Post Script

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Capitol, cynicism, disregard, heart, heart of the Divine, hope, lovingkindness, selfishness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

Don’t get me wrong about yesterday’s post. I am not advocating a dismissal of the horrific damage done to the revered symbols of our democracy at the Capitol in Washington and the rage that precipitated the damage yesterday. I am simply suggesting that we dig deep into ourselves and our culture for what and who drove the participants to such violence. There is a cancer in our midst, much more virulent than the Coronavirus that is killing so many of our citizens every day. The disregard of those who refuse the precautions like wearing masks, social distancing, etc. is an indication of how lax citizens have become, how little some people care for the common good. Rather, we are now living in an attitudinal shift to what feels good for me and what I can get—rather than what I can give. Even as I write that I cringe while thinking of all the magnificent people and groups who have formed my attitudes of generosity and willingness to spend ourselves in doing good.

How have we come so far that we cannot stop the waves of cynicism and selfishness that invade our privileged status as “the greatest country on earth?” We need a taste of humility to shake us into wakefulness. We need an infusion of lovingkindness that will bring us back to care for the poorest among us. We need the example of the great ones who have gone before us, those caring folk who may have little to give but give it anyway, those whose love shines out with confidence that others will see and hear for the good of all.

We are bereft because the virus keeps us from physical contact. Can our works and words touch those hearts that long for connection? Can our eyes speak what our hearts are longing to say? Can a look of love wash over someone who is starving for companionship? Can a sweet song be a balm for someone else’s pain? What can we do to break through the walls of distress, the rivers of frustration, the towers of neglect? When we cannot love the sin, are we at least able to make an attempt to love the sinner?

Although all this may seem just platitude, it is truly the desire of my heart for us as individuals to live in wakefulness, as communities to live in solidarity and as world community to live in hope—for a unity that surpasses all division so as to lead us deep into the heart of the Divine.

Zooming Along

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Bill Redfield, connect, consciousness, experiment, gratitude, lovingkindness, retreat, solidarity, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity, Zoom

I participated in three hour-long zoom calls yesterday. I can see the value in each but, in a contest, would have voted the first my favorite. Although it began at 7:00 AM (not my best time to be fully functioning), there were several reasons to recommend it. As a pre-planned part of Bill Redfield’s Lenten on-line retreat, there was content to discuss. Interesting that although the discussion took a turn because of the COVID-19 virus that is ever-present now, the 16 early risers folded that topic in to the discussion in a way that was seamless and totally appropriate. We found the call to consciousness and lovingkindness heightened in ways we could never have predicted because of the virus.

The second offering was an experiment and, like most “first tries,” it was rather chaotic, especially at the start. As an invitation to a virtual “open house” to meet the new Congregational Leadership Team of our religious community, this call was a replacement (one of five) for the pre-planned “in-person” visit of these five women. In essence, it was a remarkable feat, offering more Sisters more opportunity to interact with the leadership than ever before because we are over 800 women spread across the United States and in Peru. The downside of the meeting was the lack of familiarity with Zoom and the large number of Sisters who responded to the invitation. Although it was honestly chaotic, the hour provided opportunities to see and hear one another (more or less!) and to know ourselves as part of a powerful force for good, larger than ourselves, and willing to move to a new way of connecting that will, in time, be of great benefit to us in the future.

Back for the evening offering of Bill Redfield’s Lenten retreat at 7PM, there was conversation of the same nature as in the morning but with a twist. In a way that is still a mystery to non-technophiles, Bill sent us for awhile to small group “rooms.” Because there were 30 participants, we were randomly divided into groups of three for the major part of the hour. While I’m always happy to experience all the participants – some of whom I have known in other retreat experiences – the wonder of being thrust into what is always a deep and meaningful conversation with two or three people I have never met before is always a blessing. My half hour with Dave and Tony was just such a gift.

So what is the point of all this? The willingness of people to find new ways to connect and the recognition of our need to know not only that life goes on in times of challenge and distress but also that we can be lifted up in solidarity with others who are experiencing the same is a blessing in the midst of this worldwide crisis. More than anything we have experienced, this moment calls us to unity and to a gratitude for the generosity of people who serve in ways that motivate us all to deeper understanding. May it be so for all of us. God bless us all!

