Springbank Retreat is a sacred place where women from around the world gather to renew their spirit, refresh their energy, and reflect on the beauty of creation as they drink in the divine creativity that infuses their souls and all of life.

Among the Springbank community are a number of four-legged friends that Thomas Merton referred to as saints. One member of this canine community is a shy, beautiful creature called Max.

On occasion, Max likes to wander off the property. Once while I was staying at Springbank, Max disappeared on Easter Sunday. He did not return the next day. When he still had not appeared after several days, we began to wonder if some harm had befallen Max. We feared it was possible that he would never return.

On the Wednesday after that Easter, several of us were working on the community’s prayer lodge. At the end of the day, I suggested we pray for Max and send out our energy for his safe return.

There were five of us. We joined hands and formed a circle, and began to pray. As energy flowed from hand to body to hand, we imagined a cone of energy surrounding us and extending to Max, wherever he might be. Our prayer was to cleanse, purify, and protect him. We imagined the energy surrounding Max and inviting him home.

One member of our group said she could sense Max. She assured us that he was alive. We concluded our prayer circle and went off into the night.

The next morning we received good news: Max had come home and was enjoying an abundant breakfast. It seemed that our prayer had been answered. Our prayer for Max had invited him home.