Reader’s Choice

Tags

Ancient Songs Sung Anew, God's presence, refuge, stillness, stronghold, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

A strange thing happened just now as I went to the USCCB website for the lectionary readings of the day (always my first stop upon arising). When I clicked on the calendar, an empty space appeared. Thinking it was my recalcitrant phone, I did the same with my computer. Same result: empty page. I clicked on February 4th and 6th and both showed the readings of the day but today was empty. I’m supposing it was some kind of a glitch at the Bishops’ office but decided to treat it as “reader’s choice.”

I opened my trusty Ancient Songs Sung Anew – not exactly at random. Today I am participating in an event at the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center in Schenectady, NY, a place where I spent several graced weekends leading retreats some years ago. One of my favorites was based on Psalm 46. As I opened to it this morning, I was not disappointed to find the title, God’s Presence in a World Torn Apart. Here are some of the hopeful lines.

God is for us a place of refuge and a mighty strength always present to us in our time of need…Though storms may blow and the seas themselves begin to foam, and the foundations of the world are shaken to their core…like a stronghold to our ancestors, our God is with us now…And like the light of morning, God’s presence breaks as dawn, and nothing is ever shaken there or broken down…Be silent, then, and in the stillness know the transcendence of our God. Know too the immanence of the One present in each being…Like a stronghold to our ancestors, our God is with us now. (p. 115)

I will hope to remember these words as I watch the State of the Union address this evening.

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Why Not Ask for Help?

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fear, God, help, Jesus, John, psalm 46, refuge, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trust

There is such a strong message in the lectionary readings today of the necessity of trust – and reasons to do so even when our patience is wearing thin. It is the psalm that shakes me awake right at the beginning, declaring: God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in distress. Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea. (Ps. 46:2-3)

What follows in the gospel is the reminder to never give up. It’s the story of the man who was ill for a long time – waiting 38 years at the healing pool of Bethesda for help. (JN 5:1-16) I always have trouble with that gospel passage because it seems to me unconscionable that there is no one who notices this man who needs help. I try to see that there might be more to the story when Jesus arrives and asks him “Do you want to be well?” That makes me wonder if something more than his physical infirmity is keeping him from the pool. Maybe he just needs to admit his need for help or to trust the help that is available to him. It’s interesting that he doesn’t answer Jesus with a resounding “YES!” as do all the others in the gospels to whom Jesus puts that question. What he does say is that there is no one to help him. So Jesus does.

The message I see here is that God is always at the ready – no matter what – if we don’t give up and if we are willing to speak our needs. The example (38 years!) seems extreme but perhaps some of us need all that time to wake up and/or give in totally.

Then there’s the second half of the story that opens up several more questions, but that’s a conversation for another day…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enter the Silence

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Antony of Egypt, apostolic religious life, communal transformation, consciousness, contemplation, David Keller, harmony, monasticism, Oasis of Wisdom - the Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Peace, refuge, silence, solitude, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Often these days I have conversations with others about the necessity of living in the present moment and doing our best to carve out some silence on a regular basis. This is not a new concept. I think of my first years in the convent when we spent the major part of every day in silence and wonder about how different life would be for me today if the Second Vatican Council had not achieved an aggiornamento (updating) that clarified the differences in monasticism and apostolic religious life. In addition to the understanding of the differences, however, there remains significant overlap in the various forms of such a call and the element of silence in each cannot be overstated.

Antony of Egypt, (ca. 251-356), celebrated today in the Christian Church and revered as a primary example of the eremitic life, spent his days in the desert from the age of 20 into an old age remarkable even today! I found a telling comment in David Keller’s book, Oasis of Wisdom: the Worlds of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. In speaking about “Abba Antony”, Keller remarks: “Even in his need for extreme solitude, he influenced other monks through their visits or decisions to live near his two places of refuge.” The second half of that statement says something very key, I think, to the power of silence not only as an example to be followed but also as an agent of communal transformation. Sitting in silence alone is a deepening experience and sitting in silence with another or many others with intention has an increased capacity for raising the energy of loving consciousness.

Today, then, let us be mindful of – and grateful for – the efficacious work of those who spend their days in the silence of contemplation and let us make our own effort toward peace and harmony in our hearts for the good of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Troubled Times

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9/11, care, end of the world, evil, good, grief, hope, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, love, new beginning, pray, psalm 62, refuge, response, safety, Sept. 11, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are moments – days – when I sit not knowing what to say here. The words nine and eleven, when taken together, can conjure up only one thing for most, if not all, people in the United States. We were shaken to our core in 2001 with images of planes crashing into buildings and those buildings crumbling like structures in a bad movie. Messages of love on cell phones and lines of people waiting to give blood to the wounded showed us the other side of the tragedy. Remembrance of the outpouring of care for those most affected has helped assuage the grief of those days following the 9/11 attacks but it is like other days in our history that have left indelible scars in our hearts.

As I write this, Hurricane Irma is barreling through the state of Florida, continuing a path of destruction that has already devastated Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands. Following on unbelievable scenes of flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Texas and what is predicted for storms to come, people wonder if we are witnessing the end of the world as we have known it.

