Finding an Answer

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disappointment, mission, purpose, rejoice, solution, St. John Neumann, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are days when each of us questions our place in “the grand scheme of things.” It usually happens when we feel that something we have tried seems to fail (although we should not be too hasty to judge!). Sometimes it’s just because we have been working too hard or not working enough but feel we are just “worn out” from trying. Sometimes (like today) there is no sunshine and it is very cold outside. What do you do on a day like that? There are always answers; it’s just a question of finding one…

Today is the feast of St. John Neumann, a bishop who lived only 49 years. Born in Bohemia, he wanted to become a priest but, I read today, “his local diocese had a surfeit of priests.” Instead of wringing his hands or finding something else to do, he traveled to America and was accepted in a seminary in New York. He was ordained in 1836 and worked among various immigrant populations because of his gift for languages. He became a naturalized citizen and eventually became the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. Among his accomplishments were the establishment of the first network of parochial schools in the country, the founding of a congregation of teaching Sisters, the construction of a cathedral, and the introduction of the still popular Forty Hours Devotion in American parishes. He died on January 5, 1860 and was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1977.

Noting that his life was changed by his solution to a disappointment early on, we might not be as energetic or creative but we would do well to attend to his advice today as we wait for the sun to shine, knowing that whatever is ours to do or become, it is worth the effort. He said the following: Everyone who breathes…has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random…God sees every one of us; God creates every soul…for a purpose. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as He rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also.”

Call to Discipleship

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Acts of the Apostles, Christian, Lydia, mission, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In the short space of five verses, there were two separate but linked stories in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (16: 11-15). I felt as if I were part of each one by moving imaginally back in time and space to join these early brothers and sisters in their travels and the wonder of their experiences.

1. Paul and his companions set out on an ambitious voyage around the Greek Islands. I could see them walking down to their boat with supplies strapped on their backs as if they were not only sailing but also hiking from place to place at each destination: first to Troas in Turkey, next at Samothrace, an island in the Aegean Sea, stopping in Neapolis and on to Philippi – finally a familiar name…and as I took a breath, wondering where all their energy came from and realizing it had to be the passion for the mission and that the trip must have taken not one but many days, found myself with them “outside the city gate along the river looking for a place of prayer” on the Sabbath.
2. Enter Lydia, woman that many people immediately recognize as a “dealer in purple cloth.” She was among the women who had already gathered when the apostles arrived and “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.” It’s easy, considering the scene, to catch the mood of the day in the participants and to feel the joy of recognition in Lydia who, with her household, was baptized that very day. Tradition tells us that Lydia was the first Christian convert on the European continent and that her conversion was a call to a ministry of hospitality, inviting Paul, Silas and the other workers for Christ stay at her home.

It is rare for me to be able to image such scenes in such a visceral way. I’m grateful for the opportunity and the grace that puts me in touch with my ancestors in faith. I would recommend the adventure to anyone!

A Full Life

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activity, contemplation, Dominicans, mission, Order of Preachers, prayer, retreats, st. dominic, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today Christians celebrate the feast of St. Dominic and all those who follow the Dominican way of life. The Dominicans are called the “Order of Preachers” and are known for their ministry of opening the Scriptures to the faithful in retreats and parish “missions.” This practice, begun by Dominic and three others, became the work of a formal religious community in 1215. Their ideal was to link life with God in both contemplation and action, that is, in prayer and all the activities of life. The website http://www.franciscanmedia.org says it this way:

The effective combining of contemplation and activity is the vocation of truck driver Smith as well as theologian Aquinas. Acquired contemplation is the tranquil abiding in the presence of God and is an integral part of any full human life. It must be the wellspring of all Christian activity.

How many of us see the totality of our daily activity as integrated in or springing from our prayer? If we consciously lived in this mindset each and every day, would our prayer change or increase?. And how would we perceive our everyday duties, our work and play? Would there be a new lightness in our days? Would it all be seen as one: prayer and work, prayer and play, prayer as relationship…How would that change the world?

One Man’s Mission

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Arthur Glasow, generous of spirit, humor, mission, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thinker

When I sit to write in the morning, there’s no telling what will happen, especially in the sometimes strange connections that show up. Today’s wandering began with a reminder of the feast of St. Athanasius, who spent his life fighting the Arian heresy in the fourth century, and ended with a man named Arnold Glasgow (or, as I was corrected by answers.com, Glasow – no second g).