A Consistent Voice

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gift of life, independent, living rightly, proclaim what is right, Sr. Joan Chittister, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity, we are all one, wholeness

This morning I woke up with Joan Chittister’s name front and center in my consciousness. I don’t think I was dreaming about her but I looked across to a little book of hers standing upright and face out on my bookcase across the room. “She must have something to say today,” I thought. My guess is that Sister Joan always has something to say and it’s usually important. The little book, entitled We Are All One, was written last year and contains the author’s reflections, as the subtitle explains, on “unity, community and our commitment to each other.” It could have been written by Lynn Bauman whom I quoted yesterday. It seems that many of us are waking up to the same or, at the very least, similar themes for living rightly in this world. Here’s a smattering of sentences from the introduction that sets out the foundation of all that follows. I believe the book will be among my reflection tools for the foreseeable future.

Life, we learn young, is one long game of push and pull. One part of us pushes us always toward wholeness…The other part, however, pulls us back into ourselves. It separates us from the universe around us and leaves us feeling distant and out of sync…We seek unity, yes. But lurking within every human act is the gnawing need to be independent, to think of ourselves as distinct from the rest of life…Is the purpose of the gift of life to consume it for ourselves…or is our purpose to join the human race on its way to fullness of life for everyone?

And then her conclusion: The choice is actually simple. We must only decide if we will go on lingering in the shadows of life, forever trying to choose between doing what a numbed world will call “nice,” or step up and, in the face of evil, proclaim instead what is right. (p.1-3)

Une Grande Tragedie

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beauty, connection, Notre Dame, Peace, rebuild, symbolic, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

How does one speak of the event of yesterday which sent shock waves throughout the world? Anyone who has had the privilege of visiting the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris is in mourning – but so is everyone who perceives the symbolic meaning of the massive structure that the world watched burning over and over yesterday during the consistent coverage on television and the internet. It was said often that Notre Dame belongs not only to all Parisians but to a world that bowed before the structural magnificence and the priceless beauty of design and artistic jewels of all kinds held within her walls.

I have been privileged, as a high school French teacher and a Roman Catholic, to stand in the light of her more than 800 years of existence and feel the holiness that is not confined to one manner of religious practice but transcends all in the energy and splendor of the place. There are no words adequate to measure the loss. President Macron has vowed to see that the structure is rebuilt and one can only hope his promise is fulfilled. But like so many such efforts, it will never be the same. The wooden structure will likely be replaced by more fire-retardant materials and the prayers of nearly a millennium of pilgrims will be hard to replace.

But wait! There is possibility of a sort. President Macron promised to begin today to solicit donations from around the world of people who desire to restore this most precious icon of art and faith. Perhaps such a worldwide effort will create something symbolic that speaks of our connection, a striving for unity of purpose that will stand as a new way of building cohesion. Perhaps in the rebuilding we will achieve a new kind of universal claim of ownership, a recognition of need for beauty, peace and willingness to participate in something larger than ourselves where all are welcome to visit and find a home. Perhaps in our corporate loss we will find a widening of our hearts, a willingness to create something beautiful for God and one another.

May it be so, we pray.

Pure Joy

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benefit, generosity, praying, psalm 19, sacred music, singing, stable, The Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

It’s always interesting to me when one word jumps out from a page and starts me on a road of reflection. This morning that word was an adjective from Psalm 19 in an alternate translation. The word was stable. (When bolded it really does give the impression of what it means.) I’m fairly certain that I hooked onto that word because everything seems unstable right now: the weather, the political scene and many of the institutions – religious and secular – that seem to be failing around the world. We need something to hold onto and I believe it can only come from a deep, interior place. Here is what the psalmist said in speaking to God:

The stable patterns of your ways give joy and fill the heart with good, bringing light to eyes that now can see. Pure light, pure truth, pure justice, God, they’re like a cleansing wind that passes through our souls, assessing all.

