A New Venture

 This year I will be going to a daycare for the elderly to start a Bible group. One of my spirituality group works there as a social worker and asked me to do this. Fortunately, another of my spirituality group has offered to drive me and I have asked her to help me with this new group. We will be meeting the second Tuesday of each month. I am really happy to be able to do this. It is in Mountain View so a good half hour from Oakwood. I went yesterday with all the paperwork required and explored the facility. I will have a quiet room for the Bible group.

Now, I suspect I mentioned the book, The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life by Joan Chittister, some weeks ago. It was published last year by Random House.

In her Introduction, Joan tells us that her book will invite reflection. She says, "To live a mature spiritual life requires that we choose the virtues that will ground our hearts, stretch our vision, and give new energy to our hopes." She also stresses that we can refuse to be drawn into the chaos of our world. Without going to a monastery, we can be contemplative in the midst of our hectic world.

I guess the book is a call to all of us to slow down and pray. Our world needs prayer, our prayer, my prayer. We are all responsible and need to find a rhythm in our own life that resembles the monastic life of prayer, work, rest and relaxation. I guess I am looking at this in my own life as I can get caught up in reading emails instead of writing to those I really want to be in contact with; I can find time to play Words with Friends or Scrabble on my I-pad and not exercise; I can read and do read each day and lose track of time. As you can see, I am examining my own life and invite each of you to do the same. God waits for us to be the center of our lives.

We are not alone

 Sometimes, we feel that we are alone; no one really understands my life at this moment. Have you ever felt that way? Happily, I know I have in the past, but that seems long ago. Still, I think we all have moments when we feel alone. I know that God is always with me, but sometimes He lets us feel as if no one is there to understand us. He waits for us to turn to Him, but He is always with us. I am convinced of this, but maybe the problem is that I forget to turn to Him.

Mother Stuart has a great quote that I will copy here for you today:

"Life is a solitude, and yet as our Lord said, 'I am not alone, for the Father is with me.' Though perhaps three-hundred and sixty-four days out of the year, we cannot feel it. But you know that beyond your own erratic guidance, and the plunging of the chariot, a hand has guided your life, and kept you safe through many a storm, beyond what you could do for yourself. And that same guidance will bring you into the port at last."

Friendhip with Jesus

 The wonderful thing about having Jesus for one's best friend is that He is always present, ready to listen, to console us, to help us, etc. We have only to turn to Him. He waits for us to do this. Since Jesus is fully human as well as divine, I think He actually longs for us to turn to Him, to consult Him, to plan our day with Him, and, above all, as true friends do, just sit in silence together. I feel that Jesus left us the Eucharist so He can be with us. We can take Him to the sick, but we can also just sit with Him, present in a special way in the tabernacle of our Churches and Chapels. It is a great gift to just be with Him who waits for us to come so He can pour out His love on each of us.

Mother Stuart tells us that "we cannot exaggerate the faithfulness and forbearing nature of His friendship" and she adds, "I do not think He likes us to stand aloof and look askance at Him, as it we did not know what ground we stood upon with Him."

Trust in the Lord at all times

 Today I am sharing another quote from Mother Stuart as I think it is helpful for all of us to reflect on:

"Our Lord knows the brittle stuff we are made of, and is not surprised or disappointed in us if we break down time after times. The only thing that would disappoint Him, I think, is if we trusted Him less, or thought that he was weary of us because of our faults; and that disappointment, I hope, you will never give Him."

So. let us renew our trust in the Heart of Christ who loves us with an infinite love!

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

The theme of today'a Liturgy is humility.

 The Collect is important. "God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nutured."

I love the first reading from the Book of Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29

"My child, conduct your affairs with humility and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God. What is too sublime for you, seek not, into things beyond your strength search not. The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the joy of the wise. Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins."

Responsorial Psalm: "God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor."

Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews: 12:18-19, 22-24a

Gospel is from Luke 14: 1, 7-14  "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, everyone who humbles himself will be exalted."

Joy

 I suspect that I may have used this quote on joy from Mother Stuart before, but it is worth repeating:

?Joy is the song or psalm of the spirit under the pressure of happiness, and to give God the fullest and best service possible, we must train our spirit to sing that psalm continually."

How do I train my spirit to sing a song of joy? I know that I must "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative" and as that old song said, "Don't mix with mister inbetween!" 

