Grandparents

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appreciation, Bible, experience, grandparents, Lois, perspective, Roman Catholic, St. Ann, St. Joachim, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Timothy, tradtions, wisdom

Long ago when I was baptized the rule was that only saints’ names were acceptable for Roman Catholic babies. Because it was also understood that “the faithful” were to learn about the Bible from the clergy and not their own study (although we were to have a “family Bible” in our homes), not too many people were aware that Lois was mentioned by St. Paul in passing. Did you know she was the grandmother of Paul’s young companion, Timothy? Well, in 1948, Lois was a surprise name choice of my mother so my middle name became more important. It seems ironic now because the name my parents chose was Ann (not Anne, thank you very much!) whom legend says was the grandmother of Jesus, mother of his mother, Mary. So today, the feast of St. Ann (and her husband Joachim, a relatively recent addition to the Church calendar), seems to be about grandparents – mine and yours as well as those of Jesus and Timothy.

I know I have always been proud to carry the name attributed to the grandmother of Jesus and honor her, as tradition would have it, my “patron saint.” I found a lovely comment on http://www.americancatholic.org this morning that seems to fit this feast.  I offer it as a personal reflection for all of us and a reminder of our heritage and what we would hope to pass on to those who follow us in life.

This feast reminds grandparents of their responsibility to establish a tone for generations to come. They must make the traditions live and offer them as a promise to little children. But the feast has a message for the younger generation as well. It reminds the young that older peoples’ greater perspective, depth of experience and appreciation of life’s profound rhythms are all part of a wisdom not to be taken lightly or ignored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even Now…

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Ezekiel, God waits, gracious, Joel, John, Lazarus, merciful, regrets, Roman Catholic, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time

Once again this Sunday there are two sets of readings in our lectionary in recognition of those people preparing to join in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. And once again, from all possible choices, it is a small phrase from the verse before the gospel that sets my mind on a path of reflection. As God’s messenger, the prophet Joel cries out: Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, for I am gracious and merciful. No matter if you are the woman caught in adultery (JN 8:1-11) or if you are already dead (EZ 37:12-14) or Lazarus (JN 11:1-45)…Even now it’s not too late for God to act.

Several times lately I have had conversations about how quickly time seems to be passing and often those conversations include a quiver of disbelief about how old we are at present. Sometimes those musings are tinged with regret about what we have left undone or how slow and undisciplined we are in achieving daily or long-term goals. How reassuring, then and always, it is to hear God’s voice saying (more gently than the prophet’s cry) Even now, return…even now, I wait for you…even now I love you completely…even now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Year of Mercy

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Christian, discrimination, God, healing, Holy Year of Mercy, Jubilee of Mercy, love, mercy, mercy of God, Pope Francis, reawaken, Roman Catholic, tenderness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vigilant, violence

Pope Francis has become a model, not only to Roman Catholics or Christians, but for people the world over who respond to his message of humility and love for all people as well as for the world in which we live. To point up the necessity for us to consider how we are responding to this essential message, Francis has called for a Holy Year of Mercy which begins today. Here are some excerpts from his homily for the occasion on which he announced this special year.

…Our prayer is all the more intense and becomes a cry for help to the Father, who is rich in mercy, that He may sustain the faith of our many brothers and sisters who are in pain. At the same time, we ask for the grace of conversion of our own hearts so as to move from indifference to compassion…Many question in their hearts: Why a Jubilee of Mercy today? Simply because the church, in this time of great historical change, is called to offer more evident signs of God’s presence and closeness. This is not the time to be distracted; on the contrary, we need to be vigilant and to reawaken in ourselves the capacity to see what is essential…to be a sign and instrument of the Father’s mercy. For this reason, the Holy Year must keep alive the desire to know how to welcome the numerous signs of the tenderness which God offers the whole world and, above all, to those who suffer…

Juxtaposed with all the violence and discrimination in our country and throughout the world, it is easy to agree that the message of Pope Francis is not only timely but crucial if we are to ever heal the wounds of the world. There will be much more to say in reflection on the concept and practice of mercy as the year unfolds, but for today, in this season of waiting for a new birth grounded in love, it is enough to believe that we are able – each of us and all of us – to do our part to realize the goal set forth today, to be the mercy of God in our time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Saints

