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Day 9 Saints Novena – Saint Joseph

The Nuns — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:32:42 +0000

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9 Saints Novena – Saint Joseph – by Bcoop

Saint Joseph and Christ Child icon by Michael O'Brien from Ontario Canada (www.studiobrien.com)

Reflection: Day 9 – Saint Joseph
Joseph of Nazareth is one of those hidden people in the Bible, but he played a big part in the lives of Jesus and Mary. He only appears in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, first as an entry in the genealogy of Jesus and a link to King David’s line. He is mentioned as the husband of Mary and the father of Jesus. He was a carpenter in Nazareth. Matthew pictures him as a man who hears an angel’s message and protects his family from Herod’s wrath. Later, Luke tells the story about 12 year old Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple and his parents’ search for him. Then Joseph disappears from the scene.

Perhaps the most important statement about Joseph in the Gospels is that he was a “just man”. That is, a person of integrity, of compassion, who is upright, sincere, and true. A person who lives in and for God, who is wise and learned in the Torah. Luke tells us that Jesus “grew in body and in wisdom, gaining favor with God and other people”. (Lk 2:52) I think he learned this along with carpentry at Joseph’s side.

Prayer:

Pray with us, Saint Joseph,

patron of the Universal Church, teach us to walk in the Way of Jesus.
patron of workers, help us to provide meaningful employment and adequate wages to all.
refugee from Herod’s hatred, help us to be compassionate and open to those in trouble.
father of your family, bless our families and teach us to live in love.
teacher and guide for the child Jesus, help us to guide and support each other on life’s way.

Suggested Reading:

The Bible

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Day 8 Saints Novena – Father Augustus Tolton

The Nuns — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:02:33 +0000

We offer this Saints Novena in gratitude for the ways God lives and moves and has being in the lives of all the saints who are part of this online community. We give thanks for you and for the gift of God that you are to us and to the world. It is because of people like you that there is this awesome place of hospitality and gospel community. This novena is written by the A Nun’s Life Community.

8 Saints Novena – Father Augustus Tolton – by Audra

Reflection: I would like to introduce you all to a good spiritual friend of mine: Fr. Augustus Tolton, the first African American priest in the United States.

Augustus Tolton was born a slave in 1854 in rural, Missouri. He was baptized a Catholic at St. Peter’s Church in Brush Creek, Missouri. His father died right before serving in the Civil War. Wanting a better life for her children, Augustus’ mother escaped slavery with her three children forty miles east to Quincy, Illinois. There Augustus would find his calling as a Catholic Priest.

However, since he was black, no seminary in the United States would accept him. He was sent to the Propaganda Fide in Rome where he studied with seminarians from all over the world. As soon as he was ordained he asked to be placed as a missionary in Africa, but instead, he was sent back to his home parish in Quincy.

No matter where he went, his deep baritone voice would be heard by people of different cultures together in the same church. The other priests became jealous of Fr. Tolton’s popularity and made it impossible for him to stay in Quincy. Deeply heartbroken Fr. Tolton accepted his new mission in Chicago. There, he raised funds to build a church for the African American community. While funds were being raised, “the good Father Gus” as people called him, ministered all over the Chicago ghetto. Unfortunately, Fr. Tolton never got to see his church finished as he died of a heat stoke at the age 43.

Fr. Gus was truly a servant of God as he preserved time and time again. He once wrote to St. Katherine Drexel, “I shall work and pull at it as long as God gives me life for I am beginning to see that I have powers and principalities to resist anywhere and everywhere I go.” Even though Fr. Gus’ church was never finished, his spiritual legacy lives on in those who hear his story. He is a role model for all who are in the minority to follow God no matter the cost.

Prayer: ”O God, we give you thanks for your servant and priest, Father Augustus Tolton, who labored among us in times of contradiction, times that were both beautiful and paradoxical. His ministry helped lay the foundation for a truly Catholic gathering in faith in our time. We stand in the shadow of his ministry. May his life continue to inspire us and imbue us with that confidence and hope that will forge a new evangelization for the Church we love.” (from the Canonization Prayer)

Suggested Reading:

A Biography of Fr. Gus by Fr. Roy Bauer
Support Fr. Gus’ cause for canonization

Join A Nun’s Life Community for a day of events in honor of All Saints! See the schedule for the day’s events in the sidebar to the right. And please consider participating in A Nun’s Life fundraiser going on now through November 9. We need to raise $10,000 for much needed equipment and supplies. See our fundraiser page for more information. You may be eligible to win a brand-new iPad 2!

Day 7 Saints Novena – Dorothy Day

The Nuns — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:29:07 +0000

7 Saints Novena – Dorothy Day – by Bcoop

Reflection: Dorothy Day (born: November 8, 1897; died: November 29, 1980)

Dorothy Day on picket line with farm workers in Lamont, California, 1973

I wonder how Dorothy feels about being “nominated for official sainthood”? She is reputed to have said: “Don’t call me a saint. I don’t want to be dismissed so easily.” Saints do run the danger of being “photoshopped” – all their quirks and warts smoothed away until they appear as bland as marshmallows. That might be more difficult to do with Dorothy.

Dorothy’s whole life was marked by concern for the injustices of society and the plight of destitute people. She spent her life joining charity and justice. As she said: “There was a great question in my mind. Why was so much done in remedying social evils instead of avoiding them in the first place? . . . Where were the saints to try to change the social order, not just to minister to the slaves but to do away with slavery?” (Long Loneliness, p. 45)

Dorothy’s first job as a journalist was with the New York Call, a socialist newspaper. Her reporter colleagues were socialists, communists, labour organizers for the American Federation of Labour and the Industrial Workers of the World and various free thinkers and anarchists opposed to conscription and the entry of the United States into World War I.

The labour movement, socialist ideas, and her own experiences of hardship had a strong influence on Dorothy’s commitment to social justice. At the same time, she was searching for some inner connection with the God who was enticing her. Brought up in a nominally Protestant home, Dorothy was drawn to the ritual of the Catholic Church.

In 1927 Dorothy’s daughter, Tamar, was born and was baptized in the Catholic Church. Dorothy said: “I did not want my child to flounder as I had often floundered. I wanted to believe, and I wanted my child to believe, and if belonging to a Church would give her so inestimable a grace as faith in God, and the companionable love of the Saints, then the thing to do was to have her baptized a Catholic.”

Dorothy’s interest in religion, as well as the birth of Tamar, led to the break-up of her common-law marriage. This freed her to be received into the Catholic Church and started her on a search to bring together her faith and her social values.

In 1932 Dorothy met Peter Maurin and the Catholic Worker was born. These communities still work to fulfil these words of Dorothy: “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?”

Prayer: Help us dear Dorothy, to overcome our fear with love, our selfishness with compassion, and our anger with peace.

Suggested Reading:

Main website for the Catholic Worker
Social Justice Teachings, Catholic Worker House in Oklahoma City

Day 6 Saints Novena – The Latin American Martyrs

The Nuns — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:53:30 +0000

6 Saints Novena – Latin American Martyrs – by Marla

Reflection: Wherever great evil thrives, great saints are made. Evil, as in Latin America from forever until today, kills and steals and destroys. It is horrific, but predictable.

Saints like Archbishop Oscar Romero learn great lessons and turn their lives around; Romero himself was martyred for repeatedly calling on the Salvadoran government to love the poor instead of killing them.

The six Jesuit priests along with their cook and her daughter were murdered in their home by US-backed Salvadoran forces in 1989 were guilty of preaching peace and caring for the poorest of the poor.

When the Salvadoran government killed people who spoke up against injustice and left them to rot on the streets, with the understanding that anyone who moved the bodies would be subject to the same treatment, the Four Churchwomen chose to honor the corporal works of mercy taught by the Catholic Church and buried the dead anyway. Just before the three nuns, Ursuline Sister Dorothy Kazel, Maryknoll Sister Ita Ford, and Maryknoll Sister Maura Clarke, along with lay missioner Jean Donovan were murdered and left in a shallow grave, Clarke wondered aloud to her friends, “I know death is coming. Will I be faithful?”

These and other saints from that evil time and place spoke truth to power—even to US power who gave money to the evil Salvadoran armies—and nothing is harder to do when death is chasing you down.

Prayer: Dear Creator, may we, like the Latin American Martyrs, be willing to have our eyes opened and our lives changed. May we ask daily, as Maura Clarke asked on the eve of her murder, “Will I be faithful?” With the other churchwomen, may we be willing to live our faith without fear of reprisal. And with the spirit of all Latin American martyrs and saints, may we be bold enough to speak truth to power even when the truth will cost us. Bless us with your love of justice.

Suggested Reading:

Companions of Jesus: The Jesuit Martyrs of El Salvador by Jon Sobrino
Salvador by Joan Didion
Disturbing the Peace: The Story of Father Roy Bourgeois and the Movement to Close the School of Americas by James Hodge and Linda Cooper
Salvador Witness: The Life and Calling of Jean Donovan by Ana Carrigan

Day 5 Saints Novena – Saint Dominic Guzman

The Nuns — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:15:42 +0000

5 Saints Novena – Saint Dominic Guzman – by Bcoop

Reflection: While almost everyone knows and loves Francis of Assisi, few are familiar with his contemporary, Dominic de Guzman. Dominic was born about 1170 in Caleruega, a small village in Spain. I could write a biography but you can get that from Google. Instead I’d like to tell you why I love this man.

As a student Dominic needed and treasured his books. This was before the invention of the printing press so they were laboriously made by hand and couldn’t be replaced at a local book store. When famine struck, Dominic sold his precious books to feed the poor.

He opened himself to the unknown when he saw a need for change. He left what he knew and was comfortable with, and entered into uncertainty to discern the path God was calling him to.

Dominic was cheerful. When he and Francis met I imagine them having some good laughs about wolves and birds, among other things.

Dominic lived outside of “boxes”. He blended and brought things, and people, together rather than separating them.

Perhaps this could be summed up best by what I wrote in my Journal so many years ago:
I think of Dominic – a man of joy and prayer, a man who treasured his friends, and in their common passion for living and preaching the Gospel, deepened in relationship to become “Family”.

Simon Tugwell wrote:

“The faith of God in people makes, every now and then, a person come true.
And then a heart is rhythmed to the very beat of God,
a mind to truth, and a mouth to gospel,
wooing the matter of man to God.”

Prayer:

Joyful Friar
Patient Teacher
Grace-filled Preacher
Gospel man of prayer
Pray for us and walk with us in God’s Way.

Suggested Reading:

Early Dominicans from Classics of Western Spirituality
International Dominican website
Reflections on readings, resources, etc
Bcoop’s Journal of my pilgrimage to the lands of Dominic)

Day 4 Saints Novena – Saint Francis of Assisi

The Nuns — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:38:38 +0000

3 Saints Novena – Saint Francis of Assisi – by Audra

Reflection: Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most popular saints ever. There have been hundreds of books, several movies and one Broadway play done on this twelfth century saint. But for me, what makes the cool points go through the roof is that Saint Francis has his own comic book- and not just any comic book a Marvel comic book. Yes, that’s right. The kings of the comic books wrote a comic book about Saint Francis.

Francis Berandone was born into the middle class but always dreamt of being a knight. He fought in the Perugian War but was captured and put in prison for a year. It was while he was in prison that Francis first began to experience the hints of how God was calling him. In prison, Francis saw how the very men he had respected and served valiantly with were now fighting each other for food. Instead of joining them, he found that he felt joy when he gave food to the other prisoners.

When freed, Francis returned to his partying ways — and was really good at it. When fights between the pope and German princes broke out, he again was lured back to his dream to be a knight. Francis purchased the finest armor and rode with other soldiers to defend the Church. But one night before the war, God told Francis in a dream to return to Assisi. A would-be knight turning away from a fight was more than Francis’ family could bear and they were embarrassed by him. So one day Francis went to Mount Subasio to pray. He didn’t hear God’s voice but felt freer just by praying. Francis prayed intensely for a year but still couldn’t hear God’s voice. Then one day while walking he came upon a leper. At first Francis was scared, but then he felt overwhelmed with compassion and reached out and gave the leper a hug.

Later on, Francis went to the San Damiano church to pray in front of the Crucifix. Suddenly Jesus came alive and told Francis to “rebuild my church.” Francis took this to heart, and did his best to sell his merchant father’s bolts of clothes for building supplies. Unimpressed, his father found out and took him straight to the bishop. Francis’ father asked for the clothes back. Francis obliged, and right then and there took off all of his clothes in front of everyone. This marked Francis’ choice to leave behind all the expectations of his family and his own expectations and follow God.

A few days later Francis’ friend Bernardo asked to join him. Eventually more men joined them. Seeing the numbers grow Francis went to the Pope to ask if he would start a new religious order. The Pope said no, but that night he had a dream that Francis was able to rebuild the church. The next day the Pope gave Francis his blessing.

When Francis returned to Assisi, his friend Clare — yes, THE Clare — came to him asking to join his new order. Francis was hesitant at first, but then told Clare that she could live under the same laws as the Friars. The Poor Clares were born!

A few comic book days later, Francis witnessed the battle of the crusades and decided to speak with the sultan to stop the war. Francis gained the respect of the Sultan and was given a pennant so he could safely travel to all of the holy places of Jesus’ life.

After the trip, Francis came back to find his order … umm… not in order. They forced him to write rules other than the Gospels to live by. So Francis did what he always did when he needed to pray: he headed for the hills. Like Jesus, Francis spent much time in prayer in mountains. There on Mount La Verna he received the Stigmata. He became an instant celebrity as people heard about these extraordinary marks of holiness. Over the next two years Francis’ health deteriorated. As he lay on the death bed Francis said, “Praise the Lord, for our Sister, death whom none can escape. My soul is at peace. I am prepared to meet her. Welcome Sister Death.” Francis died on October 3, 1226.

Saint Francis to me is an everyday, working person’s type of saint. He was also crazy. Crazy for God that is. I wish I can be that type of crazy. He didn’t care if you were man, woman or beast — you were a child of God and worthy of love. I think that’s why he is also the patron saint of animals. They were his sisters and brothers too.

Prayer: A very popular Prayer NOT written by Saint Francis but is something he would say: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Suggested Reading:

“Francis, Brother of the Universe” Comic Book by Marvel
Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by Saint Bonaventure

** Be sure to join in today’s Litany of the Pets at 6 p.m. Central Time followed by the first ever PAWCAST featuring the pets of A Nun’s Life Community! Click here for more info on the Litany of Pets and Pawcast!

Day 3 Saints Novena – Theresa Maxis Duchemin and Louis Florent Gillet

The Nuns — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:09:29 +0000

2 Saints Novena – Theresa Maxis Duchemin and Louis Florent Gillet – by Sister Julie

Reflection: Saints take many forms, canonical and otherwise. In today’s novena we celebrate all the saints who have gone before us “marked with the sign of faith,” those who may not be canonized but who have had a profound influence on our lives. Today we honor two such saints, founders of the religious congregations of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

While general superior of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, Theresa Maxis Duchemin met the Redemptorist missionary Louis Florent Gillet, who was seeking women religious for schools in the still new State of Michigan. After much discernment, Theresa agreed to help Gillet found a new congregation in Monroe. On November 10, 1845, Theresa along with Charlotte Schaaf and Therese Renaud, became the first members of a new religious community dedicated to education in the frontier land of Michigan.

In January 1846, they opened St. Mary’s Academy in Monroe. As the community and mission grew, Father Gillet was forced to leave and return to Europe in 1847. Though flourishing, the community struggled to deal with Louis’ departure and their struggle worsened with a sudden separation from Theresa. Theresa was caught in the middle of a jurisdictional dispute about the congregation between the bishops of Philadelphia and Detroit. The bishop of Detroit held Theresa responsible, deposed her as General Superior, and sent her to the Pennsylvania foundation, which later became a separate branch of the congregation. Despite these trials, the new community persisted in its Redemptorist spirit of humility, simplicity, and zeal.

Theresa and Louis’s legacy of courage, peace and service to the poor continues in now three IHM congregations of Monroe, Michigan, Immaculata, Pennsylvania, and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Prayer: We pray that we might tap into God’s gifts to each of us of courage, peace, and service, even when it seems the struggles and trials that we bear are too much. We trust with Theresa and Louis, that God will bring all our efforts to good.

“May the same faith and hope and courage of those loved ones who are ‘dwelling now in Light—yet ever near’ inspire us to continue bravely and earnestly the glorious work so nobly begun.” (Mother Theresa McGivney, IHM, November 10, 1945)

Suggested Reading:

Paths of Daring, Deeds of Hope: Letters by and about Mother Theresa Maxis Duchemin by Sister Margaret Gannon, IHM (Published in Scranton, Pennsylvania, 1992)
Building Sisterhood: A Feminist History of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the IHM Sisters of Monroe, Michigan (Syracuse University Press, 1995)
Also, be sure to spend time with the icons of Louis and Theresa by Sister Nancy Lee Smith, IHM, iconographer

Day 2 Saints Novena – Josephine Bakhita

The Nuns — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:30:06 +0000

2 Saints Novena – Josephine Bakhita – by Sister Maxine

Reflection: St. Josephine Bakhita shows us that forgiveness and freedom walk hand in hand. Kidnapped into slavery as young girl in Sudan, Bakhita was sold and re-sold in African slave markets. The name, Bakhita, meaning “Fortunate One,” was given to her by her kidnappers.

Bakhita faced great physical, spiritual, and emotional adversity during her enslavement. But even these experiences could not destroy the seeds of hope and transformation that lived in Bakhita.

Eventually, Bakhita was purchased by a family that, by the standards of the times, treated her kindly. She later moved to Italy with the family, and there she met the Canossian Daughters of Charity. With them, she began her journey into the Catholic faith and was baptized. The sisters were among those who helped Bakhita, baptized as “Josephine,” achieve her freedom, and soon she entered the congregation.

St. Josephine forgave her kidnappers and captors. They had caused enormous pain in her life, yet she chose forgiveness. In doing so, she rejected hate, anger, fear, and revenge—emotions that, in themselves, enslave people and rob their capacity for joy.In forgiving others, St. Josephine chose freedom, and in her freedom, she found joy.

Prayer: Walk with us, St. Josephine Bakhita, at times when we feel unable to forgive others. Help us find our way through the pain we’ve experienced. Help us open ourselves to transformation. Free us from that which can enslave us. Walk with us into a new place of joy.

