The Letter : An Intimate Pilgrimage

In our digital age we voice agreement with a thumbs up.  A frown face replaces thought.  A quick typing of words, buried in the Inbox, awaits another quick reply.  “Narrative is what we are missing most,” Abigail Carrol (A Gathering of Larks) observes, “the opportunity to hear our own sustained voice” as we form a relationship.  She goes on to say, “in a letter we travel the space between ourselves and the person to whom we address our words, bridging geographical distance by creating spiritual connection.”

We create Intimacy, an “into-me-see,” as Father Donald Nesti phrases it, that can transform us (and the companion with whom we exchange letters.)

On this pilgrimage we will accompany each other on this personal road to Emmaus.  We will begin by finding one “person” (family member, friend, colleague, Saint, God, pet, tree, animal, house, strangers within and without, etc) with whom we will share our pilgrimage. We will address our letters to this person.  By the end of the pilgrimage, each retreatant will leave with a stack of letters.  Perhaps, ready for mailing or for storing or for continuing the journey.

Each day we will explore a variety of ways to write these letters–expressing gratitude, forgiveness, discord, healing—whatever surfaces and asks for attention. We will support your pilgrimage with thoughtful prompts in morning sessions.  Your afternoons are free and spacious.  In the evenings we’ll gather to share what we have welcomed into our intimate correspondence.

A blank sheet of stationery becomes a treasured artifact we carry back into our lives.