Doing What Must Be Done

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God's grace, holiness, Immaculate Heart of Mary, love of God, sacred heart of Jesus, Sisters of Charity of the Refuge, St. John Eudes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today I’m reminded by the feast of St. John Eudes of a popular catch phrase of long ago that advised us to “Bloom where you’re planted.” The brief biography of this saint whose life spanned much of the 17th century began with the following summary paragraph.

How little we know where God’s grace will lead. Born on a farm in northern France, John died at 79 in the next “county” or department. In that time, he was a religious, a parish missionary, founder of two religious communities, and a great promoter of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (http://www.franciscanmedia.org)

All his life, John Eudes was attentive to what was right in front of him. He didn’t travel far from his birthplace. He cared for the sick of his diocese during two severe plagues. In his concern for the spiritual improvement of the clergy, he was frustrated when the general superior disapproved and, therefore, left his religious community and founded a new one, devoted to the formation of the clergy in diocesan seminaries. In addition, with the encouragement of a woman named Madeleine Lamy, he founded a community for prostitutes called Sisters of Charity of the Refuge.

In the end, the commentary concludes that “Holiness is the wholehearted openness to the love of God. It is visibly expressed in many ways, but the variety of expression has one common quality: concern for the needs of others.”

How do you/might you express, in a concrete way, your concern for the needs of others? Remember it’s all about how God is placing opportunities in our life and how willing we are to open our hearts to the need we see. You might be surprised at what is presented to you…God tends to be like that sometimes.

The Quality of Mercy

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Cynthia Bourgeault, mercy, mystical hope, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional

In our book club at the Sophia Center for Spirituality we’re reading Cynthia Bourgeault’s little book, Mystical Hope. (I think this is my fourth re-read!) This morning I opened to one of my favorite passages about mercy. I never tire of being reminded about the little fish swimming around in the ocean asking his mother where to find water. Here’s the whole paragraph – my offering for this 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

So when we think of mercy, we should be thinking first and foremost of a bond, an infallible link of love that holds the created and uncreated realms together. The mercy of God does not come and go, granted to some and refused to others. Why? Because it is unconditional – always there, underlying everything. It is literally the force that holds everything in existence, the gravitational field in which we live and move and have our being. Just like that little fish swimming desperately search of water, we, too – in the words of Psalm 103 – “swim in mercy as in an endless sea.” Mercy is God’s innermost being turned outward to sustain the visible and created world in unbreakable love. (p.25)

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Beware the Touch of God

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beggar, Congregation of St. Anne of Providence, poor, saint, St. Joan of the Cross, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Here’s a cautionary tale for those of us who encounter people with signs begging at traffic lights or on streets of our big cities – or anywhere at all… The lesson is to beware of the poor who might touch your heart and change your life.

A relatively “new saint” in the Christian tradition is Saint Joan of the Cross, who lived in France from 1666 to 1736. Joan worked in her family business in Anjou, taking over the small shop of her parents after their death. She was known as a greedy and insensitive shop owner, especially toward the beggars who often came to her shop seeking help. One day, however, a strange woman who claimed she was “on intimate terms with God” had such an effect on Joan that she became a new person, caring for needy children. Eventually, she closed the family business to dedicate herself to good works and ultimately to found a religious community of women: the Congregation of St. Anne of Providence. By the time of her death she had founded 12 religious houses, hospices and schools. Pope John Paul II canonized her in 1982. (franciscanmedia.org)

Resentment

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bitterness, love, prayer, resentment, sanctifying, St. John the Evangelist, the beloved of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I read this daily word from the Episcopal Society of St. John the Evangelist this morning and thought it a worthy reminder for anyone trying to live a good life. See if you agree.

If you are not in a place to approach another person as beloved of God, you may want to take time to pray for them. Prayer is a sanctifying act. God will burn off the dross of bitterness and resentment and help us to love our brother and sister. (Br. Jim Woodrum)

Feast of the Assumption

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Assumption, Assumption of Mary, humble, Jesus, Mary Mother of God, motherhood, The Magnificat, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

We Christians honor Mary, the Mother of Jesus, with many feasts and many personal devotions. We celebrate her as Queen of Heaven and have doctrines – like the one we proclaim today: the Assumption of Mary into heaven – which declares that unlike all other humans, she was taken bodily to heaven at the time of her death. This feast has been a tradition in the Church since the sixth century but only became doctrinal (believed as true by the institutional Church) in 1950, proclaimed by Pope Pius XII.

