The Gift of Quieting . . .

 

To all that is chaotic in you,                                                                                                    let there come silence.

Let there be
a calming
of the clamoring,
a stilling
of the voices that
have laid their claim
on you,
that have made their
home in you,

that go with you
even to the
holy places
but will not
let you rest,
will not let you
hear your life
with wholeness
or feel the grace
that fashioned you.

Let what distracts you
cease.
Let what divides you
cease.
Let there come an end
to what diminishes
and demeans,
and let depart
all that keeps you
in its cage.

Let there be
an opening
into the quiet
that lies beneath
the chaos,
where you find
the peace
you did not think
possible
and see what shimmers
within the storm.

~ Jan Richardson, paintedprayerbook.com   

https://www.janrichardson.com/

 

The Art of being present . . .

 

 

 

Two Drops of Oil

Spiritual Story by Paulo Coelho

A merchant sent his son to learn the Secret of Happiness from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain. There lived the sage that the young man was looking for.

 However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with the most delectable dishes of that part of the world.

 The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to wait for two hours until it was time for his audience.

With considerable patience, he listened attentively to the reason for the boy's visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness.

He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his palace and come back in two hours' time.

"However, I want to ask you a favor," he added, handing the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil. "While you walk, carry this spoon and don't let the oil spill."
The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.

 "So," asked the sage, "did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?" Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

"So, go back and see the wonders of my world," said the wise man. "You can't trust a man if you don't know his house."

Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of art was placed in its niche. Returning to the sage, he reported in detail all that he had seen.

"But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?" asked the sage.
Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.

 "Well, that is the only advice I have to give you," said the sage of sages. "The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon."

Slowing ~ A spiritual exercise!

 

+ + +

“One of the problems with our modern age is that we are driven to do more and more. We are faced with new technologies that make it possible to speed things up driving us to a faster and faster pace in our life. Each week there is a new gadget or software that is presented to us to make our life easier or more productive. Look at how the internet and the use of cell phones have changed our lives. These new technologies do have benefits, but they also speed life up so that we don’t have sufficient time to think about and act on what is really important for our salvation. We become like robots moving through a web of activities deprived of time for what is essential to nourish our soul and to cultivate our spiritual growth. In this mad rush we forget that our aim in this life is to seek union with God. . .

There in no magic formula to slowing down and simplifying your life. The possibilities are endless. Start by clarifying your priority values. Then make a list of all your activities. Record them over a week’s time. Take time to reflect on what you have recorded and which ones fit with your priorities. Think about what you can eliminate to put a different priority in place in your life. Begin to consciously reengineer your pattern of life. Experiment with ways to slow down and simplify and you will find yourself coming closer to God in your daily activities. Through your prayers seek God’s help in this task.”  (~ Rev. Charles Joiner)

 

 

God, put a little slow in my hurry!  (Macrina Wiederkehr)

Ponderings . . .

 

Gather Me to Be with You

O God, gather me now to be with you as you are with me.
Soothe my tiredness; quiet my fretfulness; curb my aimlessness;
Relieve my compulsiveness; let me be easy for a moment.

 + + +  

O God, gather me to be with you as you are with me.

Forgive me for claiming so much for myself that I leave

no room for gratitude; for confusing exercises in self-importance

with acceptance of self-worth;

+ + +

For complaining so much of my burdens that I become a burden;
For competing against others so insidiously that I stifle celebrating
them and receiving your blessing through their gifts.

+ + +

O God, gather me to be with you as you are with me.

Keep me in touch with myself, with my needs,

my anxieties, my angers, my pains, my corruptions,

that I may claim them as my own rather than

blame them on someone else.

+ + +

O God, deepen my wounds into wisdom; shape my weaknesses

into compassion; gentle my envy into enjoyment,

my fear into trust, my guilt into honesty,

my accusing fingers into tickling ones.

+ + +

O God, gather me to be with you as you are with me.

