Precious

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animals, companion, intuition, lesson, relationship, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

For some time now, our cat (really Sister Paula’s cat—a great story for another day) has taken it upon herself to come and sit on my lap if she sees me sitting in my over-stuffed chair. Little by little, Precious has taken over every piece of furniture in the house and has wormed her was into all the hearts in the house as well. I am the last holdout, likely because we never had an animal in our house when I was growing up. I have come to love dogs over the years because of the extraordinary dogs I have known, especially the lovely Lady Ruth, the beautiful Irish Setter who thought she was a person, and any number of Labradors: golden, black or in between and a couple of tiny dogs of the chihuahua breed. Happy to have made the acquaintance of each of these “furry friends,” I have not only enjoyed them but have benefited by the relationships. My first serious lesson in that realm came from Ruth. One day, long ago, I was very sad—bereft even—for a reason I have long forgotten. I came home from work and, finding no one in the house, I walked down to our back field and sat in the grass, likely to pout. Some moments later, I realized that I had company, Lady Ruth was quietly sitting beside me. She didn’t say anything but sat quietly with me, offering her presence for my comfort. It was a powerful lesson about the intuition of some animals.

This morning I had a similar experience. I was attempting to write a blog post and having little success when Precious suddenly extricated herself from me and my chair and moved on to her next task. I realized I had been very alert as I petted her. She has not yet learned the difference in biting and nipping as an expression of love and I never want to trust that she has succeeded in learning the distinction. Thus I am careful to be alert even while feeling the comfort of the relationality of connection to another being.

It’s really difficult to explain the meaning of such an experience to non-animal people, but take my word for it. Animals are some of the greatest teachers around!

Graduation

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adulthood, graduation, high school, high school seniors, hopeful, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Last evening I hope you joined millions of people present at a virtual graduation celebration for young people all over the United States. It aired at 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. and was an eye-opening and gratitude-producing event for me. I hope you were there, not because there were two past presidents giving valedictory addresses (although both Pres. Clinton and Pres.Obama spoke eloquently) or because of all the glitz and the other famous participants who spoke, but because of the young people themselves and the messages of encouragement given to them by so many adults.

I was a high school teacher for thirteen years in my much younger life and was always a supporter of activities of all kinds but the world was changing and other paths called to me – sometimes directly engaged with youth and sometimes as a spectator in their lives.

Last evening I was called back to my admiration for so many young people and stories that are still quite vivid in my memory as clips of dozens – maybe hundreds – of today’s seniors graced the virtual stages around the country. There were testimonials from adults as well – family members and famous people – but the most moving were the moments of the young people themselves, whether tossing their caps into the air or singing the national anthem. That one made me weep as I thought about what these young people have lived through in their young lives. They were mostly born (or gestating) in 2001, the beginning of the most frightening and dangerous era in our recent history – bookended by this present moment of pandemic, the consequences of which we still do not understand.

Today I find myself in a more hopeful state for our country and the world as I think of the tumult that these graduates have faced and how grateful I am for the knowledge of all the gifts they have shown and will continue to shine into this complicated and creative life that we share. I add my congratulations and offer my prayer as they travel forward into what I hope will be amazing possibilities in adulthood.

Mother Seton

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loss, love of God, sorrow, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, women, women religious

I’ve just been reading about the life of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, the first American-born saint. She is not a stranger to me. She was born in New York (less than 200 miles from my home) and although she lived from just before the American Revolution until the early 19th century (1774-1821) she was canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic church in 1975 when I had already been teaching for four years in a Catholic high school. It was quite a celebration for the United States, for women, especially women religious, and for teachers to see “one of our own” – in any one or all of those categories – raised to the level of sainthood.

Mother Seton, as she is commonly known, knew many sorrows in her life, losing many loved ones including her parents, husband and several children at a young age. She was, however, always steadfast in her faith – first as an Episcopalian and later a Roman Catholic with a fervent belief in and love of the Eucharist. A reflection on the website http://www.franciscanmedia.com described her as someone who was an ordinary person who led an extraordinary life. “Not a mystic or a stigmatic,” she lived with great faith and said, “God has given me a great deal to do, and I have always and hope always to prefer his will to every wish of my own.” All she needed was the love for God that enabled her to keep going and keep loving. That is a brand of sanctity that is open to all of us and that is the best reason to celebrate Mother Seton on this, her feast day.

