A Day To Remember

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blessings, covenant, Isaiah, love of God, Matthew, Psalm 145, Romans, Sisters of St. Joseph, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is a significant one for us – the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Albany Province. It is the day on which we are filled with gratitude for the Sisters who have served us in the ministry of leadership over the past seven years and when we look forward in hope to those who pledge themselves now to lead us for the next five years. This is a monumental time of transition and challenge, not only for us but for religious communities of all kinds. I need not enumerate the challenges but we know that wisdom has been and will be the essential element in their ministry. We are confident that we have been well-served and trust that we will not be disappointed as we go forward. In other words, we are very blessed.

In that spirit we would do well to pay attention to the messages of today’s Scripture passages. It’s one of those days when each of the readings has a “stand-out” line or two, in my opinion (of course!). Please join me in a reflection that will be a blessing prayer for our community for today.

1. “Come to me heedfully, listen that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.” (IS 55: 3)
2. The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs. (PS 145)
3. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (ROM 8: 37-39)
4. Jesus said to them, ” There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.”…They all ate and were satisfied , and they picked up the fragments left over — twelve baskets full. (MT 14: 13 ->)

Won’t you pray, rejoicing with us, in thanksgiving for all our blessings?

In Praise of Sabbath

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Catholic Church, conscious work, Genesis, keep holy the Sabbath day, praise God, Psalm 145, Sabbath, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worship

This morning I am thinking of the notion of “Sabbath” and how the busyness of our lives has squeezed the practice that originated in the book of Genesis (God resting on “the seventh day” from all the work of creation) into a religious service that may last an hour at most. I speak of Catholic practice, which is what I know best, and am pushing aside any sense of commitment and feeling of the difference that accompanies this most important day of the week for many people, in order to shine a spotlight on how things “used to be.” I would wager that “no unnecessary servile work on Sunday” is a concept unknown to most Catholics under the age of 40 years.

My point is not to return to an understanding of the call to worship as a statute that, if broken, has dire consequences. It is simply a sadness that we seem, as a people, to have lost a sense of wonder and awe about creation and the Creator that – in and of itself – calls us to stop and give praise on a regular basis. Were we to understand the depth of what we have been given as possibility for conscious living, we would likely have little time for anything but praise! The paradox about that, however, would be our ability to do everything we are doing with more ease and success if we were acting consciously all the time. Let us, then, begin this morning with Psalm 145, as does the lectionary. The psalmist reminds us of the duty and privilege of praise so let us also raise our voices in like manner.

O sovereign God, all-powerful, your name I praise above all else. Each day that comes I add another note of song that I shall never cease to sing, for you, Almighty One, are great beyond my telling. Of you there is no limit and no end.

Thanksgiving

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blessings, consciousness, Creator, giving thanks, gratitude, instruments of beauty, Psalm 145, splendor, thanks, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I have little to add today to all the wise and uplifting things that have been said about the word thanks or the action of giving thanks. Each of us has our own reasons for gratitude and ways of expressing it. If we say, as I often do, that right relationship is a foundational concept for acting in this world and that the concept extends not only to humans but to all creation and to the Creator as well, then today ought to be a continuous conversation of gratitude as we recognize the blessings that we have given and received.

That having been said, it seems that we humans have a special responsibility for gratitude, having been given the gift of self-reflective consciousness. Although all of creation sings of God’s love and beauty, here’s how a modern translation of Psalm 145 expresses what I mean about our participation: For we are instruments of beauty that extend your reign; our voices speak of power that is ever yours/Till all may know and understand your energies and live within the splendor of your realm. (vs. 11-12)

Thanksgiving Blessings to all!

 

 

 

 

 

The Choice Is Ours

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chaos, choose, Divine Light, fear, humanity, Joyce Rupp, listen, love, Psalm 145, Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness, spiritual eyes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust, wholeness

In her book Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness, Joyce Rupp has a stunningly beautiful rendering of today’s lectionary psalm (145) that seems quite apt for our time. Let it be our prayer and hope for this day.

