St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco was born in Italy in 1815 and ordained in 1841. His love for children led him to form the Salesian Society named after St. Francis de Sales. He taught poor boys and had classes for them in the evenings.
I spent a couple of weeks during the summers after seventh and eighth grade with some of my classmates at Camp Don Bosco. There I learned how to dive off the springboard in different ways; we rode horseback through the woods, took long hikes with our cabin counselor, learned new crafts, and did all the usual camp things. It was the first time away from my parents for more than a night or two. I was too excited to be homesick, but looked forward to mail-call each day. I have not thought about that camp or some of the people I met there until now, but I know that it gave me devotion to St. John Bosco that has lasted 65 years!

Mark's Gospel today contains this powerful passage: "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you."
God loves a generous giver!

Teaching on the Sea of Galilee

Today's Gospel, Mark 4:1-20, tells us that Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. The picture shows him standing, but I like the idea that he was teaching while sitting down in the boat. The crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables...
First, we know that Jesus taught by the sea. I went on a tour of the Holy Land and, at the site where tradition has it that Jesus preached the Beatitudes, the guide explained that we call it the Sermon on the Mount but that Jesus would have been on the shore and the crowd seated on the hillside; the sea breezes would then carry his words to the huge crowd. Jesus had no microphone, no bull-horn, but the sea amplified his voice so that all could hear him.

Jesus told the parable of the sower who goes out to sow...later he explains it to his disciples saying, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?" The sower sows the word ...
Their are different responses to the word. It is the seeds sown on rich soil that bear fruit. Those whose seeds fall into rich ground are the ones who recognize the other kinds of soil in themselves - the rocky ground, the hard-earth path, and the word among thorns.
What best describes my soil during these last days of January? The new year is almost a month old and what is my response to Jesus as he sows the word in my life?
How will I cultivate the soil today to receive his word?

The winter scene reminds me of many things; none of these memories are connected with south Florida where the average temperature is 83. Yesterday was lovely as the high was in the mid-seventies, but everyone thought they were freezing! I actually wore a sweater in my office. I do not miss the snow and ice, but sometimes a picture brings back good memories of sitting around a lovely fire in the fireplace, toasting marshmellows, drinking hot chocolate with melted marshmellows on top, and going sledding and ice-skating in the park. There is a feeling of cosiness when snuggled under blankets or just reading in front of the fireplace. All of this is causing me nostalgia after over twenty years in Miami. One time, a friend gave a Christmas party and turned her air-conditioning as high as she could get it so her house was cold enough for a fire in the fireplace!
I think I am escaping the fact that I need to get out and vote today. We are a very democratic country; voting is important. Yet, today I am reluctant to go. We voted against slot machines in this county; they are back on the ballot. The papers have been telling us about political corruption for months on all levels. Yet, I know my vote counts and I am going, but it is good to remember the times when I sat in front of a fire surrounded by family and friends and, as I remember it, without anything to trouble my cosy world. God was there, but God is here and telling me that a little nostalgia can be a good thing as long as the snow stays in the picture!

Gratitude

Somedays I just wake up thankful. It is not because it is the feast of St. Thomas of Aquinas, although I rejoice with the Dominicans today. I also remember that Harvey Egan in a book on Christian Mysticism said that from the time of the apostles until St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest theologians were frequently mystics. I think we should expect theologians today, to also be mystics. It is the mystic who makes more explicit the basic experience of God that haunts every human heart. And mystics are grateful people because they know they are loved by God.
I am grateful for the world and all that is in it.

I want to express my gratitute by an adaptation of a prayer by Patricia Strong taken from A Grateful Heart:
Thankful may I ever be for everything that God bestows.
Thankful for the joys and sorrows, for the blessings and the blows.
Thankful for the wisdom gained through hardships and adversity.
Thankful for the undertones as well as for the melody.

Thankful may I ever be for God's benefits both great and small-
And may I never fall in gratitude for that divinest gift of all:
The love of sisters and family and friends that I have known,,,
O may the first prayer of the day be always one of thankfulness. Amen.

Jesus calls us to be "fishers of men"

Jesus went to live in Capernaum by the sea only after he heard that John the Baptist had been arrested. Mark tells us in today's Gospel that "he left Nazareth" and "from that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

Jesus wants some help; he needs others so he is walking by the sea and sees Peter and Andrew casting a net into the sea. Jesus says to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. The "at once" always grabs my attention. Were they waiting to be called? We know from John's Gospel that Andrew and John had followed Jesus and spent a good part of a day with him earlier and Andrew told Peter about Jesus. Had they spent more time with him? I suspect so and were secretly wishing and waiting to follow his call. Maybe they had a desire for something more and did not know what it was until they heard Jesus say, "Come".