Suggested Reading:

Day 1 Saints Novena – Mary our Sister

The Nuns — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:26:50 +0000

1Saints Novena – Mary our Sister – by “Bcoop”

Reflection: With an elevated title like “Mother of God”, we might forget that Mary was a young Jewish girl from Palestine. She lived in a Country dominated by a foreign power, knew the violence of occupation, of fear, of anger at injustice, and probably joined in lamenting the slowness of Israel’s God in rescuing the people. Mary spent her days doing the routine stuff of life, like going to the village well to draw water for her family or learning to cook as her mother did. She went to the Temple as the Law of Moses prescribed. She learned to listen to what was in her heart. One day, she became pregnant with new life and we all know where that led. We might think that because she was Jesus’ mother she is elevated beyond anything we might aspire to. But when Jesus praises her, it is because she had open ears and a responsive heart to God’s Word.

Like Mary we are pregnant with God’s own life. We are called to give birth to that life in our world and our circumstances. Mary shows us the way in her example of hearing God’s Word and acting with it.

Prayer: Be our companion on this journey dear sister Mary. Teach us the ways of wisdom as you taught your son Torah. Encourage us by your strength, inspire us by your attentiveness, and be our midwife in witnessing to Christ in our life.

Suggested Reading:

Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints by Elizabeth A. Johnson
Dangerous Memories: A Mosaic of Mary in Scripture by Elizabeth A Johnson
Miryam of Judah: Witness in Truth and Tradition by Ann Johnson

A Prayer on 9/11

Sister Julie — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:13:29 +0000

"Out of Many, One: A Community Art Project” by Muriel Stockdale; For more information go to: http://tinyurl.com/outofmany1

Loving God, hear our prayer today as we work to move toward wholeness. Help us to repair the ravages of hate. Help us to bring together rather than to tear apart. In the spirit of Jesus help us replace the clenched fist with the open hand of solidarity. Help us to build inclusive community where we understand that we need each other for wholeness. Out of many, we are one. Amen.

~ from the IHM Sisters

A “Ghost” of a Chance

Guest Blogger — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:14:25 +0000

A guest blog post by friend and writer Kbart ….

“O Holy Ghost, sweet guest of my soul!
Abide in me and grant that I may ever abide in thee.”
From: Cardinal Spellman’s Prayer Book. New York, NY: Edward O’Toole Co., Inc. 1951.

A number of years ago, I used to work in downtown Boston. Each day at lunch, I would take a walk, and one of the stores I passed was “Matthew Sheehan’s Religious Articles.” I was curious about the shop but never made time to go in. So one day Marguerite came down to see me, and we walked past this shop, and we went in and checked out the store. It was pretty awesome, old and new at the same time. They sold Bibles for all denominations, religious books, statuary, rosaries, religious jewelry, church goods, and other religious articles. They also had a used section that featured, among other things, the old religious statues that I remember from my Catholic school days, and prayer books.

While poking around in this section, I stumbled upon this little red book called Cardinal Spellman’s Prayer Book, published in 1951. Paging through it, I found all those prayers I thought I had forgotten. I picked up the book and showed it to Marguerite, who told me who Cardinal Spellman was. I told her about the prayers, and then I put the book back. Without my knowing it, Marguerite went back and got the book and gave it to me for Christmas that year. When I opened that gift, I was happy to see it. There was something about that little book that calmed me when I picked it up, and Marguerite saw it.

I have never been much for prayers. Early on in life someone, well-meaning, tried to bring my sisters, brother and me up to be “good” Catholics – with a capital C. What that well-meaning person did was scare the living daylights out of us, to the point that we wanted nothing to do with prayers, Catholic symbols, rosaries, or Mass for a very long time. The idea of a “Holy Ghost” also scared the living daylights out of me, especially since our very devout and well-meaning grandmother assured us that this Ghost was ever-present and knew all about us. Life goes on, and while my sisters and brother may be spiritual, and possibly believe in a God, they would definitely NOT consider themselves Catholic. Me on the other hand, while I have tried to run away from being Catholic with a Capital C, I find that over the years, being catholic with a small c is something that keeps calling me.

This little prayer book is one I go back to every now and again. One of the first prayers I remember I looked up was the “Hail Mary,” because I couldn’t remember how it went. The second prayer was the “Memorare.” In the case of the “Memorare,” the remembered words brought me a sensation that had never happened before, and it calmed me, and I felt safe. The other thing was the book never referred to the “Holy Spirit,” but to the “Holy Ghost.” And now rather than scaring me, it makes me laugh. And I realize that as I proceed in my Spiritual journey, maybe I do stand a “ghost of a chance!”

In what ways do you feel the Spirit inside of you? Have there been times in your life when your own search for Spiritual understanding, with a capital S, has scared you? What have you done to overcome struggles to accept your own Spiritual path?

Facing Overwhelming Loss

Sister Julie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:13:04 +0000

I don’t even know where to begin to write about the great tragedy in Japan. The loss of life and suffering of those who survived are so devastating that words fail miserably and feelings range from sorrow to numbness to anger to despair.

For many of us, our instinct is to help, to reach out, to do something … anything. Yet helplessly, I sit here, worlds and miles away in a safe place with my basic necessities easily met. My family and friends are safe, and I am safe. How do I face such overwhelming loss and grief yet go about my daily activity?

I pray, I donate to relief efforts, I tune into the news to stay in solidarity with Japan and the world, and I pray some more. It is never enough.

Where are you, God, in this heartbroken world?
Where are you when lives and hope are lost?
A grandmother, a family, a school, a village.
Where are you?
Our hearts are broken.
We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers,
never really knowing what they are going through,
yet united by the very fabric of our humanity.
We grieve, we try to distract ourselves, we pray.
Where are you?

… a scared yet brave technician engineer works to calm the nuclear plant
… a father buries his family
… a grieving medical doctor pushes on to help those who survived
… a rescue worker takes a leave of absence from her job to go to the front lines of devastation to help

In every act of grief and kindness and compassion and courage, you are there. In the brokenness of our hearts, in the desperate inadequacy of our prayers, in our pain and numbness, you are there.

Continue to be with our sisters and brothers in Japan and open our hearts ever more to hear and respond as each of us is called.

All our trust is in you.

Amen.

And amen.

Praying Common Prayers

Guest Blogger — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 07:21:47 +0000

We are pleased to welcome our A Nun’s Life Community friend Regina as our guest blogger today. As you reflect with Regina, think about your own experiences of praying common prayers.

Praying Common Prayers
by Regina

I am not really sure when I realized that I didn’t have to create prayers in order to pray; for a long time, I was intimidated by prayer, always trying to find just the “right” words, as if God wouldn’t listen to me otherwise. It took me awhile, but I eventually realized that there is power in praying common prayers. When I pray these prayers, I am part of the great cloud of witnesses; I am not alone. Here are three that are particularly significant to me:

The Jesus Prayer:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

It used to be that when I got angry or frustrated at someone, I would pray for them. Pray that God would fix it, or change their hearts or something. And then in the course of my recent readings on monasticism, I read about this prayer, which is a fixture for Orthodox Christians. It turns everything on its head. Instead of getting mad and asking God to change the other person, this re-frames my thoughts to asking God to have mercy on me. This is not an easy prayer to pray. Often, I find myself pushing it away, because I I don’t want to change. I want the person who has hurt me to change, apologize and acknowledge that I was right! Usually,I have to pray this as a mantra, over and over and over again.

Prayer from Compline:

Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Compline was the first piece of the Divine Office that I began to pray regularly, and when I first heard this part of it, I thought, “This is such a simple prayer and exactly what I need.”

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith ;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

I have loved this prayer since I was a child. It simply reminds me that it’s not about me. And it’s not a magic wand that God just waves over and makes everything “right”. We are the instruments, we are God’s hands. In doing the work of Creation, we become one with Creation. (And it encourages me, because even when it seems hopeless, Christ is transforming us.)

For prayer today, visit our Praying with the Sisters page for a recording of today’s readings and reflection.

Prayer Beads

Sister Julie — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:34:06 +0000

Sister Hildegard Pleva, OSsR, a Redemptoristine nun whom you may have bumped into in the A Nun’s Life chat room, was just featured in The Poughkeepsie Journal (December 26, 2010). Here are some selections from the article “Many find solace in prayer beads” by Lauren Yanks. In addition to the Catholic practice of praying with the Rosary, the article includes interviews with people who use prayer beads within the Islamic, Hindu, and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

“There is a tradition of using beads or knots to aid in a prayer of repetition, like a mantra, to assist a person in their effort to touch the power beyond themselves,” said Sister Hildegard Pleva, a nun who resides at Mount Saint Alphonsus, a Catholic retreat center in Esopus.

“It’s a prayer practice to help make one more receptive and open,” Sister Hildegard said. “For those who are used to praying, it brings great comfort.”

“Another aspect of the rosary for me is that our lives today are so busy and distracted because we have so many stimuli in our environment,” she said.”Many people find this kind of prayer as a way of simmering down. It helps quiet all that noise that goes on inside them, so they can move to a more meditative prayer.”

Read the whole article at The Poughkeepsie Journal. And be sure to check out Sister Hildegard’s blog, Contemplative Horizon.

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters” and chat room. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

Advent: Step 2 Pray

Sister Julie — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:57:35 +0000

Prayer. It’s a basic necessity of life. Whatever form it comes in, whatever words or images we use, we need to not just pray, but make our entire lives a prayer. Continuing the thread from earlier, to pray is part of the 4-step formula (read, pray, reflect, and act) for engaging in Advent and for deepening one’s spiritual life in general.

In the first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes,

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thes 5:16-19)

What I love about this is Paul’s instance on ALWAYS — always, without ceasing, all circumstances! He leaves no room for mistake. Prayer is to be part of our lives through and through. But how? How can we pray always when we have a hard enough time fitting in a quiet moment or a visit to a sacred space?

Being a visual person, I always imaged that what Paul meant was that we go about our daily routine but off to the side we maintain a constant litany of prayers, prayer requests, and the such, much like a news ticker just keeps on going just at the bottom of our TV screens while the “real” drama unfolds above.

As compelling as this image is to me (admit it, you’ve got a news ticker going through your imagination right now!), I’m not sure that this is what Paul meant when he said to pray without ceasing. There are many ways to interpret what Paul meant … and for each one of us, we must live these words in a way unique to ourselves and God’s calling to us. Here’s a bit of how Saint Augustine of Hippo reads these words:

For not without a meaning did the Apostle say, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess. v. 17) Are we to be “without ceasing” bending the knee, prostrating the body, or lifting up our hands, that he says, “Pray without ceasing”? Or if it is in this sense that we say that we “pray,” this, I believe, we cannot do “without ceasing.” There is another inward kind of prayer without ceasing, which is the desire of the heart. Whatever else you are doing, if you do but long for that Sabbath, you do not cease to pray. If you would never cease to pray, never cease to long after it. The continuance of thy longing is the continuance of thy prayer. You will be ceasing to speak, if you cease to long for it. (Commentary on Psalm 37)

Saint Augustine uses the images of desire and of longing to describe what praying without ceasing means. It reminds me of Thomas Merton’s prayer in which he says even the desire to please God is pleasing to God.

What image comes to mind for you when you think about praying without ceasing? Do you have any particular customs for prayer specific to the season of Advent?

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World AIDS Day

Sister Maxine — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:05:18 +0000

Today is World AIDS Day, a time to re-dedicate ourselves to prayer and action to alleviate the great suffering caused by AIDS. In the spirit of hope for a more just and compassionate world, I invite you to join in prayer today for the men, women and children who have AIDS.

I also invite you to remember by name the people in your own life who have died of AIDS and now rest with the communion of saints. For me, I fondly remember Tim, a childhood friend who died of AIDS two years ago. During his life, he was dedicated to helping workers receive just wages and have decent working conditions.

Please share the names of loved ones you would like us to remember in prayer today.

Prayer for World AIDS Day
Excerpt from Catholic Relief Services, Candlelight Vigil of Hope

We indeed find hope in the light of Christ. Yet, we cannot remain complacent in this hope. We must not forget that 33 million people in the world are living with HIV and AIDS and 5,700 are dying from AIDS each day. Many of those infected are ostracized by the stigma. They live in silence and suffer alone, afraid to seek the help they need, afraid to go against their culture’s norms. HIV and AIDS affect men, women, and children of every race and economic level.

As one human family, we are all touched by HIV. And as one family, together, we can touch the lives of others, raising awareness of the pandemic and reducing the crippling stigma often associated with HIV. As Christians, we are compelled to act. Through our prayers, learning, advocacy, and giving, we can make a difference in another person’s life.

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A thanksgiving prayer

The Nuns — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 07:26:32 +0000

We give thanks for each and everyone of you, and for the gifts and goodness of our God. Today on this U.S. national holiday of Thanksgiving, we offer this prayer written by an Omaha Native American.

Llanos de Cortes waterfall, just outside of Bagaces, Costa Rico; photo by Francisco at http://blog.blackant.net/

O Divine Gift-giver,
I stand beneath the endless waterfall of your abundant gifts to me.

I thank you especially for the blessing of life, the most precious of all your gifts to me.

I thank you, Ever-generous One,
for clothing to wear,
for food and drink to nourish my body,
for all the talents and skills
that you have bestowed upon me.

I thank you for the many joys of my life,
for family and friends,
for work that gives to me a sense of purpose
and invests my life with meaning.

I thank you as well
for the sufferings and trials of my life
which are also gifts
and which together with my mistakes
are among my most important teachers.

Grant that I may never greet a new day
without the awareness of some gift
for which to give you thanks.

And may constant thanksgiving
be my song of perpetual praise to you.

from the book Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim (on Amazon)

National Bible Week 2010

Sister Julie — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 14:08:00 +0000

A closeup of the illuminated letter P in the 1407 Latin Bible.

This week is National Bible Week. It is has been celebrated the week of Thanksgiving every year since 1941 by the National Bible Association, an organization that works to raise awareness of the Bible’s importance and relevance to the U.S. as a nation and in the lives of individuals.

What can we do to raise our own awareness about the Bible?

Here are some suggestions:

Mary Elizabeth Sperry, associate director for Utilization of the New American Bible, points out that the Bible—actually a library of 73 “books”—includes royal history, prophecy, poetry, love songs, letters, and of course believers’ accounts of the preaching and passion of Jesus. Yet, Sperry notes, the “Bible is not a history text, a science book, or a political manifesto.” The Bible is the record of the faith of people who walked with God—and sometimes did not. We read it to deepen faith, we pray with it to express faith—but we can also study the Bible. Taking an adult-level scripture course or reading a book by someone like Father Raymond Brown will help you to discover scripture’s depths. (From Take 5 for Faith, available in bulk for parishes and by email for individuals from our friends at TrueQuest)

Studying Scripture with renown Catholic Scripture scholar Raymond Brown, SS, is a great idea. You’ll find tons of listings at the Raymond Edward Brown author page on Amazon.The New Jerome Biblical Commentary is a favorite here at the convent, and I’m also fond of An Introduction to New Testament Christology.

CatholicMom.org’s Lisa Hendey (whom we interviewed in September on our Digital Ministry program) has some great suggestions on her website for how to pray with, study, and do activities around the Sunday Scripture readings.

Join a Bible study group at your parish or online! It’s always good to pray and reflect and study with others. Good for the mind and spirit. We’ve been thinking about hosting one here at A Nun’s Life Ministry on our community forum. If interested in helping out or participating, let us know.

Praying with Scripture is essential to our life of prayer. There are a variety of ways to pray with Scripture, starting with reading it! The Canadian Jesuits have some great tips on how to pray with Scripture. This approach is one that I learned when I lived in Toronto and was part of a Jesuit prayer group.

What other thoughts do you have on how to immerse yourself in Scripture and how Scripture can be lived in every day life?

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My soul magnifies our God

Sister Julie — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:41:29 +0000

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’ And Mary said,

My soul magnifies my God!
My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior
whose glance has rested on me,
a poor and humble servant.

From this day forth
all shall speak of me as blessed.

The Almighty has done wondrous deeds for me.
May the name of the Most High be praised.

God’s mercy reaches out from age to age,
touching all the faithful.

The proud have lost their thrones
while God’s hand has raised up the lowly.

The hungry are filled with all god
while the rich go away empty-handed.

Ever present to our God
are the promises made to our ancestors:
To Abraham, Sarah, and their descendants, mercy forever! (Luke 1:39-55)

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Join us for Prayer

The Nuns — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:51:19 +0000

Every evening Monday through Thursday, Sister Maxine and Sister Julie have evening prayer here at aNunsLife.org. We pray the scriptures of the day and also pray for the needs of the world and this community. You are invited to join us for prayer by simply visiting aNunsLife.org/live at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone). We have a chat room on that page so that we can connect with you personally and so that you can share your prayer requests.

More information can be found at Praying with the Sisters. Not too sure about how this works or what a podcast or chat room is? That’s okay! We’ve got instructions and many folks who will help you once you get to aNunsLife.org/live.

If you’ve got questions about prayer or would like more input on prayer (e.g., ways to pray, what meditation is, how to pray the liturgy of the hours in daily life, etc.), let us know below. Use the comment box below. We’re always open to new ideas and ways to help one another in our spiritual journeys.

See you later today!

On the road with the NunCam for Morning Meditation

Sister Maxine — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:00:42 +0000

On today’s bike ride meditation, I took a country road and thought about God’s good creation, and how we are part of that. I meditated on the second account of creation in Genesis (Gen 2: 4-17), where God creates the human from the earth. Then God breathes the breath of life into the human.

Breathing is a creative act by God, one that I’m really grateful for as I bike, and as I live for that matter! So for today, I will be especially conscious of how I am God’s breath in the world. I will try to be a stellar representative of the Good Creation all day, in all my words and actions. That’s easier to do sometimes than others. So, if I’m tempted to be impatient waiting in a line somewhere, or to get frustrated if my work projects don’t go as expected, I’ll take a deep breath and remember how it feels to be part of the Good Creation.

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On the road with the NunCam for morning meditation

Sister Maxine — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:43:32 +0000

One of the places that I encounter God is in nature, God’s good creation. Early morning bike rides are a way for me to immerse myself in the beauty of the natural world, to feel at one with it. Thought you might like to come along for the ride, via the NunCam.

Where are some of the places that you are most at peace, where God is most present to you?

We’d love to hear from you and chat about the places that you are most at peace, where God is most present to you. Comment below!

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Is multitasking good for the spiritual life?

