Doorkeepers

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devotion, slavery, St. Josephine Bahkita, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome

The woman who became known as Saint Josephine Bakhita died the year before I was born (1947). I say “known as” because she had been kidnapped and sold as a slave from Darfur in the Sudan as a young child and had been so terrified that she forgot her own name. “Bakhita” means “fortunate” and hearing of the trials of her early life one might wonder how the name fit. Later, however, having been sold several times – once to an Italian consul in Khartoum – she was brought to Italy and given to a friend. She subsequently became babysitter to a catechumen whom she accompanied to catechism classes. It was there that she was drawn to the Catholic faith, was baptized and confirmed and given the name Josephine. Having won her freedom from slavery, she became a religious Sister.

Josephine’s story is somewhat miraculous if considered as a path to sainthood. Although she suffered severely as a slave and was a “menial” laborer in her convent life, it was her devotion to God that is instructive of what makes a saint. Not unlike Saint Andre Bessette (“Brother Andre of Montreal”) she spent her days as doorkeeper to the convent where she lived and was known for her love to everyone who appeared before her for welcome.

These two saints can teach us that anyone can be a saint if love is the hallmark and motivation of their everyday life. Even you…even me…

(Learn more about St. Josephine Bahkita at http://www.franciscanmedia.org)

Inner Disposition

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Dorothy Day, Ego sum pauper, hospitable, Joyce Rupp, Prayer Seeds, shelter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome

In the section on compassion from her book, Prayer Seeds, Joyce Rupp begins with a quote from Dorothy Day that is all about hospitality (p. 46). I could easily see the connection this morning between the two virtues as I read and reflected on Dorothy Day’s life. She said this:

All Christians are called to be hospitable, but it is more than serving a meal or filling a bed, opening a door. It is to open ourselves, our hearts to the needs of others. Hospitality is not just shelter, but the quality of welcome behind it.

As the core of that message reminded me that outer actions flow from inner dispositions, a well-loved Latin chant bubbled up to add conviction to the thought. It says: Ego sum pauper. Nihil habeo. Cor meum dabo.* (I am poor. I have nothing. I give my heart.) When we learned the chant in Wisdom School, I always got stuck before the third line until I focused on the first word, cor, that means heart. I realized this morning the significance of that effort. It’s all about the heart – just like Dorothy says.

Plain Language

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friend, Hearts on Fire Praying With the Jesuits, Jesus, loving gesture, powerful, prayer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome

Sometimes we think it’s necessary to find beautiful words as our prayer, searching for just the right ones to catch God’s attention. I was reminded this morning by a simple prayer in the Jesuit prayer book, Hearts on Fire, that a simple statement is just fine because God hears all our prayers that are spoken with a sincere heart. Here is what Joseph Tetlow, SJ offered this morning.

Lord Jesus, from the start you invite ordinary people to come to where you live. When they come, you welcome them and call them to labor and rejoice with you. You are the most beautiful among all [men] and I hardly believe you want me for your friend. You are powerful, Lord. Draw me more and more into your friendship and lead me along the way you took with friends. (p.82)

Come to think of it, if even this seems too much sometimes, just a bow or an opening of our hands – or your own choice of a loving gesture – would surely be enough for Christ.

The Simple Things

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blessed, children, happy, kindness, Peru, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome

As promised, I have returned “at the turning of the calendar.” I cannot, however, be blamed for bringing the blast of arctic cold home with me. It was sunny summer in Peru with temperatures about 100 degrees higher than here in New York State! What I have brought home are memories of an extraordinarily beautiful and generous population, rich in kindness if not in finances and a willingness to welcome others with open arms.

The gospel acclamation for this morning says this: “Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Immediately I am thrown back to the large room inside the front door of the convent in Lima where we made puppets with the neighborhood children one day last week. Newspaper, scissors, markers and a few other sheets of shared paper – one with an outline of a rabbit’s face – were all Alexa and I needed to create our puppet and share the delight of everyone in the room. At the end of the morning the children prepared to leave with their treasures (including one Hershey kiss and a piece of bubblegum). There was no pushing or shoving as they lined up single file. Rather, kissing each of us in turn as they walked out the door, they whispered, “Gracias, Hermana” and blessed us with happy smiles.

There will be more to tell, I promise, but for now, it is enough to hold those sweet faces in my heart.

What Did Jesus Do?

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acceptance, hear, Hearts on Fire, image, imitate Christ, impressed, Jesuit, John the Baptist, looking, meet, miracles, Pedro Arrupe, taught, teach, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, understand, welcome, willingness

Today takes it’s cue somewhat from yesterday’s entry. In the book of Jesuit prayers entitled Hearts on Fire, there is a prayer written by Pedro Arrupe, who was the beloved Superior General (world leader) of the Society of Jesus for 18 years (1965-1983) -a long term of office for anyone! His prayer gives a clue of how to bring the Scriptures alive in our daily journey, helping us to take our cue from Christ’s interaction with all sorts of people as he opened himself to all who crossed his path.