Then Jesus walks along and saw James and John in the boat with their father. He called them and immediately they left their father and their boat and followed Jesus.

The grace of a vocation was at work and we see the power and attraction of Jesus in this calling of the first disciples. He is still calling us. What does he ask of me today?

"Stir into flame the gift of God..."

Today we celebrate the feast of Timothy and Titus, both disciples of Paul and bishops. It is a call to pray for all the bishops of the world.

The entrance antiphon from Ezechiel 34 is one that I love: "I will look after my sheep, says the Lord, and I will raise up one shepherd who will pasture them. I, the Lord, will be their God." The bishop is to be a shepherd for his people; Christ for us, ready to defend and even die for the flock he shepherds.
Paul reminds Timothy "to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands." Every bishop and each of us has the gift of God and we are all called to stir into flame this gift. How am I doing this? How do I enkindle the fire of God's love in myself so that I may enkindle it in others? What can I do today to stir into flame the love of God so that it spreads through me to others?

I should end there but the morning paper has a questionnaire on happiness that I think we should reflect on as we need to be happy to enkindle the fire of God's love in others - knowing that we are loved is the foundation of our happiness. Here is what the Miami Herald paper excerpted from a book by Marci Shimoff: Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out:
I often feel happy and satisfied for no particular reason.
I live in the moment.
I feel alive, vital and energetic.
I experience a deep sense of inner peace and well-being.
Life is a great adventure for me.
I don't let bad situations keep me down.
I am enthusiastic about the things I do.
Most days I have an experience of laughter and joy.
I trust that this is a friendly universe.
I look for the gift or the lesson in everything that happens.
I am able to let go and forgive.
I feel love for myself.
I look for the good in every person.
I change the things I can and accept the things I can't change.
I surround myself with people who support me.
I don't blame others or complain.
My negative thoughts don't overshadow me.
I feel a general sense of gratitude.
I feel connected to something bigger than myself.
I feel inspired by a sense of purpose in my life.

You are supposed to rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5. I know that I am a very happy person, but I stopped over the one where it says I don't blame others or complain. I sometimes need to take a practice for myself of going through the entire day without a complaint or a feeling of discontent. But we are called to be happy so make your own questionnaire and kindle happiness around you!

The Conversion of Paul

Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. We have three stories of his conversion in the Acts of the Apostles. None of the stories mentions a horse! Yet, so often Paul is being knocked off his horse by God. I guess I rather associated him with the Lone Ranger when I was small and thought the horse was white! There may not have been a horse, but Paul was struck blind by a brilliant Light and he did hear Jesus asking him, "Why are you persecuting me?" This encounter with God changed his life and now all his energy was spent in spreading the Good News to every one.
The picture of the surfer is the image I have of Paul. He had courage and took risks, but he was led by the Spirit. May we reflect today on how the Spirit is leading us?
I also think that Paul (still Saul) was blind for three days and nights so that he could reflect on what had happened to him and change his life. He was then ready to be baptized and, like a surfer, go forth with joy to ride the waves. Paul became the great Apostle to the Gentiles and spread Christianity throughout much of the known world before giving his life for Christ. Try reading his Epistles in chronological order to see how his own thought developed and what marvelous truths his Epistles contain.

Light a flame

What is this awesome mystery
that is taking place within me?
I can find now words to express it;
my poor hand is unable to capture it
in describing the praise and glory that belong
to the One who is above all praise,
and who transcends every word...
My intellect sees what has happened,
but it cannot explain it.
It can see, and wishes to explain,
but can find no word that will suffice;
for what it sees is invisible and entirely formless,
simple, completely uncompounded,
unbounded in its awesome greatness.
What I have seen is the totality recapitulated as one,
received not in essense but by participation.
Just as if you lit a flame from a flame,
it is the whole flame you receive." St. Symeon the New Theologian

The above poem from St. Symeon (949-1022) is taken from his "What Is This Awesome Mystery", from Hymns of Divine Love and quoted at the beginning of Richard Rohr's book, Things Hidden: Scripture As Spirituality.

