A New Year's Blessing . . .

Let us give the past to God's mercy.

The present to God's love, and the

future to God's providence.

Amen!

A Stable Invitation!

Magnificat of the Shepherds
Luke 2:15-20

My soul delights in the greatness of the people summoned by angels,
and my spirit embraces each puzzled face that peers
through the lamplight at the warm-bundled gift of our song-filled God.
As our eyes meet, joy flows between us and our chins are lifted with gladness.
Yes, from this day forward all generations shall raise their voices
to proclaim those who gather here as blessed, for the Almighty has done
great things for us.
Holy are the simple people. And God’s mercy reaches from age to age
for those who would join hands and follow a holy calling.
The power of wonder has called them from the meadows; they are no longer
cold.  Kings sit alone in their palaces, and we laugh together in this comfortable place.
In the midst of this night we have shared the bread and meat of our haversacks
and our wineskins pass from mouth to mouth. The kitchen of the inn is long locked and
shuttered. Come, God of Israel, celebrate with your people, mindful of your love of  dancing . . .
according to the stories of David and of Judith . . . mindful of your
love of dancing, with garlands of straw flowerets wound about our necks,
with the bells of the flock and tongue-licked pans for tambourines,
we celebrate in psalm and canticle.

From: Miryam of Nazareth by Ann Johnson


Adoration of the Shepherds ~ Nicolas Poussin

Transforming Vision . . .

 

May the God of Newness be with you, freshening you with renewed energy and awakening you with new perspectives on old visions. May you be free enough to let go of what is stale and used up and to embrace what is new and full of promise. May God's grace be with you as you wrap yourself in what is right, if unfamiliar. May you look upon your life and your ministry with the eyes of God, ever new and ever transforming. May the God of Newness be with you.

--Maxine Shonk, OP

 

A Spiritual Exercise . . .

 

Poem: "Epiphany" by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB

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,
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 the cross and beyond.
O Creator of the Stars,
you have become within me an unending Epiphany.

Star Gazing . . .

 

Unfoldment is the gentle whisper

          of Infinite God guiding you

It is the silent knowingness of how to act, what to do.

 

The action comes from the message

          far and deep within,

Only you can recognize it if you are mindful as you go in.

 

The tendency to direct your own course and make a human choice,

Disregards the essence of unfoldment delivered from the inner voice.

 

The difference from intellectual reasoning and unfolding deep inside, 

Is the security of conditioned thought

not the trust of your inner guide.

 

I know it may seem difficult to make sense of this at first,

Free your mind of conditioned patterns, allow yourself to thirst.

 

Open yourself up freely to the meaning of all that you are,

Feel yourself; indulge in the moment’s brilliance,

you will reach far.

 

Do not be afraid of the gloriousness

          that is a part of you -

Allow yourself to experience the present,

          a vision clear and new.

It is trust and patience in the unfolding process here on earth,

Guided through the ethereal heavens planted in your soul at birth.

 

Yes, you can acknowledge the grandness

          of all you truly are,

Believe, have faith, release the doubt,

          reveal YOUR radiant star.

 

When it is unfolded unto you,

          follow the lead of the Light,

You will be humbly awakened,

          embracing inner peace and

          inner sight.

(View from the Mountaintop – Lee Ann Fagan Dzelzkalns)

 

Holy Splash of Time.flv

A Wintering Reflection . . .

 

A Psalm of Icy Awareness

 

The earth around my home

       is now locked in a winter wrap

       of bone-chilling snow and ice.

Water, once clear and liquid,

       a joyous, flowing community,

      Is now frozen into crystals of ice.

 

Recently in humanity’s long history

      there has arisen an isolation,

      a separation of those who share

      common human flesh and bone.

While once upon a time we gathered joyfully

      in families, tribes and clans,

      we now so often live divorced

      from earth and from each other,

      with loneliness as our only company.

 

All isolation is ice-olation,

     frigid to human flesh, cold and lifeless to the touch,

     untrue to our most basic unity, comm-unity.

And whenever I act single-handedly,

     apart from an awareness of my sisters and brothers,

     I become a deformed divine disciple.

 

And tribeless, O God, how can I tread the Path

     which you have designed as a companion course?

Ah, the wisdom, so divine, in your Genesis words,

     spoken to the perfectly made, fully automated Adam,

     “It is not good for one to be alone.”

                                                                

       ~Edward Hayes, Prayers for a Planetary People

 

 

We Remember . . .

 

Poem: “Spirits at Christmas” by John Shea

 Like God, 

bidden or unbidden, 

spirits will arrive.

For some reason 

they love Christmas.

Perhaps it is the prophesies 

about the Child.

 

They know who they are – 

friends, family, 

anyone who ever wandered 

into the welcome of our smile.

No need to set extra places at table.

They only hunger now 

for a moment of our memory.

But be assured, 

their mission is not to haunt.

 

They will not enter the usual way.

Do not listen for the doorbell.

Do not wait for a card.

Do not scan your e-mails.

Do not check spam.

They appear from inside, 

when our minds are too exhausted 

to block entry 

and we have given up 

fighting back tears.

 

Too often we push them away, 

insisting over and over again, 

“They are gone. They are gone.” 

We hug our loss to our heart.

 

Missing the point: 

they are sent 

as a hallelujah chorus 

to sing us out of this narrow box 

we mistake for the fullness of life.