Lift a glass to our Mothers…

This Sunday families gather, many virtually, to celebrate our Mothers.  We want to celebrate these wonderful women who gave us life, and whose lives were spent in selfless giving and loving.  What we might say today with our words is important but less important than what these woman have said with their lives.  Their actions show us what love really looks like.  Were they perfect?  No, they were not, but their responses to us, their children, created a tapestry of love full of meaning and memories that influence how we live today. 

“a tapestry of love full of meaning and memories that influence how we live today”

There is a song sung by the Wailin’ Jennys called the “Parting Glass”.  After my mother had died, my large family went back to mom’s home to be with each other.  As we so often did, we started to play music filled with memories and had a very strong sense of my mother’s spirit with each of us.  We started sharing stories of my mother and realised that those stories and memories will never leave us.  She is still with us.  So we asked my brothers and sisters who play musical instruments to play something to mom.  Then we found a bottle of wine and poured a wee bit of spirit in each glass and sung this song called the “Parting Glass”.   This might have been my mother's wish to each of her children. So whether our mothers are alive or gone, I ask you to lift a glass to your mothers and say thank you for so much.

-Sister Joan Atkinson, csj

Trees Do Dance

Some years ago, the thought seized me, that before we were people, we were trees.  In my deepest knowing and from out of the blue, I knew this in my bones to be true then, as it is now.  Don’t we often refer to our body as our “trunk” and extremities as our “limbs”?  Maybe my toes are remnants of roots cut off?  That is what I sometimes imagine.

My imagination tells me that in our more primitive lives we freely danced and roamed about as trees. Trees were not rooted in one property. Somehow, they lost almost total mobility.  Did that happen because of getting attached to one property, like some of us today?  Eventually, they formed a community of trees or woods, that to this day do not discriminate, but welcomes all, birds, squirrels, other animals, insects, vines, and maybe even poison ivy.  They all live together in harmony and are in many ways, light years ahead (of the educated, scientific, research-focused homosapians), in their evolution and relationship to each other, earth, and the Divine.  

Today when I see and feel the wind, or gentle breeze rustle through shiny green leaves, on thin stems, I feel the trees clapping.  They are clapping upon seeing me and for me.  They want to awaken me to be more inclusive and embracing relationships with all people without discrimination.  I think also they might scold me for a less than generous response, to cleaning up the environment I am partly responsible for polluting.  Meanwhile, trees, rooted almost everywhere on the planet, given their own unique personality, unselfishly commit to creating shade every day, which is especially appreciated when it is excessively hot outside.

Perhaps the millions and millions of trees that grow in the Amazon region of Peru, need to have protection such as the legal status given to the Whanganui River in New Zealand in 2017. That river forever considered sacred by the aboriginal people now is legally recognized as having, all rights and privileges of the human person.  Soon the government will recognize a mountain as a legal person as well.  As for water, it is essential to life, yes, but trees manufacture oxygen, a vital factor essential for every cell and molecule in my body, dogs, cats, etc., etc.  I find it all a staggering, complex, and sacred concept to comprehend.  We people are so blest, so small, and all is a gift.

Now I ask, what might it be like if our churches, places of worship and leadership, stretched their boundaries to integrate in new ways, something of the sacredness of earth reality into our Sunday rituals?  The Encyclical Letter, “On Care of Our Common Home” Laudato Si, written by Pope Francis would contribute enormously to study and a collective effort for personal reflection and sharing.  That would enhance our efforts to broaden our awareness and live and act in right and responsible relationship in “our common home”.  Excellent resources for Laudato Si such as YouTube videos are available free on the Internet.  It would be wonderful to think that our experience of chaos with Covid 19 would open new patterns of enlightenment and problem solving around serious environmental issues for our planet.

 -Sister Patricia St. Louis

JAZZ and the Spiritual

International Jazz Day | April 30, 2021

I was recently asked to contemplate the connection between Jazz and the Spiritual.  Here are some of my musings.  I decided to make a list of words that came up for me when I thought of what both Jazz and the Spiritual had in common – mystery, trust, and faith.   As I pondered each of these words more and let their meaning sink in, I felt a few other words rise to the top as well which seemed to enhance these three keywords. From these words, the following thoughts emerged.

As a jazz vocalist who primarily works in the setting of a trio or quartet, I love the ability to move freely in a group formation.  This collective of individuals holds the framework of great trust and allows each of the players to exist as part of and yet, apart from the whole, thereby being able to explore many boundaries. When I am engaged in singing a song in this setting, I can improvise and totally be in the moment because I have faith in my fellow musicians, faith in their ability, commitment, and skill.  There is still a deep connection to what I call “the original thought” or “theme” of a song.  This original thought or theme is always at the core of musical expression in jazz and is understood by all members of this musical collective, yet it is interpreted differently by each member.  Because of these elements in a performance, the end result is always somewhat of a mystery as we are each interpreting the blueprint of the original song in myriad, subtle ways.

