communitas et caritas

Today I preached on the Gospel reading for our mid-day prayer service. So, here it is!  The reading is Mark 4:1-20, and can be found here . I want to know everything.  Really, I love learning, and I love that there’s always more to learn.  When I want to know something, I want to know it quickly—thank heavens for Google.  (And Wikipedia, though I am reluctant to admit that I’ve used it.) But even I am willing to admit that more information is not always better.  For example, have you ever looked up your symptoms on the internet?  You may have discovered that your slight fever and that little rash on your arm mean that you must have the measles.  Or that your runny nose and body ache means you have the swine flu.  And that stomach ache surely means appendicitis. I may get annoyed when I don’t understand, but certainly there is knowledge that does more harm than good. We also know that knowledge progresses.  We have prerequisites that teach the basics, which must

Six months ago today, I made my first vows in the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. And what an incredible six months it has been!   So, today, I pray for the next six months, that I am able to give my all in whatever way I am called.  I pray for all women who are considering religious life at this moment, that they feel that extra little nudge from God to push them forward into this wonderful way of life.

 To continue with the portraits of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. I reflected a great deal on winter and how it relates to my spiritual life.  I read something about transitions (which have been such a big part of my life) and it compared the wintertime to the "in-between" time of transitions--the space between the end of one part of life and the beginning of the next.  I'm not literally in the in-between (since the new has already started), but my heart is still working in all three parts.  Winter allows the quiet peaceful space when one just is , no need to work so hard on becoming the new or grieving what is over. The trees and the fields really show us that state of quiet being--and without that time of fallowness, they cannot produce leaves or fruit in the coming year.  We're a little like that too--we need time to figure out who we are and how we sit with God. I hiked a bit, and found some interesting things, both in the woods and in my

Happy New Year! I did something different to ring in the year: I spent the week at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, the home of Thomas Merton. I arrived on New Years Eve and had four glorious days of silence, liturgical prayer, spiritual reading, and walks in the woods. It was a beautiful way to begin 2013, and it allowed me time to consider and pray with the past year, which included so many changes for me. It marked the end of my novitiate, the celebration of my first vows as an RSCJ, a move to a new-old city, and the beginning of a new relatively permanent ministry position. So, here I will share some of my photos, with more promised later! May the next year be as blessed as the last!