Eve of Palm Sunday and Holy Week

We are thinking about how the Passion, Death, and Resurrection influences our lives. Sometimes we forget the importance of the events of this week on our own lives today. It is good to take time to reflect on not only what Jesus suffered to show His love for us, but what this means for us in living out our own lives.
I was just reading a long article on Reconciliation and how we all need to be reconciled to God, each other, and our world.

Now to return to my reflections on the Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart, we were on #10, the first number under our Service in the Church.

10.
We are sent by the Church
to communicate the love of the Heart of Jesus.
In Him all find their true growth as persons
and the way towards reconciliation with one another.
This we believe; this we want to proclaim.

It is clear that we are to communicate the love of the Heart of Jesus and this is day in and day out no matter what we are doing. This is our mission and we have the grace to do this, or rather the Heart of Jesus uses us to reveal His love to others. I cannot do this well if I am grouchy or moody; I need to radiate His love, peace, and joy.
Now, to look at the part where it states that "In Him all find their growth as persons and the way towards reconciliation with one another."

I am conscious that I am only beginning to reflect on some parts of the Constitutions taken line by line and find it helpful. The good part of this line is that we are in Him always and so we do find our growth as persons in so many ways and are called and helped to reconciliation with one another.
Let us pray for one another during Holy Week!!

Approaching Holy Week

Yesterday in my faith-sharing group of four (three men and myself) we followed our usual pattern of conversation, centering prayer, and then reading and sharing on the Sunday Gospel. Since this coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, the Gospel is the entire Passion account from Mark and we read it in four parts. I must say it was a really powerful experience and very moving. I think we were all caught up in the last days of Jesus with all that He went through before His death and resurrection. I am always struck by the line that says "Then all left Him and fled" -

Here is something from the Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart that really sums up our mission and perhaps it is really the mission of all of us. It is from the section on our Service in the Church:

SERVICE IN THE CHURCH

10.
We are sent by the Church
to communicate the love of the Heart of Jesus.
In Him all find their true growth as persons
and the way towards reconciliation with one another.
This we believe; this we want to proclaim.

We are sent by the Church
to communicate the love of the Heart of Jesus.

We are all called to communicate the love of the Heart of Jesus.
Let us give His love to all today!

Lent and Resolutions

I am beginning again! There is really only a bit of Lent left and I feel that I need to make each day count as I am not happy with my failure to keep my resolutions. I guess it is good for my humility and makes me realize again that I can do nothing by myself!! Feeling helpless throws me on the Lord! I am late today writing this as I had a busy day at the University and just came home after grocery shopping. I did pray over the next paragraph in our Constitutions and will share it with you tomorrow, I hope.

The Society of the Sacred Heart has an international noviciate in Chile and received two more novices yesterday, the Feast of the Annunciation. This makes me go back to the Constitutions of the Society today and take up the last paragraph of our End and Mission.

9.
Mary, woman of faith among the People of God,
lives close to us,
as she does to everything that radiates the life of her Son.
Our Society entrusts itself in a special way to her
whose heart is united and conformed to that of Jesus,
so that she may lead us to Him.


Mary does live close to us; I often feel her presence in my life. It is a very consoling presence but she usually just tells me what she told the servers at the wedding feast: "Do whatsoever He tells you."
Mary's whole being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, her Son. She wants to lead us to Jesus and help us to love and serve Him in joy.

The one thing necessary...

Here is a quote I thought you would like; it is from Jean-Pierre De Caussade's book on Abandonment to Divine Providence:

"The 'one thing necessary' is always to be found by the soul in the present moment. There is no need to choose between prayer and silence, privacy or conversation, reading or writing, reflection or the abandonment ot thought, the frequentation or avoidance of spiritual people, abundance or famine, illness or health, life or death: the 'one thing necessary' is what each moment produces by God's design."

Would that it were that simple!! I find I need quite a bit of discernment to find God's design in the present moment although there are times when no one need hesitate as it is just obvious. I remember as a young religious we had talking at breakfast on a feast day. The nun opposite me picked up the plate with various kinds of fruit on it and one tumbled into her bowel as she was passing it to me. She laughed and said to me "I guess God did the choosing!" She has since gone to heaven, but I often think of her quick response that saw God's will in such an ordinary thing.

