Speaking of Love

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blessing, Corinthians, depth of love, endure, hope, kind, love, Love never fails, patient, Paul, rejoice, spiritual journey, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I’ve been waiting for the lectionary reading of 1COR 13 – St. Paul’s famous and familiar “hymn to love” because no matter how many times I hear it – especially at weddings – it always makes an impact. The long form of the reading this morning is 1 COR 12:31 – 13:13 and every line is worth a look. I went to the part about the qualities of love and noticed for the first time that Paul defines love more by what it is not than what it is. He begins and ends with strong statements about what love is but in between it’s as if he sees a stripping away of behaviors in order to get to the depth of love. This section merits a hearing, (i.e. reading it aloud) with time to savor each line and reflect on what we are growing out of and into on our spiritual journey. It is St. Paul at his most eloquent and I offer it to you as a blessing for today.

Love is patient; love is kind. It is not jealous or pompous. It is not inflated or rude. Love does not seek its own interests; it is not quick tempered. Love does not brood over injuries; it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Not Yet?

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adversity, care, certainty, faith, Jesus, Mark, Sea of Galilee, strong faith, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, traumatic moments

Sometimes the gospel stories are so familiar I have to really pay attention not to miss little words that add some new thought to the meaning. For instance, this morning in Mark’s account of the storm at sea (MK 4:35-41), at the beginning of the narrative where Jesus says he wants to cross to the other side, it says that he got in the boat “just as he was.” It sounds to me that he was living out of his advice when he sent the Twelve out in ministry saying to them, “Take nothing for the journey.” That’s pretty risky especially if you don’t bring a lunch or have a reservation at a decent hotel. It also speaks to the necessity of readiness in all circumstances for the disciples to do what Jesus asks – in this case getting in a boat as evening is coming on, crossing the Sea of Galilee for a purpose they obviously know nothing about, when they probably thought they were finished working for the day. Those thoughts are not new to me.

This morning, however, there were two other little phrases that got me thinking in somewhat new ways. When the disciples thought they were going to die and woke Jesus up, they didn’t just say – as we sometimes hear, “Save us for we are perishing!” They asked him, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” That’s a whole different situation that points up the reason for the response of Jesus whose questions to them (after he deals with the wind) are: “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” To be fair to the disciples we might argue that this is rather early in Mark’s account so we don’t know how long the disciples have been following Jesus; this exchange might have been the end of the “honeymoon phase” of their relationship.

These little phrases made me think about how I respond to traumatic moments either in my life or in the world. It’s easy to believe when one isn’t challenged by adversity, but, at the most terrifying moments, do I ever think that God doesn’t care about what’s happening? or worse, about me? My answer to that is usually a quick, definitive: “Of course I believe God cares!” It behooves me, however, to look deeply at how glib my answer is – out of habit – going to the root of my distress to be certain that my faith is as strong as I think it is. May we all be blessed today with a new certainty and a willingness to persevere in faith no matter what the outer circumstances of life and living.

Have Mercy On Me, O God!

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acceptance, acknowledgment, contrition, David and Bathsheba, evil, forgiveness, grace, guilt, just, personal sin, Pope Francis, psalm 51, recognition, relationship with God, repentance, Samuel, sinfulness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Year of Mercy

Yesterday I was having a conversation about sin – not sins but sin, as in “the sin of the world” or “social sin.” It’s much easier to look at it that way, not so difficult then to exclude myself from the topic rather than talking about my personal sin and guilt. Today, however, I could not avoid such a “close encounter” in the face of the story about David and Bathsheba. (2 SM 11:1-17) David’s actions of adultery and the subsequent plotting the death of Uriah when his attempts to hide Bathsheba’s pregnancy from her husband had failed sound like a modern movie plot! This from God’s chosen one, the king of Israel, the one whose reign was to last forever through his descendants!

Most of us know our own sinfulness and try to hide our shadow side from others for fear that we would be abandoned if anyone “really knew me.” David’s story gives us opportunity for a different way to proceed. It comes in a series of steps: recognition, acknowledgment, contrition, repentance, forgiveness and finally acceptance – all of which come in his relationship with God. His waking up to the seriousness of his sin came at the death of the child born of his liaison with Bathsheba but that recognition was so deeply felt not only by the loss but also because of his great love for God and the knowledge that he had severely damaged that covenant. Thus, his sorrow matched his guilt as he sang, “I have done such evil in your sight that you are just in your sentence…Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness; the bones you have crushed shall rejoice. Turn away your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt!” (PS 51) It is because of the depth of relationship that David could come to trust God’s forgiveness. Still cognizant of the enormity of what he had done, David was then able to accept himself and let go of his guilt to live into God’s welcoming embrace. I am confident that we are called to the same willingness in the face of our sin.

