Hope-filled Holiday

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anxious, Elizabeth, endure, Mary, Memorial Day, pandemic, persevere, re-connect, rejoice, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Zephaniah

Zephaniah, the ninth of the twelve minor prophets, is a rarely quoted text in the daily lectionary. Thus, it is a memorable moment when we read a message like the joyful one that is the first reading for today. Listen:

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem…Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst. He will rejoice with you with gladness and renew you in his love. He will sing joyfully because of you…

It was significant today for me to read such an account of emotional experiences as I had just spent a heartfelt half-hour reading about families and other groups that have been spending this weekend re-connecting with loved ones. All across our country people are gathering in celebration of the incipient end of the pandemic. One after another, families and friends tell of the joy they have experienced upon spending time with one another. The stories are full of hugs, kisses, laughter and new stories from over the past year when such behaviors were not allowed. Love was the over-arching theme and the possibility of actually touching one another seemed almost miraculous. All of it gave credence to the second reading for this day from Paul’s letter to the Romans. We would do well to take his words to heart:

Brothers and sisters: Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality…

Above and beyond all that, there was the consummate example of love and hospitality—my favorite in the entire gospel (at least today…) where Mary “went in haste” to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary was a pregnant teenager seriously needing solace and she found it in Elizabeth (undoubtedly held tightly in her arms). How similar are some of today’s stories to Mary’s, how needy are we all of comfort after the past sixteen months!

May we find joy in the Lord as Zephaniah did, camaraderie as Paul and the early followers of Jesus did, and comfort at the possible end to the pandemic as Mary did in the person of her relative. And may we all remember on this Memorial Day to thank God for all the good that has been done for us.

Growing in Wisdom

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Cynthia Bourgeault, desire for God, grace, jumpstart, life lesson, prayer, Sirach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

When I think about my “wisdom journey,” I often refer to 2003 as a beginning point, but it would be sad to think that I began my search for God at that late moment in my life. I was already 55 years old then. (Of note, however, is the fact that “5” is a significant number for change in numerology.) That year is significant because it signaled the beginning of a disciplined study of the wisdom tradition of Christianity under the tutelage of a teacher—Cynthia Bourgeault. It was a “jumpstart” to a new chapter in my life as it focused my prayer and religious studies to enable a deeper dive into spirituality.

I will always be grateful , not only for Cynthia, but for all the people I have met and the work I have been privileged to be part of over these last 18 years.

I don’t mean to sound like I am finished learning or going into retirement—not yet! What has precipitated this reflection is actually the first lectionary reading for today, from the Hebrew Scriptures book of Sirach. Here are the lines:
“When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer. I prayed for her before the temple and I will seek her until the end, and she flourished as a grape soon ripe. My heart delighted in her; my feet kept to the level path because from earliest youth I was familiar with her…”

As I look back over my life, I recognize—not for the first time—that the desire for God was always in me and all my experiences and lessons were important to the growth and deepening of that desire, until I was ready to act more directly on it. At that point, I trust that God said something like: “YOU GO, GIRL!” and then provided everything I needed to proceed. I have often heard that “when the student is ready the teacher appears.” I know that to be true in my life but not just when the lifelong lessons “appear”—but all along the way from all the sources of grace—people and experiences—that spark the fire that is the Holy Spirit inside.

Can you plot the workings of God in your life? Are there touch points when you suddenly—or not so suddenly—understood something important happening for your growth? Do you ask in prayer for understanding of the events and place of people in your life? And what is the place of gratitude in your prayer? Worthy questions, don’t you think?

Delight!

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delight, humanize, psalm 149, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

On my way to the gospel for this morning, I encountered a surprising thought. It came from Psalm 149, the psalm refrain for the day’s lectionary. The actual ” refrain” (what was repeated repeatedly (😇) between every two stanzas of the psalm, said “GOD TAKES DELIGHT IN HIS PEOPLE!”

