The Prayer of Ignatius

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holy surrender, John Foley, prayer, readiness, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Louis Jesuits, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes there is a possibility of finding poem or a piece of music or some other way of expression that approximates an inner state. Here’s what I mean.

During the prolific period of “new music” for liturgy in the Catholic Church, especially in the 1970s, there was a group called The St. Louis Jesuits who produced an abundance of beautiful songs that lifted the spirits of millions of churchgoers and others in powerful ways. These men and their music continue to be revered for their interpretations of Scriptural texts and traditional prayers written in the 16th century by St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the religious community, the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. There is a rich history to be learned from and about them, but I digress as this is a very personal story.

I am grateful to St. Ignatius and to the St. Louis Jesuits for the song entitled Take, Lord, Receive by John Foley (easily found the internet) based on the famous prayer of holy surrender. In addition to the beautifully simple and straightforward text and music being sung, I also find myself moving in a dance that completes the experience. Simple gestures of bowing and reaching with raised arms…or whatever feels right can deepen the prayer in ways that words alone or words and music reach for but often do not achieve.

It is a struggle to explain an experience that is wordless. My suggestion is to give yourself the permission to be in the experience and see what happens. Listen first to the song in silence, then open your heart in surrender, and finally move the experience to its fullness in the dance. Remembering that repetition is a necessary component of any spiritual practice, it may take awhile, rather than just one attempt. But here’s a secret: “The readiness is all” and there are no failures possible.

Easter People

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Easter season, fresh day, Joyce Rupp, Prayer Seeds, prepare, readiness, receive, shining love of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is a new day – an Easter Day. We have finished with the 40 days of Lent and now look forward to the 50 days of Easter. I always need to remind myself that the Easter season is that long – all the way to Pentecost – and that we are called to be “Easter people,’ shining the love of God through Christ each and every day. Joyce Rupp is a cheerleader, reminding us that every day can be the best one so far, if we choose it to be. Here’s what she says this morning with the gusto that I must choose to move into my day.

Unscripted. This day. My day. A fresh day. Waiting. Ready to be opened. Holding more than what is expected. No matter the lengthly list of have-to-do, don’t-want-to-do. Enter with a readiness to receive, to appreciate. Prepare for a full plunge instead of a toe-in-the-water. (Prayer Seeds, p. 154)

Now that sounds like someone who has embraced the Resurrection and willingness to move forward in life each day – one day at a time. “Count me in, Joyce,” I say, with a smile.

Annunciation

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, Annunciation, David Haas, Mary, Psalm 40, readiness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

How does one know when God is speaking? Today the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar celebrates the willingness of Mary to acquiesce to God’s choice of her to be the mother of Jesus the Christ. In reading a commentary on Psalm 40, chosen for today’s feast, I read the following:

In this psalm we hear about the sense of waiting for God to act, and in the end God does so in a marvelous way for which the psalmist gives thanks. There is, however, another side to the experience which is also present in this psalm, the divine perspective. Does God act arbitrarily (only when God sees fit for some private reason), or is the divine act in response dependent upon the human condition? Sacred teaching speaks about “readiness.” When the heart is ready God acts swiftly, without delay or hesitation. God willingly gives the divine Self to an open and empty heart. This is the key. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 101)

Clearly this state of heart does not come without preparation. I can imagine Mary sitting in silence (or doing her daily chores with full attention) from early childhood, praying not just for herself but for her loved ones to be filled with love and the desire for God. My best guess of her prayer would approximate the lovely gospel acclamation of David Haas, Come now, O Word of God (because music lifts me beyond the capacity of the spoken word). Listen:

Fill our minds that we may hear Your wisdom. Touch our lips that we may speak Your truth. Hold our hearts that we may always follow You. Come now, O Word of God. (music on youtube)

Of Fruit and Fear

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life, patience, readiness, rules, safe, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wrong

There is a very rotund, very large groundhog living under our conference hall right now. Lately s/he has a routine of coming out and heading directly for the pear tree in the back yard. S/he doesn’t seem to mind that the pears are still very hard and (I suppose) unripe. I wonder at the quality of this amusing animal’s digestion. We also have an apple tree out there whose fruit is looking quite enticing. One of my housemates is eagerly awaiting the first frost which signals the moment of readiness of the apples for consumption. Since they have already begun to fall to the ground I suggested that they may have defied the usual moment of truth this year – but she tried one yesterday and only needed one bite to know the necessity of following the rules. So I wonder: would the groundhog get a stomach ache if s/he ate an apple today? Would the pears go down easily for us? Otherwise expressed: Does the same rule apply to all fruits and all eaters?

