• About The Sophia Center

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

~ Spanning the denominations in NY's Southern Tier

The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Tag Archives: mistakes

Bumbling

21 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bumbling, clueless, hidden life, human, Jesus, mistakes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Here’s a unique take on the “hidden life” of Jesus that I read just now from one of the Brothers at the Society of St. John the Evangelist. Even though we have been told that Christ was/is “fully human and fully divine” I wonder how many of us can stretch our imaginations to think of him as bumbling. A worthy exercise today, perhaps. Give it a try.

What was going on with Jesus during those twenty “hidden” years when he was growing up? We don’t know for sure. But his humanity must parallel our own, or he cannot be our Savior. I presume that Jesus was as lost as many of us were, and for long stretches of time. I presume that Jesus made as many mistakes as I have, as you have, in finding his way into life. I presume that Jesus was as much as clueless as you were, as I was, trying to find and claim his identity and destiny. Lots of bumbling. — Br. Curtis Almquist

Oops!

11 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

lessons, mishap, mistakes, purpose, serendipity, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thinking

acorrectionFor any of you who follow the Catholic Bishops’ website to find Scripture readings for each day, and/or anyone who hears those readings at daily liturgies, you must have been wondering yesterday why I used the reading from next Thursday. I was wondering that myself just now since the battle I spoke of as a great success for Saul and David had not happened by then or in this morning’s text either! It’s not even as if I skipped down to the same day in next week on the calendar. (Yesterday was Wednesday!) My only conclusion is about serendipity. The jealousy theme was already in my head when I opened to the Scripture texts and the story of Saul and David gave me a great example of what I was thinking.

Significant, I think, to this “mistake” is the fact that the correct reading for yesterday was about God’s call to Samuel. The fact that the boy – Samuel – had mistaken God’s call for that of his mentor Eli makes me think that maybe God was interested in having the topic of jealousy come up yesterday for someone. Me? Maybe. You? Perhaps. That might just be my way of making an excuse for my mistake but I’m pretty careful about checking the date as well as the whimsical nature of my cursor sometimes. And the fact that I have written over 1,300 of these posts without such a happening makes me want to attribute it to something other than carelessness.

Whatever the reason for yesterday’s mishap, perhaps the words of Barbra Streisand suffice for today when she sings, “There are no mistakes, just lessons to be learned.”

 

 

 

 

 

Good Example

21 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

compassion, good deeds, imperfections, Jesus, lessons, Matthew, mercy, mistakes, Pharisees, Pope Francis, sacrifice, sin, sinner, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

ahumblepopeI remember the day, early in his papacy, that Pope Francis said, “I am a sinner” in public. The quote, as we say now, “went viral.” It’s rare to have a public figure admit during an interview or a widely attended speech that s/he has imperfections. We all know that none of us is perfect but admitting it to the world – especially using the word sin to describe our actions – is not a common practice. At first I was dismayed about his admission because I think that religious people tend to focus more on sin than on giftedness and good deeds. I grabbed onto Barbra Streisand’s line that “there are no mistakes, just lessons to be learned” and used it to talk about sin from that perspective. I still think we either overplay our imperfections sometimes or try to hide them by prevaricating (i.e. “skirting around the truth or delaying giving an answer, especially to avoid telling the whole truth”) but being able to follow the Pope’s example can be very freeing. If we are honest enough to offer our true selves to others we may find that we are accepted in spite of ourselves because nobody else is perfect either!

In today’s gospel (MT 9:9-13) we meet St. Matthew, as Jesus approaches him and says, “Follow me.” At this, the Pharisees were indignant because tax collectors (Matthew’s job) were described in the same breath as “sinners.” They asked the disciples why Jesus was associating with such people. I always wish that Jesus hadn’t jumped in to answer that question; I would just like to know what his disciples would have said. But Jesus heard the question and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Pope Francis talks a lot about mercy, sometimes in the same sentence with the word “sinner.” In that way – as in so many more – he seems so close to doing what Jesus did, in being who Jesus was, to teach us all the compassionate reach of God to all of us. Ought we then do the same for one another? For ourselves?

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Our Turn

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

change, defeat, discouraged, fail, failures, Genesis, Joseph, Meg Wheatley, mercy, mistakes, perseverance, slavery, stuck, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional love

arefugeeToday’s first reading from the Book of Genesis tells the story of world-wide famine and the fact that Joseph, the boy whose brothers had sold him into slavery, used the power he had gained as governor of Egypt to feed starving people everywhere. It’s when his brothers appear before him that Joseph has his most important moment. It’s one of the great mercy stories of the Hebrew Scriptures and has many lessons to teach. (GEN 41-42)

Most of us won’t have the opportunity to sit in such a place of power and decide whether to be merciful or vengeful to those who have harmed us but we would be wise to practice unconditional love on a daily basis so we will assure our ability to act toward others as God would act when tests of our “mercy quotient” arise. Meg Wheatley had some comforting words this morning for the times when I – and all of us – are not as successful in life as we would hope to be.

When we fail, which of course we often will, we don’t have to feel discouraged. Instead, we can look into our mistakes and failures for the valuable learnings they contain. And we can be open to opportunities and help that present themselves, even when they’re different from what we thought we needed. We can follow the energy of “Yes!” rather than accepting defeat or getting stuck in a plan.

This is how the world always changes. Everyday people not waiting for someone else to fix things or come to their rescue, but simply stepping forward, working together, figuring out how to make things better.

Now it’s our turn. (Perseverance, p.13)

 

 

 

 

 

Staying on the Path

15 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by thesophiacenterforspirituality in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

clear, determined, joy in your presence, life path, mistakes, obscure, paths, prayer, show me, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Paris Mountain State ParkYesterday afternoon I had a little time to walk around the grounds at this beautiful retreat and conference center that encompasses 1,400 acres. There are many paths to choose, some mostly sunlit, some deeper in the woods. Some of the paths are clearly marked and some partially obscured by leaves and twigs and undergrowth. They all lead in beautiful directions even though some demand more care in the walking. It was difficult to choose a path yesterday as I needed to be aware of my time limits and sure I could get back to the conference room by 3:00.

Life is sometimes like that. There are paths that I clearly knew to avoid. Other choices are more difficult, especially if some of the stops along the way are not clear in the beginning. At this moment in time I feel as if I am determined on a life path, although my walk is sometimes slow and careful in order to avoid some of the directional mistakes I made in the past. Now my prayer is with the psalmist who sings confidently this morning, Lord, you will show me the path of life, fullness of joy in your presence!

Donate to The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Donate

Our other websites

  • Main website
  • Facebook page

Visitors

  • 100,572 hits

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,046 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • The “O Antiphon” Meditations
  • Memorial to be held this Sunday
  • Mark your calendars
  • A note to readers
  • “Hope Springs Eternal…”

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Archives

  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Join 560 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Sophia Center for Spirituality
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...