Weekly Pause & Ponder

Even though the disciples were not aware of it, the presence was with them while they were reviewing the scriptures together on the road. Hence forth, we will catch only a fleeting glimpse of it – in the study of sacred writings, in other human beings, in liturgy, and in communion with strangers. But these moments remind us that our fellow men and women are themselves sacred; there is something about them that is worthy of absolute reverence, is in the last resort mysterious, and will always elude us.

Karen Armstrong, The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2637.karen-armstrong

Weekly Pause & Ponder

As a people, perhaps instinctively, we have been agitated about all this computerization of life for a long time. But we are only now beginning to articulate the concerns these technologies bring us, as well as the services they provide in both the arts and science.  The irony is that we have united the world technologically and, at the same time, made it more difficult than ever for us to unite politically. Unless we really want to, that is; unless we decide to work as hard on understanding as we do on technology…. At every level of humanity, we seem to prefer technology to relationships. 

From Where I Stand by Joan Chittister. National Catholic Reporter, June 9, 2015.

Weekly Pause & Ponder

“God is at work within life; God helps it, raises it up, gives it the impulse that drives it along, gives it the appetite that attracts it, the growth that transforms it.  I can feel God, touch God, live God, in a deep biological current that runs through my soul and carries it with it.  The deeper I descend into myself, the more I find God at the heart of my being.” 

God has given us the land, not only for producing abundant food but also as a source of hope.  The land is our teacher.  Let us be attentive to what is happening within us and around us.  Let us be aware of the land’s teachings about transformation.

Let the Land Teach Us, an article by Joyce Rupp, also quoting Teilhard de Chardin.

Weekly Pause & Ponder

Silence is the great teacher, and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to it. There is no substitute for the creative inspiration, knowledge, and stability that come from knowing how to contact your core of inner silence. The great Sufi poet Rumi wrote, Only let the moving waters calm down, and the sun and moon will be reflected on the surface of your being.

Quotes from Deepak Chopra.  blog.gaiam.com/quotes/authors/deepak-chopra[SC1] 

Weekly Pause & Ponder

I hope you can find that which gives life a deep meaning for you. Something worth living for – maybe even worth dying for. Something that energizes you, enthuses you, enables you to keep moving ahead. I can’t tell you what it might be – that’s for you to find, to choose, to love. I can just encourage you to start looking and support you in the search.

Ita Ford M.M., Ignatian Solidarity Network.  April, 2015.