I often think of Mary and wonder how she would have handled all the titles we give her and all the homage that is paid to her. A humble maiden, I believe she would only have endured all the fanfare if certain that people understood it was/is prompted by the gift of her motherhood of Jesus. I wish there was more evidence from the Scriptures of the relationship between Jesus and Mary, as well as words from her about her role in salvation history. The gospels give us only 13 texts directly involving her (if I’m recalling correctly the information in Sister Elizabeth Johnson’s Book, Truly Our Sister).

Today’s gospel is – for me – the most perfect choice for this feast because it paints a picture of Mary as a conflicted teenager seeking the support of an older kinswoman during her early months of pregnancy, a normal thing to do, especially because she was as yet unmarried. At the same time, when she is with Elizabeth sharing the news of her impending motherhood, we have what has come to be known as “The Magnificat,” the declaration of how God has favored her as “most favored” among all women. (LK 1: 39-56)

Mary is quick to praise God when Elizabeth recognizes Mary’s situation (“Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”) and sees herself as God’s “lowly servant” while recognizing that she will “from this day” be called blessed by all generations. “the Almighty has done great things for me,” she says to Elizabeth, “and holy is his Name.” I can just see her bowing as she speaks those lines, taking no credit for worthiness but accepting that she has been chosen for this role, not knowing the future and what it holds…

The lesson for us is, I think, the same – perhaps not in scope but in willingness. No matter our age or situation in life, if we have yet to say “yes” to God’s choice of us, today may be the day to do so. If we have accepted our role in God’s plan, may we be reinvigorated in the living out of our call to carry Jesus in all we do, just as we are able each day.

A Modern Martyr

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addiction, Auschwitz, martyr, St. Maximilian Kolbe, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I had just started teaching in high school when Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan priest from Poland was beatified in 1971 and I remember the pride and joy of the Polish people when he was declared a saint eleven years later in 1982, just 41 years after his death. Modern saints were still few and far between and modern martyrs, even more rare in the Church. Father Kolbe swiftly became known the world over for his courage and generosity in taking the place of a young married man with children in a starvation group at Auschwitz. That man, Sargeant Francis Gajowniczek, lived to tell the story as a witness to the selflessness of Fr. Kolbe.

One thing I did not know about St. Maximilian was that by August 14, 1941 four of the ten men in the group were still alive. To “finish them off,” they were injected with carbolic acid, causing their death. Because of this, I presume, Fr. Kolbe has been named as the patron of drug addicts. How fitting that this title should be given to one who was so brave, since courage is the quality so necessary to those afflicted with drug addiction.

Let us be grateful for St. Maximilian Kolbe and all those who suffered like him, and let us pray for the end of the epidemic of drug addiction in our country and the world, especially in families that we know as victims of this terrible affliction.

Of Children and Sheep

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children, Good Shepherd, humility, kingdom of heaven, Matthew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I read this morning’s gospel, I must have been giving it less that 100% of my attention because suddenly I said to myself, “Wait a minute! I thought Jesus was talking about little children, not sheep.” And so he was. The text from Matthew 18 began with a question from the disciples to Jesus about who was greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. (I think the disciples were overly concerned about that issue – as are people living now, although more about who is greatest on earth.) Jesus was very clear in his answer. (see vs. 1-5. Hint: it’s the little children).

Abruptly, however, or so it seems, Jesus starts talking about a shepherd with 100 sheep who leaves the 99 to find the one who wanders off and gets lost. (vs.10-14) I’ve always loved that section and actually all the texts about real shepherds whose job isn’t the easiest in the world. Think about it! Sheep generally are pretty similar in their looks. One would need to really get to know them deeply in order to distinguish them one from another…but I digress. The last line pulls it all together. Jesus says, “In just the same way (as with the sheep), it is not the will of your Heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

So what is the lesson here. I think it’s one of those texts where multiple meanings are possible and all are worth considering. It could be a call to care for children – and how timely is that message right now? It could be a reminder of the importance of humility…or the fact that the less fortunate need our attention. It could be providing us with a hint about the need to never give up on anyone. There are lots of ways to interpret it. What do you say about it all?

