Reflections

Thoughtful Soul Food

I have had the privilege of belonging to a women’s reflection group for a number of years. We are a dozen spiritual seekers. We meet virtually every week at 8 a.m. before we set off for our daily tasks. Each of us takes our turn as initiators. In rotation, we take the lead in choosing the topic for our morning get together. Prior to our virtual gathering, the scheduled person on her chosen theme emails to us a poem, an art piece, a series of quotes, or a written excerpt, as a catalyst for our upcoming morning’s reflection and personal sharing.

I offer you one such catalyst, the enriching poem by John O’Donohue which sparked rich sharing during our recent virtual gathering. The format was simple, as is most often the case. We were asked to share on the text or specific lines that touched us. Sixty minutes were easily filled by the insights and experiences of one another.  Hopefully, it will also provide you with food for thought and soul as it did for our band of spiritual seekers.  -Sister Nancy Wales

A Blessing for Presence

May you awaken to the mystery of being here

and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

May you have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

May you receive great encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

May you respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path.

May the flame of anger free you from falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul.

May you take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.

May you be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift, woven around the heart of wonder.

John O'Donohue (1 January 1956 – 4 January 2008) was an Irish poet, author, priest, and philosopher. He was a native Irish speaker, and as an author is best known for popularising Celtic spirituality. (~ Wikipedia)

Source: O’Donohue, J., (1998). Eternal Echoes. Exploring our hunger to belong. London, Bantam Books. p.139. Image: Unsplash/stefzn

A Winter Snowstorm

Here is what people were saying a few weeks ago, “I guess we will have a green Christmas in 2023. “I don’t mind a little snow from time to time”. “Crops do better when the land has had a winter blanket of snow”.  “I am just glad I don’t have to shovel the stuff.  “These mild days point to climate change, for sure”.

What a surprise when a winter snowstorm rolled into Southwestern Ontario on January 12th.  People pulled on their winter coats and headed for refuge at home.

Darkness fell and a mixture of rain and snow pelted icy windows. I awoke after midnight to the sound of sirens rescuing people who refused to reduce speed.  Later, thumps and bumps signaled that snowplows were clearing roads and driveways. Indeed, it seemed to have the makings of an old-fashioned winter storm.

As I awoke in the semi-darkness and prepared for the day, the storm and wind   abated, but rain was making slush of everything. No doubt, planes would be grounded. I worried that my brother and sister-in-law might be enroute already from Cuba where they had fled Canada in search of sunshine.

In contrast to the present, our country was once a land of ice and snow from early November until late March. We were hearty people brandishing snow shovels and clad in sturdy boots, heavy coats, warm mittens, and bright winter scarves. A favourite pastime was reminiscing around the fireplace about the arduousness of living in Canada through fierce snowstorms.

I was a young teacher in London when a giant storm ripped through the area. I had managed to make it to school and was preparing for class when a telephone call alerted me that my sister, who was close to giving birth, was being transferred by ambulance from a small town an hour’s drive north to an awaiting physician at a hospital in our city. The stormy trip took much over the usual hour before arriving at its destination. I will never forget worrying my way through my teaching as the storm choked the roads and blinded city drivers. Finally, I received a call that a beautiful baby girl had arrived in the early afternoon of January 26th. Soon after the birth, the new father arrived at the hospital as the roads closed behind him. What followed was seven stormy days before safe travelling was restored and the little family headed for home. People had been stranded far and wide and newspapers proclaimed the calamity of the great snowstorm of January 1971. Now that’s an old-fashioned snowstorm!

-Sister Jean Moylan, CSJ

Christmas is an Invitation

Christmas is an invitation for each one of us

To be in our world what Jesus was for his world;

A beam of light in the midst of darkness,

A ray of hop in the midst of despair.

If Jesus is to be born into today’s world,

It must be through us.

We must be the beam of light,

In the midst of darkness.

We must be the ray of hope in the midst of despair.

To the extent that we need the invitation of Christmas,

To the extend will the world receive the gift of Christmas:

Peace on earth and goodwill toward all.

-Sister Mary Jo Fox, CSJ

IMAGES: Unsplash/Robert Thiemann, Tiard Schulz

World Teachers Day

Who was your favourite teacher? I would wager that you remember more about their ways than about the subject material they taught. You might recall with appreciation how they supported you with gentle encouragement. In fact, “Nine-tenths of education is encouragement", states the 19th century , French novelist and writer, Antoine French.

As an educator myself, I recall my grade twelve biology teacher. She modelled for me the necessity of being an enthusiastic teacher. Although she had taught certain lessons numerous times, she still enthusiastically joined us in the wonders as we dissected our first earthworm.

My biology teacher must have seen in me the potential educator. She placed her trust in me to teach her biology class when she was confined to our care centre with pleurisy. I was her substitute teacher.

“Nine tenths of education is encouragement ”
— Anatole France

Each evening after supper in the dining room I would head to her temporary room in the infirmary. At her bedside on second floor, I would receive my one-to-one lesson on blood vessels, heart valves and all things related to the functioning of the human circulatory system. The next morning, buoyed up by the confidence she placed in me,  I would bravery pass on my newly acquired knowledge to my peers.

The one advantage Sister gave me, the student teacher, was a handwritten note  from her to read to my classmates. The note clearly stated that we were responsible for the unit on the circulatory system, and on her return to class, we could expect a test!

World Teachers Day on October 5th offers us  an opportunity  to reflect back on our school days and remember that particular teacher or hopefully teachers who offered us support through encouragement that impacted our lives.

Let us celebrate World Teachers Day as Teacher Appreciation Day.

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