One Heart and One Mind

Tags

Acts of the Apostles, common good, community, consciousness, counterintuitive, difficulty, freedoms, generosity, one heart and one mind, step up, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I felt a wave of sadness as I read the lectionary texts this morning. It began with the first line of the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (4:32-37).

The community of believers was of one heart and one mind, and no one claimed that any of their possessions were their own, but they held everything in common.

Immediately images flashed across the screen of my mind, videos from yesterday’s news of demonstrations in Pennsylvania against the closure of all gathering places in the state: factories, offices, restaurants, beaches – everywhere that people might congregate. They were not peaceful demonstrations but angry protests against what people saw as government attempting to take away the freedoms on which our country was founded. I was appalled to see the majority of those gathered without masks in close crowds and automatic rifles at the sides of some people who were waving American flags as well.

Where is the sense of the common good in those pictures? I live in New York State, three miles from the border from Pennsylvania and 175 miles from that state capital – as the crow flies and from where the wind blows. We have been diligent to assure no spread of COVID-19 and all of our efforts may be undone by yesterday’s activities, actually taking place in many cities across the country.

As I write this I am conflicted because I am also aware of the difficulties facing people who have lost their jobs and who have received no financial help from the government thus far. I understand the frustration that builds every day because of the restrictions placed on us – of travel, of visiting loved ones, of wondering how long we will have enough food to eat. And then I begin to think of the generosity of nurses and doctors and bus drivers and first responders of all kinds who put themselves in danger each day to preserve life and the common good in service to those in need.

It is a sad and frustrating and unsettling time – not just in our country this time but in the whole world. It will take a mighty effort for us to wake up, to step up to a higher plane of consciousness, equal to the challenges we face now, especially those that call us to greater care for life than for anything else.

Are we equal to the challenge? It is not something we can do alone. It is counterintuitive that now we are told to stay away from others – at least 6 feet way. Can we survive this without physically connecting, starved of hugs as we are? It will take a monumental effort to move toward “one heart and one mind” in this complex world of ours. But it is the only world we have.

We will survive together or we will not survive at all. How do you propose that we “step up?”

Wisdom of the Elders

Tags

community, kindness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, wisdom

Yesterday I received an email message from a friend who suggested I share a favorite text here as it seems more meaningful now than ever. I agreed with her. When I read it again this morning, I decided to send it in two parts in order not to miss the significance of any of it. Thus, what you will find below are some challenging questions and thoughts to keep you reflecting until tomorrow.

A Message from the Hopi Elders, (1)

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour. Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour. Here are the things that must be considered: Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?

Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader. This could be a good time…

As you think on these words, perhaps it will be useful to write down your thoughts so you remember then what today brought to you…

Joan Chittister Speaks

Tags

basics, community, companionship, Joan Chittister, love of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily

Sometimes I just need a little of Joan Chittister’s Wisdom Distilled from the Daily to get me going in the morning. I’ve been talking a lot lately about the necessity of engagement in deep and meaningful conversation in our world to help us understand each other. With that in mind, I opened to a page in the middle of Sister Joan’s chapter on Community and found a description of Christmas preparations in the monastery and how everyone pitches in to help with everything from major cleaning and decorating to wrapping gifts for the poor. Since that is the way of things in convents I smiled and continued reading to find the important message below that I think is apropos for all of us at any time of the year.

...that makes me realize we are all in this together. Then I know in a special way that I am not alone. Then I realize with new insight that there are basics in life that are more important than a business schedule. Then I understand that those basics are love of God and fun and companionship on the long dark roads of life and partnership in the great human enterprise. We have to learn to be for one another so that the love of God is a shining certainty, even now, even here. That is the function and blessing of community. And it is a far cry from the rugged individualism, the narcissism, and the brutal independence that has become the insulation in our neighborhoods and the hallmark of our culture. (p.48)

Not one to mince words is this “mighty mite” of a woman, everyone’s Sister Joan, who wrote that paragraph for publication 29 years ago. How much more we need to hear it today! Let us think on these things and see what we can do to incarnate her message in our own life and our world.