Last evening I had an experience of this “purity,” this stability. I went to a benefit concert for the work of The Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus who travel to Haiti on a regular basis to help improve conditions in the lives of the people there. The concert was organized by and featured the extraordinary talents of the parish musicians and choir of St. James Church in Johnson City, NY. I am always comfortable there as I had known many of these people as students when I was teaching high school, two of whom are Jan DeAngelo, music director for the parish and Patricia Foley, leader of the contemporary choir, the group presenting the concert.

From the first pure note of the a cappella solo, Pat led the crowded church into a truly holy event, traveling through time and venues where sacred and secular are one. Violins, horns, guitars and drums melded perfectly with the artistic prowess of Jan’s piano – and the voices…well, the blend was, to coin a word, heavenly. And the best part of all was that the audience was encouraged to sing along at every turn – and we did! From John Denver’s All This Joy to the stirring religious anthem, How Great Thou Art, the evening was suffused with the light of generosity and willingness and the truth that our singing and praying was perhaps as beneficial for Haitians as the overflowing bucket of donations at the back of the Church.

My gratitude is great, just for knowing such talented, generous people who offer their gifts on a regular basis for the praise of God and the good of community, bringing light to eyes that come to see from a place of unity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Together

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Barack Obama, divisions, George W. Bush, hope, love of country, Meghan McCain, Paul, Romans, Senator John McCain, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, truth, unity

Yesterday I spent an uncommon amount of time (for me) on YouTube. I watched the  eulogies of Barack Obama, Meghan McCain and George W. Bush during the funeral of Senator John McCain. All were quite different, as are the individuals themselves, but at a moment during the speech of former President Bush I was struck by a rising sensation that I can only express as “love of country.” It was clear to me that in moments of great import, small things no longer have any place. I have known this often in the past year during weather disasters and mass shootings, but this was in some way different. It struck at the heart of how we as Americans are able, perhaps, to agree in times of great division because we recognize what is important at the center of everything. We do not need to be perfect in order to be together; we just need to be willing. We have not reached 100% participation in this truth but yesterday allowed me a glimpse of possibility that has been sorely lacking for us as a country lately.

As I reflected on this experience, Paul’s Letter to the Romans, chapter 8, floated through my consciousness. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time, Paul writes. We ourselves groan inwardly while we wait…In the same way…the Spirit intercedes for us with wordless groans.

I mused about the fact that what I was watching was taking place in a house of worship, a place where respect is usually a given and inner seeking is the order of the day. It was a moment of sadness but also of hope, as if everyone there and those watching from afar could sense, at least in some small way, that all things work for the good of those who love God. 

 

A Reunion of Spirit

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acceptance, age, divine grace, imprint, inner landscape, life, presence, reunion, spiritual deepening, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity, women's circle

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at a reunion. I’m looking at the word now: re-union, and I know it to be a true description of what happened in the gathering. These eight women (one of whom was only able to be with us yesterday in spirit) had spent over ten years gathering once a month to share life in a most meaningful way. We couldn’t remember exactly when it began although with some digging I may be able to reconstruct the timeline. What we knew was the indelible imprint we had left on each other’s hearts. So yesterday – older and most likely wiser after nearly a decade apart because of other commitments – we found each other again with our love for one another intact and our willingness to share ourselves even more deeply than before.

Life has sculpted us in ways we didn’t have time to share fully as the afternoon flew by but what we did not have to remind each other was that we have come into this new moment maybe even more desirous of spiritual deepening than when we last met. What shape this effort will take is still in seed. It is clear that we will not just repeat the pattern of our first incarnation together. What is obvious to me as I sit here this morning is the truth that we are all one, living in a unity that allows us to be more than we are alone for the good of the world. Our circle is not closed but open to others who call to us while giving us the strength we need to become our best selves.

What I describe is perhaps one of those “you had to be there” events, comprehensible only to the participants. I speak of it only to suggest that regardless of advancing age that includes physical diminishment and loss there is a beautiful inner landscape in each of us that we can mirror to each other if we meet in a space of acceptance and grateful presence. May we be that presence for one another and a model for other seekers as we go forward in divine grace!