Christ in Evolution

I know that I have been sharing my experience of reading Ilia Delio's book, "The Emergent Christ" but now I am reading her earlier book "Christ in Evolution" and loving it. It came out in 2008 but I have a 4th edition, 2011 and this is a book that was taught in one of our graduate Christology classes and I thought at the time I heard the students were struggling with it, that I should get the book. Delio is not an easy read but I am finding this book (which I have just begun to read) is something that I would want to have graduate students read and ponder. Delio looks at her own Franciscan tradition with Bonaventure, but also goes to Teilhard de Chardin, Raimon Panikkar, Thomas Merton, and Bede Griffiths to complete her message of Christ at the center of an evolving universe. I will be reading this book slowly and I am still using "The Emergent Christ"!

Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation so let us ask Mary for a new understanding and deeper relationship with her son, Jesus.

We want to see Jesus

Like the Greeks in the Gospel, we all want to see Jesus. We seek to find Him every day and He is in us, with us, more present to us than we are to ourselves. I guess I find it difficult to be conscious of His presence so often during the day. Sunday is a day to spend more time thinking about both my desire to see Jesus and His constant presence in my life.

World-wide interests

When I was a child at school at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles, I loved Mother Philippine Duchesne dearly and prayed daily at the little shrine where she was buried or at her room. She had founded the school in 1818, went back to reopen it in 1828 and installed Mother Lucille Mathevon as superior; Philippine went to the Indian mission with Lucille in 1841 but had to return after a year and she spent the last ten years of her life at St. Charles. Her prayer was always worldwide and the fact that the Society of the Sacred Heart is an international Society with houses in over 44 countries today is something that attracted me even as a child. I never dreamed that I would be able to spend twenty years as a missionary to Chile later, but those words from the Constitutions mean more to me now because of my friendship with Philippine. I think "friendship" is the word I want to describe my relationship with her. I felt that she was a friend and always ready to help me. Here is what we are praying over in the Constitutions that brought to mind Philippine and her prayer for the world:

The pierced Heart of Jesus
opens our being to the depths of God
and to the anguish of humankind.
Jesus draws us into His movement of adoration
of the Father
and love for all, especially those who are poor.
We keep returning to this word of Jesus,
as to a light which gradually transfigures us in His image:
"Learn of Me, because I am gentle and humble of heart."
(Mt. 11:29).

I guess that I should add that Philippine spent long hours in adoration; she was really a woman who prayed always, as the Indians called her, but she was both deeply apostolic and contemplative and today is a canonized saint!

All Spring from Union with the Heart of Jesus

I am back to one of my favorite passages in the Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart and one that expresses our spirituality so well:
8.
For us, life, community, apostolic service,
all spring from our union and conformity
with the Heart of Jesus.
This grace of vocation
is a way of conversion and of apostolic fruitfulness.
The pierced Heart of Jesus
opens our being to the depths of God
and to the anguish of humankind.
Jesus draws us into His movement of adoration
of the Father
and love for all, especially those who are poor.
We keep returning to this word of Jesus,
as to a light which gradually transfigures us in His image:
"Learn of Me, because I am gentle and humble of heart."
(Mt. 11:29).

It is only by the grace of my vocation that I get up every day wanting to live in union and conformity with the Heart of Jesus who so loves me. I think this grace extends to anyone who loves Jesus for He is united to us and wants us to realize this. He also "opens our being to the depths of God and to the anguish of humankind."

I am sure many of us feel almost overwhelmed by the anguish of our world today. I shared with some of my friends the other day something that has helped me. I often begin my prayer by holding in my hand a small globe and then just go around the world touching each continent and confiding it to Jesus so that His love and compassion will care for all as I feel so helpless. This has given me a way to pray for the world and I sometimes do the same at the daily Eucharist.
We will continue reflecting on the above passage tomorrow as it is so full!