If asked, I would answer that perhaps this is the case and in the way that I perceive it, an end would be a good thing if it portends a new beginning founded on the kind of behaviors that are not the cause of but rather the response to hatred/prejudice and disaster. Think of those images of first responders on 9/11 or the reports this week of people like the man in Houston that opened his furniture store to 600 people as a refuge from the storm, or the donations that are pouring in from everywhere…In a new order, I would hope for the scales of good and evil tipped toward the good, such that all people would see the benefit and embrace the future in love.

Pollyanna, you call me? Perhaps, but this hope is founded in possibility. It must be believed to be achieved. Until such time as all people see the value of love as a guide for life, I will pray and hope and try to do my part to better the world. I am bolstered in my faith by the testimony of people who have come through disaster with their faith intact or stronger and by the words of Psalm 62 this morning, which calls for patient but constant effort toward peace of heart in the following words:

Alone my soul awaits you in the silence, Lord, for you alone are my whole hope and prayer. You only are my saving rock, a stronghold safe, unshaken sure, my safety, honor and my refuge firm. (vs. 6-8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Passages

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bounty of the Lord, courage, Easter, Easter Triduum, light, music, prayer, psalm 27, psalms, reflection, refuge, ritual, salvation, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time out of time, wait

Ten days ago I was on my way to California for a few days of family visiting and then a three-day meeting. Because of the three-hour time difference and uncertainty about my activities, I announced a brief “hiatus” for my blog. I had no idea it would last this long! Three days ago I was looking out on beautiful sunshine lighting up bougainvillea and rose bushes with temperatures of 75 degrees (F) and just now it has started to snow again here in New York! The days away seemed endless as I was stricken with what turned out to be quite a virulent virus that curtailed all but totally necessary activities. Even today I struggle with a lethargy that makes me wonder if I’ll ever be back to “normal” – whatever that means.

As I write that, I remember my thoughts as I drove home from the Easter Vigil – the conclusion of a very meaningful Triduum of services moving me to a deeper desire for continued transformation in my life. I had been so moved by those three ritual days: the prayer, the music, the silence and reflection on the events that constitute the most solemn days of our faith. I was ready, I thought, to keep that flame burning brightly, reminding myself each day of what I had experienced and living into life more consciously. Today I feel as if that experience was eons ago and I marvel at how quickly and easily circumstances can swallow up momentum and make it hard even to get out of bed in the morning.

I always have a sense of “time out of time” when I travel across the country. The view from 35,000 feet up in the sky is so amazing and sobering all at once and flying through time zones gives a sense of the relative nature of our constructs. These ten days of goings and comings, of observing and working at participation, of sensing my body as in need of more care than usual…have been eye-opening, to say the least.

What conclusion can I make from all this? I am grateful for the years of reciting the psalms in prayer as I always find something to hold onto in them. This morning it is Psalm 27 that serves that purpose:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple. I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.

 

 

 

 

Prayers Please!

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Belgium, change of heart, dangerous times, Holy Week, Jesus, Peace, psalm 71, refuge, rescue me, terror, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trength, trust, violence

In my first waking moments this morning I was greeted, as I presume most of us were, with the news of horrific terror attacks in Belgium. It is hard to imagine the fear generated at the airport and in the subways there – as well as all around that country and Europe this morning. The news is sketchy but the video feed is clear; we live in dangerous times. On this Tuesday of Holy Week, I suggest a gathering of prayerful energy – for the victims of this act of gratuitous violence, for those who suffer violence the world over and for our entire world – that we will soon come to a place where good will overcome evil and peace will replace bloodshed. In essence this means a monumental change of heart which must begin with each of us. We cannot be satisfied to fight violence with violence but, on the contrary, to multiply acts of love and forgiveness in our daily lives in hopes that our efforts will bear fruit far beyond us. If this sounds counterintuitive, we have only to look to the events of this week in the gospels and follow the example of Jesus, in his moments of greatest danger, calling out to God for help. Psalm 71 seems an apt prayer for this morning. Won’t you join me in offering it for Belgium and for the world?

In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me and deliver me; incline your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge,  a stronghold to give me safety, for you are my rock and my fortress. O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked. For you are my hope, O Lord, my trust, O God, from my youth. On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength.

The Balm of Human Kindness

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anointing feet, Bethany, challenges, difficulty, Jesus, John, Lazarus, Martha, Mary, paschal mystery, psalm 27, refuge, strength, The Lord is my light and my salvation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, walking the path of suffering

After the tumultuous events of what has come to be known to us as Palm Sunday, we learn from the Scriptures that Jesus returned to Bethany to be with his friends, Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. And why not? Here he was surrounded by care and compassion, expressed in today’s gospel (JN 12:1-11) by Mary anointing his feet with costly perfumed oil. If you have ever had a foot massage, you know how calming it can be and for Jesus it must have also felt like a renewal of strength for the path he was destined to walk. Picturing Jesus this way helps to me to remember that he was fully human and to know the importance of seeing him this way throughout this week if I am to fully participate in the Paschal Mystery, walking with him through his suffering and death – and only then into resurrection.