“Music, like God, is a phenomenon that is hard to “understand” on an intellectual plane.”

To me, this seems quite similar to how each of us embraces spirituality.  There is a deep sense that we are all part of one body, one giant, universal collective, yet each of us hears the mystery of the divine voice in different and unique ways.  To function as a whole, we must learn to trust each other and have faith in each other as well. 

Music, like God, is a phenomenon that is hard to “understand” on an intellectual plane.  I would say that music is best experienced by the senses, and as for God…perhaps faith could be seen as the sixth sense?  And in the trinity of my original, “root” words, perhaps if we trust in mystery, we experience faith?

-Adi Braun | www.adibraun.com

Born in Toronto, Adi Braun grew up in Europe surrounded by music and musicians. Her parents were opera singers, and her father, Victor Braun, was one of Canada’s leading baritones. Her first instrument was piano, which she began studying at the age of six. With no formal voice lessons, she made her first pop/jazz recording at age 19. Following family tradition, Adi trained classically at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. She began her singing career as a classical recitalist, a soloist with orchestra and on-stage in operas and operettas alongside her brother, baritone Russell Braun. In addition to her many musical roles, Adi teaches German art song at the Royal Conservatory of Music and is a German diction coach for the Canadian Opera Company.

Grow Through What You Go Through

Easier said than done. Yet, day in, and day out, all of us are gifted with incredible opportunities to grow.  If we dare embrace whatever life presents - even during a difficult pandemic - we will grow through what we go through. If we have the courage, the patience and perseverance, as well as openness to the much-needed grace, we can and will grow through what we go through.  It may not happen in leaps and bounds, but happen it will, even during this pandemic, though we may not recognize the growth instantly but only in hindsight. 

All of us are familiar with sayings such as, “This will either make or break you” or “Bloom where you are planted.” When we find ourselves in difficult situations, such admonitions may be helpful or put our backs up.  While pondering about growth during difficult times, I wondered about creating a sacred space within ourselves where we can discern and choose how to grow through what we are going through during this pandemic instead of letting it break us.  What might this look like if we keep in mind, that we are chosen and appointed “to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last?” (John 15:16)

Hmmm, bloom and bear fruit. That sounds like a tall order, even at the best of times, let alone during this pandemic.  For many of us it may seem highly unlikely that this pandemic would be conducive to growing. If we stay with adages for a moment, such as “The grass is always greener on the other side” might that be true because there is more manure on the other side? If that be the case, we who have been well entrenched ‘on the other side of normal’, should then all be greening, sprouting, and growing as there is plentiful manure on this pandemic side of normal. However, that is not necessarily true, right?

We all know and have experienced, that there is a huge difference between head and heart knowledge.  My mind may take in such words as “This will either make or break you” but what will my heart believe?  During a time like this pandemic, all that might stick in my head might be, “This will break you.”  Yes, like a seed, life breaks us open. Might our hearts be willing to believe though, that difficulties can ‘make us’ and that we can grow? We may all have modest beginnings but through life’s difficulties we can in fact grow into “God’s masterpiece.” (Ephesians 2:10) Just as great oaks from little acorns grow with sufficient sun, rain, and the ‘manure’ of stormy weather, we, too, can grow when we learn to embrace the storms of our lives when we view them with new eyes. Though blasts from our past may aggravate our present pandemic situation, with grace we can weather whatever this pandemic holds for each one of us, even if we’d prefer to avoid these tough situations.

“...find God in all things”

Like our Jesuit brothers, when we have the courage to put aside our preconceived ideas and gain a new perspective, even during these challenging times, surprisingly we just might learn to “find God in all things.” Who knows, out of our difficulties miracles just may sprout. If we dare let go of our illusions, which tend to lead to disillusions, we will gain wisdom, that fertile soil needed to grow through what we are going through. When we no longer cling to our delusions of what life should look like, particularly during this pandemic, no longer holding onto unrealistic expectations, we might surprise ourselves by growing through what we go through.  When we not only face but embrace our reality, even if this pandemic breaks our hearts open evermore, they will surely also be enlarged.

Since I am finishing this reflection on Earth Day, I recall a recent conversation I enjoyed with a wise sage of a woman about pollinators.  What was unusual and fascinating about our conversation, was that she was not telling me about pollinators such as the amazing bees.  No, she spoke eloquently about people being pollinators.  In nature, “Pollination ensures that a plant will produce full-bodied fruit and a full set of viable seeds.” (www.pollinators.org) In the context of this reflection, however, I am pondering the concept of people being pollinators for others. Who are these pollinators, I ask myself, who help me till the inner soil so I can grow, bloom, and “produce full-bodied fruit” in my life and in turn help others seek “greening” in their lives?  In conclusion, then, I would like to invite you to ponder who the pollinators are in your life, particularly during this pandemic. Who is helping you not only to grow through what you daily go through but to bear fruit in great abundance?  On the flip side, for whom are you a caring pollinator?

-Sister Magdalena Vogt, cps