We are the fished

a minor friar blog: Fishy Ramble: Today it was my turn to be principal celebrant at Mass. I've come to hold such days precious in my current circumstances. When I was in ...

If It Is Not Too Dark- Hafiz (Redux)

Go for a walk, if it is not too dark.
Get some fresh air, try to smile.
Say something kind
To a safe-looking stranger, if one happens by.

Always exercise your heart's knowing.

You might as well attempt something real
Along this path:

Take your spouse or lover into your arms
The way you did when you first met.
Let tenderness pour from your eyes
The way the Sun gazes warmly on the earth.

Play a game with some children.
Extend yourself to a friend.
Sing a few ribald songs to your pets and plants -
Why not let them get drunk and wild!

Let's toast
Every rung we've climbed on Evolution's ladder.
Whisper, "I love you! I love you!"
To the whole mad world.

Let's stop reading about God -
We will never understand Him.

Jump to your feet, wave your fists,
Threaten and warn the whole Universe

That your heart can no longer live
Without real love!

~ Hafiz ~

 

(I Heard God Laughing - Renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)

Circulate through Panhala Yahoo Group today

What does the Church have to offer?

I was recently asked by a family friend to put pen to paper (fingertips to keyboard) on this matter to feed into a forthcoming meeting he has with local bishops. This is what I said:

Our Church holds together thousands of years of wisdom on love, life, happiness, pain, forgiveness, reconciliation, kindness, generosity, patience, relationship, self-esteem, service and just about everything else we hold dear and important. It holds warnings on greed, condemnation, judgement and those things which get in the way of us reaching fulfilment.

There are saints and spiritual writers who have dedicated their lives and works to tuning into the meaning of life- a benevolent God that is Love. They have left learning which we can delve into, and parse, and find relevance and resonance for our own lives. Or we can simply take the sound-bites that help us move from moment to moment and day to day. We can learn from the masters as to how to be our best selves.

Many of us are searching, yearning for a wholeness.We are promised that in this whole-hearted business of seeking God (fullness, wholeness, meaning, pure love), we will find Him/Her/It. (Jeremiah 29:13). The Church, as the body of Christ, teaches us the Christian message so that the ultimate divine joy may live in us and so that our joy may be complete (John 15:11). We are offered a reason to hope and trust, we are promised complete joy and to top it all off, we are deeply and sacredly cherished as individual human beings (Isaiah 43:4). Sounds like a good deal to me.

So why find all this in Church? What is lacking in finding God and/or spiritual practice on our own terms? There is something about sharing the journey. We can receive solace and assurance in community. Together we admit that we are broken, that we have wronged one another and not honoured our best selves. It's not a guilt trip but rather a release of guilt.

I feel that the idea of “[Catholic] guilt” does us few favours. It is time for an understanding of "sin" which is not about condemnation, fire and brimstone and a demonisation of all that is fun. We instead need to hear “sin” as that which interferes with our life force, which degrades and demeans and which prevents us from being the best we can be. To be sorry, then, ought not be about beating ourselves up with blame and regrets, but acknowledging flawed actions and readying our hearts to put it behind us.

Our Church is a space for solidarity and honesty in vulnerability. It can be a source of strength and support to start again from a place of love for one another and for ourselves. In Our Church, we wish each other the ultimate peace and love in our lives and we in turn receive this from the hearts, prayers, words and energy of those with whom we are in communion- the body of Christ.

We are welcome in any Church around the world, however long it has been, wherever we have come from and no matter what we have done. We can go to the four corners of the earth and hear the same message of hope, in countless languages, in a familiar format, in a sacred space of which we have an innate knowledge. We have a family, a community, a source of inspiration, a comforting parent. There is a message for us, a plan for us and Our Church can help us to unlock it.

In Our Church, we will be challenged to figure out what is right for us and for society. We won’t agree with everything we hear, either from the pulpit, from one another and probably not in the media. We can run away, dismiss it all, distract ourselves with “drunkenness, debauchery and the cares of life”, but we risk letting our minds be narrowed and our hearts coarsened (Luke 21:34). We are challenged to seek out our own relationship with God, but not in a vacuum. Faith isn’t something purely self-satisfying. It involves believing in a better world and Way for all. We are brothers and sisters, and when one hurts, we are all lessened. We must listen to one another, be there for one another, learn from one another, challenge one another. This is true in the Church as in any family.

Finally, we know that authority figures in the Church have done great damage to people’s lives along the way. People have walked away in despair. Although this is completely understandable, it does not challenge the horror of events and actions. ["If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell" (Matthew 5:30). Admitted this passage relates to adultery and it can be dangerous to take scripture out of context. That said, there are also references to the Church as the Bride of Christ and actions which abuse the authority and position of the Church seem to be unfaithful to Him.] Walking away will not reclaim Our Church. Nor does honour all that has been done in the name of God to combat poverty, sectarianism, alienation, depression, the effects of war and much more. If we have, or even wish we could have, any faith in the Christian message, its vision for peace and the importance of hope, we are the hands, minds and parishioners who are responsible for making it happen. Church authorities must be humble, ask for the forgiveness and help of all of God’s children to realise the Kingdom of God.

