I SURRENDER ALL TO YOu

I SURRENDER ALL TO YOu

I look forward to my personal retreats at POONDI MADHA BASILICA and this last time I went was no exception.  To reach the Basilica in India is no easy task the roads are narrow in many places but the picturesque view of the river and dam site is breath taking.  The banana leaves in their richness of color shimmer in the sunlight and on occasion one can see a peacock. 

Poondi is a classic retreat place the rooms have only bed, bathroom, ceiling fan, one chair and small table.  The distractions and comforts one might need are null and void after all one is there to reconnect with Our Lord uninterrupted by the noise, entertainment, and problems of one’s personal life or the world itself.  Even the food is plain and basic with few choices from the restaurant on campus.  There are no other options.  This time at Poondi is truly a time of prayer, mass, adoration, and confession.

 

As for myself although I have a daily prayer life it is often interrupted by within or outside problems or tasks needing my attention.  I do not seek the world by electronics actually I love this time of disconnection while on retreat.

I was able to have breakfast with the Sister’s at the convent whom I am close too as they shared all that is going on.  The convent houses 160+ girls whom are either totally orphaned or have only one parent these girls are from first to twelve standard.  The convent has a school for the local villages, which have no other school and because of this receive subsidies to help with village children’s education.  They also have a free clinic, which provides free medicines and health care.  The clinic is visited by a doctor every Sunday.  The orphanage and clinic receives their funds from donations and benefactors.

I came back from retreat renewed in body and spirit.  I was concerned about a swelling in my abdomen that was getting bigger and after returning from Poondi the swelling has gone down to normal PRAISE GOD.  My stress and anxieties Our Lord is protecting me from.  It is when I SURRENDER ALL to him I have nothing that stands in my way to disrupt my peace and hinder His calling on my life.  I have learned to trust Our Lord for the littlest tasks I must perform and He is invited to give me all the help I need.  I have a trust of His power, grace and miracles that grows stronger daily along with my faith.  I am weak physically, cane dependent and cannot stand for but a few minutes without pain.  I am in Congestive Heart Failure and four years cancer free.  Our Lord sent me to India not in my prime of health and age but as an old woman with health issues.  I wake up because He wants me, I do because He asks and I am happy because of His love and joy is in my heart.

©Linda Mary Liotino ME A SERVANT OF CHRIST MISSION 2015