Only In God

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, await, hope, prayer, refuge, saving rock, silence, soul, stronghold, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I was led this morning to Psalm 62 by an e-mail from a friend. It speaks to the state of mind where I choose to place my hope these days.

Alone my soul awaits you in the silence, Lord; by you and only you am I restored. You are for me my solid ground, foundation firm on which I stand…for you are my whole hope and prayer. You only are my saving rock, a stronghold safe, unshaken, sure, my safety, honor and my refuge firm...(Ancient Songs Sung Anew, p.154)

For additional reflection, if you prefer music, visit John Foley of the Saint Louis Jesuits at YouTube for the song Only In God.

Thomas Aquinas. “Angelic Doctor”

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soul, St. Thomas Aquinas, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, theology

St. Thomas Aquinas is called the “Angelic Doctor,” not for medical skills but for his philosophical writings and the scope of his scholarship. His biography oozes intelligence and diligence, seen in his effort to memorize the entire text of the Bible! I always shied away from this saint, fearing a lack of understanding of his work. (Who would think that the Summa Theologica (his summary of theology) could be grasped without a PhD? Little did I know that when I was singing the “Pange lingua” (Sing my tongue the Savior’s glory…) during the Holy Thursday procession in Church every year with full voice and full devotion, that he was the author of that great hymn. I knew nothing of his appreciation for all of nature and of his poetic heart. Today I am happy to celebrate this great saint on his feast!

In a poetic translation of the works of twelve masters of spirituality, I found a Thomas of Aquinas that I could love and try to understand. Here is one of his reflections that translator Daniel Ladinsky offers under the title, “Whenever He Looks At You:”

“God sees nothing in us that He has not given. Everything is empty until He places what He wishes into it. The soul is like an uninhabited world that comes to life only when God lays his head against us. The delight a child can know tossing a ball in the air my Lord confesses He experiences whenever he looks at you. God sees nothing that He has not given.”

Tending the Fire

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Celtic Benediction, Easter, fire, healing, John Philip Newell, Octave of Easter, soul, strength, sun, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

“Wednesday within the Octave of Easter” That’s what today is called in Church circles. It feels very much like “Ordinary Time” to me today. There is my list of tasks to accomplish, sitting on the right arm of my chair to assure my attention to their completion. How is it that we keep the fire of Easter alive through each hour? I think of all sorts of adages that speak of that effort: Steady as she goes! One step at a time. Fake it till you make it. (I always hope it won’t come to that one!)

What about this short prayer from John Philip Newell?

O Sun behind all suns, O Soul within all souls, grant me the grace of the dawn’s glory. Grant me the strength of the sun’s rays, that I may be well in my own soul and part of the world’s healing this day…that I may be well in my own soul and part of the world’s healing this day. (Celtic Benediction, p.41)

Inter-abiding

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Emmanuel, God, good, grace, Jesus, joy, letting go, O Antiphons, presence of God, seek love, soul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, true self

Today we are on the edge of the greatest Christian mystery: God becoming one with us in human form in order that we may abide in God in a way beyond our capacity to comprehend with our “ordinary mind.” We can only approximate the reality if we try to think ourselves into it. We need to be willing to “go to the lengths of God,” as Christopher Fry has said, letting go of the mind to a place of soul that is reached only as gift. The paradox is that we cannot get there by striving but we must continue to seek in love for love. Moreover, each of us must make this journey to our true self (where God lives) as ourself. Ultimately, no one can tell us who God is at the deepest level of knowing. That is a secret held only in the depths of the heart, a gift of grace. We can only open our heart – in our own words, with our own gesture – to this most welcome guest.

O Emmanuel, God with us, come now and abide in us that we may abide in you for the good of the world and the joy of knowing that you love us each as a precious and unrepeatable presence in you.

Words Across the Centuries

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Daniel Ladinsky, light, love, Love Poems From God; Twelve Voices from the East and West, pray, quiet, soul, St. John of the Cross, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

On this feast of John of the Cross, great 16th century mystic and Doctor of the Church I offer two short poetic “words,” translated by Daniel Ladinsky in his book, Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West. Savor them as you will…

“My soul is a candle that burned away the veil; only the glorious duties of light I now have.”

“You might quiet the whole world for a second if you pray. And if you love, if you really love, our guns will wilt.”

Love Is (Still and Always) the Answer

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heart, love, love God, love your neighbor as yourself, Mark, mind, Moses, neighbor, soul, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth

From the mouth of Moses to the gospel of Mark the Scriptures repeat the same message about how we are to live. We hear it today, not in a long diatribe but rather a brief directive about love. When asked what is the first and greatest commandment, we can all likely reply – at least with the short form of “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” The deep impact of what that effort calls out from us, however, is in the almost staccato list of capacities that follows. We are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength. In other words: Give it all you’ve got!

