March 5, 2010

On the feast of a St. John Joseph of the Cross, a Franciscan of a community near Naples 1654-1734 : "And by this I wish to know if you love the Lord God and me, his servant and yours—if you have acted in this manner: that is, there should not be any brother in the world who has sinned, however much he may have possibly sinned, who, after he has looked into your eyes, would go away without having received your mercy, if he is looking for mercy. And if he were not to seek mercy, you should ask him if he wants mercy. And if he should sin thereafter a thousand times before your very eyes, love him more than me so that you may draw him back to the Lord. Always be merciful to [brothers] such as these" (St. Francis, Letter to a Minister).

In my reading today there is a lot of attention given to how it is we live in community. Well, this excerpt above from St. Francis lays it out pretty clearly. What is required is nothing short of SUPER human. We must rely heavily on God's grace in order to live in community. Lots and lots of love and forgiveness. In my small group, we are discussing nonviolent communication and how to deal with conflict. We're being given tools. One of my favorite ones is a gesture that we can try that sets the world aright. Put the right hand up as if saying "stop" and your left hand reaches out open, as if to receive. I've been practicing this posture (in my mind) when facing difficult situations with difficult people. IT WORKS! Jesus is depicted in this pose in works of art. In fact, the new diocese of Oakland's cathedral has a giant Christ just like this! You know the one. One hand is up with two fingers up and the other hand is lower and open. The first time I practiced the gesture, it reminded me of Tai Chi... gently holding a ball. and it reminded me of the yin and the yang. Try it and see what comes to mind!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

St Katharine Drexel (1858 - 1955) who died 55 years ago today. She was born in Philadephia to a rich banking family. In 1889, at the age of 33, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, dedicated to mission work among Indians and black people. (A survey of the situation in the United States at this time described “250,000 Indians neglected, if not practically abandoned, and over nine million of negroes still struggling through the aftermath of slavery”). She spent her entire life and her entire fortune to this work, opening schools, founding a university, and funding many chapels, convents and monasteries. She died on 3 March 1955, by which time there were more than 500 Sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the United States.

I'm curious how many of these sisters still exist? So, I looked them up. "Our special concern is for the poor and oppressed especially among the Native American, African American and Haitian peoples," the sisters say on their Web site, www.katharinedrexel.org. "We are 'building up' the Body of Christ through prayer, counseling, education, health care, social work and other corporal & spiritual works of mercy." I'm too lazy to go look up how many sisters actually are still active in the ministry. I'm guessing a LOT fewer.

One of my boys likened me to a cartoon character.. Cluckie from Disney's Robin Hood movie. I'm thinking: many religious sisters would also mirror Cluckie's many fine attributes. Long live the Cluckie's of the world. The world needs MORE of them! www.youtube.com and Cluckie.

Tuesday March 2, 1010

From Psalm 42 from this morning's prayer of the Hours:
"Why are you so sad, my soul,
and anxious within me?
Put your hope in the Lord, I will praise him still,
my saviour and my God."

Sometimes my soul feels orphan-ish. or I forget about it all together. This psalm of today's morning prayer caught me. As I seek to be on more friendly terms with God (a name I can't find a better name for and btw: I have trouble with Lord) most of the time I am aware that I'm operating on another agenda altogether which I'm not finding to be very grounded. Lately, I've been turning to the Liturgy of the Hours, which I would liken to the way Muslims pray. Throughout the day, at intervals of every three hours, there is available to me a formula of prayers created by the Benedictines back in the 500's. The prayers are on-line. This practice connects me to a community of pray-ers all over the world. All over the world there are lay and religious gathering to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. I am tapping into a powerful web of seekers... and when I recall all of the religious sisters and brothers I have encountered in my life, I am reminded of what a motley crew we are. Sr. Reinhildus from Germany, Sr. Tarcissius in N. Little Rock, Fr. Heidt in Minot, the list goes on.. but, we are the Body of Christ. The only way we can function in a healthy way it seems to me, is if we acknowlege our connectedness and recall to whom we are beholden. Back to morning prayer and the down and dirty psalms. (this stained glass is in my mother's church in Colorado, and is a depiction of St. Frances Xavier Elizabeth Cabrini, who came from Italy in the late 1800's to minister to the Italian poor and to children. Her sisters carry on the work all over the world.)

This is a statue of a young Mary, mother of Jesus, in my parents' parish, Mother Cabrini in Littleton, CA. She looks like a woman of action, doesn't she?

