It’s been raining here quite a bit lately – not so you would notice sometimes but gushing occasionally so that running between the drops is impossible. Mostly I find that people consider rain an annoyance while I see it as respite or a gift to the trees and flowers and, thereby, us. It’s much easier than carrying buckets around or wrapping and unwrapping a hose to give the thirsty a drink. Yes, I find it a gift to us humans as well.
This reflection could now split off into any one of several paths—agricultural, weather-wise, horticultural, environmental…and even spiritual. I prefer that last and really got the idea for this message from a post on the Franciscan website. It wasn’t a great stretch; I got the point of listening to the rain immediately because I love to do it whenever I get the chance and find it a great practice for slowing down and appreciating the workings of nature.
Whether you tolerate the rain, pray for it in dry times, or just take it as it comes, try to consider it as a contemplative gift and listen to the message it brings as one more gift in the great gift-bag of God to us.
8:27AM EDT: As we come round again to the beginning of the traditional work week (if such a concept even exists any more) I think of people who have already arrived at their offices or factories – or those who are just climbing into bed after finishing the night shift. I remember what it was like to wait outside every morning for my ride to school where teachers were expected by 8:00AM and how cold it was in January or how hurried I was on the rare mornings that I overslept. Now my schedule is so diverse that my most precious possession has become my calendar! Keeping track of what day it is and where I need to be at what time can become a tricky task some days! Mostly I just think of how lucky I am to have work that is usually of my own choosing which feeds my spiritual self and is also in service to others.
Today I’m meeting with Cheryl, my co-facilitator of our summer series on Jan Phillips book, No Ordinary Time. Jan’s workshop with us was so inspiring that Cheryl thought it a good idea to keep that awakening going and it seems that others – myself being the most enthusiastic – agree. (Check the “
There is a song, a lovely Latin rendition of the prayer (Ave Maria) that begins with the greeting of the angel to Mary in Luke’s gospel this morning (1:26-38). It means a lot to me because I was receiving a blessing once during a workshop at the precise moment that the words: gratia plena, Dominus tecum and benedicta tu were floating through the room. Those words: full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed among women – have been familiar in any description of Mary, the mother of Jesus, for my whole life. On that day, however, with the presenter’s loving hands on my head and the etheric music playing, I had a sense of God saying them to me and I didn’t even flinch!
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 