Sister Julie — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:08:07 +0000

As I write this post, I am cleaning my office, answering email, eating breakfast, and checking my Facebook page. I think it’s safe to say that I am a multitasker, and an unrepentant one at that. At some level, I like to think that this is a good thing, that I have the ability to do lots of stuff at once. But I also know that it isn’t always a helpful thing as I’m not always fully present to the thing I am doing or to myself or others involved in the task.

I think that "Mother of God Three Handed" is a good patron saint for multitaskers. This particular icon was written by Father William McNichols, SJ.

My nun Sister Jean sent me an article that has sobered me up a bit about multitasking. The Downside of Multitasking highlights some of the real problems of multitasking.

The study compared college students who did a lot of multitasking with those who did very little…. It turned out that the students who did the most multitasking weren’t very good at it. The more they multitasked, the worse they were in terms of being easily distracted and filtering out irrelevant information. [The basis for the author's comments is a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences called Cognitive control in media multitaskers (July 2009).]

From a spiritual point of view, I wonder what this all means in terms of our capacity to engage in prayer. Are we too busy, too fast-paced to recognize God in our midst? Do we miss God’s call to us to help someone, to take note of something, to pause for prayer because we are in multitask mode? Or, can multitasking help us to “be everywhere when we see so many needs” (to quote our IHM co-founder Father Louis Florent Gillet)? Can a healthy notion of multitasking be built upon our tradition of practicing “contemplation in action”, of making our work and our relationships a prayer, of “praying without ceasing” as Saint Paul tells us. And with all our multitasking, where is there space for other kinds of prayer such as solitude and silence? Can we know really what contemplative prayer is if it is merely one task among a multitude of others?

How does multitasking affect your spiritual life? Is it easy or difficult to practice a more contemplative life in the midst of a face-paced world?

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today via our live podcast “Praying with the Sisters”. Just before 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) join us at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE … more info on that page.

Earth Day 2010

Sister Julie — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:22:16 +0000

Happy Earth Day! First is a beatiful photo Sister Maxine took of her nephew with a calf. Also we have some link joy for you! Let us know of other cool links to share.

A Catholic Earth Day:

If You Want Peace, Protect Creation by Pope Benedict XVI (January 1, 2010)
Going Green: For the Sake of God’s Creation by Mary Jo Dangel in Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine (October, 2007)
Why Catholics Care for Creation by Sister Joan Brown, OSF, in Catholic Update (October 2008)
Earth Day 2010 Prayer by Sister Jean Coughlin, IHM

Cool Earth Day Stuff:

Earth Day E-Cards by CatholicGreetings.org
Ecokids Canada’s environmental destination for kids
Earth Day 2010 Song created and performed by 13-year-old Leia Schwartz of Florida
3 Cool Ways to Celebrate Earth Day with your Family
Earth Day Recipes
Green Your Gardening

The Origin of Earth Day:

History of Earth Day by Earth Day Network
Earth Day at 40: How it began, where it is going by John Roach for National Geographic News (April 22, 2010)

The Core Issues of Earth Day:

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day?

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Join Sister Maxine and Sister Julie for LIVE prayer podcast today at 6 p.m. Central Time (check your time zone). You can share your prayer requests with us and the A Nun’s Life community. http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE

A Seminarian addresses the priest sexual abuse scandal

Sister Julie — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:16:38 +0000

My friend Michael, a seminarian and a pre-novice in formation with the Augustinians, has written an open letter to seminarians addressing the ongoing revelations of sexual abuse of minors by members of the Catholic clergy. I encourage you to read the letter on his blog Psalm 46:11: A Journey to Truth.

This is a very tough topic and a terrible experience for the people who have suffered this abuse. It has also stirred much sadness and anger as well as outpourings of prayer and compassion. With Michael, we stand in prayerful solidarity with those suffering and we stand in direct opposition to their abusers and those who egregiously mishandled these situations. We must do everything in our power to protect children and to see that this does not happen ever again.

With the swirl of voices out there on this topic, Michael’s perspective on this is unique because he is a seminarian, someone who is in the process of becoming a priest. It is a difficult time for seminarians as well who are trying to come to terms with what is happening among their brother seminarians and clergy and with their own call to serve as priests. While intensely conscious of the wrongs committed and great suffering involved, Michael’s words are a voice of hope in the church.

I join Michael in his prayer request:

I would ask that you find it in your heart to pray for all seminarians and priests in the Church today, so that we might live in true integrity to our vocations as priests, so that we might truly be holy and humble priests, so that we might become part of the process of healing that our Church so desperately needs

What is your voice of hope? What is your prayer?

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Join the sisters for evening prayer tonight at 6 p.m. Central Time and every Monday through Thursday at http://anunslife.org/live

Answering Prayer

Sister Julie — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:28:55 +0000

Yesterday’s Scripture reading was the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, three people who refused to worship anyone or anything other than the God of Israel. This angered King Nebuchadnezzar who had demanded that they worship a golden idol. The king commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be tossed into a white-hot furnace. Before falling headlong into the furnace, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said,

“Great Ruler, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to overcome the blaze and rescue us from your hand. But even if God does not rescue us, we want you to know, Great Ruler, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold that you set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

I am always struck by the response of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They trusted fully in God and at the same time did not require that God answer their prayer to be saved from torture and death. “Even if God does not rescue us …” they said, they would remain committed to God and take this stand with and for God, and with one another. To me, that is the ultimate form of living passionately for God, yet being “detached” from the outcome — leaving God free, as it were, to respond however God choose to respond. Too often we put conditions and qualifications and “buts” to our requests. We tell God what our desired outcome is and, if that outcome doesn’t happen, we might think that God does not hear us or answer our prayers.

Can we really pray and ask God to answer us and be open to however God responds? I think of Jesus himself in the garden of Gethsemane. He certainly had a desired outcome: he did not wish to be tortured and killed. But, and this is huge, more important than his own desire, he wanted what God wanted — whatever it turned out to be.

“Abba, if it’s your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

As we move towards Holy Week, let us ponder the words and faith of Jesus and of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. What new or deeper understanding might we have of our prayers, our desires, and our faith in God?

Listen to this reading and prayer from last night’s Praying with the Sisters podcast.

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Join Sister Maxine and Sister Julie for evening prayer
at 6 p.m. Central Time (check your time zone)
at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

Stations of the Cross: There’s an app for that.

Sister Julie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:50:07 +0000

Praying the Stations of the Cross is common custom during the season of Lent. It is prayer in which we remember the scenes of Jesus’ passion and death. It is begins with Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane and takes us through the way of the cross, Jesus’ death on the cross, and his burial.

The custom of praying the Stations of the Cross originated with pilgrims who went to visit the Christian holy places of Jerusalem. Of course not everyone could make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem so the good Franciscans created outdoor stations that could be walked and prayed so that people could meditate on the passion and death of Jesus. Eventually people started incorporating the stations within the church building itself.

And now, the Stations of the Cross is as close as your phone. Ave Maria Press recently launched the Stations of the Cross, its very first application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It is free for download and is based on the popular John Paul II’s Biblical Way of the Cross by Amy Welborn and Michael Dubruiel.

It’s not just an app … it is a “prayer companion”and I have to say, it really is. The artwork by Michael O’Brien is stunning and is a prayer itself, even without the words. The actual interface of the app is elegantly simple which allows one to be truly present to the meditation without the distractions of trying to figure out how to navigate or dodging advertisements which are common in other free apps. I love having this on my phone and it has become a daily prayer for me. I can also go “old school” with it and take it with me on a hike so that I have both the stations and the sense of pilgrimage.

The Stations of the Cross application is available in the iTunes App Store. You can find out more on the Ave Maria Press website. Ave Maria Press is a ministry of the Indiana Province of the Brothers of the Holy Cross.

What other holy apps do you have on your mobile device? What are some of your favorite customs or experiences around the praying of the Stations of the Cross?

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Join the sisters for evening prayer tonight at 6 p.m. CST and every Monday through Thursday at http://anunslife.org/live

Jesus Sends

Sister Julie — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:01:37 +0000

Today’s Gospel offers us an invitation and a challenge.

Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

The invitation is to be open to following God’s call — wherever and however it may take us.

The challenge is to be open to following God’s call — wherever and however it may take us. In many ways we welcome the invitation to follow God, we are committed to living the Gospel of Jesus. And sometimes, that call is not as pretty as the calligraphied holy card tucked in our Bible. Why it’s absurd to go traveling without money or food. Surely Jesus didn’t mean to leave my mobile phone behind or my credit card. Besides it was a different time back then. Jesus would not have asked that of us today.

Really.

When we open ourselves to God’s call, we cannot know for certain where or how it will lead. We can certainly use our gifts of common sense and reason, but openness to God also means using our gifts of passion, boldness, kindness, daring, and risk. How can we know “for sure”? That’s where having a regular habit of prayer is helpful because then we’ve already opened our line to God and have been in the habit of listening and sharing with God. Invitations to do the Gospel may still come as a surprise but with a habit of prayerfulness, we’ve already got some ballast in the boat.

How does this Scripture passage strike you this day? Please share your comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer
at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone).

Avatar Movie Review

Sister Julie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:37:04 +0000

I saw Avatar the movie with a friend yesterday, and it was good. Coincidentally, the 67th annual Golden Globes agreed with me with top honors to Avatar in the categories of Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director – Motion Picture.

The Story

The film is set in the year 2154 on Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. Humans are engaged in mining Pandora’s reserves of unobtanium, a precious mineral worth a bundle to humans. The mining operation employs U.S. Marines for security. Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a blue-skinned species of sapient humanoids with feline characteristics. Physically much stronger and taller than humans, the Na’vi live in harmony with nature, worshiping a mother goddess called Eywa. The Na’vi resist the colonists’ expansion, an expansion which threatens the continued existence of the Na’vi and the Pandoran ecosystem. Scientists, headed by Dr. Grace Augustine, grow Na’vi bodies modified with human DNA, called avatars, that are controlled by genetically matched, mentally linked human operators. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic former marine who becomes an avatar operator and learns to live with the Na’vi and comes to “see” them, to understand them as individuals, a people, and a spirituality. (cf. see Avatar: Official Movie Website and the Wikipedia Avatar 2009 film entry)

The Technology

First and foremost, it’s important to know that Avatar is not animated, it is “captured performance”. I’ll let the filmmakers describe this.

The other cool thing about the movie was the 3D effects. You can see the movie in 2D as well but I went for the funky 3D glasses and let me tell you, if you haven’t seen a 3D movie in a while (I think it’s been 20+ years for me), then you are in for a treat. Kind of freaky for the first 15 minutes but then I got used to it and it was awesome.

The Spirituality

There is an interesting spirituality operative in the movie which is heightened with the interplay of familiar tensions between faith and science, nonviolence and violence, stewardship and dominance. To top it off there are issues of race and gender to contend with. That all means that Avatar is a recipe for ideological disaster. And indeed, Avatar has become a target taking many critiques, positive and negative, fair and unjust.

From the Catholic perspective, there is concern with “neopagan” overtones and a “a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature.” (cf. The Associated Press. In the Catholic faith, we do not identify God with the created world (pantheism) but rather understand God as the Creator of the world, distinct yet nonetheless connected. Our love and protection of the environment and all of creation comes from our understanding that all is created by God and that all of creation is therefore good and worthy of reverence. That reverence is not to be mistaken for worship of nature. But neither should reverence for God’s creation be seen as disconnected from our spirituality.

So what of the spirituality of Avatar? Jay Michaelson (columnist, activist and author of Everything Is God) has this to say:

Roughly speaking, Avatar’s Na’Vi subscribe to a combination of pantheism and theism, a view scholars today call “panentheism.” As scholar of religion Gershom Scholem observed, panentheism is usually rooted less in faith … than in experience. Like mystics here on Earth, the Na’vi have an experience of unity of consciousness with other beings, all of which (themselves included) are really just manifestations of one Being, which they call Ai’wa [ed. also spelled Eywa]. Unlike Earth-bound mystics, the Na’vi have a convenient plug, attached to their bodies, which physically unites them to other beings (such as steeds, winged or otherwise) and to Aiwa Herself/Itself. (The Meaning of Avatar in the Huffington Post)

Even though the Na’vi are not Catholic, there is still something to be gained spiritually from tending to how they interact with their God, with one another, and with all of creation. For me, Avatar had echoes of scripture, of Catholic social teaching, of prayer, and of Pope Benedict‘s own message of care and protection of the environment and of human life.

The Upshot

I give Avatar two thumbs up, and I think blue is rather fetching for a skin tone.

(That’s right, you can “avatarize” yourself.)

Have you seen Avatar? What insights or questions were raised for you?

No Time for Prayer

Sister Julie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:20:45 +0000

We know that prayer is integral to our life and faith. But sometimes we just don’t seem to have the time for it. Take today for example. I woke up thinking about all the things I have to do today including a couple past-due deadlines, an email inbox that is overflowing, a meet to prepare for and participate in, errands, and a podcast. Needless to say, I was stressed before I even got out of bed. To make matters worse, we’re low on coffee!

My instinct is to hop out of bed and turn the computer on and get to work. And that’s exactly what I did this morning. Barely registered the fact that I was jumping over my time for prayer (yes, it happens to us religious folk too). Now having knocked a few things off my list (but with plenty left), I’m feeling less stressed, but also less myself. What’s missing? Prayer.

True, prayer doesn’t get me any closer to finishing these tasks. In fact, it appears to pull be further away because that’s precious time and energy I could place elsewhere. Yet prayer can’t be reduced to an item on an agenda, a “to-do” that can be checked off. It’s the very soul of life, the rhythm of one’s day, the disposition that one brings to everyone and everything else.

I know God understands and is not mad or planning to smote me. At the same time, I know and feel it’s importance in my relationship with God, with myself, and with others. Even though I’m in work mode now, and in the middle of a timely project, I’m going to set the timer — finish the most crucial thing for today which will set my mind at ease — and then recover my time for prayer and my prayerful openness to the rest of the day.

Ever had one of these days? What helps you return to prayer and a “prayerful openness”?

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We’d be honored if you would join us for prayer this evening. Sister Maxine and I pray at 6:00 p.m. CST (your time zone).

Where Your Barefoot Walks

Sister Julie — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:40:30 +0000

Last night I went to my nephew Jared’s choral recital. Jared performed last night at the Winter Vocal Concert Program as part of a Middle School Choir. He did so good and I am very proud of him. Both sets of grandparents were there along with his parents (my sister and bro-in-law) and his younger brother Lucas (my date for the evening).

Among the songs performed was “Where Your Barefoot Walks”, a setting by David N. Childs that is composed of three poems by the 13 century Sufi mystic Rumi. The poems can be found in The Soul of Rumi. Listen to this song — amazing. Here’s a link I found on YouTube of another choir performing it.

The words …

I want to be where your barefoot walks:
Because, maybe before you step you’ll look at the ground.
I want that blessing.

I open and fill with love,
I open and fill with love and all other objects evaporate.

All the learning in books stays hid on the shelf.
Poetry, the dear words and images of song,
Comes down over me like water.

This is how I would die. Into the love I have for you.
As pieces of cloud dissolve in sunlight.

As Advent Begins

Sister Julie — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:55:20 +0000

The season of Advent is here. Advent is about letting God come to us. It’s about actively anticipating God in our lives. We celebrate not only the historical birth of Jesus but the new life the God continually gives to each of us.

How have you entered into this season of Advent? For me, Advent kind of snuck up on me. It is my favorite season and so I’m usually anticipating it, but this year, there is was. I’m not sure how I will more fully enter into the season. I feel like I have a bit of catch-up to do. I think the first thing I will do is go back to the Scripture readings from the First Sunday of Advent and immerse myself in them. I also just came across a Christmas box in storage so I’ll dig around in there for the Advent candles and my mini nativity scene.

Another thing I’m going to do is to sit with the question, “What am I experiencing?” The question was posed on awebsite about Advent from Creighton University’s Online Ministries. The page Beginning Advent suggests that this question is one of the first places to start with Advent.

So, what are we experiencing? That is the first Advent question. If we chew that question, then the Isaiah reading will sound so good to our ears. Are we the people “who walk in darkness” or have “thick clouds” over us? Is the way before us full of valleys and hills? Does it seem like we are in a desert? Are there wild beasts out there who are ready to devour us? Have we been guilty of some things we aren’t proud of? Have we lost touch with who we really want to be? Has our fidelity become a bit shabby? Then, Isaiah proclaims that our God is ready to come and save us. And, none of the things that I see as barriers even matter to God. (Creighton University’s Online Ministries Website)

I encourage you to check out the rest of the website for some very good resources on Advent such as the following:

So how are you entering into Advent? What are you experiencing?

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Join the A Nun’s Life community for prayer at 6 p.m. Central Time
(your time zone).

Blessings Stumbled Upon

Sister Julie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:05:34 +0000

Much can be said (and written) about seeking God’s blessings and seeking God’s ways. Countless questions about God and directed to God have been uttered — what is the meaning in life, my life? how can I give my life to God? what is God like? where is God? does God hear me, notice me?

Sometimes, when pursuing one of these Big Questions, we stumble upon blessings that we did not intentionally seek. For example, way back when, I spent time discerning how God was calling me to use my gifts in the world as a Catholic sister. I was happily committed in my life as a sister but was still trying to find my place in the world in regards to form or context of ministry. Through prayer, conversations with my sisters, retreat, and simply trying new things, I began moving toward a kind of “answer” to what I was seeking. In the midst of all that discernment, that “figuring out” where God was leading me, there were some unexpected blessings.

Like blogging.

I started a simple little blog more as a hobby and to learn more about Internet technologies. I had no expectations for the blog other than it would help me learn a few tricks. I certainly did not expect that I would be working full-time with the A Nun’s Life website and community some 3+ years later! The blog was one of those blessings I stumbled upon while I was trying to pursue this other question of what work I wanted to commit myself to as an IHM Sister. It seemed irrelevant at the time, a mere distraction, yet it was and continues to be a great blessing that has taken me, and my original question, to a new place.

What “blessing stumbled upon” have you had in life? In what ways is God calling you to not necessarily answer your original question but simply to live out of the new place in which you find yourself?

Footnote: Thoughts today inspired by Teresa of Avila (p. 62) and my nun Sister Maryfran Barber, IHM.

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Join Sister Maxine, the A Nun’s Life community, and me for Praying with the Sisters podcast at 6 p.m. Central Time tonight (your time zone).

Offer It Up

Sister Julie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:03:22 +0000

Picture this: you’re going through a difficult time, you’ve got a lot on your mind, you just can’t seem to make sense of stuff. Then someone says it, that dreadful line: “Offer it up.”

