Nature’s Blessings

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blessings, compassion, gratitude, John Philip Newell, nature, Praying With the Earth, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

About 20 minutes ago I watched the sun peek out from behind the mountain at the back of our property. I was surprised that it showed at all since it was about 8:00am already. It didn’t seem convinced about showing a lot of energy, however. I hope I’m wrong because we need a sunny day. We need to remember the blessings that come to us through the light of the sun – and even the moon on a clear night. They are reminders of our own ability to shine, especially when everything seems so dark around us.

Here’s a short prayer from John Philip Newell that might help us to find some gratitude inside ourselves for what may seem muted right now. We need to remember:

The blessings of sun, the blessings of moon, the blessings of east and of west to guide us on the way…to lighten our eyes, to strengthen our will and our loving. The blessings of earth, the blessings of air, the blessings of fire and water to fill us with heaven, to free us with mercy, to stir us with flames of compassion. (Praying with the Earth: A Prayerbook for Peace, p. 36)

The Saint of Ecology

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ecology, faith, hope, love, nature, St. Francis of Assisi, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today there will be celebrations and prayer services throughout the world commemorating the life and death of one of the most beloved saints in the history of Christianity: Francis of Assisi. The website franciscanmedia.org has much to say about Francis but for those who seek brevity, there is a summary statement on their calendar at the beginning of the biography which gives a taste of the most important information, including the most recent title under which Francis is known.

Saint Francis of Assisi: founder of the Franciscan family, Patron Saint of Ecology, inspiration to thousands, claimed by people of all faiths as well as those with no particular faith, a truly “catholic and apostolic man.” Though born in the 13th century, he belongs to all ages.

I think of Francis walking the Italian countryside, addressing all of nature as Sister and Brother, talking to the beasts and birds and listening to God’s messages everywhere. Today we are in the company of Brothers Wind and Air, and “fair and stormy all weather’s moods.” Tonight I will hope for a sighting of Sister Moon and the stars, who “in the heavens You have made them bright, precious and fair.”

Francis is a good model of how to live – amazed at everything – but also how to die, offering himself and all his suffering to the God in whom he placed all his faith, hope and (boundless) love. As I wrote that last sentence, Brother Sun made a momentary appearance, bathing the autumn countryside with golden light before receding into the cloudy sky. Just like Francis. Praised be…

Shedding

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branch, connection, John, lesson, nature, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vine

I”ve spent some time yesterday and the day before picking up branches under one of our large maple trees. I hope that today I will complete the task and be able to rake and then cut the grass under that tree. We’ve had an inordinate amount of shedding going on this spring, mostly because of the heavy winds of the past few months. Some of the branches could be mistaken for trees themselves because they are so very large. As I drag them to a pile on the edge of our property, I sometimes wonder what made them separate from the tree as many of them seem strong and not at all diseased. People would say that it’s just the way of things in nature: they live, are nourished by their root system and then they die – either from a weather event or just old age.

Clearing the branches makes me more aware of the gifts of the trees to our ecosystem and to me. Beauty, shade and release of necessary gasses as they breathe are notable reasons to be grateful, as is the shelter they provide for the birds. Interestingly, today the gospel is the familiar “vine and branches” reading from John that speaks to us of our connection to one another and to God. And that is perhaps the greatest lesson of all.

Suscipe

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grace, gratitude, life, liverty, love, memory, nature, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Suscipe, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transformation, understanding, will

The transformation happening in nature in this most lovely of months (in my opinion at least, for those who reside in the Northeast of the USA) is so visible we cannot ignore its manifestation. Would that the inner transition of our hearts matched that of the natural world. I think we would do well to listen to the silent call of the flowering trees, the energetic growth of the grasses, the music of the running streams…new – or renewed – life everywhere!

As I wrote the above paragraph the morning sun came softly forward from the misty sky and begged attention at my window. My response to all that calls me this morning is a favorite prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola (in Latin, Suscipe) in gratitude for all that is given.

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, O Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.

Merton’s View

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creation, hope, nature, praise, spring, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours

Up early, I am sitting in the quiet darkness. Feeling the need for someone else’s words to get me going into this day I turn to Thomas Merton, whom I have not visited lately. I can feel him sitting on the porch of his small hermitage taking in the very early morning and putting pen to paper with these words.

