Tonight while attending an Evening of Re-Creation at Mt. Irenaeus a fellow Secular Franciscan asked if I’d like to accompany a group of seculars to St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, PA. I really wasn’t sure, but after asking my wife I consented to go. We leave in the morning from Olean, New York bound for Philadelphia. I’ve never been to St. Francis Inn and I’m not sure that I’ll like it. What will I do? How can I be of service to the urban poor. Lately I’ve felt a longing in my heart to go somewhere on a time away, a retreat. St. Francis Inn wasn’t really what I had in mind, but maybe that is what has been calling me. There is an unfulfilled longing, a search that has been with me for some time. Life at my current occupation has been stressful enough to make me look elsewhere. Maybe this is an important step on my journey. Maybe it’s only a bump in the road. Today’s experiences made me game to try something new, something out of the ordinary.
I’ve been dry lately. I’ve been in one of those familiar yet uncomfortable dry spells. Nothing seems to make sense or bring me any real enjoyment. I’m not really passionate about anything. Maybe St. Francis Inn will provide some of those answers. Maybe not.