communitas et caritas

I finally saw the film Of Gods and Men this morning, and I think it will stick with me for a while.  If you haven't seen it, you should!  It is incredibly beautiful.  (And with that warning, I'm going to reveal a bit of the ending--though it's something I was glad I knew before I watched it.) The film tells the true story of a Trappist monastery in the 1990s in Algeria.  The small group of French Trappists, who had been in this little village for over a century, was targeted by a group of terrorists during the civil war, and eventually killed.  The story is not about their death, but about their life with God, their love, and their commitment to each other and the surrounding community. Several touching scenes show how the monks respect and care for each other, though I don't really want to give away too many details here for those who haven't seen it.  There is, however, a sense of the deep compassion they possess for one another, and the acknowledg...

I've just been reading Ruth Burrows, The Essence of Prayer , and I've been thinking about this quote (p. 169):   "To expose ourselves generously to the demands of community life; to refuse to shirk them in any way is to expose ourselves to God, allowing Him to purify us through others, shatter our illusions with humbling self-knowledge, divest us of everything selfish and enable us to love others with a pure, mature, disinterested love.  Surely this is true for whoever would follow Our Lord closely, whatever their form of life." How true is that?!  I've been struggling with community living a bit lately--in part because I'm spending a lot more time at home, recovering (still!) from surgery.  So I think I need to make this quote my mantra for a while. Burrows writes in the context of a Carmelite monastery, where most enter expecting solitude, but where there is also structured and required community time.  Time with others that cannot be missed. ...

I've been asked to reflect a bit about commitment, and so I share some of my thoughts here. The following quotation from Pedro Arrupe, S.J. has been finding me lately: "Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way . What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything . It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart,  and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything. " How does that relate to commitment?  Well, I've fallen in love, and my world changed.  I get out of bed in the morning to pray and go to mass before work.  I spend my evenings and weekends with community (though I also spend time with friends).  My Sister introduced me to my new favorite novelist (P.D. James!).  I kn...

Ford Madox Brown. Jesus Washing Peter's Feet. 1852-56. "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." Poor Peter--always lacking in understanding.  Who can blame him?  His teacher has just said he wants to wash his feet, which is not such a pleasant task in a world of dust and sandals. The sentence above is what sticks with me today.  I feel surrounded by mystery lately--the mystery of living in community, the mystery of Jesus' great love for me, and the mystery of God's calling me to a new way of living.  I don't know how to find the words to express the depth to which I feel that mystery in my life on a daily basis.  (That's part of the reason for silence on this blog.) What I do know is that it's okay that I don't understand.  Theology is like that--studying God because you can always know more.  You can never fully understand God because God is so much bigger / greater / more than our human minds can compr...

image from:  http://www.clynnponderings.com It's been a busy weekend, full of Advent celebrations.  My community met yesterday for a morning of reflection, prayer, and calendar coordinating, and then in the afternoon we put up and decorated our Christmas tree!  Baby Jesus made a brief debut in the creche (oops!) before being put back in the incubator (i.e. drawer) until Christmas.  The house is lovely and festive. Today is Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent.  I love this feast -- the sense of anticipation and joy at the coming of the Christ Child.  Many of my Sisters went to mass together this morning (we often go our own ways), and we had nearly two pews full!  I truly love that communal experience of liturgy and prayer together. I was privileged to hear a talk this morning by Paul Coutinho, S.J., about Advent and darkness.  His spirituality is such an interesting blend of Catholic Christianity and Eastern traditions.  Th...

So, officially today, I've been in the Society of the Sacred Heart for three months! It has been beautiful, challenging, amazing...a great time of growth.  I'm adjusting still to the new environment--both the new city and the life in community. Many things have been great graces: Living with other people!  Sharing meals, lives, hopes, sorrows... Communal prayer. God is good to me--and I am spending more time in personal prayer, too.  My students are (mostly) fun and generally well-behaved. They at least feign interest in theology. And I love teaching--it's good to be in the classroom. More than anything else, my sisters are amazing, so welcoming, loving and compassionate.  I am grateful for their support, and for their companionship on this strange journey.  I have been welcomed into their lives in ways that I never expected. There are challenges, too.  Moving is always a challenge, and this move was big--a move to a "new" city (I have lived h...

In my mind all day has been one line from the end of today's first reading, Romans 12:  "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." Paul is talking to all of us here, giving us advice about what it means to be Christian.  From the beginning, the passage tells us about the Body of Christ--our connection to each other. We are so united to each other, that each of us suffers when one person is suffering, and all of us rejoice together in the triumphs of one. The more people I deal with on a daily basis, the more deeply I understand how intimately connected we are.  Most of us grow up thinking that we can become completely independent of each other, but what kind of life would that be?  I would much rather know that others need me as much as I need them. So, let's choose to listen to St. Paul: "Let love be sincere ... love one another with mutual affection ... Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer." AMEN!

We just had a lovely evening of community -- all 7 of us together for prayer, then a leisurely dinner, and then games!  We celebrated a birthday, and it was so lovely to spend time together without having to rush off to other responsibilities. I'm very grateful for this time in community.  I loved living alone, but it's wonderful to come home to people , generous people who care about how my day was and what's on my mind.  And I care about them, too! On another note, one of my students asked me today, out of the blue, "So, can you ever leave the convent and get married?"  I could help laughing (it was really random), but then it sparked a brief discussion about what this life is about, and what this commitment means.  I think it's easiest to compare to a marriage: I am committed to it, but sometimes people do walk away.  (As one of my friends responded, it's not like the pope has a gun to my back demanding that I stay!)  And then I also was able to...

From today's lectionary: Ephesians 4:1-6 Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. What a great way to begin living in community. As I prayed over this text, I drew out all the characteristics that Paul asserts: Humility Gentleness Patience Love Unity Peace Hope Faith I pray that these will be my guides throughout the next year, and indeed, throughout the rest of my life.