Westwood X

Brothers:

I'd like to share the original vision of Westwood as a basis to enter into the retreat once again.

Throughout salvation history—and in our own history—friends are always the fleshy means for God to accomplish His plan. Before Israel was a nation, it was first a family. Unlike prophets in other religions, Moses saw God's face—and it was that of a friend. Even still, Moses humbled himself in the presence of the burning bush. He feared the fire, and rightly so.

But then something new happened. God, incarnate in Jesus Christ, called his apostles “friends” in a radical, new way. In Jesus, the divine and human truly met eye to eye. History changed as a result. Jesus came to set the world on fire and His friends hurled the embers to all parts of the world. We are the result.

But, be careful: His fire is intense. To those who ignore the fire we have Damnation, to those who haven't let it burn them entirely we have Purgatory, and to those who've been set ablaze we have Beatitude. In each case, it's the same fire emanating from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

On this very day, we too can be friends of the Incarnate One. But, again be wary. If you become His friend, you are by definition commissioned to breathe fire on the world. Like a dragon greedy for gold, we—this very group of friends—have to become greedy for the next human soul to offer to Our Lord. And, like a dragon, we have a nature capable of holding fire without being consumed. Except, the fire we hold is the Creator of the universe transubstantiated in the Eucharist.

This retreat therefore only calls together friends. Year by year, this same group of friends will be transformed by Our Lord in silence and sacrament and by His followers in word and deed. This is not a silent retreat and it is not a men's conference. It is a new retreat based on the first retreat. That is, Westwood is modelled upon the experience of those original friends who spent time in silence with our Lord and then walked with Him. This is where our format comes from: three days, from silence and penitence to resurrection and feast. Our sea is smaller, our hills more verdant, but the One is the same.

I ask you then, what will Our Lord say to you in his burning Presence in our chapel and what will He say to you through his friends around the camp fire at this year's retreat? And what will you say? Do you struggle with lust, wounds from abuse, an abortion, anger, deceit, shame, inadequacy, pride, gossip, judgement, disrespect of your wife? Most importantly, do you trust our Friend and do you know that He loves you? Have you been isolated by the noise of the Liar or instead have you been liberated by the solitude of the Prince of Truth? And, which do you prefer? You get to choose. Can you accept a calling that is greater than that which you call yourself? This is the theme of salvation history. This is the theme of our friendship. This is why we have Westwood each year.

Our retreat is not about building an orderly life, or becoming men, or trying to solve the world's problems. These things will not satisfy. Instead, we want to go deeper, into the fire, where gold is tested. Over time, we want to enter mystically into union with the Incarnation—to experience Him so profoundly that we become something new, His friends and brothers.

All of this is the inspiration for, and mission of, the retreat. I want my friends to live with Our Lord forever. I want my friends to hurl fire. And this can only be done face to face with Jesus and His friends. Years from now, during Westwood XXV, I want to see my friends transformed, families flourishing, and more souls won for the Greater Glory of God!

Bring the fire.

TTM — Dan