A New Prayer of St. Francis

A New Prayer of St. Francis
O God our Creator, give us awareness of the massive forces threatening our world.
Where there is armed conflict, let us stretch our arms to our brothers and sisters
Where there is abundance, let there be simple lifestyles and sharing
Where there is poverty, let there be dignity and constant striving for justice
Where there is selfish ambition, let there be humble service
Where there is despair, let their be hope in the Good News
Where there are wounds of division, let there be unity and wholeness
Help us to be committed to the building of your kingdom, not seeking to be cared for, but to care, not expecting to be served, but to serve others, not desiring material security but placing our security in your love.
For it is in loving imitation of you, God, that we can discover the healing springs of life to bring about new birth on our earth and hope for the world. Amen

As I mentioned yesterday, I am away for two weeks. I shall pray for all at the shrine of St. Philippine in St. Charles where I shall be for four days which include a workshop on working with youth; I shall then have a week to do research in our general archives in St. Louis. The following week end I will finally get to go to Sugar Creek where Philippine went with others to work with the Indians. Lucille Mathevon was the superior of that little group and stayed on the Indian mission until her death. I have always wanted to go and it will be like a pilgrimage for me and I am excited about it! I will be back on the blog at least by October 15 and may be able to write before that but it is usually better to think that I will be away for two weeks and not writing the daily blog. The above prayer will help you prepare for the Feast of St. Francis.

Feast of St. Michael Archangel

I had to at least remind you of St. Michael's feast today; October 2nd is the feast of all the angels. It is my mother's birthday and I used to send my Guardian Angel to be with her on that day.
I leave today for two weeks. I shall pray for all at the shrine of St. Philippine in St. Charles where I shall be for four days which include a workshop on working with youth; I shall then have a week to do research in our general archives in St. Louis. The following week end I will finally get to go to Sugar Creek where Philippine went with others to work with the Indians. Lucille Mathevon was the superior of that little group and stayed on the Indian mission until her death. I have always wanted to go; it will be like a pilgrimage for me and I am excited about it! I will be back on the blog at least by October 15 and may be able to write before that but it is usually better to think that I will be away for two weeks and not writing the daily blog. However, I have prepared one for tomorrow to help prepare the Feast of Francis on October 4.
Now, for what I have promised on the third modality of doing from Tolle. We have looked at how acceptance is necessary to give us peace in all that we do and do not like to do; enjoyment is necessary for all and we come to this with the peace that comes from acceptance that leads us to enjoy what we are doing (at least most of the time) and the joy comes from within us. Then Tolle speaks of enthusiasm.

"Enthusiasm means there is deep enjoyment in what you do plus the added element of a goal or vision that you work toward. when you add a goal to the enjoyment of what you do, the energy-field or vibrational frequency changes. A certain degree of what we might call structural tension is now added to enjoyment, and so it turns into enthusiasm. At the height of creative activity fueled by enthusiasm, there will be enormous intensity and energy behind what you do. You will feel like an arrow that is moving toward the target--and enjoying the journey."

Tolle says that it is when you want to arrive at your goal more than you want to be doing what you are doing, you become stressed - that is not good. Tolle says that the word enthusiasm comes from the ancient Greek meaning God and the related word means to be possessed by God. He says that with enthusiasm "you will find that you don't have to do it all by yourself."

I am going to continue reflecting on my acceptance of tasks I do not like but are part of daily life and try to concentrate on finding joy within at every moment by living in the present and let enthusiasm help me to do whatever God is asking me. Let us pray for one another!

Enjoyment

There must be a bridge between Acceptance and Enjoyment. I find Tolle's idea that acceptance brings peace and then when we are at peace we begin to enjoy what we are doing, a bridge between the two. Here is what Tolle says: "When you make the present moment, instead of past and future, the focal point of your life, your ability to enjoy what you do--and with it the quality of your life--increases dramatically. Joy is the dynamic aspect of Being. When the creative power of the universe becomes conscious of itself, it manifests as joy."

