Be Your Valentine

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, heart, love, St. Valentine, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Many people know that the genesis of the practice of sending valentine cards and gifts to show our love for one another began with an imprisoned Christian who was condemned to death as a heretic. Some of us know that St. Valentine is remembered for the cure of Julia, his prison guard’s seven year old daughter who was blind. Perhaps fewer of us have heard the story of the note he left for Julia on the day of his execution which said the following:

My dear Julia, although we shall never see each other again, know that I will always love you. You are very dear to me. I will stay unseen by your side and I will live in your heart. I believe in you. Your Valentine. 

Alan Cohen* reminded me of this legend today and added an unusual but deeply thought-provoking post script after urging inspiration for our loved ones. He says: If you are your own Valentine, remember that all the love you need is within you, just as you are, right where you are. (*A Deep Breath of Life)

What a good idea! Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Living In Love

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believe, Corinthians, endure, hope, kind, love, patient, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

After arriving home about mid-day on Thursday, I was off again the next evening to conduct a 24-hour retreat. Some would call that very poor scheduling but, as it turned out, it was a lovely way to re-enter from the “time-out-of-time” that was Peru. The topic, Living In Love, could have been easily predicted; it is February after all when all the Valentine candy and flowers can hardly be avoided.

We covered a lot of ground and pondered weighty questions in our time together. We watched the roaring fire that kept the frigid air from overtaking our reflections. We talked about food on our breaks (everyone but me an aficionado of organic prep!) and had done the bedroom laundry by mid-afternoon, re-making the beds with as easy a rhythm as on a Saturday at home. Our day was punctuated with readings from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapters 12 & 13, and I smiled just now to find his words echoing again in today’s lectionary.

It occurs to me that our little band of seekers yesterday was a model of what Paul saw as a way to practice love and grow in love in simple yet essential ways. Here is the crux of the lesson that we took home. You will, of course, recognize it. But read it slowly, perhaps aloud, letting it seep into you and, maybe for the umpteenth time, find a home.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude. It does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered. It does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrong-doing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1COR 13)

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)

The Word of God

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Christmas, John, light, light of Christ, light of the world, love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Word

John’s gospel speaks today – and always – of the Word breathed into the universe at the beginning. “What came to be through the Word,” John writes, “was life, and this life was the light of the human race. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” We know this light to be the light of Christ, shining in our hearts. May our love be strong, trusting that the light remains for us and those we love, in spite of any darkness that may appear. And so it is on this Christmas Day.

Open the Door

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authority, Come O God, House of David, House of Israel, Isaiah, Jesus, key, love, Messiah, O Antiphons, power, prophecy, salvation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional love

Today’s O Antiphon speaks of the Messiah as the Key of the House of David. Isaiah writes of the authority given to the leader of the House of David, the one who has the power to open or to shut without anyone taking that power away. The authority of this powerful leader of God’s kingdom “shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and forever more.” (Isaiah 9:7)

How do we understand this power? How did Jesus come in order that this prophecy would be fulfilled? Clearly his power was not the might by which earthly monarchs of earlier days manifested their authority. St. Paul speaks of the humility of the Christ (Messiah) who “emptied himself” of power in order that a new age be initiated, a new way of being triumphant.

What was the key to that new way? It could only be fueled by love. Pouring himself out in love was the example provided for us. We need only to search the gospels to find all the doors unlocked with that key of love. “Love one another as I have loved you,” Jesus said in word and deed. But we cannot only depend on the one who governs for that kind of success. Our participation is demanded. Love others as your very self. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of those less fortunate…You know the terms. The freedom that comes with loving unconditionally will be the salvation of the world. Are we willing?

O Key of David and scepter of the House of Israel, you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those that dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Words Across the Centuries

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Daniel Ladinsky, light, love, Love Poems From God; Twelve Voices from the East and West, pray, quiet, soul, St. John of the Cross, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

On this feast of John of the Cross, great 16th century mystic and Doctor of the Church I offer two short poetic “words,” translated by Daniel Ladinsky in his book, Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West. Savor them as you will…

“My soul is a candle that burned away the veil; only the glorious duties of light I now have.”

“You might quiet the whole world for a second if you pray. And if you love, if you really love, our guns will wilt.”

Guadalupe

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asylum, Aztec, Blessed Mother, distress, Juan Diego, love, migrants, Our Lady of Guadalupe, poor, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This evening the Sophia Center for Spirituality is sponsoring a prayer service in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. (see details at http://www.thesophiacenterforspirituality.org) In this endeavor we recognize the appearances of Mary to St. Juan Diego, a poor native of a small village near Mexico City in the 16th century. Disbelief of Juan’s experience by church officials to whom Juan was directed led to amazement when he opened his cape to reveal a gift from “the Lady” – an abundance of roses. In addition was the image of Mary imprinted on the cape which has endured intact since 1531 and has been venerated by millions of people. Mary had appeared as an Aztec woman as a reminder of the need to accept all people, especially at that time, the poor indigenous population being treated cruelly by the conquering Spaniards.