Will We Ever Learn?

Tags

community, Sister Joan Chittister, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily

Twenty-nine years ago Sister Joan Chittister published a book based on the Rule of St. Benedict called Wisdom Distilled From the Daily. I pick it up from time to time in the morning because I always find in it some guidance that is helpful for the day ahead. Today is one of those days and what struck me first in the chapter on “Community” was the fact that world situations do not seemed to have changed for the better in the interim between her writing and my reading of it – the same fact that Sister Joan concluded in 1990 with regard to St. Benedict’s writing in the 5th century. It made me ask the question: Will we ever learn?

“Whose feet shall the hermit wash?” Basil, from whom Benedict drew much of his own inspiration, asked centuries ago. The question needs to be asked again in a culture devoted largely to the worship of itself. Unless we learn in our own personal relationships, as the ancient definition of heaven and hell indicates, to live for someone besides ourselves, how shall we as a nation ever learn to hear the cries of the starving in Ethiopia and the illiterate in Africa and the refugees in the Middle East and the war weary in Central America? What will become of a nation in this day and age that has no sense of community? What, indeed, will become of the planet? The warning of the wise is clear:

“In hell,” the Vietnamese write, “the people have chopsticks but they are three feet long so that they cannot reach their mouths. In heaven the chopsticks are the same length, but in heaven the people feed one another.” The message is no less new, no less important today…”(p. 50)

Sister Joan concludes: “Community is our only option.”

The Power of Prayer

Tags

community, immigration, power of prayer, prayer, sharing, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I expected only people I knew to attend our event last evening. (See yesterday’s post). By the time I arrived at the Church I had shed most of my expectations and knew that no matter what happened I had done my best and all that remained was to let go of outcome. As it happened, in the 35 attendees there were several people new to me and in the end the power of the prayer was evident in the conversations that ensued. 

Success in such an event is measured not in “compliments to the chef” but rather in the comments that follow. The feeling of community and the power of the prayer itself, especially perhaps in the music, was evidence to me and all that we had achieved the desired outcome. We left the church, totally aware that we had not solved the issues of immigration, but feeling lighter in spirit because we had shared a common concern and willingness to engage in prayer together. That in itself is surely enough.

Solidarity

Tags

caravan, christians, community, conscious work, consciousness, Jewish Community Center, Jews, judgment, Muslims, pray, refugees, solidarity, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vigil, Wisdom Schools

I had two experiences yesterday that, upon reflection, help me to understand more deeply what it means to “walk in the shoes of another” – at least in some small way.

1. I took our house car to the local garage in the afternoon to have new tires installed. The mechanic told me that the process would take about an hour. As we needed a couple of items from the grocery store that I judged to be about a mile away, I decided to walk there in the interim. I had already thought about going for a walk while the process was completed but had estimated about half the time – and half the distance to the grocery store. It had been raining off and on but my windbreaker with a hood gave me sufficient protection and I had donned my best walking shoes in preparation. The road is a “country highway” – two-lanes, no sidewalks but with sufficient “shoulders” to keep me out of the way of the speeding cars and occasional trucks. The only issue (in addition to the minor splash of passing cars on a wet road) was the condition of those shoulders: broken pavement and in some places muddy patches of grass. The walk was, to coin a phrase, more than I had bargained for. I haven’t been walking much during the past year and my estimate of the distance was about a half a mile short, but soon after I began I decided to make this an exercise of what our Wisdom Schools call conscious work, uniting myself with the “caravan” of refugees walking through the countries of Central America. By doing that, the trek was not easier but my determination got me there and back in a way that was deeply meaningful. I considered the feet of those people and the terrain they tread each day. When carrying the rather small bundle of food on my return trip, I thought of parents carrying their children and all the possessions they could pack on their backs. When it began to rain again, I prayed for their safety and health and recognized how very privileged a life I lead. It took me just over an hour, including the stop at the store, until I wrote a check for the tires (knowing we had the money in the bank), slid into the car (knowing there was gas to power it) and drove home in warmth and ease in five minutes.

