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Tag Archives: love

Becoming Real

16 Saturday Jan 2021

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love, Margery Williams, real, reflect, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, The Velveteen Rabbit

After hours and hours of news that is not only horrific but hardly believable coming from our nation’s capital, I found myself asking myself a question this morning. “What is real?” I immediately found myself in another universe where the question kept spinning out in the following conversation:

“What is real?” asked the Rabbit of the Skin Horse one day…”Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.” Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit. “Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real, you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up?” he asked, “or bit by bit?” “It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

I suggest a period of reflection on these words from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams to see if you have learned the most important lessons of love. I presume that, if you are reading this, you have worked hard at that task, likely for a long time. Following that conversation with yourself, you might want to reflect on what is happening in our world or our country and even the place you live to consider whether you know any people like those in the reading who have not been loved enough, especially the ones who are always trying to look like something they are not—that is, hiding from themselves. They need our prayers, so I would suggest that you see what you can do for them in that department.

Overwhelming Challenge

07 Thursday Jan 2021

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Capitol, challenge, consciousness, grace, hate, John, love, Peace, reconstruction, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Never has it been more difficult to open my computer to consider what to say for a blog post. After yesterday, there seems no way to express the feelings that I now I share with all those in the U.S. who witnessed the wanton destruction that took place in Washington, D.C. yesterday. We now know some of the horror, sadness and upheaval that so many lands live with all the time. How are we to face what has happened and move beyond blaming to a consciousness of what has happened, in order to find peace and reconstruction of our government and our hearts?

As it happens, I found in my mailbox at noon today an answer that posed a gigantic challenge for me. Join me, if you will, in what will likely be a very difficult process of effort at healing. You see, I doubt we will be able to explain away the violence and if we do not meet it head on (the reasons for it, I mean) it will remain in our collective consciousness to our detriment. So here is what I found when I opened the devotional pamphlet that gives me hope for every day. It’s called Living Faith and that seems more essential today than ever before. Here is what awaited me of the actual lectionary readings for today. It was shocking in its challenge but struck me as exactly what I needed.

If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar, for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 JN 4:20). Consider that with respect to the events of yesterday and pray for grace.

New Vision

01 Friday Jan 2021

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healing, John Lewis, love, New Year, Peace, shine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Last night, just before midnight, I read the quote that follows here. It made sense to me to send it out today as a call for a new year, a new way to be. It came from a man of extraordinary courage, John Lewis, and I have no words of my own that even come close to what he left us as a challenge. So take a breath, Everyone. Slow down and do not skim over the paragraph that follows. Savor the sentences, repeat each word aloud. Honor John Lewis and all the people who have loved this country and who hold on to what is best in it. Pray for healing for what needs to come alive again and be willing and ready to be a light shining for the world.

Study the path of others…Lean toward the whispers of your heart…Know that the truth always leads to love and the perpetuation of peace. Clothe yourself in the work of love…Hold only to love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won…If you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself. Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America, John Lewis.

Blessings for the New Year!

Everyday Advice

11 Friday Dec 2020

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letting go, love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours

On Friday during the day, Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours suggests the following, which seems like a Friday-kind of thought, appropriate for the Lenten season but not only then. It seems like something we could take to heart for any day or hour, but only if we’re open to something of a challenge. Here’s what he said:

Let go of all that seems to suggest getting somewhere, being someone, having a name and a voice, following a policy and directing people in “my” ways. What matters is to love. (p.171)

In this time leading up to our celebration of the Incarnation, when Jesus came to be like us in order for us to become like Him, can you see any lesson in this advice?

Shepherd and King of the Universe

22 Sunday Nov 2020

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basic needs, caring, Christ the King, Ezekiel, love, Matthew, Psalm 23, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today Christians celebrate the feast of Christ the King. Americans don’t experience the reality of kings in our world too much any more. We find them more on the Hallmark channel on television. We modern types are more used to “Captains of Industry” and celebrities who have a lot of money. Thus, it is a bit difficult to conjecture Jesus the Christ as what he is now being called as “King of the Universe.” I was struck in today’s lectionary readings by the addition of the universe to that title. I don’t recall that designation – even though it was somehow assumed. Perhaps it’s because we have become conquerers not only of our entire world but of outer space as well…(Perhaps the title has been like that all along and I just didn’t notice).

Here’s the great question though. What kind of king is Christ? “Like a shepherd,” the prophet Ezekiel says, “I will look after and tend my sheep, giving them rest.” (34:11-17) And the psalmist chimes in with that well-known, comforting Psalm 23, saying to us: “There is nothing I shall want. He leads me, guides me, refreshes my soul.” And if that is not enough, Jesus himself gives the invitation when speaking to his disciples – to us. You can find it in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. Listen today as if you were in the presence of Jesus, the Shepherd King, who is telling you what is expected of you.

...For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me…Whatever you did for these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Nothing monumental, just the right thing: caring for each other in the basic needs of life. In other words: Take care of each other. Love as I have loved you. That’s the kind of king we have – and today we’re asked again to become like him.

