The Long View

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compassion, Kathleen Deignan, The Hidden Ground of Love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, tolerance

As we learn that the election we have just concluded was fair and decisive, we realize also that the “new day” is not yet upon us. There will be challenges to what has been determined as “the will of the people” and we need patience and stability to assure a safe transition. I read a brief paragraph this morning from Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours by Kathleen Deignan that gave me a glimpse of a possible “long view” going forward. It will be my companion for this day as I struggle to wait for a resolution.

Merton writes: I think what I need to learn is an almost infinite tolerance and compassion because negative thought gets nowhere. I am beginning to think that in our time we will correct almost nothing, and get almost nowhere: but if we can just prepare a compassionate and receptive soil for the future, we will have done a great work. I feel at least that this is the turn my own life ought to take. (originally written by Merton in The Hidden Ground of Love, p. 20)

Simple and Straightforward

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civility, ethical reasoning, feelings, Fred Rogers, live together, Mr. Rogers, self-worth, sharing, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance

Brian Johnson had his son, Emerson, on his optimize.me video blog today to share a message about Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Fred Rogers, as most people know, was a great influence for positive thinking for children over 33 years on his television series, Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood, and since then in his books.

So I took a bit of a divergent path into his biography to see what I didn’t know (see “Fred Rogers” on the internet) and found that much of what he taught to children could be helpful for adults today as well. The article I read about him emphasized not only the child’s developing psyche but also “feelings, sense of moral and ethical reasoning, civility, tolerance, sharing and self-worth,” topics that we all might want to spend some time pondering these days…

Brian and Emerson were talking about a Mr. Rogers’ song called “It’s You I Like.” It goes like this:

It’s you I like. It’s not the things you wear/ It’s not the way you do your hair/But it’s you I like. The way you are right now/The way down deep inside you/Not the things that hide you/Not your toys/They’re just beside you./But it’s you I like. Every part of you/Your skin, your eyes, your feelings whether old or new. I hope that you’ll remember/Even when you’re feeling blue/That it’s you I like/It’s you yourself/It’s you/It’s you I like.

Maybe you don’t know the tune but is there someone with whom you might share those lyrics or some similar sentiment today? Why not take a lesson from the children or the man who taught them – and us – so much about how to live together in this world? After all, there’s always someone who might need to hear the words, “It’s you I like; it’s you!”

Charity

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Advent, caritas, charity, Joyce Rupp, kindness, love, relief, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance

Yesterday as December roared into being, I was without internet service. Today, I consider that fortuitous because the first Sunday of Advent seems an auspicious day to begin what I had suggested as a practice for the 13 coming months or even 13 weeks to Lent (See blog post “Postscript” – 11/24), considering one word for each. The first word on Joyce Rupp’s list is charity.

Charity is a word whose definition has morphed over time. In an internet search I was mildly surprised to find that the first definition was “an organization set up to provide help and raise money for those in need.” Following that, in the manner of a thesaurus were the words aid, welfare, relief, handouts, largesse – and later -philanthropy, social conscience, benevolence, etc. A third definition included “kindness and tolerance in judging others.” It was only far down the page and with a heading of ARCHAIC that I found what I was looking for: love of humankind, typically in a Christian context. 

Coming from the Latin caritas, the word is grouped in theological parlance with faith and hope as one of the three basic theological virtues – those most foundational to relationship with God and others. Interesting to me was a small chart graph of the declining usage of the word charity from 1800 to the present. 

Perhaps in our practice for this week or month we should consider all these meanings. Ramping up our solicitousness for the poor and unfortunate might include going beyond writing a check (but still including such donations). We might choose to smile and/or greet people as we walk through a shopping mall or stand in the checkout line at the grocery store.  What about visiting someone in a hospital or nursing home or volunteering at an after-school event? 

At the top of that list and part of any choice is the way we offer our service. It is the pure openness of heart that accompanies our actions. Love for the sake of love and not for a return on our investment of time or money or ourselves is the best way to grow in charity in any form.

What will you do to deepen the charity of your being this month/week? 

What’s On Your List?

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anxieties, blessing, calm, centering prayer, forgive, holy anger, hopeful, inspiration, judge, Macrina Wiederkehr, non-violent heart, prayer, seven sacred pauses, sit in silence, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance

Not having any inspiration this morning – nor even cogent thoughts for that matter, I have been searching the words of Macrina Wiederkehr for an expression that would mirror how I’m feeling. Since I am unable to recognize myself in anything I read, I choose simply to offer her prayer that begins: There are mornings when I simply sit in silence trying to remember some of the things that rise in me. Her list is challenging but maybe if I focus on even one of the elements, it will jump-start my motivation for the day. May this day be a blessing for each of us and all of us together as we rise to the call of the Spirit.