Let us increase our awareness of the infinite love of God for each of us. He only wants to love us and that is a source of joy for each of us. I am loved. I am loved infinitely. I am loved by the Father, by the Son, and by the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

The present moment

 Spiritual writers are always asking us to live in the present moment. I know this is a grace to ask for as it is not easy. Mother Stuart says, "It is always here and now, there is always the present moment to do the very best we can with, and the future depends on the way these moments are spent."

I find it difficult to stay in the present. My mind rushes forward to whatever tasks I have planned for the day or I find myself going back over other actions in the past. I really try to stay in the present moment, but it is difficult for me. It helps to remember that I only have grace for this moment and I am called to live it fully; the past is past and the future does not exist, so we only have the present moment to live and love as God calls us. Let God love us and then let that love overflow to others.

Feast of St. Louis

 

One of the few buildings left from the World's Fair is the Art Museum and the statue of King Louis of France who was canonized and is the patron of St. Louis. To find this picture, I got involved in the entire history of the 1904 World's Fair. My grandfather was President of General Electric and so did all the lighting for the Fair. My Dad was six years old and often went with his father to the World Fair and his picture is in the Jefferson Memorial which was built with the money the World Fair earned for St. Louis. 

My Dad was born on August 25 so I think it was fascinating to read how the World Fair was held in St. Louis. This city at that time was the fifth largest in the United States. I lived near the cite of the Fair and could still enjoy Forest Park. We would go sledding on Art Hill and ice-skating on the lagoon in the winter. In the summer we could rent canoes or sit on the hillside and watch the colored fountains. I did not do much research on King Louis as I got carried away by the history of 1904! 

Something to try

 I was sent an idea that I am passing on to you today. I think it is an aspect of "tonglen" which stresses seeing yourself in need of comfort and compassion. You place whatever is lonely, or grieving, or just confused, into your left hand and gently stroke it with your right hand, offering the compassion to make it better. Stroking the hurting part of you with tenderness and compassion acknowledges that you see in yourself something that is not as you wish it to be. 

This can be done with anything we see and do not want to there and do not know how to get rid of it. It is by embracing it that healing and compassion can be activated. Compassion is within us and we need to practice giving it to ourselves in order to be able to give it to others. 

I shared this with my Westwood Community at our evening prayer and told them they may see me in the Chapel stroking my left hand. I think this may be helpful and urge all to give it a try.

We pray for rain

 A dear friend sent me a card with "A Caring, Cheerful Thought" on the back. It is from Someone Cares and is a Guidepost card so I am not copying more than a tiny bit. It is about a really rainy day when all had to stay in and suddenly a neighbor appears with a picnic. Now, I think that is a great idea and I quote: "There is nothing better than a picnic on a rainy day." This neighbor had brough jars of jam and peanut butter, fresh wheat bread, hard boiled eggs, grapes and brownies still warm from the oven. I think that all mothers should begin to think about picnics on rainy days, and I think age has nothing to do with a love of an indoor picnic. I might just pass this idea on to our chef, if and when we finally have some rain!

Please join me in praying for lots of rain and snow for California. We really need it and I am afraid that the beautiful trees here will not live without more rain this year. 

Now for a spiritual thought that I got from another fried and have sort of condensed and tried to make it something that may be helpful - I am trying it out myself. However, it will need to wait until tomorrow.

The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 Today we ask in the Collect for the Mass of this Feast that God, "who made the Mother of your Son to be our Mother and Queen, graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession, we may attain in the heavenly kingdom the glory promised to your children."

I love this feast and often imagine heaven with Our Lady sitting next to her Divine Son and surrounded by the Communion of Saints and a multitude of angels.

Let us ask Mary to help us have peace in our world today!

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

 I always like to copy the Collect here as it is the prayer at the beginning of the Liturgy that the priest prays and tells us what we are asking for in this Liturgy. We often miss it as we are perhaps still getting settled. Here is today's Collect. The Sunday Collect is repeated during the week when there is not a special feast or commemeration 

Collect: O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found.

The first reading is from the Book of Isaiah 66:18-21 and begins: "Thus says the Lord: I know their works and their thoughts, and I come to gather nations of every language; the shall come and see my glory."

Reponsorial Psalm: "Go out to all the world and tell the good news."

The Second Reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13

This second reading tells us that the Lord disciplines those he loves.

The Gospel is from Luke 13:22-30

"Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. When asked if only a few people will be saved, Jesus answered: "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough."

Tomorrow is the Feast of the Queenship of Our Lady which used to be celebrated on May 31, my birthday. August 22 was the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but is now celebrated on the day after the Feast of the Sacred Heart.