Mary in June?

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Blessed Mother, coronavirus, Genesis, good old days, John, Mary, May, prejudice, solutions, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Everything seems so up-ended, disordered, chaotic…even as I turned first to the USCCB website this morning for the liturgical readings of the day. “It is June, is it not?” I asked myself, as I looked at the liturgical calendar and saw the heading: “Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.” Most “good Catholics” of at least “middle age” have been aware since childhood of the dedication of May as “the Month of Mary, our Mother.” We grew up with Marian hymns and May Crownings, flowers and May Devotions with special attention to the rosary and awareness of a twinning of sorts of Memorial Day as May 30 and the feast of Mary as Queen of Heaven on the 31st.

I admit my age when I say these things so please don’t think I have returned to the “good old days” before all calendars became rather fluid to accommodate work schedules/weekends and other updates seen more sensible to the majority of people, at least in the USA. It’s just that I could always count on celebrating May first as my own mother’s birthday and the 31st as that of our Blessed Mother Mary. Silly me, to hold to a calendar when the world is in chaos all around me.

After my rant and a closer look inside, I find it ironic but also telling that the readings for today seem correct. From the Hebrew Scriptures (GN 3:9-15, 20) we hear the conversation in the Garden of Eden between God and Adam after he and Eve have eaten the forbidden fruit. It is all about excuses and blaming and judgment. (Eve has joined the conversation midway through). More striking is the gospel recounting (JN 19: 25-34) of the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Our country is burning with looting and mourning, frustration and pain over racism and pandemic. The coronavirus is not a punishment from God, nor is the sin of racism. We need to look deeply at the situations and ask ourselves how we might now contribute to solutions rather than adding to the chaos. What have we done to stem the tide of infection? Are wearing a mask in public and washing our hands at home too onerous strictures? More deeply yet, we need to look at reasons for prejudice against our brothers and sisters who do not look like us or talk like us or celebrate life like us. Do we know the hearts of others rather than just their skin? What have we done to welcome difference into our lives and love it in the name of the God who created us all?

I am talking to myself here as much as to anyone else and I need this day to look at my own life and do more than wish that it could be different for all of us. I have no more words. I rely on your prayer as I offer mine to you. May God help us all.

Do You Know Her?

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prejudice, racism, St. Katherine Drexel, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the feast of another American saint, Katharine Drexel, who lived until this date in 1955, dying at the age of 97 years. Coming from a rich family in Philadelphia, Katharine was taught generosity in her home. From the experience of caring for her step-mother through a three-year terminal illness she learned that all the money in the world cannot save a person from suffering and death. Rather she used her inherited money to care for those in need, especially Native Americans and people of color, finally founding the congregation of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to serve those two underserved populations in the United States.

This seems a good day to reflect on those people in our midst who still suffer from prejudice simply because of the color of their skin or living the traditions of their ancestors. With the present-day rise of racism in our country, we would do well to get to know Katharine Drexel and pray to her for those who are being treated unjustly. Moreover, we ought to examine our own hearts for the prejudice that causes bad behavior and even violence – perhaps hidden even from ourselves. May we follow the example of this sainted woman in welcoming all others into our circle of life and love.

Good Examples

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Black History Month, conversation, healing, Jesus, language, Mark, opinion, prejudice, public service, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Last night I watched a special program – part of a series, I believe – celebrating Black History Month. It was Robin Roberts interviewing Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama for the full eight years of his presidency. It was more like a living room conversation with about 100 friends sitting around the perimeter asking the occasional question or adding an opinion. And Valerie Jarrett was so fine! It was a delight to experience two such vibrant women speaking clearly about the privilege of public service, the challenges of life in any situation and their desire to be a force for good for the next generations of Americans. What I found most helpful was the fact that they did not need to preach about those topics. Both were just strong women with no need for abrasiveness or negativity to make a point. They simply shared their experiences and ideas and the tenor of the conversation caused truth to shine through.

I thought back to that event this morning when I read today’s rather brief and stark gospel from Mark (7:24-30) about the Syrophoenician-born Greek woman who challenged Jesus at what appeared to be not his finest hour. The text tells us that Jesus “entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice.” He must not have had anyone with him because it seems the woman just slipped in unannounced and unimpeded to beg his intercession in curing her daughter. He was clearly not in a mood to deal with this foreigner – a woman, no less – at that very moment but even his uncharacteristic, unkind reply could not dissuade her. After being called “a dog” she retorted that “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”

We know the story. Her chutzpah got her what she wanted; her daughter was healed. Unwilling or unable to see Jesus in such a bad mood, I’m always left wondering if perhaps he is testing her for some purpose…But then I decide to allow Jesus at least one day of grumpiness! The point is that the woman didn’t need to rant and rave about how unfair he was being or walk off in a huff questioning his integrity. She just saw her chance and took it, saying what was true in the same challenging metaphoric language that he had used.