 

 

 

 

 

Let All The Earth Cry Glory!

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Christ, divine influence, existence, God, Lord, power, radical transformation, Teilhard de Chardin, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity, universe

After a weekend of observing radical transformations of vast fields into vibrant green carpets and watching the waning sun splash patterns of color like the best abstract artists – not to mention the truest blue of the sky, I turn to Teilhard de Chardin for a fitting prayer of gratitude this morning. He does not disappoint.

Glorious Lord Christ:
the divine influence secretly diffused and active in the depths of matter,
and the dazzling centre
where all the innumerable fibres of the manifold meet;
power as implacable as the world and as warm as life;
you whose forehead is of the whiteness of snow,
whose eyes are of fire,
and whose feet are brighter than molten gold;
you whose hands imprison the stars;
you who are the first and the last,
the living and the dead and the risen again;
you who gather into your exuberant unity
every mode of existence;
it is you to whom my being cries out
with a desire as vast as the universe:
“In truth you are my Lord and my God!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High Holy Days

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breaking bread, christians, crucifixion, God, Holy Thursday, Jews, love, mercy, Passover, Peace, Seder, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

This morning I’m feeling a sense of expectancy. The trees are silent outside – unmoving – as if they also know the call to stand up and be ready. It is the time of “High Holy Days” for Jews and Christians alike, an opportunity to bring the past into the present by remembering and recounting our religious heritage. For Christians the Scriptures of this week have moved from the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem this past Sunday, soon to be followed by ignominy of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, commemorated tomorrow in a stark ritual. The history of the Jews, stretching back so much further, recalls the exodus of Israelite slaves from Egypt, saved by God’s “passing over” of the houses of Israelites during the tenth plague that killed all of the first-born children of the Egyptians. Passover also stretches over a week, this year from tomorrow evening, March 30, to April 7.

Tonight, we Christians will listen to the story of Jesus sharing the Seder meal with his friends. At that meal, Jesus was celebrating his lineage, hearing the same stories that our Jewish friends will hear tomorrow night at their Seder and that we will hear at our Easter Vigil service on Saturday night. The significance of this confluence of celebrations is powerful, I think, for those of us who long for peace and unity in the world. Our root belief in a God who is faithful to the covenant made first with Abraham should be the bedrock of relationship. We Christians, the younger branch of the Judeo-Christian family, hold Jesus, a faithful Jew throughout his life, as our Messiah – the one who teaches us about the nature of God – the same God worshipped by our ancestors, the Hebrews.

Let us join our hearts and minds in celebration of what joins us and pray together for the peace that the world cannot give but which we find in the love and mercy of God.

 

 

 

 

 

One In God

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equal, God, Jesus, John, one, seeds of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

When I read the gospel this morning (JN 5: 17-30) I was struck by the first few verses, not because of the declaration of Jesus but for the reaction of the people listening to him. Jesus was already in trouble for healing on the Sabbath for which he was being vilified, but when he said, “My Father is at work until now, and I am at work as well,” the people “were more determined to kill him because he was speaking of God as his own Father thus making himself God’s equal.”

As I pondered that small section of the text and the conclusion of detractors of Jesus, I heard in my head a line of one of the early “folk Mass” songs from the 1970’s: God is our Father, we are his sons (!); we are all one in Christ. Knowing ourselves as beloved children of God doing our best to work for God’s reign and the unity of all people in God is, or should be, the ultimate goal of life for all of us, as it was for Jesus. He came to model that way of living for us to follow.

As I think of Jesus in this situation, I feel compassion for him. Even though the conclusion they jumped to about his statement was correct (God is his own Father), their reaction of wanting to kill him was extreme. Clearly, his purpose was not to boast of privilege but rather to speak the truth of his unity with God, a mystery that we cannot understand but toward which we lean ever closer when speaking of Jesus and – may I dare to say – all of us. I am reminded of a quote that says, “We are not God but are each a seed of God…” and speaks of our responsibility to grow that seed into a flowering in God’s garden. However we imagine all of this to be true, what we do know is that the at the heart of the mystery is love.