What struck me was the fact that I had never (or maybe just not for a long time) thought about God exercising emotional responses of that kind in relationship to us. I am mostly always aware of my responses to gifts of God but I don’t think about the opposite, i.e. God’s response to my behaviors. Oh, of course I was taught to please God and not disappoint God, but when I think of DELIGHT, there’s a whole new image in me of what the response would be on God’s part. I can see God doing somersaults or singing a chorus of “alleluia!!!” or some such behavior. And that makes me smile…as if it humanizes God somehow…and not just Jesus—whom we know was “like us in all things but sin.” I’m talking about THE GODHEAD! The One we adore, the Creator…

Ah, the vagaries of my mind…Are you with me at all? Can you imagine God delighting in you like that…? Maybe even grabbing you in a great big bear hug and singin : “I’m just wild about Harry (or Lois), And she’s just wild about me!” (Are you smiling yet, at least?)

Precious

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animals, companion, intuition, lesson, relationship, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

For some time now, our cat (really Sister Paula’s cat—a great story for another day) has taken it upon herself to come and sit on my lap if she sees me sitting in my over-stuffed chair. Little by little, Precious has taken over every piece of furniture in the house and has wormed her was into all the hearts in the house as well. I am the last holdout, likely because we never had an animal in our house when I was growing up. I have come to love dogs over the years because of the extraordinary dogs I have known, especially the lovely Lady Ruth, the beautiful Irish Setter who thought she was a person, and any number of Labradors: golden, black or in between and a couple of tiny dogs of the chihuahua breed. Happy to have made the acquaintance of each of these “furry friends,” I have not only enjoyed them but have benefited by the relationships. My first serious lesson in that realm came from Ruth. One day, long ago, I was very sad—bereft even—for a reason I have long forgotten. I came home from work and, finding no one in the house, I walked down to our back field and sat in the grass, likely to pout. Some moments later, I realized that I had company, Lady Ruth was quietly sitting beside me. She didn’t say anything but sat quietly with me, offering her presence for my comfort. It was a powerful lesson about the intuition of some animals.

This morning I had a similar experience. I was attempting to write a blog post and having little success when Precious suddenly extricated herself from me and my chair and moved on to her next task. I realized I had been very alert as I petted her. She has not yet learned the difference in biting and nipping as an expression of love and I never want to trust that she has succeeded in learning the distinction. Thus I am careful to be alert even while feeling the comfort of the relationality of connection to another being.

It’s really difficult to explain the meaning of such an experience to non-animal people, but take my word for it. Animals are some of the greatest teachers around!

Hoping For the Outpouring of the Spirit

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Holy Spirit, Peace, Pentecost, renew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Two short statements to ponder on this auspicious Spirit-filled day—one from us and one to us: 
1: “Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.”
2: “Peace be with you!”

Still On Hiatus

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discernment, listen, live, love, prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I sit in the quiet on another glorious, sunny morning (May is definitely the best month of the year!) I find myself still undecided about the future of my blogging effort. Here is my status this morning, a clue to put in my bag of evidence or a piece of the puzzle, you might say.

We Sisters of St. Joseph have a Community Day or Weekend each year. It’s a sort of homecoming when we all—or as many as possible of us—gather to sing and pray and reflect on some aspect of our life together. And we celebrate (rather boisterously at times) our connection with one another. We have been deprived of this privilege last year and this one because of Covid 19. Last year we did nothing and we felt the lack. This year we decided on a “virtual” event as we have become somewhat adept at gathering in this way and have found that, while not perfect, it is somewhat satisfactory.

Today is our chosen day and I have been asked to participate in the opening prayer. Much of the prayer is taken from our Constitution and my part includes the following:

WE LOVE FREELY. WE LIVE SIMPLY. WE LISTEN ATTENTIVELY.

That sounds exactly like how I should be proceeding in the discernment of what comes next. So, be advised that I am still here, still aware that you are with me on this journey of life and willing to wait for what comes next. Some of you have already given me your suggestions about what you see as a way to move forward with what is important to say in a blog now and why. I am grateful for your support. Stay tuned…

Gratitude

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gratitude, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Friends,

I have heard from so many of you in response to my “What Now?” post that I am energized toward considering a new “era” of connecting. Be assured that I will “be back soon” with whatever seems correct to the time. I have an early meeting this morning so need to go and consider what is best. I’ll talk to you later. You can be sure of it! Blessings all!