Macrina’s list includes a tolerance for those who don’t agree with me, a refusal to judge others, a willingness to forgive, greater effort to live with a non-violent heart, a calm and hopeful spirit in the midst of my anxieties, discipline in my daily personal prayer, attention and faithfulness in my daily work, a holy anger for the injustice in our world. (Seven Sacred Pauses, p. 63-4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lightning Strikes

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Acts of the Apostles, blinded by the light, conversion, Damascus, Deuteronomy, faith tradition, Paul, preaching, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance

Yesterday I was speaking about the Acts of the Apostles, the book of the Christian Scriptures that follows the four gospels, taking up the life and times of “the Way” – the early days of Christianity after Christ. I said there are great stories in that book, mostly stories of heroism and conversion and the development of community by those who carried on the mission of Jesus. Some of the accounts speak of people who had been in contact with Jesus himself and some were affected by the lives and witness of those first followers. It was a time of growth like ripples in a pond, reaching out to more and more people who “heard the word of God and kept it.”

Today, however, we have one of the most familiar and miraculous stories of conversion in the early Christian community (Acts 9:1-20). Everything in Paul’s story defies common sense. He is a persecutor of Christians on the hunt for anyone who declares belief in Christ. Suddenly, on his way to Damascus, he is struck down and blinded by a light so bright that he has to be led along by the men traveling with him who heard a voice speaking but saw nothing. At the same time Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, was getting instructions from the Lord about what was happening to Saul/Paul (God changes names sometimes when calling us to new life). The rest of the story sees Paul becoming “the apostle to the Gentiles” who travels the known world preaching and writing to the burgeoning communities of Christians, encouraging them to live in the love and fidelity that Christ still calls for in our time.

Paul’s story always makes me reflect on the different ways in which people come to faith. I was born into a Roman Catholic family and nurtured in the faith at Catholic schools and then a religious order of Sisters of St. Joseph, so my path was set from the start. Happily, I came to adulthood in a time of renewal in Christianity, after the Second Vatican Council, that “opening of the windows” to let in the Spirit of God, led by “Good Pope John” (now Saint John XXIII). Thus, slowly but surely I learned that the similarities in all denominations of Christians far out-weighed the differences. Experience and study have finally brought me to the conclusion that the Shema proclaims in the book of Deuteronomy (DEUT 6:4-9) that is the centerpiece of morning and evening Jewish prayer services: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. The freedom in adhering to a faith tradition for me gives me a framework for living but also comes from a recognition that regardless of how we name the motivating force for our life, we are in essence all one – brothers and sisters on this planet who are connected and responsible for the good of all.

That last statement is a big leap from the days when my forbears were thinking that the Catholics were the only ones going to heaven. The amazing thing is that my Methodist friend across the street for whom I worried every day was told that I was the unfortunate one because she would find only Methodists when she got to heaven! I am much happier to know that all of us are linked and that conversion ought to be a waking up to whatever causes us to be more universal in our loving, more tolerant of difference and more determined to make the earth a home for all creation that brings peace to all beings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Signs of Spring

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awaken, calm, dawn, discipline, flowers, forgive, hopeful spirit, impatience, injustice, love, Macrina Weiderkehr, non-violence, prayer, psalm 5, seven sacred pauses, spring, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance, unfold, wake, winged heart

Late yesterday afternoon I went on a brief “inspection tour” of the property where I live, looking for signs of spring. The air had a different quality to it (it was almost warm!) and there was evidence that the daffodils and tulips, and even the irises, were getting impatient for their time to shine. I whispered to them to slow down because March is so unpredictable; we could be buried in snow next week! There was a feeling of holding back in me at the same time as my own impatience to get out there to begin the clean up of the yard.

I noticed this morning how bright it was at 6:30 – a sure sign of spring – when my alarm went off and I actually spent a moment before I rolled out of bed, musing about how the day might go with God’s companionship. It was not surprising to me then when Macrina Weiderkehr offered me a morning reflection that felt like a plan for  renewal. I’ll share it in its entirety and I’ll take it with me to work, hoping it remains as God’s work within me today and in the burgeoning season just beginning inside and out.