If you are like me (admittedly, not my most admirable quality) you have to suppress an overwhelming desire to take a swing at the person.

To me, “offer it up” is not exactly the most compassionate thing a person can say when another is in a tough space. In fact, sometimes it rings of a kind of dismissal, an unwillingness to be with a person in their struggle, even if only in silent vigil.

Though not fond of this line, I found it was exactly the one that came to mind this morning as I read Saint Teresa of Avila. As mentioned before, I’m re-reading The Life as translated by Mirabai Starr in Teresa of Avila: The Book of My Life and am at a significant moment in Teresa’s life where she has a conversion. Teresa writes about how difficult prayer has been for her. “By now, my poor soul had grown weary. But no matter how much she wished she could rest, the bad habits I had developed would not let her” (p. 58). Teresa speaks of losing trust in herself, of being unable to imagine Christ in prayer, of having distracting thoughts that would torment her, of being plagued with doubts. “I slid back so many times that I was exhausted” (p. 59).

Teresa was indeed in a tough space. So what did she do?

She offered it up.

In this tough space Teresa gave to God all that she had — not successes or insights or any kind of “worthiness” — but the only things she felt she had left: her fears, her doubts, her temptations, her “deep soul-weariness”.

To God she offered them.

There is real wisdom in Teresa’s experience. Sometimes we feel like we don’t have a whole heck of a lot going for ourselves. We struggle, we deal with pain, we despair, we worry, we just don’t feel like engaging anymore. God does not ask us to give that which we don’t have. In these times, God doesn’t expect us to offer perfectly manicured prayers, devout thoughts, or deeds of righteousness. What God asks us for is who we are and what we do have. We can offer to God as a gift our pain, despair, worry, and struggle. Doing so is not abnegating responsibility or expecting that it will all magically go away. Rather, offering these our gifts is an opportunity to open the door to God, to God’s love and deep compassion. It is a chance to move beyond the impasse we experience in our life and become ourselves more fully.

“O God, help me! How a soul suffers when she loses the freedom to be who she truly is. What torment she endures. I am amazed to see that I survived such pain. Praise be to God, who gave me life when I was on the brink of such a deadly death.”

What comes to mind as you hear the words “offer it up” and as you hear Teresa’s experience? What’s the hardest part of “offering it up”? What’s happened for you when you’ve tried to offer up your own tough situations?

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Join us this evening for Praying with the Sisters podcast — 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) at http://anunslife.org/live. We’ll have a special reading in celebration of our IHM Founders Day.

Books: Spiritual Companions

Sister Julie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:30:24 +0000

I have a great fondness for the written word and treasure well-written books. I’m back reading The Book of My Life by Teresa of Avila. One can never experience Teresa’s writing too many times. It has a formative character which, to be biblical, is written over and over again on one’s soul, creating a well-worn path to God.

Teresa of course is a great teacher and wisdom figure on prayer, and one of the reasons she is so wise on matters of prayer is because she had such a difficult time with it during various periods of her life. Early in the book Teresa notes how certain forms of prayer did absolutely nothing for her.

“I would think about a scene in his life and then try to picture it with my mind’s eye. But … my imagination was so clumsy that no matter how hard I tried to meditate on the Lord’s humanity, I could never quite succeed.” (p 21)

When this happens, the temptation is to think then that one can’t pray or doesn’t know how to pray. But Teresa came to a different conclusion. She tried something different — in fact, she tried something that she was quite fond of: books! In the midst of describing her struggles with praying using the imagination and mental prayer, Teresa writes, “But what I liked best was to read good books.” She goes on to say how reading good books (not just any books) helped her to keep her on track and not spin out of control in prayer or end up discouraged. Such books, writes Teresa, can be an aid in prayer and can anchor us when our prayer is difficult or arid.

“During all that time [of not being able to meditate], I never dared to sit down to pray unless I had a book close at hand…. Books were my companions, my consolation, my shield against the explosion of thoughts. If I didn’t have a book, I would suffer from terrible aridity. The minute I found myself without something to read, my soul would become immediately agitated and my mind would start to wander. But as soon as I started reading, the words acted like bait to lure my soul and my thoughts began to collect themselves again. Sometimes it was enough just to know that I had a book beside me; I didn’t even have to open it. Sometimes I read just a little, sometimes a lot, depending on the mercy of God.” (p 22)

Good books are for Teresa, as they are for me, wonderful spiritual companions. I think you know what one of my favorites to take to prayer is! What about for you? What book is your spiritual companion and why? If not a book, what is your spiritual companion in the sense of what Teresa is saying here?

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Praying with the Sisters podcast is in experimentation mode! We’re trying out an evening time slot and a slightly new format. Join us today at 6 p.m. Central Time (time zone converter). Join us at at http://anunslife.org/live.

In Transit

Sister Julie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:26:50 +0000

Blogging from my cell phone is a new experience for me! I’m hanging out in Wilmington with one of my nuns and dear friend Ginny and can only access the Internet by my phone. Fortunately there’s a handy WordPress app for my phone.

So I’m in transit via car, feet, train, shuttle bus, and airplane today back to Chicago. I’m looking forward to the adventure and ever so glad I packed lightly!

I’ve had prayer and contemplative life on my mind and heart … Intensely since the Feast of Teresa of Avila. I’ll share more soon. Prayer (like myself today!) is often in transit, moving and changing, pausing, and sometimes even getting lost or stopped along the way. I have found it so helpful to be able to share with my nuns the journey of prayer. And so I’d like to open the door to you too. What way(s) of praying do you find yourself drawn to? Any “techniques” that you find helpful too (e.g., praying at same time; going for a run first)?

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P.S. Sister Maxine is also in transit so we will not have a midday prayer podcast today. Back tomorrow at noon Central Time.

Let Darkness be my Light

Sister Julie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:03:00 +0000

A meditation today from Saint Teresa of Avila …

Let darkness be my light;
may my greatness lie in the lowest place.
Send me up the short, steep path;
make the cross my glory.

- from Life of Saint Teresa of Avila

What thoughts or images emerge as you ponder this quote?

A condition of complete simplicity

Sister Julie — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:55:03 +0000

Yesterday I came across a line by poet T.S. Eliot that struck me so soundly that I drove immediately to the bookstore and got a copy of his book of verse Four Quartets.

Quick now, here, now, always–
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well …

(T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding” V in Four Quartets)

“A condition of complete simplicity / (Costing not less than everything)” … wow. As I read the rest of this section of verse, I realized I had heard many pieces of it before, but these two lines were like a sword piercing my soul.

Simplicity is a complex word. It’s nuanced and multivalent, seemingly contradictory in itself.

Main Entry: sim·plic·i·ty (Merriam-Webster)

1 : the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded
2 a : lack of subtlety or penetration : innocence, naiveté b : folly, silliness
3 : freedom from pretense or guile : candor
4 a : directness of expression : clarity b : restraint in ornamentation : austerity

Depending on how you read it, simplicity can be a good thing or a bad thing. Which meaning did Eliot have in mind for these verses? And, perhaps more importantly, what meaning does the reader perceive as she or he reads these verses? Reading this, reflecting on it, has become a part of my prayer for today, a kind of lectio divina or “sacred reading” as I try to see what God might be saying to me through my being captured by these words.

I find that many times when I am struck soundly by something out of the blue that I can use the experience to “unpack” some kind of call from God. It might be a call to attend to a pressing concern, to explore an idea further, to grow in understanding God, etc. It’s an invitation to go deeper in a new way.

A couple questions for you … how do you read Eliot’s line about simplicity? Have you had a similar experience of being “struck soundly” by a word or image or other experience?

On Writing Spirituality

Sister Julie — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:02:46 +0000

Question from Michelle …

I am a 23 year old college grad, a writer and actress, but I have always felt very called to God in some way. I feel as if I should write about spirituality… but I’m unsure what to write! Anyway… this “calling” (I hesitate to call it that because I’m really not sure)– has gotten stronger lately, but the problem is that I dont have anyone to talk to about it. I live in New York City with a lot of actor/artist friends, and generally when you talk to them about religion, they get uncomfortable. I have lost some friends this way. I also work at a church, and every time I attempt to talk to a priest about it, they seem as if they dont really have time for me.

Dear Michelle, Thanks for writing — sorry for the delay in responding. Very cool combination of talents you have! Spirituality is a great topic to write about — especially because it is in everything we are and do! It’s about seeking something deeper, something “more than” … it’s about being aware and present to the moment, to where you are and to how God is calling you. I encourage you to tend to your feeling of wanting to write about spirituality.

One of the best authors on this subject is my friend Vinita Hampton Wright. Vinita is one of the reasons I got back into writing. Back in 2004 I did a retreat with her called “The Soul Tells a Story”. It rocked my world!

Seriously the retreat changed how I thought about myself as a writer and Vinita gave me wonderful skills and encouragement to persevere, to delight in, to reverence the art of writing. Vinita still does these retreats and she has a book on the same topic — The Soul Tells A Story: Engaging Creativity With Spirituality In The Writing Life. (Hmmmm … maybe we can get Vinita to visit us on A Nun’s Life for a live discussion!??)

I encourage you to pursue this calling, Michelle, and to think on those elements of the spiritual life that attract you, that intrigue you, and maybe that even scare you! Those are good places to start. Also, read good literature and spiritually-minded authors like Joyce Carol Oates and Virginia Woolf (especially Mrs. Dalloway). Mark Salzman is another excellent writer who deals with spiritual themes. In terms of non-fiction type stuff, start with some of the classics by the saints and holy people of various religious traditions. And you can always check in with me. I’ve always wanted to be part of a spiritual writers club!

Now in terms of having folks to talk with, let me put it out to the A Nun’s Life community here — Any suggestions for Michelle to connect with writing groups online or in NYC that deal with writing spirituality? Any nuns in the area who would enjoy hooking up for spiritual conversation with Michelle?

A Plush God

Sister Julie — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:35:31 +0000

The other day I was at dinner with my nuns and I prayed the short grace “Blessed be God forever”. But it came out “Plush be God forever”. Not sure where that came from — probably had my mind on something else and wasn’t present to the prayer. My little lapse has stayed with me — this idea of a Plush God is so odd yet so compelling to me.

The image that comes to mind is big giant teddy bear, plush and furry and comforting. It gives me a sense of the over-abundance of God, the uber-generosity and loving care.

And that song “Our God is an Awesome God” is playing in the back of my mind but with “Our God is a Plush God”. Oddly enough as I was writing this post, my little brother has been sitting next to me (I’m vising him and my sis-in-law and my new nephew) and he saw the title of this post and started singing the exact song! Weird, eh??

Have you ever encountered God as “plush”?

Can we pray for Jesus?

Sister Julie — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:58:53 +0000

Question from Nathalie that raises an interesting topic …

… is it okay to pray for Jesus? I mean, I know we pray TO Jesus, but… I really would like to pray for him… because he and his message are often misunderstood, misused and abused – to serve self-centered ends. I guess he probably doesn’t NEED us to pray for him, but… I don’t know. I just want to pray for him.

Hi Nathalie, Good question! My first response is that yes, it’s okay to pray for Jesus. Prayer, after all, is talking and listening to God. When we pray for someone, we are in relationship with God and bringing the person and her/his needs before God. At their heart, “praying for” and “praying to” are actually more like “praying with” than anything. So with Jesus, we are deepening our relationship with him, consciously bringing the cares and concerns of Jesus to the forefront while we are with him. While Jesus is God and so does not “need” anything per se, prayers for Jesus are like what you wrote — that he and his message be understood and lived from the heart.

Another way to understand “praying for Jesus”, is more along the lines of how the writers of the Hebrew Scriptures spoke of “blessing God”. You’ll find this kind of language in many places, especially in psalms and canticles. One of my most favorite ones is the canticle of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel 3 (in a Catholic Bible). The three were tossed into a white-hot furnace as punishment for going against King Nebuchadnezzar’s decree to worship his gods, not the God of Israel. Instead of certain death, the three walked around singing and blessing God. Here’s part of their canticle:

Bless the Lord, all people on earth; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, O Israel; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, you priests of the Lord; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, you servants of the Lord; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
Bless the Lord, you who are holy and humble in heart; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever. (NRSV translation)

How else might we understand “praying for Jesus”? What is your own experience of this?

A Blessed Memorial Day

Sister Julie — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:48:44 +0000

A prayer for peace in honor of Memorial Day by Pope John Paul II …

Mary, Queen of Peace, we entrust our lives to you.

Shelter us from war, hatred and oppression.

Teach us to live in peace, to educate ourselves for peace.

Inspire us to act justly, to revere all God has made.

Root peace firmly in our hearts and in our world.

Amen.

For whom would you like to pray this day?

A Meditation to Ponder

Sister Julie — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:48:41 +0000

A quote from the IHM tradition …

“She also serves
who sits and waits.”

What does this quote mean to you this day?

Not just blessed, but happy

Sister Julie — Thu, 07 May 2009 12:12:25 +0000

Today’s gospel reading is John 13:16-20. I was struck by the following verse because I don’t think I’d ever read or heard it in the Jerusalem Bible translation:

After he had washed the feet of his disciples, Jesus said to them:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
no servant is greater than his master,
no messenger is greater than the man who sent him.
‘Now that you know this, happiness will be yours if you behave accordingly.

What struck me is the word “happiness”. In other translations the word is “blessed.” We will be blessed if we follow Jesus’ example and that means we must imitate the spirit of Jesus’ lifework (Jerome Biblical Commentary).

Now blessed I get — we follow Jesus, we will be blessed. But being “happy” is something different altogether. I wrote about happiness a while back but this verse from John casts the meaning in a new light.

Happiness doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is going as planned or that there is not struggle or tragedy or discomfort. Sometimes (many times) our happiness seems totally dependent on our circumstances and on our relationships. But here Jesus is telling us that our happiness resides in following Jesus, in imitating the spirit with which he went about his own life — humility, simplicity, zeal, kindness, love (even fierce love), faithfulness. The washing of feet is a beautiful example of the spirit of Jesus’ lifework. And to know that Jesus didn’t just do it as an educational moment, but that he genuinely felt happy about what he was doing. That’s something that I think we all want to cultivate in ourselves, a sense of happiness about not only what we are doing but who we are.

What strikes you about this passage on happiness?

The Tender Compassion of God

Sister Julie — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:09:20 +0000

From the Canticle of Zechariah prayed during Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours …

“In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:78-79)

Every morning I pray the Canticle of Zechariah which is the song sung by Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth, praising God for God’s work throughout history and through their newborn son John who would become the Baptist. These verses always fill me with hope and a lightness as I begin the day and can see dawn literally breaking in through the tree branches beyond my window.

What do you hear in these verses and how can this “word” of God carry you through today?

Mercy

Sister Julie — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:19:35 +0000

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, a Catholic feast day that originated with Saint Faustina Kowalska. Saint Faustina was a Catholic nun belonging to the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She experienced visions Jesus Christ including a message about spreading the word about God’s mercy to the whole world. When Pope John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina, he made Divine Mercy Sunday part of the church’s liturgical calendar.

The scripture readings today are beautiful and offer a kind of “action plan” for our Christian journey. Visit the blog From the Pews in the Back to read my guest post A Divine Action Plan, a short reflections on the readings for Divine Mercy Sunday.

Since today is a day to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, I want to explore a bit more what “mercy” means. It’s one of those words that is fairly ordinary and unassuming, yet loaded with meaning. It is simple yet it is life-changing.

Mercy.

My first research destination: Merriam-Webster dictionary

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French merci, from Medieval Latin merced-, merces, from Latin, price paid, wages, from merc-, merx merchandise

1 a: compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power; also: lenient or compassionate treatment b: imprisonment rather than death imposed as penalty for first-degree murder

2 a: a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion b: a fortunate circumstance

3: compassionate treatment of those in distress

My next stop: Theological Dictionary (Rahner and Vorgrimler)

Mercy. Readiness to help those in need. The Old Testament expresses God’s mercy chiefly by the verbs meaning to “be motherly” and to “bend down”. Throughout the Old Testament, assurances of God’s mercy, graciousness, and fidelity to his covenant outbalance all references … to the wrath of God; these qualities dominate the New Testament conception of God….

Human mercy, according to Scripture, is not measured by any display of feeling but by concrete proofs.

Which brings me to my final research destination: The Works of Mercy

The Corporal Works of Mercy

feed the hungry
shelter the homeless
clothe the naked
visit the sick and imprisoned
bury the dead
give alms to the poor

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

instruct
advise
console
comfort
forgive
bear wrongs patiently

What does mercy mean to you? Which word or phrase above resonates with you, draws you, calls for some kind of response from you?

Easter Tuesday

Sister Julie — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:53:13 +0000

It’s the season of Easter and Spring is nearly here. The flower buds are popping through the ground, and the air, though chilled, gives hints of warmth and sun!

“This I saw on an April day:
Warm rain spilt from a sun-lined cloud,
A sky-flung wave of gold at evening,
And a cock pheasant treading a dusty path
Shy and proud.

And this I found in an April field:
A new white calf in the sun at noon,
A flash of blue in a cool moss bank,
And tips of tulips promising flowers
To a blue-winged loon.”

~ by James Hearst, In April

What will or has Easter and Spring brought for you?

Sing, for you have wings

Sister Julie — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:28:24 +0000

Be like the bird that,
passing on her flight awhile on boughs too slight,
feels them give way beneath her,
and yet sings,
knowing that she hath wings.

~ Victor Hugo

What causes you to sing,
even when the bough beneath you feels like it is giving way?

In the Deepest Depths

Sister Julie — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:06:46 +0000

In the last post Make My Heart Simple, a conversation started around the verse, “I will give glory to your name for ever, for your great kindness is upon me: you have rescued me from the deepest depths.” (Psalm 86).

Many of us have been or currently are in those “deepest depths” … that place where life takes a different, often tragic, turn that we did not expect or particularly want. A sudden major illness or disability ranks right up there in this regard. Unfortunately (fortunately?) I know this all too well having had breast cancer almost 7 years ago and having a tough recovery for that first year or so.

After the shock of finding out about having cancer or going deaf or whatever it may be, it can be difficult (understatement!) to get a handle on one’s thoughts and feelings. Fear, anger, guilt, grief, bitterness, vulnerability, sadness and questions like “why me?”, “what do I do?”, “why if …”, “how can I live like this?” …. all these things can all come rushing in on us and can feel like they are crushing us.