Snippets

Tags

Isaiah, see, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the way

On the road again today, heading to the family Thanksgiving-Christmas gathering, I am once again thinking that an extensive study of the Book of Isaiah would be something to be desired in my future. Sometimes I feel like a thief as I grab a verse or two from what shows up in the first lectionary reading on the US Bishops’ website. Context is, of course, important when reading Scripture. Sometimes, however, it is the line itself that grabs me and I trust that Isaiah would forgive me for savoring what might have a whole different meaning if not taken out of context. Thus, with a bow to the scholars and a reference to the entire chapter 30 from which the following is taken, I offer it freely (and independent) here:

No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way, walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or to the left.”

How could I resist such a promise?

Never Give Up

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fear, immigrants, Mother Cabrini, perseverance, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, stamina, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vision

Note: This post was created for November 13, 2018.

Today is the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, a woman born in Italy who became the first United States citizen to be canonized in the Catholic Church. Her life sounds to me today like that of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” whose motto was “I ain’t down yet!” Here are a few of the reasons that I found at www.franciscanmedia.org why such a designation seems to fit her for sainthood.

1. When she was refused entrance to the religious community that had educated her to be a teacher, she began charitable work at an orphanage in Cadogno, Italy and subsequently made religious vows there.

2. When the bishop closed the orphanage, she became prioress of The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, joined by seven young women who became her community.

3. When her childhood dream of being a missionary to China was put aside at the urging of Pope Leo XIII, she obediently went to the United States to care for the Italian immigrants in New York City, having been promised an orphanage in which to serve.

4. Upon her arrival, she found the house was not available and the archbishop advising her to return to Italy. Undeterred, she spent the next 35 years founding 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick as well as establishing schools and adult education classes for Italian immigrants.

5. Since childhood, she was frightened of water and feared drowning, yet she traveled by ship from New York to Italy over 30 times in her life to do God’s work.

Thanks be to God for the vision, the stamina and the perseverance of this woman we honor today as Mother Cabrini.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awareness All Around

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awareness, God's voice, Joan Chittister, spiritual practice, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily

As the days of September slip away too quickly, I am trying to find a rhythm that will make me feel as if I am living the days in the best way I can. Turning for help from Sister Joan Chittister in her book Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, I found the following familiar story that made me smile but also gave me a practical reminder.

One day a traveler begged the Teacher for a word of wisdom that would guide the rest of the journey. The Teacher nodded affably and though it was the day of silence took a sheet of paper and wrote on it a single word, “Awareness.” “Awareness?” the traveler said, perplexed. “Couldn’t you expand on that a bit?” So the Teacher took the paper back and wrote, “Awareness, awareness, awareness.” But what do these words mean?” the traveler insisted. Finally the Teacher reached for the paper and wrote, clearly and firmly, “Awareness, awareness, awareness means…Awareness!” (p.68)

My practice today will be an attempt to be present at every moment to that which is happening around me and within me so that I will not miss the voice of God at any moment or in any event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One More Time, Please!

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compassionate, deep message, Jesus, language, Mark, misunderstanding, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be a concrete thinker. Simile, metaphor, analogy and other figures of speech can trip you up if you think people are talking on one level and they are really somewhere else. When Jesus spoke this morning about “the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod” (Mk 8:14-21), the disciples were worried because they only had one loaf of bread with them in their boat. Not exactly his point. The flurry of questions that followed (seven in all) reveal how frustrated Jesus became with their misunderstanding.

I have sympathy for everyone in this scene. Jesus was unlike anyone the people had ever known. They were simple (not to say stupid) people who were drawn to the light emanating from the person of Jesus but his language spoke a deeper message than even their rabbis offered! It wasn’t their fault! But it must’ve been very hard for Jesus as well, to speak their language when he was trying to make them understand by using examples from their lives – farming, fishing, baking, etc.

There are so many moments in my life now when I can stop in the midst of a frustrating situation and hear Jesus saying, “Do you still not understand?” You would think I would have learned certain patterns by now, certain behaviors that work (or don’t) in certain situations…but I still catch myself wondering how I could be so dense! I guess the progress can be seen in the fact that I actually do catch myself and see the lesson on occasion! It’s those moments that hold the possibility of self-forgiveness and gratitude for so compassionate a teacher as Jesus who will keep on teaching regardless of how many times he needs to explain!