He also says that there is more meaning in joy than we will ever need so we do not need to wait to enjoy what we do. I guess I often am not living in the present and so miss the opportunity to really enjoy what I am doing! Then Tolle reminds us that the joy does not come from what we do; "it flows into what you do and thus into the world from deep within you."

Again, this is learning to be attentive, to live in the present and we will enjoy what we are doing. The joy of Being is the joy of being conscious.

"I am the hole in the flute that the Christ's breath moves through. Listen to this music." Hafiz, the 14th century Persian poet and Sufi master- quoted by Tolle.

Acceptance

Yesterday I mentioned acceptance as one of Tolle's three modalities. He says that whatever we cannot enjoy doing can at least be accepted. It means that whatever I have to do, I do willingly. He gives the example of changing a flat tire in pouring rain- it is not something that you enjoy; it is not something to be enthusiastic about, but you need to do it and can do it with acceptance - that means that you are at peace while you do it. Tolle says that if you can neither enjoy or bring acceptance to what you do, you should stop. Otherwise you are not taking responsibility for your state of consciousness. And, according to Tolle, "if you are not taking responsibility for your state of consciousness, you are not taking responsibility for life."

I will write about the second modality, enjoyment, tomorrow.

Something to think about...

I love the trees in this picture. They seem bent in Adoration. It is a quiet Sunday morning here and without any reason I picked up a book that has been on my bookshelf for some time and I vaguely remember buying it and dipping into it; I am sure I did not really read it, but bought the book because it is by Eckhart Tolle. He wrote the bestseller "The Power of Now" and he has been an influence on contemporary spirituality. His book "A New Earth:P Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" continues to show how important it is for us to transcend ego-based state of consciousness to attain happiness. As I said above, I do not think I read the entire book, but opened it to a part I liked enough today to share with you. Tolle is speaking about three modalities of awakened doing. He says:
"There are three ways in which consciousness can flow into what you do and thus into your world, three modalities in which you can align your life with the creative power of the universe. Modality means the underlying energy-frequency that flows into what you do and connects your actions with the awakened consciousness that is emerging into this world. What you do will be dysfunctional and of the ego unless it arises out of one of these three modalities...Each modality is appropriate to certain situations."

I hope you are now very curious to know the three modalities of awakened doing. They are acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm. We should always be operating from one of these no matter what we are doing during the day. He says, "If you are not in the state of either acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm, look closely and you will find that you are creating suffering for yourself and others."

I will continue with this tomorrow as I find it rather interesting and helpful but need to put it into my own words.

More rain!

Another rainy day! It is a Saturday and I suspect we are all glad to be able to stay home and work inside. The children may not want to stay in and I remember how we used to chant: "Rain, rain, go away, come another day" so we could get out to play! I really do not remember all of that "chant" but at school we were allowed to sing in our silent ranks when praying for good weather for a special event. I have always loved rain when I can stay inside; driving in the rain in Miami is not something I enjoy. The sun has baked the oil into the pavement and so one can easily hydroplane on the highways and so there are accidents because your car keeps going even when you try to brake. Enough about the weather but I will say it is going to help me to clean out my closet today since I am staying home!

Yesterday, amid all the rain, I did go to the University as we were having a reception, a dinner, and a biblical lecture on St. John's Gospel. I love John's Gospel and enjoyed the lecture but what struck me again in prayer this morning was how Jesus tells us to "love one another as I have loved you." We must love with the love of Jesus as otherwise it would be impossible for us to love others as Jesus loves us for his love is infinite, unconditional, and universal; however, we must strive to be so united to Jesus that it is his love that passes through us to others. He went out of his way to help others, to serve them, and his compassion and love is shown over and over in the Gospels. May his love pass freely through me to others.

Stormy Weather

We are watching another possible hurricane come our way. God has been protecting us during hurricane season so far and I cannot complain about stormy weather as long as the winds do not turn the storms into hurricanes. Yesterday we had rain and today only a shower of early morning rain. We have new plants in the front of the house that need to be watered as the rain does not reach them as the roof protects them. I will water them again. I made chicken vegetable soup last night as it is good to have for this stormy weather in spite of the heat outside. I like to prepare something for the week end as we do not cook on Saturday and Sunday but just "pick up" whatever we find. I guess I am the one who tries to make sure that there is something "to find" in our refrigerator.