Then there’s the question of God. Where does God fit into this? Did God “will” me to get sick? Is God responsible for this? Can I get angry with God or yell at God for this thing that has happened? Do my feelings of fear, anger, or bitterness mean that I don’t trust God? Will God be with me through this?

It is totally okay to have these feelings and questions. Life just took an unexpected turn and even if things turn out okay and are “back to normal”, what you have gone through does change you irrevocably. Even though it’s been 7 years since I had my first surgery and then got the “all clear”, I am still dealing with how my life has changed — having breast cancer made me rethink everything — my perspective on life, God, myself, relationships and the whole world. And yes, I was bitter about the whole affair. I was young, I had fallen in love with the IHM life and mission, I was active in ministry, and then SMACK! Cancer. After the shock and just getting through the things that needed to be done, I was able to feel more — to feel scared, bitter, and heart-broken. I never blamed God, as I don’t believe God gives us things that hurt us, but I did wonder if any good could come of this. How could I live with something that God didn’t want for me and I certainly didn’t want for me either? Was it possible — really and truly possible — for me to not only cope but to fully embrace this?

There is a great quote from one of our IHM founders, Louis Florent Gillet, CSsR, that is a guiding lights in my life, and it has come to embody how I see God at work even in the midst of my struggles:

“I began without thinking of the future of the work, leaving it to God alone to bless and make it prosper, if it were pleasing to God and useful for the good of others.”

The message of this quote helps me to move through the anger and the grief to a place where I can truly embrace the thing before me (in this case, cancer) and trust that God will make good come of it. Doesn’t mean that God willed the tragedy or that God or I condone it. It just means that even in the darkest, deepest depths, God is there and finds a way bring good to me and to others.

As I write this, I am very much mindful of the tragic death of Natasha Richardson, of the sudden death of one of my friends’ religious sister, and of my own nuns who are living through cancer. Please keep these women and their loved ones in your prayers.

From what or whom do you draw strength when you are in the deepest depths?

Make My Heart Simple

Sister Julie — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:53:12 +0000

O Lord, teach me your paths,
and I will come to your truth.
Make my heart simple and guileless,
so that it honours your name.
I will proclaim you, Lord my God,
and give you praise with all my heart.
I will give glory to your name for ever,
for your great kindness is upon me:
you have rescued me from the deepest depths.
~ from Psalm 86 (85)

This morning’s prayer (from the Liturgy of the Hours) gave me pause today because it kind of summed up how I feel this Lenten season.

For me, this Lent is a time to pull up a stool and sit at the feet of the Lord, to be mentored in God’s ways. This is something we must do regularly throughout life. It’s like going back to the basics, but learning and re-learning them at deeper and deeper levels.

Simplicity is also something I strive for, especially at this point in my life. There’s a couple levels to this. First is an “outward” simplicity. I am trying to get rid of the clutter that surrounds me. Oh, it’s not like there’s a ton of stuff, but there is more than what I need to live on. I was cleaning my porch last night and found 6 bike pumps. Seriously more than I need or can even use at one time! “But what if … ” is the phrase that runs through my head. “But what if one breaks, or someone needs to borrow one, or you lose one …” I am commiting myself to stopping the “But what if’s” and passing along this stuff to others who actually need a bike pump or whatever.

There’s also the “inward” simplicity. “Make my heart simple.” For me this speaks to living out of my heart’s desire — not getting distracted by “lesser” desires or attractions. I have to think more on what this means. I know there is a message in there for me, but not sure what yet.

How does this psalm speak to you?

Make Your Life a Prayer

Sister Julie — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:18:50 +0000

Last night I talked with a group of young adult Catholics about prayer — ways to pray in the midst of daily life with all of the activities, pressures, and responsibilities that any given day might hold. We talked about how prayer is not about those moments that we set aside to be with God, but it is a habit of being with God, that is, making one’s whole life a prayer. How do we do this, especially when life can get kind of hectic?

What are some practical ways that you try to cultivate this sense of making your life a prayer? How do you practice Saint Paul’s invitation to “pray without ceasing”?

Reflections on a poem by Nikos Kazantzakis

Sister Julie — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:31:07 +0000

At long last I am returning to a book about Saint Teresa of Avila that I picked up last year. It’s called Interior Castle Explored: St. Teresa’s Teaching on the Life of Deep Union With God by Sister Ruth Burrows, OCD, a Carmelite nun in Norfolk. I am a big fan of both Teresa’s and Sister Ruth’s writings. But I don’t always take the time that I need to do some spiritual reading. So I took out the book again and started reading it again from the beginning.

In Chapter One, Sister Ruth quotes a poem by Nikos Kazantzakis, a Cretan poet whose birthday, coincidentally, is today. Sister Ruth writes, “I do not know his beliefs but, as it stands, the poem wonderfully expresses what I believe.”

Blowing through the heaven and earth, and in our hearts and in the heart of every living thing, is a gigantic breath — a great Cry — which we call God. Plant life wished to continue its motionless sleep next to stagnant waters, but the Cry leaped up within it and violently shook its roots: ‘Away, let go of the earth, walk!’ Had the tree been able to think and judge, it would have cried, ‘I don’t want to. What are you urging me to do? You are demanding the impossible!’

But the Cry, without pity, kept shaking its roots and shouting, ‘Away! Let go of the earth, walk!’

It shouted in this way for thousands of eons; and lo, as a result of desire and struggle, life escaped the motionless tree and was liberated….

The poem continues, but my reflections remained with this first part. How timely it is in my own life as well as in the life of the Church as we approach the wonderful season of Lent!

Some thoughts …

What is the great Cry that I hear in my own life?
What might God be asking me to let go of?
In what ways am I tethered by roots that keep me from letting go and walking free?
Is there something that I’ve been putting off for “thousands of eons”, thinking it impossible, that actually is possible?

4 Steps for Discernment and Decision-Making

Sister Julie — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:20:37 +0000

In Decision-Making Using a Process of Discernment of Spirits, Sister Mary McDevitt, IHM, led us through understanding discernment, consolations, and desolations. When discerning and having to make a significant decision, it’s important to be aware your own inner spirit which is where God dwells within you. Today, Sister Mary takes us through concrete steps to help us figure out how God is calling us. She uses the discernment question example from the previous post, “Should I go to graduate school or not?”

Now, let’s get practical.

Are there steps I can take once I am more aware of my inner spirit?

1. Pray

I pray and stay in the presence of God often.
I ask God to give me freedom of spirit.
I try to say to God, “Whatever choice is your will, it’s ok with me.”
When I lift up each choice to God — e.g., about going to graduate school — I notice what my heart says. I check out my thoughts, too, and the long-range consequences of this action.

2. Write down two columns for each choice

I line up the pros and cons of the situations. Two columns on why I would not go to graduate school — the good side (pro), and the not-so-good side (con).
Then I do the same with the reverse: the pros and cons of going to grad school.
I pray over the list and see which reasons are most moving, most serious and which affect my relationships with other people.
One expert suggests: Be on your death-bed and ask which choice you would be glad you made.
For Christians: Bring the decision and kneel under the Cross of Christ. How does it make sense there? Will this decision bring me closer to Jesus Christ in my living the Gospel?

3. Time for confirmation

Once I have made a tentative decision, I talk it over with those who know me.
I wait awhile and see if I feel peaceful in this decision as it becomes clearer.

4. Choose, act and be grateful

One or many of these steps may guide me. I may wish to do these steps with a spiritual companion.

Sister Mary has given us a lot to think and pray on. In preparation for our live discussion with Sister Mary this Sunday, February 15, from 7-9 p.m. EST, please offer your comments and questions below.

Decision-Making Using a Process of Discernment of Spirits

Sister Julie — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:36:34 +0000

The following reflection is from Sister Mary McDevitt, IHM, a spiritual director and sister in my community. Sister Mary will be joining us this Sunday, February 15, from 7-9 p.m. EST to have a live discussion with you around discernment and decision-making.

What is “Discernment of Spirits”?

Why spirits in the plural? From many holy writings we can say that not every personal impulse and not every attraction is necessarily from God. For example, “I feel called to be on a beach in Hawaii.” The attraction may be something rather shallow that is from our own non-reflective spirit’s prompting.

For those of us who believe in a spirit world, some decisions may be the tempting of an evil spirit. This is tricky because evil never looks like evil, but instead looks like good. On the other hand, the inspiration may be truly from the Holy Spirit of God. So there are at least three kinds of spirits: holy, not-so-holy, and evil.

How do I figure out which spirit is prompting me?

Saints in both Hebrew and Christian scriptures and during the history of spirituality have searched to find, “What is the will of God for me?” or, “What is the dream of God for the part of the world that I inhabit?” (Think of the “dream of God” as Martin Luther King’s, “I have a dream”.) Let’s say the question is, “Should I go to graduate school or not?”

Here are two steps that might help me figure it out:

1) Self-Awareness

I must search my heart. I need to habitually analyze what I am thinking, and feeling, asking if this inspiration comes from God and and where is it leading? This takes time, habitual prayer, and profound honesty.

2) Awareness of my affective states

This means recognizing certain good feelings known as consolations. These feelings lead me closer to God. Other feelings identified as desolations are also states of affectivity which may indicate an increasing distance from God.

Here are some examples:

1) C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis, while riding on the upper layer of a bus in England, felt he was touched by God. He described it like someone asking him to let go. He knew it was from God. When he surrendered to the good Spirit he wrote that it was as if he was a “man of snow” beginning to melt and what was rigid became flexible. (Read more about C.S. Lewis)

2) Angela of Foligno

Angela of Foligno experienced desolation and only dryness of spirit, feeling abandoned by God. She could not pray as usual and only felt absence. (Read more about Angela of Foligno)

3) Immaculée Ilibagiza

Immaculée Ilibagiza, having endured 3 months of hiding with 7 others in a crowded bathroom during the Rwandan genocide, wrote later in Left to Tell, “A wave of despair washed over me and I was overwhelmed by fear. I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could to resist negative thoughts… I prayed as intensely as I ever have. The struggle between the evil whispers raged in my mind.” (Read more about Immaculée Ilibagiza)

Think about a situation in which you have a decision to make. Given what Sister Mary outlined about discernment, consider what consolations you experienced, and what desolations you experienced. Keep in mind that just because something is uncomfortable or difficult doesn’t mean that it is automatically desolation. We can feel consolation and profound peace, even in the most difficult situations. Correspondingly, just because something is easy and pleasurable doesn’t mean it is automatically consolation.

Write down, either here or for yourself, an experience of consolation and/or an experience of desolation. What did you do with the experience? What did you learn from it? (“I don’t know” is a perfectly acceptable answer!)

P.S. Tomorrow’s post will deal with getting practical with discernment and decision-making. And please plan to join us on Sunday from 7-9 p.m. to chat with Sister Mary.

When a Catholic Sister dies

Sister Julie — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:55:39 +0000

It’s not easy writing a blog post when your heart is heavy. This morning I woke to find out that two of my dear IHM Sisters died. One sister I’ve known since I entered the community. She lived at the Motherhouse in Monroe and always made sure to keep an eye out for new members to make sure they were doing okay. She used to play cards with me and other nuns, and took great pride in letting others know that she was teaching the young sisters Spite and Malice! The other sister was the sibling of a nun that I lived with while I was in formation. I rarely saw her without her smiling or laughing or having a twinkle of mischief in her eye!

As I think about and pray for my sisters, I am reminded of my first experience ever of dealing with the death of a Catholic sister. When I lived in Toronto with the Loretto Sisters (IBVM), a sister from the house I lived at died. Sister Emma was a fireball, a woman in love with life and with God. She was a singer, and tried to get my friend Michelle and I to sing but there was little hope for either of us! Her death was a shock to all of us, and it broke all of our hearts. I learned so much from the sisters of that house of how to care for one another, how to celebrate and to mourn Emma’s death, and how to place one’s sorrow and one’s trust in God.

Sister Emma’s wake was held in our house — it was a big convent, but still felt a little weird to me because I’d never lived in a house where a wake was held. When the funeral home brought the body to the house, the sisters welcomed the body at the door and prayed as the casket was brought in. The sisters sat vigil with the body, sometimes praying and crying quietly, other times chatting about wonderful Emma stories! The lay women of the house (we were mostly grad students boarding with the sisters while we worked on our degrees) were welcomed into this holy mourning and celebrating. We too sat vigil, we served at the funeral Mass, we buried our sister, and we celebrated as Emma would have wanted us to.

The experience of knowing Sister Emma and of journeying with the Loretto Sisters through her death touched me deeply. It was probably one of the most formative experiences of my life. It taught me the meaning of sisterhood, and it illustrated for me — in full color — what it means to give one’s life, and one’s death, totally to God.

Please pray for my IHM Sisters Alice and Bea who are “dwelling now in light yet ever near”… and for my Sister Marie, Alice’s sibling, and all of those who loved these women and were touched by them.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

The Trinity: a model of communication today

Sister Julie — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:09:38 +0000

Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, recently gave a conference on Media and Evangelization and how the Catholic Church is committed to using new media.

What I found particularly intriguing was how the Archbishop framed his remarks about communication. He referred to the work of the late Cardinal Avery Dulles on the theology of the Trinity in order to illustrate his thoughts on communication and how such a theology is foundational to how we connect with others, especially via the new media

The Trinity is, of course, one of the great mysteries of our Catholic faith. The One God is at the same time three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Many mystics and theologians of our faith have looked to the Trinity as a model of how to relate to and communicate with God and one another. The Archbishop quoted Dulles on what this relationship and communication “looks” like within the Trinity:

“The Trinity is communication in absolute, universal perfection, a totally free and complete sharing among equals. In generating the Son as word, the Father totally expresses himself … the Holy Spirit completes the intradivine process of communication” (The Craft of Theology: From Symbol to System).

Although this particular quote doesn’t make mention of it, love is key to Dulles’ understanding of the Trinity and of how the Triune God communicates among the three Persons as well as to all of creation. For example, Dulles writes:

“Within the Trinity the Spirit is the subsistent love breathed forth by the Father and the Son. He is the personal bond of union expressing and sealing their mutual love, and proceeding from them” (The Catholicity of the Church, 45).

Key messages about the nature of good communication can be found in both of Dulles’ quotes:

Good communication is “a totally free and complete sharing among equals”.

Good communication is the generation of not only words (information) but of a word about who we are; we express ourselves, give ourselves to others when we communicate with them.

Love proceeds from good communication.

What does this mean in this age of mass communication where we can relate to and communicate with others immediately and through huge variety of media? Do we treat others as equals when we are communicating with them, especially when we are hidden behind the veil of anonymity? Are we attentive to how are words are expressing how we are? Do all of our communications (yes, even that 140 character tweet on Twitter) express love? I’m not talking about sentimental love, but a love that Saint Paul so well articulates in 1 Corinthians 13.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Let’s talk more about this. What key messages do you hear in the Archbishop’s conference or in Dulles’ theology of the Trinity? How can we make the blogosphere, especially the Catholic blogosphere, more of a place where good communication is the rule, not the exception?

Other thoughts, ideas, wonderings …

Prayer

Sister Julie — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:42:00 +0000

One of my favorite quotes that keeps me on track and stills my heart …

Prayer is the quiet readiness to be addressed.

- Gregory Baum, Canadian Roman Catholic theologian

Doubt gives way to Hope

Sister Julie — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:36:39 +0000

What a wonderful conversation on Doubt the Movie yesterday! My profound gratitude to the Sister Regina, Sister Connie, and Sister Mary of the Sisters of Charity of New York for joining us.

I encourage you to read through the comments and, if you haven’t already, go see the movie or read Doubt: A Parable. Feel free to continue the conversation on yesterday’s post. I’ll be checking in too.

Since we’ve had much Doubt here on A Nun’s Life, I thought perhaps we should meditate for a little bit on Hope.

“Isn’t it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? Perhaps hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope; perhaps one could never find sense in life without first experiencing its absurdity …”

- Vaclav Havel (playwright, writer, politician)

What is your experience of hope in the midst of doubt?

Nun Photo – The Good Sams

Sister Julie — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:46:37 +0000

Nunday is here! Today’s photo of Catholic nuns and sisters is from Sister Sarah Puls, of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St Benedict (commonly just called “Good Sams”) in Australia.

Writes Sister Sarah,

This particular bunch of sisters are all I-Kiribati (from Kiribati, like an Australian is from Australia). From left to right their names are Tibwau, Teubwaniman, Ameria, Beia and Kakare. This photo was taken at a gathering we held for all the old people on the island of North Tarawa, Kiribati. The old people came on trucks and sat around the mwaneaba (the building we’re in) all day dancing and talking and eating. In this photo they’re doing a dance to entertain the old people who had gathered.

I took this photo during my recent 5 month stay in Kiribati and I had the pleasure of learning some dancing too. It’s an incredibly precise art though so my dancing was never good enough to entertain the locals, but I had great fun when we had gathering of the sisters!

Check out Sister Sarah’s blog, The Nun Thing.

Prayer for Today

Sister Julie — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:06:34 +0000

Give me, if you will, prayer;
Or let me know dryness,
An abundance of devotion,
Or if not, then barrenness.
In you alone, Sovereign Majesty,
I find my peace,
What do you want of me?

Yours I am, for You I was born:
What do you want of me?

- Saint Teresa of Avila

Learning About and Praying the Rosary

Sister Julie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:20:31 +0000

I recently received a couple of questions from a person who in the process of becoming Catholic. She asked about the Rosary and thought I’d share the questions and my responses with you.

Is there a good resource that can serve as a guide in learning the Rosary? And, how do the beads come into play, and why are they so important?

The Rosary is one of my favorite prayers. It means a lot to me because it connects me to the life of Christ, to Mary, and to our Catholic tradition. I’ve got a few resources I can suggest that I’ve used and found helpful.

Here are some online resources from the Loyola Press website (the Jesuit ministry where I work):

The Rosary beads themselves are important for a couple reasons. Practically speaking, they help us keep our place as we pray all the Hail Mary’s and other prayers. Spiritually speaking, Rosary beads are considered “sacramentals” in the Catholic tradition. A sacramental can be a physical object (like beads or bread and wine or a holy medal) or a gesture (like the Sign of the Cross or laying on of hands) that reminds us of God’s presence in our everyday lives. We treat such objects or actions with respect because of their connection to God which helps us grow in our spiritual lives.

A really good way to get to know the Rosary is by actually making one and praying while you make it. Here’s another link to how to string your own Rosary and pray it.

