communitas et caritas

Happy Feast--just a few days late! I preached this morning at our mid-day prayer service, using the Gospel reading of today, which is not one of my favorites.  But it gave me an opportunity to talk about St. Philippine Duchesne, whose feast day was on Monday.  Enjoy! Gospel: Luke 19:11-28 While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’ His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.’ But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had g...

We are the communion of saints--imperfect, and deeply loved by God. For several days I've been reflecting with God's desire to be with me, right here, right now.  Not to be with me as I wish or plan or plot out my future, but to be with me in all that I am and all that I am capable of on this day and at this moment.  Today's lectionary brought this back to me... Wisdom 11:22-12:2 (today's first reading): Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit i...

At my school, we do a weekly mid-day prayer service with preaching, planned and preached by the faculty.  I was on for yesterday's prayer.  It was a good reading for me to consider at this moment.... hope you find some good in it! Gospel Reading:  Luke 4:38-44 After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them. At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent hi...

At least, that's how I felt at Big Basin Redwoods Park yesterday.  It was beautiful, glorious, total peace. And then... Went here and met this guy. :) However, this is a postcard I bought...the museum itself is a little more worn and dusty than it looks here.   The guy is about the same, though.

As promised, the photos from Carmel Mission and the burial site of Junipero Serra. From what I read, this mission was Serra's favorite, and it became his home base.  It also had some significant damage from neglect before being rebuilt/repaired. The outside of the mission.  To the right is the old cemetery, and to the left are buildings around a courtyard. I think this said it was the original cross from the top of the church. Serra's burial place, beneath the floor of the sanctuary. And I cannot resist this last one.  I think it will find its way into future lectures on the Spanish conquest. I can't get over the imagery... Sacred Heart of Jesus / Christ the King rolled into one.  Complete with gilded cape and wooden cross.  I was a bit amused, but also a bit saddened by the way we use imagery sometimes.

Today is my first anniversary of first vows!  I am so happy to be here, and grateful for all that this year has been (though not all of it has been easy!) As part of my celebratory day, I took a mini pilgrimage to the Carmel Mission, which I'll post in a little bit.  I lit a candle there for my own vocation, in gratitude and hope, for my dear friend who is just beginning a new journey, and for all women who are discerning a vocation to religious life in the Society of the Sacred Heart.  May they be courageous and confident in their choices. And, here is my favorite picture from the ceremony a year ago...as published in a newspaper in my hometown.   Amen, and Blessings all around!

There is a great woman among our Sacred Heart sisters, who wrote of the side-roads and their spirituality (as opposed to the highways).  Janet Erskine Stuart, rscj, was the superior general of the order 1911-1914, and she wrote an essay called "Highways and By-ways."  "By-ways" is what we would call side-roads. I'm on vacation at a house we have in the mountains in California, and I'm learning a little about the side-roads.  To get to this house, you have to go 5-10 miles in either direction on a winding road up and down mountains through the redwoods.  It's spectacular.  Of course, I can't actually take a picture of it (since I'm driving in it!!) but you can imagine the smell of the forest, and the sickeningly-windy roads going through it. (I do mean sickening.  I'm not sure I would want to be a passenger traversing these roads!) These days have brought back to me the feel of growing up in Montana, and the vacations we took when I was a chil...

To begin with, this post really has nothing to do with the coming celebration of Independence Day.  Just in case the title led you to think that... Instead, I want to focus on yesterday's readings.  The second reading was from Paul's letter to the Galatians.  I'll abbreviate it here (but the whole thing is Gal. 5:1, 13-18, and can be found here) : Brothers and sisters:  For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters.  But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself . What is it that keeps you from freely following Jesus?  What freedom to you need to be truly able to live a whole-hearted life in love? Freedom from illness or physical pain? Freedom from mental illness, depression, or otherwise? ...

My spirituality class ended last Friday, but there's more to say!  I'll keep posting some of the "lessons" I learned in teaching this class for a while.  At least, until I'm finished with them.   image from discerninghearts.com We had a fascinating conversation one day about the image of virginity in the Catholic tradition.  It came up because we read one of St. Clare of Assisi's letters to Agnes of Prague.  Clare writes a number of letters to this noblewoman ("daughter of the most excellent and illustrious king of Bohemia"), and this one was written in 1234.  She uses quotations and ideas from the Office of the Feast of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr. "For, though You (Agnes), more than others, could have enjoyed the magnificence, honor, and dignity of the world and could have been married to the illustrious Emperor with splendor befitting You and His Excellency, You have rejected all these things and chosen with Your whole heart and so...

My spirituality class read a selection from St. Catherine of Siena's major writing, the Dialogue , in which she describes the spiritual journey as crossing a bridge. This bridge is a metaphor for Christ, and there are three stairs, which become the three steps toward deeper union with God.  The first stair, she says, is the affections, which are symbolized by the feet (she says "the affections carry the soul," much like our feet carry our bodies). The second step is the "stair by which you can climb into his side, where you will see revealed his inmost heart."  (Do you hear the echos of early Sacred Heart spirituality here?) The third step is where the soul reaches Christ's mouth, "where she [the soul] finds peace from the terrible war she has had to wage because of her sins." So, Catherine continues, "At the first stair, lifting the feet of her affections from the earth, she stripped herself of sin.  At the second she dressed herse...

Continuing on with yesterday's exploration of spirituality...the second thing my students read was a selection from St. Bernard of Clairvaux's work "On Loving God" (also called "On the Love of God," depending on the translation). This is a little work that's not terribly easy to read.  In it Bernard outlines four degrees of love, which mark our progress along our spiritual path toward God.  They are: 1. To love myself for my own sake. 2. To love God for my own sake. 3. To love God for God's sake. 4. To love myself for God's sake. It's that fourth one that seems tricky, right? And yet, we are called to live the best life that we are capable of, to use the gifts God has given us to the benefit of our neighbor, of our world, of God.  Is it not love to be able to recognize the good in me? So, Bernard of Clairvaux makes me happy, and makes me think about what life means, what my desires point to, how I want to live my life.  How I n...

Benedict of Nursia and the Cup of Poison, image from marysrosaries.com This week, I am teaching a course called "Pathways of the Spirit," in which we are exploring five (plus a few extra) spiritual writers from the middle ages.  We began Monday with Benedict of Nursia and Benedictine spirituality  I hope to do a little series of blog posts, chronicling the insights of our journey through the history of spirituality.  So, we begin with Benedict! Benedict lived around the year 500.  What is so amazing is that he wrote a document that remains to this day the guide of life for monks around the world.  It is a simple document, with an ideal vision of Christian life but a realistic view of the challenges of being human.  It offers flexibility to account for the different needs of people and groups.  This quotation comes from the prologue: Therefore, we intend to establish a school for the Lord's service.  In drawing up its regulations, we hope ...

My mind today is on the Cloud of Unknowing , a fourteenth-century writing by an anonymous English author.  This is a quote from that author, from another of his works, which is called Discretion in the Stirrings : God cannot be known by reason, he cannot be thought, caught, or sought by understanding.  But he can be loved and chosen by the true, loving will of your heart…. If God is your love and your purpose, the chief aim of your heart, it is all you need in this life, although you never see more of him with the eye of reason your whole life long. Such a blind shot with the sharp dart of longing love will never miss its mark, which is God. That's all for today. I'm am trying to hold on to that claim of my heart--to love God completely, wholly giving myself into that love. Life has been challenging lately, and most of it is too internal for a blog post.  But I'm still here, and will try to catch up a little bit soon. May God bless each one who come...