Serendipitously as I was pondering all this, my eye fell on a quote that seems apt for both this reflection and this “Year of Mercy.” Pope Francis writes that the Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person. Having received the grace and ability to acknowledge our own sins, may we be moved to extend such mercy to our companions and, yes, to our broken world.

The Angelic Doctor

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divine revelation, enlightenment, limits, philosopher, reason, St. Thomas Aquinas, surrender, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, The Summa Theologiae, theologian, visionary

St. Thomas Aquinas is “by universal consent…the preeminent spokesman of the  Catholic tradition of reason and of divine revelation. He is one of the great teachers of the medieval Catholic Church, honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor.” (http://www.americancatholic.org) Thus begins a brief but interesting biography of the saint whose feast the Catholic Church celebrates today. The less well-known but, in my opinion, most important feature of his history is the last paragraph of today’s narrative. Even though Thomas was a brilliant philosopher and theologian, he came to realize the limits of what we humans can know or understand by reason. Here is the conclusion of the text:

“The Summa Theologiae, his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, deals with the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, ‘I cannot go on…All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.’ He died March 7, 1274.”

Blessed be those who come to the enlightenment that is far beyond anything we can ask or imagine! Blessed also those who surrender everything in bowing to that gift.

If Only…

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coffee, gladness, noise, offering, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thinking, thoughts

This morning the calendar in my head began ticking off events of the day even before my feet touched the floor. When I sat down, having retrieved my coffee and my eye glasses, just for a change I opened the book entitled Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God. Here is what I read:

If only for once it were still. If the “not quite right” and the “why this” could be muted, and the neighbor’s laughter, and the static my senses make – if all of it didn’t keep me from coming awake – then in one vast thousandfold thought I could think you up to where thinking ends. I could possess you, even for the brevity of a smile, to offer you to all that lives, in gladness.

What a lovely thought with which to bless this day!

Got Humility?

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each of us is special, God, humility, Lois, Mark, mother. brothers, name, Paul, sister, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Timothy

The readings this morning make me smile. It isn’t everyone who gets their name in the Bible, you know. Today (2TM 1:1-8) as Paul is writing to his young disciple, Timothy, he says: “…I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother, Lois…” Hah! See me special! (my ego says). Then swiftly on the heels of that, I read the gospel (MK 3: 31-35) where Jesus is told that his mother and brothers have arrived and are asking for him. He says in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?…Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” So much for my special relationship based in my name. The irony of the lectionary pairing did make me smile, however, and reminded me that each of us is special in our own way to God. That’s a good thing to remember no matter who is in our presence at each moment. Our full attention is required for it is God who desires our time and consciousness and who calls our name as if we were the only person present in the universe. May the joy of that knowledge bless you this day!

Conversion

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Acts of the Apostles, Christianity, conversion, Corinthians, endures, kind, love, patient, St. Paul, the slow work of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, walk with God

St. Paul was, by all accounts, a passionate and zealous man, both before and after his conversion to Christ. That dramatic moment, chronicled in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9, seems fitting and perhaps necessary for one so focused on his mission in life. His whole life journey changed in a blinding (literally) flash of light and a voice that he recognized as divine. Interestingly, the story goes that his companions saw the light but did not hear the voice. For that reason, perhaps, and for all that followed that coincided with the instructions given to Paul, it was easier for the witnesses to comprehend the total turnaround in his behavior. The comment that concludes the short biography of Paul on the americancatholic.org website this morning speaks of Paul’s style of writing as “rabbinical” and sometimes difficult to understand at its depth, but that in it we find so many beautiful jewels that have become part of the everyday coin in our Christian language. The quote they chose to illustrate this fact is certainly one of the most familiar and bears repeating as we consider the contribution of Paul to the spread of Christianity.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interest, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things…(1COR 13:4-7)

For most of us conversion is a daily thing, perhaps punctuated with brief moments of insight that keep us moving along our spiritual path. While we sometimes long for  more visible and dramatic events to transform us, the value of a steady, day-to-day walk with God cannot be underestimated. Moreover, the example of those who live Paul’s defining words of love in all they do can remind us of the beauty of each life and can help us to humbly embrace our own as “the slow work of God.”