These links should give you a good start. Each person, parish, or religious community might pray the Rosary in slightly different ways, but the basics are the same

What are other Rosary resources that you’ve found helpful? What does the Rosary mean in your life?

Catholic Devotions

Sister Julie — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:57:07 +0000

I have been doing a lot of thinking on, praying with, and studying of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This image of Mary is near and dear to my own heart as it is the namesake of my own religious congregation. But recently it has been an image — and a certain kind of devotion — that has drawn me in, almost as if asking me, inviting me, to go deeper.

I didn’t really grow up with Catholic devotions though the sacredness and mystery of Catholic devotions surrounded me like incense on a high holy day. As a kid, I wondered how people could be so into their devotion, what attracted them so much. No devotion ever gave me that kind of feel so I figured I was either doing something wrong or I just wasn’t religious enough.

Things have changed since I was a child. I look at and experience Catholic devotions in a very different way, though the feeling of sacredness and mystery are still there. As Mary and the image of her immaculate heart have stayed and grown with me, I’m in a different place to consider what devotion means to me and what this image in particular means to me as well as within the Church’s tradition and the lived faith of others.

Coincidentally (in fact I remembered this just as I was writing this post) I recently discovered a book we published at Loyola Press in our company library: Awake My Soul: Contemporary Catholics on Traditional Devotions It’s got me wondering what Catholic devotions mean to other people.

How are you with devotions? What are especially meaningful to you and how does it engage you, call to you deep within your spirit?

Your questions. IHM Sisters respond.

Sister Julie — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:19:20 +0000

Today we are blessed to have Sister Theresa Milne, IHM, with us. This is one of the videos that I took when I was home in Monroe. Sister Terry responds to one of your Nun Questions.

What particular spiritual practice is most important to you in your walk with the Lord and why?” (from deerose)

In this video Sister Terry talks about the simple prayer of saying “yes” and “thank you” to God.

The two books that Sister Terry mentions are as follows:

Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
Thank God Ahead of Time: The Life and Spirituality of Solanus Casey by Michael Crosby

Sister Theresa Milne, IHM, is a Catholic nun belonging to the Immaculate Heart of Mary congregation. Sister Theresa lives at our IHM Motherhouse in Monroe, Michigan.

The Angelus and my IHM Nuns

Sister Julie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:12:01 +0000

Yesterday I spent the day in Monroe, Michigan, at my IHM Motherhouse. I am a member of committee that is responsible for engaging the IHM community in a process of prayer and reflection on religious life and our IHM charism. It is one of the most engaging experiences I’ve had the privilege to be involved in.

While at the meeting yesterday, we talked about many things — how the process was going, what our next steps are, etc. The meeting continued throughout the morning. Then, while we were in the midst of discussion on some topic or another, the Motherhouse bell rang. It was noon, and the bell signaled the praying of the Angelus. Our discussion stilled and gave way to silence. Then we began to pray together the Angelus.

I can’t tell you how meaningful that was. It symbolized so much to me … our apostolic work combined with contemplation; our identity as Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters; our shared life of prayer, community, and mission; our own “yes” to the work of the Holy Spirit alive in us, in our IHM community, and in our world.

At noon today I invite you to pray the Angelus with me and with my IHM Sisters. Here are the words to the Angelus.

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace …

Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace …

And the Word was made Flesh.
And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, full of grace …

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that, we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by His Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Abandonment to Divine Providence

Sister Julie — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:12:50 +0000

Providentia providebit. Providence provides. I learned the phrase from the Oblate Sisters of Providence when I first met them over 10 years ago. As I’ve gotten to know them through the years, heard their stories, worked side by side with them, and listened to how Providence is alive in their lives and congregation, my own spirituality and indeed how I see my IHM life and tradition has grown, helping me to see that Providence pervades my whole life.

I wrote recently about the Oblate Sisters of Providence on the occasion of the IHM Sisters’ Founders Day. Deerose commented on the post and had a question for the Oblate Sisters: “Does your charism have anything to do with the theology/philosophy behind the classic, Abandonment to Divine Providence?” I checked in with a couple of Oblate Sisters for their response. Sister Alice, OSP, sent me this response:

“Abandonment to Divine Providence” as described by the theologians, for example, Caussade, is truly what we are all about. Providence Spirituality is dependence upon God as Provider of all our needs, including our spiritual welfare. Whatever we have, we know that it is gift of the spirit and we must use it wisely and share it generously. As our Statement of Charism says:

The original inspiration of the Oblate Sisters of Providence is that gift of the Spirit, so evident in the life of Mother Mary Lange.

This charism enables us, with total trust in God’s Providence, to bring joy, healing and the liberating redemptive life of the suffering Jesus to the victims of poverty, racism and injustice despite contradictions, prejudice and pain.

What is your experience of Providence? How does the experience of Providence express itself in your life, your prayer, daily living?

Listening to God in Prayer

Sister Julie — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:32:17 +0000

Question from Hayden …

Hi Sister Julie! First of all, I admire you so much! Nuns fascinate me so much. What an amazing spirit you have to lead a life totally for Christ. I am a Christian (Episcopal; raised Episcopal, Methodist, and went to a Church of Christ College), and desire to be closer to God every day! I do have a great relationship with Him, but sometimes think I have trouble hearing what He is telling me. Any advice? I want to learn how to really listen with an open heart and mind. I think it was fate that I even stumbled upon your blog! You are amazing!

Hayden, I’m so glad you came by for visit. Your question is an important one, one that many people including myself have wrestled with. Even Saint Teresa of Avila — a Doctor of the Church in the Roman Catholic tradition because of her teachings on prayer — struggled with prayer and listening to God.

The first thing I want to say is that your very desire to be closer to God is itself a clear indication that God is working within you, drawing you close. As Thomas Merton, the great spiritual writer and Cistercian monk, wrote in a prayer, “I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I have this desire in all that I am doing.” He continued, saying, “And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road although I may know nothing about it.” For me, that is one of the key things to listening to God and responding to God’s call — tapping into that God-inspired desire within yourself to please God, to respond to God in love, to reverence and stand in awe of God.

One of the best ways to do this is to spend time with God as much as you can. Practice Saint Paul’s injunction that we “pray without ceasing“. That means to have a spirit of prayer in all that you do, as you go about your daily life. It also means taking time just to be with God, alone and without distraction. This can be tough to do, and it is also a very intimate and vulnerable thing to do. But just as we would in a relationship with a loved one, we grow into these moments, we’re able to behold a sunset together without words or to gaze into one another’s eyes with great love. These experiences with God nurture us and help us be more in tuned with what God’s desire is for us, what God’s voice “sounds” or “feels” like.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola teaches that there are some other specific ways to get in tune with God’s call to you and to help you better listen to and respond to God. The overall term for this is “discernment”. Ignatius developed a simple method by which you can review each day in a way that will help you grow in self-understanding and free you to follow God’s will. This practice is called the Daily Examen.

Those are just a few of my thoughts as I pray with you, Hayden, and all of us who long to draw close to God.

What ideas or thoughts does this inspire in you? What helps you to listen to God’s call to you?

Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 9

Sister Julie — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:14:09 +0000

Today is Day 9 of the novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila. (Link to previous days and full text of the novena) Please keep these two intentions in your mind and heart as you pray this novena:

For all those who long to draw closer to God …

For all those who are poor and vulnerable …

You can pray via the audio (MP3) or the text or both.

Let us pray …

Audio - Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 9
(from Meditations from Carmel)

Opening Prayer
Lastly, O dearest Lord Jesus Christ! we thank Thee for the gift of the precious death which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa, making her sweetly to die of love; we pray Thee, by Thy merits, and by those of Thy most affectionate spouse, to grant us a good death; and if we do not die of love, yet, that we may at least die burning of love for Thee, that so dying, we may be able to go and love Thee for evermore with a more perfect love in heaven.

Our Father …

Hail Mary …

Glory Be …

Closing Prayer
Saint Teresa, pray for us: That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: Graciously hear us, O God of our salvation! that as we rejoice in the commemoration of the blessed virgin Teresa, so we may be nourished by her heavenly doctrine, and draw from thence the fervour of a tender devotion; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

A Holy and Solemn Procession of Religious

Sister Julie — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:41:08 +0000

On Friday, October 10th, 2008, the participants of the 2008 NRVC Convocation prayerfully processed two by two through the streets of Louisville to the Cathedral of the Assumption. It was a visible way for us — Catholic religious sisters, brothers, lay people, monks, nuns, and priests from across the world — to stand in solidarity with the people of Louisville and the Catholic community.

Along the way we received many curious stares and a bit of laughter, but overall people met us with genuine respect and reverence. One gentleman even crossed the street to talk with one of the nuns and ask who we were and what we were doing.

All along the way the Louisville police blocked traffic so that we could process to the Cathedral without stopping.

Motorists were not all that happy, and I felt bad. But I also hoped that our presence would be not just a traffic stop sign, but a real “stop sign” inviting people if even for a second to consider pausing in the midst of the ordinary traffic of everyday life and remembering that they are beloved of God.

One of the nuns told me a great story about processing. She said that there was one intersection that the police had not blocked off near the Cathedral. Instead, there were two Knights of Columbus standing in the middle of the intersection holding up their hands to stop traffic. Although I wish I had a picture of that, the image of her words created a profound visual image in my mind — two Knights in full regalia, arms outstretched, white gloves pure as snow held up so as to stop traffic on a busy downtown intersection so that a silent procession of praying people could pass safely. The image resonated deep within me as I considered how people like the Knights of Columbus “have our backs” as religious, they protect us and help us along as we minister and pray. I was so deeply touched by their love and care for us.

At the steps of the Cathedral, the Knights of Columbus received us and welcomed us into the House of God.

We entered the Cathedral and dipped our fingers into the holy water of the Baptismal Font, a symbol gesture reminding us of our own Baptism and new life in Christ.

We began Solemn Vespers with the Litany of the Saints which was so solemn and so beautiful that it gave me chills. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz presided over the liturgy, and during his homily he expressed his encouragement, support and gratitude of the work of Vocation Directors.

Solemn Vespers was one of the most amazing prayer experiences I have had. The community and solidarity I felt with other religious and vocation ministers and with God was palpable. It was definitely a peak moment for me both at the convocation and in my life.

Novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 8

Sister Julie — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 09:09:20 +0000

Today is Day 8 of the novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila. (Link to previous days and full text of the novena) Please keep these two intentions in your mind and heart as you pray this novena:

For all those who long to draw closer to God …

For all those who are poor and vulnerable …

You can pray via the audio (MP3) or the text or both.

Let us pray …

Audio - Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 8
(from Meditations from Carmel)

Opening Prayer
O most beloved Lord Jesus Christ! we thank Thee for the eminent gift of the desire for death which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa; we pray Thee, by Thy merits, and by those of Thy most constant spouse, to grant us the grace of desiring death, in order to go and possess Thee eternally in the country of the blessed.

Our Father …

Hail Mary …

Glory Be …

Closing Prayer
Saint Teresa, pray for us: That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 7

Sister Julie — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:04:55 +0000

Today is Day 7 of the novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila. (Link to previous days and full text of the novena) Please keep these two intentions in your mind and heart as you pray this novena:

For all those who long to draw closer to God …

For all those who are poor and vulnerable …

You can pray via the audio (MP3) or the text or both.

Let us pray …

Audio - Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 7
(from Meditations from Carmel)

Opening Prayer
O most loving Lord Jesus Christ! we thank Thee for the wonderful gift of the wound in the heart which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa; we pray Thee, by Thy merits, and by those of Thy seraphic spouse, to grant us also a like wound of love, that, henceforth, we may love Thee and give our mind to the love of nothing but Thee.

Our Father …

Hail Mary …

Glory Be …

Closing Prayer
Saint Teresa, pray for us: That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 6

Sister Julie — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:54:27 +0000

Today is Day 6 of the novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila. (Link to previous days and full text of the novena) Please keep these two intentions in your mind and heart as you pray this novena:

For all those who long to draw closer to God …

For all those who are poor and vulnerable …

You can pray via the audio (MP3) or the text or both.

Let us pray …

Audio - Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 6
(from Meditations from Carmel)

Opening Prayer

O most bountiful Lord Jesus Christ! we thank Thee for the gift of devotion towards Thy sweet mother, Mary and her holy spouse, Joseph, which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa; we pray Thee, by Thy merits, and by those of Thy most dear spouse, to give us the grace of a special and tender devotion towards Thy most holy mother, Mary, and towards Thy beloved foster-father, Joseph.

Our Father …

Hail Mary …

Glory Be …

Closing Prayer
Saint Teresa, pray for us: That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

Novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 4

Sister Julie — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:24:11 +0000

Today is Day 4 of the novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila. (Link to previous days and full text of the novena) Please keep these two intentions in your mind and heart as you pray this novena:

For all those who long to draw closer to God …

For all those who are poor and vulnerable …

You can pray via the audio (MP3) or the text or both.

Let us pray …

Audio - Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 4
(from Meditations from Carmel)

Opening Prayer
O most sweet Lord Jesus Christ! we thank Thee for the gift of great desire and resolution which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa, that she might love Thee perfectly; we pray Thee, by Thy merits, and by those of Thy most generous spouse, to give us a true desire, and a true resolution of pleasing Thee the utmost of our power.

Our Father …

Hail Mary …

Glory Be …

Closing Prayer
Saint Teresa, pray for us: That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

Novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 3

Sister Julie — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:12:51 +0000

Today is Day 3 of the novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila. (Link to previous days and full text of the novena) Please keep these two intentions in your mind and heart as you pray this novena:

For all those who long to draw closer to God …

For all those who are poor and vulnerable …

You can pray via the audio (MP3) or the text or both.

Let us pray …

Audio - Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 3
(from Meditations from Carmel)

Opening Prayer
O most loving Lord Jesus Christ! we thank Thee for the great gift of love which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa; we pray Thee, by Thy merits, and by those of Thy most loving spouse, to give us the great, the crowning gift of Thy perfect love.

Our Father …

Hail Mary …

Glory Be …

Closing Prayer
Saint Teresa, pray for us: That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

Novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 2

Sister Julie — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:11:26 +0000

Today is Day 2 of the novena in honor of Saint Teresa of Avila.
(Link to Day 1 and full explanation and text of the novena) Please keep these two intentions in your mind and heart as you pray this novena:

For all those who long to draw closer to God …

For all those who are poor and vulnerable …

You can pray via the audio (MP3) or the text or both.

Let us pray …

Audio - Novena in Honor of Saint Teresa of Avila – Day 2
(from Meditations from Carmel)

Opening Prayer
O most merciful Lord Jesus Christ! we thank Thee for the great gift of hope which Thou didst grant to Thy beloved Teresa; we pray Thee, by Thy merits, and by those of Thy holy spouse, to give us a great confidence in Thy goodness, by reason of Thy Precious Blood, which Thou hast shed to its last drop for our salvation.

Our Father …

Hail Mary …

Glory Be …

Closing Prayer
Saint Teresa, pray for us: That we may become worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

“Be still and know that I am God”

Sister Julie — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:52:22 +0000

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

This is one of my most favorite quotes that when I read it or say it or hear it, it drops me right into a place of contemplative silence with God.

What quote (doesn’t have to be biblical) helps you to drop into contemplative silence — even amidst the activity and challenges of daily life?

Nun Photo – Sister Kathleen Avery, OSM

Sister Julie — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:48:00 +0000

I just found an article from yesterday’s Detroit Free Press with two great nun photos. Remember that news story about the nun who “fights cussing with cussing” at her school? Well, she’s in the news again, this time with pink hair and headstands! Jim Schaefer’s article “A few minutes with: A nun with shocking pink hair” (September 28, 2008) has great pictures (linked below) and gives us a glimpse into the life of another real Catholic sister.

Sister Kathleen Avery, OSM, is a member of the Servants of Mary (aka Servites) of Omaha, Nebraska. The sisters’ mission is to manifest “God’s compassionate presence in the spirit of Mary”.

Sister Kathy Avery, 65, of St. Clair Shores stands on her head Friday in front of her students. Photo by WILLIAM ARCHIE/DFP

Avery, principal of St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School in Grosse Pointe Park, was delivering on a bet she made to encourage summer reading. She also bet she would dye her hair. Photo by WILLIAM ARCHIE/DFP

Interestingly, the reporter Jim Schaefer commented, “You don’t sound like the stereotypical nun” to which Sister Kathleen responded, “Well, I think I’m still a pretty good nun.”

A deeper understanding of the Eucharist

Sister Julie — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 22:45:07 +0000

Hi Sister Julie,

If I told you the complete story how I found this web site you would laugh! Let’s just say I was on Amazon looking for some books about the question below which lead me to St. Teresa of Avila, then here. God bless the internet!

To put my question in context, I will briefly explain its origin. I grew up Catholic (parochial school, altar boy, etc) and have had a persistent calling since early adolescence. Regardless, I shelved my spirituality during the teen years. Now 34, it’s growing again.

I am hoping you could recommend a source to help me have a deeper understanding of the Eucharist and what it means during mass. I have a Catechism and I think I understand the literal meaning-from a 30,000 foot view, but sense a huge gap in spiritual connection. I’ve been praying, begging, consulting, and have been attending mass stubbornly in spite of lack of “scope” in my understanding. I am not hoping for a mystical experience (I don’t think that highly of myself!), but a greater respect and awareness of what happens during mass. Hopefully my request isn’t laced w/unrealistic expectations of you, but I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t hidden from most people and that you may have encountered this search before-maybe personally? Am I approaching this incorrectly? Could it be a matter of 100% faith, regardless of depth of understanding or feeling? Sometimes I think God hides things from me so I don’t screw it up-you know, like heavenly Special ED. I’m not whining-just eager.

Thank you for sharing your time,
Dan

Dear Dan, I was delighted to read your comment, both because of how you found me and because of the way you explained your experience and desire. I also hear a bit of myself in you.

You well expressed that sense of being attracted, drawn in by something that is incomprehensible, something that doesn’t easily yield its secrets, yet is compelling nonetheless. I guess it’s no wonder why many of the truths of our religion are called “mysteries of faith”! But because it’s a mystery doesn’t mean we have to solve it or figure it out but to embrace it. Live into the mystery. Allow it to embrace us. (I’m a big fan of Thomas Aquinas and Karl Rahner’s theology of Holy Mystery, so I had to get a little of that in.)