Clare of Assisi

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humility, love of God, poverty, rule of life, simplicity, St. Clare, St. Francis of Assisi, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I’ve been sitting for quite a while now, trying to find words that will bring alive the saint whose feast we celebrate today. It it Clare of Assisi, who entered into the religious life as a teenager and who, once installed in the Church of San Damiano in Assisi, never left the convent walls. Her teacher and spiritual father was Francis and her life was a following of his in simplicity, poverty and total dedication to the love of God, lived out in love of all creatures, especially her Sisters in community.

I marvel at how easy it is to be dedicated to the memory of someone who lived over 800 years ago, especially because one could read the stories of Clare’s life and, while noting a few extraordinary events, be aware of the dailiness of most of her time. I can only conclude that it is her all-consuming desire for God that captivates us and draws us in to her story. Here is what I know from http://www.franciscanmedia.com this morning.

Saint Clare referred to herself as a little plant. In many ways, she was a strong oak. The first woman to write a Rule of Life for her sisters, she insisted on the privilege of poverty until her dying breath, getting papal approval for her Rule just days before she died. A model of humility, Clare cared for her sisters even through her own years of illness. Her devotion to Jesus was extraordinary.

What I know from my heart is what can never be taught but only caught: God loves us more than we can ever ask or imagine, and the fire of that love is, if we allow it to be, all consuming. It was so for Clare.

St. Lawrence

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alms, courage, martyr, poor, selflessness, St. Lawrence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, treasure

When I went to high school, my first homeroom teacher was Sister Lawrence Joseph. I was used to the masculine names of religious Sisters; in those days most of the more prestigious saints were men. Sister Lawrence wasn’t the best math teacher I ever had but I always remembered that her feast day was August 10th – the feast on the liturgical calendar of Saint Lawrence, Martyr – because of the way legend says he lived and died.

Lawrence was a deacon in the Church at Rome during the third century, the time when Christians were still being persecuted for their faith. As such, he was in the inner circle of the Pope so that when the Pope was assassinated, he knew it was likely that he would be next. As deacon of the Roman church, Lawrence had the responsibility for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. He had been giving all the money on hand to the poor and even selling sacred vessels of the altar to increase the sum. When the prefect of Rome heard of this, he demanded that Lawrence bring all the treasure of the Church to him, “rendering to Caesar what was due.” Lawrence was given three days to assemble all the riches of the Church. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence had gathered all the poor, blind, lame maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed people and said to the prefect, “These are the treasure of the Church.”

The fury of the prefect was known by the cruelty of the kind of death Lawrence was to die and the heroism of the saint was sealed by his response. The prefect had a large gridiron prepared with hot coals beneath it and Lawrence’s body placed on it. After he had suffered the pain for a long time, legend says, the saint made his famous cheerful remark, “It is well-done. Turn me over.” (http://www.franciscanmedia.com) Lawrence was said to be 33 years old at the time of his death.

In a moment of such violence in our own country and such courage seen in the lives of many young people speaking out and caring for their elders, St. Lawrence shines as an example of selflessness and ingenuity. Let our prayer today be for the end of senseless cruelty and a willingness to stand for those most in need of our courage and care.

God Is Always Near

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, Deuteronomy, message, power of God, psalm 77, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday in the late afternoon I watched from my seat on our rider mower the sky getting continuously darker. The clouds were like a beautiful sea of waves, each one deeper gray than the one before. I wanted to stay out in it but I thought it might be time to end the lawn work. As I surrendered to an incomplete task done, a large clap of thunder made me know it was the right decision. Just as I eased the mower into its berth in the shed, torrents of rain began with a mighty wind for accompaniment. Next a loud breaking sound split the skies and we saw one of our huge, beautiful black walnut trees cracked in two and falling across the yard. Nothing else was harmed but we were amazed at the power of that wind. There was no lightning – just the wind…but what a wind it was.

This morning as I read the text from Deuteronomy (4: 32-40) and then the powerful words of Psalm 77—both speaking of the power of God for the people—I was struck most strongly by verses 17 to 20 of the psalm.  

Then with a peal of thunder the clouds of heaven broke. 
Your arrows flashed as lightning across the darkened skies. 
And from that mighty whirlwind, your flames lit up the world. 
You walked ahead through water, your path lay through the sea,
And though we never saw you take a step, you were our company. 
You led Moses like a shepherd, you took Aaron by the hand, 
And they became for us, the flock of God, your mighty rod and staff.
(Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.192)

As it was in the beginning, so it remains—a powerful message for us all.