From Whence Comes Joy?

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joy, Meg Wheatley, Peace, perseverance, relationship, service, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, together

Here’s something to ponder that made sense to me this morning. It may take some moments of reflection but hopefully will lead to gratitude in the end.

Joy, like peace, resides only inside us. It is never manufactured by external circumstances. This is very good news, as external events, other people, and life in general become more and more harsh and difficult. But discovering what lives deep inside us, as our natural condition, requires fearless curiosity…

The potential for joy is always present in us but, like everything in life, that potential only becomes evident in relationship. We can’t analyze whether joy exists, or hope to discover it from a remote, isolated position.We have to be together. We have to be in service to one another to discover our essential goodness.

This is why people can discover joy even in the most horrific situations. They were together. (Perseverance, Margaret Wheatley, p.143)

The Bigger Picture

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, blessedness, consciousness, humility, Lynn Bauman, psalm 2, psalms, service, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The relevance of the Psalms is timeless as the issues raised and the relationships considered apply to antiquity as well as to world situations in our own day. Following on yesterday’s post, we have Psalm 2 today that moves us from the individual to the universal and puts God squarely in the midst of world events and the clashes of nation with nation. At present the question of who will rule the world and how is filled with tension and dangerous rhetoric seems to escalate with each passing day.

In the midst of such a situation, the psalmist calls for the rulers of nations to turn to God for guidance. I found an interesting twist in Lynn Bauman’s translation of the last verses of the psalm which seems to me to relate directly to the situation at the southern border of the United States of America.

So listen well, you rulers of the peoples, be wise, pay heed to what you hear. Learn service to the God of earth and heaven, in humility and awe draw close, come near. Instead of fury, anger, fear and wrath, know blessedness. Learn to trust and live as a refugee in God. (Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p. 3)

How might living with that consciousness change things on the world stage?

Body Blessing for Lent

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bodies, companionship, dyads, God, heart, Joyce Rupp, Lent, mindfulness, non-judgment, prayer, Prayer Seeds, service, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Joyce Rupp is a very gifted spiritual writer and retreat leader. When I worked for my diocese in the Office of Faith Formation she was the “go to” person for many of our prayer services because the prayers in her many books touched hearts so powerfully. This morning I picked up her book, Prayer Seeds, (p.88) and found a service meant to be prayed in dyads. I thought, however, that it might be a good idea for each of us to use it personally as a reminder that our bodies function as vehicles for God’s grace. So instead of blessing another person while touching the place named on the body, why not engage our own eyes, hands, etc. in a movement toward mindfulness each day of Lent as we speak the words – preferably aloud.

Forehead: May the Gospel teachings about non-judgment resound in my thoughts of others.

Ears: May I listen closely to how God invites me to grow spiritually during this Lenten season.

Eyes: May I slow down and look more intently order to find God’s movement in my life.

Shoulders: May I carry my cross of difficulties with courage, trusting God’s strength to uphold me.

Hands: May my service be so intertwined with God that this love overflows from my heart.

Heart: May I keep turning my heart toward God and allow this love to be reflected in the way I live my life.

Feet: May I welcome God’s companionship and guidance as I travel the path of life.

Selfless Service

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camaraderie, Celebration of Discipline, Fully Awake and Truly Alive, hidden service, hospitality, Jan Phillips, No Ordinary Time, Rev. Jane E. Vennard, Richard Foster, service, spiritual deepening, spiritual growth, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Every two weeks on Wednesday I meet with two sections (afternoon and evening) of a book study group. We have come to be known among ourselves as NOW (No Ordinary Women) after the title of our first great read, No Ordinary Time, by Jan Phillips. These gatherings have become an oasis of camaraderie and spiritual deepening for all of us, I believe, and yesterday was no exception. Almost at the end of Fully Awake and Truly Alive: Spiritual Practices to Nurture Your Soul by Rev. Jane E. Vennard, we considered the practices of Hospitality and Service. The beauty of this book is found in its practicality. One does not need to go looking to do something extraordinary but rather to look into everyday choices and activities familiar to us for our on-going spiritual growth. Some of the suggestions are simply a matter of attitudinal shifts.