The Passage of Time…What Now?

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normal, perseverance, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time

As I looked at the date of my last post I wondered if we all had ascended to another plane last Thursday—or if I did so and had disappeared from the world of the internet! I joke of course, but there is a part of me that thinks more has changed than the date on the calendar. For the last 15 months it has seemed that life was slowed down because most of our activities were cancelled or at least truncated. Now it seems we are on the opposite trajectory and some of us are trying to keep up.

I am so grateful that vaccines have been found to be successful and fear of Covid-19 is diminishing. I want to “get back to normal”…but I wonder now what that will look like. Asking questions about what is possible and what is feasible and what is sensible play in my mind by turns. I am committed to writing as I have heard from many of you that it is a worthy practice and it seems so also to me. I’m just not certain that it belongs to the morning because often my mornings are now taken up in different ways and you can see the result! If it isn’t done in the morning, it does not happen. I have made that a rule so that it gets accomplished but lately see that the rule has been limping at times.

So, what to do? I ask myself. I have no answer just yet but if you will persevere with me, I will do the same with you. Stay tuned, please! (And thank you for your perseverance!)

Sharing the Faith

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Acts of the Apostles, faith, Jesus, proclaim, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today we read my favorite lectionary text from the Acts of the Apostles: (Acts 17:15->) when Paul stood in front of the people of Athens to proclaim his faith in Jesus. It’s a stirring text and brave at the time when Christians were few and far between. The most “gutsy” sentence of all was the proclamation that…”he is not far from any one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’“

I just think of Paul standing up in this large outside amphitheater with no microphone or any other apparatus—only his voice to convince his listeners that Jesus is more than just a gifted preacher. If the opportunity presents itself, why not go outside, stand up tall, take a deep breath and boom out the sentence quoted above. How believable is your statement? Can you imagine speaking that way if there was a crowd listening to you? Think about it.

Today’s brief reflection from the Daily Devotional “Living Faith” has this to say about that situation:

“It’s hard, and risky, to speak of faith to others. We don’t want to offend or be laughed at; we’re afraid of being unable to explain ourselves, getting muddled or misrepresenting our faith. Yet it remains true that we know about the resurrection from the dead because someone took the risk to tell us. And they knew because the women and men who beheld the risen Jesus told others, and the word has been passed on year after year over twenty-one centuries. We may find, like Paul and the Athenians, that one person’s openness to speak is met by another’s openness to hear….” (Mary Marrocco)

Hoping Against Hope

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Acts of the Apostles, go deeper within, Jesus, John, love, Ordinary Time, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

We are moving swiftly toward “Ordinary Time” – the season after Pentecost when we are left to our own devices, when Jesus leaves the earth for good and tests our trust in the Holy Spirit for faith and inspiration. The lectionary readings today are full of “foreshadowing” and are mixed between miracles with St. Paul in prison (Acts16) and Jesus in his disturbing message to the apostles (JN 16) where he says things like: “It is better for you that I go.” I can hear myself responding to that with “NO! You can’t go! What will we do without you? How will we know how to live in this confusing time?”

As I wrote that last part, I was reminded of the commentary on the news last night on MSNBC about all the unbelievable political issues and the violence in the world. So I ask again of Jesus: “How are we to live without your presence?” and I get the same difficult answer: Go deeper. Love as best you can and trust that I am with you. You need to find me in your best selves, in the evidence around you: the light that returns every morning without fail, the burgeoning of springtime, the kindness of strangers…everything that speaks of the good in the world.

Think of the best person you know and consider why that person is “best.” Make a list of all the good things in your life. Watch internet videos of babies interacting with one another…Do anything that shows the goodness in life. And trust in God, hoping against hope that God is, in fact, truly with us. And never stop doing your best to love one another as Christ loves us.