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Tag Archives: hearts

Consequences

27 Thursday Jun 2019

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Abram, consequences, generosity, Genesis, hearts, jealousy, Meg Wheatley, perseverance, Sarai, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

After reading today’s text from the lectionary (GN 16:6B-12, 15-16) about Sarai’s inability to have children and her acquiescence to Abram’s need for an heir, I found her decision to “give” her maidservant, Hagar, to him as his concubine rather surprising. Actually, it was her behavior after the decision that belied the seeming generosity of her decision. She was very abusive of Hagar when Hagar became pregnant! Serendipitously, without any effort on my part, (Does anything really happen “by chance?”) I opened Meg Wheatley’s book, Perseverance, and found the following:

Jealousy and generosity are reverse images of one another. In response to any circumstance, one or the other will arise, guaranteed. Since they inhabit the same space, only one can appear at any time; they cancel each other out. Jealousy arises as generosity disappears, generosity flourishes as jealousy is stilled…

As closely connected as jealousy and generosity are, they create very different consequences. If jealousy predominates, we turn inward, shrivel our hearts, and lose strength. If generosity grows, we grow also. Our world expands. We realize there is enough to go round…

The world expands from the inside out – it’s our hearts that have enlarged. We not only feel more loving, we’re also more open and aware. We see more, we take in more, we let in more.

Jealousy is such a waste of a good human heart. (p. 75)

The World We Live In

25 Tuesday Sep 2018

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balance, eyes, guide, hear, hearts, Jesus, Luke, Matthew, news, pray, Proverbs, psalm 119, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

aheadlinesSometimes it’s difficult to know what to say in this complex and over-stimulating world  in which we now live. This morning as I was considering the lectionary readings one by one I kept getting interrupted with news flashes. It went something like this:

“All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves hearts.” (PRV 21:2) -> -> Major problems with New Yorker’s second Kavanaugh accuser…

“Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.” (PS 119:35) -> -> How today’s multi-cultural couples are making their wedding ceremonies uniquely their own.

“Blessed are those who hear the word of the Lord and keep it.” (LK 11:28) -> -> U.N to caution against populism as world leaders convene for the annual summit.

“Jesus said to them in reply, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.'” -> -> Former priest extradited to face child sexual abuse charges blamed cancer, prosecutors say.

I’m not saying there is any direct connection between the Scripture quotes and the specific news headlines. My point is to remind myself that no matter how bad or disturbing or confusing, or even wonderful (should that also be the case) the news is, it needs to be balanced with the basic premise of Scripture, repeated in several ways this morning, and that we need to look deeply into our hearts and minds to assess what we see and hear happening in the world. When it gets to be “all too much,” there’s that other piece of advice that comes to mind, i.e. “Go into your inner room, close the door and pray…” (MT 6:6)

 

 

 

 

 

Say What You Mean…If Possible

29 Monday Jan 2018

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Gerard Manley Hopkins, grandeur of God, hearts, holy, miraculous, Peace, ritual, sides, spiritual growth, spirituality, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity of being

apinkskyThis afternoon I am scheduled to be guest speaker to a Women’s Group of about 15 to 20 people. In discussing a topic, the contact person said the members are always interested in information about resources in the community and that perhaps I ought to talk about our spirituality center. In writing up a “blurb” about the proposed topic, I titled it The Spiritual Side of Life. I’ve been thinking about it off and on for the past month and have had some difficulty settling on how to frame the topic. I realized yesterday that my thesis sentence would have to be something about the fact that there are no sides! Spiritual is who and what we are, spiritual beings in physical form, “made in the image and likeness of God.”

Certainly there are rituals that we call holy – and people as well. (We name them saints.) But as Gerard Manley Hopkins so famously said in the second half of the 19th century: The world is charged with the grandeur of God! We can find that reality looking at a flower or a sunset – as I did yesterday while driving to an evening service of prayer. I felt as “spiritual” in my car observing the glorious pink and golden sky with the soft blue background as I did chanting softly the words of a plea for God to come and fill our hearts with your peace…

If each of us would stop occasionally throughout the day, listening and/or looking for the grandeur of God in our surroundings or in the words being shared by the person in front of us, we would know that there is no separation between the physical world and the spiritual. And, actually, the place to start is with ourselves. How often do you marvel about the miraculous workings of all systems of the human body! How does one separate breathing from the beating of the heart? Body and spirit are truly one and nothing is profane except as the mind denigrates it.

