Waiting . . .

Invitation to slowing and stilling . . .

When the time comes, I ask you to take up your position for prayer (and sitting is usually best for most of us) and then, having asked the help of the Holy Spirit, to be content to wait patiently, expectantly, lovingly, longingly.  Try to realize that this is all you can do for yourself. God must do the rest.  See yourself as the parched ground looking upwards waiting patiently for the rain to fall.  You can only wait.    –Brother Roger of Taize

When your tongue is silent, you can rest in the silence of the forest.  When your imagination is silent, the forest speaks to you, tell you of its unreality and of the Reality of God.  But when your mind is silent, then the forest becomes magnificently real and blazes transparently with the Reality of God. – Thomas Merton

Why are you so afraid of silence, silence is the root of everything.  If you spiral into its void, a hundred voices will thunder messages you long to hear – Rumi

Silence is painful, but in silence things take form, and we must wait and watch.  IN us, in our secret depth, lies the knowing element which sees and hears that which we do not see nor hear.  All our perceptions, all the things we have done, all that we are today, dwelt once in that knowing, silent depth, that treasure chamber in the soul.  And we are more than we think.  We are more than we know.  That which is more than we think and know is always seeking and adding to itself while we are doing – or think we are doing nothing.  But to be conscious of what is going on is our depth is to help it along.  When sub consciousness becomes consciousness, the seeds in our winter-clad selves turn to flowers, and the silent life in us sings with all its might – Kahlil Gibran

I stand at the threshold and wait.  Watching, listening, scanning the horizon.  My soul is filled with wonder and beauty.  My lungs expand with deep breathing from the beginning of time.  Silence fills my breath, penetrating deep into my core and the outer reaches of my toes, fingers and very tips of the ends of the hairs on my head.  I am filled with breath, silence, beauty, wonder, hope, vastness and expanse.  Deep blue skies, puffy clouds, green grass and carpets of wildflowers . . .I cross the threshold and enter in ( Sharon Richards)

God saw that it was GOOD!

In the aeons of time
there came a moment
when God said: "NOW!"
Light sprang from darkness,
order from chaos,
and where there was no life before
life teemed.
God saw that it was - GOOD!

So every once in a while
God does it again
God's "NOW" breaks planets open,
bursts stars apart,
shifts the continental plates,
moves mountains and valleys,
melts the ice-caps,
sends forth a Sun.

It is incredibly disturbing -
adjusting, adapting,
stroking the fires of passion
for God's endless possibilities,
But a Word keeps calling:
"LIFE!" Be in it with me,
any moment, every moment,
alert for God's "NOW!"
Raphael Consedine PBVM

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. (Mahatma Gandhi )

 

Pope Francis: telegram to Cardinal Vingt-Trois

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegram expressing his condolences to the families of the victims of Wednesday’s terror attack in Paris, an promising prayers for the victims, their loved ones, and for the whole French people. The telegram, signed by the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, renews the Holy Father’s condemnation of the violence. Please find Vatican Radio’s English translation of the telegram, below.
****************************************
To His Eminence, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois
Archbishop of Paris

Having learned of the terrible attack in Paris at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, which claimed so many victims, His Holiness Pope Francis joins in prayer with the pain of the bereaved families and the sadness of all the French. He entrusts the victims to God, full of mercy, praying that He might welcome them into His light. The Holy Father expresses his deepest sympathy to the injured and to their families, asking the Lord to give them comfort and consolation in their ordeal. The Holy Father reiterates his condemnation of the violence, which generates so much suffering, and, imploring God to give the gift of peace, he assures the affected families and all the French the benefit of divine blessings.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary

Published in:
 Catholic Canada

Living With Purpose!

Baptism of Christ by Dave Zelenka 2005

In 2002, Baptist pastor, Rick Warren published his book, The Purpose Driven Life. In the first year of its publication, there were over 11 million copies sold.  Within 4 years there were over 30 million copies sold and it became an international best seller translated into more than 50 languages. Why was this book so popular? Could it be that in today’s pop culture and social networking the messages that come to us are - we don’t have enough, we are not good enough, and we are not enough – which leaves people “wobbly” within and anxious to have someone help them understand God’s purpose and path for their lives?  Or could it just be that we fear to slow down, to become quieted, and still - attempting to avoid pondering the questions that everyone eventually faces in life, which are: Why am I here?  What is my purpose?

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus has been walking around with the same questions – yet something happened to Jesus when he was baptized. He was changed – charged – transformed! Something spectacular happened – the heavens opened, the Spirit came upon him, and there was cloud-talk with a voice that said, “You are my beloved. With you I am well pleased.” Nothing like high drama and special effects to get our attention! With these intimate and consoling words, Jesus was changed forever and charged with the energy of the Spirit as he came up from the waters of the Jordan  His purpose was revealed. His mission was announced. No discernment or searching needed. All he needed to do in his short earthly life was to become it – his mission, his purpose!! As John Dear writes: “God does not mince words or make small talk. God gets right to the heart of the matter.”

