And now the Fire is with us

"And now the Fire is with us...as though through a sacred door opening to the Universe, God passes through...and spreads RADIANCE."  

These words of Teilhard de Chardin were written by him on the battlefield, of all places--where he was a stretcher-bearer during WWI. They speak loudly of the fierce and ever-present passionate love of God for us, everywhere and in all things.  And perhaps they speak especially to us now in the midst of an unprecedented upheaval of soul, of consciousness, and of governments presently happening in Holy Earth. Now the Fire is with us, Holy Fire, Spirit Fire, an energy, a radiance!  Now the sacred door has been opened to the Mystery and majesty of the Universe. We are the first generations to be flooded and filled with the radiance of this Divine revelation….God passing through, entering us.  A Pentecost.

Can we turn our attention to this fire, this power at work within us?  Can we turn from the terrible “too-small” worlds of politics and division, finance, fear and ambition?  Can we let ourselves be seized, animated by this Great Love alive within in us. This fiery love has power to heal our divisions and make us one! What can we do with so great a love?  We can burn with love for the whole Sacred Earth and all its beings!  We can burn with Love for the ONE who loves us so! We can become LOVE!

 - Mary Southard, Pentecost 2018

Reflection and Artwork (titled    Le Puy, Thank You) by Sr. Mary Southard, CSJ (used with permission). Mary Southard Art   www.marysouthardart.org

Breakfast of Champions

CSJ staff member Natalie recalls the Breakfast of Champions on May 8^th she attended at the London Convention Centre. This is an annual event presented by St. Joseph’s Health Care. The featured speaker was Clint Malarchuk, former NHL goaltender and coach whose career was nearly cut short by a gruesome on-ice incident.

Clint spoke of the two most important events in our lives: the day we are born, and the day we find our purpose – ‘why we are here.’ 

He started off saying that he shouldn’t be here. He almost died three times. Once with a skate slicing his jugular and possibly cutting his career short. He was told by the doctors to take a year off, but went back to playing hockey just eleven days after surgery. He had discharged himself the day after surgery with 32 stitches. Clint said, ‘because you had to be tough and carry on.’  The second time was later when he was taking medications and not supposed to be drinking, and was, then his heart stopped. The third time was when he put a gun to his head. He still carries the bullet in his skull. 

When Clint was a boy, he suffered from anxiety because his father, whom he admired, who was also a hockey player, was an alcoholic.  Skating on the ice rink was the only time he felt free of any worries.  He explained that when he walked home from the rink with his equipment on his toboggan he could feel the anxiety filling up inside of himself. 

Later Clint found out that that not only was he suffering with anxiety, but also OCD, PTSD and depression. He explained the importance of getting help as soon as you can and stressed how far things have come along regarding the treatment and care for these conditions. He does a lot of work with American veterans and says, ‘they are the real heroes!’ 

Clint went on to stress the importance of being kind to one another, because you just do not know how many people out there are really struggling from day to day with whatever disorders they may be carrying because you certainly cannot see it in them.

He mentioned that when he wrote his book and left his email address and Facebook link, he received so many letters and messages of thanks from people, saying ‘thank you for being our voice,’ many of them being fellow hockey players as well. He was quite comical also. It was a very emotional event and yet there was a lot of humour mixed in with it.  Clint is certainly a person who is appreciating life!

Guest Blogger: Natalie Saika

Earth Day 2018

Spring arrived here today, April 20^th, no doubt about it! As I walked in the woods early this morning everything felt more alive! The biting winds were stilled at last, and warmth seemed to emerge from the trees, the trail, the buds on bushes just loosening, and trout lilies were finally poking up on the trail. The robins’ gold-throated singing above me was more vigorous than ever. The sun has been shining all day, and people are shining too!

And Sunday was Earth Day. This year’s Earth Day was for me a relief and a call to hope. What a relief to know that people across the world celebrated our sacred planet. She has brought forth such a magnificent abundance of life forms including ourselves, and continues to nourish us body and soul. Instead of hearing new of the dismantling of Earth’s sacred places and ecological safeguards, we will, at least for a while, were called to be awake, aware and grateful together for Earth, so beautiful and precious to God and to us. How lovely that Spring has come to make this Earth Day even more alive after such long, dark winter so many of us have had!

