Posted on Thu, Jul 26, 2012
Every time I run into someone who remembers my mother, I am reminded of her gift of hospitality. There is generally some story about a meal shared, a party given, or a holiday observed. Our house was filled with laughter, warmth, and lots of food. Mom reveled in it all. As she advanced in years, I think the two hardest blows for her were the losses of my father and of the home they built together.
My mother’s gift of hospitality is certainly at the heart of my love for Benedictine spirituality. As part of the “Rule” that he created for his new monastic community, Saint Benedict stressed the importance of welcoming the stranger as one would welcome Christ (RB Chapter 53). In doing so, we hold that every human being is beloved by God and is worthy of respect, dignity, and compassion. An integral part of receiving another person in such a manner is learning to wait upon him or her with patience. The latter is not just about service, but also about attentiveness as well as an open and listening heart. Such an attitude requires space and time, two commodities that seem to be in short supply in the frenetic pace of our culture. As Jane Tomaine notes in her book, St. Benedict’s Toolbox, “We’re often reluctant to take time to be truly present to others, and we can find it difficult to accept people as they are.” Hospitality counters these tendencies.
The mission of the Church is to evangelize – to bring the Gospel out into the world in new and engaging ways. All too often, Christians have used the Bible as a battering ram to hammer people into belief through fear and guilt. Benedict’s Rule calls for something far different. In being hospitable, we invite rather than coerce. We listen rather than harangue. We take people for who they are rather than where we think they ought to be. And, taking a cue from my mother, we make a warm and welcoming space for others to gather, to share, and to revel in the joys of life.
Bright Ideas
-
If you are a catechist, how will you create a hospitable space for your students when a new school year begins? What can you do to increase your capacity to “wait upon” the children and young people in your care?
-
Download my suggestions for creating time and space for hospitality. Choose one idea to put into practice over the next week in your home or parish. Complete the reflection at the end of the week to assess how well you practiced hospitality.
photo © iStockphoto
Posted on Sun, Jul 22, 2012
Sunday, July 29th is the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The weekly celebration of the Eucharist on Saturday evening or Sunday morning defines who we are as Catholics-- in out parishes, in our households of faith, in our neighborhoods, and in our world. Plan to spend time this week reflecting on the readings and preparing to celebrate the Eucharist. Gather in My Name offers "Question of the Week" - a free resource to incorporate the Sunday Eucharist into your religion classes, family discussions, or community activities.
Gather In My Name also provides reflections and discussion questions on the readings for each Sunday and holy day liturgy. Activities for young people are included. Some materials for younger children can be printed out.
Question of the Week: What can your family do to prevent the waste of God's gifts?
Reading 1: 2 Kings 4:42-44
Reading 2: Ephesians 4:1-6
Theme: "Gather the fragments"
Gospel: John 6:1-15
Looking for Whole Community Activities for the above Reading Reflections? Click here!
Posted on Wed, Jul 18, 2012
There is much talk in the Church these days about the “New Evangelization.” The concept, however, is not exactly new, having been seeded in 1968 by the bishops of Latin America. The political and social conditions in their countries were complex and, in many cases, dire. It prompted the bishops to write about the need for new methods of bringing the Gospel to all classes of people. Pope John Paul II drew the concept into a homily while visiting his homeland, Poland, as a way to address the tensions between the Church and the Communist government. The U.S. Catholic Bishops describe the New Evangelization as a call for all of us to “deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message, and go forth to proclaim the Gospel.”
As a child, I had great dreams of bringing about world peace. I thought that, if I could come up with just the right mix of words, all world leaders would see the light and agree to lay down their arms, set aside their grievances, and live in everlasting harmony. Then I grew up and had children. At one point in their lives, my son and daughter barely managed being in the same room together. Their pre-adolescent angst seemed to find an outlet in the shame and blame they heaped upon one another. Fantasies about universal peacemaking fell apart in light of my inability to negotiate terms over whose television show took priority.
What, then, to make of a call to spread the Gospel far and wide, to rich and poor alike, to resolve tensions between church and state when a single day holds enough challenges for a body to bear? In light of the massive problems of the world and the cacophony of voices trying to outshout one another, this call to renew the mission of the Church is certainly well-timed. What does it mean in everyday terms?