Such was the last suggestion in the section called “hidden services,” a concept that Rev. Vennard takes from Richard Foster, author of the wonderful book, Celebration of Discipline. Foster speaks of the goodness that comes when we serve others without being noticed. “These are not acts done in secret,” he says, “but rather are ways of relating to other people that slip by their awareness. However, the results of these acts of service impact both the individual and the community in which they take place.”

Rev. Vennard’s illustrations of such practices were all quite apt but none more than the last entry. “A final hidden service is quite paradoxical,” she writes. “It is the practice of willing to be served. Service cannot happen if there is no recipient, yet we are often reluctant to accept the help being offered…Your grocery bag splits in the parking lot and someone comes to help. “Thank you,” you say. “I can take care of it myself.”

Agreeing that this kind of refusal is ingrained in most of us, we agreed to consider occasionally setting aside our fiercely independent nature and offering to others this most uncomfortable (for us) opportunity to serve. What about you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going to Work

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essential, Joan Chittister, mantra, office, penance, service, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, work

I can’t say that I am excited about going to work this morning. My list of homegrown tasks is long enough to fill the whole week, but an office day will bring me back to focus on the part of life that is more difficult to celebrate on lovely summer days.

Joan Chittister says in her book, Wisdom Distilled From the Daily, that in the monastic tradition “work is not a punishment or a penance. Work is a privilege.” She is certainly right about that in my life. I’m so grateful for all the different positions I have held and every kind of work I have been called to in all my years. My work has put me in touch with a huge number of people – some tangentially and some directly – all of whom have added to my growth as a person.

I think today of all the people who work in monotonous situations, as in factories where there work consists of one repeated task all day, every day. My prayer for them would be the knowledge of how their work is essential to whatever is being created by the collective work of all the employees, and perhaps that they might consider their part as a mantra, repeated for the good of all. And for those who work in sanitation departments, I pray in thanksgiving for their service to the rest of us as they take away all the things that clutter our lives so that we can come to see more clearly.

I could go on but I need to get ready to leave for work. I do, however, want to continue thinking about those who offer essential services to the public and to pray in gratitude for them. And my hope is that they can find satisfaction in their service, especially in relationships with those who share in their work. And for the unemployed, I pray that work will soon be offered to them and that they will be taken care of by the generosity of others until that day comes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Friday

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balance, Black Friday, frenzy, gift-giving, hungry, materialism, mindfulness, No Kid Hungry, opportunity, Santa Claus, service, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Santa Claus arrived with a flourish yesterday at the culmination of the Thanksgiving Day parade in NY City. He was quite animated, bouncing and waving in all directions to announce that the run-up to Christmas had begun. Although Hallmark movies had been filling the airwaves with Christmas carols since sometime in October, now it’s official and very serious. The internet is awash with advertisements for all kinds of amazing discounts on products and services. I heard on the national news last night that even airline ticket prices are slashed “for a limited time.” What began as a day-long opportunity for deep price reductions on the day after Thanksgiving has been running for a week already, but is still named, ironically, Black Friday.

I recognize the value of shopping for gifts when prices are reduced but the frenzy that has been happening already in cities and towns across our country, especially last night and in the early hours of this morning, is a growing concern in a country of great wealth where at least 1 in 7 people (1 in 5 children) lack proper access to food during any given year. (Feeding America) Clay Dunn, chief communications officer at the nonprofit No Kid Hungry reminds us that often the issue for poor families is making difficult choices like whether to buy food or pay the electric bill.

There are certainly many organizations (including the two mentioned above) that strive to make us aware of the needs and give us the opportunity to be part of the solution to this and other issues of poverty in our country. I simply call our attention to the image of extreme materialism – leading sometimes to violence engendered by a crowd mentality – that manifests on this day, all in service to the “season of gift-giving.”

