Seventy Times Seven

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begin again, blessing, Ezekiel, forgiveness, freedom, John Philip Newell, light, mercy, new day, Praying With the Earth, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The readings for today are all about transgressions and the need for forgiveness, from Ezekiel to the word of Jesus about the need to forgive 70 X 7 times. Synchronistically, John Philip Newell has a Prayer of Awareness for Thursday morning in his book, Praying with the Earth. Simple and short, it is sufficient for my reflection for this day.

We wake to the forgiveness of a new day. We wake to the freedom to begin again. We wake to the mercy of the sun’s redeeming light. Always new, always gift, always blessing. We wake to the forgiveness of this new day. (p. 34)

 

 

 

 

 

Greeting the Day

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consciousness, Genesis, gift, John Philip Newell, love one another, made new, new day, Peace, Praying With the Earth, reflection, renewed, soul, strengthened, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Late yesterday just after I had arrived at the party marking the 85th birthday of my friend, Florence, the skies opened and gave a torrential drink of water to the parched earth. Just before I left an hour later to return to the retreat I was hosting at home, the rain stopped. Sometimes things just happen that way. Had I been home without a group of people wrapping up an afternoon of deep reflection, I would have loved to go outside and let myself be washed by the cooling water falling from the sky, as I symbolically felt the sensation of having all things being made new. I opted instead for the reasonable option of staying dry.

Today is Sunday, the start not only of a new day, but a new week of life. I know my calendar holds information about many events this week and so good intentions must be made. I will need to be very focused to use my time well as the week unfolds. Right now, however, I wish only to breathe into the moment in which I find myself as I join with John Philip Newell to bless the day at hand.

For the gift of this new day, for waking again from the dreams of the night, for our bodies strengthened and our minds renewed, thanks be to you, O God. You are the stillness of the night. You are the genesis of the morning. You are the moistness of new conception. Let there be peace in the human soul, let there be wakings to new consciousness, let there be tears of love. In the life of the world this day and in our own hearts let there be fresh tears of love. (Praying with the Earth – A Prayerbook for Peace)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening to Possibility

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awareness, Come to the Quiet, creation, creativity, gift, grateful living, Great Dawn of God, hope, Islamic Center, joy, laughter, lift my spirit, Macrina Wiederkehr, morning light, new day, reflection, seven sacred pauses, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Who is my neighbor

As I begin to write this morning I hear Julie Andrews singing in my head as she leaves the monastery: What will this day be like? I wonder…It’s Saturday and yet at 6:15AM my mind is already spinning like a top with all that awaits me. Yesterday I spent much of the day preparing for today’s morning of reflection and sharing with seven women who have responded to an invitation to “Come to the Quiet” at Sophia House (see our website). I hope my vision and their desire for what will happen there coincides. From there I will go to the Islamic Center of the Southern Tier of New York. They are having an “open house” where I hope to find a way for us to collaborate on an event at the Sophia Center under the title of “Who is my Neighbor?” What will happen after that is anybody’s guess. I’m accompanied as I go forward by Macrina Wiederkehr’s words that urge me on.

Anointed by your morning light I lift my spirit to receive the gift of this new day. Open my eyes to the beauty that surrounds me that I may walk through this day with the kind of awareness that calls forth grateful living. In all of creation let me see the brightness of your face. Shine in my heart and on my life, filling me with joy, creativity, hope and laughter…May I live with the kind of presence that enables others to feel at home. Great Dawn of God, hear my prayer. (Seven Sacred Pauses, p.59)

May your day be similarly blessed!

Packing Up

Tags

breathing, clutter, deeper purposes, journey, live in the present moment, Mark, new day, possibility, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, travel, walking stick

Some days I feel (and probably look like) a pack mule as I leave for work. Nearly always my computer bag is slung over my left shoulder hugging the purse already hanging there. In my right hand could be my briefcase and perhaps a plastic grocery bag or two hanging from my wrist with lunch, letters to mail, items to return to the religious education office…or whatever. Oh yes, and somewhere my keys adorn a finger. One must be dexterous these days when leaving home – and occasionally I actually make it to the car without the whole of my building project collapsing around me!

I laughed this morning as I read the line from Mark’s gospel where he instructs his emissaries who are about to go out on mission. (MK 6:7-13) “Take nothing for the journey but a walking stick,” he says, “no food, no sack, no money in your belts.” They were to wear sandals but could manage without a second tunic. What makes me think I won’t survive an afternoon without my lunch? And I won’t even go into what it takes to pack for an actual trip! Most important there is the color scheme I’m working with to minimize the number of shoe choices…

Obviously conditions are different now but this comparison does make me think about how cluttered life can become with material cares that sometimes distract from the deeper purposes of work and walking the path. It’s all about consciousness really. It’s as easy for me to fail to notice a colleague’s unspoken need as it is to forget to hang my lunch over my wrist unless I am living in the present moment where God always waits. So – breathing in and breathing out, I begin again, smiling at the word and the reminder that helps me to wake up to possibility in this new day.