I read an article recently about two mountain climbers who were lost in a blizzard while navigating their way across a glacier. White-out conditions created a sense of disorientation and the freezing temperature made mental decisions harder to reach. Experience taught both of them to hold to the golden rule of climbing glaciers: always keep two stable points
On those days when I felt weighted with fear that my children’s animosity towards one another would pervade their long-term relationship, I held onto hope. It centered on the Gospel-based values of love, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy that my husband and I strived to instill in our children. Hope provided two stabilizing forces. One was the long-haul experience of family life, in which the seeds planted in childhood would somehow take root and grow into something that endured beyond phases and stages. The other was that God’s love was at work within us, holding us together no matter what storms passed through our lives.
The Gospel passage encapsulating the New Evangelization is Mark 4:31-32: “It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sewn in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth. But once it is sewn, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” What a perfect passage to describe the small efforts that bring the Gospel into full flower. It’s also a hopeful one.
Bright Ideas
-
Read about the New Evangelization on the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ web site – www.usccb.org. How are you finding ways to plant seeds of the Gospel in your family or with your students?
-
Download my prayer for Planting Seeds of Hope, and use it in your home or parish to discuss everyday ways to spread the Good News of Jesus.
photo © iStockphoto
Posted on Sun, Jul 15, 2012
Sunday, July 22nd is the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The weekly celebration of the Eucharist on Saturday evening or Sunday morning defines who we are as Catholics-- in out parishes, in our households of faith, in our neighborhoods, and in our world. Plan to spend time this week reflecting on the readings and preparing to celebrate the Eucharist. Gather in My Name offers "Question of the Week" - a free resource to incorporate the Sunday Eucharist into your religion classes, family discussions, or community activities.
Gather In My Name also provides reflections and discussion questions on the readings for each Sunday and holy day liturgy. Activities for young people are included. Some materials for younger children can be printed out.
Question of the Week: When will you "come away" with Jesus this week?
Reading 1: Jeremiah 23:1-6
Reading 2: Ephesians 2:13-18
Theme: "Come away"
Gospel: Mark 6:30-34
Looking for Whole Community Activities for the above Reading Reflections? Click here!
photo © iStockphoto
Posted on Thu, Jul 12, 2012
I caught my foot on something last weekend and nearly fell over backwards. Although I avoided a near-catastrophic injury, I wrenched something in my hip. It seemed to portend a sustained period of time in which to recover. Much to my surprise, I regained my equilibrium quickly and was thus able to resume walking and a dance class within a few days. I attribute it, at least in part, to the strength I have built in my legs and hips through exercising on a regular basis. I also believe I caught myself due to the balancing moves that come with dancing twice a week.
There is a nice parallel between the strength and stamina built in the body through physical workouts with that of the soul. I am often asked to speak to groups of catechists, teachers, pastoral leaders, and parents on the theme of spiritual balance. It’s a clear need in a world that seems perpetually off-kilter. When delving into spiritual practices, it’s always helpful to study the work of the “masters” – contemplative women and men who exemplify centeredness. Figures like Thomas Merton, Teresa of Avila, Francis of Assisi, and Julian of Norwich come to mind. They are a bit like those toys with weighted bottoms that always spring back to an upright position despite the punches thrown at them. What keeps these spiritual role models grounded is the habits they formed through daily regimens and routines. Merton spent ample time working outdoors and finding grace in the ordinary routine of monastic life. Teresa and Julian were both recipients of mystical visions, but found grace in humor and in listening to the needs and concerns of others. Francis devoted his life to the poor, but reveled in the grandeur of nature.
“Practice makes perfect.” It’s not hard to see how true this is for the artist, the musician, and the athlete. How about the spiritual practitioner? What sort of practices might strengthen us and keep us upright, despite the slip-ups that are part of our day-to-day lives? There are the obvious ones – daily prayer and weekly participation in worship - as well as the nourishment that comes with inspirational reading, sharing time with those we love, and giving generously to those in need. No matter what soul-full activities we take on, the important thing is to do them on a regular basis. That way, no matter which direction we fall, we find ourselves with enough flexibility and grace to bounce back into place.