Richard Rohr reflects that being baptized and truly claiming that grace means we “get it" and that is when we are willing to surrender to God’s dream and vision of who we are in our deepest self.  Then it is in our deepest self that we discover our purpose and what we are here for.

As baptized followers of Jesus, we, too, stand in readiness, in vulnerability, in authenticity as we hear in our depths that God says to each one of us, “You are my beloved.”  We, too, are charged by the Spirit to claim, accept, honor, and embrace who we are – for we are beloved!

This being beloved carries personal, spiritual, social, interpersonal, and global implications. If we are willing to take this seriously, it means that we as God’s beloved have to be open to the awesome and wonderful news that every other human being in the world is also a beloved daughter or son of God – it means that we are all one; we are all chosen; we are all called to bring sight to the blind, release to those held captive, light to those who wander in darkness, and justice to those who are oppressed.

As followers of Jesus, we share in his baptism, his ministry, his death and resurrection. It means that just as Jesus heard the cloud-talk-affirmation, “You are my beloved,” God says to each of us, “You are my beloved.” God is loving us, affirming us; God is delighting in us, and calling all of us into our true Self, and to our true purpose.

Something to Ponder: “In the thousands of moments that string together to make up our lives, there are some where time seems to change its shape and a certain light falls across our ordinary path. We stop searching for purpose, we become it.” ( I Will Not Die An  Unlived Life by Dawna Markova)

 



Baptism of Christ #2 by Daniel Bonnell



The God of Epiphanies

 
Matthew's Gospel is the only one that records the story of the Magi. Right from the get-go, this story has the makings of a Hallmark special movie.  It has high drama, a plot which features long journeys, astrologers, a guiding star that is possibly a remnant from an explosion from a Super Nova, a dark force of threatening danger, political intrigue, divine dreaming, holy whisperings, and a vulnerable new born child. 

We recently heard in Luke’s Christmas story that shepherds came to the stable. Shepherds were regarded as unclean and could not take part in Temple worship without undergoing purification. Therefore, his emphasis is on Jesus being God’s revelation to the poor and the rejected.  While in Matthew, the emphasis is on the universality of Jesus’ mission. 

(A truth that Pope Francis has expressed once again in his recent writings:      “. . . it is vitally important for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded. ... That is what the angel proclaimed to the shepherds in Bethlehem:  ‘Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people.’”)   (Lk 2:10)

Over several hundred years, Christian imagination, legend, and tradition have embellished Matthew’s story – for in his revelation he does not tells us that  the Magi were wise, or men, or kings, or that there were three, or that they were from the Orient, nor does he speak of their mode of transportation, and he certainly misses the mark by not providing names of the Magi  . . . it is not so much the details that are important;  it is the meaning of Matthew’s message.

Among Matthew’s Jewish community, they were finding it difficult to accept that God came for all, and not just a few. They were clinging to the idea that if you want to follow Jesus, to be one of his disciples, you had to first be a Jew.  And if you were male, then you had to be circumcised; then if you were to become Christian, you had to continue to fulfill all the rules of the law.  This is why Matthew writes this story . . .this is the mystery, that God is now revealed to all nations, and God has come to transform all of human history, all peoples of all times.

The Magi represent the whole Gentile world.  According to medieval legends, they were named Melchior, Balthazar, and Gaspar. Each of them came from a different culture: Melchior was Asian, Balthazar was Persian, and Gaspar was Ethiopian, therefore representing the three races known to the old world at that time. 

Author John Shea writes that there is a legend that the Magi were three different ages. Gaspar was a young man, Balthazar in his middle years, and Melchior a senior citizen. When they approached the cave at Bethlehem, they first went in one at a time. 
• Melchior found an old man like himself with whom he was quickly at home. They spoke together of memory and gratitude. 
• The middle-aged Balthazar encountered a teacher of his own years. They talked passionately of leadership and responsibility. 
• When Gaspar entered, a young prophet met him with words of reform and promise.
• The three met outside the cave and marveled at how each had gone in to see a newborn child, but each had met someone of his own years. They gathered their gifts in their arms and entered together a second time. In a manger on a bed of straw was a child twelve days old.

The message is that Christ speaks to every stage of the life process – the young hear the call to identity and intimacy, the middle-aged hear the call to generatively and responsibility, and the elders seek to hear the call to integrity and wisdom. We all seek to find the Christ in each stage of our own lives and the gift that is given us is that we find ourselves as well.

The word EPIPHANY comes from the Greek meaning a manifestation, an awakening, a showing forth, - and in Matthew’s Gospel of the Magi’s visit, what is made known can be called an “epiphany moment” – there is a sudden spiritual intuitive awareness, a flash of insight that God has come to more than the people of Israel - God is shining forth to all peoples - a showing off of God’s unconditional love of all people through the smile and laughter of a tender new born baby.  The Magi had to trust and follow their limited instincts. And that is what all of us are invited to do again and again . . . for the mystery of Epiphany is that God is perfectly hidden and perfectly revealed.