Thich Nhat Hanh’s little book LOVE LETTERS TO EARTH caught my eye this week. One of the section titles, “Breathing With the Planet”, spoke to me. Following the breath is such a central concept in meditation. Here’s a breathing meditation you could do with Earth, together as One. Become still, close your eyes, and breathe with Earth: BREATHE IN—the oxygen that the trees and green beings are breathing out to give us life, (and maybe fragrance and freshness. . .) BREATH OUT—my CO₂, and my gratitude and love for the trees to breathe in.

Breathe in—breathe out, slowly, mindfully…for a while. An exchange of life. Try it…especially if you can be out of doors. Then remember, this exchange of life is taking place all the time between our Earth and us, whether we realize it or not.

Finally, here’s a beautiful song/prayer you can spend some time with on YouTube. Let yourself feel it: “Song for the Earth” (featuring Jim Scott + Paul Winter Consort) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGBtko4oUX0

Have a beautiful Earth Day, Every Day!

Mary Southard, CSJ

Reflection and Artwork (titled Spring’s Promise) by Sr. Mary Southard, CSJ (used with permission). Mary Southard Art www.marysouthardart.org

Jesus, the Refugee

There once was a stranger in a foreign land. His mother and father had run away with him to protect him from the threat of death at the hands of a tyrant ruler.

As a babe in arms, he did not know the danger that faced him or the challenges his parents encountered. But as a man, he had heard the stories of his youth and the difficulties his family had endured: an arduous journey, a foreign culture, a different language, a longing for family and home, a father having to find work to feed his family and a mother making a home out of what they could carry on a donkey’s back. Hopefully, they had someone in Egypt who welcomed them.

Jesus had a soft spot for the stranger because he was one, even in his own country. As he preached throughout the countryside, in village after village, city after city, he was welcomed by the rich and the poor, the prostitute and the tax collector, as well as the ordinary person. Only in his hometown was he not welcomed.

One day, Jesus was talking to his disciples and said, “When I was a stranger, you welcomed me.” His disciples, confused, asked, “When were you a stranger and we welcomed you?” Jesus replied, “When you did it to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.”

Since the spirit of the Divine dwells in each and every one of us, let us, through the eyes of love, recognize the face of Christ in others. Now, more than ever, let us welcome the stranger who has reached our shores, the refugee, Christ in our midst.

Associate Fernanda Estoesta, Eagles’ Wings, Chatham

Remembering God’s Love Together

“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.” DT 4.9.

I often joke about my memory as I get older. It can be frustrating when things I really want to remember, I somehow forget. I have heard people call this the “Teflon” effect. Other memories seem to be so deeply imprinted on my mind and heart that I have carried them with me throughout my life. My memory has both gifts and gaps.

Recently my daughter reminded me of a sweet childhood memory I had forgotten. She recalled coming to me for a morning hug. I would wrap my cozy bathrobe around both of us, with her little face peeking out and then she would stand on my feet and walk with me around the kitchen. It was a lovely, warm memory, and her retelling it brought it back to me vividly.

The silver lining to the elusive clouding of memory is that I am not alone on this journey. There is beauty and wonder in our collective memory as people who have shared experiences. The gift of memory, shared in our stories is an invitation into something far richer than my solitary life.

Moses spoke to the people and taught them to observe the law which God had commanded him to give to them, but the law had it’s meaning in their shared memory of God freeing them from slavery. This is what he urged them not to forget. They had personally experienced the plagues and first Passover which led to Pharaoh’s reluctant defeat, the terror of being pursued by the Egyptians and the parting of the Red Sea. Finally, they stood together at the theophany at Mount Horeb. They saw the blazing fire and dark clouds, and heard God’s voice declaring the covenant they were to keep. God had dramatically revealed first his powerful love and then the law which would make them like him; just, wise and in the eyes of the world, great. The shared personal experience of God’s love for them was what made the law meaningful.

We know the rest of their story, the ongoing struggle to be faithful to the covenant, because it is the foundation of our faith. In spite of the many ways they tried to remember, with more and more laws, the people often wandered. They got caught up in their day to day life and the novelty of the surrounding cultures. This is our story too.

Perhaps Lent is a time to remind us to “take care and be earnestly on our guard not to forget the things our own eyes have seen.”

What is my personal experience of God’s saving love? How God has revealed his love for you and others with whom you share faith? Christians share personal and communal experience of the God’s gift of Jesus, and his Spirit, both within and among us in our lives and liturgy. We need one another’s help to remember and not to forget.

Remembering and sharing our stories of faith makes our laws and traditions meaningful. Before we can wholeheartedly renew Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and charity, our hearts may need to recall God’s saving power and presence among us.

Guest Blogger Jane Phillipson