Early on in my meandering I read a quote by Glasow that caught my eye. It said: “Make your life a mission, not an intermission.” Catchy, right? So I wondered if he said anything else of note and found out he was a businessman from Fond-du-Lac, Wisconsin who worked for 60 of his 93 years (until 1993) writing a humor magazine that he marketed to firms nationally who used his quotes to send to customers for their own marketing. Interesting? Maybe, but for me the most interesting thing was the fact that he wrote his first and only book at the age of 92, entitled “Glasow’s Gloombusters,” a title he often put on his work during his career.

So what’s the point? The internet told me he was often cited in magazines like the Wall Street Journal and Forbes but also was a regular contributor to the humor section of Reader’s Digest – rather an eclectic audience, I would say. The internet’s evaluation of his life’s work included the following:

“Sixty years of productive work. Many attributions. A real American thinker, self-effacing and generous of spirit, he shunned the national spotlight.”

That sounds to me like someone whose mission was simply to make people smile, not such a bad gig. I’ll bet he did a lot of smiling himself for the benefit of others and the upliftment of the planet. I may have to add him to my list of saints and remember to take his advice!

Deeper Knowing

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inner change, Jesus, John, Mary Magdalene, mission, recognize, renewal, resurrection, surrender, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional love, universal love

During this Easter season the lectionary readings are worthy of some serious pondering. That’s no surprise, given the events of the past week recounted in Scripture. Today (JN 20:11-18) we read a good example in two ways of how the passage through death has changed not only Jesus himself but also his relationship with his beloved disciple.

First, on the day of Christ’s Resurrection, Mary Magdalene, the faithful and well-loved companion of Jesus, encounters him near the tomb and thinks he is the gardener! How could she not recognize him??? I’m always reminded with this story of the day I didn’t recognize a priest who used to come often and help me with high school retreats. He had been on a year’s sabbatical during which he had studied spirituality for a semester, done a 30-day Ignatian retreat, lost some weight, shaved the mustache without which I had never seen him, and in addition sported a new “buzz cut” on his head. As he processed down the church aisle at a celebration for one of our Sisters, I wondered who he was. It was not until he began to speak that I knew him. I heard his voice and was shocked immediately into recognition. And he was also different inside – a softer, more humble and gracious “self” that could be felt to those who really saw the result of his “renewal.”

Secondly today, when Mary moves toward Jesus because he speaks her name with a tenderness that only love can express, he stops her (“Do not cling to me…”) and gives her a missionary task (“Go to my brothers and tell them…”). Evidently Christ’s”resurrection body” is somehow different; his journey through death changed him in some significant way both physically and spiritually. Surrendering everything he was then ready to manifest his divinity to the one who loved him faithfully. The relationship was deeper than a physical connection.When Mary realized her new role of messenger/missionary to her companions and to the world, she understood that her surrender was just beginning. Living from the heart had become her mission.

We would do well to contemplate these passages, these calls to unconditional and universal love presented to us today. What inner change must accompany such a shift in our life?

The Human Jesus

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acceptance, Brother Curtis Almquist, developmental issues, gratitude, growth, human, humanity, imagination, Jesus, limitations, Messiah, mission, reflection, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understanding, visualizing

Like many people, I receive a few “thought for the day” quotes in my e-mail each morning. Most often I delete them without too much reflection but occasionally there is something that makes me sit up and take notice. Perhaps because of the Wednesday and Friday gospels this week that focused on the miraculous feeding and healing powers of Jesus, I was led to reflect on his humanity today by Brother Curtis Almquist of the Episcopal Society of St. John the Evangelist in a short post entitled Growth. Here’s what he wrote.

I don’t think Jesus asked to be the Messiah any more than any of us asked for the deck of cards that was handed to us in our birth. But Jesus grew into the acceptance of his humanity, his gifts, his limitations, his mission, and his unfinished business, facing the same developmental issues that we all do in growing up.

Even though in theory I totally buy into Paul’s declaration to the Philippians that Jesus “emptied himself of godliness” and “became like us in all things but sin,” it’s rather stunning to think of Jesus having limitations, let alone “developmental issues.” I must admit, however, to a tiny sensation of relief and gratitude somewhere inside me as I begin to conjecture just what that might mean. I think it will take some time because there are no words that will clarify the sensation. It will take imagination, visualizing Jesus in life situations – in his youth, as a young adult and during his ministry – asking him questions about what he is experiencing in the situations in which he finds himself and then listening for answers.