Bright Ideas
photo © iStockphoto
Posted on Sun, Jul 08, 2012
Sunday, July 15th, is the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The weekly celebration of the Eucharist on Saturday evening or Sunday morning defines who we are as Catholics-- in out parishes, in our households of faith, in our neighborhoods, and in our world. Plan to spend time this week reflecting on the readings and preparing to celebrate the Eucharist. Gather in My Name offers "Question of the Week" - a free resource to incorporate the Sunday Eucharist into your religion classes, family discussions, or community activities.
Gather In My Name also provides reflections and discussion questions on the readings for each Sunday and holy day liturgy. Activities for young people are included. Some materials for younger children can be printed out.
Question of the Week: How do your possessions help your discipleship? Hinder it?
Reading 1: Amos 7:12-15
Reading 2: Ephesians 1:3-10
Theme: "Take nothing for the journey"
Gospel: Mark 6:7-13
Looking for Whole Community Activities for the above Reading Reflections? Click here!
photo © iStockphoto
Posted on Wed, Jul 04, 2012
The ceiling of my favorite grocery story fell in a few weeks ago. A huge hailstorm caused the collapse. Every single product in the store had to be discarded. The floors, counters, shelves, windows, and appliances all needed to be cleaned and sanitized to meet health standards before restocking could take place. In talking to one of the clerks, I learned about the upside of this calamity. She said that the morale of employees rose to new heights as they labored together around their common cause. Those who couldn’t work in the damaged store, due to health issues, were farmed out to other branches. This meant everyone kept their jobs, which is a credit to the management. Upon the store’s re-opening, there was a palpable sense of gratitude and pride for what the entire workforce accomplished together.
It’s more than a cliché to say we often don’t appreciate what we have until we come close to losing it. That thought is more pervasive than ever for me as wildfires continue to smolder in Colorado Springs, a few miles down the road from us. Hearing stories of people who lost home and possessions breaks my heart over and over again. It also induces me to look at all that could, at any minute, be taken away. Given this reality, why am I not more attentive to what I have, here and now?
The late John O’Donohue, in his book Anam Cara, called transience a force of time that “makes a ghost of every experience.” All time, he noted, disappears, making the present moment the only ground we have to inhabit. The ancient prophet expressed a similar thought when he wrote, “All mankind is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts…” (Isaiah 40:6).
I never held with the idea that God sends natural disasters to somehow whip us into shape. There is, however, a leveling aspect to these occurrences. As horrible as wildfires are, for instance, they are part of the cycle of nature. They clear the forest of detritus in order to allow new growth to emerge. Perhaps our souls, too, need to cave in once in a while in order to remind us of the transient nature of life and the value of appreciating what we have at any given moment.
Bright Ideas
-
Generate a discussion with your family, friends, or fellow catechists about a time in which you were jolted into appreciation. How can you cultivate a better awareness of the present moment?
-
Download my prayer for attentiveness. Use it in your family or parish to generate discussion or reflection around the beauty of the present moment by filling in the blank lines with your own responses.
photo © iStockphoto
Posted on Mon, Jul 02, 2012
Sunday, July 8th, is the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The weekly celebration of the Eucharist on Saturday evening or Sunday morning defines who we are as Catholics-- in out parishes, in our households of faith, in our neighborhoods, and in our world. Plan to spend time this week reflecting on the readings and preparing to celebrate the Eucharist. Gather in My Name offers "Question of the Week" - a free resource to incorporate the Sunday Eucharist into your religion classes, family discussions, or community activities.
Gather In My Name also provides reflections and discussion questions on the readings for each Sunday and holy day liturgy. Activities for young people are included. Some materials for younger children can be printed out.
Question of the Week: Whom do you consider a prophet today? How do you honor today’s prophets?
Reading 1: Ezekiel 2:2-5
Reading 2: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Theme: Prophets
Gospel: Mark 6:1-6
Looking for Whole Community Activities for the above Reading Reflections? Click here!
photo © iStockphoto