A few weekends ago, I went on my church's 21st Women's Retreat. It was held for the 21st, and last, time at the gorgeous Saint Mary's Seminary. The seminary is located up on a mountain in Santa Barbara and has an absolutely breathtaking view of the Santa Barbara coast, Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands. It was my second retreat but the fourth time at the seminary.
The first time I went to the seminary was when I was in the 7th grade and went to a church leadership camp for junior highers, called Camp Big Deal. It was a week long and I was one of 10 pre-teen/teens from my junior high youth group. I only remember bits and pieces but I do remember that it was fun. It was the first time I saw the Silly Sally skit and the Seven Deadly Sins skit. It was also the first time I opened up to complete strangers, which is something that is strangely comforting. My small group leader's name was Tim and we had a relay race that involved spinning on a baseball bat, then running across a wooden beam that was suspended over a mud pit. At the same time as ever other team. It was messy and so much fun.
The second time at the seminary was the second year I was a leader on the confirmation retreat for my church, which was the semester that I took off from school in between junior college and San Jose State. I had been a leader before but this year I was also one of the coordinators for the retreat. It was a great weekend and I felt that the kids realized that going to church and being Catholic didn't have to feel restrictive. That's why I loved being a leader. Being Catholic to me isn't about just going to church every week and worshiping in the confines of a church. For me, my faith is everywhere. It was also my sister's retreat and it was so cool to see her have such a wonderful experience. She became a leader the next year and for a few years after.
Now, my third and fourth times up on the mountain were with the Women's Retreat. It's a wonderful group of women. What's nice is that it's a wide range of faith. We have women who go to Daily mass and Sunday mass and read scripture and go to bible study, all the way down to someone who doesn't go to Mass, save for holidays and follows her Faith in everyday conversations with God.
I'm somewhere on the second woman's end of the spectrum. I go to mass decently often but I haven't actively read the Bible since I had to for confirmation freshman and sophomore year of high school. I talk to God daily but not in a formal setting. It's often in the car and sometimes I yell. I know He has a plan for me, and I assume it now has input from passed on loved ones, but he's been taking his sweet time revealing His plan and path for me and I'm not, nor have I ever been, the most patient person sometimes. But I'm realizing that I don't have to be a Bible reader to be considered a "good Catholic."
This post go slightly off topic. That happens a lot. Maybe it was just meant to be a reflective and reminiscing post. The seminary is shutting down and being put up for sale. No one knows what will become of the property but I hope and pray that the persons organization that buys it keeps the beauty and peacefulness that it exudes. It's one of those places that you can go up to and sit on a bench, stare out at the ocean and feel at peace. You can read a book, you can go for a hike or you can lay on the grass. I love it. It has served us well over the last two-plus decades and it will be dearly missed.
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