So here’s to women (and men) who don’t use prejudice against them as a weapon but rather take the high road in situations that could be volatile or destructive, turning them to lessons of right action. They shine like the sunlight on the strong, shimmering tree outside my window, covered this morning in the icy remnants of yesterday’s storm, now transformed into light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steadfastness

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Charlottesville, clarity, division, faithful, firm in resolve, grounded, Meg Wheatley, prejudice, racist, steadfast, steadfastness, Texas, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning I read Meg Wheatley’s reflection on the word steadfastness. I was trying to find something to redeem my world from all the racist experiences I heard about or saw on the national news yesterday. All the care of neighbor for neighbor that was imaged over the past week in Texas with no reference to preferred status for rescue seemed washed away in the same kind of horrific visuals and speech that were manifested during the recent incident at Charlottesville. I have no place inside me to find comprehension of such division and prejudice. I thought we had come farther on the road to acceptance of diversity. The question before me this morning is whether or not I will stand up and use my voice in situations that call out prejudice of the kind that I thought had been conquered. Meg Wheatley calls me to a challenge.

Steadfastness is a lovely old-fashioned word that we don’t hear much about these days. It describes how warriors stand their ground, how they find their position and stay there, unshaken and immovable. Steadfast people are firm in their resolve; they are not shaken by events or circumstances. They stand clear in their beliefs, grounded in their cause, faithful to the end. (Perseverance, p. 55)

May it be so in my life, beginning today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ephphatha!

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blind, blindness, deafness, Ephphatha, fearless, Isaiah, letter of james, Mark, openness, prejudice, psalm 146, show no partiality, sight, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The vision of the prophet Isaiah today (35:4-7) is full of energy and good news. My heart was lifted to hope as I felt his words: THUS SAYS THE LORD! Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God…who comes to save you…Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf will be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag and the tongue of the mute will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, rivers in the steppe. The burning sands will become pools and the thirsty ground springs of water! Good news indeed, which the psalmist picks up again in Ps. 146, speaking about God giving sight to the blind and raising up those who are bowed down.

When I read of Jesus curing the blind man in MK 7:31-37, it appeared that the easy topic for today was gratitude for all of God’s gifts, especially of healing of the senses and the earth, but the second reading from the Letter of James (2:1-5) wouldn’t be ignored. Show no partiality, James says, when dealing with other people. Sometimes our prejudices are based on what we see and hear and sometimes they are so subtle that we do not recognize the motivation for our leanings toward or against another person. James speaks of blatant things: gold rings and fine clothes vs. shabbiness in dress. Sometimes a regional or foreign accent draws or repels us – or sometimes it is religious or political party affiliation…The list is endless. So when the Scriptures speak of blindness or deafness I think it is clear that in addition to our physical senses, we need to be attentive to openness on deeper levels. Ephphatha! Jesus cries. Be opened! – the key I will carry to observe my thoughts and actions throughout this day.

Kenosis

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centering prayer, control, crucifixion, emptied, Holy Week, Jesus, judgment, kenosis, Last Supper, letting go, meditation, paschal mystery, Paul, Philippians, prejudice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There is a concept in Paul’s letter to the Philippians that describes a path of spirituality that was the way of Jesus (PHIL 2:6-11). The Greek word kenosis means “emptying out” and as a theological principle calls us to empty ourselves of everything in order to be filled with God. In a practical way it means living simply so as not to be distracted by “things” as well as letting go of judgments and prejudices in order to move toward unity with all of creation and ultimately with God. Paul expresses it in the following way: Although he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God as something to be grasped at. Rather he emptied himself being born in the likeness of humanity…

Centering prayer is a spiritual practice that has become important in my life as a means of imitation of this kenotic path of Jesus. This meditation practice is a prayer of intention where one sits for a period of time in silence (usually 20-30 minutes). The intention includes the gentle letting go of any thoughts that come during that time, not pushing them away but letting them go in order to return to God’s presence. It is simple but not easy, as our minds are continually in motion. I can attest, however, that over years of such practice there is, in the gesture of letting go of thoughts, a deeper letting go happening where one slowly becomes able to let go of judgments and prejudices and needing control of situations and relationships, etc. It does not mean becoming dispassionate and passive in life but rather more positive and accepting of all manner of experiences. It is, I believe, how Jesus could surrender to all that was asked of him, even to his death. It is how I hope to move toward each challenge that life offers for imitation of Christ. The rituals of the Paschal Mystery that we celebrate this week give us ample evidence of the kenotic actions of Jesus, from the washing of the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper to the Crucifixion – an example and opportunity not to be missed!

Throwing Stones

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cultural influences, Daniel, Jesus, media, prejudice, swift judgment, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, throw a stone, without sin, woman caught in adultery

In the United States as in many other countries around the world, the media tend to determine our choices unless we are vigilant and aware. Commercials tell us what to eat (but often downplay the harmful contents hidden in those products), what to wear, how to hide our age with beauty products – implying that aging is anathema! Implied at least in some instances and blatantly touted in others is a judgment of those who do not follow their dictates.

That’s just one example of all the cultural influences that cause our rush to judgment without much thought. This morning’s gospel recounts the story of the famous (or infamous) “woman caught in adultery.” For lots of women these days, the first question is about the whereabouts of and absence of judgment on her partner in this act – a good example of the culture of the time and place of Jesus. No one questioned anything about the circumstances (exactly as in the story of Susanna in today’s first reading from Daniel 13). In a stunning corrective to this situation, Jesus said simply to those who were ready to murder the woman, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” We might want to walk with this sentence in our pockets today, taking it out each time we meet someone, hear some news, read a text, look around at passersby or notice ourselves thinking on a topic. It might help to recognize how our minds work so swiftly. Catching the mind in motion doesn’t necessarily prove us to be judgmental in all situations but it might keep us alert to where our prejudices lie – just one more way to stay awake to life around and within us.