That being said, there’s lots we can do to better understand things like the Eucharist and what’s happening at Mass. Though these are more intellectual exercises, they affect our spirit and faith and help us grow in our relationship with God and the people with whom we worship. One of my favorite books on the Mass is Joe Paprocki’s book Living the Mass. Another thing that I have personally found helpful is praying with the Scripture passages about the Last Supper. Sister Barbara Reid, OP, has a nice piece in “Scripture from Scratch” (2002) on the Last Supper.

Ultimately, the words of one of my IHM nuns keeps ringing in my ears as I think of how to respond to you: “Ride the saddle easy.” I know, not the most spiritual saying, but fitting I think. When you are at Mass, remember that the whole liturgy is a celebration of dying and rising, of bread and body broken, of wine and blood outpoured. It’s in the people praying around you, in the priest and liturgical ministers, in the wood of the pews and the glass of the windows. Give in to that sense of dying and rising, being broken and made whole. You are participating in the very life of Jesus the Christ!

Ride the saddle easy: don’t try to make a mystical moment happen or expect a clear understanding of what is going on. The experience of the Eucharist at Mass and in other incarnational moments in daily life will draw you into a fuller meaning. And, as I noted above, a little spiritual reading never hurts!

Blessings to you, Dan. My prayers are with you.

What God Sees

Sister Julie — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:24:22 +0000

When I was in college, I saw an ad in a Toronto city bus with a woman mountain climber endorsing a sneaker or a sports drink or something. I wish I could remember what it was for or the exact wording. It was something like, “Every time I find the highest mountain I can climb, I get to the top and think, ‘This is what God sees.’” I used to have a copy of that ad in my dorm room, but it’s gone now, gone the way of much of my other college stuff like the milk crates used as bookshelves and the footlocker full of notebooks.

Still, I can’t forget how that quote struck me. On a basic level, the quote implies an image of God being somewhere up in the heavens looking down on us, like the mountain climber who can look down on the earth from the vantage point of the highest mountain. But to me, the quote always seemed deeper than that, as if somehow, through my eyes I can actually see what God sees. I’m not talking about physical eyesight, though that might be part of it; no, I’m talking about seeing or sensing the deeper meaning or nature of something, someone. It’s kinda like seeing/sensing something on its own terms, for what/who it is, and being open to being changed by it. I’m grasping for words here because I’m just not sure how to articulate this, but I know it when I see it. Maybe it’s seeing the sadness in the bartender’s eye when she pours you a drink at a dingy bar on the edge of town; or maybe it’s the one thin piece of grass that breaks through the paved surface of a massive mall parking lot. It could be any situation — literally.

Over the years I’ve discovered that everyone has this gift of seeing what God sees, though we don’t always make a choice to do something about it. I will always regret not having asked that bartender if she was okay, if I could help her in any way. Her sadness has hung on to me, a living reminder to not close my eyes to what God sees and what I could see.

Can’t Give What You Don’t Have

Sister Julie — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:41:55 +0000

Ever a source of good information, Zenit.org published a great little piece from Pope Benedict XVI’s visit with priests, deacons and seminarians of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone in Italy — “Can’t Give What You Don’t Have, Pontiff Recalls: Urges Christians to Stay Close to Holy Spirit“.

One seminarian asked the pope,

“Holy Father, how can we live the gifts of the Holy Spirit in practice, here in our country and in our daily lives, in such a way that our relatives, friends and acquaintances feel and experience his power, and how can we exercise our mission as Christ’s witnesses?”

The Pope answered by recalling the experience of World Youth Day (an event in Sydney which was dedicated to the theme of the Holy Spirit) and how participants and spectators saw

“that faith today is a force that is present, a force that can give people the right orientation. This is why there was a moment in which we truly felt the breath of the Holy Spirit who sweeps away prejudices, who makes people understand that yes, here we find what closely affects us; this is the direction in which we must go; and in this way we can live, in this way the future unfolds.”

Benedict XVI acknowledged, however, that in daily life, “it is far more difficult in practice to perceive the action of the Holy Spirit.”

“In the end, it is the Lord who helps us but we must be available as instruments,” he continued. “I would say simply: No one can give what he does not personally possess; in other words we cannot pass on the Holy Spirit effectively or make him perceptible to others unless we ourselves are close to him.”

The Holy Father went on to encourage his listeners to remain “within the radius of the Holy Spirit’s breath, in contact with him. Only if we are continually touched within by the Holy Spirit, if he dwells in us, will it be possible for us to pass him on to others.”

Do go on to read the whole article and let me know your thoughts on it, what it means to you and in your life.

Noise and Silence

Sister Julie — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:41:36 +0000

Lionel, a fellow Plurker, wrote this post on his blog Acid42 about the interplay of Noise and Silence … These Last Few Days… Leave Me Alone. It’s a thoughtful piece, and I encourage you to read it and offer your reflections on it.

No matter who we are or how we live, we have this dynamic of Noise and Silence in our lives. Some of us swing more to one end than to the other.

The Gospels are a great place to look to see how this dynamic plays out in the life of Jesus. Sometimes Jesus is in the midst of the crowds, other times alone in the wilderness. In both places — the Noise and the Silence — Jesus encounters God.

In the Noise … When Jesus goes to the Jordan River with John the Baptist and a crowd of people, John baptizes Jesus. The heavens open up and the voice of God resounds, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

In the Silence … Right after his baptism, Jesus is led by God into the wilderness where he fasted and prayed for 40 days. (Matthew 4:1-2)

What is your pattern of Noise and Silence like? How do you find God in both?

Meditation

Sister Julie — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:05:04 +0000

Meditation can mean many things and is variously defined. But basically it is any way that helps a person to center herself, become quiet and still within so as to be open. Meditation is creating a listening heart.

Within the Catholic tradition, meditation has it’s goal being open to God. We become quiet and still in order to be more aware of God who is always with us. We are always in God’s presence, we are not always present to God.

Meditation helps us to bring ourselves consciously into God’s presence. We don’t just think about God, we open ourselves to the experience of God who is right now relating personally with us. We ask God to help us as we draw closer to God, realizing that we do so only because God first called us and loves us dearly.

We use Scripture, our imagination, a mantra, an icon, a quiet space in the woods — whatever it may be — to draw us more closely to God and to be more open to hearing God. God becomes the focal point for whatever spiritual “tool” (for lack of a better word) we use. Sometimes God draws us away from these “tools” and pulls us into a space of just being. Being with God alone. No words, no images, just God. This space of just being alone with God is referred to as contemplation. It is sheer gift of God. Whereas with meditation, we are actively disposing ourselves to listening to God, to being in God’s presence; with contemplation, we are no longer doing anything because God has swept us up into Godself. Teresa of Avila writes at length about these different ways of experiencing God and is a good source if you want to spend more time learning about prayer — Interior Castle is a great place to start.

When you meditate on Scripture, you are allowing the Word of God to wash over you, to draw you into a place of quiet and stillness. It’s different from “reading” Scripture because when meditating, you might only read a few verses, maybe even a single phrase or word. You savor that word … the Word … like you might with repeating a mantra. When I meditate with Scripture I start with either a favorite passage or maybe something has struck me from the daily readings or from Mass. I take that Scripture to prayer with me almost like a doorway to the soul, knowing that God is attracting me, pulling me near through that particular passage. I meditate on it as a way to focus myself on God and God’s particular Word for me at that time.

In the Christian tradition we call this way of meditating/praying “Lectio Divina” or simply “Lectio”. It means “Divine Reading”, a way of drawing closer to God. Here are some more resources on Lectio.

Spiritual GPS a post I wrote about Lectio Divina
Too Deep for Words: Rediscovering Lectio Divina a great book with explanation of Lectio, lots of resources, and 500 scripture texts for prayer
Lectio Divina from the Benedictines wonderful resources and links on Lectio

For Godness Sake (not a typo!)

Sister Julie — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:40:20 +0000

I’ve been reading Interior Castle Explored by Ruth Burrows, OCD. Sister Ruth, a Carmelite Nun from Quidenham in Norfolk, writes on Saint Teresa of Avila’s teaching on “the life of deep union with God.” She has also written a number of other books on prayer and the spiritual life, a favorite of which is Before the Living God.

As you know from previous posts on Teresa of Avila, I do love Saint Teresa and have read and reread her writings through the years. Yet in the very first chapter on the very first page, I read something in Teresa that I’d never really thought about — so obvious to me now, but had escaped me before.

In chapter one, Sister Ruth discusses the First Mansion of the Interior Castle. (Teresa’s book Interior Castle is about prayer. The “Interior Castle” is a metaphor Teresa uses to talk about the soul. Each mansion with the castle represents a deeper encounter with God, the innermost chamber being the one in which God dwells.) Sister Ruth discusses this beauty of the Interior Castle, that is, the soul, and says that Teresa felt that it made perfect sense that the dwelling place of God (“so mighty, so pure and so full of all that is good”) be “beautiful and resplendent,” “lovely beyond compare”. Writes Sister Ruth,

What we have to do is see what Teresa is really saying about the soul. She is saying that it is for God; it is a capacity for God; he is its centre and all its beauty is because of him. This soul, this castle of immeasureable beauty and capacity is ourselves.” (page 6)

Wow! I’ve always read the Interior Castle as this discreet space within a person — admittedly, a kind of dualist thinking (soul and body are separate) as if the soul (and therefore relationship with God) exists somehow separate from the “rest” of a person (body, imagination, memory, feelings, etc.). I always felt uncomfortable about this thinking because it is not true to my experience nor to my theological studies. But when I read that one selection above from Sister Ruth, it just shattered that dualism and made Teresa’s words come alive to me in a new way. The beautiful Interior Castle — our soul — is not some little place tucked deep within us … it IS us. We ourselves are the “capacity for God” (this image a classical theological expression which I first learned through my favorite theologian Karl Rahner, SJ).

Sister Ruth writes that the human being comes into existence as a “for-Godness.” You, me, the cashier at the grocery store, the cell-phone-using driver who nearly crashes into you, your child — we are all a “for-Godness.” Again, WOW. This is something we may know intellectually, but when it penetrates our hearts, cuts deep like my experience reading Sister Ruth’s Interior Castle Explored, it feels like it changes everything.

What happens when we begin to look at our whole self as a “for-Godness”? Does it make a difference if we see our relationship with God as one part of us or as all of us? What are your thoughts on this?

In the Groove

Sister Julie — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:06:56 +0000

Yesterday I wrote about Cycling and Meditation (BTW, I had a wonderful ride — felt great to be out, got a bruise, briefly lost my riding partner at Cicero and Devon, inhaled a bug, dodged a car driven by someone on her cell phone, saw a young deer with furry little antlers, beheld the beauty of the forest preserves, waved to a little girl on a bike, drank a ton of water, and got home safely and full of joy!)

David commented on my post and shared some of his own experience of prayer.

When “in the groove” with prayer- whether on a bike or not- it is great feeling. The words seem to take on deeper meaning than other words, and are virtually tangible. You don’t dwell on them- everything flows smoothly- but they are particularly meaningful and they seem to permeate your entire body- not just your brain.

I wish this were my daily experience with prayer, but it has not been for me. It is very weird how easy prayer and meditation sometime come, and how forced they are at other times. I have reflected upon it often and can’t find a cause and effect. Sometimes prayer is “easy” when life is going well, I am rested, not anxious, etc. Sometimes it is the opposite.

David well described the feeling of prayer when it is effortless — that is truly a gift of the Spirit. It is something we can’t conjure up ourselves. We can certainly prepare ourselves to be open to it, but it is a totally free gift of God.

I too wish that this was always my experience of prayer, and the temptation is to think “I must not be doing it right” when prayer doesn’t have that effortlessness. But prayer can take so many forms, so many feelings. “Effortlessness” — which I love — is not the only indicator of prayer. Sometimes we struggle, we get distracted, we feel out of sorts. These feelings are okay too and can be part of prayer.

Like David, I don’t like that feeling of prayer being forced … still we have to be faithful to prayer even in these times. Feeling like it is forced might mean we have to try something different — like pray the Rosary instead of centering prayer or vice versa. Or try a different time of day. Maybe it means continuing with the same prayer and just saying to God, “I’m feeling like this is really forced right now, God. I know you are with me in this.”

And remember, prayer is nothing more or less than being with God, talking and listening with Someone who loves us very much. As with other relationships, it takes time to grow with one another, learn our own quirks about how we are with the other. We can develop a “habit of prayer” by regularly taking time to pray and to develop an attitude — a life, really — of prayer such that we are always disposed to being open to God — in prayer, at work, on a bike ride, in an argument, shopping, etc. It takes practice and desire and openness on our part.

And be assured that this is God’s desire for us — to draw close with us, to be with us even if it feels forced or effortless. It is still being with God.

Cycling and Meditation

Sister Julie — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:03:55 +0000

Last year I wrote often about biking, running and swimming because I was training for a triathlon (which I completed!) but this year, without that goal, I’ve been a bit lax about working out. Yes, even nuns workout. I come from an athletic background having biked a lot and played team sports and just been an outdoorsy kind of gal. So with all that said, it felt GREAT to get on my road bike this morning and crank out some miles commuting to work. My good friend Carol and I are going for a 20+ mile ride after work. I used this great web site … Map My Ride … to map the ride so that we can get a good 20 miles in. i also used the Chicago Bike Map to find the safest streets and trails to ride on. The ride takes us through city streets, neighborhoods, parks, forest preserves and along the Chicago River. What fun! (And also very economical because I don’t have to go to the gas pump!)

One thing that I love about cycling is that it is very meditative for me (unless in major traffic). There’s a wonderful rhythm of breathing and repetition and being in sync with oneself and the bike — for me it is conducive for meditation. When I am done cycling, I’m tired, but I also feel very centered and can easily slip into prayer.

What practice helps you to slip into prayer?

On giving hospitality from out of our poverty

Sister Julie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:49:02 +0000

One of the readings of the day (1 Kings 17:7-16) is the story of how the great prophet Elijah was cared for by a woman who was a widow and a mom. Though the story is told from the perspective of Elijah, in so many ways it is the story of a woman’s faithfulness to and trust in God.

The story goes that God sent Elijah (who was hiding out in the wilderness) to the city of Zarephath where God said a widow would provide for Elijah who was hungry and thirsty. The woman, who is never named, is happy to give Elijah some water but says she has barely enough food left for herself and her son, let alone Elijah. In fact, she says, “Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.” Elijah tells the woman not to fear and that God will not allow her flour nor her oil to run out.

Here’s where I would have loved to have known what the woman was thinking. Some guy appears out of nowhere and asks for her hospitality. She does what she can, but then he asks her for what she cannot give. Were she to give him the food he asked for, she and her son would go hungry and be that much closer to the death she was already anticipating. The stranger tells her not to worry, that God will provide. What must have been going on within this woman? What grace was working within her to give her the strength to believe in God’s word as proclaimed through the mouth of a stranger?

This story blows me away because the woman finds it within herself to believe in something, someone larger than herself and her immediate concerns. Maybe she figures the end is near anyway so why not give it a shot? Maybe she has prayed and prayed for God’s help and understand Elijah’s appearance to be a sign from God. Maybe she so values the gift of hospitality that she is willing to extend it to a stranger in need, even though she herself is in need. I really don’t know, but I can tell you that I am deeply moved by this woman’s courage and faith. It’s something that I will continue to pray with throughout the day.

What do you see in this story? In what ways are you called to give hospitality from out of your poverty?

James Martin, SJ, on the Ignatian style of imaginative prayer

Sister Julie — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:42:13 +0000

Crystal: This question is sort of off-topic, but I was wondering if you could say a bit about the Ignatian style of imaginative prayer that is a conversation with Jesus. Thanks

Father Martin: Actually, there is a long explanation of that in my chapter on St. Ignatius in My Life with the Saints. But briefly put, “Ignatian prayer” or “Ignatian contemplation” uses the imagination as a way to help people enter into a scene from Scripture, or to enter into a “discussion” with Jesus. For example, if you were looking at the story of the Sermon on the Mount, you might imagine yourself listening to Jesus speaking, and would ask the following questions in your prayer to set the scene: What do I see? What do I hear? What do I feel? What do I smell? What do I taste? In this way you “compose the place,” as St. Ignatius said, in your imagination, as a way of entering more deeply into the Scripture passage. And then you see what happens. Sometimes you are rewarded with new insights about that Bible story, and sometimes your emotion about what you are seeing reveals something new about yourself, about Jesus, or about God. In this case, for example, you might find yourself a little surprised that you are frightened about following all of the beatitudes, which might lead you into a good prayer about what is really required to follow Jesus. That’s just one example.

As for talking with Jesus, Ignatius calls these discussion “colloquies” in which you imagine Jesus before you and you speak to him in a “familiar” way as you would a friend. Essentially, Ignatius reminds us that our imagination is simply another way through which God communicates to us.

Heartfelt Words

Sister Julie — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:27:58 +0000

I’m loving my new blog setup. I’ve added a new widget that allows me to post quotes. Since Saint Teresa of Avila is a spiritual mentor for me, patroness of this blog and my IHM Congregation, and someone whose writings I love to read and reflect on, I’ve started by entering some of her quotes.

As I was typing in this quote, it cut right to my heart ..

Remember:
if you want to make progress
on the path
and ascend to the places
you have longed for,
the important thing
is not to think much
but to love much,
and so to do
whatever
best awakens you to love.

This is my prayer for you, and I ask that you pray it for me and for all those in need.

Being Contemplative in a Hectic Life

Sister Julie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:55:15 +0000

I’m still meditating on Nancy’s question, how can I dedicate my whole self to God?, and some of the responses I’ve received. A couple moms wrote in and talked about the desire to be more contemplative in the midst of a very active life … and the desire sometimes to want to retreat from it all and head for the woods!

As an active religious sister, I can appreciate how that feels — and I’m wondering if contemplative nuns (the sisters who are monastic and/or cloistered) ever feel this way too. Even though my life is vowed to God and everything I do is through the lens of my love for and relationship with Jesus, and my mission and life as an IHM Sister, there are often times when I just need to step away from everything into solitude, into the wilderness of the woods. For me it’s a desire to tap into my spirit and be with God alone without any words, images, sights or sounds. That space might happen on a street corner in downtown Chicago for a split second (remember Thomas Merton’s experience in Louisville at the corner of 4th and Walnut?) or it might happen while I am alone and still in the darkness of a dense forest.

Such experiences of contemplation are not really things we can “make happen” ourselves but are true gifts from God. The saints (again, my dear friend Saint Teresa of Avila) write that we can dispose ourselves to be more open to receive this gift, but ultimately it comes from God, when and how and where God wills.