(From: Guerrillas of Grace by Ted Loder)

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

From Litany of Resistance, by Jim Loney

Response: Forgive us, we pray O God.
• For our hardness of the heart
• For wasting our gifts
• For wanting too much
• For wounding the earth

• For ignoring the poor
• For trusting in weapons
• For refusing to listen
• For exporting arms
• For desiring dominance
• For lacking humility

• For failing to risk
• For failing to trust
• For failing to act
• For failing to hope
• For failing to love
• For failing to negotiate
• For our arrogance
• For our impatience
• For our pride
• For our silence

Response: Change our hearts, we pray O God.
• That we learn compassion
• That we embrace nonviolence
• That we act in justice
• That we live in hope
• That we do your will
• That we love our enemies
• That we strive to be peacemakers
• That we live simply
• That we practice sharing
• That we protect the earth
• That we cherish life

Adapted from Pax Christi USA)

The season of risk . . .

  

 

This Time

To everything a season, a time for every purpose under heaven
and yet this time out of all other times is special
A moment of grace,
A kairos time,
A time for urgency when there is no time
A window opened on eternity where all is possible
For those with eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to understand
A time to risk all that has not been risked before
so that we might flow with all that God intends.

A time to seize because it will not come again.
A time to place our lives where words have been.
A time for bridges to be built and others crossed, and others burned,
because there is no going back.
A time to leave the past behind because the present, this precious “now,”
is Holy Ground and from it the future beckons.
To leave the past, and not to do so lightly.
To take it out and dare to look and name what has been done 

and cannot be undone.

To allow the pain to surface.
To give voice to silent wounding, that, hearing, and being heard,
we might with due and holy reverence allow the dying to take place,
and, picking up the pieces that give life, to travel on;
our burden now a cleansed and sanctified inheritance;
one that puts into our step a spring and into our hearts
a flame of hope that cannot be extinguished.

This time so fragile and so priceless, gift of God to you and me
to grasp and to embrace, to give it all we’ve got;
and, in the giving and receiving, to learn to celebrate the Presence of the One
who in His mercy and Her grace has given one more time.

~Reverend Ruth Patterson

Our Inner Journey . . .

 

 

The River Birch in winter.

 

“There is no pain or sorrow
which comes to us that has
not first passed through the
heart of God.”   -Meister Eckhart

The river birch with its salmon-colored shaggy bark is very hardy – able to withstand frost and wind, and to thrive well in damp riverside soil. About the only thing it cannot tolerate is shade. Shedding its bark is a natural developmental characteristic – the peeling of paper-thin layers makes room for new growth to happen. If the peeling is premature, the tree will become “wounded” and fail to grow.

Sometimes along our journey of life, we come to an awareness that we need to be healed from our inner wounding that resides deep in our soul space. This healing is always a challenge, a process, and a sacred adventure! Much like the river birch trees, we, too, have layers of old wounds that need to be peeled away, each in its own time.

To set out on this inner quest, we (unlike the river birch) learn to befriend the shade – our shadow self, who truly is our teacher – inviting us to name our fears, doubts, pains, and illusions. In so doing, we gently peel off layers placing all into God’s loving embrace.

With each inner “pilgrimage”, we gather courage and integrity to go ever deeper to enter our wounding with grace and faith. We then let grief have its way with us, allowing our tears to bless us as they carry away our hurts.

The River Birch in autumn.

The Gift of Struggles

 

 

Strength from Adversity

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.

Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly.
--- Author Unknown ---

January 23 ~ Marianne Cope ~ Saint of the Day!

 

St. Marianne Cope

I’d like to share from the life of a newly sainted woman – Mother Marianne Cope – who reached beyond herself and met adversity in its many forms and disguises. (I share this with you as a graduate of Brother Dutton Grade School and recall fondly the stories of Br. Joseph Dutton who worked on the island of Molokai for 43 years, and who no doubt, ministered with Mother Marianne.) 

Prior to the inroads made by Mother Marianne, it is said that hospitals in the U.S. had an unsavory reputation. Many were staffed with unknowledgeable people and were filthy. Many people went to hospitals to die. Mother Marianne began to change all that by instituting cleanliness standards. The simple act of hand-washing between patient visits cut the spread of disease significantly.
• She was a hospital administrator that started the patients' rights movement and changed how people cared for the sick.
• She made sure the medical facilities welcomed all people regardless of race, creed or economic standing.
• She was harshly criticized for treating alcoholics - for she treated their condition as a disease rather than a problem.
In 1884, the Sisters of St. Francis of Syracuse took charge of a leper hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii.  “When they arrived at the request of the Fr. Damian, they found horrendous conditions.  Patients of all ages and both sexes slept together on bloodstained mattresses on the floor; wards crawled with bedbugs, lice, and maggots.  The stench of rotting flesh permeated the premises.  Mother Marianne immediately improved the sanitary and social conditions of the patients, teaching her sisters how to nurse the sores of the patients.  

