AMDG

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AMDG, jesuits, JMJ, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning I learned something new about acronyms. It’s only if the letters of the acronym can be pronounced and used as a word (like NASA) that it is correct to call what you are using an acronym. Otherwise it’s called an initialism (like FBI or CIA). There is so much shortening of words in both categories these days that hardly any conversation includes all complete words – to the detriment of those not initiated into this way of speaking. I see it most on television (TV) commercials about health care these days and it’s rather frustrating. If you miss the first ten seconds of the commercial you have also missed the fact that they are talking about deep vein thrombosis when they say – throughout the advertisement – “DVT.” And I remember how long it took me to decode “24/7” when it became popular.

Today is the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (Society of Jesus, the religious order he founded, commonly called the Jesuits). The conversion story of this soldier is not dissimilar to that of St. Francis of Assisi and of other great ones whose life was changed by a serious wound or illness during military service. For Ignatius, it was fortuitous that during his recuperation there were no books available to him except stories of the lives of Christ and the saints, which he read and credited with his conversion.

When I was in what used to be called “grammar school” (an interesting descriptive should you be led to research it), we were often directed to write at the top of all papers that we turned in (especially our tests) “JMJ.” All Roman Catholic children knew that initialism to stand for Jesus, Mary, Joseph, likely to remind us to dedicate our work to the Holy Family. As we grew into middle school we were introduced to “AMDG” = Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (For the greater glory of God) I don’t know when I learned that the Latin phrase was the motto of the Jesuits, but it adorned all my efforts in school and now directs my life.

Whatever the acronym or initialism or word or motto or other phrase that reminds us of God’s place in our life (or even if our devotion is wordless), we might take a moment today to consider what leads us to that mindfulness and be grateful for our teachers, and for the great ones like Ignatius, whose influence remains visible throughout the world today.

Merciful God

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, Psalm 103, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the touch of God

Psalm 103 is one of those comforting reminders of the ways in which God cares for us more even than we could ask or imagine. I feel the effect of the psalmist’s words this morning as I read the familiar lines: For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is God’s kindness…as far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us…(vs. 11-12)

Reading different translations sometimes adds a new depth of meaning to these long-standing sentiments. Today I read an alternate verse 10 and my imagination soars with the words: For as the heavens reach infinitely beyond all space and time, we swim in mercy as in an endless sea. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 258) I am immediately transported to a beach at Cape Cod, Massachusetts where the waves beckon as I walk into the water before the plunge that takes me deep in the rocking motion that I love. As I let myself go, I trust that I will arise from the experience refreshed and grateful, cleansed and renewed.

Today looks like it would be a great beach day…if only the beach were nearer and other tasks were not closer at hand. But it is enough to have felt that touch of God from where I sit, readying me for whatever comes my way today, strengthened in the presence of the God who loves me beyond all imagining.

Persistence

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blessing, faith, persistence, prayer, silent listening, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the great love of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today’s gospel (LK 11: 1-13) is about the efficacy of prayer, a truth which has been evident throughout the 14 days of our gathering as a Congregation (see recent posts). Our theme: “Called together for the life of the world” was evident throughout our deliberations as we paused often to listen in silence for the direction of God’s Spirit speaking among us. How can we best serve our neighbors throughout the world in times of violence and destruction? How can we be a force for good in the complexity of today’s world?

When we were called together – six women in Le Puy, France in the 17th century – it was to serve the needs that were evident in the culture then. Our world is very different now but our call is the same: to be the Congregation of the Great Love of God wherever and however we see the need. We seek to move about in our world, seeking to be instruments of unifying love.

Today we go home, having had palpable evidence that together we are committed to the task and willing to serve the world so in need of hope. Here we were 100 Sisters. We return to nearly ten times one hundred and add our lay associates and many ministry partners to the list of those who join us on the journey. We take with us the words from Luke where Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened to you…”

May we know the blessing of all that we awaits us!

The Stuff of Legend

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Blessed Mother, Holy Family, Jesus, Joseph, Mary, St. Anne, St. Joachim, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

A legend, the dictionary says, is “a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.” Today’s feast in Christianity celebrates the parents of Mary, mother of Jesus, even though we know nothing factual about them except the fact that they existed. Even their names (Anne and Joachim) come from a legendary source written more than a century after Jesus died. “The heroism and holiness of these people, however,” (says franciscanmedia.com) “is inferred from the whole family atmosphere around Mary in the Scriptures. Whether we rely on the legends about Mary’s childhood or make guesses from the information in the Bible, we see in her a fulfillment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.”

I smile as I think of St. Anne, whose name I carry (Lois ANN) and have cherished as grandmother throughout my life, imagining what she must have been like. I see her caring for and teaching Mary the small tasks of the household and showering her with love as my own mother did with me. There is comfort and joy and no harm at all, I think, in this kind of imagining and so I will go about this day reflecting on this spiritual grandmother of mine whose life gave birth and much more to the one we call Blessed.

