Late Entry

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Celtic Treasures: Daily Scriptures and Prayer, gift, J. Philip Newell, prayer, reflection, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I don’t know how it got to be evening prayer time, but I trust that a late word from Philip Newell will serve as a worthy replacement for our normal morning prayer. You see, my morning started early with an important appointment and was followed by similar events until now…and it’s been steadily raining now – a beautiful rain really, quite nourishing, I’m sure, to the trees and the lawn. I have been really amazed at the unfolding of the springtime in our neighborhood. The flowering trees are glorious and the green, deciduous trees look like they’re already dressed for summer! But I digress…

Here is a brief prayer for evening reflection, perfect now because the rain has stopped and all is quiet.

In the silence of our hearts or in spoken words let us give thanks for the gift of this day and pray for the life of the world…

O God of heaven, you are present on earth. O God of the stars and planets, you are in the midst of the city. O God above all things, you are in the depths our being. The river of your eternal life runs through all things. Let us be glad to be bearers of your eternity. Let us be glad to find you in one another.

(J. Philip Newell (Celtic Treasure, p.150.)

Love the Rain

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contemplative, gift, spiritual, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s been raining here quite a bit lately – not so you would notice sometimes but gushing occasionally so that running between the drops is impossible. Mostly I find that people consider rain an annoyance while I see it as respite or a gift to the trees and flowers and, thereby, us. It’s much easier than carrying buckets around or wrapping and unwrapping a hose to give the thirsty a drink. Yes, I find it a gift to us humans as well.

This reflection could now split off into any one of several paths—agricultural, weather-wise, horticultural, environmental…and even spiritual. I prefer that last and really got the idea for this message from a post on the Franciscan website. It wasn’t a great stretch; I got the point of listening to the rain immediately because I love to do it whenever I get the chance and find it a great practice for slowing down and appreciating the workings of nature.

Whether you tolerate the rain, pray for it in dry times, or just take it as it comes, try to consider it as a contemplative gift and listen to the message it brings as one more gift in the great gift-bag of God to us.

Dance to the Music

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Advent, celebration, gift, rejoice, spirit, the greatness of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Since I sat down to write today, I have been accompanied in thought by a song that begins: My soul rejoices in my God; my spirit proclaims the greatness of the Lord. Holy is His name! Even if I mistake one or two of the words, the tune is there as is the meaning. It’s a very happy song and I’m happy to sing it. Probable cause? Likely the vaccine… Or maybe the electoral college vote (which should mark the end of the struggle toward election…) Could it be the impending celebration of high holy days for so many around the world, a celebration that has as much – if not more – to do with our inner lives as with outer expression?

It could be any of those things, or all of them. It could, on the other hand, simply be a little gift from God just for me, just so I know that God is here, that God is now, that God never leaves me comfortless. So I will listen and even hum whatever words come with the music…and maybe if I wake up enough, I will find myself dancing…I wouldn’t be surprised.

We Are the Gift

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accept, gift, Jesus, John, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In what I think is the most stark passage in John’s gospel (17:20-26), today we read what is clearly a pleading of Jesus to God. He’s asking that unity may be manifest on earth. It’s a very personal passage in which Jesus talks about his relationship with God and his desire for his followers and – by extension – the entire world to know the love that exists in God and for us all. The most powerful line for me today is what we language teachers call “direct address.” (There’s no doubt about the ask or to whom the request is made.) He says: Father, they are your gift to me.

Think about that for a minute. Pretend you are listening in on the conversation and you hear Jesus saying, “Father, they are your gift to me.” He’s talking about us – not only the holy ones among us, not the intellectuals or the gifted artists, but all of us. We are the gifts God has given to Christ who has walked the same path that we have. His 33-year sojourn on earth was not virtual or imaginal; he actually lived a totally human life. Now he’s asking for all of us to accept being God’s gift to him. I’m fairly certain that God was willing to give Christ what he asked for. The question is whether or not we are willing to acquiesce to what is required of us in becoming a gift of God to the world.

We just have to agree…to say yes.

Lists

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be, encountering time, gift, growth spurt, lists, motivation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wasted moments

I woke up this morning full of urgency. I looked at my calendar to try to discern when everything (all “normal” activities) stopped because of the word and reality of PANDEMIC coming to us. It was somewhere in the midst of early March and I have been floating along since then without a definite sense of what to do – and, more to the point – how to be. In one sense I feel as if I have been wasting time while in a different way I think I have begun to live into a new way of encountering time.

It’s difficult to explain what is different but the urgency in me seems to be the need to make lists so I can be more deliberative about this “wrinkle in time.” There are tasks to do which I have been considering for a couple of weeks that still sit undone, connections to be made that need a motivation as well as a different mode of execution (telephone, computer or snail mail rather than meeting in a physical space) in addition to books and articles to be read — some of which have deadlines.

I feel as if we have been given a gift. I know that sounds incredibly counterintuitive and horrific in the face of the sadness and death but in the face of disaster we often find possibility. What is happening this morning to me is the call to be alert so as not to waste this time. It does not mean to use it in the same way as I have before but rather to dig deep to see what will have a positive outcome for the rest of my life.

