Spiritual Exercises are an illusion if they make it more difficult for us to live our vocation, or if they make our daily routine seem less essential.
The mother who makes a weekend retreat and comes away wishing she had become a Carmelite would have done better to stay at home. Her reaction is just as unsettling for her spiritual life as the regret about not having a family would be in the life of a Religious.
Spirituality which does not help persons to take a firmer grasp on their lives, which does not give a sureness and confidence of the Presence of God in their particular vocation, is nothing less than un-Christian.
Mother Patricia O’Connor, C.D.S.
Founding Superior, Friend and Guide