When Fr. Damian died from leprosy himself, Mother Marianne took over for him at the island of Molokai.  She took charge and established a new standard of living for the residents.  As a teenager growing up in New York, she had worked in a clothing factory and had a great sense of style.  Rather than provide simple, drab uniforms for her patients, she fashioned beautiful clothing for them.  She took great pride in making dresses for the girls.  When Mother Marianne went to the island people they had no thought for the graces of life.  ‘We are lepers,’ they told her, ‘what does it matter?’ She changed all that.  Doctors have said that her psychology was 50 years ahead of its time.” 

“As Mother Marianne continued to lead her sisters in their work, she also had to deal with government officials who often seemed to cause more hindrance than help. With tact and determination, she was able to overcome the obstacles put in her way.”

No doubt, Mother Marianne and her sisters could have said, “This isn't what we expected,” but they truly reached out in love and looked beyond the mess into the eyes and hearts of those with leprosy.
• And so in our age, when there is renewed awareness of the suffering of innocent people though human trafficking, or through the exploitation of third world countries, or through the tragic systematic death of peoples by means of torture, famine, and genocide, then we can be sure that the saints are there tirelessly spending their lives to alleviate the suffering of humankind – in all its messiness and adversity.
• In an age when there is a clash between human dignity of all and the restrictive power of a few over all, we can be sure that the saints will be there to name the injustice and call it social sin. 
• In an age when Christians are often confronted to choose between life and death for the sake of the Gospel, we can be sure the saints will be there with a holy resiliency, boldly standing in the mess and muck of it all - choosing life - and willing to stare death in the face for the sake of God’s reign.
•  In an age when there is an ecclesial restriction of gifts of the Spirit to some groups, we can be sure that the saints will be there and will witness to the freedom of the Spirit regardless of restrictive laws about the use of those gifts.
• In an age when discrimination, elitism, and oppression operates in society, in governments, or in churches, we can be sure the saints will be there to again proclaim the reign of God and be voice and heart, call and sign of the God whose design for this world is justice and mercy for all.  

The nature of sainthood is an incarnational reality, the shape and form of holiness may change from age to age and culture to culture.  But, the Spirit of the Holy will continue to call people like all of us who are present here and those beyond this faith community – for it is God’s caring that we witness and it is God’s love that we share – no matter the cost, no matter the messiness of it all – let us be willing to face up to all things that will come now and later as adversity and more adversity, for it truly builds character.

So, I close with the words of Tagore – who speaks to us about what being a saint truly is:
-I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
 I awoke and saw that life was service.
 I acted and behold, service was joy.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Presence . . .

 

Ever-Present God!

 May God stand with you when you are devastated by tragedy or 

circumstance. When you become paralyzed by your reality, 

may God catch you in arms of tenderness and hold you 

with unwavering love. May you be stilled and quieted by the 

realization that God will never let you go or abandon you. 

May you know the blessing of God's Care for you. --Maxine Shonk, OP

Prayer . . .

 

Prayer: God of hope, courage, strength and love. . .

Disturb us, O God,
when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
when our dreams have come true
because we have dreamed too little,
when we arrived safely
because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, O God,
when with the abundance of things we possess
we have lost our thirst
for the waters of life.

Disturb us, O God,
to dare more boldly,
to venture on wider seas
where storms will show your mastery;
where losing sight of land,
we shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back
the horizons of our hopes;
and to push into the future
in strength, courage, hope and love.
~ attributed to Sir Francis Drake

Questions . . .

 

What's in a question?

 

God won't ask what kind of car you drove, but God will ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

God won't ask the square footage of your house, but God will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, but God will ask how many you helped to clothe.

God won't ask about your social status, but God will ask what kind of class you displayed.

God won't ask how many material possessions you had, but God will ask if they dictated your life.

God won't ask what your highest salary was, but God will ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

God won't ask how many promotions you received, but God will ask how you promoted others.

God won't ask what your job title was, but God will ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

God won't ask what you did to help yourself, but God will  ask what you did to help others.