2. I felt drawn to the prayer vigil in our town last evening at the Jewish Community Center for the people of Pittsburgh. I knew it would be crowded but the gathering space is large and the parking lots quite expansive. When I arrived, it was already past sunset and in the gathering darkness I saw people streaming from every direction toward the venue. The parking lots were already full so I backtracked to the Catholic church a block away, grateful that their back lot still had a place for me – although far back from the road. As I joined the steady stream of walkers, I felt like we were going toward the Temple Mount in Jerusalem or some such holy place to beg for solace as the weight of all the hatred and senseless violence overtook me. I was one with the throng of pilgrims going to prayer in sorrow but solidarity. There must have been over 500 people there as all the seats were taken and there were as many of us standing close together in every nook and cranny of the building as there were sitting. For our rather small community, that was amazing. We were Jews and Christians, Muslims and most likely others who might call themselves “Nones” – professing no religion but standing in solidarity because there seemed no other place to be last night that would satisfy. The messages were of love, not hate, of community and willingness, of unity as a way to move through sadness and shock. I recognized very few of the people there but walking back to my car in the darkness, I felt the strength of communion and it was enough.

I am different because of these events of yesterday. There is a deeper, visceral consciousness in me of how everything is connected in this world. It is no longer as theoretical a concept as it was yesterday morning and if I continue to hold the world in this deeper way, I trust that it will continue to grow. It is as if what has just happened as I look out and up to see blue sky and a large white cloud over the mountain announcing sunrise is happening not just outside but within me as well. I now (I hope) will walk with the refugees and will add my voice to those who choose them as brothers and sisters. I will pray for my Jewish sisters and brothers and speak for gun control whenever an opportunity arises. More than anything I will try to love well and leave judgments out of my conversation, and I will pray for peace, the peace that only love can give.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sisterhood

Tags

called, committee, community, courage, generations, hope, light, ministry, Sisters of St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Realization of shifting temperatures cannot be ignored this morning as I recognize that the first hard frost has settled in our back field. The skies are clear, however, as Sisters of St. Joseph begin to gather at our Motherhouse near Albany, NY for our annual “Community Weekend.” A homecoming of sorts, this event is second only in celebration to our Jubilee Day when we mark incremental anniversaries for individual Sisters of 25 to 80 (yes, sometimes 80) years of service and life together. The theme this event that begins this evening is “Who We Are Called To Be for the World Today.”

Wanting to be sure of the schedule for the event, I picked up the September issue of our community magazine where I knew it had been posted. As I looked through the pages, I couldn’t help stopping to read some of the articles again and see the faces of and obituaries of three Sisters who had died in August – two on the same day. That’s the way it is now; our numbers are fast diminishing, but our work in the world goes on and one could easily say it is flourishing. I read again about the goals of our leadership team for the next two years and the work of two thriving committees. Homeland keeps us aware of all things environmental and challenges us to individual and corporate responsibility toward our Mother Earth as does the Justice Committee toward responsible citizenship.

As I flipped through the pages I was aware of how we have grown over my 52 years in community. The world has changed and so have we in terms of our ministries and the reach of our influence. One of the most profound examples of this shift was highlighted in an article by Sister Patricia St. John about her participation in the 18th International Early Childhood Education Seminar in Israel and the International Society for Music Education World Conference in July. As chair of the Early Childhood Commission for the past two years, Patti welcomed participants to the first conference, an event never before held in an Arab City in Israel. At the second event, As Chair of ISME, Patti presented a paper entitled The cultural contexts of early childhood musical experience: Finding commonalities, honoring differences. 