From Today's psalm reading, no. 34: "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves." I have a friend who is receiving treatment for a rare auto immune disease. He's gone to Chicago to receive it and has had stem cells removed while he receives chemotherapy. The stem cells will be returned to his system and he will have to re build an immune system. from scratch. Our friend, Jim, is a searcher! In college, he drove his motorcycle to Washington state to see an eclipse, because that was the best vantage point from which to see it. He asked us if we wanted to go and I'm sure we just stared at him. Uh, we were gonna go to class and team practice. He had built and set up a giant telescope on the roof of his dorm. We went to his wedding back in the 80's. He joined the Air Force and was a fighter pilot, having somehow gotten around the color blind test. He was color blind. Fast forward: he has three children (one named Katie) and is separated from his wife. He has retired from the USAF and is now working with his brother in real estate. He ran/power walked a marathon last fall and immediately experienced symptoms that led him to the diagnosis of this disease. It came on fast and furiously.

I asked him (via Facebook) how he was doing. He is living temporarily in an apartment high above Lake Michigan with two women who also are coping with this same disease. They are angels!! They take him to his appointments and generally take care of him as they are further along in the treatment and are on their way to health. Jim shared that he does believe in the power of prayer.. and that he's doing a lot of it himself. So bring it on!! he says. After the Super Bowl , he wrote "you can DROP KICK me into the loving healing arms of touchdown Jesus ! I am just so lucky and grateful to have loving friends like you. I just feel so grateful - this illness - has been the biggest blessing of my life. I think you know what Iam saying!" "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted." I am so grateful.

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Feb. 22

From today's psalm reading: "Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side With your rod and your staff that give me courage." I'm trying to imagine being a sheep or a lamb and looking to my shepherd to protect me. What must it be like to feel that you are being tended like that? Am I being looked out for in that way? I have a doctor who cares about me. I have a spiritual director who cares about me. Both give me good advice. I have a pilates instructor who is knowledgeable and a great teacher. Pete's been leading us in our effort to eat better and exercise. I have one friend who is quick to challenge me if I'm using fuzzy logic or making excuses for bad decisions. She's an engineer and doesn't tolerate soft thinking. These are some of the people who shepherd me. I seldom am challenged to dig deep for a spiritual shepherd. Generally, my circumstances allow me to float along ... but it's Lent and now's my chance to do that considering. Where am I called to seek pastoring? a little re-direction provided by a shepherd's crook or staff? Oh, I know.. I'll take the answer off-line. My conscience just kicked in!! I'm thinking there must be a reconciliation opportunity coming up.

For all shepherds, that they may be sustained in their duties.

ash wednesday, feb. 17, 2010

From Paul's letter to the Corinthians: "In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." I'm reminded of a Pete Seeger song from the book of Ecclesiastes: "Turn, turn, turn. For every season, turn turn turn and a time to every purpose under heaven." The birds are singing outside and the sun is shining and it feels like spring. We have daffodils in full yellow bloom. It's Lent! Evidently, the word "lent" comes from an old English word which means "spring". As it happens, it is springtime here where I live. Not according to the calendar, but judging from the warmth, the sun, the birds nesting and the bulbs blooming. My world seems to be turning toward the sun and towards life. Our faith tradition calls me/us to turn to life. (and life in abundance, as Jesus promised.) So, today? I will turn my face to the sun and seek God's blessing so that I can take up my cross knowing that others are doing the same. God bless this Lent.

tuesday, mardi gras.. fenton's here we come!

From Mark's gospel reading for today, February 16, 2010: “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend?Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up? "They answered him, “Twelve.”“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?” I'm sure there is a lot here that I don't understand, but what struck me on first reading it is that Jesus sees that the disciples haven't yet seen what is at work as they are asked to feed people. What is at work? A recurring theme in my own theology rooted in my reading of the gospel and in my observation of life is that when people come together and in faith, good will and willingness to be selfless for the sake of a greater good, miracles do happen. When i rowed for women's crew in college, (we were a motley crew) I experienced this. We were a group of real personalities, but we sacrificed for the sake of the team, and we grew to love eachother and on a few occasions? we MOVED that boat. It was an out of body experience and we even managed to beat PAC 10 schools, including UCLA and USC. When people give it their all... great things happen. BUT, the cause has to be worthy of us, our dignity, our goodness. An aside: Parker Palmer talks about nonviolence as "honoring, through our actions and words, the integrity and dignity of the other." I will try today to sinc up these two observations... that I am seeking a way to be part of an effort to feed the world while honoring the dignity and integrity of others. and in particular, to ask: where am I called to do that?