I am under the sky. The birds are all silent. But the frogs have begun singing their pleasure in all the waters and in the warm, green places where the sunshine is. wonderful. Praise Christ, all you living creatures. For Him you and I were created. With every breath we love Him. My psalms fulfill your dim, unconscious song, O brothers in this wood. (A Book of Hours, p. 93)

It must have been summer or later morning when he wrote those words as we have a long way to go until the sun appears today, but the hope of the meteorologists and their listeners is exactly that for a second day in a row. That would be enough, I think, to convince us that spring is truly not far off and the “warm, green places” will soon grace us once again.

Feed the Birds

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abundance, caring, generosity, God, Matthew, nature, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I smile as I read the gospel this morning (MT 6:24-34) about how God cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air – and, of course, us. I’m thinking two thoughts in relation to the encouragement of that passage as God has a team of helpers at our house.

1.  Sister Elizabeth loves to watch the birds so we have feeders out – one for those eating “regular” food, one suet cake cage for the woodpeckers whose beaks must be made of iron and one summer addition filled with a sweet concoction for the hummingbirds who are only here for a few months in the summer. This year we have a new phenomenon with that last delight. What is meant to feed only the hummingbirds (who are an amazement to watch) has been discovered by almost all the birds – first the glorious Baltimore orioles, then the wrens and now even the small woodpeckers who may have eaten elsewhere and just come for dessert! How like me they are, preferring a sweet dessert to any other food they can find. Sugar water would certainly be preferable to plain old seeds for me if I were a bird. And since that feeder is attached to the glass door outside the kitchen, there are new diners to enjoy at all hours of the day. We can only wish that a few of them were window washers as well since some are very messy consumers!
2. Sister Paula loves creatures of all kinds and delights in watching them frolic or just pass through our yard each day which some do several times in 24 hours, knowing there will always be food from her hands. I am often surprised that some of them can still walk since they are not blessed with the sense of knowing when enough is enough for a meal.

How can I not smile as I see this reflection of God’s abundance and generosity played out daily right here in my own home?

 

 

 

 

 

To Each Our Own

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Black Friday, choice, freedom, homage, humanity, nature, Peace, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday afternoon the sun was so inviting that I decided to go for a walk. I was pleasantly surprised at the mildness of the breeze but still grateful for the layers of clothing I had decided to wear. There were no cars at the golf course next to our land and the path onto the 10th hole – close to the road – called me to abandon the street and walk the quieter path down to the river. The grass had been well tended so that it looked like a gigantic blanket of still vibrant green decorated only with numerous pine cones dropped in areas inhabited by the gigantic evergreen trees. I walked along the river and it seemed the river was keeping in step with me; we were definitely going in the same direction. The silence was profound and calming. I stopped often on my way back along the winding paths meant for the golf carts to listen to the silence and pay homage to the towering trees…

My foray into nature only lasted about 25 minutes but the peace that enveloped me there remained. The gift of the experience far outweighed for me anything I could have garnered from a “traditional” Black Friday at the mall. As I write that, I know that the small prepositional phrase “for me” is essential. Each person is different and I have no right nor desire to judge the value of any experience for another person. For some, the mall offers a yearly opportunity with friends or a special family member to leave the crowd at home watching football and enter a whole other universe of “shop till you drop” humanity. I’m just glad we have the freedom to choose the experience that best fits us and I am so content with my choice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Answer from Francis

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change, console, environment, eternal life, faith, giving, joy, love, nature, pardon, Peace, St. Francis of Assisi, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand

Yesterday afternoon I was in a gathering where we were discussing change using a number of quotes on the subject. It was fascinating to hear the different reactions to the various quotes depending on our interpretations of how the words were used in the sentences, or how a little word like “all” could challenge someone who is uncomfortable with such determinism. It was a great, stretching conversation that pointed up the need to really listen to the voices of others who differed according to culture and life experiences. etc. when interpreting what was being said.