As I finally reached the last pages of the magazine, I saw pictures of some of our retired Sisters and our archivist, readying the contents of our archives to be sent to St. Louis where they will join those of our other provinces. What a story those rooms will tell for the future! And then I smiled at a photo of my favorite college French professor, a brilliant and holy woman of wisdom who inspires me still over all these years.

Who are we called to be in the world today? Just who we’ve always been, I would say. As a Congregation of the great love of God, we do our best, whether in a small town in beautiful Upstate New York or halfway across the world, to be the light that has been passed to us for generations – a light of hope and courage to meet the challenges and opportunities of the world as we find it, day by day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flu and the Snow

Tags

community, helped, helper, helplessness, interdependence, patience, serving, sick, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I’m looking out at serious snow this morning…as promised by meteorologists whose forecasts seem to be more frequently correct these days. Perhaps their instruments truly are quite improved. They couldn’t have missed this one though. It appears that the storm is affecting most of the Midwest all the way to the East Coast. And the flu remains rampant.

At our house, we’re taking turns being server and served. Falling one at a time, even as we are very careful to isolate ourselves, it seems the germs are winning. I was second to succumb to some iteration of flu-like symptoms (although not serious) and am still (for the third day) relegated to my bedroom. It’s difficult for someone who is normally so healthy to hear the scraping of a shovel on our sidewalk and not be able to help with snow removal – or just taking the trash out for pick-up day.

It’s probably good to have an occasional experience of helplessness, allowing others to care for us rather than the reverse. Good for humility and a sense of gratitude, but difficult for those whose orientation is toward service. More to the point for me is the willingness to admit the need for interdependence when I would much rather be the help-er rather than the help-ed.

So today is a day to pray in thanksgiving for the blessing of community, to remember those who have no one to care for them and to behave myself by resting and practicing patience until the sun shines again – inside and out.

 

 

 

 

 

A New Day

Tags

community, connectedness, Joan Chittister, love, reconcile, spark, spiritual journey, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center, transformation, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, Wisdom School

Last evening we began our first “Wisdom School” of 2017 here at the Spiritual Center. It is different from past events in that at least half of the people came as strangers to us. Usually at least one of the three team leaders has met everyone. It was a wonderful gathering with lots of willingness on everyone’s part to participate. When we left the room two hours later to spend the night and early morning in silence, we were no longer strangers but companions on a search for deeper meaning. The next three days promise great blessings for the group. Even in this short time there is hope that we will begin in some small way to experience the truth of Joan Chittister’s words to me this morning. She writes:

In community we work out our connectedness to God, to one and other, and to ourselves…In human relationships I learn how to soften my hard spots and how to reconcile and how to care for someone else besides myself. In human relationships I learn that theory is no substitute for love. It is easy to talk about the love of God; it is another thing to practice it…Alone, I am what I am, but in community I have the chance to become everything that I can be. (Wisdom Distilled from the Daily p. 48-49)

I am not saying that major transformation will be achieved during this short sojourn together, but if my hunch is correct, something in each of us will be sparked into being and if we fan the flame, we will find ourselves a few steps further along on the spiritual journey. May it be so for each of us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Postscript

Tags

age, community, Jubilee, message, St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is Monday – time to resume the “headset” of the workaday world after a weekend of blessed celebration. One of the loveliest parts of the weekend was coming home yesterday to mark the actual feast of St. Joseph, our patron, which this year in community we noted on the day before and in the Church celebrate today on the day after (because of the pre-eminence of the third Sunday of Lent). We had a delicious dinner and I got presents from my housemates! Tucked in one of the jubilee cards was a colorful stiff square of a card written on both sides whose message was the following, which I believe will find itself in a central place in my bedroom and my life for what I hope will be years to come!

SIDE ONE: Each age has its own special joys and experiences. I am always  the perfect age for where I am in life.

SIDE TWO: I am at peace with my age.