I am not really writing to prepare Sunday liturgy because I have found so many places that do a great job with commentaries on the Sunday readings. Some of these are listed on the right side of the blog. I would call your attention to the blog, the Concord Pastor. If you click on the picture of the Bible in the blog you will find several excellent commentaries on the Sunday gospel. I am sure you will enjoy doing this and learn a great deal.

Each of us has a mission...called to change the world

Yesterday I quoted both John Henry Newman and Benedict XVI and these lines are still worth reflecting on today:
"Each of us has a mission, each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person. As our Lord tells us in the Gospel we have just heard, our light must shine in the sight of all, so that, seeing our good works, they may give praise to our heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:16)."

Do I really believe that I am called to change the world? Yes, I think I do, but maybe it is not something that will be seen on the outside. I firmly believe I have a mission and that mission is to make known the love of Christ for the entire world. If we are all united in the love of God, the world would be changed. I guess I am also thinking that all of us are united as Jesus told us - He is the Vine and we are the branches.

My reflection is triggered by my reading yesterday. I finished a book about World War II and also read a book on spiritual friendship. Both made me realize how it is important to give God's love to each.

"God has created me to do Him some definite service"

This is a bit of Pope Benedict's speech the night before the Mass to declare Cardinal John Henry Newman blessed:

"Tonight’s first reading is the magnificent prayer in which Saint Paul asks that we be granted to know “the love of Christ which surpasses all understanding” (Eph 3:14-21). The Apostle prays that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith (cf. Eph 3:17) and that we may come to “grasp, with all the saints, the breadth and the length, the height and the depth” of that love. Through faith we come to see God’s word as a lamp for our steps and light for our path (cf. Ps 119:105). Newman, like the countless saints who preceded him along the path of Christian discipleship, taught that the “kindly light” of faith leads us to realize the truth about ourselves, our dignity as God’s children, and the sublime destiny which awaits us in heaven. By letting the light of faith shine in our hearts, and by abiding in that light through our daily union with the Lord in prayer and participation in the life-giving sacraments of the Church, we ourselves become light to those around us; we exercise our “prophetic office”; often, without even knowing it, we draw people one step closer to the Lord and his truth. Without the life of prayer, without the interior transformation which takes place through the grace of the sacraments, we cannot, in Newman’s words, “radiate Christ”; we become just another “clashing cymbal” (1 Cor 13:1) in a world filled with growing noise and confusion, filled with false paths leading only to heartbreak and illusion.

One of the Cardinal’s best-loved meditations includes the words, “God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another” (Meditations on Christian Doctrine). Here we see Newman’s fine Christian realism, the point at which faith and life inevitably intersect. Faith is meant to bear fruit in the transformation of our world through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives and activity of believers. No one who looks realistically at our world today could think that Christians can afford to go on with business as usual, ignoring the profound crisis of faith which has overtaken our society, or simply trusting that the patrimony of values handed down by the Christian centuries will continue to inspire and shape the future of our society. We know that in times of crisis and upheaval God has raised up great saints and prophets for the renewal of the Church and Christian society; we trust in his providence and we pray for his continued guidance. But each of us, in accordance with his or her state of life, is called to work for the advancement of God’s Kingdom by imbuing temporal life with the values of the Gospel. Each of us has a mission, each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person. As our Lord tells us in the Gospel we have just heard, our light must shine in the sight of all, so that, seeing our good works, they may give praise to our heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:16).

A New Path

I love this picture as it is a real invitation to walk down this lovely, shady path. There is a street near me that has branches overhanging much of it and the cool shade is always welcome; Miami has many streets where the branches of the trees on either side meet and make a green arch and I sometimes go out of my way to drive down one of them. Now, in the spiritual life we are often invited to try a new path. Are we attentive and do we willingly set out to see where it will lead us? I suspect that when we are sure that our Good Shepherd is inviting us down a particular path we respond with trust and love, but we need to make sure we hear his voice as he calls us by name.