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All Saints Day, canonized, Dalai Lama, grace, holiness, hope, Jesus, miracles, piety, Pope Leo XIII, religious practice, Roman Catholic, saint, social justice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is one of the few days in the Roman Catholic Church that the liturgy of a Sunday is superseded by the celebration of a special feast on the liturgical calendar. Today’s feast of All Saints gives us pause, not only to think about those people throughout history who have been named by the Church as deserving of the title “saint” (those whom the Church has “canonized”) but also to reflect on what it means to be a saint. We often hear people speak of someone who has suffered many trials (e.g. those with many unruly children) as a saint. “That woman is a saint,” they say! In that case it seems that sainthood resides in the person’s ability to show grace under pressure or to endure what might make others lash out and turn to violence. We might hear also, “He’s a saint – in church every morning without fail, never without his rosary…” which tells us that religious practice and personal piety are the means to sainthood. And then there are those who speak out on issues of social justice, demanding that governments care for the less fortunate and those whose dignity is ignored. We have been slow to recognize this category of sainthood (although charity has always been part of the Christian path). Justice workers are sometimes unruly, even going so far as breaking the law in service to what they see as “a higher law” in imitation of Jesus. It was Pope Leo XIII in 1891 who began to articulate what has become the social teaching of the Catholic Church in his encyclical Rerum novarum which spoke of unfair labor practices. Do we see crusaders for justice as saints?

The dictionary has many definitions of sainthood – most of them somehow articulating the quality of holiness. Catholics look for miracles, especially healings and visions – and sometimes have clear evidence of how that has manifested in the lives of the canonized saints. A relatively new development is the growing consciousness of the “sainthood” of people who do not share our own religious beliefs and traditions. Who would argue against the sainthood of the Dalai Lama, for instance, especially if we have been privileged to be in his presence? Saint Paul is responsible for the fact that the title of saint appears in the Scriptures; he addresses everyone to whom he writes as saints! So what does that mean?

We may not all look like saints or fit any standard definition of what sainthood means, but maybe – with the virtue of hope in our pocket – we can continue on the way to God, doing our best to love as Jesus did, and as those people whose example we choose to follow have done, trusting that it is God’s measure we can achieve, becoming one in the great Communion of Saints that knows no human reckoning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Baptized Life

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baptism, beloved, Episcopal, immersion, initiation, Jesus, John the Baptist, liturgy, Mass, name, Roman Catholic, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, water, worthy of the name

Although I have been present for many celebrations of the sacrament of Baptism I have no memory of my own. That’s not unusual in the Roman Catholic Church, since like many of us, I was baptized when I was three weeks old. As was tradition then, it was my aunt Millie and my uncle Dan who witnessed that significant moment and I grew up knowing that, as my godparents, they would be responsible for raising me “in the faith” should my parents die or not be able to do so. I can’t remember any specific conversations with either of them about that duty; I just knew I had a safety net for my spiritual life if it became necessary. (Happily my parents were quite good examples of loving, faithful Christians who lived their faith all the days of their long lives.)

Today we have come to understand that baptism is a significant event not only for the family of the one being baptized but for the entire church congregation as well. There are classes for parents and godparents – often before the baby is born – to help them understand the seriousness of what “initiation into the Christian community” means. On the day of the ceremony many parishes welcome the families at the door of the church before the service begins and have them march in procession with the priest and other ministering participants in the Mass. The baptism ceremony takes place not in private but in the middle of the liturgy and all present are called to pledge their support to the new member. Over the last 25 years, adult converts to the Church are celebrated in the same manner. In his Episcopal congregation, my friend, Father Bill, always wrote a letter to the child being baptized to be kept by the parents to be read when the child was able to understand the love that was present in the baptism ceremony and the support that would be available from the congregation for his/her entire life.

The dictionary definition of baptism includes sprinkling or immersion with water to symbolize purification or regeneration as well as initiation into the Christian church, often accompanied by name-giving. I must admit that sometimes it got tedious to grow up being called Lois Lane and asked the whereabouts of Superman, but eventually I “grew into” my name and have come to understand that each of us is called by name in God’s family and as such we respond in our own unique way to God’s plan for our life. When someone we love addresses us by name it has a particular sound, doesn’t it? It’s a wonderful thing to know we are cherished simply by that sound.

Today our Church celebrates the feast of the Baptism of the Lord by John when God’s voice is heard from a cloud saying, “This is my son, my beloved, in whom I am well-pleased.” Whatever our faith commitment or practice, might we listen for those words in our own life, (e.g. This is my daughter, my beloved Lois, in whom I am well-pleased.) and renew our resolve to live in a way worthy of the name by which we are called?

Blessings

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Catholic Church, Children and Youth, Christianity, Holiday, Religion and Spirituality, Roman Catholic, Sophia, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this vigil of the holiday I am really grateful that I have finally been able to get past all the bugs and roadblocks to blogging through the wonder of a new computer and the efforts of Mary Pat Hyland, a patient teacher and webmaster. If all goes as planned, what I hope to post most days are short reflections on the Scripture readings of the day from the Roman Catholic lectionary. Be assured that these will not be concerned with doctrine but rather (in keeping with our vision here at The Sophia Center) simple thoughts on how something in the readings touches my heart in a way that may help me grow and, by posting it here, help us to grow together. I welcome your reflections in response!

Blessings to all!

Sister Lois Barton, Program Director at Sophia