My lists will hopefully serve as a marker for inner attention but may be a map as well for the kind of a “growth spurt” that I long for but cannot achieve in any active way. The motivation will be more essential, perhaps, than the actual activity and the urgency will provide the energy for everything. In a word, I think it all comes down to discipline, which – as an inner attitude – manifests as wisdom work for myself but also for the good of the world.

One More Day…

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deep breath, extra day, gift, holy season, leap year, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

“Thirty days has September…” If you learned that entire device to know how many days are in each month, maybe you’re like me — uncomfortable with it because it gets to: “Save February with 28 till leap year comes with 29…” at which point I was always lost because the rhythm and the rhyme went somewhere that I couldn’t follow!! Regardless of inability to correctly remember what was supposed to help, I am always aware of the brevity of February!

Today is that every-four-year-gift of an extra day and I am grateful for this “Leap Year” gift. It’s embarrassing to say but somehow I “leapfrogged” from Wednesday when I proposed attentiveness to Lenten practice to today without a thought about the six weeks of Lent!

How kind of the universe and the calendar to give me this extra time to get going! If you have been busy like me, won’t you join me in a deep breath and a deep dive into this holy season? I’ll meet you and Jesus in the desert tomorrow morning…

20-20 Vision

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20/20 vision, A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, appreciation, attitude, clarity, experience, gift, hear, meditation, messages, prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It seems incredible that we have already traversed an entire month of the year 2020. It is shaping up to be a challenging time for many reasons, some from natural causes and some of human initiative. It seems imperative that we be constantly awake to the broad spectrum of events and stay true to our own integrity, which includes watching our own behavior and response to challenges.

The impetus for this line of thought is (as usual) something I read just now from A Deep Breath of Life by Alan Cohen. In his reflection for this date, Cohen says the following:

Through prayer and meditation, you can sensitize yourself to hear important messages before they are played out in the physical world…Rather than fight life or adopt a victim position, look for the gift in the experience. Imagine that the universe is conspiring not to hurt you, but to free you. An attitude of appreciation, rather than resentment, will soften and transform otherwise difficult lessons.

It isn’t always easy to admit our less than stellar behaviors and reactions to life events great and small but if we stay awake and practice seeing the lessons in our days, in the long run our vision improves and we can learn to accept ourselves and others without a need for obfuscation or excuse.

What better year for working on clarity of vision? It is 20-20, after all!

Intense

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gift, grace, intense, judging, love, St. Angela Merici, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes it only takes one word to capture my attention and get me thinking. It happened this morning as I read the section of 1 PT 4 that was an optional reading for the Memorial of St. Angela Merici, an important saint in the religious order of Ursuline Sisters. (Her biography is definitely worth a read.)

Here is the quote: Beloved, be serious and sober-minded so that you will be able to pray. Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

Diving deeply into that statement makes me consider several things:

1. It doesn’t matter how imperfect I am, I’m still called to a deep and high love.

2. We can’t be judging each other because all of us are imperfect (what a relief!).

3. Since we’re gifted by God in various ways, our love will probably be expressed differently and uniquely to each other.

4. There’s lots more possible to find about love when we delve the word intense…

In addition, questions: What is my particular gift in the complex of different ways to love? How can I best reflect God in my love for “all God’s children?”

The First Day

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20/20 vision, beginning, future, gift, goals, hope, New Year, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is a new day. How is that different from any other day? Well, it’s a new year as well. Someone once said: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life,” and that became a standard for greeting cards and slogans everywhere. When something is that self-evident we need to stop and think why it becomes so popular to say or think. It is, of course, the surface and beginning point of a long and sometimes arduous reflective adventure.

What does your desired future look like? Do you have any idea? Any goals? Would you be dissatisfied if today becomes like yesterday or this year like the last? Are there things you want to or need to change? How will you make it happen? Of what are you certain now and what will make the rest of your life more meaningful? Is there even a need for all these questions ?

This exercise is for myself, of course, and perhaps something on which to spend at least a moment each day, even though today may warrant a deeper dive. May this new beginning be a gift of hope for you as you step into this new year. May clear seeing (20/20 vision) guide you along with sincerity and clarity and may you welcome the joys and challenges of this year with acceptance and gratitude that you still have this new day to open yourself to life!

Praying with the Earth

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gift, John Philip Newell, love, Peace, Praying With the Earth, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The meteorologists acted as if Hurricane Dorian was finished wreaking havoc when it barreled through North Carolina. Not so! I saw the footage of Nova Scotia’s damage last night and wondered how much longer it could go on. So this morning I am again Praying with the Earth the words of John Philip Newell in hope that the world will soon be righted again.

For the gift of this new day, for waking again from the dreams of the night, for our bodies strengthened and our minds renewed thanks be to you, O God. You are the stillness of the night, You are the genesis of the morning, You are the moistness of new conception. Let there be peace in the human soul. Let there be wakings to new consciousness, let there be tears of love. In the life of the world this day and in our own hearts let there be fresh tears of love. (p. 4)