Unsettled

Today I am sharing a poem by Robert Morneau from his book, "Reconciliation" - this is copyrighted but I am using it only to motivate my readers to get the book from Orbis and read it, if you have not done so. The book was published in 2007 and I have returned to the poems at the end as they always seem to help.

Unsettled
Would that things were settled:
the garden weedless,
correspondence all answered,
the check book balanced,
relationships harmonious, peaceful.

Such is not the case--
life itself is unsettling,
with its weeds and spats,
its laundry always there,
its duties demanding care.

Being unsettled is a gift,
a blessing in disguise.
It keeps us on the move,
however turtle-like,
drawing us to a final harvest.

How do I see the immigrant situation in the United States

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, recently retired archbishop of Los Angeles gave an inspiring talk at the Catholic University of Anerica's annual Dean Hoge Memorial Lecture and it is worth reading online at the National Catholic Reporter's site:
ncronline.org/news/immig...

He has always been an advocate of just immigration reform and says that we must "value our immigrants" and get to know them.He went on to point out that "we need these immigrants, we use these immigrants" and it is immoral to treat them badly.
I think the entire article is worth reading.

On another topic, we were asked by one of our Religious to send in three images that spoke of our passion, what really moves us and I thought this was an excellent way of sorting out what really matters in my life. (It is also a good preparation for our Provincial Assembly), I sent in a picture of the head of Jesus, one of the world, and one of children. I do not think I have shared this in my blog but it has been a reflection that is still going on as we heard we can send more images. I think I need to send a map of Chile and maybe a picture of St. Thomas University or one of my community, etc. I am satisfied that I did send the three things I am think I am most passionate about at this moment in my life.

How Do I Hear God?

Silence is God's language and I keep reading about how we need to listen to God in prayer and be respectful of His silence. I think God is often very quiet at the hour of prayer, but then He comes to us in so many other ways. I get an e-mail that is just what I needed to hear; or maybe it is the comic strip I read at breakfast, or a remark made by one of my community that is so evidently God speaking through these different ways, if I am attentive to listen. God also whispers in my heart!

Lent is something like a desert and yesterday's feast with the Gloria and white vestments was a real celebration and made me glad that Saint Joseph's
feast is on the 19th and we have the Feast of the Annunciation coming up on the 25th so we will have Joseph and Mary helping us as we try to enter into the rest of Lent.
I think God wants me to keep from getting down when I fail; get up, smile, and begin again - when I manage to do this, sometimes, I have the sensation that God is carrying me!

Feast of St. Joseph

Lent is half over and we realize that Easter is coming soon. It is time to ask St. Joseph to help us to go back and not only remember the good Lenten resolutions we made, but give us the courage and fortitude to keep them during these last weeks. I am beginning again!
Some author I was reading lately suggested that Joseph must have escorted Mary to the house of Elizabeth; this is a new idea and one that I had not thought of before. I knew that Mary needed to travel with others to go visit her cousin Elizabeth, but it makes sense that the man she was to marry would want to go with her and make sure she arrived safely. Now I wonder when Joseph had the dream and then could talk to Mary about the child they were going to bring into the world.
Joseph did not leave us any words so we can imagine what his life was like and how often he was alone with Jesus and imparting fatherly wisdom to this youngster who was like us in all things except sin. Jesus had much to learn from Joseph and so do we. He was a man of great integrity, courage, and faith. Let us pray to him today!

A day late but here is an Irish Blessing

ST. PATRICK’S DAY BLESSING

May the roads rise to meet you,
May the wind be at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
May you be poor in misfortunes,
and rich in blessings,
May you know nothing but happiness,
from this day forward,
May good luck be your friend,
In whatever you do,
And may trouble be always,
A stranger to you.
May you always have work for your hands to do,
May your pockets hold always a coin or two,
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane,
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain,
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This is to wish everyone a happy St. Patrick's Day! I am three-fourths Irish and love celebrating on this day all of my ancestors who came from Ireland.

I am going to share something that is from the Concord Pastor's blog listed on the right in my blog but you may not have seen this and I think it is good for all of us to renew our prayer life sometimes by just asking the same questions.

