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benefit, generosity, praying, psalm 19, sacred music, singing, stable, The Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity
It’s always interesting to me when one word jumps out from a page and starts me on a road of reflection. This morning that word was an adjective from Psalm 19 in an alternate translation. The word was stable. (When bolded it really does give the impression of what it means.) I’m fairly certain that I hooked onto that word because everything seems unstable right now: the weather, the political scene and many of the institutions – religious and secular – that seem to be failing around the world. We need something to hold onto and I believe it can only come from a deep, interior place. Here is what the psalmist said in speaking to God:
The stable patterns of your ways give joy and fill the heart with good, bringing light to eyes that now can see. Pure light, pure truth, pure justice, God, they’re like a cleansing wind that passes through our souls, assessing all.
Last evening I had an experience of this “purity,” this stability. I went to a benefit concert for the work of The Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus who travel to Haiti on a regular basis to help improve conditions in the lives of the people there. The concert was organized by and featured the extraordinary talents of the parish musicians and choir of St. James Church in Johnson City, NY. I am always comfortable there as I had known many of these people as students when I was teaching high school, two of whom are Jan DeAngelo, music director for the parish and Patricia Foley, leader of the contemporary choir, the group presenting the concert.
From the first pure note of the a cappella solo, Pat led the crowded church into a truly holy event, traveling through time and venues where sacred and secular are one. Violins, horns, guitars and drums melded perfectly with the artistic prowess of Jan’s piano – and the voices…well, the blend was, to coin a word, heavenly. And the best part of all was that the audience was encouraged to sing along at every turn – and we did! From John Denver’s All This Joy to the stirring religious anthem, How Great Thou Art, the evening was suffused with the light of generosity and willingness and the truth that our singing and praying was perhaps as beneficial for Haitians as the overflowing bucket of donations at the back of the Church.
My gratitude is great, just for knowing such talented, generous people who offer their gifts on a regular basis for the praise of God and the good of community, bringing light to eyes that come to see from a place of unity.
Instead of just speaking of a childhood practice of nighttime prayer (“Angel of God, my guardian dear…”) on this feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, I decided to google them and then angels in general. I could spend the day reading with what I found on the internet – some items familiar to me and some totally foreign. I won’t be researching today as other tasks are already calling to me, but I will put it on my list of “to-do” projects, I think, as there is a vast body of information that attests to the reality and functionality of these powerhouses of presence in the spiritual world.
On my bedroom windowsill I have a rock that I found on the shore of Skaneateles Lake during a retreat many years ago. It really looks like a miniature mountain and on an outcropping sits a tiny statue of an owl looking out. The composition is a sign to me of God’s strong, wise and ever-watchful presence, a metaphor like that of today’s psalm that sings: Blessed is the Lord, my rock, my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield in whom I trust. (PS 144:1-2).
There’s hope for all of us! I was just reading a synopsis of St. Vincent de Paul’s life (1580 – 1660), one of the most well known saints of Christianity for his care for the poor. Vincent, the account says, “had become a priest with little more ambition than to have a comfortable life,” but had been changed by the deathbed confession of a dying servant that “opened his eyes to the crying spiritual needs of the peasantry in France.” There’s lots of evidence of his good works, commonly known, but it was a small paragraph toward the end of the account that gave me pause – and actually made me smile.
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go back in time and live in a simpler world with fewer people, a world where Jesus could say to his chosen Twelve: “Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.” (One would probably want the power and authority Jesus gave to them over demons and to cure diseases, however, to keep them safe along the way as they preached the word of God.) (LK 9:1-6) When I left home yesterday to come to a meeting 135 miles away, I made sure I had my driver’s license, money, credit card in case of emergency, cell phone, and the food that one of the sisters had bought me at the grocery store for my lunch. Oh, yes, and the car that would get me here in about two and a half hours! Times have certainly changed! The world turns faster, the culture much more complicated – virtually nothing is the same!
Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to say in this complex and over-stimulating world in which we now live. This morning as I was considering the lectionary readings one by one I kept getting interrupted with news flashes. It went something like this:
I can’t help thinking as I read the lectionary psalm for today (15) how timeless the messages of Scripture often are. As we think of those who might be found “on God’s holy mountain,” we might include “the one who walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in her heart and slanders not with his tongue…” (vs.2-3)
Today I am up before even a hint of sunrise, getting ready to travel again to New Hampshire just for today to celebrate the life of Helen Daly, friend and benefactor. Helen, her friends agree, died much too early but gifted the world with a legacy of wisdom. The Sophia Center is just one recipient of grants over the past six years that have seen the creation and continuance of programs for “Wisdom Seekers” far and wide. Before her passing from this world, I was blessed by her light over six years and since I have continued to sense that light that cheers us on in the work we have been blessed to share with others. I invite you who read this blog to give thanks today for Helen and other generous people everywhere who understand the importance of God’s call to seek and serve in the Wisdom Way.
We know only two things about St. Matthew whose feast we celebrate today. First, we know him as a tax collector and secondly that he responded to the call of Jesus who approached him with the command: “Follow me,” and later was credited with the Gospel that bears his name. In the time of Jesus, tax collectors were not beloved members of society. It seems that, once again, Jesus was trying to make an important point by calling Matthew to be a disciple – a call that Matthew was unlikely to accept in the unquestioning way that he did. He was making some money, after all, and his job was likely secure. But Matthew got up from his customs post and seems to have never questioned the motives of Jesus or his own response. Clearly, others questioned however! “Why does the teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” they boldly said – not thinking of any transgressions they themselves might have committed. Jesus was clear in his response to these queries. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
As the days of September slip away too quickly, I am trying to find a rhythm that will make me feel as if I am living the days in the best way I can. Turning for help from Sister Joan Chittister in her book Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, I found the following familiar story that made me smile but also gave me a practical reminder.
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 