On this day we gather to pray for the native peoples of Central America who still suffer and are in danger in their own countries and so turn to the United States to find safety. As I write, there are thousands of migrants at our southern border who have walked hundreds of miles seeking asylum. While immigration is a complex issue for our country at this moment in time, this feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe reminds us of God’s preferential option for the poor. Mary reached out to Juan Diego in a simple gesture of love. Must we not do the same for her children in distress? Won’t you join us today in prayer?

Language That Speaks

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crowds, emotions, God, guiding light, happiness, Isaiah, knowledge, language, love, perception, prayer, psalm 126, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, voice

For thousands of years people have been trying to say just the right things that will catch the imagination of those wanting to find the essence of life. That desire is the stuff of religions, communities, nations or at least small groups of people who hear what seems to make sense of things and thereby decide to follow the one who speaks that truth. In some cases it is the power of the voice or, in another, some inexplicable quality that emanates from within the person that causes others to sit up and take notice.

This morning I was awakened by the prophet Isaiah whom I could hear shouting: Up, Jerusalem! Stand upon the heights and see your children gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God! Not only hearing but seeing, in the distance of my mind’s eye, throngs of people streaming across a great space from all directions and climbing toward the sun-drenched plateau of a mountain. The home of God was certainly present and waiting for them.

Just writing that paragraph, seeing that image, reminds me that we sometimes need imagination as well as fact to come to deeper knowing. Even the words we choose to express our experiences to others are important. The psalm for today (126) is full of emotions: our mouths filled with laughter! great things! filled with joy! dreaming! I can just see the happiness of people released from exile dancing their way home together.

But here are the words that resonate deep within my heart today as essential to the good of all people everywhere. May they be a guiding light for all of us. This is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value…(PHIL 1:8)

The Blame Game

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Adam and Eve, blame, forbidden fruit, God, love, perfect, shame, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It takes courage sometimes to own up to our faults and failings and some of us have a more difficult time than others in doing so. “Why is that?” I asked myself this morning as I read the passage from Genesis 3 where God asks Adam and Eve who told them they were naked. If that wasn’t enough, God also admits to knowing they ate the forbidden fruit. “The woman made me do it,” Adam says. “The serpent made me to it,” Eve chimes in. It seems there’s always someone around – or some circumstance – that’s a logical place to put the blame. But why not just admit that we are not perfect?

Think about it. The God that created all the universes that ever were or will be deigned to create each one of us uniquely. Even our fingerprints are different from everyone else’s. There must be enough forgiveness in the world for each of us to receive what we need when we make mistakes or even do terrible things. (If you are reading this, you probably don’t belong in the “most wicked” category.) Why are we so afraid of imperfection? 

We have been taught to be ashamed of our bodies as well as of our bad habits. We didn’t come in that way. Think of the babies that you know or that you see on television commercials. They are delighted with everything. When does the blaming start? And why? God “knows the number of the stars and calls us each by name.” How can we doubt that kind of care? It seems today must be a day for a sign on our mirrors to read while brushing our teeth or our hair if we still have any. (Did you know that baldness is “in” these days?)

The sign should say “I am a marvelous creature of God” or “God loves me just as I am and so should you!” Or make up your own declaration – the bolder the better. Trust me; the world will benefit from our efforts and from any smiles that result from this practice.

Good Example

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charity, example, gentleness, intellectual freedom, Kathleen Degnan, kindness, love, New Seeds of Contemplation, positive, President George H.W. Bush, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton

In the wake of all the events occasioned by the death of President George H.W. Bush, one would hope for the return of a kinder, gentler way of being for the United States of America. The example of this man regarding acceptance of others, positive thinking and charity in all things gave a good feeling to all who watched and listened to the many testimonials and interviews during the week. For me, it all mirrored what I read this morning from Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours edited by Kathleen Degnan, offered for the second hour of Friday. 

This is what it means to seek God perfectly, Merton writes. To cultivate an intellectual freedom from the images of created things in order to receive the secret contact of God in obscure love; to love all as myself; to rest in humility and to find peace in withdrawal from conflict and competition; to turn aside from controversy and put away heavy loads of judgment and censorship and criticism and the whole burden of opinions that I have no obligation to carry. 

And then to wait in peace and emptiness and oblivion of all things.                            (New Seeds of Contemplation, pp.44-46, excerpted)