves to be borne along by the Spirit, as we think out new ways of giving young people the God-experience they are seeking in their lives today!
Noëlle Favet, rscj
Province of France