The words of Kahlil Gibran are sitting at the gate of my heart this morning. “To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.” Words from Psalm 5 are also trying to get my attention: “In the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.” I don’t always rise at dawn and watch for God, nor do I consistently awaken with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. There are times when the wings of my heart remain folded; yet prayer still happens in me. There are mornings when I simply sit in silence trying to remember some of the things that need to rise in me:

1. a tolerance for those who do not agree with me,
2. a refusal to judge others
3. a willingness to forgive,
4. greater effort to live with a non-violent heart,
5. loving thoughts toward those who don’t exactly dote on me,
6. a calm and hopeful spirit in the midst of my anxieties,
7. discipline in my daily personal prayer,
8. attention and faithfulness in my daily work
9. a holy anger for injustice in our world.

As I remember these necessary risings in my life, the wings of my heart slowly begin to unfold. All Praise to You, Giver of the Morning! (Seven Sacred Pauses, p. 61-62)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Wineskins

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change, civil rights movement, common humanity, dignity. acceptance, hatred, injustice, letting go, Mark, racism, respect, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., shift of consciousness, technology, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance, wine

In the first few moments after I read today’s gospel (MK 2:18-22) several different thoughts have arisen in my mind. Jesus is talking about not pouring new wine into old wineskins because in that case the wine will burst the skins and both skin and wine will be ruined. I was first reminded of a conversation yesterday about the speedy rate of change in the world and the fact that children born now will have little or no experience of a world where a telephone was available only in a building or a small enclosure on the street. (Stop here to insert your own favorite example of something that has become or is fast becoming obsolete…) My favorite statement of the rate of change in the 20th century is “Kitty Hawk to the moon in 66 years.” Last night on Downton Abbey several more examples of change were obvious. The fight over letting go of the village hospital in a merger with a larger facility of greater capacity, the success of a woman as owner and editor of a newspaper and magazine, the wedding of two servants of the manor having a wedding of their own choosing rather than acceding to the plan of “Lady Mary” were obvious examples of difficult moments of some trying to hold on to what no longer served while others saw the necessity of acceding to the future. The signs of changing times were everywhere.

A monumental shift of consciousness in our country in the 20th century was brought to light by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I need not, nor could I in this format, do justice to the development of what led to an explosion in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Although we still struggle with racism in our country, we can never plead ignorance of the issues because of the courageous actions of so many people who spoke out and spent their lives to overcome this injustice. Today, as we celebrate the memory of Dr. King, may we pray that hatred be overcome with tolerance and tolerance give way to respect for the dignity of all others. Swiftly on the heels of respect may we find acceptance in our hearts and even love for all people who share our common humanity. Wherever we find ourselves on this continuum may we never try to stop the advent of a new day and may God’s blessing be upon us all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Again

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compassion, peaceable kingdom, receptivity, Thanksgiving, The Hidden Ground of Love, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, tolerance, wisdom

Even though we in the United States are gearing up today and tomorrow for Thanksgiving, the most traveled holiday in our country, I feel a sense of grounding this morning as I sit in my chair, in my own room, looking out at the view that is so familiar to me as I await the dawn. I am settling in to “home” after an inexplicable season (10 days!) of what seems like time out of time spent in seeking wisdom with a miraculous “horde” of 240 people, an event that gave a glimpse of what could be seen as “the peaceable kingdom.” As I breathe into this day with its familiar round of activities, I am heartened by a word from Thomas Merton that calms my soul while it fuels my intention. He says the following:

I think what I need to learn is an almost infinite tolerance and compassion because negative thought gets nowhere. I am beginning to think that in our time we will correct almost nothing, and get almost nowhere: but if we can just prepare a compassionate and receptive soil for the future, we will have done a great work. I feel at least that this is the turn my own life ought to take. (The Hidden Ground of Love, 20)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One at a Time

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calm, disciplined prayer life, don't judge, harden not your hearts, holy anger for injustice, non-violence, Psalm 95, silence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tolerance, willingness to forgive

The gospel verse this morning urges: “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.” (PS 95:8) Macrina Wiederkehr expands on the line by giving examples of what that might entail for us. There are mornings, she says, when I simply sit in silence trying to remember some of the things that need to rise in me: a tolerance for those who don’t agree with me, a refusal to judge others, a willingness to forgive, greater effort to live with a non-violent heart, loving thoughts toward those who don’t exactly dote on me, a calm and hopeful spirit in the midst of my anxieties, discipline in my daily personal prayer, attention and faithfulness in my daily work, a holy anger for injustice in our world. As I remember these necessary risings in my life, the wings of my heart slowly begin to unfold. All praise to you, Giver of the Morning! (Seven Sacred Pauses, p. 61-2)

Sometimes I awaken from sleep ready to accept all those challenges. Today, I think I’ll start with one and see how far I can go from there.