Teach me your way of looking at people: as you glanced at Peter after his denial, as you penetrated the heart of the rich young man and the hearts of your disciples. I would like to meet you as you really are, since your image changes with whom you come into contact.

Remember John the Baptist’s first meeting with you? And the centurion’s feeling of unworthiness? And the amazement of all those who saw miracles and other wonders? How you impressed your disciples, the rabble in the Garden of Olives, Pilate and his wife and the centurion at the foot of the cross…

I would like to hear and be impressed by your manner of speaking, listening, for example, to your discourse in the synagogue in Capharnaum (Capernaum), or the Sermon on the Mount where your audience felt you “taught as one who has authority.” (p.89-90)

What would it be like to imitate Christ’s words and actions in all our encounters? Would we come to better understand how to love our neighbors (whoever they might be) as ourselves? Perhaps a visit to all the above examples in the life of Jesus would give us some clues to the requisite qualities of welcome, willingness and acceptance necessary to him in the different situations and personalities he met on his way.

 

 

 

 

 

Servant to the Servants of God

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abundance, breakfast, calling, Corinthians, generosity, John, love one another, Matthew, meals, message, new commandment, servant, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome

It’s funny how first thoughts upon arising from sleep sometimes fit into the message for the day. That’s one way I know how the concept of inspiration can be defined. Here’s my example. I woke up this morning one minute before my alarm was to sound. (That in itself is always a welcome surprise!) As I rolled out of bed I thought that my first line in today’s message would be: “Short stories this morning, friends; I’m on kitchen duty this weekend and people will be waiting for breakfast!” (We have a weekend workshop here at the Spiritual Center and it’s my turn to prepare the meals for the participants.)

With my first sip of coffee came the first line of the first reading for today (from the first chapter of the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians!): Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters (1COR 1:26). The gospel acclamation reminds me that Jesus gave more than a hint of what that means in his statement – that he called “a new commandment“, saying Love one another as I have loved you. (JN 13:34) And then the gospel (MT 25: 14-30) finishes by warning me not to be like the servant who buried his talent in the ground for fear that he would fail to increase it.

I’m not planning on creative meals this weekend; the menus are already set, tried and true offerings that have been successful here and recipes that are easy to follow. So the service I give needs to spring more from who I am, with and for the people who have come seeking an experience of their “higher selves.” I will have to serve up a full complement of welcome with their pancakes and eggs this morning, a cheerful sense of abundance with the salad bar at noon and an outpouring of love with dinner that includes the sweetness of smiles with dessert. Luckily I have my good friend, Carol, with all her natural generosity and willingness, to help me do the “job.”

So off I go to this welcome task, knowing the secret that service to the servants of God is wonderfully rewarding as long as it’s freely given. In such a mutual exchange, everybody wins!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open the Door

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answers, ask and receive, faith, friendshi[, Jesus, Judy Collins, Luke, open the door, perseverance, prayer, rainbow, seek and find, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, welcome

Judy Collins – who has one of the purest voices I have ever heard – sang a song on one of her albums years ago that (to my surprise) did not become one of her “greatest hits.” The chorus goes something like this: Open the door and come on in; I’m so glad to see you, my friend. You’re like a rainbow coming around the bend. And when I see you happy, well, it sets my heart free. I’d like to be the kind of friend to you that you are to me. After the last verse, she pluralizes the word “friend” and says, “you’re all like rainbows coming…” I’m reminded of that song this morning and of a famous image of Jesus knocking on a door that has no doorknob so the person on the inside must open it. The message is clear, we must invite Christ into our lives.

In this morning’s gospel (LK 11:5-13) Jesus begins by suggesting a scenario to his disciples of someone going to a friend’s house at midnight asking for three loaves of bread for out-of-town guests who have just arrived. The friend tells him to go away as his household is already locked up for the night. I know the truth of the next line. It says, I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his perseverance. Sometimes it’s easier to answer the door when you don’t want to, rather than continuing to hear the knocking. More than just giving in when frustrated, however, I think this is a call to welcome.

The more familiar part of this text follows as Jesus says, And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. This is a comforting thought but there is a catch for persons of faith. Prayer/faith cannot be tied to outcome. When we “storm the gates of heaven” for something – often when people ask us for prayer – we need to remember that God’s vision is clearer than ours and the answer to prayer comes from a heart wiser than ours. We need to pray and to believe that God will always answer. The difficult part is continuing to believe when the “answer” is not the one we would have chosen. This is a hard saying when we are emotionally involved in outcome for ourselves or those we love. It takes practice to acknowledge that God knows better than we do what should happen in a particular case. Opening the door of our hearts to God’s choices for us and our lives is one of the ways that we become like Jesus, who emptied himself to become free enough to do all that was asked of him, knowing that God’s ways are not our ways and that God is always at the door of our hearts, waiting to enter in with a presence that is the answer to all our needs.