“And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8.

Don't Worry Be Happy?

I grew up in a religious culture where when something went wrong, or was hurtful, we were told to “offer it up”. It was an approach that I got little solace or comfort from. I understood it as a church thing connected in some way with martyrdom. By comparison to the martyrs of course, I clearly had no right to even worry about my relative lack of troubles and besides, they weren’t going to get me many heavenly brownie points next to a martyr's tally. I guess I didn't see God as much of a loving father figure. I heard it "offer it up" as stoicism and a cold order to “get over it”.

I choose to hear it differently these days. Now I hear  “hand it over”- an invitation to  let go and offer the burden to the Higher Power which has a much greater ability of holding whatever  pain, hurt or worry I am bearing. These things may often only serve to oppress me and in offering it all up, I just might get to be my best self, have my stress relieved and perhaps be more available to anyone who might need me . 

'Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…..and you will find rest for your souls.’ -Matthew 11:28-30

My mum uses another mantra last thing at night “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in thee”

The first time I encountered the phrase above at an Anglican Sunday service for students in the middle of exam season.The minister’s sermon focussed on what he called the Chill Psalms- 23 and 121.

23:The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths... I will fear no evil,for you are with me;your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me... etc.

121:...the Maker of heaven and earth.... will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber;... the Lord is your shade at your right hand; ... the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;the Lord will watch over your coming and going  both now and forevermore.

I know these words resonate differently for different people. But since that day in Leeds, they remind me that I am not in charge and when I hand over control I am brought to a place of rest, sustenance and comfort. Also that I can rest easy because this loving Higher Power has got my back.

“All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”

― Julian of Norwich

There's no such place as far away -Richard Bach

Rae! Thank you for inviting me to your birthday party! Your house is a thousand miles from mine and I travel only for the best of reasons. A party for Rae is the best and I am eager to be with you.

I began my journey in the heart of the hummingbird you and I met long ago. He was friendly as ever, yet when I told him that little Rae was growing up and that I was going to her birthday party with a present, he was puzzled.
We flew for a long while in silence and at last he said, “I understand very little of what you say, but least of all do I understand that you are going to the party.”
“Of course I am going to the party,” I said. “What is so hard to understand about that?”
He was quiet, and when we arrived at the owl’s home, he said, “Can miles truly separate us from friends? If you want to be with Rae, aren’t you already there?”
………………………………….
“Little Rae is growing up and I’m going to her birthday party with a present,” I said to the owl. It felt strange to say going like that, after talking to Hummingbird, but I said it that way so Owl would understand.
He, too, flew in silence for a long time. It was a friendly silence, but as he delivered me safely to the home of the eagle, he said, “I understand very little of what you say, but least of all do I understand that you call your friend little.”
“Of course she is little,” I said, “because she is not grown up. What is so hard to understand about that?”
Owl looked at me with his deep amber eyes, smiled and said, “Think about that.”
………………………………….
“Little Rae is growing up and I am going to her birthday party with a present,” I said to Eagle. It felt strange now to say going and little after talking with Hummingbird and Owl, but I said it that way so Eagle would understand. We flew together over the mountains, and soared the mountain winds.
At last she said, “I understand very little of what you say, but least of all do I understand this word birthday.”
“Of course birthday,” I said. “We are going to celebrate the hour that Rae began, and before which she was not. What is so hard to understand about that?”
Eagle curved her wings into steep dive-flaps and stepped to a smooth landing on the desert sand. “A time before Rae’s life began? Don’t you think rather that it is Rae’s life that began before time ever was?”
………………………………….
“Little Rae is growing up and I am going to her birthday party with a present,” I said to Hawk. It felt strange to say going and little and birthday after talking with Hummingbird and Owl and Eagle, but I said it that way so Hawk would understand.
The desert poured by far below us and at last she said, “You know, I understand very little of what you say, but least of all do I understand growing up.”
“Of course growing up,” I said. “Rae is closer to being an adult, one more year away from being a child. What is so hard to understand about that?”
Hawk landed at last upon a lonely beach. “One more year from being a child? That does not sound like growing!” And she lifted into the air and was gone.
………………………………….
Seagull, I knew, was very wise. As I flew with him I thought very carefully and chose words so that when I spoke he would know I had been learning.
“Seagull,” I said at last, “why do you fly me to see Rae when you know in truth I am already with her?”
Seagull turned down over the sea, over the hills, over the streets, and landed gently upon your rooftop.
“Because the important thing,” he said, “is for you to know the truth. Until you know it, until you truly understand it, you can show it only in smaller ways, and with outside help, from machines and people and birds. But remember,” he said, “that not being known doesn’t stop the truth from being true.” And he was gone.
………………………………….
Now it’s time to open your present. Gifts of tin and glass wear out in a day and are gone. But I have a better gift for you. It is a ring for you to wear. It sparkles with a special light and cannot be taken away by anyone, it cannot be destroyed. You are the only one in all the world who can see the ring that I give you today, as I was the only one who could see it when it was mine.
Your ring gives you new power. Wearing it, you can lift yourself into the wings of all the birds that fly.
You can see through their golden eyes, you can touch the wind that sweeps through their velvet feathers, you can know the joy of going way up high above the world and all its cares. You can stay as long as you want in the sky, past the night, through sunrise, and when you feel like coming down again, your questions will have answers and your worries will have gone.
As anything that cannot be touched with the hand or seen with the eyes, your gift grows more powerful as you use it.
At first you might use it only when you are outdoors, watching the birds with whom you fly.
But later on, if you use it well, it will work with birds you cannot see, and last of all you will find that you’ll need neither ring nor bird to fly alone above the quiet of the clouds.
And when that day comes, you must give your gift to someone you know who will use it well, who can learn that the only things that matter are those made of truth and joy, and not of tin and glass.
Rae, this is the last day-a-year, special-time celebration that I shall be with you, learning what I have learned from our friends the birds.
I cannot go to be with you because I am already there.
You are not little because you are already grown, playing among your lifetimes as do we all, for the fun of living.
You have no birthday because you have always lived, you were never born, and never will you die. You are not the child of the people you call mother and father, but their fellow- adventurer on a bright journey to understand the things that are.
Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness, and so it is with this ring.