Suppose I set aside 10 minutes a day in Lent...

Just 10 minutes
to sit down in a quiet place,
apart from others,
to breathe deeply,
to be still...
to know that God is near,
at hand, by my side, in my heart..

What would be the best time of day for me to spend these 10 minutes?
in the morning? midday? in the evening? the same time each day?
What would be the best place for me to find some peace and quiet?
at home? in a church or chapel?
outdoors? the same place each day?
How will I begin?
make the sign of the Cross
relax and remember that God is with you
ask God to help you pray
be at peace with however the 10 minutes pass
and remember that tomorrow is another day to pray...
How might I spend those 10 minutes?
simply in silence?
with the scriptures?
speaking from my heart to the Lord's heart?
What might I pray?
tell the Lord what's in your heart;
speak to him as you would to your best friend;
pray by listening...
Open the scriptures and read until you come to a verse that hits you...
read the verse again, and again, and again until you know it...
speak it aloud or pray it silently, letting it sink in...
let the verse become part of your prayer...
ask the Lord to bring that verse back to your attention through the day...
What might I expect?
peace and quiet...
time alone with the Lord...
the consolation of God's presence...
How will I end my 10 minutes?
thank the Lord
pledge to return tomorrow
pray the Our Father
make the sign of the Cross

Just 10 minutes? At least to begin with! Set a modest goal, and 10 minutes out a day of 1,440 minutes is certainly a modest goal.

Look for the Cross (top of this post) each day in Lent for some "prayer starters" and a reminder, a nudge, to set apart 10 minutes a day... to be still... and to know that God is near...

So do look at the Concord Pastor's blog and click on the Cross. Remember, too, that if you click on the Bible you will get several excellent commentaries for the next Sunday's liturgy.

How long have you been loved?

I came across this poem by Robert Morneau and thought I would share it with you today. It is found in a book by him called Reconciliation and I go back to it every once in a while but had forgotten about the poem.

How long have you been loved?
Give me your age and add nine months.
That's how long.
At this very moment-now-
you are been loved,
loved into existence,
loved unto death.

We've all heard the common expression:
"He/she just doesn't get it."

I'm one of those.
When will I get it-
get the insight that I
have been loved for a very long time?
Get the fact that all of us
are full of grace,
beloved and cared for?

Maybe tomorrow?

Now, I think this poem calls for some reflection and we need to accept the truth that many of us do not realize that we are being loved every minute of our life. We will be filled with joy when we do believe this and want to give love to others.

Well, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day so I hope you all celebrate and know that you are loved!!

I think there is more to say about the passage from our Constitutions that I posted yesterday - here is the part I did not really reflect on in yesterday's blog and yet it is very much a part of our spirituality:

Our starting point is the Gospel
with all that it demands from us of love, forgiveness
and justice,
and of solidarity with those who are poor
and rejected by the world.

Jesus told us to love as He has loved us; we are to love with His love as we can do nothing without Him and He calls us to take a stand for justice always. This may just mean doing the little things we see if our daily lives. Jesus sought out the poor, the outcasts, those who were in need of His love. We need to be His hands and feet and voice in our world today.
My Dad never missed Sunday Mass but he also did not talk much about religion. I remember that I was in high school and in one week I had three different people tell me things that made me realize how my Dad lived the Gospel. The first person was a black woman who came to clean and cook for us sometimes and I happened to meet her when going to wait for the bus to take me back to boarding school on Monday morning. She told me that she had been waiting in line to pay her bill at the downtown Laclede Gas and Light Company and my Dad had come by and seen her and insisted on taking care of her bill so she did not need to wait there. She was so grateful as she had a long way to go and might have missed her bus; then I met a man who worked with my Dad and who told me how he was standing up for all the men in this section of the company so they could have a union for all the employees and he was showing a great deal of courage as the head of the company was not in favor of allowing the union. My Dad even accepted to be treasurer for this new union. The third came from our yard man who just mentioned to me how much he respected my Dad because of the way he would ask him so politely if he could do something. Old Tom told me that most just ordered him around and wanted everything done at once but my Dad was "a gentleman and always so considerate when asking for something to be done." I remember seeing my Dad in a new light after three testimonies in one week; in fact, I began to realize that my parents lived the Gospel even if they did not talk about it. Well, I do not know what brought all that out of me today, but I was thinking of the ways we practice justice in daily life.

