Zooming Along

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communication, consciousness, gratitude, information, love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, virtual connection, Zoom

Each day now it becomes more apparent to me how much life has changed. As I say that, phrases come flowing forward from the recesses of my brain, like “in the twinkling of an eye.” That one isn’t really accurate because the change has been incremental and continues as the virus has spread but sometimes it seems as if “the rug has been pulled out from under us.” That seems a more accurate assessment because it is about the recognition and/or the acknowledgement of the shifts that has reached each of us in similar (but probably not matching) ways.

For many of us, the greatest change is in the way that we receive and share information. While there are many relatively new platforms for connecting, one that seems simple and therefore quite accessible to many people is ZOOM! I have been personally grateful for this way of virtual connection for about five years now as it allows me to join “nun” meetings in Albany, New York that would otherwise necessitate five hours of driving to and fro. In addition I am now connected with my Sisters and other people all across this country and even sometimes across the world.

While still not as satisfying as a “face-to-face” encounter, technology has facilitated connections that would be impossible without it. Paying attention to that fact reminds me to give thanks for the great minds that have created the programs now available to us. From that consciousness I am led to celebrate those scientists who are working diligently to find new ways to heal us of this pandemic and those who care for our sisters and brothers infected by the virus.

I could spend my days now zooming from one thought stream to another! It does seem that “everybody’s doing it!” What I hope will always be my companion on these journeys is a huge amount of gratitude and love for those I encounter along these virtual pathways. I wish the same for all of us.

Communication

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book group, books, communication, Cynthia Bourgeault, guest, technology, The Great American Read, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, The Wisdom Jesus, women

Over the last few days I have been frustrated in my attempts to connect with people by using my computer. I type messages that end up in my outbox rather than being sent. I find it surprising that I have no emails for a whole day (but what a gift that seems!) and then 22 messages appear at once! I try to fill out a registration form for an upcoming appointment and am unable at the last question to press “enter” or “save.” And in all of this frustration, I know that I am not alone.

I know as well that I cannot stop technological progress and as long as I resist, I am the loser. Technology has brought us so many amazing gifts. Grandparents who live at a distance from newborn children can see and watch them grow in real time. I was once allowed on a zoom call to meet with Sisters in Japan, Peru, Hawaii and three locations on the mainland U.S.A. at the same time. I participated this week with millions of folks across the country and beyond in the finale of The Great American Read sponsored by the Public Broadcasting System, celebrating in the end the “crowning” of To Kill A Mockingbird as the favorite novel of all time – a reminder of the great privilege of the access to books (electronic or on paper) and gratitude for the enthusiasm of readers everywhere.

In spite of all these technological wonders, however, I still hold to my preference for face-to-face human conversation. I spent a lovely day yesterday with eight women who wanted to talk about Cynthia Bourgeault’s book, The Wisdom Jesus. While we did, in fact, concern ourselves in some measure with that text and information about the author herself, we cast a wide net in consideration of faith, Church, spiritual practice and experiences as well as some personal sharing in the mix. The women are all members of the same parish and clearly care for one another. Diverse in age and experience, their desire to share their thoughts and feelings overcame the necessity of staying on schedule or covering material that had been proposed. In spite of the light cover of snow on the lawn outside I felt, at the end of our time, as if we had spent a day at the beach together, basking in the warmth of the sun, then testing the water – some just standing on the edge, others up to their knees and a few diving at intervals into the depths of a new ocean. The sharing is its own reward and I, as the invited guest, am the lucky one to have had this infusion of spirit on a glorious Thursday in late October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Full Voice

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A Song Welcoming the Holy One, communication, Creator, Earth, holy name, liturgy, living God, Lynn Bauman, power, praise, psalm 96, psalms, singing, splendor, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universe, wonders

The suggestion of a commentary on Psalm 96, subtitled by author Lynn Bauman A Song Welcoming the Holy One, is that readers experiment with singing rather than saying it because singing is a “vehicle for communication with God.” While this is the rightful presentation of psalms in liturgy, I don’t often think of it as a mode of private prayer. I just tried it – in the privacy of my own room, of course – and the result was less than stellar. I have to admit, however, that I didn’t prepare; I just sang it “cold” without thought of the meaning, phrasing, timing or cadence. (Hmmm…that sounds as if I have some idea of musicality. Don’t be fooled!) My attempt was quite timid, but I must say it had the potential to open the words to me in a more vibrant way than if I had spoken the text. Perhaps I’ll give it another try. Should you be moved to join me from afar, here are the words I was tentatively offering as morning praise to the Creator of the universe.