I find it is helpful to recall the "awesome mystery that is taking place within me." We forget what wonderful mysteries each is and how we reflect the mystery of God!

I promised that I would share two new books with you. I happen to know both authors personally and look forward to their latest books. Joan is a Benedictine; Richard is a Franciscan priest.

I have not yet had time to read these new books, but love the authors and they look like books that I will find nourishing my own spirituality. I will include them in the spiritual book list. The first is by Joan Chittister who is one of the most influential spiritual writers of the 21st Century. It is "Welcome to the Wisdom of the World and Its Meaning for You" and was just published in 2007 by William B. Eerdmans. Joan gives us wonderful and wise insights distilled from the five great religious traditions. It is easy to read and yet calls one to live the wisdom discovered in the major religious traditions. Each Chapter tackles a different spiritual question.

The second book is a new one by Richard Rohr, "Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality," St. Anthony Press, 2008. Richard, the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico, has written many books and given lectures and retreats all over the world. He is another contemporary author who has the courage to call us to live the real vision of Christianity which unites sacred Scripture and Christian spirituality. I hope to have time to start reading both books today!

The Lord chooses David for Samuel to anoint

In today's reading from the first book of Samuel 16:1-13, the Lord sends Samuel to anoint his chosen king. Samuel objects as he is afraid Saul will hear of this and kill him. But the Lord tells him to take a heifer along and say, "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord." He is to invite Jesse to the sacrifice and the Lord says that Samuel is to anoint the one he points out to him. Samuel meets Jesse sons and as he looked at the eldest he thought surely this was the one. But the Lord told Samuel "Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart."
Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but the Lord had not chosen any of these. Then Samuel asked if these are all the sons that Jesse has. Jesse said, "There is still the youngest who is tending the sheep." Samuel said to send for him. When David came, the Lord said, "anoint him, this is he!"
From that day on, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

I love this story for the Lord chooses and he looks into the heart. He still is choosing us and looking into our hearts. He also sends his Spirit upon us. We have been called and chosen and anointed in Baptism. The Lord has a special place for each of us in this world and no one else can fulfill our task of responding to the love the Lord has for us and for each of his creatures.

I have two new books to share with you tomorrow that may help us to respond to God's love for we have been chosen.

St. Agnes and Martin Luther King

St. Agnes was one of the early Roman martyrs and gave her life for Christ when only twelve or thirteen years old. Her feast has been celebrated since the 4th century on January 21. Today is also the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the United States and is a national holiday. Both were people who were willing to die for what they believed and we celebrate their courage.
I have just returned from New Orleans. On Friday afternoon we had a tour of the city and saw both the terrible destruction that Katrina caused and the heroic efforts to rebuild the damaged neighborhoods. It was both depressing and hopeful at the same time. Some houses have signs saying, "Please do not demolish!" Others are newly occupied with fresh paint and a tended yard; what courage it took to return to homes that had to be gutted before being restored! I only hope the government continues to help this city recover. The streets are still in terrible condition in so many neighborhoods. Yet, the people are full of hope and beginning to celebrate Mardi Gras!
The Quad Area meeting (all the Religious of the Sacred Heart from Houston, Grand Coteau, New Orleans, and Miami)was life-giving as we spend an entire day just listening to each other share what has been most important in both inner and outer life during the past year. We have been doing this for many years and the level of sharing is very deep. We also invite some of the Associates to join us and they seem astonished by the variety of ministries in our Quad Area.
I have missed writing this blog last week, but it would have been impossible to even try. Now I need to catch up with my international online course in Contemporary Spirituality as we have just finished the first unit.

Monday to Monday

This week I shall be away and not have access to the computer some of the time; I will just take a little vacation from this daily blog and sign in again next Monday.

It will be a busy week; my sister arrives from Phoenix tomorrow and we will both be in Naples, Florida to see a very dear friend that I have known all my life. Our parents were friends with her parents even before they were married. On Thursday early I will drive back as I am giving a talk for Ascending Life at St. Thomas University on "Nourishing Our Inner and Outer Life". Then I leave with my community for New Orleans for our annual sharing with the RSCJs in what we call the Quad Area: Houston, Grand Coteau, New Orleans, and Miami. Each of us shares what has been most significant for us during the year. We return Sunday night. I will share with you what the week was for me next Monday, Feast of Martin Luther King.

To reflect on this week: "How do I nourish my inner and outer life?"