Called By Name

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existence, God, Hearts on Fire, Joseph Tetlow SJ, Lord, name, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It took me a long time to get comfortable with my name. My mother, I have heard, was looking for names that didn’t have the likelihood of devolving into nicknames. (That was a lost cause!) I think she was also interested in finding names that were uncommon, if not really unique. (The majority of Catholic girls of my age had a Mary or Marie attached somehow.) The one thing that comforted me about my name (although I was often asked where Superman was hiding) was that I was the only Lois in my class from kindergarten through high school.

Today I came across a prayer by Joseph Tetlow, SJ that focused more on who we are in the eyes of God and how our name becomes us as we grow into that identity. Knowing that I am unique in all the world (as we all are) because of God’s call, I pray:

Oh, Lord my God, you called me from the sleep of nothingness merely because in your tremendous love you want to make good and beautiful beings. You have called me by my name in my mother’s womb. You have given me breath and light and movement and walked with me every moment of my existence. I am amazed, Lord God of the universe, that you attend to me and, more, cherish me. Create in me the faithfulness that moves you and I will trust you and yearn for you all my days. Amen. (Hearts on Fire, p.14)

Ancestral Connections

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discernment, Hearts on Fire, Jean Pierre Medaille, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

We Sisters of St. Joseph have a long history that began in mid-17th century in France. The kitchen where the first six women sat to envision a new way of serving God is still there, a pilgrimage site for all of us. In those days women always needed the validation of a male spiritual director to strike out on their own. Happily, our foremothers chose a brilliant and holy Jesuit priest named Jean Pierre Medaille for that role. As I sit in meetings this week working with a small group of my Sisters to formulate a process for discernment of our immediate future, I am grateful for the spirit of Father Medaille which guides our work.

I offer this prayer today from a small book of prayers from the Jesuit priests. The language may call for updating but the sentiment is true and strong in its call to us for who we are to be.

So act, good Jesus, that, in my relationships with whatever neighbor and in all I do for the furthering of your Father’s glory and the salvation of others, I form myself on your pattern: that I be a genuine reflection of your moderation, gentleness, humility, patience, graciousness, tireless zeal, in a word, of all your virtues; and, in order to engrave them in my soul, live eternally in me. (Hearts on Fire, p. 92)

Continually Come!

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Christ, come, Heart of Jesus, Hearts on Fire, love, O Antiphons, St. Claude La Colombiere, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning, in praying with the Jesuits from their little book, Hearts on Fire, I once more saw the word, “Come!” Having spent almost the last quadrant of Lent reflecting on the O Antiphons whose petitions begged for a renewed recognition of Christ’s presence to us, I welcomed this continuation of the theme. In part, the prayer offered the following.

Come, lovable Heart of Jesus. Place your heart deep in the center of our heartsand enkindle in each heart a flame of love as strong, as great, as the sum of all the reasons that I have for loving you, my God. (p. 95, St. Claude La Colombiere)

Once Again, A Reminder

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answers, beauty, Hearts on Fire, impatience, instability, listen, progress, questions, Rainer Maria Rilke, slow work of God, strength, Teilhard de Chardin, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time, trust

There are two adjacent ranch-style houses on our road whose owners each planted four trees in a row across their front yard. I have watched them grow over the years and sometimes wonder if it was the desire of the owners to have a lot of shade, to hide from the road or just to satisfy their love of trees. They have seemed to me as they’ve grown like a line of sentinels from one yard to the other. Because I am always driving when I pass them, I really don’t know if they are the same kind of trees; I just admire their beauty and their strength.

On my drive home early yesterday evening I was luxuriating in the lush green all around me (not much traffic on our road at 7:00 on a Sunday) when I was brought up short by those trees! Suddenly, after years of tiny incremental growth, they are mammoth and have totally obscured the houses! Today I wonder if I need to pay more attention to the obvious lesson that I have been getting on our own land and now elsewhere about what Teilhard de Chardin calls “the slow work of God” and Rilke describes as living the questions rather than being impatient to find answers. Sometimes it seems as if they have conspired with God on the same message!

I was not surprised this morning on opening the Jesuit prayerbook, Hearts on Fire, to find Teilhard’s words on the page before me. So once again I will try to slow down and listen carefully.

Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability – and that it may take a very long time…(p.102)

 

 

 

 

 

Take A Good Look

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blame, difference, faults, fear, Hearts on Fire, innocence, join, Prayer of Reconciliation, righteousness, separation, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, together

In the little book of Jesuit prayers entitled Hearts on Fire, I opened this morning at random to one called “Prayer of Reconciliation.” I was interested in what the prayer said about the mental process that can quickly lead to blame in our dealing with others as well as our judgment of their motivations. When we come from a place of difference or separation it becomes easy to denigrate the other while shoring up a skewed sense of our own innocence or righteousness. We would do well to carry a small mirror with us (if only a virtual one) to look into our own eyes and see the love that is God’s Spirit looking back at us before we judge another.

Lord Christ, help us to see what it is that joins us together, not what separates us. For when we see only what it is that makes us different, we too often become aware of what is wrong with others. We see only their faults and weaknesses, interpreting their actions as flowing from malice or hatred rather than fear. Even when confronted with evil, Lord, you forgave and sacrificed yourself rather than sought revenge. Teach us to do the same by the power of your Spirit. (William Breault, S.J.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Eve of the Eve

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bless, compassionate, Hearts on Fire, Jesuit John Morris, New Year's, praise, psalm 96, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I come late to this task this morning. Perhaps it was the cold that kept me sleeping until the shocking hour of just before eight o’clock! The temperature continues to hover around zero degrees and warnings of frostbite because of wind still make the national news. I feel rather stuck here in my chair with the only thought being that of the impending turn of the calendar. Today is not the last day of the year; that reality dawns with tomorrow but seems all around me now in shadow. Psalm 96 calls me to praise but I feel like a person on a diving board who isn’t sure of how to swim in the water that awaits me.

There seems to be nothing to do but to throw the responsibility for it all back to God and pray in the words of Jesuit John Morris hoping that will suffice as remote preparation for the coming new year.

Mighty God, Father of all, Compassionate God, Mother of all, bless every person I have met, every face I have seen, every voice I have heard, especially those most dear; bless every city, town and street that I have known, bless every sight I have seen, every sound I have heard, every object I have touched. In some mysterious way these have all fashioned my life; all that I am, I have received. Great God, bless the world. (Hearts on Fire, p.152)

 

 

 

 

 

Clear Enough?

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, Ancient Songs Sung Anew, divine rhythm, Hearts on Fire, Joseph De Maistre, mercy, moment, Pedro Arrupe SJ, soul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting

From four sources this morning I heard the same message.

1. PS 130:6 from http://www.usccb.org. “My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn.”
2. PS 130:6 – Ancient Songs Sung Anew. “Listen, listen, wait in silence listening for the One from whom all mercy flows.”
3. Hearts on Fire, prayer of Pedro Arrupe, SJ. “Grant me, O God, to see everything with new eyes, to discern and test the spirits that help me read the signs of the times…
4. A Deep Breath of Life, quote from Joseph De Maistre. “To know how to wait is the great secret of success.” and an additional prayer by the author, Alan Cohen: “Help me attune to Your divine rhythm. Let me find Your will in time.”

That’s enough to slow my breathing, pay attention to the moment I’m in and let go of any need for concern about what this day (or any day if I can recall the message!) will bring. May it be so with all of us!

 

 

 

 

What Did Jesus Do?

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acceptance, hear, Hearts on Fire, image, imitate Christ, impressed, Jesuit, John the Baptist, looking, meet, miracles, Pedro Arrupe, taught, teach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, welcome, willingness

Today takes it’s cue somewhat from yesterday’s entry. In the book of Jesuit prayers entitled Hearts on Fire, there is a prayer written by Pedro Arrupe, who was the beloved Superior General (world leader) of the Society of Jesus for 18 years (1965-1983) -a long term of office for anyone! His prayer gives a clue of how to bring the Scriptures alive in our daily journey, helping us to take our cue from Christ’s interaction with all sorts of people as he opened himself to all who crossed his path.

Teach me your way of looking at people: as you glanced at Peter after his denial, as you penetrated the heart of the rich young man and the hearts of your disciples. I would like to meet you as you really are, since your image changes with whom you come into contact.