Come, sing to God, O earth, sing out this song anew. And bless God’s holy name in praise, for day to day we are renewed, restored, refreshed again by glory’s light. Proclaim good news among the nations of the earth, tell all the peoples everywhere God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does. For you can never add the holy One to any list of gods who are but idols made, projections of our thoughts and needs, creations of our hands. For it is the living God we know and praise who made us all and put in place the canopy of stars and space and filled the earth. O, the beauty of your presence, God! O, the splendor and the power in which you dwell! 

What Do Angels Do?

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angels, archangels, Be an Angel Day, Book of Daniel, Book of Tobit, communication, Fr. Don Miller, Gabriel, Guardian Angel, guidance, Jayne Howard Feldman, Michael, protection, Raphael, Spiritual Center, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

One of the first prayers I (and many others) learned as a child was about angels. (Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day (or night) be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide.) It was great comfort to know that there was a being just over the border of our universe who was God’s gift to me personally. I didn’t have to theologize about it since it was a given and there were three great “Archangels” that we knew by name from Scripture, each with a mission: Michael protected, Gabriel announced and Raphael guided. (See visions in the Book of Daniel and stories from the Book of Tobit.) Why wouldn’t God give me someone to do those things for me? I never needed to name my angel as some children did. It was enough that God knew who was taking care of me.

Although devotional life has diminished in some cases in the face of scientific research, angels are still popular in more ways than as decorations on knick-knack shelves. Of the angels, Fr. Don Miller comments that “[B]elievers still experience God’s protection, communication and guidance in ways that defy description.” A frequent presence at the Spiritual Center in Windsor, NY where I live is Jayne Howard Feldman, called by many “The Angel Lady.” Her loving ways and guidance as well as her books on the angels have inspired many people in workshops and personal sessions. Jayne’s inspiration has led her to create “Be an Angel Day” and she is the best example of how to achieve that goal!

On this day when we are reminded of the “angels” in our lives, some of human description and some more ethereal, let us be grateful and imitate the ways in which we have been blessed by their inspiration and presence to us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imperceptible Growth

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communication, community, God's grace, growth, Lectionary, Matthew, miracle, mustard seed, spiritual direction, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had a wild mix of rainstorms and sunshine. I’ve  noticed and probably have commented more than once on the lushness of creation here in rural New York State. It isn’t only the very healthy grass growth. I’ve been taking the measure (not literally) of how incredibly tall the trees on our property have become over the past few years. It seems the birds have taken note and have invited their relatives to move in as each morning I am awakened to more and more lusty chirping of every kind. I’m aware of all this today because the gospel for this morning contains the parable of the mustard seed, “the smallest of all seeds,” Jesus says, “yet when full-grown is the largest of all plants,” so that “the birds in the sky come and dwell in its branches.” (MT 13:31-35)

Of course Jesus isn’t just talking about seeds, trees and birds. Neither am I. I have been part of so many conversations lately, and have seen or read about conferences and topical presentations on such diverse expressions of spirituality, that I can’t help but think the energy is growing toward a broader and deeper growth of new forms of community than I would have imagined even twenty years ago. My own personal example is the most astounding to me and, ironically because of my slowness to join the world of internet technology, a marvel of worldwide communication.