As my thoughts moved in that direction this morning, I was reminded of three people who are facing difficult challenges this week. Although I am confident that they will each proceed into and through the suffering that lies ahead for them, all three will need to surrender and look to God’s grace as well as support from their friends to remain steadfast in their faith. Considering the trials of these people in my own life whose circumstances differ greatly brings the reality of Christ’s suffering even closer to me. It calls me to consider as well that we are all members of Christ’s body, destined to a unity that endures and is strengthened by our consciousness of and prayer for one another. And so this morning I pray in confidence the words of Psalm 27, quoted here in two different translations. I pray these words for my three sisters in Christ and for all those walking the path of suffering today. For whom will you be praying?

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?…I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord.

God, you are for me a brilliant light. You are the one restoring me and saving all. You are the strength of life; I rest assured and strong in you. No fears, no shadows near can trouble me.

 

My Rock

Tags

face fears, God is my rock, God's strength, King David, Nan Merrill, open my heart, positive energy, psalm 18, Psalms for Praying, refuge, rock, rock-steady, sing praises, stone, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Once, when I was going on a trip, a young friend asked me to bring her back a small stone. She sometimes makes jewelry out of natural elements. When I came back with several small stones, individually wrapped and marked with their town of origin, she reverently unwrapped and held each one, noting the energy in each. Although I had chosen each one somewhat deliberately, my choices were simply about size, shape and coloration. I still bring her stones but am somewhat more conscious about the choices; she has taught me that there is more about them than what can be seen.

The readings for this morning led me back to consideration of the qualities of rocks. Lately the readings from the Hebrew Scriptures have been about King David – both his celebrity and his sins. His saving grace, however, was that he always clung to the knowledge that God was faithful, even in his worst moments and most painful lessons. God was his “Rock” – a stronghold who gave him safety. He sang about that in Psalm 18, quoted this morning: God’s way is unerring, the promise of the Lord is fire-tried; he is a shield to all who take refuge in him. The Lord live! Blessed be my Rock!

David was very successful as a king, a warrior and a friend of God. Today Nan Merrill reminded me, in her translation of Psalm 18 (Psalms for Praying), of what I think David came to know of that “rock-steady” strength of God in him, that positive energy that transformed his sinfulness into humility and his willfulness into surrender. She writes it as follows:

The Most High lives; blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the Heart of my heart, the Loving One, who helped me face my fears and opened my heart to the poor; Who delivered me out of the darkness of ignorance. Yes, you did bring victory over my fears; You led me into harmony and wholeness. For this I will extol You, O my Beloved, among the nations, and sing praises to your Name.

Would It Help?

Tags

Cold War, fate, hope in God, house of the Lord, light, psalm 27, refuge, salvation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, whom should I fear

In the movie, Bridge of Spies, each time Tom Hanks (the lawyer) asked his client, (the Russian spy) for different reasons whether he was distressed or afraid, he replied very calmly, “Would it help?” He had obviously reached a place of equanimity about the possible consequences of his actions and the life he had lived. I have thought about that response and was reminded of it again by the first line from this morning’s reading of Psalm 27. “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?”

Obviously those two questions result from vastly different lifestyle choices. The spy was totally close-mouthed about his motivations, but there were intimations in the film indicating that his life was not all violence and intrigue. Perhaps (and here I cringe at the possibility of reactions…) he was a man doing his job as he saw it in service to his country during the Cold War. Whatever his beliefs, he was resigned to his fate. The psalmist, on the contrary, is all about hope in God and in the possibility of living more and more deeply into God’s light for eternity.

There are many reasons to fear in the world of today and the tensions all around us can cause us to give in to distress. I am thinking that a good morning practice might be the recitation of Psalm 27. Waking up to these words might give us a head start on the day. Try it; you might like it!

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taste and See

Tags

blessed, Christian, Eucharist, goodness, hymns, James Moore, look to God, Lord, praise, psalm 34, psalms, refuge, Taste and See, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It seems that in many of the Christian denominations the most often referenced source for hymns is the psalms. That seems logical because the psalms are always to be sung when they appear in worship services, at least in Roman Catholic liturgy. I have been sitting here for nearly a half hour now, surfing the internet for a good rendition of the song Taste and See by James Moore, based on Psalm 34. I have not been satisfied with anything I have heard although the tune and words are quite adequately represented by each example. I have come to the conclusion that it our heart-filled prayer in the singing of the hymn (myself with a congregation) that moves me so much every time – especially if it is sung during the procession to receive. I would still recommend a visit to YouTube but, since it all began with my reading of the psalm this morning, I will post those words that are, in themselves, a prayer full of trust.

Refrain [R]: Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall ever be in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. [R] Glorify the Lord with me. Let us together extol God’s name. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. [R] Look to God that you may be radiant with joy and your faces may not blush with shame. When the afflicted ones cried out, the Lord heard, and from all their distress God saved them. [R] The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. Taste and see how good the Lord is; blessed is the one who takes refuge in God. [R]