Life is complicated and it’s hard to know all the rules, even if you’ve lived a long time. The choice that we face most days is whether to risk being wrong once in awhile or staying safe by never testing the rules. At issue is our willingness to miss some tasty fruit in order to be sure we never have a stomachache.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Wait!

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A Light Grasp on Life, action, Alan Cohen, face, grace, problem, procrastination, readiness, signs, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, warnings

I recently heard that procrastination can become an addiction. I was rather surprised at that designation but have since pondered it as I make my daily lists and check at the end of the day or week to see what has fallen through the cracks of time and why. I can sometimes put the blame on unexpected events or lack of sleep the night(s) before the list was made but have added this practice of awareness to my desire for conscious living in the everyday. The challenge is to be responsible without becoming rigid so I try to remember a favorite book title of long ago:  A Light Grasp on Life.

My thoughts above were occasioned by two things:

1. Tomorrow I leave for an out-of-state family wedding so I need to ramp up my readiness quotient and get busy with all the tasks that need to be completed including what needs to be taken along for the ride. (That list will include my computer but there’s no telling whether or how often there will be another blog entry before next Tuesday.)

2. Earlier this morning I read the following reflection by Alan Cohen that started me thinking about the deeper side of procrastination. He was speaking of an electrical problem in his laundry room that he waited almost too long to attend to.  His words seemed an appropriate conclusion for this “thought for the day” in any situation that we might be tempted to “put off until tomorrow.”

When something in our life is malfunctioning, we receive signs, warnings…In life too, we cannot afford to keep overriding the breakers. We must heed the breaker’s warning and go to the source of the problem rather than simply treating the symptom. Instead of taking an aspirin for a headache, we need to face who or what is giving us a headache and deal with the problem at its source. Keep your antennae up for signals. Take the grace and then take action. (A Deep Breath of Life.)

 

 

 

 

 

Are You Listening?

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agency, Andrew, Eli, Here I am Lord, John the Baptist, Lamb of God, looking, Peter, Psalm 40, readiness, Samuel, Simon, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Although the readings in the early days of this new year often center around the theme of call, there is a fair amount of diversity in the specifics – and, on Sundays, emphasis from the Hebrew Scriptures as well. This morning we read one of my favorite texts from the First Book of Samuel (1 SAM 3) which could be performed as a short comedy sketch. Samuel is a child living in the temple under the tutelage of Eli when he hears God call his name in the night. This being his first such experience he thinks Eli is calling so he runs to him and says, “Here I am. You called me.” Eli, probably a bit groggy from sleep, says to him, “I didn’t call you. Go back to sleep.” This happens again, not once but twice and it is only the third time that Eli realizes that it is God calling Samuel.  He then directs Samuel that when he hears God calling he is to say, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

The move from Samuel to the Gospel of John is punctuated by Psalm 40 which fairly shouts: I have waited, waited for the Lord and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. He put a new song in my mouth! Then we see John the Baptist standing – as if waiting – with two of his disciples as Jesus walks by. He is recorded as saying, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Immediately the disciples leave John and follow Jesus. John does nothing to stop them as he knows that his role is herald. When Jesus turns around and sees them he asks, “What are you looking for?” They counter with the question: “Where are you staying?” “Come and you will see,” he says and, amazingly, they do. One is Andrew who goes and tells his brother, Simon, of the experience and brings him to Jesus as well.

Setting these scenes in such detail might seem a bit much but I think necessary to illustrate two things about call: readiness and agency. How ready are we at any moment to respond to God’s call in whatever form it comes to us? Secondly, are we willing to hear messages from others that may move us to such a response? Eli, John the Baptist, Jesus himself and then Andrew were instrumental in the movement of Samuel, Andrew and Peter toward God. Today seems a good day to reflect on our own readiness and then to thank God for those in our lives who have been catalysts on our path to “Here I am, Lord!”