My prayer for all of us today is one of mindfulness and hope for a return to balance. With that intention, I plan to stay home today and consider my giving and getting that will hopefully lead to a simple, peaceful season of Advent that culminates in a meaningful celebration of Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

Heartfelt Prayer

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care, compassion, courage, disaster, enemy, humanity, military personnel, Peace, protect, service, strength, sustain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Veterans Day

On this Veterans Day I think of my father, proud of his service in World War II while abhorring the thought and the reality of war. I think of those who protect us today from different kinds of enemies and those who keep the peace. I think of those whose work is in disaster areas near and far and all who have given their lives in service to our country. And I think of their loved ones. It is for all those and for the rest of us who are the beneficiaries of their service that I pray this anonymously posted prayer.

God of compassion, we pray for military personnel, offered for the sake of others and separated from family and loved ones. Care for them, meet their needs. Grant them courage, compassion, strength, and all they need for the living of these days. Sustain them through their every trial. Remind them of the humanity they share, even of those who are called “the enemy.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Charism

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Catholic Church, charism, common folk, generosity, gift, Jansenism, kindness, life, pastoral, poor, Redemptorists, religious orders, retreats, service, simplicity, St. Alphonsus Ligouri, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, theology

Today we note an interesting juxtaposition of feast days in the Roman Catholic Church. While yesterday we celebrated St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order of priests (the Society of Jesus), today we note the founder of the Redemptorists (The Congregation of the Holy Redeemer), St. Alphonsus Ligouri. Taken together, these two religious orders have influenced the Church for over 5 and 3 centuries respectively in similar if not matching ways. The Jesuits are known, as we saw yesterday, for their leadership in education and the study of Scripture as the basis for theological research and deepening in the spiritual life. Today we hear of Alphonsus, himself a brilliant scholar who received a doctorate in both canon and civil law by acclamation at the age of 16 (!) who gave up the practice of law for apostolic activity. He was ordained a priest and concentrated his pastoral efforts on popular parish missions, hearing confessions, and forming Christian groups. (http://www.franciscanmedia.org)

Alphonsus lived from 1696 to 1787 (in itself an extraordinary achievement in his day!) and spent himself in the fight against the moral rigidity of Jansenism. Fr. Don Miller (Franciscan Media) begins the biographical sketch of this holy man’s life in a telling paragraph, saying: Moral theology, Vatican II said, should be more thoroughly nourished by Scripture, and show the nobility of the Christian vocation of the faithful and their obligation to bring forth fruit in charity for the life of the world. Alphonsus, declared patron of moral theologians by Pius XII in 1950, would rejoice in that statement.

The Redemptorists have always been dedicated to mission, working often in rural villages with the poor, preaching to them – by word and their lives – the imitation of Christ. Pastoral reforms were and are in the pulpit and the confessional, “replacing the pompous oratory of the time with simplicity, and the rigorism of Jansenism with kindness.”

That last statement leads me to a consideration of the word charism (charismata in the plural form of the Latin word) meaning gift. Each religious community is known for some special gift or gifts to the Church and the world. Yesterday we saw that the Jesuits did everything for “the greater glory of God.” How this charism is expressed is many-faceted but can be seen in the world by their efforts toward the imparting of the knowledge and love of God to others, especially in the ministry of education. The Redemptorists, on the other hand, are known for preaching retreats in parishes, speaking to “the common folk,” and for their kindness in hearing confessions of the faithful. I can attest to the efficacy of the Redemptorist charism from my personal experience of my uncle Walter Cavanaugh, CSsR, who served as a missionary to Brazil and started a parish with six congregants in the South of the USA in mid-20th century where there was little Catholic presence. Uncle Walter was best known, however, as were some of his “brothers,” for his kindness in the confessional where he provided solace to people for hours at a time.

