Best Seat in the House
The Park Bench on the Batture
There are many places on the Manresa campus that might be considered the “Best Seat in the House”. Many retreatants have never seen this one - the park bench on the batture. One of the most challenging locations on the campus to reach, a trip to the park bench on the batture first requires a short walk from the retreat lodging to the River Road; due to physical limitations this may be as close as some retreatants ever get to the park bench on the batture. Then, after dodging street traffic, retreatants walk a few hundred yards further before they reach the steep slopes of the levee. After crossing the levee and traveling a bit further across Manresa’s river batture, retreatants come to a well-kept park-like setting. Even for those with the ability and the endurance to make it this far, the park bench on the batture is a most welcome sight. The simple bench is neither remarkably handsome nor particularly comfortable, but it does offer a restful spot for meditation and prayer against a non-invasive backdrop of powerful vessels along the river and majestic sunsets along the horizon. For many men, a prayerful visit here is an integral part of their annual retreat. It is for these reasons that we insist this simple park bench on the batture must be one of the “Best Seats in the House”!