My vision is, according to the doctor, fine and the eye will be clear again by the end of the week. I hope my spiritual vision is fine, too.

What a gift we have with vision

I suppose you could talk about vision in many ways that would be quite spiritual. I am just using it this morning to refer to our eyes. We are able to see so much beauty and often forget to thank for it. I should begin by apologizing for not writing yesterday. It has to do with vision and also that my community use the computer on week ends. I woke up Saturday morning with my left eye all red. It just happened and I do not know why but have a doctor's appointment this morning. In the meantime, I tried to not use it as much as I usually do.
This triggered many interior pictures that I hold in my memory and led me to reflect on what a gift this pictorial vision is for each of us.

Happiness is something we all want...

I just read this that Pope Benedict XVI said to the school children in England on Friday morning- it is just an excerpt:
"Happiness is something we all want, but one of the great tragedies in this world is that so many people never find it, because they look for it in the wrong places. The key to it is very simple – true happiness is to be found in God. We need to have the courage to place our deepest hopes in God alone, not in money, in a career, in worldly success, or in our relationships with others, but in God. Only he can satisfy the deepest needs of our hearts.

Not only does God love us with a depth and an intensity that we can scarcely begin to comprehend, but he invites us to respond to that love. You all know what it is like when you meet someone interesting and attractive, and you want to be that person’s friend. You always hope they will find you interesting and attractive, and want to be your friend. God wants your friendship. And once you enter into friendship with God, everything in your life begins to change. As you come to know him better, you find you want to reflect something of his infinite goodness in your own life. You are attracted to the practice of virtue. You begin to see greed and selfishness and all the other sins for what they really are, destructive and dangerous tendencies that cause deep suffering and do great damage, and you want to avoid falling into that trap yourselves. You begin to feel compassion for people in difficulties and you are eager to do something to help them. You want to come to the aid of the poor and the hungry, you want to comfort the sorrowful, you want to be kind and generous. And once these things begin to matter to you, you are well on the way to becoming saints."

One feels small walking this path

My thoughts are still on following the path where Our Lord leads us and walks with us. It is different for each but what is important is that we set out and keep on the path and we will know which is the right one for us. I was talking with students at the University today after the Mass of the Holy Spirit. These were full of enthusiasm for college life this year. The group had all the leaders present and identified by the color of their shirts: student government, residence hall assistants, campus ministers, etc. Also present were all the athletic teams and they stayed together. I thought that most of these young men and women were just setting out on a path that would lead them through many places before they reached the end of their journeys. It was good to see them so full of optimism and joy. I think I had forgotten how it felt to be exploring new paths when not yet out of the teens. Actually, I entered the Society of the Sacred Heart two weeks after my 19th birthday so I guess I was setting out into the unknown just trusting the Lord and His Love. It has been a path full of many joys and graces mixed with some tough moments but I am grateful for all.

Walking New Paths

I had a long and fruitful meeting today with friends; some of us have been meeting monthly for the last twenty-two years. One said today that she had decided to celebrate her 70th birthday by giving herself a gift of doing 70 things that she had never done before! I thought that is a wonderful idea and I am beginning today to try to experience 80 new things before my 80th birthday next May. The trick is to reflect each day on what is really new and write it down.

The picture has a garden with paths; we all are on the path to sanctity and each is so different. One must respect the path of each and yet travel one's own path in great freedom. My path leads me into the Heart of Christ.

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

I talked about this feast a few days ago as it is special for me. In Chile, when I was the head of the grade school, There was a huge statue, probably larger than life-size, outside my office. It was Our Lady of Sorrows and on the wall above her was a large bronze crucifix. When the earthquake of 1965 struck our convent the crucifix fell on the statue of Our Lady and smashed it to pieces. It was the first thing I saw as I carefully came up the steps. It is still a vivid picture after all these years. My office was all torn up with the books hurled from the bookcases. Worse still was my bedroom: the bed was covered with adobe bricks that had come from the wall! And I was one who never ran out at night when we felt tremors! The navy sent some men who declared the entire convent unsafe and they brought our beds down and set them up in the children's dining room and sixteen of us slept there for a long time. There was no water and no electricity for weeks but we managed and I think it was Our Lady who helped us during that time.