Although I am not able to sufficiently explain my thesis about “no sides” – rather a unity of being – I am convinced now that the women I meet today will be able to share lots of experiences that prove the truth of it. In that certainty, I can go forward into this day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Are Fields Before Each Other

05 Friday Jan 2018

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Daniel Ladinsky, God, harmony, hearts, love, Love Poems from God, sacred voices, St. Thomas Aquinas, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

afieldofheartsThis morning I am feeling a desire to take life one moment at a time, conscious as I go through the day of all the people near and far who do not have the luxury of heated houses and blanketed beds in which they may choose to hunker down to wait out winter’s extreme behavior. This dangerous moment is deceptive in my neighborhood because the sun is streaming in and the sky is blue, whereas in many places the wind has caused storm surges from the beaches and lake effect snow measured in feet rather than inches to warn of possible catastrophe. My only warning of frostbite is looking out my bedroom window to see the wild dancing of the trees. Somehow this moment seems akin to the world situation where on some days there seems to be danger everywhere.

With these thoughts – feelings, really – I turned to Daniel Ladinsky’s book, Love Poems from God, that I sensed might stabilize me. The book has poems that are translations of what Ladinsky calls “twelve sacred voices from East and West.” I opened to the section on St. Thomas Aquinas whom I have always thought a brilliant mind. Ladinsky has opened to me a new appreciation for the soul of this great theologian and this morning I am challenged and comforted at the same time with the poem that follows here. May we all know the truth of it someday.

 

WE ARE FIELDS BEFORE EACH OTHER

How is it that they live for eons in such harmony –

the billions of stars –

when most men can barely go a minute

without declaring war in their mind against someone they know.

There are wars where no one marches with a flag,

though that does not keep casualties

from mounting.

Our hearts irrigate this earth.

We are fields before

each other.

How can we live in harmony?

First we need to

know

we are madly in love

with the same

God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bigger Barns

23 Monday Oct 2017

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bigger barns, clothing, hearts, Luke, Marty Haugen, mindful, possessions, purging, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, too much, treasure

aclosetYesterday I had another of those conversations about what some of us have come to call “bigger barns.” As “girls” often do, we were admiring someone’s lovely clothing. As is also frequently the case, the woman in question said she found it on sale and just couldn’t leave it in the store. She then proceeded to lament her full closet and her intention to clean out and let go of things she hadn’t worn in more than a year. We all agreed we tend to wear the same few outfits, maybe pairing different blouses with skirts or slacks but eventually noticing that we wear what is comfortable and those items in our closet that we like best. So why do we hold on so tightly to all the rest…?

I can easily join in to these conversations, amazed that I have accumulated such a large wardrobe. To be fair, most of my closet is filled with “hand-me-overs” – lovely clothes that have belonged to my sister or a close friend when they were new. Still, the point can be made that too much is always too much. What shall I do with all of this as we move from summer into winter? I could just invest in a couple of (additional) storage bins, the kind that fit under a bed or on a shelf…”Bigger barns!” I hear my inner voice shouting as I read the lectionary gospel text for today (LK 12:13-21). This time of purging my wardrobe – which I do hope will actually happen today – I will be mindful of all those who have “lost everything” in recent hurricanes, floods and fires. Moreover, I will hear again some of those people who, in the midst of their lament, say that “God is good; all of my family has survived.” It’s then that I hear Marty Haugen singing, “Where your treasure is, there your heart shall be. All that you possess will never set you free. Seek the things that last; come and learn from me. Where your treasure is your heart shall be.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harden Not Your Hearts

16 Monday Oct 2017

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bitter, failure, God, heart, hearts, Meribah, miracle, Psalm 95, sign, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice

awellwaterThe verse before the gospel today is very familiar. It comes from Psalm 95 and if I only see the first clause, I can always recite the second. If today you hear God’s voice…harden not your hearts. I usually pass it by making a quick note to myself of the meaning, i.e. “Don’t get mad at God for anything that happens” or “Don’t forget that God always loves you.” This morning I decided to investigate because I didn’t remember why the psalmist was warning the people in that way. Here’s what I found in a commentary.

