Almost there

So, I know my blog has been ignored for awhile.... I think it's about those "unbloggables" as some people say. Not to worry. All is fine.

My final interview for the application process is next Wednesday, and then the Society is supposed to make their decision shortly after that! I'm excited and at peace with all of it. And I am grateful to be able to say that (thank you, Jesus!).

Please send up a little prayer this week. Many blessings to each of you!

A Passage for Today

Wisdom 11:22 - 12:2

Because the whole world before you
is like a speck that tips the scales,
and like a drop of morning dew
that falls to the ground.
But you are merciful to all,
for you can do all things,
and you overlook people's sins,
so that they may repent.

For you love all things that exist,
and detest none of the things
you have made,
for you would not have made anything
if you had hated it.

How would anything have endured if you had not willed it?

Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved?

You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord,
you who love the living.
For your immortal spirit is in all things.

Therefore you correct
little by little
those who trespass,
and you remind and warn them
of the things through which they sin,
so that they may be freed from wickedness
and put their trust in you, O Lord.

The Word

And the Word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us,

and we saw his glory,

the glory as of the Father's only Son,

full of grace and truth.

May we always remember the great gift we have received when Christ humbled himself to share in our humanity, to experience our joys and sufferings, our love and our worries. I pray that we can find comfort in the fact that all the hardships and all the blessings we receive were experienced by Jesus also, that we are not alone in our journey.

I pray that we find the Love we need and seek, in our family, friends, and in God. I pray that through love, we each might experience the healing that will make us whole.

Image from antiqueclipart.com.

God Acting

I've been thinking a lot about God in action. My spiritual director talks about "God-acting" and this idea has stuck with me.

God never changes, and God created us. So if God once created, then God is always creating, because to stop creating would be to change. The Creator God is Creating God, always acting in every one of his creations to keep us going.

There's a second side to the image, too. God is always making us holy. We are sinful, human, full of mistakes, but God makes us holy, and God is always making us holy.

Perhaps that's good to remember when I feel especially sinful or unworthy of God's love. I'm worthy of God's love because God is making me holy--because God says I am worthy!

With that, I feel humbled by God's greatness.

A new type of prayer

I'm reading all sorts of things in preparation for classes this fall. One of the books is Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue.

Celtic spirituality is quite different from much of the history of western Christian spirituality. A striking difference is the unity of body and soul. Western theology is so hampered by dualism - whether we like it or not, this way of thinking has invaded Christianity.

O'Donohue speaks of how our body is not separate from our soul in any way, but he says that our body resides in our soul. I'm still working that one out, but it is a beautiful image.

He offers a way to pray:

Your body is in the soul, and the soul suffuses you completely. Therefore, all around you there is a secret and beautiful soul-light. This recognition suggests a new art of prayer: Close your eyes and relax into your body. Imagine a light all around you, the light of your soul. Then with your breath, draw that light into your body and bring it with your breath through every area of your body.

(p. 49)

from Psalm 49

Be not afraid to discover the Treasure within,
to seek the gold hidden in the garden of your heart.
For inasmuch as you root out each fear,
will truth and peace and joy become your riches.
You will live in the realm of Love becoming a light,
a beneficial presence in the world.

O Spirit of Truth, You are our strength and our guiding light,
Lead us, O Love, to the eternal Treasure,
the Heart of all hearts.


from Nan Merrill's Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness

Sometimes, prayer's like this:

Prayer

From St. Madeleine Sophie:

Be in peace about the state of your soul and your manner of prayer; only love and do what you please. The essential thing and the proof of true love is forgetfulness of self and of one’s own interests to think only of those of the loved one…So what difference does it make how you pray provided that your heart is seeking the one you love.

The last line reminds me of other mystics--prayer as simply loving God. It seems that prayer for me needs to come in many forms--the liturgy of the church, silence in God's presence, contemplating the psalms or readings of the day. Lately for me, prayer comes with tears. Not just tears of sadness, though there are some of those, but also tears of joy, tears of anticipation, tears of fear, tears of remembering. I am thankful for the tears in a way, and I have to remind myself that tears, too, are a gift. Emotions are a part of being human, and so they are another way of expressing who I am and how I deal with the world.

(Many thanks, D, for the quote.)

Imagining

As I prayed with Acts 9 today, the conversion of St. Paul, I couldn't help but think about what that conversation would have been like with me....

On her journey, as she was nearing the next curve in the road,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around her.
She saw that light, and heard a voice saying to her,
“Daughter, daughter, why are you ignoring me?”
She said, “Who are you?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are ignoring.
Now go and pray, and you will know what you must do.”

...

Something like that.

Vocations Prayer

- from usccb.org

Creator of the Universe,
God of the Nations,
Your people are longing to hear your word.
Send laborers to into your harvest--
women and men on fire with your love:

- Dedicated single people who incarnate your presence in their daily lives, whose availability enables them to respond to a diversity of needs.

- Married couples whose relationships serve as a sign of your fidelity to your people, whose love overflows to their children and neighbors.

- Ordained ministers who gather the prayers and longing of your people, who serve as a channel of your presence through the sacraments.

- Religious sisters, brothers, and priests whose life in community foreshadows our eternal unity in Christ, whose service brings your life to the world.

May each of us respond
with courage and generosity
to our particular vocations, and
may the Church recognize the Spirit's call
to men and women of good will,
trusting in your abundance
to answer all our needs.
Amen.