A Saint’s Life

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apostles, Gospel, Jesus, Kingdom, St. James, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the feast of St. James, one of the original twelve companions called by Jesus. The “Saint of the Day” of franciscanmedia.com tells us that James was known to be less than a perfect image of what we might imagine a saint to be. One of the two brothers that wished to claim the seats on either side of Jesus in the kingdom of heaven, James and his brother, John, were often called “Sons of Thunder” by those who knew them. But personality is not what gets one a high place in the afterlife, it seems. What’s really important lies elsewhere.

The way the Gospels treat the apostles is a good reminder of what holiness is about. There is very little about their virtues as static possessions, entitling them to heavenly reward. Rather, the great emphasis is on the Kingdom, on God’s giving them the power to proclaim the Good News. As far as their personal lives are concerned, there is much about Jesus’ purifying them of narrowness, pettiness, fickleness.

Morning Prayer

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courage, Mary C. Earle, mercy, prayer, The Desert Mothers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As we round the bend to the conclusion of our work here in St. Louis, we face the most crucial of our tasks now. We will take two days to consider who will lead us through the next six years of our life together. We have already plotted much of the work before us and we know that we are all responsible to one another but the final piece of the puzzle that will guide us to 2025 is yet to be put in place.

I found a prayer this morning that may be just the thing to accompany us on this last segment of our time together. Please pray for us.

“God of all mercies, draw me ever deeper into the Mercy in which I live and move and have my being. Grant me the courage to have mercy on myself and on my neighbor. Deliver me from judging harshly. Gentle my heart, for your love’s sake. Amen.”
          (Mary C. Earle, The Desert Mothers)

Spiritual Gifts

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courage, grace, love, path of life, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

As I was reading just now about “the art of discernment” and the place of silence in that practice, I was treated to one of those brief prayers that asks God for some of the greatest qualities that we could desire. What I like in the prayer is the specificity of action that accompanies each gift so that we can focus on the “how” of developing it. See if that makes sense to you as it does to me.

Grant me, dear God, the grace and the courage to be still and know that you are God, the wisdom to allow my soul to wait for you in silence, and the love to choose a path of life. Amen.

Name Recognition

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call, Jesus, John, loved, Mary Magdalene, name, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

All it took for Mary Magdalene to recognize (the somehow transformed) Jesus outside the tomb was the sound of her name coming from his lips. “Mary,” he said, and then she knew. May we each hear – deep in our hearts or in the call of those who need us today – the name by which the Beloved calls us and may we know at that moment how greatly we are loved. Then may our response be a wholehearted “Yes!” (JN 20: 1-2, 11-18)

A Pause That Refreshes

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breathe, chant, mantra, pause, present moment, relax, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Many times during the past week, the members of our assembly have been invited to take a short pause, sometimes as brief as two minutes, to gather ourselves and breathe into the present moment. The silence at those times is deep and palpable. Occasionally, as an additional prompt to renewed consciousness, we conclude the silence with a chant that has a become a beloved mantra for us during these days and, I trust, for the days going forward.

Sacred is our call. Awesome indeed the entrustment. Tending the Holy. Tending the Holy.

Yesterday we reached the mid-point of our time here in St. Louis. Our reward for work well done is an entire day to pause and relax and become tourists, regrouping for the second half of our work. So I’m off to meet my sisters from New York and Hawai’i, likely meeting up somewhere in the city others from Japan and Minnesota, California and Peru! And in our “play” we will, of course, be tending the Holy all day long.

To the Moon and Back

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Apollo 11, astronauts, divine, moon, mysteries of the universe, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This week, on two successive evenings, I watched the TV video recounting of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, from “lift-off” to “splash-down.” It was the complete experience with footage from the NASA installation at Cape Canaveral, inside the space capsule and the historic first steps on the moon. I was taken by the closeup footage of the three astronauts. Without words, the enormity of what was happening was present in their eyes at each moment. When they did speak, their lightheartedness often belied the seriousness of their mission and spoke of their courage and willingness to “get the job done.” It was a gripping recounting of that historic event from fifty years ago.

Upon arising today at 6:10 AM, I went to the window to view the morning, already shining brightly through the glass. The sun was lighting up my panoramic view of a cloudless sky and 6 stories down the traffic moved soundlessly along the highway. As I looked to the left, there was the moon, still and beautiful in a 3/4ths – 7/8ths presence to me. I smiled and said “Good morning, Moon,” giving thanks for the brilliant minds that further our knowledge of far away places but grateful as well for the mysteries of the universe that serve to keep us on a steady course to the Divine.