Blog
From our CSJ Blue Community website.
Many of the actions we can take to honour water as a human right, shared commons, and sacred gift are collective, yet the ways we describe who we are and where we are from can shift the broader water-agenda in profound ways.
https://www.bluecommunitycsj.org/post/i-am-water-introduce-yourself-with-water
It’s easy to forget what an amazing gift life really is. Our lives are nothing but a cosmic blink. Even our seemingly all-encompassing world is just a tiny blue dot circling an average sized star spiraling around a galaxy of 200-400 billion stars, which itself is one galaxy among billions more. Yet for one brief moment, we get to experience the wonders of existence of consciousness.
Positive Quotes About Life taken from: www.keepinspiringme.com
What is this life beyond the grave of which our faith speaks? Where does our spirit go when we have, as Shakespeare writes, “shuffled off this mortal coil?” Every day in every way, humankind has wrestled with the issue of immortality.
In Christian tradition, the Church celebrates All Souls Day on November 2nd. This month’s damp and dreary weather in our Western Hemisphere seems to be an ideal time to stop and pray for our loved ones who have gone before us. In churches, we write the names of our dearly departed in a special book of remembrance which remains in a prominent place throughout the month.
Many people ask, Is there really life after death? From earliest days to the present century, philosophers have grappled with the world’s eternal questions. Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of death? Is there an afterlife?
I too, have thought deeply about the existence of eternal life. At the end of my search, my faith, my upbringing and one defining moment satisfies my query. Several months after my beloved father’s death at age 64, I was walking in the grotto area of our spacious grounds, thinking of all that had transpired since his untimely death. I could feel his comforting spiritual presence as I sometimes did. Suddenly, I sensed a quick “whosh” like air racing upward beside me and a letting go beyond me. I whispered, “O Dad, you’ve gone.” Instantly, I sensed he knew that I would be fine without him. His spirit was in another dimension.
How does one put into words what we know instinctively but cannot explain? Undoubtedly, each of us has had experiences of deceased loved ones being close at hand. However, some experiences are too deep for us to share. Why would anyone believe us anyway?
Every November, I am grateful for our annual All Souls Day to honour departed family members, friends and all those who have died before us, signed with the seal of faith.
- Sister Jean Moylan, csj
Look in the mirror, folks. This is our feast day, as well as the feast of all those holy ones who have lived before us, those whose lives have inspired ours, including parents, siblings and the canonized.
A SPIRITUALITY STUDY INSPIRED BY
JEAN-PIERRE MÉDAILLE, S.J.
HIS WRITINGS AND EXPERIENCES
The journey from Writings of Jean-Pierre Médaille, S.J., 1610-1669 to Words for Life has been a wonderful exploration.
My story begins some four decades ago. On Holy Saturday 1981, I had an important discernment visit with Sister Cecilia, my General-Superior in Peterborough. That September I would be leaving my thirteen years of teaching ministry and entering the solitude of Lebh Shomea House of Prayer for a lengthy stay. During our visit, she gave me the newly published Writings of Jean-Pierre Médaille, S.J. book (Toronto) and encouraged me to take it with me. Today I realize how that graced action of one woman and one book may have changed the course of my life and my vocation.
The writings of Jean-Pierre Médaille have grounded me in a spirituality that steadied me in times of growth and challenge as the contemplative dimension of my life evolved into a permanent lifestyle at The Upper Room Home of Prayer in Ottawa. Over the past thirty five years, it has been my privilege and joy to study and share this spirituality series using the writings of Jean-Pierre Médaille. It began as a popular ten month Correspondence Course that soon evolved into a ten week teaching series at various local parishes and eventually climaxed in a fifty-two week Médaille Online Course (2008-2009). Now, ten years later, in this moment of grace, and with the assistance of a generous local publisher, I invite readers to embrace anew the inspiration and wisdom found in Father Médaille’s writings.
My present congregational leader, Margo Ritchie, CSJ, writes in her message of gratitude and hope for these Words for Life as they go forth now into the world:
Although the spirituality she writes about rose up in the 17th century, Rosemary has known over many years of research and reflection that this spirituality carries a wisdom and sustenance that cuts across centuries, across world crises and diverse cultures. There is a deepening hunger in our day which usually surfaces in the throes of chaos and disruption. She explores the energy of Love as what can carry us personally and collectively in this 21st century. She incorporates the insights of psychology to talk about the True Self as a continual releasing the grip of ego and a moving toward wholeness. Into the 400-year-old original writings, she lets the spirit of evolutionary consciousness shine new light. She has brought forth a gift which will sustain seekers and contribute to the unfolding wisdom of these inspired writings of the 17th century.
For over 360 years this Médaillan spirituality has nurtured the lives and ministries of countless Sisters of St. Joseph and lay associates around the world. My sincere hope is that these four volumes will become an integral part of our spiritual legacy benefitting many persons who long for “the more” in their lives. Médaille’s writings have proved to be timeless.
ROSEMARY O’TOOLE is a Sister of St. Joseph in Canada. For the past thirty-five years she has been co-director with Evelyn McGovern, CSJ at The Upper Room Home of Prayer in Ottawa, Canada, offering spiritual direction, contemplative retreats and programs in spirituality. She authored eight mini books on core spiritual themes in a Future Full of Hope series. The creation of Words for Life over the past year has been a labour of love, supported by poets and artists, researchers and reviewers. To place an order, please email upperroom@sympatico.ca