 

 

 

 

 

When the Student Is Ready

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A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, conscious labor, deep listening, good, meditation, prayer, spirit, spiritual seekers, struggle, student, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center, Wisdom School, wisdom work

Yesterday Deborah and Bill, my two colleagues in the “Wisdom Work” we have been doing for four years now, arrived here at the Spiritual Center for a time of planning as we await a group of eleven participants to our first weekend “wisdom school” of the year. They will come late this afternoon so we still have time for prayer and preparation, including final details for the weekend. Many of the participants are unknown to us and have found us in various ways (God bless the internet!). This is a rather new phenomenon and excites us as it seems indicative of the growing desire for “more” among spiritual seekers popping up everywhere.

I smiled in recognition when I opened Alan Cohen’s book, A Deep Breath of Life, this morning to find that his title for reflection today was “When the Student Is Ready…” The second half of that quote, well-known now in spiritual circles is “…the teacher appears.” Cohen says, ” When Spirit wants to get through to you, It will find a way. We never need to struggle to connect with the right people or teachings. When the student is ready, the teacher appears…” He speaks of the need to connect energetically to the desire for our highest good by prayer, meditation and affirmation and then just be ready for life to unfold. Oh yes, and remaining alert to the happenings of every day is important.

I know that the participants will not be the only “students” on this weekend adventure. I have already learned a few lessons and had a few reminders of what I know in the brief time that our team has been together. We are clear on these weekends that we are all learners. Thus the balanced schedule we keep of meditation, deep listening as we read and ponder spiritual texts together, conscious labor that includes the physical, movement exercises that keep us in touch with our bodies, chanting that lifts our spirits and silence that creates a spaciousness necessary to reflection.

Cohen ends his thoughts with a prayer intention: I pray to attract my highest good easily, gently, and joyfully. He then adds an affirmation: I let go of struggle and allow Spirit to manifest my good. May it be so with us!

 

 

 

 

 

The Whole Person

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Catholic school, education, Eucharist, job-training, saints, self-worth, St. John Bosco, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, trade schools

When I was young, there were saints that held a special place in the hearts of Catholic school children, especially those holy people who were dedicated to education or who were young themselves when their “saintliness” was already evident. Most often, their influence was obvious at the end of the school year when final exam time rolled around. Today is the feast of St. John Bosco (1815-1888), one of the influential inspirations to whom we prayed for help with the answers on our tests!

St. John Bosco was dedicated to teaching children, first preparing them for receiving the sacrament of Eucharist and then gathering young apprentices and teaching them catechism lessons as well. Realizing the importance of a well-rounded education, he sought to connect the spiritual life of students with work, study and play. A novel idea was the addition to the curriculum of two workshops in shoemaking and tailoring; later he added a printing press for publication of religious and catechetical pamphlets. Fr. Don Miller, OFM reflects on John Bosco’s interest in vocational education saying, “Because John realized the importance of job-training and the self-worth and pride that come with talent and ability, he trained his students in the trade crafts too.”  (http://www.franciscanmedia.org)

As we consider the value of institutes of higher learning, we also ought to be thankful for those graduates of trade schools who influence our lives in so many positive and sometimes essential ways: plumbers and electricians, skilled carpenters and roofers – and, in this modern world especially, those technicians who can fix the computers that have become such an omnipresent component of our lives. May we honor the diversity of the streams of education and celebrate the talents that animate gifted crafts persons who bring excellence to their work for the benefit of us all.

The Wisdom Jesus

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Jesus, know, knowledge, Messiah, Redeemer, relationship with Jesus, road to Jerusalem, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

Today I will spend the morning with a parish group considering Jesus not only as our Messiah and Redeemer but also how he is also a teacher of wisdom, a model for us in our seeking to live life from a deeper center of being. During the morning, in addition to some factual information, I will ask participants to reflect on two sets of questions:

1. What do we know about Jesus? How do we know what we know? and
2. How well do you know Jesus? Where and when did you meet him?

The difference is, of course, between knowing from outside sources and knowing from the inside, from our experience. I would invite everyone to join in the reflection this morning as a way to get in touch with the state of our relationship, to take a further step companioning Jesus on the road to Jerusalem – and perhaps to find him already at the center of our hearts.