That these two great religious communities, among others, to be sure, have endured for hundreds of years, is testament to the gifts of God to the collective but also to each of the members who have been called for a specific mission. Might we reflect today on the influence of God’s gifts in our own lives and consider that we, too, have a certain “charism” – a gift to share with the world?Is yours a personality that draws people to your faith? your joy? your hospitality? Are you noted for your generosity? your service? a certain skill? My mother used to show her love for all our extended family by making our birthday cakes – often unique and always delicious. Now my cousin Mary Jane is noted for spectacular creations for every special event.

What is it that makes your life a gift to the world – for the greater glory of God? (The only unacceptable answer here is “Nothing.”)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letting Go

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A Deep Breath of Life, accept, Alan Cohen, change, desires, divine, free, greater good, letting go, pain, Peace, resistance, service, surrender, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In our conversations this weekend about Mary Magdalene and Conscious Love, we have often spoken of the need to surrender to life, letting go of our “small-self” desires in service to the greater good. In our meditation sessions, we let go of any thoughts that arise in order to allow us to be present to the Divine. I found a resonance in Alan Cohen’s reflection for today in his book, A Deep Breath of Life, that seems appropriate to share as we depart from this very valuable group experience. Cohen writes:

True mastery lies in flowing with the events of life. We are empowered when we assume that everything comes from God and goes back to God. Nothing in form lasts forever, and when we can accept change, we are free. All pain is born of resistance. An attitude of non-resistance liberates tremendous energy. Pain arises when we fight against what is happening, and peace comes when we accept what is.

Cohen then proceeds to ask two questions: What in your life are you resisting? and How much peace could you gain by letting what is, be? Those seem worthy of some reflection as we begin a new week…

A Day to Remember

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appreciation, danger, gratitude, Hawaii, mercy, Peace, Pearl Harbor, pray, service, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, sorrows, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is one of those dates that holds for many people the memory of both horror and bravery, especially as experienced by those in the United States of America who personally suffered the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. There are two reasons why I am more aware than usual of this event this year. This is the 75th “anniversary” (not to say celebration) of the bombing and has already been in the news with a story of one of the oldest survivors who arrived in Hawaii on Monday to great fanfare. Today will be, I presume, more somber but also filled with gratitude for the lives of those who served our country on that day as well as before and after December 7, 1941.

I just finished on Sunday reading a book entitled Aloha Ke Akua (The Love of God) which is the story of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Hawaii. As we look seriously at our future I decided it was time to renew and/or deepen my familiarity with history of my religious Congregation in the United States. Since the book appeared while I was going through a storage box, I decided Hawaii was a good place to start. The timing was perfect and the book very engaging. The Sisters were called to Hawaii in 1938 by a bishop who was desperately in need of teachers in his Catholic schools where populations were growing exponentially. In 1938 travel to Hawaii did not mean jumping on a plane and arriving later that day or early the next, depending on the point of departure. It took six days to travel by ship from Los Angeles, the closest of our four provinces to the Hawaiian Islands. This mission also meant little correspondence with “home” and no expectation of visiting for the duration of their stint in the Islands. I began immediately to feel pride and admiration for these courageous and generous women who responded to this new and very different call to ministry that took them eventually to several islands in the Pacific, some of which had never been heard of before by most North Americans.

The most revelatory chapter in this engaging book was, for me, the account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, written by one of the Sisters who experienced it first-hand. The Sisters had been there for three years and by then the weekend “job” of three of them was to teach religion classes to the children of the soldiers living on the army base at the Schofield Barracks. After reading the account of that day and the effects in the months and years that followed, I had a new and deeper appreciation of both our Sisters and all of the people in Hawaii who had lived through that time. Sister Kathleen Marie Shields recounted the horror and resultant sorrows experienced as well as gratitude for the strength and fortitude of the people in a way that reflected a line from today’s Psalm: For as the heavens reach infinitely beyond all space and time, we swim in mercy as in an endless sea. (Ps 103:10)

Today then, as we remember all those who lived through this and other events during World War II, let us give thanks for those people who show us the way through danger and disaster and pray for the end to all war. Let there be peace on earth!