About four years ago I started reading the morning lectionary texts from the US Catholic Bishops’ website in order to share prayer with two former colleagues whose  deep sharing at staff meetings over eleven years was then missing from my life. We thought if we could connect in this way, it would keep us in spiritual touch with one another to some degree at least. Over the next year or two, I added e-mail addresses of a few people with whom I was doing spiritual direction until I was sending it to a dozen or so. It seemed a natural progression, when The Sophia Center for Spirituality came into existence, to continue this daily practice on our website. Now, after almost two years of this daily practice of mine, the result can only be termed a miracle of God’s grace. I know that because my computer keeps track of how many people visit each day and how many entries they read when they do. The most compelling part for me is that the countries of origin are also noted. Every once in awhile I look at the summaries. Last week there were visitors from 23 countries including such diverse places as India, Australia, Japan, Croatia, Nigeria, Finland, Moldova and the Philippines! How I would love to meet all these people! Some of them are likely people who were “just surfing” but they stopped at least long enough to read one entry of the blog. Last Wednesday, daily tallies for such readings since I began the blog reached 10,002! This could never have happened before the development of the “worldwide web” that connects us.

Clearly, God’s grace abounds and astounds and we are called, as Thomas Merton reminds us, to “forget ourselves on purpose” (for it is truly God’s work in which we participate) “and join in the general dance!”

An Older Unity

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communication, communion, Kathleen Deignan, one, original unity, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, unity, wordless

“And the deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless. It is beyond words, and it is beyond speech, and it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity. We discover an older unity. My dear, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”

~ Thomas Merton
(from Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours by Kathleen Deignan)

To the Ends of the Earth

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cardinals, communication, continents, Galilee, geography, global, Jerusalem, Jesus, Luke, Nazareth, Pope Francis, spread of Christianity, St. John Neumann, Syria, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, zeal

As some people my age, I have come “kicking and screaming” into the world of technology. Those who know me, however, are aware of my enthusiasm for the GeoMaster APP which has enabled me to learn the names and locations of places everywhere around the world. I now feel connected to people and events as never before because I know where they live and see where it’s all happening. In an organic way it has expanded the reach of my prayer as well.

This morning I found an incredible synchronicity as I began to prepare this reflection. It began (rather whimsically actually) with a line from Luke’s gospel that says Jesus left Nazareth and went to live at Capernaum by the sea. I had a fleeting image of him sitting in a beach chair watching the waves…but was brought back to my task as I continued to read chapter 4 which gave me a totally different picture. He went all around Galilee, it said, teaching and preaching the Kingdom and curing every disease and illness of the people. His fame spread to all of Syria and great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and beyond the Jordan followed him. On a map these countries of the Middle East are among the smallest,  but we need to remember that Jesus traveled on foot and only occasionally by boat – small boats.

Next I read about the canonized saint of the Catholic Church whose feast is today. St. John Neumann, born in 1811 was an immigrant to the United States of America when he was 25 years old, coming from what today is known as the Czech Republic. He was a priest of the Redemptorist Order and, his biography states, did “missionary work” first in New York, then in Maryland, Virginia and Ohio, where he was popular with the German community. Named Bishop of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania he became a champion of education, drawing many religious communities of nuns and priests to teach in the schools and creating a system of diocesan schools that remains strong today. He died in 1860 and proclaimed a saint in 1977.

When I went to http://www.americancatholic.org to read about John Neumann, there was a headline on the website about Pope Francis having named a new group of cardinals. There are 15 eligible electors (those who will name the next pope) and 5 honorifics (cardinals who are too old to participate in a conclave but were named because of their long and outstanding service to the Church). The 15 come from 14 nations on every continent including Cape Verde, Tonga and Myanmar. There are 3 from Asia, 3 from Latin America, 2 from Africa and 2 from Oceania. This is an astounding shift and I am proud to say that I can locate all of those places on a world map!

What does all this mean for me today? It just points up the growth and spread of Christianity from a small band of followers of Jesus in a tiny territory over 2,000 years ago to over a billion believers scattered all over planet earth. The miracle of this all boils down to zeal and communication – gifts, talents and willingness exercised by good people not unlike you and me whose faith has continued the story and helped new chapters to be written. Today these include renewed relationships among Christians across the denominational spectrum as well as new connections with those of other religious and philosophical traditions around the world. I am grateful for that today and can only conjecture…where will it go from here?