Trusting that this process is not just a “flight of fancy” but rather a journey into the “imaginal” world may lead to a deepening of understanding and appreciation of Jesus as “fully human.” Why not give it a try?

Family Ties

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Australia, bring your entire self to the moment, close family, family, Jesus, Mark, mission, pay attention, right relationship, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, will of God

Yesterday my sister forwarded an e-mail message she had received from our cousin Chris from Australia that included a family photo from 2013, celebrating the 99th birthday of the patriarch, whose wife (only 93 years young) sat beside him. Now Aunt Dory is the last survivor from that generation. The picture is symbolic of a happy reconnection with the Australian branch of our family that began during “The Troubles” in Ireland in the 1800’s. Two of my grandmother’s elder sisters accompanied a childless neighbor couple to Australia to become a family with a chance for a better life – a huge sacrifice for my great-grandparents but a blessing for the two girls. As I scanned the photo trying to see in the 60-something cousins vestiges of the children whose pictures we kept in shoeboxes with our own during my young life nostalgia settled in and I vowed to rekindle my correspondence with my cousin Rosemary, sitting there with her husband, children and grandchildren. The internet will make reconnection easier; I hope I will keep my promise.

Things are different now than in the time of Jesus – as well as in the generations before my parents. People were more often born and buried in the same town and it was rare for families to live as far apart as we do now. My nuclear family is a good example. In the years before my parents’ deaths we were one each in New York State, Virginia and California with two in Florida. for a close family like ours that was and is quite a challenge. Our lives have been full and primary commitments keep us busy. Visits are rare but we continue to value the successful jockeying of schedules that brings us together.

I think all of this helps me to understand the situation of Jesus (MK 3:31-35) when the crowd around him said that his mother & siblings were outside to see him. His response of “whoever does the will of God is my brother, sister and mother” points up to me the willingness of Jesus to follow the path before him, the mission he had been given, with an understanding of right relationship. He did not send his relatives away; my guess is that they had a wonderful visit after the crowd had dispersed. I think what he was saying to the crowd was something like this: “Pay attention to what you’re doing and do it until you finish. Then do the next thing fully – bringing your entire self to the moment. In that way nothing is wasted and no one is ignored.”

What’s Your Answer?

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courage, faults, fear, fidelity, followers of Christ, ignorance, Jesus, mission, Paul, Peter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, zeal

Today my Church celebrates the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul whom we consider to be very important to the spread of Christianity in the world and examples of what it means to be followers of Christ. The comforting thing for me is that both of these men had rather significant faults and yet God chose them for significant roles and ministries. Peter was the one who hid in the crowd and denied that he even knew Jesus during the events of his arrest and trial. Paul, a Roman citizen, was a major figure in the persecution of Christians in the early days of Christianity. Considering those behaviors, I  am led to reflect on the effects of fear and ignorance. Peter clearly loved and followed Jesus throughout the three years of public ministry. Who of us, had we been a follower of the person some considered to be the Messiah, the one to restore the earthly kingdom of David (not yet recognized as divine), would have been willing to acknowledge him in a situation that would mean certain death for us? That was Peter’s fear. And Paul, an upstanding Roman citizen, was acting in the manner of the occupying nation in Israel when he was persecuting those who had become disciples of Jesus. He understood this as his duty and was ignorant of the true identity of Jesus until his conversion experience on the road to Damascus.

Considering Peter in today’s gospel (MT 16:13-19), we remember another side of him. He was the only one who had something to say when Jesus asked the gathered disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” His response of “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” was the proclamation of a man who was willing to spontaneously jump out of a boat into the water to get to Jesus (more than once!) for love of him, the one who proclaimed that love in a threefold answer to the question, “Peter, do you love me?” This same Peter did, in fact, die for his faith in Christ – crucified upside down – after years of leadership in the communities of faith. Paul, converted in a blaze of light on that fateful journey to Damascus, never looked back and became “the Apostle to the Gentiles” credited with more writing and more preaching than anyone else in the spread of Christianity in the known world.

I think of the dictum that “there’s a little bad in the best of us and a little good in the worst of us” as I ponder these two giants. Paul doesn’t always get high marks from women and Peter was rather impulsive but we need to consider the culture of the times and the personalities of these saints when judging them. What stands out is their zeal and the love that impelled them forward and once they woke up to their mission nothing ever stood in the way of their fidelity and courage. They certainly lived out – in word and action – their answer to the question Jesus put to Peter in the beginning. So today I ask myself, as Jesus the Christ asks me: Lois, who do YOU say that I am?