Time, time zones, and the gift of twenty-four hours a day!

This picture is from the Sea of Tiberias and I spent much time in the retreat on both the time Jesus came to his disciples walking on the water and when, after Easter, he appeared on the shore and had prepared breakfast for his disciples. Being on the shore of the Pacific helped for a composition of place for both prayers.

I have often felt that Jesus sends me out into the sea and he must know that a storm is coming; it is a lesson repeated often to increase my trust. I wrote this little "jingle" one night during the retreat:
A storm descended late that night at sea.
The wind was fierce and waves rocked the boat.
Jesus saw their struggle with the sea;
they rowed and bailed and tried to stay afloat.
Then he came walking on the water,
but he made as though to pass them by.
Terrified, they saw a ghost appear!
At once Jesus tells them not to fear.

I suspect that all of us have heard Jesus saying to each of us: "Courage! It is I! Fear not!"

Sometimes Jesus asks me to get out of the boat and walk to him on the water. I am a bit like Peter and do have the courage to try but then cry out to the Lord to save me. He immediately takes me by the hand and all becomes peaceful. He also chides me for my lack of trust. Then, I like to combine that with the scene where Jesus invites me to breakfast. He has prepared the fire and has the fish grilling and has brought bread, too. He serves me and then we just talk.

Back in Miami full of gratitude

Last night I arrived home around 10:30 at night and found a huge stack of mail in my room and many, many e-mails. I just am taking it easy and trying to keep the wonderful feeling of tranquility that surrounded my retreat. I felt the prayer and I must tell you that each day was a grace. I had the director of my first choice; one that I had many years ago and loved. She has a gift for giving feedback and is also so loving and caring that I always find God speaking to me through her. I also had a lovely room with a view of the ocean. There was a full moon so that added to the beauty of each night and we never had a foggy morning; that is unusual. It was also warmer than usual so the jackets I took from Miami were not worn at all!
It is too late to try to tell you more, but I do want to thank for all the prayer as my trip was really a joy and the retreat wonderful, but so was connecting with friends. Now, I am just glad to be home for a few days before we have the Higher Education meeting and Provincial assembly in Chicago.

California, here I come!

Tomorrow I leave for California and only return on July 15; then I leave again on July 27 for a Higher Education meeting followed by our Provincial Assembly in Chicago until August 2. I may be writing a blog on some days, but do not be surprised to find out that I will really be taking a vacation from the blog for the times when I am away. Reverend Mother Stuart said that the best vacation was a change of occupation. I sit at the computer too many hours a day so may just give it up for part of this summer. I will be making my retreat at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz from July 6-13 and count on your prayer for me during this time. I always think of it as a "honeymoon" with the Lord. It is a short retreat this year with only six nights there, but it is a directed retreat and I look forward to it. Last year I had thirty days there but the Holy Spirit was my director - I hope I still have the Holy Spirit as the real director, but it will be good to also have a Sister of the Holy Names who directed me in a couple of retreats years ago. She is very loving and has a great sense of humor so I am really looking forward to seeing her again. Actually, I did have a visit with her last summer when on a "break day" in my third week of retreat.
Before the retreat I will be visiting a friend from high school and college and then one who I met when I first came to Miami in 1986; she moved to California two years ago and I miss her very much so it will be good to catch up with her. Then I will have a few days in Oakwood to see my friends at our retirement home there before the retreat.
Have a great summer all of you with good reading and time to just be! Look for some interesting Letters from Maryland on Ignatian Spirituality to be published in this blog after July 16 to prepare for the Feast of St. Ignatius.

More Books for Spiritual Reading

Spiritual reading is to nourish our souls. There are so many good books out there. The truth is that when you find a book that really nourishes you, just stop and stay with it. I like to read the entire book and then go back and start a slower reading, take time to savor certain passages, underline them, and then maybe I keep going back to the same book for a long time; other books get put back on the shelf and then suddenly seem to come alive and I pick them up finding God on each page and wonder why these books did not speak to me before - books fit the needs of our souls and so we put some away only to find that later it is nourishing us more than we could imagine!

One such book is Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West. This is not a new book having been published in 2002, but it is rather new for me and I have found it one I now keep picking up. I must add it now to my list in this blog.