Positive Thinking

03 Tuesday Nov 2020

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Election Day, love, Peace, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vote

No long sentences today. Just big hope and few words. Please vote. Practice compassion and positive thoughts. Pray. Love without rancor. Be the peace you believe to be possible, i.e. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

God bless us all!

All Saints

01 Sunday Nov 2020

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All Saints Day, blessed, compassion, fidelity, goodness, holy, kindness, love, saints, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today we join with people all over the world in solemn celebration of those we call “saint.” It is one of those days when each of the several lectionary readings begs for attention as they all echo the wondrous history of holy men and women, known and unknown, whose stories tell of the power and love of God. These are the “canonized” saints – the ones recognized by our Churches from the earliest days of Christianity. Should we choose, we could go all the way back in the Hebrew Scriptures to find names like Abraham and Moses, Ruth and Isaiah. Always there have been those who have served the God whose kindness and compassion have endured forever.

Today we understand as well the value of those heroes of love and fidelity whose names may be lost but whose service to God and humanity remains as a light in centuries of love and good works. Listen, if you will, to words that speak of such goodness and call us to emulate people we know on this universal day of celebration. Create your own litany of those you call “saint” and consider how you may sit in their company.

  1. (RV 7:2-4, 9-14): Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”…”These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
  2. (PS 24) Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? or who may stand in his holy place? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. They shall receive a blessing from the Lord…
  3. (1 JN 3:1-3) Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.
  4. (MT 11:28) Alleluia! Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
  5. (MT 5: 1-12A) Blessed are…Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven.

Torah of the Heart

14 Wednesday Oct 2020

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, conversation with God, covenant, joy, love, psalm 119, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worship

Yesterday our Sophia Center gathering for “Lunch With the Psalms” was so deep and meaningful I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to share in the reflections on Psalm 119: 41-48. I invite you to find a friend and have that conversation. If you prefer, call on our Divine Friend and have the conversation with God.

For the sake of the covenant we keep between us, Lord, let your love descend and hold me fast. And let your word be that which speaks to all who taunt and follow after me. Allow my mouth to utter words of truth, this Torah of the heart, which I shall trust and keep forever. And then in freedom I will walk upon your path and know these precepts are yours alone. I’ll speak them as an overwhelming power to all the rulers of the earth and unashamed. I’ll bind them to my heart with deepest joy. For I love and worship all you love, my Lord; I meditate upon this inner bread. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 303)

I strongly suggest reading the text aloud as the words shimmer with a beauty that is deeper than words and approached only by heart-language heard in our own voice.

Just Love…

16 Wednesday Sep 2020

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Corinthians, God Is Just Love, Ken Whitt, love, reflect, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

If I were trying to give a definition to a being from another planet who asked: “What does the word love mean?” I could easily use today’s text from 1 COR 12:31-13-13 as an answer. This lectionary reading is known by some as an “ode to love.” It speaks not only of what love is but also what it is not. You have likely heard it at a wedding at least once. It is full of hyperbole, something St. Paul often used for effect. If we pay attention, however, and consider his words, stripped down and reflected in human (and “angelic”) behaviors, we might come to the conclusion that he is right in his assessment. (You know: If I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge…if I have faith so as to move mountains…)

If every day, in everything, love was the motivating force and manner of expression, we would be living as God created us to live and the world would be the creation that God imagined in the beginning. That presumes, of course, that everyone in the world would have to buy into this way of living and it would take some time for us to practice thinking and acting that way.

But what a concept! Can you even imagine it? Some time ago my friend T.C. had a poster created for her workshops on positive thinking that said, “If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it.” My friend Ken Whitt just wrote a book about it, entitled God Is Just Love, soon to be published.*

The first step, it seems to me, is to reflect deeply and often on St. Paul’s words. Next comes the willingness to find small ways in our thinking and our speech to put it into practice. Then more practice and greater “love projects” undertaken until it becomes who we are. Why not start (or re-start) today and, if necessary, every day, because, as I noted recently in this blog, what the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of…

*I’ll keep you posted on the publication of Ken’s book. I’ve read it and would recommend it to everyone, especially parents and those who love children and want us to survive without destroying the planet for a long time to come!

Mother Teresa

05 Saturday Sep 2020

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judge, love, Mother Teresa, Peace, saint, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today the world celebrates Saint Teresa of Calcutta, known during her life as “Mother Teresa” because of her tireless work of caring for the poorest of the poor and dying. Inspiring women and men not only in India but all over the world, she died on September 5, 1997 and was named a saint of the Roman Catholic Church in 2016.

This tiny woman who impacted the way the world saw care for the poor spoke often of the importance of small efforts toward love. Here are some of her words of advice. We would do well to allow the words to enter deeply into us because they come easily to mind but may take a long time to seep into the heart.

There are no great things, only small things with great love.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed just one.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.

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