What are some ways that you find a contemplative space in your hectic day/week/month?

With all of our important responsibilities — raising children, making a living, ministering to others — how do we respond to that God-given longing for solitude?

Religious Life is Alive and Well

Sister Julie — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:37:01 +0000

A fellow blogging nun has posted a wonderful reflection that she gave to a group of lay people about religious life. This contemplative Redemptoristine sister (Order of the Most Holy Redeemer) writes the blog Contemplative Horizon. This reflection on religious life, she writes, is meant “to bring our lay friends up to date and give them a perspective concerning the current state of religious life. It was meant to give historical context, be reassuring and also to offer a bit of a challenge.”

The reflection, “To Pray Always” – Monastic Life into the 21st Century, begins with a great quote from Mark Twain …

After the London Times published his obituary, Mark Twain quipped to a lecture audience, “The report of my death was greatly exaggerated.”

Tonight I would like to assure you that reports of the death of monasticism, indeed the death of religious life, have been greatly exaggerated. Both are alive and well, though diminished in number. Indeed, if the record of history and culture is predictive and if, as a result, artistic imagination keeps bringing monastic images to our cultural radar screen, they will never die….

Please take the time to read Sister’s reflection and begin/continue a conversation with her and her readers. Also I’d love to hear what you think too. While the article is focused on monastic life, what take-aways do we have for our own vocations?

How can I dedicate my whole self to God?

Sister Julie — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:10:32 +0000

Here’s a comment with good questions from my post “What motivates a person to become a nun?” …

I am a 39 year old woman, single mother to 3 beautiful children. I am also in the process of confirming my Catholic faith. I was not raised Catholic, nor have I lived the early part of my adult life in a Christian way. However, God has been drawing me deeper and deeper over the past 3+ years. I know I can’t be a nun, even though I am so very drawn to a religious life. I cannot and would not leave my children, now or when they grow up, but do you think there is a way I can truly dedicate my whole self to God? That is what fascinates me about being a nun. I want to live for Him alone–I do wish I could “marry” Him. Does that sound silly? Anyway-do you have any advice for me for ways to be closer to God? What do nuns study other than the Bible and the Catechism? Thank you.

Dear Nancy, Thank you for writing to me and sharing a bit of your story with me. God bless you and your beautiful children.

All Christians are to live their life for God — married, single, clergy and religious. It’s just that we each do it in a different kind of way. As a mom, you have an important vocation of helping your children to grow into God’s amazing dream for them, to love God, others, and all of God’s creation, and to learn how to reach out to the poorest and most abandoned of society. How you do this and how you make your own way through life is a gift to others as well for they can see another person like themselves who is prayerful, faithful, and compassionate. This is an extraordinary way to live for God.

I also hear in your words a desire to draw close to God personally, in a kind of solitude and intimacy. “Marrying” God doesn’t sound silly — it’s a great metaphor for communicating that deep desire to unite wholly with God. Each of us has to find the way that God is calling us to do that. Having regular times for prayer, celebrating the Eucharist, reaching out in service to others — these are very good ways of living into this union with God. You might also consider getting to know a religious community more deeply. Many communities like mine have associates who share in our prayer, ministry and community.

Nuns read quite a variety of things. I’d first recommend reading about the saints. Their lives are filled with insight into what it means to live wholly for God. Saint Teresa of Avila is one of my favorites. She wrote a lot about contemplative prayer and being united with God. “Interior Castle” and “Way of Perfection” are two good places to start. (I’ve written about Teresa a number of times on this blog — see my Teresa of Avila category.) Find saints that resonate with you. You might, for example, look into the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints like Saint Anne and Saint Monica who were moms.

There’s some good reading out there about living for God in the midst of everyday life. Check out My Monastery Is a Minivan by Denise Roy. There’s also a great book by Sister Melannie Svoboda, SND, coming out soon by Loyola Press — Gracious Goodness: Living Each Day in the Gifts of the Spirit.

I’ve got tons of suggestions as I’m sure others do. Let me know how you are doing. I’ll keep you in my prayers.

And for others reading this, do you have similar questions? What have you found helpful?

A Prayer for You

Sister Julie — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:44:30 +0000

This one’s for you, Courtney, and all of us who seek to follow God’s path.

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you and I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road although I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.” ~ Thomas Merton

Of Grasshoppers and Choices

Sister Julie — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:11:44 +0000

Summer Day

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

~ Mary Oliver in New and Selected Poems (Boston: Beacon Press) 1992

Indeed … what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Becoming a nun was and is my answer to this question! How about for you? Or are you still wondering?

(more on the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Mary Oliver)

Surrendering to God

Sister Julie — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:42:00 +0000

I recently received the following question: I have a question about surrendering ourselves to God. What does this “surrender” exactly mean and how should one go about in surrendering him/her self totally to God?

Surrender is allowing God to embrace us fully. It has to do with what Saint Paul said: “No longer I but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Surrender in this sense does not have to do with “giving up”, being resigned or accepting despair or defeat. On the contrary, surrender is about becoming most fully alive by allowing God (who is our proper “home’) to fill us, become one with us.

The writer of Blog by the Sea has a very thoughtful post called “Love and the Will of God” in which she addresses surrender through the words of Saint Edith Stein (1891-1942), the Carmelite nun, writer, and martyr:

No finite spirit [Geist], to be sure, is capable of wholly embracing the Divine Spirit, but God — and he alone — embraces and encompasses wholly every created spirit. Those who surrender their selves to him attain in loving union with him to the highest perfection of their being and to that love which is at once knowledge, surrender of the heart, and free act. That love is wholly turned upon God, but in union with divine love the created spirit also embraces its own self — in knowledge, in joyful bliss, and in free self-affirmation. The surrender of oneself to God is simultaneously a surrender of one’s own self — a self which God loves — to the entire created world, and in particular to all spiritual beings united with God.

(Saint Edith Stein in Section 9 of Chapter VII of Finite and Eternal Being)

There’s a lot to chew on in there … good stuff to pray with and reflect on.

How we live this in everyday life is a whole other question. One of my little mantras is “Not my will but Yours be done.” I keep this mantra like a little bookmark in my mind to remind me in specific situations that I want to act out of what is truly good not just for me but for others and for whatever mysterious intentions God has. Sometimes it’s as “simple” as stepping back from a situation and realizing that I was so intent upon something that I forgot to check in with God. Sure God is in my desires and impulses, but so is a lot of me! So surrender for me might mean allowing for a space in myself to be open to God’s ideas and dreams for me, not just my own or those of people around me.

That’s just one way. Let’s see what others think about this …

What else does Surrender in this context mean to you? How do you live it out?

Waking Up

Sister Julie — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:52:04 +0000

It’s snowing here in Chicago. I woke up this morning at 3:44 a.m. to the sound of a neighbor shoveling the sidewalk right beneath my window. Good morning! So I’ve been up ever since, praying, puttering around the house, doing some editing, and drinking strong coffee.

This is my favorite time of the day, though often I miss it because I am still sleeping. I love the pre-dawn day when the sun has not yet peeked over the horizon and the city feels asleep under the cover of night. My prayer as well as my thinking always seem so much sharper at this time. I feel like God is ever so close to me — I know God is always close to me, but this time of day seems to heighten it for me. How many psychologists and spiritualists talk about the “liminal edges”(liminal meaning being on the threshold)?

Dawn is like a threshold where the night is no longer here and the day not quite yet. They are both present and not present at the same time. Do you remember all those movies and fairy tales where the person (or thing) lives the day in one form (a werewolf, an ogre, a pumpkin or other creature — I watched the film Ladyhawke a million times when I was younger!) and at dusk transforms into another form? Then at dawn, the transformation is reversed? In our collective human psyche I think we know that these are special times of the day. Monks and nuns have honored these hours for hundreds of years by praying the Liturgy of the Hours. I honor this time with prayer and coffee (coffee being a libation of sorts, I suppose ).

Though I was a bit perturbed by waking up to a snow shovel scraping the sidewalk, upon further reflection, I’m glad for it because it reminds me to get up a little earlier next time so I can enjoy this sacred time instead of rushing into my day.

Thanks, Neighbor Guy, for waking me up — in more ways than one!

Other6.com on BustedHalo

Sister Julie — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:38:19 +0000

A while back I wrote about a new prayer website that was developed by Father Paul Campbell, SJ, here at Loyola Press.

Other6.com is a new web site from Loyola Communications that takes the essence of the Daily Examen and brings it to the web. It is place where you can respond to one of two questions: Where have you found God today? or Where do you need to find God today? The practice of answering the questions on a regular basis can help one become more mindful of God’s presence in one’s life and increase one’s own self-awareness.

BustedHalo recently interviewed Father Paul and wrote a great article about the website. Check out both the article and the website Other6.com and let me know what you think.

Prayers for the Jesuits

Sister Julie — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:50:08 +0000

Catholic News Service published this article yesterday about the resignation of Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, SJ, as General Superior of the Jesuits. He had been General Superior for 25 years.

My prayers are with the Jesuits as they discern who will be their next General Superior. I’ve known the Jesuits for many years and have been formed by Ignatian Spirituality. I am grateful to be working for a Jesuit apostolate — Loyola Press.

The Jesuits are a religious order of men. Like Sisters, they profess the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Here’s what one Jesuit vocation office says about their understanding of the vows:

A Vowed Life in Common

St. Ignatius of Loyola imagined religious life in non-conventional terms. His monastery was the world; his prayer, to find God in all things; his work, whatever helped people. In this setting, the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience become instruments to enable Jesuits to do the work of God’s realm.

The vow of poverty is focused on using one’s energies, talents, time and resources for the good of others. In an age when possessing means power over others, Jesuits take a serious promise to live in a public way as Christ did, believing that people are more important than things.

Chastity centers on one’s affective, sexual life. It is a vow which orients one’s energies to a love people can trust. Jesuits should be men of openness and availability. Their chastity is the willingness to be available to all, not exclusively to one person or to one family. The Society of Jesus looks for men who are capable of directing their affective life towards all people, caring for them with the integrity of Christ himself.

Obedience, the touchstone of Jesuit life, is the call to find and follow the will of God, through prayer, discernment and dialogue with one’s superior. The Jesuit places his entire being at the disposal of God for the service of God’s people, to do the work of God’s realm as presented to him by the Society through the superior.

These traits of trust, openness, vision and communication are practices in daily community life. While Jesuits live together for the sake of their apostolic work, we also live together for mutual support, challenge and inspiration. These two sets of values have been kept in balance: community for service and community for mutual growth and development.

(source)

“Living My Prayer” by Sister Helen Prejean

Sister Julie — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:56:44 +0000

Here is an essay from Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ. It was aired on the NPR segment, This I Believe, ”a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives.”

To listen to the Sister Helen’s essay, Living My Prayer, click here and then click on “Listen Now”.

Living My Prayer
by Sister Helen Prejean

Sister Helen Prejean’s work as spiritual adviser to death row inmates formed the basis of two books, including Dead Man Walking. A native of Louisiana, Prejean became a nun in 1957. In 1981 she dedicated her life to helping the poor of New Orleans.

Weekend Edition Sunday, January 6, 2008 · I watch what I do to see what I really believe.

Belief and faith are not just words. It’s one thing for me to say I’m a Christian, but I have to embody what it means; I have to live it. So, writing this essay and knowing I’ll share it in a public way becomes an occasion for me to look deeply at what I really believe by how I act.

“Love your neighbor as yourself,” Jesus said, and as a beginner nun I tried earnestly to love my neighbor — the children I taught, their parents, my fellow teachers, my fellow nuns. But for a long time, the circle of my loving care was small and, for the most part, included only white, middle-class people like me. But one day I woke up to Jesus’ deeper challenge to love the outcast, the criminal, the underdog. So I packed my stuff and moved into a noisy, violent housing project in an African-American neighborhood in New Orleans.

I saw the suffering and I let myself feel it: the sound of gunshots in the night, mothers calling out for their children. I saw the injustice and was compelled to do something about it. I changed from being a nun who only prayed for the suffering world to a nun with my sleeves rolled up, living my prayer. Working in that community in New Orleans soon led me to Louisiana’s death row.

So, I keep watching what I do to see what I actually believe.

Jesus’ biggest challenge to us is to love our enemies. On death row, I encountered the enemy — those considered so irredeemable by our society that even our Supreme Court has made it legal to kill them. For 20 years now, I’ve been visiting people on death row, and I have accompanied six human beings to their deaths. As each has been killed, I have told them to look at me. I want them to see a loving face when they die. I want my face to carry the love that tells them that they and every one of us are worth more than our most terrible acts.

But I knew being with the perpetrators wasn’t enough. I also had to reach out to victims’ families. I visited the families who wanted to see me, and I founded a victims support group in New Orleans. It was a big stretch for me, loving both perpetrators and victims’ families, and most of the time I fail because so often a victim’s families interpret my care for perpetrators as choosing sides — the wrong side. I understand that, but I don’t stop reaching out.

I’ve learned from victims’ families just how alone many of them feel. The murder of their loved one is so horrible, their pain so great, that most people stay away. But they need people to visit, to listen, to care. It doesn’t take anyone special, just someone who cares.

Writing this essay reminds me, as an ordinary person, that it’s important to take stock, to see where I am. The only way I know what I really believe is by keeping watch over what I do.

Independently produced for Weekend Edition Sunday by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with John Gregory and Viki Merrick.

(source)

Spiritual GPS

Sister Julie — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:57:10 +0000

Great article from Zenit. I love the image of lectio divina as “spiritual GPS” … what has been your experience with reading Scripture? How does Scripture help you pray and navigate life?

“Lectio Divina” Seen as a Compass and Spiritual GPS
Site on Meditation of Scripture Aims to Attract Youth

By Miriam Díez i Bosch

ROME, DEC. 18, 2007 (Zenit.org) – A “spiritual GPS” and a “compass for life” are two images that have been used to illustrate the importance of reading the Bible, says a Catholic consultor for the United Biblical Societies.

Ricardo Grozna said this to ZENIT when commenting on the Web site www.lectionautas.com, which offers guides for “lectio divina,” or the meditative reading of Scripture, and aims especially to attract youth. It already has 50,000 users.

“To define ‘lectio divina’ as a GPS [Global Positioning System] is to see in it a satellite that tells us where we are, like a compass, which indicates to us the path to follow,” Grozna said. He commented that Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, “has referred to ‘lectio divina’ as a GPS, and the Pope has defined the Bible as a ‘compass for life.’”

Sacred Scripture “is a book that interprets my life; the Bible ends up being like a mirror that helps me, and teaches me to seek a path,” Grozna added. “For years, Pope John Paul II and then Benedict XVI insisted a great deal that ‘lectio divina,’ which was a method of monastic prayer of the monks, could reach all Christians.”

Novel evangelization

The program of “lectio divina” on the Internet consists in offering users texts and MP3 files. Users are chiefly youth who download the audio files on their mobile phones. Grozna explained that the aim of the program is to train young people who can lead other youth in reading the Bible.

“The Church is taking all the programs promoting biblical reading as a priority,” explained Grozna, pointing especially to his experience in Latin America. “Catholics have delayed a little in rediscovering the Bible, but the Bible has always been present in the Church. [...] I don’t read the Bible, it is the Bible that reads me.”

Grozna said the site’s success is shown by hundreds of e-mail messages from youth telling “how they are changing their lives by following the prayerful reading.”

The method is also ecumenical, he added: “‘Lectio divina’ has been a point for moving forward in dialogue with other Christian brothers.” And it also serves as a social apostolate, “In some countries, the parish youth are using the method of ‘lectio divina’ to reach ostracized youth; those who are in very poor neighborhoods, those who have been victims of drugs, violence, gangs.”

Hugo Flores, manager of the site, was in Rome to present the program. He told ZENIT the program has been well received by theologians and biblical scholars. “They have taken ‘lectio divina’ as a point to help them evangelize and carry the word of the Lord to more groups. Cardinals, bishops, priests … they are fascinated with this novelty, this new form of evangelizing through the Internet.”

(click for article at Zenit.org)

Ice and Snow, Bless the Lord

Sister Julie — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:05:12 +0000

It’s SNOWING! I’m terribly excited about the snow … we had a little bit on Saturday (I was bike riding as the snow began to fall — see post-ride photo) but last night it really came down. I absolutely love the snow.

When we were kids my parents would take us kids tobogganning at the local park — it was awesome. This was no neighborhood park-ette, but a huge forest you could lose yourself in for days. When we would go tobogganning, we could go a full 3-5 minutes down this huge hill, duck around a 15 foot drop (Dad accidentally took us down that once), enter a densely forested area (yup, hit a tree a few times), cut across an open space and end up at the edge of a river. It was the coolest, most awesomest ride ever. My Dad was a master at ye old toboggan. I know he enjoyed it as much as we kids did. Mom usually stayed up top with a steady supply of hot chocolate, extra mittens, and a warm hug.

So now whenever it snows, I always feel this excitement along with a profound sense of gratitude for the beauty of creation. These Scripture verses echo in my heart:

Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.

~ Daniel 3:67-70

Other6.com … a place to be mindful of God

Sister Julie — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:00:37 +0000

For me, a very meaningful way of praying is the Daily Examen of Saint Ignatius. It’s a simple way of being present to God and prayerfully reviewing one’s day to help people discern where they were finding — and sometimes needing to find — God in their lives.

Other6.com is a new web site from Loyola Communications that takes the essence of the Daily Examen and brings it to the web. It is place where you can respond to one of two questions: Where have you found God today? or Where do you need to find God today? The practice of answering the questions on a regular basis can help one become more mindful of God’s presence in one’s life and increase one’s own self-awareness. There’s even a handy widget that you can set to remind you daily to stop for a moment and be mindful of God in your day.

So what does the rather intriguing name “Other6″ mean? Here’s what the web site says:

Some find God at church on Sundays, but where does God bubble up in our lives the “Other6″ days of the week?

I have found this to be a wonderful way to start and end my day. It is simple and uncluttered … just a place to reflect and pray. Sometimes I go back through what I’ve written before and I can see how God has been working in my life over time. It’s like my own spiritual journal that tracks in a few words where I’ve found God and where I need to find God.

Take time right now to click over to Other6.com and experience it for yourself. Try it out. Add a bubble (you’ll know what I mean when you go there) each day which will help you develop the habit of being mindful of God in the ordinary (and sometimes not-so-ordinary) moments of every day life.