The experience of the Hebrew people at the oasis of Meribah was one of those historical markers in their journey from Egypt. The waters of Meribah were bitter (which is the meaning of the name) and they also complained to God bitterly that they were brought out into the desert to die. In the record and tradition of the people a miracle was performed and the bitter waters were turned to sweet, drinkable water. They never forgot what happened, but they also failed the same test of trust over and over again. Meribah became a kind of sign to them of their failure and God’s provision. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 241)

Thus, I guess I wasn’t far off in my assessment of the meaning of that verse, but now I might recall the whole thing myself before I get all huffy when a situation seems unfair. May it be so – for all of us!

 

 

 

 

 

Refreshment

03 Sunday Sep 2017

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eyes, hearts, hope, Mary Oliver, rest, Sabbath, St. Paul, thanks, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

ahugtree

It rained all night last night and I slept a grateful nine hours, with only two brief moments of waking just to reposition myself in my bed. Having those two events to take forward, I feel some inner turning as well. Perhaps it’s because it happens to be Sunday, my traditional day of Sabbath rest, however that unfolds.

The gospel acclamation for this morning spoke the message to me first, saying: May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call. Then a program from a long-ago event fluttered out from between two books on my side table offering me an enrichment of Paul’s words from the pen of Mary Oliver. In her inimitable style she gave me all these images to consider.

There are lots of words meaning thanks.
Some you can only whisper.
Others you can only sing.
The peewee whistles instead.
The snake turns in circles,
The beaver slaps his tail
on the surface of the pond.
The deer in the pinewoods stamps his hoof.
Goldfinches shine as they float through the air.
A person, sometimes, will hum a little Mahler.
Or put arms around old oak tree.
Or take out lovely pencil and notebook to find a few
touching, kissing words.

What more would I ask on this first day of the rest of my life?

O God of All

05 Saturday Aug 2017

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frightening, God of All, hear, hearts, Macrina Wiederkehr, mind, prayer, seven sacred pauses, souls, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

aheartprayerI heard an urgency in the voice of Macrina Wiederkehr this morning in a prayer she wrote to the God of All. Take it with you today as a plea for what we need to stay the course of courage in this fragile world.

All peoples, all nations, all seasons, all years, all hours and days — You, who have invited us to love, hear our cry! Listen to our prayer. Make our spirits free, our hearts open, our minds healthy, our souls awake. Then we will be able to love as You have asked: with all our hearts, all our minds, all our souls. The all is frightening, yet in our deepest moments of truth we know that this is what we desire. O God of all, hear us. (Seven Sacred Pauses, p.104)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking Ahead

14 Wednesday Jun 2017

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Book of Hours, dusk, Entering the Silence, eyes, grace, hearts, holy expectation, joy, light, love, Peace, reflections, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, trial, truth

ajesusduskThis morning I found a quote in Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours that I hope to remember as the day progresses. It is in his Wednesday reflections at dusk, so I thought that if I kept it in my heart and consciousness all day, maybe I could say the same as life unfolds and I arrive at evening.  It’s a new way to pay attention to the events of the day, a “holy expectation” perhaps – at least worth a try. Here is what he says:

Today, in a moment of trial, I rediscovered Jesus, or perhaps discovered him for the first time. I came closer than ever to fully realizing how true it is that our relations with Jesus are something utterly beyond the level of imagination and emotion. His eyes, which are the eyes of Truth, are fixed upon my heart. Where his glance falls, there is peace; for the light of His Face, which is the Truth, produces truth wherever it is found. There too is joy: and he says to those he loves, I will fix my eyes upon you. His eyes are always on us everywhere and in all times. No grace comes to us from heaven except He looks upon our hearts. (Entering the Silence) 

May our travels through this day be suffused with the joy of seeking Truth and recognizing it when it is found. Safe travels, everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

The Heart of Peace

29 Monday May 2017

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complaint, Hafiz, hearts, Peace, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, world

aheartpeaceToday as we pray for lasting peace while recognizing that our world is in peril on many fronts, and as we give thanks for those who have served and sacrificed for that goal, may we remember that it is up to each one of us to create peace in our own hearts as a first step to the achievement of universal peace.

The Sufi poet, Hafiz, has a pithy poem that creates what I see as a perfect image for our consideration as we strive toward peace today. He writes: Complaint is only possible while living in the suburbs of God.

 

 

 

 

 

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