Remember John the Baptist’s first meeting with you? And the centurion’s feeling of unworthiness? And the amazement of all those who saw miracles and other wonders? How you impressed your disciples, the rabble in the Garden of Olives, Pilate and his wife and the centurion at the foot of the cross…

I would like to hear and be impressed by your manner of speaking, listening, for example, to your discourse in the synagogue in Capharnaum (Capernaum), or the Sermon on the Mount where your audience felt you “taught as one who has authority.” (p.89-90)

What would it be like to imitate Christ’s words and actions in all our encounters? Would we come to better understand how to love our neighbors (whoever they might be) as ourselves? Perhaps a visit to all the above examples in the life of Jesus would give us some clues to the requisite qualities of welcome, willingness and acceptance necessary to him in the different situations and personalities he met on his way.

 

 

 

 

 

A Clean Start

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beginning, bless, compassionate, God, God Bless the World, gratitude, Hearts on Fire, John J. Morris SJ, nature, start afresh, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tour, world

There was a very quick thunderstorm this morning at 5:30 outside my window: torrential rain and one blast of thunder and lightning. It was as if nature was washing away everything and readying the day to start afresh with life. It’s a perfect beginning for my day. All major events of my year (at least those I’m aware of) are finished, so it seems everything will be “back to normal” now, if such a thing truly exists! On my slow trek home yesterday through lovely terrain and many traffic slowdowns (not to mention a stop during the eclipse) I listened to a couple of “homemade” CD playlists that took me on a tour of earlier times in my life. It was a sweet remembering and an exercise in gratitude that tied the weekend up in a perfect conclusion.

Here’s a prayer from the Jesuit book, Hearts on Fire, that seems fitting to me for this morning – and maybe for every morning. It’s called God Bless the World.

Mighty God, Father of all, Compassionate God, Mother of all, bless every person I have met, every face I have seen, every voice I have heard, especially those most dear; bless every city, town and street that I have known, bless every sight I have seen, every sound I have heard, every object I have touched. In some mysterious way these have all fashioned my life, all that I am, I have received. Great God, bless the world.     (John J. Morris, SJ, p. 152)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Never Know…

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Alan Cohen, Alphonsus Rodriguez, charisms, consistent presence of God, gifts of the heart, Hearts on Fire, Jubilee, presence, Sisters of St. Joseph, small kindness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transfiguration, unifying love

Yesterday I wrote about charisms, the gifts we possess and offer to the world. These are not material gifts but gifts of the heart. Sometimes we band together with others to strengthen what it is that effects some change or gives some hope to the world. Often we have little or no sense of the impact of our presence in the lives of others. Sometimes it is the smallest kindness that saves another person in an hour of need. Mother Theresa said something like: “We need not do great things but only little things with great love.”

I’m thinking of this today for three reasons. Alan Cohen’s daily inspiration page for August 2nd spoke of an experience he had from giving a talk that he thought had been totally ineffectual. People began calling him soon after, however, on the recommendations of those who had participated in his presentation and praised his work. Secondly, I opened Hearts on Fire to three short prayers of a Jesuit named Alphonsus Rodriguez, following one after another on the page thusly:

1. Lord, let me know you. Let me know myself.
2. Lord, do your will and not mine.
3. I’m just coming, Lord.

A short commentary follows which says that “these three brief aspirations are examples of Alphonsus Rodriguez’s way of praying. For many years this humble lay brother answered the door at the Jesuit college on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, where he tried to see Christ in each of the guests who came to the door.”

Closer to home, my major task for today is to write a sermon for this coming Sunday, to be presented at a liturgy that will be last jubilee celebration of us, the golden jubilarians of 2017. I have been moved beyond my expectations by the effects of this special year, most obviously because of the joy shared among the five of us who have over the years, in mostly subtle but occasionally overt ways, experienced the connection of our vowed commitment to each other in God. This last celebration will be special. As we mark the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, traditionally the day on which the Sisters of St. Joseph professed their vows, we will honor one of our own in her hometown, at the church where she was baptized and formed into adulthood in faith. I hear that the town of Coxsackie is excited at the prospect of such a celebration, no more than we ourselves, because of our honoree’s willingness to pour herself out in kindness to everyone she encounters. Mary Rose has gone about her 50 years in an unassuming way and has endeared herself to us because of her genuine living out of our community’s charism of unifying love.

Today, then, I encourage you to pray for, and maybe connect with, someone in your life whom you know to be an example of that quiet, consistent presence of God in your life. No need for great deeds; great love will do.