The Season

Samhain- a threshold time

Sometimes, we consider the winter but a time to dig our heels in and push through the cold and the damp and the darkness. We wish it away, count the days until Christmas and then hold out for the relief of spring. We don't often cherish this blessed time. Ron Rolheiser tells us " Know that there are two kinds of darkness you can enter: the fearful darkness of paranoia, which brings sadness, and the fetal darkness of conversion, which brings life."

The Hallowe’en, all Saints and all Souls feasts celebrated last week, all have their roots in the celebration of the Celtic New Year festival of Samhain. Samhain was a time of death and the promise of re-birth, a time for stillness and reflection. It was also understood that in the dark silence come whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed beneath the ground.

Jesus tells us ‘Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.’ John 12:24

In leading worship this week, I gave everyone a pine cone. My internet research tells me these cones took about two years to mature. In the summer months they dried out and opened, some fell to the ground. They released seeds which were taken by the winds. By now those seeds will have come to rest in another place to bring new life. The winter conditions will prime the seeds for sprouting in the spring.

In coming to this point in our lives, to this place and with these people, we each leave behind past journeys, are winding down certain projects in which we have invested significant time and energy. We leave behind our “pine cones” and enter into new phases, embark on new adventures hoping and sometimes without any great certainty that in these new spaces we will find nourishment, a sense of rootedness or stability in ourselves, that we will grow and maybe be able to offer something to the world around.

Turnint off the lights for a few minutes and in the silence and darkness of the winter, we contemplated the aspects of our lives we have been nourishing, those things which it is time to leave behind and let go and those things which have potential to be carried forward.

It's not a pine side- I couldn't find one of them but just goes to show that the seeds we plant can turn into trees we never imagines....

As Yourself

"There is an old Christian tradition that

God sends each person into this world

with a special message to deliver,

with a special song to sing for others,

with a special act of love to bestow.

No one else can speak my message,

or sing my song, or offer my act of love.

These have been entrusted only to me.

According to tradition,the message may be spoken, the song sung,the act of love delivered only to a few,or to all the people of a small town,or to all the people of a large city,or even to all the people in the whole world.It all depends on God’s unique planfor each unique person.

So today, from my heart, I want to say this to you:Please believe thatyou have your important message to deliver,you have a beautiful song to sing,and a unique act of loveto warm the world and to brighten its darkness.

And when the final history of this world is written,your message, your song, and your lovewill be recorded gratefully and forever."

Anonymous

“The real "work" of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me. To gently push aside and silence the many voices that question my goodness and to trust that I will hear the voice of blessing-- that demands real effort.” -Henri JM Nouwen

I was leading a worship lately as part of a diversity themed retreat and chose as its starting point the command to Love ourselves, to understand that by virtue of our inherent humanity, and by virtue of our individual and unique gifts and personalities, that we are worthy of love and respect. I asked the others present to listen to the voice that says good things, the voice of blessing and write one of those good things or blessings down on a paper leaf/petal. Leaves and petals were then added to a scripture vine which included quotes related to us each being made special and having been given gifts and blessings.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

He put his own light in their hearts to show them the magnificence of his work (Sirach 17:8)

For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14)

So God created mankind in his own image... God blessed them (Genesis 1:27-28)

I would welcome other references from the blogging community :)