Dance to the Music

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Advent, celebration, gift, rejoice, spirit, the greatness of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Since I sat down to write today, I have been accompanied in thought by a song that begins: My soul rejoices in my God; my spirit proclaims the greatness of the Lord. Holy is His name! Even if I mistake one or two of the words, the tune is there as is the meaning. It’s a very happy song and I’m happy to sing it. Probable cause? Likely the vaccine… Or maybe the electoral college vote (which should mark the end of the struggle toward election…) Could it be the impending celebration of high holy days for so many around the world, a celebration that has as much – if not more – to do with our inner lives as with outer expression?

It could be any of those things, or all of them. It could, on the other hand, simply be a little gift from God just for me, just so I know that God is here, that God is now, that God never leaves me comfortless. So I will listen and even hum whatever words come with the music…and maybe if I wake up enough, I will find myself dancing…I wouldn’t be surprised.

Of Sun and Snow

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accepting, Asian Journal, love, present, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton

On a morning like this when the sun is shining, accenting the beauty of an April snow, I look for words from Thomas Merton, having nothing of my own worthy of this glorious scene. From his Asian Journal here is the prayer I found:

O God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept You, and we thank You, and we adore You, and we love You with our whole being, because our being is in Your being, our spirit is rooted in Your spirit. Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes You present in the world, and which makes You witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious. Amen. (Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours, p.156-7)

And I would add on this Thursday in the Octave of Easter, ALLELUIA1

Holding Hope

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Clarissa Pinkola Estes, difficult times, difficulty, hope, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes life seems difficult and it is only in connection with others that we seem able to hold onto the optimism that is our true natural state. Sometimes that connection comes in meetings with cherished friends and/or family but sometimes we are able to dig deep and find it in the written word. Even a brief quote can sometimes shake it loose and have it rise to the surface with the dawn. Here’s something offered by author Clarissa Pinkola Estes for today as we move into this new week.

My friends, do not lose heart…Please do not spend your spirit dry by bewailing those difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because the fact is that we are made for these times.

Encouragement

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adventure, John O'Donohue, risk, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, To Bless the Space Between Us

Just a word from John O’Donohue for today from his book, To Bless the Space Between Us.

Awaken your spirit to adventure. Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk. Soon you will be home in a new rhythm. For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

May you know great blessing in this day.

Beginning Again

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attention, beginning, Easter Vigil, Genesis, God's gifts, prayer, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I was surprised this morning as I clicked on the usccb website to find that the first reading for this “ordinary” Monday was the beginning of the Book of Genesis (1:1-19). I expect that text at the Easter Vigil when the Church is all dark and a powerful voice (if we’re lucky) booms out: “IN THE BEGINNING…” and we wait for each day of creation, able to visualize the appearance of light and sky and dry land and vegetation and stars…and everything that we know about our universe. It is a glorious experience each year! I don’t remember ever seeing that text on an ordinary day – and actually, this morning it only goes as far as day four. Happily that included the sun, moon and stars, some of my favorites of God’s gifts.

I wonder what message I can take on this day when I will be working at home rather than at my office. What will I create today? Certainly nothing so vast as the universe! Will it be the day that I take another slip of my prayer plant to start it growing in someone else’s life? Maybe I’m just supposed to listen today to see what the world brings to me. Might I just walk more lightly or eat more consciously or read some amazing sentence that takes my breath away?

Certainly this is a day to pay attention and the best next thing to do to assure I put myself in the place of most opportunity is to go to my prayer mat and open myself to the Spirit “brooding over the waters…”

The Power of Prayer

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community, immigration, power of prayer, prayer, sharing, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I expected only people I knew to attend our event last evening. (See yesterday’s post). By the time I arrived at the Church I had shed most of my expectations and knew that no matter what happened I had done my best and all that remained was to let go of outcome. As it happened, in the 35 attendees there were several people new to me and in the end the power of the prayer was evident in the conversations that ensued. 

Success in such an event is measured not in “compliments to the chef” but rather in the comments that follow. The feeling of community and the power of the prayer itself, especially perhaps in the music, was evidence to me and all that we had achieved the desired outcome. We left the church, totally aware that we had not solved the issues of immigration, but feeling lighter in spirit because we had shared a common concern and willingness to engage in prayer together. That in itself is surely enough.

The Light of Hope

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communion, Cynthia Bourgeault, hope, light, mystical hope, prayer, presence, present, sharing, silence, spirit, spiritual life, the body of hope, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

Today I am privileged to spend the morning in reflection with seven people considering the topic of hope. Self-selected and always seeking to deepen their spiritual lives, these people are all known to me although not to one another. I never know exactly what will transpire at these brief encounters (just 3 hours of prayer, silence and sharing) but I am never disappointed. That is not to say that I do not have a carefully crafted agenda, but once I have prepared, I let go and see where the Spirit will take us. I smile when I think of that truth because it has not always been that way. Needing success eventually gives way to simply being present and trusting the willingness of the participants to hear something of merit and to offer their wisdom to the group.