The Many Are One

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beauty, body of Christ, Corinthians, folk mass, function, gifts, harmony, miraculous, physical body, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, united in God

Group of business people assembling jigsaw puzzle and represent team support and help concept

Today’s second reading from the lectionary (1 COR 12:12-30) is the one that uses the analogy of the human body when speaking of “the body of Christ.” I think of the familiar “folk Mass” hymn that we used to sing often when I was teaching school and playing guitar that still shows up in a more refined iteration in church some Sundays (probably today!). The refrain says that we are many parts; we are all one body and the gifts we have, we are given to share. May the Spirit of Love make us one indeed: one the love that we share, one our hope in despair, one the cross that we bear…The verses sing of joys as well as pain and how everything works better if we are all united in God.

I was thinking a little more elementally when that song popped up. My question was: Picturing the whole physical body, if you were only one part, which part would you be?

While you’re reflecting on your answer and considering all the possible responses (no jumping to conclusions, please – or dismissal of the question!) my suggestion is that you bless each part of your body as miraculous as it arises to your mind. Then when you know who you are, remember Paul’s caution that if an ear should say, “because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be…?

How wonderful the world would be if each of us could accept the gifts and function of all of us as the harmony and beauty that animates us in this vast and marvelous created universe!

Everyday Blessings

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blessings, coffee, conscious, grateful, morning ritual, service, small blessings, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I just took a sleepy walk down the long residence hall where I’m staying to find one of the Sisters making a second pot of coffee before the first one was empty. I remarked to her how lovely it is to have that service done by someone else who is awake enough to accomplish it! She responded, “We’re all grateful for that!” (as I am every day because my housemates are earlier risers than myself). As I came back and settled in to drink and think about my offering of words for the day, my eye fell on the objects around the room and I was struck again about the extraordinary daily blessings in my life. First I saw three books. (I never leave home without at least one or two.) The top one of these was the gift of a friend who lives in this house so I was grateful in three ways: for Katie, the books and the ability to read. Next was the lamp that allows me to see, then a skein of yarn soon to be a prayer shawl for which I give thanks for Sister Jean who taught me to knit. Then there is the bed – with sheets, blankets and pillow – in which I was privileged to sleep in comfort and warmth. Lastly I have this computer which brings the world to me and me to the world each morning for prayer.

All of this came to me in a flash – just a quick look around – after the blessing of coffee prepared by one of over a hundred of my Sisters dwelling under this roof. Would that every day I would be so consciously awash in the small but significant blessings that mean so much! May I spend this day in thanksgiving no matter what the day brings. May you find enough in your day to call you to the same task.

Musing at Sunrise

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apostles, call to prayer, clarity, dawn, Jesus, Mark, ministry, mountain, prayer, Sisters of St. Joseph, summon, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I’m sitting in my assigned bedroom at our Motherhouse, three stories off the ground. I am here until tomorrow for meetings and had determined to sleep as long as I could this morning. Having retired before 10:00pm, I was not surprised to read 6:22 on the clock in my room when I woke; it was enough sleep. Although the temptation to put off the inevitable moment of rising was strong, I was won over by the beauty of the morning star, the deep, deep blue of the sky and a thin line of magenta light out my window in the east. I have not been disappointed with the progress of the dawning day.

This morning’s gospel (MK 3:13-19) has Jesus going up a mountain – a place he often chooses for prayer. I’m not surprised at his choice as the view is always better on the heights (as I can attest this morning); clarity is not often interrupted by sight or sound. There is a lot more to reflect on in the passage from this morning. Take just the following lines (a shortened version):

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He named them (the Twelve) Apostles and anointed them to preach and to drive out demons.

It sounds like Jesus went up the mountain with a purpose. Was there a crowd following him or had he already invited some people along on his journey? “Summoning” seems more determinative that inviting, especially as the gospel indicates that he wanted these particular “Twelve.” What did he see in them? There must’ve been more than good personality traits, although those are generally indicative of something deeper, because preaching and driving out demons/healing are rather specific skills. Or did the call of Jesus begin the transformation that allowed these skills to manifest in those chosen? I am most interested in the fact that these were those he wanted to be with him and they came. What that says to me is that Jesus was not interested in doing his ministry alone; he desired companions. What more might be discovered from a longer reflection on these words? I’ll have to let it sit in me since the long awaited sun just peeked out over Troy, New York and is now blazing forth with a call to prayer with my companions of the day, the Sisters who are likely already in the chapel waiting on the Lord. Such are the blessings to me this morning!