Meeting God at the Beach

We are all called to become intimate friends with God, especially through prayer, and as we grow in prayer, we more and more find God at work in our world. Over the years I have found God in persons, in events both local and global, and in some places. One place very dear to my heart is Saint Mary by-the-Sea Retreat House, where I have worked as Assistant Director for the past twenty-six years. 

I first visited “the Cape,” as we call her, in 1962. We novices were there to help clean in preparation for the summer retreat season. We were all looking forward to the change of pace from our year at the motherhouse, but I was thoroughly surprised when we were given most afternoons “off.” Why, it was like a vacation! I came to see that this really was part vacation, a playfully surprising action of God, and I learned to trust that experience of God just as much as I did God’s more serious appearances in my life.

So I fell in love with the Cape. Of course, it isn’t hard to fall in love with an old Victorian hotel that sits right on the beach!

 
I’ve made retreat most years at the Cape and met God in solitude and silence. Many summers I volunteered to work on the kitchen staff, spending time blissfully escaping from classes and student papers as I cut tomatoes and cucumbers and carrots to make salad for 140. I felt much as I did as a novice: so very grateful and so aware that God takes wonderful care of me.

I am by nature an organizer and troubleshooter. At the Cape, I was always figuring out how to do things better through organization and communication. I was just itching for an opportunity to put some of my ideas into action. In 1989, I was so happy to do so when I joined the core summer staff as Assistant Director.

Since then I have spent almost every summer organizing reservations, room assignments, schedules, evaluations, and planning. Each summer I find God in the beauty of the seashore, the commitment of my fellow core staffers, the generosity of our many volunteer workers, and the prayerful presence of our retreatants. I love being part of a community that works together to create a place where people can meet God in so many ways. When I arrive at the Cape each May, I am always mindful of the long line of workers who went before me. I want to sing, “This is Holy Ground.”

Sister Patricia O'Donnell, SSJ

Patricia O’Donnell SSJ graduated from Chestnut Hill College, a sponsored work of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia, and entered the Congregation in 1961, expecting to teach high school science. But God, it seems, had a different plan: she taught high school for six years, but has spent most of her ministry years teaching philosophy at Chestnut Hill College. At the same time, she has spent her summers helping to organize operations at Saint Mary by-the-Sea Retreat House, Cape May Point, New Jersey.