What occurred to me as I typed those last two sentences was that if we are to give ourselves so completely in loving God, what can be left for our neighbor whom we are supposed to love as ourselves? But that, it seems, is the mystery, the wonderful truth of this life of loving. In the love of God, everything gets transformed so that there is always enough love to go around – for ourselves and the neighbors everywhere who have become our other selves. Love begets love wherever it is found. That’s just the way it is. And it’s up to us to prove it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Breath

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air, blessings, breath, depths of life, John Philip Newell, Praying With the Earth, rain, soil, soul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Here’s a prayer-poem from John Philip Newell that we might might save and pull out on days when the air is heavy with the rain of the night or the scent of the soil that makes one want to go out and dig in the dirt. (Or is it just me?)

It is in the depths of life that we find you, at the heart of this moment, at the centre of our soul, deep in the earth and its eternal stirrings. You are the ground of all being, the Well-Spring of time, Womb of the earth, the Seed Force of stars. And so at the opening of this day we wait not for blessings from afar but for You, the very Soil of our soul, the early freshness of morning, the first Breath of the day.  (Praying with the Earth, p. 18)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greeting the Day

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consciousness, Genesis, gift, John Philip Newell, love one another, made new, new day, Peace, Praying With the Earth, reflection, renewed, soul, strengthened, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Late yesterday just after I had arrived at the party marking the 85th birthday of my friend, Florence, the skies opened and gave a torrential drink of water to the parched earth. Just before I left an hour later to return to the retreat I was hosting at home, the rain stopped. Sometimes things just happen that way. Had I been home without a group of people wrapping up an afternoon of deep reflection, I would have loved to go outside and let myself be washed by the cooling water falling from the sky, as I symbolically felt the sensation of having all things being made new. I opted instead for the reasonable option of staying dry.

Today is Sunday, the start not only of a new day, but a new week of life. I know my calendar holds information about many events this week and so good intentions must be made. I will need to be very focused to use my time well as the week unfolds. Right now, however, I wish only to breathe into the moment in which I find myself as I join with John Philip Newell to bless the day at hand.

For the gift of this new day, for waking again from the dreams of the night, for our bodies strengthened and our minds renewed, thanks be to you, O God. You are the stillness of the night. You are the genesis of the morning. You are the moistness of new conception. Let there be peace in the human soul, let there be wakings to new consciousness, let there be tears of love. In the life of the world this day and in our own hearts let there be fresh tears of love. (Praying with the Earth – A Prayerbook for Peace)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step By Step

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, heart, insights, law, lesson, messages, prayers, psalm 119, soul, teach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, thought, treasure, truth, vision

Psalm 119, the longest in the book of 150 psalms, has 176 verses and can be the study of a lifetime. In a commentary this morning I read that the subject of these prayers is the hard learning one gains in light of a multitude of hardships and circumstances encountered on the spiritual path…Experiences are often repeated again and again. As we go over the same territory learning it in new ways, truth becomes grounded. Insights are gained from each spiral of ascending experience.

How true that seems to me! The great thing is that as we grow older and if we are paying attention it becomes easier to accede to what is being taught. Our resistance to the messages and thinking we are right all the time wanes and God’s voice becomes stronger – but only if we are listening deeply.

Today’s lectionary section is early in the psalm and sounds either like a young person who is full of enthusiasm for the journey, or someone who knows from experience the pitfalls and is ready to surrender to God’s dream. Either way, I find it a lovely morning offering.

Even now, O Lord, if you will but teach me, I shall keep as treasure all you say. Give me an understanding heart to grasp what lies alone in you, the outlines of your law, your thought; imprint them on my soul. My deep desire is for a heart whose compass-point is aimed at your true north and not some weaker pole. I desire eyes as well that do not wander but hold your vision fast for all eternity. (vs. 33-37, Ancient Songs Sung Anew)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even Now…

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A Sleep of Prisoners, Christopher Fry, divine heart, fasting, holy season, Joel, Lent, love, renewal, repentance, soul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Valentine's Day

As the curtain opens on another season of Lent and we gear up for repentance and renewal, the prophet Joel is way out ahead of us announcing God’s invitation. “Even now,” God says…”Even now,” the poet Christopher Fry writes in the play, A Sleep of Prisoners, “when wrong comes up to face us till we take the longest stride of soul we ever took…”

I am so captivated by those two words that seem to offer so much hope in a dark time. Even now…I begin reflecting on the world situation to find what needs to be redeemed by the poet’s words but I’m quickly thrown back to the personal as Joel continues. “Rend your hearts,” he says, “not your garments.” It’s a necessary course correction that has been needing attention for some time. Winter can be such a lazy season if we are not careful. We can slip into a listless, sluggish round of tasks that lulls us into the mediocre land of February, the “after-the-holidays” let-down that is not our best moment.

Then Joel comes along calling for a fast. “Blow the trumpet in Zion!” he commands. In other words: “Wake up! Get busy! There’s a lot to do before the flowers bloom.” It’s up to us to hear the word of God and act on it. Oh, and coincidentally, today is Valentine’s Day – just another reminder of the kind of God we have who longs for our love even as a greater love is pouring from the divine heart into our own!

So let us be about this holy season – starting now…yes, even now.