Today is the day saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), our first American born canonized saint, joined the Catholic Church in 1805. She was foundress of the American Sisters of Charity but only after her husband died; some of her children were still young when she went to Baltimore to teach at the request of Bishop John Carroll, first bishop in the United States who had insisted that the priests have a voice in electing their bishop.

To continue reflection on the Spirituality of the Society of the Sacred Heart from our Constitutions:

7.
We participate in the mission of the Church
through the service of education
which is our way of continuing the work of Christ.
This service of education and instruction is directed
chiefly towards the young
and those who bear within them the future of the world.
Caught up as we are in the desires of His Heart,
we want people to grow in dignity, as human beings
and as children of God
Our starting point is the Gospel
with all that it demands from us of love, forgiveness
and justice,
and of solidarity with those who are poor
and rejected by the world.

Having taught every class from kindergarten through postmaster's for over sixty years, I feel I really lived a great deal of my life at the service of education. I felt even more an educator during the years I also did formation work for my Province in Chile, or was superior and teaching English to help support the community, or when giving retreats, etc. We are educators and this influences all that we do.
The desire to help people to grow as human beings and children of God does demand a great deal from us and leads us into different ministries. Our starting point is always the Gospel. It is amazing how looking at Jesus in the Gospel, trying to put on the mind and heart of Jesus, seems to solve so many situations. The Gospels are not just to be studied but to be lived.

I did begin the writing of my book on one of our Religious.
Now, for the blog, I am back to looking at our spirituality as expressed in the Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart. We had been looking at the section on our End and Mission.

In #6, after talking about our vowed commitment, we read:

Rooted in Him through contemplation
we wish to be women who create communion.
By the witness of our love and apostolic dedication,
by sharing the life of our peoples
whose cultures are rich and varied,
our communities throughout the world
help to further communion in Christ.

I think the line "rooted in Him through contemplation" is essential to our spirituality and to that of all my readers, too. It does not mean that we are not very active people, but we are called to sink deep into the Heart of Christ and just remain in His love and then all that we do is with Him and in Him and for Him. We are contemplative and apostolic, sort of like breathing in and out. We do not have to think about breathing, we just are doing it naturally. I suspect that when really rooted in Christ through contemplation, we do not need to think about this because we just are; and then we can give His love to others.
We do desire to be women who create communion. I guess that is something that we need to work on in our world today. We need to think of ways to do this and go out of our way to praise others, support and encourage them. We all know how good we feel when someone tells us something positive; let us go and do likewise.

Now I Begin...

I cannot put off writing the book that is waiting any longer. Here is what is getting me going today: (I hope Megan does not mind me copying this to share with my readers, but I did find it helpful.)

Facing the Demons of Inaction

Megan, selected from Experience Life
March 10, 2012


SIDEBAR:
Get Going!
If you’re ready to end your habit of procrastination, here are the next four steps:
1. Identify an important, beneficial project or task about which you have been procrastinating.
2. What’s the next step you need to take? Name it, even if it’s just a small task like making a phone call.
3. Noting and accepting any uncomfortable feelings that come up, decide to take action anyway. When are you going to do this thing? Identify a specific day and time. You’ve just made an appointment with yourself.

And now the fun part …
4. Accompanied by trepidation, fear, doubts, indecision, shyness, anxiety or any other demon that happens to show up DO IT. Enjoy the experimental feeling of doing it even in the face of your other feelings.

No question about it: Taking action isn’t always pleasant. But in many ways, it is exhilarating, particularly when it is difficult!

Plus, look at the payoff over the course of a lifetime: a lot more accomplished and a lot less suffering, fretting and regret.

Feeling overwhelmed and underpowered? Do something anyway. As Joan Baez once said, “Action is the antidote to despair.”

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/facing-the-demons-of-inaction.html#ixzz1opehQygJ