Jose Hobday, recently deceased, has a delightful book called Stories of Awe and Abundance This book contains many of the stories that Jose used in talks or I read elsewhere, but what a joy to find 49 wisdom stories in the same little book. We are suggesting this book as a way to understand something of the native American spirituality, but anyone would enjoy reading Sister Jose Hobday,OSF.

New Spiritual Books for Summer Reading

I am adding more books to my list of spiritual books. I have wanted to do this for some weeks so have several to add and think there will be spiritual nourishment for my readers with a good selection of some delightful books.
First, I added two books about St. Paul as we are coming to the close of the year especially dedicated to Paul. I really enjoyed both. I may have mentioned Cardinal Carlos Martini's The Gospel According to St. Paul: Meditations on His Life and Letters. The first part treats of Paul's Conversion; the Passion of Paul; and Paul's Transfiguration. The Chapter on Paul's Transfiguration kept me going back to it in prayer and I seem to have mentioned the attitudes and the modes of action that Martini attributes to Paul. The second part of the book is Apostle by Vocation and I liked the chapter on Love for the Community especially.
I also read Benidict XVI's book on St. Paul and enjoyed it, too. It is really the talks he gave at the General Audience each week from July 2, 2008 to February 4, 2009. It is very readable and informative.

I also have enjoyed another book that I mentioned before by David L. Fleming, S.J. What Is Ignatian Spirituality? published by Loyola Press, 2008. It is a good introduction to Ignatian Spirituality and I have selected it as a book for the International Online Certificate Program in Spirituality Studies. The September course begins with St. Ignatius and Ignatian Spirituality and this is a simple book that highlights the aspects of Ignatian Spirituality. Dave taught me in the Institute for Religious Formation (the IRF) many years ago and was an excellent teacher; we have remained in touch through the years and I enjoyed reading his latest book very much.

I will be introducing you to still more books in the days to come.

Father's Day

This is not the picture I was looking for but it still is one that can evoke memories of my Dad. My Dad taught me to swim. We loved the water and he bought a lake lot when I was a child and I used to go spend Sunday at the lake with him. It was during the second world war so he was trying to sell the lake lots to earn some extra money. We would go to early Mass and then take off for the lake until evening. Sometimes my mother and siblings came, too, but my sister was still too young to be alone all day and my brothers were just babies so it was hard for my mother to be there all day except when we were using a friend's home. We just had a lot and a dock, but the lake was beautiful and my Dad did not worry about me. I would come back for a picnic lunch with him. I guess what brought all this to mind was that I usually had my Dad to myself on those Sundays and I loved that. I also had my Dad just to myself on long rides to and from school when we lived in the county and I went to the Academy of the Visitation. My Dad was special and I am grateful for both of my parents. My life has been marked by their love.

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

I do not like any of the pictures of the Immaculate Heart of Mary but love this feast. Now it really does not get celebrated as it is the day after the Feast of the Sacred Heart, but it used to be August 22 and was a great day to have a real holiday before the vacation ended. I think Mary's Heart is so united to the Heart of Jesus that she rejoices in our celebrating on Friday and letting her day be rather quiet.

I brought another one of Jessica Powers' poems to share with you. It is not about Our Lady, but it seems she inspired me to pray over it and I want to share it with you.

My Heart Ran Forth
My heart ran forth on little feet of music
to keep the new commandment.
(O feast and frolic of awakening spring!)
It would beguile the world to be a garden
with seeds of one refrain: My little children,
love one another; so my heart would sing.

But wisdom halted it, out far afield,
asked: did you sow this seed
around your house, or in the neighbor's garden
or any nearby acreage of need?
No? Then it will not grow in outer places.
Love has its proper soil, its native land;
its first roots fasten on the near-at-hand.

Back toward the house from which I deftly fled,
down neighbors' lanes, across my father's barley
my heart brought home its charity. It said:
love is a simple plant like a Creeping Charlie;
once it takes root its talent is to spread.

The above poem is giving me much to reflect upon and I suspect it may be part of my retreat this summer- especially that line ""its first roots fasten on the near-at-hand," I now know who my retreat director will be and I am beginning to pray for her and for the others who will be with me in retreat from July 6-13. Please pray for us, too. It is a short retreat, but having had a month last year that was so heavenly, I will be happy with these days and hope to have another three days later this year. For me, my retreat is the most important time of the year, and has been for many, many years.