Divine Light shines in those who live in Love. I shall uphold all who are burdened with fear, and raise up all who call to Me. The time is nigh for you to choose, for great is the new dawn that fast approaches; I call each of you to open your inner ears, to see with spiritual eyes, and to trust that even amidst the outward chaos, all is working toward the wholeness of humanity.

*CORRECTION: 10/27/16: Although I was holding the book Psalms for Praying in my lap as I wrote yesterday, I inadvertently noted the author as Joyce Rupp, whose writings I admire greatly. The author of the above quote is really Nan Merrill.

 

 

 

 

 

Diamonds

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compassionate, diamonds, gracious, kindness, mercifulslow to anger, Psalm 145, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom, words of wisdom

One of the Sisters with whom I live often speaks of what she calls the “diamonds” she remembers from all we were taught in the novitiate or that some great (and usually humble) person has told her by which she tries to live. These sayings, or words of wisdom, have been deeply incorporated in her as a great benefit both to her and to all those she encounters. I was reminded of that this morning as I read the first lines from today’s Psalm response in our lectionary. It seems to me that I could do no better in any effort to mirror God’s ways in my life than the testimony given by the psalmist in those two short sentences. It is more than enough, I think, for today.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all his works. (Ps. 145: 8)

 

 

 

 

 

Friends, Maybe?

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12 tribes, Abraham, Bartholomew, beauty support, companions, David, instruments, joy, love, Moses, Nathaniel, pillars, Psalm 145, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the feast of the apostle, Bartholomew. A commentary reminds me that we know very little about most of these people, the closest companions of Jesus. This is clearly true about Bartholomew who is sometimes known by the name of Nathaniel. (Not even a close guess, right?) That same commentary from http://www.americancatholic.org says the following:

Yet the unknown ones were also foundation stones, the 12 pillars of the new Israel whose 12 tribes now encompass the whole earth. Their personalities were secondary…to their great office of bearing tradition from their firsthand experience, speaking in the name of Jesus, putting the Word made flesh into human words for the enlightenment of the world. Their holiness was not an introverted contemplation of their status before God. It was a gift that they had to share with others.

I found that theme interesting in light of the psalm refrain from today’s lectionary readings, the first thing that caught my attention this morning. Four times as I read the response: Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom, (Ps. 145:12) I was struck by the word friends. So I was already musing on what it means to be a friend of God – similar yet different from a servant or follower. David, the psalm-maker and Moses and Abraham before him and many others named and unnamed in both Hebrew and Christian Scriptures (and in other traditions as well) have been friends of God. Why not me? Why not you? Psalm 145 says in an alternate translation: For we are instruments of beauty that extend your reign; our voices speak of power that is ever yours, till all may know and understand your energies and live within the splendor of your realm. (vs. 11-12)

It seems, therefore, that it’s not important whether or not we are credited with being God’s friend or a favored disciple of the Christ but rather whether we have shared the love, joy, beauty and support of that friendship with others along the way. Why not me? Why not you? Good questions for today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mindful Celebration

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blessed, citizen, divisive, Fourth of July, opportunity, Peace, privilege, Psalm 145, remembrance, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, United States

In the midst of horrendous acts of terror and destruction reported from around the world and even in our own country, we celebrate today our national holiday. I am often aware of the privilege of having been born in the United States of America, the “Land of Opportunity.” My grandparents sought and took that chance for a better life and I look back to my parents (members of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation”) and now to my siblings and cousins and see how blessed we have been.

With all our country’s challenges at present there is reason to lament. The widening gap between rich and poor, the increasingly divisive political rhetoric, the obvious disturbance caused by climate change cause me to wonder sometimes about our future. But then I think of all the great advances and advantages that we have here in the United States – all the remarkable inventions and discoveries, all the achievements of the young as well as some who have been working on the same problem all their adult lives who have just had the breakthrough that pushes our science to new heights. I watch hordes of people come forward to help in times of trouble and feel the joy of an announcement and photos of the long awaited birth of a new “citizen” in our family. Learning to live in the darkness and light of life without giving in to depression and sadness or appropriating for ourselves the credit for all good outcomes is sometimes quite a task. For me, the possibility of peace in the midst of it all lies in the recognition of my place and responsibility in the grand scheme of things.