God won't ask how many friends you had, but God will ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

God won't ask what you did to protect your rights, but God will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.

God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, but God will ask how you treated your neighbors.

God won't ask about the color of your skin, but God will ask about the content of your character.

God won't ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but God will ask how many times they didn't.

Author Unknown

Litany of St. Agnes . . .

 

Blessed spouse of Christ,

Protect victims of domestic violence.

Victim of Divine love,
Bring an end to hatred in all its forms.

Glorious martyr of Jesus Christ,
Strengthen those who face martyrdom.

Wonderful example of fortitude,
Stand with those tempted to return to their addictions.

Despiser of torment and death,
Give the grace of a happy death to the terminally ill.

Conqueror of the whole world,
Bring peace to the war-torn parts of the world.

Flower of innocence,
Protect children from sexual abuse.

Model of humility,
Gift the rich with generosity of heart.

Example of religious virtue,
Give us insight into our prejudices.

Protectress of the weak,
Help the voiceless claim their voice.

Advocate of the tempted,
Soften the hearts of those tempted toward violence.

Special patroness of youth,
help our children resist the lure of drugs.

Great favorite of heaven,
Answer the prayers we offer with all devotedness.

By Sister Patricia Hayes, CSA

 

Agnes - A woman before her time!

 January 21, Feast of Agnes of Rome

Someone once wrote: “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”  Today, January 21st, we gather to remember and to celebrate St. Agnes of Rome, under whose patronage the Sisters of St. Agnes were founded. She declared herself Christian in a pagan society and committed herself to remain virgin in a patriarchal culture.  She gave testimony that she had chosen Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior with the public sacrifice of her life.

Much of her life and death are surrounded by legend, but early writings tell us that Agnes was born into a wealthy and powerful Roman Christian family and, according to tradition, she suffered martyrdom at the age of 12 or 13 during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian on January 21, in the year 305.

The story is told how the Prefect Sempronius wished Agnes to marry his son, for women, at that time, were property of the State and had children to promote the State’s agenda.  But Agnes refused a forced marriage and remained adamant that she had consecrated her virginity to Jesus Christ.  Her refusal was considered an act of treason and punishable by death.  At that time, Roman law did not permit the execution of virgins, so Sempronius had a naked Agnes dragged through the streets to a brothel.  In one version of the story, it is said, that as she processed through the streets, Agnes prayed, and her hair grew and covered her entire body.

Some also asserted that all of the men who attempted to rape her were immediately struck blind.  She was sentenced to death with many other Christian companions who refused to worship the Roman gods and to pay homage to the emperor as divine.

Agnes grew up in a patriarchal culture, whose religion included many gods – a religion of laws, customs, and prescriptions that no longer had the power to define her.  Agnes chose a new way of life – a life of virginity.  She was resolute in choosing her own power in Christ to define her new identity.

So what is the Good News for us today?

• Our God continues to invite everyone to live with hope, trust, courage, and faith.  We are all called to be witnesses of the Risen Christ. 
• As women and men religious, associates, friends, and partners in ministry, it is on such a feast as today, that we are invited to ponder our own witness to our faith and the values of our Christian lives.
• That like Agnes, when we find ourselves standing “naked” in our vulnerabilities, limitations, powerlessness, doubts, dilemmas, and decisions that affect the social, economic, cultural, religious, and political challenges of life, may we more and more learn to call upon the Spirit for guidance, grit, and grace – for it is in God that we live and move and have our being.
  

  

  Tomb of St. Agnes in Rome

  

Star Gazing . . .

 Creator of the Stars~~God of Epiphanies

You are the Great Star

You have marked my path with light

You have filled my sky with stars

naming each star and guiding it

until it shines into my heart

awakening me to deeper seeing

new revelations 

and brighter epiphanies.

O Infinite Star Giver

I now ask for wisdom and courage

to follow these stars

for their names are many

and my heart is fearful.

They shine on me wherever I go:

The Star of Hope

The Star of Mercy and Compassion

The Star of Justice and Peace

The Star of Tenderness and Love

The Star of Suffering

The Star of Joy

And every time I feel the shine

I am called

to follow it

to sing it

to live it

all the way to cross

and beyond

O Creator of the Stars

You have become within me

an unending Epiphany.

 

Macrina Wiederkehr

taken from SEASONS OF YOUR HEART