Reflections

Step back, slow down . . .

As we approach this third week of Advent, Christians anticipate a joyful response because the feast of the birth of Jesus is near. Continuing through these days of Advent, can we step back, slow down, examine our ordinary lives, rejoice again in all  that God does for us each day? God's desire is for our completeness, wholeness of spirit, soul and body as we prepare for the coming of Christ.

The stance of 'waiting' is something we know well but often live poorly. As children remember the waiting and longing we endured as the days crept along before our birthday, or the last days of school in June. 'Waiting' is an important principle of the spiritual life. Much growth can happen in us as we take each ordinary day as it comes, believing we do not walk alone, but are accompanied by a personal God of love.  'Waiting can steady our pace if we live the time positively and trustingly.

To what might God be calling me at this mid-point of Advent?
What am I finding hard to face in my life these days?
What am I seeking in my questioning?
What am I expecting and hoping for in God's reply to me?

Betty Berrigan CSJ​

It's Not About Me

“The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandal.” (Mark1;1-8l) This is the root of John’s message. He preached about someone else, someone who would come after him. The Baptist was not interested in the limelight. He was not interested in praise or adulation. He was interested in preparing the way!

Though our consumer society bombards us with material goods that will ensure happiness we know that true happiness comes from within, from a sense of wellbeing and self-worth. Our call is to allow ourselves to be consumed by the person of Jesus, the one preached by the Baptist. And in being consumed we will burn.

In Barbara Fiand’s book, “On Becoming Who We Are”, she reflects on a story told by the Persian mystic Rumi about Moses overhearing a shepherd at prayer. The shepherd was willing to help God in any way possible from washing God’s clothes to tending his sheep and goats. As the story goes Moses chastises the shepherd for being so naive about the nature of God. Terrified by Moses’ reaction the shepherd repents and wanders the desert. God intervenes and questions Moses about HIS treatment of the shepherd. God told Moses that phraseology or language are not what is important:

 “I want burning, burning. Those who pay attention
to ways of behaving and speaking are one sort. 
Lovers who burn are another.”

Moses runs off looking for the shepherd and finds him in the depth of a mystical union - united to the Holy One in deepest love. (pp. 52-53)           

Rumi’s story has stayed with me. Especially when a person I am counseling experiences release from some dark personal desert and is led to fuller life we both rejoice and I am so aware of God working in me. It is not about me, it is not rigid teaching, or pious platitudes but as the psalmist says it is an invitation to listen deeply while trusting the intuition of another. “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak". (p. 85)

Peter’s gentle invitation is simply asking us to be at peace while waiting for a new heaven and a new earth. Clearly we are to live these Advent days in joyful anticipation. With Mary may we walk with deep interior peace, and a serenity of spirit knowing that the Almighty is doing great things in us. Mary knew how to receive and how to hold spiritual gifts, and she knew that they had to be given away to be maintained, deepened and understood. For Mary, it was all about the child she was to birth.

Reflection:                   

  • How would I describe BURNING in my heart ?
  • How is the manner in which I live each day reflective of Mary’s openness to the unexpected?                       

Pat Hogan CSJ                                                  

 

 

Longing for the Light

Within the cycle of the seasons, we know that now is a time when more darkness surrounds us, wrapping us in a black shroud that causes our energies to wane. The first day of winter, December 21st, marks the time of year when the darkness will give way to the light. Together with all of creation in our Northern Hemisphere, we remember that this longest night of the year is a promising sign that the sun will return to lengthen our days.

Nature has much to teach us about light and darkness:

  • Experiencing the radiance of the sun lifts our spirits.

  • It is a delight to see a rainbow of magnificent colour arch across a once stormy sky.

  • We are filled with wonder and awe, as we look up to see the silvery moon and the vast array of diamond-like stars, against a grey-black back drop.

  • Fireflies flitting past us create sparks of light in an otherwise dark night.

The paradox of the process of transformation is that although we need light for our life’s journey we also need darkness. Our body was formed in the darkness of our mother’s womb.  When we are born, we enter into the light where we grow and change. The intertwining of light and darkness is the pattern for the rest of our lives. Waiting anxiously in the darkness of night, we yearn for the first glimmer of the light of dawn. After a trying, bleak day, the hues of brilliant colour that appear on the horizon as the sun sets, offer hope for a brighter tomorrow. During this reflective time of day, perhaps we will recall our mortality when our earthly life will end, in the seeming darkness of death, and we will be drawn into the eternal light of our loving God. 

As we begin Advent, we long for the Light of Christ to dispel our inner darkness of weariness, disillusionment, and despair. As we move through the four weeks leading up to Christmas, more light appears on our Advent wreathes until the Christ candle brilliantly shines out. Christ, Our Hope, is the everlasting Light which no darkness can overcome.

Ponderings:

Where do you find light when you experience deep darkness in your life?

How are you a Christ-light in the darkness of other people’s lives?

 Kathleen O’Keefe CSJ

,

Ego: Gentle Friend, Combative Foe

,

Not so long ago I stumbled upon two people feeling misunderstood about an issue that started innocently enough but ended in a road block. I quickly go drawn into the conversation. The resolution seemed fairly uncomplicated to my way of thinking; once both parties understood the needs and circumstances surrounding the issue they would gladly come on board.

What seemed uncomplicated and straightforward quickly became complex and divisive. I noticed that I was taking sides and had become angry and defensive.   Interior peace was replaced with indignation. Relationships became emotionally charged. Distance replaced easy companionship and my energy was dissipated.

What originally was a question now became a dispute, and my false self was in control. It was at this point that I stepped back, acknowledged my feelings which were firing on all cylinders, and were influencing other unrelated situations. I was not at peace.

My true self, my gentle and undivided self, began to exert itself. I took some deep breaths, sat quietly and listened to my heart. In this peaceful environment I faced myself, and my need to be right, became aware of the pain/distress I was causing others and a deep down desire for healing.

I quickly regained peace of heart and a longing to make amends with those I had hurt and distanced myself. At this point my true self, my ego, led me on a path of peace and reconciliation.

My question: when will I ever learn?

Ann Marshall CSJ