They realize that their encounter with Jesus truly changes them and they will live life differently.  (Richard Rohr: “An epiphany is not an experience that we can create from within, but one that we can only be open to and receive . . .Epiphanies leave us totally out of control, and they always demand that we change.”)

Today’s feast tells us that for God there are no foreigners, no strangers, no aliens, and no outsiders.  We all belong to our God no matter what external physical or cultural differences there may be between us; we all belong to God no matter what religious convictions or lifestyle differences there may be between us.  Our God is inclusive, unpredictable, imaginative, compassionate, forgiving, and desires a personal encounter with us.

This feast means that we are all called to be “epiphany people.”  There is no turning back; just an on-going commitment to “shine forth” with courage, compassion, vision, and to hope and to seek, to trust, and to seek again and to live with a restless Spirit, so as to be intensely engaged with humanity each in our own unique way. 

So let us embrace the graces of these readings and this celebration, because it is in this liturgy of joining with one another in the sharing of the Word, and in the breaking of the bread, that we, too, become “epiphany people.”  Here we encounter our God – Holy Mystery– and in this place we are all changed, and we can reflect on the seasons of our own lives when God has shown forth to us and invited us to walk new paths under the guidance of a new star.

Finally let us pray in a poet’s words- Macrina Wiederkehr:
Creator of the Stars; God of Epiphanies
You are the Great Star; You have marked our paths with light
You have filled our sky with stars naming each star
Guiding it until it shines into our hearts
Awakening us to deeper seeing New revelations  . . . And brighter epiphanies! 

(Previously posted 12/13)

Happy New Year 2015!

Faithful Companion, in this New Year we pray. .
•To live deeply, with purpose,
To live freely, with detachment,    
   
•To live wisely, with humility,
To live justly, with compassion,

•To live lovingly, with fidelity,
To live mindfully, with awareness,

•To live gratefully, with generosity,
And to live fully, with enthusiasm.

•Sacred Mystery, waiting on the threshold of this new year,
You open the gates and beckon to us.    
                                                               
•“Come! Be not wary of what awaits you
as you enter the unknown terrain,
Be not doubtful of your ability to grow from its joys and sorrows.

•I am with you.  I will be your Guide.  
I will be your Protector. You will never be alone.”

Guardian of this New Year, we set aside our fears, worries, concerns.
We open our lives to mystery, to beauty, to hospitality, to questions, to the endless opportunity of discovering the Holy One in our relationships, and to all the silent wisps of wonder that will draw us to Your heart, O God.

•We welcome Your unfailing Presence and walk with hope into this New Year!

 (Paraphrased from Joyce Rupp)

Endings and Beginnings . . . let us pray!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN4Uu0OlmTg

End of combat in Afghanistan, let us pray to our God.
Assassination of NYPD officers  Raphael Ramos and Wenjian Liu,      
let us pray . . .
Babies shot and killed in Milwaukee, WI, let us pray . . .
AirAsia jetliner 8501 missing, let us pray . . .
10 years after Tsunami, let us pray . . .
Ebola in West Africa, let us pray . . .
Climate change/Global Warming, let us pray . . .
Racial unrest, let us pray . . .

Lord, make us instruments of your Peace
In a world all too prone to violence and revenge,
We commit ourselves to the Gospel Values of
Mercy, Justice, Compassion, and Love;
We will seek daily to promote forgiveness and healing
in our hearts, our families, and our world.

Where there is hatred, let us sow Love;
Where there is injury, let us cultivate Peace
Fear and distance prevent people from recognizing all
as brothers and sisters;
tensions lead to violence and mistrust;
We will strive to honor the dignity that God places
in each and every human person.

Grant that we may not seek to be understood as to Understand;
To be loved as to Love
Our failure to understand the other can create exclusion
in all its negative forms –
racism, marginalization of those who are poor, sick, the immigrant;
it can also create situations of domination, occupation, oppression and war.
We pledge to seek the way of solidarity,
to create hearts, homes, and communities
where all people will experience inclusion, hospitality, and understanding.

For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned
And in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Let us Pray:
Lord God, create in us:
-the Capacity to hear and understand the voices of those who suffer from
every form of violence, injustice, and dehumanization;
-the Openness to receive and honor people from other cultures, languages,
religious traditions, and geographical regions;
-the Creativity to explore new ways of communication and dialogue through
music, poetry, performing arts, and the mass media;
-the Audacity to undertake the building of communities of forgiveness, healing,
and reconciliation.
To God who is above all and in all are the glory and the honor. Amen


http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peopleandplaces/wsjs-2014-photos-of-the-year/vi-BBgYv8R