Advent Retreat
Saturday December 9, 2000
Joanne Dehmer, a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame congregation, encouraged a personal preparation for Christmas during this annual Advent period. In doing so she used the imagery of our being a manger ourselves, in order to bring God into our very personal lives.
In a series of short presentations, Dehmer proceeded to take persons from an awareness of God's continuing presence in us to an awareness of how we can spread God's love through our own love of others. A key question presented was 'How can we express our love in more direct ways than by giving gifts?' She also discussed advantages of simplifying our lives in order to be in better touch with ourselves and others.
In between presentations time was provided for personal prayer and
reflection. The importance of quiet times for considering the messages presented is
recognized in most retreats. Individual needs resulted in typical personal preferences:
some persons feeling they were helped most from the personal stories shared;
others valuing more the time for personal reflection to examine
possibilities for personal change. In speaking with her after the retreat,
Sr. Joanne explained how the very responses to her stories by participants drives her to appeal to the particular needs of that group; by which she explained how those attending contribute considerably to what she will eventually say.
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