Today I am certain such wisdom will shine throughout our time together as we speak of what Cynthia Bourgeault calls “mystical hope.” Cynthia describes one of the characteristics of such hope as follows. “It has something to do with presence – not a future good outcome, but the immediate experience of being met, held in communion, by something intimately at hand.”

I trust that will be true not only in the topical presentation but at the heart of our gathering itself. Why not join us in Spirit for this event? Your prayer, your silence and/or your good wishes – even after the event – could add to the power of presence in what Cynthia calls “the body of hope!” We welcome all comers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Ephesus to Us

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blessings, Ephesians, faith, God, knowledge, love, love of Christ, spirit, St. Paul, strength, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday I said that I sometimes count on the words of others for the best message of the day. Today I can do no better than the section of St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians which appears in our lectionary readings. It is, I think, one of Paul’s best blessings and my most fervent wish for all of us.

Brothers and sisters: I kneel before the Father, from whom every family on earth is named, that God may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through the Spirit in your inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (EPH 3:14-20)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Truly Our Sister

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Christian, divine mystery, favored one of God, Mary, Mary of Nazareth, mother, Scripture, Sister Elizabeth Johnson CSJ, spirit, The Assumption, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Theotokos

Today Christians throughout the world celebrate one of the major feasts of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Known as “The Assumption” it is one of those tenets of Christianity which is not proven by Scripture but is rather “taken on faith.” That Mary was “taken into heaven, body and soul” seemed a logical conclusion to the life of the one that the Council of Ephesus in the year 431 had called Theotokos (God-bearer), the mother of Christ who was believed to have been “conceived without sin.”

Women throughout Christian history, especially mothers, have prayed to Mary as their “go to person” in needs of every kind and is held in high esteem as well by people of other faith traditions around the world. She is claimed as a mother by faithful men, perhaps especially in wartime or postwar peace, who carry their rosaries in their pockets, praying in foxholes or on the bus to work, asking her intercession and her care.

In 2004 theologian Sister Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, added a marvelous resource for our consideration of this “favored one of God” with the publication of her exquisite text, Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints. Doctor Johnson studies Mary from the contexts of Scripture, archeology, history of the Church and the Tradition of Christianity. What emerges is a fresh face, a real woman of her times who calls us by her fidelity to do the work of God in the world as she did in her lifetime and continues to do by inspiring and leading us on. The opening paragraph of the final chapter holds a hint of what can be found and celebrated in this book and on this day dedicated to Mother Mary.

Mary, Friend of God and Prophet

Assembled together, the individual biblical portraits of Mary of Nazareth form a mosaic image of a woman of Spirit. Honed by the historical background of Galilean Judaism and interpreted by women’s sensibilities, the mosaic delivers a glimpse of an actual woman, a first-century member of an oppressed peasant society, whose walk with the Spirit at a pivotal moment in salvation history made a unique contribution to the good of the world. Within the overarching picture of God’s redeeming action in Christ, each tessera adds a different aspect to the church’s memory of her life. Our final task is to weave this living memory into that of the great company of friends of God and prophets which is the communion of saints. In the process, we need to keep doing our God work, understanding that female imagery rightly belongs in our discourse about the divine mystery: the living God herself is our mother of infinite mercy. And we need to keep doing our anthropology work, shucking off gender definitions of the feminine that confine women to subordinate roles. With our flanks thus continually safeguarded, we step back from a close focus on the Marian mosaic to espy the sweeping vista of which it is a part. (p.305)

 

 

 

 

 

Take A Good Look

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blame, difference, faults, fear, Hearts on Fire, innocence, join, Prayer of Reconciliation, righteousness, separation, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, together

In the little book of Jesuit prayers entitled Hearts on Fire, I opened this morning at random to one called “Prayer of Reconciliation.” I was interested in what the prayer said about the mental process that can quickly lead to blame in our dealing with others as well as our judgment of their motivations. When we come from a place of difference or separation it becomes easy to denigrate the other while shoring up a skewed sense of our own innocence or righteousness. We would do well to carry a small mirror with us (if only a virtual one) to look into our own eyes and see the love that is God’s Spirit looking back at us before we judge another.

Lord Christ, help us to see what it is that joins us together, not what separates us. For when we see only what it is that makes us different, we too often become aware of what is wrong with others. We see only their faults and weaknesses, interpreting their actions as flowing from malice or hatred rather than fear. Even when confronted with evil, Lord, you forgave and sacrificed yourself rather than sought revenge. Teach us to do the same by the power of your Spirit. (William Breault, S.J.)