It’s only 7:00AM and there are all sorts of vehicles – mostly big trucks – outside on our road with a large team working hard to get the road paved before the weather turns cold. They have already done days of preparation for this final process; they’re not just patching or putting down a thin coat this time. This will be an “extreme makeover” that is very welcome! But today is also the feast of St. Francis, the “little man of Assisi,” who was the champion of all things natural, i.e. those found in nature. Thinking of him makes me long for dirt roads and good walking shoes (or strong bare feet!) rather than all sorts of manufactured materials that are not good for the environment.

So while I think of our road I’m also thrown back to the vision of flooding in Houston, a city that has so much concrete in roads, building sites and parking lots that the rain had nowhere to go so that at least some of it might sink into the earth. I’m certainly not blaming the infrastructure for the 50+ inches of rain sitting in and flowing through the neighborhoods, but it was at least a mention on the news as a factor adding to the destruction and might be something to consider as cities continue to grow.

In an interview on NBC news following the devastating attack in Las Vegas this weekend, a man who was shot three times in his leg spoke of his experience. He said that two women, seeing his inability to stand, pulled him to a place of cover and then commanded two men to move him further into a truck where 7 others were already waiting to be taken to a hospital. He said, “I didn’t know any of those people. No one was looking at anyone in any particular way, judging anything. Everyone just kept helping, doing what they could for anyone they encountered.” We are our best in the worst situations, it seems.

What does all this mean? How do the thoughts fit together? Maybe they don’t really but I’m willing to entertain the possibility that there is a thread here, albeit a thin one. Or maybe it is as elemental as the opening line of the Prayer of St. Francis which says, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” On second thought, maybe that whole prayer is perfect for today as we try to move forward from violence and appreciate what is natural in our world. For those who don’t know it by heart let me print it here as our offering for peace and healing. Please join with me in praying it aloud.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Clean Start

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beginning, bless, compassionate, God, God Bless the World, gratitude, Hearts on Fire, John J. Morris SJ, nature, start afresh, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tour, world

There was a very quick thunderstorm this morning at 5:30 outside my window: torrential rain and one blast of thunder and lightning. It was as if nature was washing away everything and readying the day to start afresh with life. It’s a perfect beginning for my day. All major events of my year (at least those I’m aware of) are finished, so it seems everything will be “back to normal” now, if such a thing truly exists! On my slow trek home yesterday through lovely terrain and many traffic slowdowns (not to mention a stop during the eclipse) I listened to a couple of “homemade” CD playlists that took me on a tour of earlier times in my life. It was a sweet remembering and an exercise in gratitude that tied the weekend up in a perfect conclusion.

Here’s a prayer from the Jesuit book, Hearts on Fire, that seems fitting to me for this morning – and maybe for every morning. It’s called God Bless the World.

Mighty God, Father of all, Compassionate God, Mother of all, bless every person I have met, every face I have seen, every voice I have heard, especially those most dear; bless every city, town and street that I have known, bless every sight I have seen, every sound I have heard, every object I have touched. In some mysterious way these have all fashioned my life, all that I am, I have received. Great God, bless the world.     (John J. Morris, SJ, p. 152)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can You Hear It?

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, divine energy, Divine Presence, evolution, instruction, listening, natural word, nature, reality, silence, still, Teilhard de Chardin, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, universe

In keeping with what I said yesterday about Chardin’s vision of evolution in the universe, today we have Psalm 19 in the lectionary readings. One commentator sees this psalm as containing “a grand cosmological vision of a vast universe, alive and full of the divine Presence.” In this psalm we hear the message that God’s word is heard through the natural world as well as in church sermons and our life experiences. I am always happy to read and hear others speak of the importance of the natural world as a conduit of God’s presence and teaching since I learn a lot from observing the depth and function of nature. Here is a suggestion for all of us, the busy people of the world, that might be something to try with the goal of opening us more fully to a deeper way of seeing.

Sometimes our difficulty is that we are not silent and still long enough to hear the subtleties of this quiet yet pervasive form of instruction. Allow yourself to become still and silent for a period of inner and outer listening. Listen with your whole being. Ask this divine energy and communication flowing through you to become a cleansing wind blowing the dust and debris away and opening you more fully to God’s inner Reality. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.46)