Mindfulness of our relatedness to and reverence for all of creation and gratitude for God’s care at every moment seems a place to begin today’s celebration. I call on today’s liturgical text of the psalmist’s words for a fitting tribute to the One who is the Giver of all good gifts. Psalm 145 proclaims the following:

O Sovereign God, all-powerful, your name I praise above all else. Each day that comes I add another note of song that I shall never cease to sing, for you, Almighty One, are great beyond my telling. Of you there is no limit and no end. Each generation speaks its word, its view of you, and so your power passes through the ages. In awe I ponder all that you have done. I see its beauty and its grandeur everywhere. Yes, all shall finally see and know it too, and recount in full to everyone. And so the news of you shall spread and grow, and all shall add their voice to sing this song of deep remembrance.

Blessings to us and all the world. Happy 4th!

 

The Prophet, the Poet and the Pope

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baby, care, compassion, forgiveness, Isaiah, Jesus, love, mercy, mother, motherly tenderness, Pope Francis, Psalm 145, tenderness, The Lord is kind and merciful, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

As I sit in my rocking chair this morning before dawn, I hear inside me the refrain from Psalm 145, often sung in our Liturgy of the Word: The Lord is kind and merciful; the Lord is kind and merciful. Isaiah has already prepared me for the sense of peace that washes over me as I rock to the tune. He asks, Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? (IS 49:15) I picture my mother rocking my brother to sleep while crooning such tender words, just as Isaiah has conjectured the care of God for each of us. The Lord is kind and merciful… One translation of verses 17-18 of the psalm praises God saying: You open your arms of love to us and the longing of each soul is deeply satisfied. Your paths run straight to every creature ever made. Your compassion fills up everything you do. I marvel at the sheer poetry of the psalmist’s message and again I hear: The Lord is kind and merciful…

Pope Francis reminds us that Jesus images perfectly these qualities of God’s mercy and kindness and calls us often to do the same. In a general audience on March 27, 2013 he said it this way: What does being a Christian mean? What does following Jesus on his journey to Calvary on his way to the cross and the resurrection mean?…He spoke to all without distinction: the great and the lowly, the rich young man and the poor widow, the powerful and the weak; he brought God’s mercy and forgiveness; he healed, he comforted, he understood; he gave hope; he brought all to the presence of God who cares for every man and every woman, just as a good father and a good mother care for each of their children. God does not wait for us to go to him but it is God who moves toward us, without calculation, without quantification. That is what God is like.

Today I am thankful for Isaiah, the psalmist and Pope Francis for bringing me to a place of peace, a remembrance of motherly tenderness and an assurance of God’s all-giving and forgiving mercy. What more can I ask of this day but to spread the word that, indeed, the Lord is kind and merciful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Time Is Now

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acepting, blessing, burdened with fear, Divine Light, free, glory, gratitude, heart of my heart, love, Nan Merrill, new dawn, Psalm 145, Psalms for Praying, radical trust, raise up, St. Bartholomew, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wonder

On this feast of St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles, I was drawn to the translation of Psalm 145 written by Nan Merrill in her book Psalms for Praying. While very different from the traditional English translation, I found it a powerful message for today’s disciples. It begins around verse 10.

God Speaks: Divine Light shines in those who live in Love. I shall uphold all who are burdened with fear, and raise up all who call to Me. The time is nigh for you to choose, for great is the new dawn that fast approaches; I call each of you to open your inner ears, to see with spiritual eyes, and to trust that even amidst the outward chaos, all is working toward the wholeness of humanity.

The disciple responds: O Heart of my heart, envelop me! I know You are near to all who call upon You. Bring to my recollection all that I have denied, that I might be accepting and free, to help rebuild the soul of the world with radical trust, love and wonder! When I speak, let it be of blessing and gratitude; let your glory within me shine out to the world!

 

 

Good Example

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kind, Lord, merciful, Psalm 145, slow to anger, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

This morning I read that “the Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate to all his works” (Ps. 145: 8-9). Upon reflection I thought: What if everyone took the example in that truth and treated everyone and everything the way God does?

I’m sure that is enough for today. I plan to keep that thought with me as I take the long and beautiful drive home, grateful for the time spent with family and open to what this new season holds of work, play and encounter.