Tonight I was going somewhere with one of my community and a young man in shorts and sandals on a motorbike sung out in front of us and then proceeded to cross a very big, busy intersection without waiting for the light! We see crazy driving in Miami everyday, but this was unbelievable. He just seemed to think that all the cars would manage to miss him as he crossed six lanes of rush-hour traffic! He made it to the other side safely and must have caused his Guardian Angel to have some anxious moments.

Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross

Today is the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, a liturgical feast that has been celebrated since the early centuries in the East. It commemorates the finding of the true Cross by St. Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. Rome adopted the feast in the seventh century and now the feast commemorates both the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335 and Christ's victory over death by his crucifixion and resurrection.

I am letting the picture be my reflection today; actually, it is night and the day just went by so fast and now I am trying to do many things and it is good to just imagine the stillness of the water and the silence.

Our Lady of Sorrows

All feasts of Our Lady are powerful. I went to Maryville College of the Sacred Heart (before it was moved to St. Louis county and became a university) and the old building had a special chapel on the community side of the house dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. Her feast day, September 15, has always been special in the Society of the Sacred Heart and we were allowed to visit this rather dark little chapel on her feast. I have found Our Lady always very present to me during times of sorrow and wanted to write about her today. The feast is Wednesday and I want to prepare for it by looking back over my life and seeing the times Mary, Mother of Sorrows, has been present to me. I remember seeing her once, I suppose I had a dream, and she was standing at the foot of the Cross and crying. Tears were streaming down her face and I knew that she had come to let me know that it was quite permissible to cry and to grieve but to stay standing at the foot of the Cross. This is still a vivid image for me and has often helped me.

I received this quote from one of our earlier Mother Generals, Mother Vincente, in the Sunday virtual prayer community weekly reflection on the Sunday readings;I like it and feel that you will, too.

"Finally, the Heart of Jesus is our consolation...In our doubts, in our temptations, after our faults, in our troubles...let us go to Him...let us open our hearts and speak of all that we love and regreat. If we open our hearts to Jesus, He will open His own to us..." (Taken from a letter of May 3, 1935 but so apt for me today!).
Mary always points me to Jesus.

Spirit Seeking Light and Beauty

I may have shared Mother Stuart's song; the words are hers and so beautiful that I am copying them here for you.

Spirit seeking light and beauty,
Heart still longing for your rest
In your search for understanding,
Only thus can you be blest,
Through the vastness of creation,
Though your restless thought may roam,
God is all that you can long for,
God is all creation's home.

Taste and see God, feel and hear God,
Hope and grasp the unseen hand;
Though the darkness seem to hide you,
Faith and love can understand.
Loving Wisdom, guiding Spirit,
All our hearts are made anew.
Lead us through the land of shadows
'Til we come to rest in you.

Jesus seeks the lost sheep

I often identify with the stray lamb that just wanders away looking for something that would satisfy his present desire; instead he or she finds herself lost, perhaps caught in a bramble, unable to free herself. Then Jesus comes to find her. He frees her and carries her tenderly home. I love the image of Jesus carrying the lamb because I think that is exactly what Jesus does for each of us. We wander away, get caught and are unable to save ourselves and then Jesus comes and frees us with love.

I am grateful for the many times Jesus has come after me; for the desire he gives me to be with him and, above all, for the love which frees me and carries me home. I think each time we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation we should be filled with gratitude that Jesus is seeking us, finding us no matter how far we have strayed, and then carrying us home.

This Sunday we have three parables in the Gospel. All end with great rejoicing because what was lost was found! Let us rejoice that we are unique and loved and the Lord rejoices each time we turn to him as he loves us with an infinite love.