Truly Our Sister

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Blessed Mother, communion of saints, Elizabeth Johnson CSJ, Mary, Mary of Nazareth, mother, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

5:40AM: No time to dawdle this morning. I’m off to spend the day two hours distant from my home with 40 women who have registered to reflect with me on the topic, Will the Real Mary of Nazareth Please Stand Up? Our sharing will be based on our own experiences of the one I have known since my earliest memories as my Blessed Mother, as well as the information in a marvelous book by theologian Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ entitled “Truly Our Sister: Mary in the Communion of Saints.” I look forward to hearing the stories of the women who will gather as I rejoice in the memories of my own earthly mother, Mary Frances, who shared with me her own devotion and love for this other Mary, the one who was her guide and steadfast presence throughout her life. I feel young again as I prepare for this day and look forward to the energy that I trust will be the Holy Spirit with us in this endeavor.

Blessings on this Saturday will surely abound!

 

 

 

 

The Early Days

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communion of saints, conversion, diversity, fellowship, friends, gifts, spreading the gospel, St. Paul, St. Timothy, St. Titus, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, zeal

I don’t ever recall the Church celebrating a feast in honor of St. Paul’s companions Timothy and Titus even though they have been known to me as recipients of Paul’s letters. Today I hear them accorded the title of “Saint” which clearly they deserve because of their zeal in spreading the gospel for which they eventually lost their lives. A few things stand out for me after reading commentary and thinking about Paul’s letters to each of them.

1. Commentaries put their death date around the year 95 so although they were early followers of Christ, they were not among the first apostles. Evidence points up the diversity in the early Christian community because Titus was a Greek Gentile whereas Timothy had a Greek father and Jewish mother. An interesting note (for me, at least) was the influence of Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, mentioned in one of Paul’s letters. She was a very early Christian who, I’m guessing, may have had some influence on her grandson’s conversion.
2. Both of these men were close friends of Paul and lent him support personally and as an intermediary in the communities to which Paul sent them. Clearly, Paul’s ministry was bolstered by their support in more ways than one.
3. Not simply missionaries, both of these men became administrators of the communities in which they served. Timothy, known to be very young for his role, was compared in the Franciscan commentary to a modern “harried bishop” and Titus was charged by Paul with “organizing, correcting abuses and appointing presbyter-bishops” on the island of Crete. They certainly knew the meaning of “multi-tasking.”

What all of this points up for me is not only that different gifts are essential for the work to be done, but also that “faith is caught, not taught” by people who exhibit the depth of their own faith to others, and that friends are very important; we cannot persevere without them, even if the relationships are carried on from a distance. (Note the warmth in Paul’s letters for both of these men.)

After all this pondering, I find myself conjuring images of these two admirable men as they go about their ministry. I see them arriving by boat, smiling with enthusiasm toward their greeters and exuding love with their every step, writing messages back to Paul of all the happenings of the day or the month and eagerly receiving his response…How grateful I am for their fellowship in the communion of saints to which we all belong!

Dead or Alive?

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All Souls Day, communion of saints, just, Peace, souls, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday I wrote about saints as my Church celebrated all those designated by that title because of recognition of their holy lives. My suggestion was the same as St. Paul’s: that there have been throughout history and are now many more people who deserve the title than those who are listed on our liturgical calendar. It has always been a comfort to me that we follow yesterday with today’s feast of “All Souls,” celebrating (although not always without sadness) and praying for those of our loved ones and all others who have died. There will be services in Christian communities throughout the world today, often in the evening, where names of the deceased will be read and candles will be lit in remembrance. The light generated by the candles reminds us that the light of the person named is still with us and all of the lights taken together brighten the universe in what we call the “communion of saints.”

Later today I will make final preparations to travel tomorrow to Atlanta, Georgia to join my relatives gathered from near and far to release my cousin, Paul, totally into God’s light. This is a hard letting go – too much of a surprise and too soon for us – but our being together and the love shared among us will be our strength. I have assisted at innumerable funeral services in my life and have heard the first reading from today’s liturgy probably more than any other. Somehow, though, today it has touched me more gently and kindly than ever before. Perhaps Paul has opened a new cell in my heart for this news. Whatever the reason, I offer it today as a way to pray for our “dearly departed” who are alive now in God as never before.

The souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace…(WIS 3: 1-3)