AS110 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on May 9, 2012. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: Prince of Peace causes anxiety, romantic relationships a productivity downer, good discernment questions to ask nuns, and more!

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

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Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• What to do when thoughts about Jesus, God, and religion lead to great anxiety, not feelings of peace?
• How do I know if the pure path (abstinence from worldly pleasures ) is the right path for me?
• Romantic relationships take a lot of time. How can a person deal with relationships issues and still have a productive life of service?
• What are some good questions to as nuns when you go to talk to them about discerning religious life?

Do you have a question for us? Contact us and, using your computer, record your question on voice mail. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast. You can also comment below. In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

AS104 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on March 1, 2012. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: self denial as a spiritual act, Jesus and the widow’s mite, why God answers some prayers but not others, and does God hear our prayers

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• Self-denial as a spiritual act–is there meaning in making a sacrifice?
• What to do when asked to give to a good cause? Revisiting the Gospel story of the widow’s mite (Mk 12:38-44).
• Why does God answer some prayers…but not others?
• Does God really listen to our prayers?

Do you have a question for us? Contact us http://anunslife.org/contact/ and, using your computer, record your question on voice mail. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast. You can also comment below. In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

AS103 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on February 22, 2012. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: Sr. Marie Gabriel and Sr. Dorothy guest nuns, living the life of Jesus, too much bling in church, ways to pray in everyday life, and more!

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• Sister Dorothy and Sister Marie Gabriel share their stories about the journey to religious life.
• What does it mean to “live the life of Jesus”? How the gospel stories influence our lives.
• Opulence in the church. What about fancy vestments, expensive church buildings, etc., in the face of poverty and need in the world? WWJD?
• Churches as praise to God and as a reflection of the image of God.
• Walking outdoors, poetry, music, meditation, and other ways to pray in everyday life.

Do you have a question for us? Contact us http://anunslife.org/contact/and, using your computer, record your question on voice mail. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast. You can also comment below. In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

AS099 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 19, 2012. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: Mass fracas over word changes in liturgy, unruly use of church rules, finding a spiritual mentor, does God have plans for the world, and more!

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• Why are some people vehemently upset about the changes to the Mass? Jesus is still Jesus in the Eucharist — isn’t that why we go to Mass anyway?
• Can I be a sister if I am not a conservative Catholic (or in other words, have a problem with strict applying of rules in the church)?
• Where to find a spiritual mentor when it seems there’s not one anywhere nearby.
• What are God’s plans for today’s world?

Do you have a question for us? Contact us http://anunslife.org/contact/and, using your computer, record your question on voice mail. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast. You can also comment below. In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

AS098 Ask Sister podcast recorded live on January 12, 2012. Sponsored by aNunsLife.org ministry. Topics include: the difference between penance and sacrifice, speechless God, is grief a rejection of faith, and more!

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

Subscribe to A Nun’s Life Podcasts:

Ask Sister podcast is a live podcast where you have the opportunity to engage with us and ask questions about nuns, prayer, religious life, or pretty much anything in between!

Here are some of the topics we addressed in this Ask Sister podcast:

• What is the difference between penance and sacrifice?
• Austerities and asceticism
• I don’t feel like God is telling me much. Am I going to hear a voice one day before graduation telling me to go to a convent? Or is saying “I want to go to college and study anthropology” sufficient?
• Measuring up to the holiness of friends and other people.
• My mother died recently and I’m very sad. But some of my bible study friends say, “She’s in heaven with God now and you should be happy about that.” Is my sadness somehow a rejection of my faith?

Do you have a question for us? Contact us http://anunslife.org/contact/and, using your computer, record your question on voice mail. Be sure to give us your first name and city from where you are calling. We’ll play your message and respond on the Ask Sister podcast. You can also comment below. In whatever way you contact us, please know that your last name, email address, and any other private information will be kept confidential.

During Advent, members of the A Nun’s Life community will be posting reflections on the Jesse Tree and the O Antiphons.

Day 18 :: O Adonai written by Erin Edwards (Regina’s sister!)

When my sister, that would be Regina, asked me to sign up for a blog for Advent for a Nuns Life, I said “Sure, I can do that”. I’ve written devotions for Advent for a good part of my adult life. This is a piece of cake, I mean really, I am theologically trained, how hard could this be? Then panic struck….Wait, I’m a Protestant…. How am I going to write a devotion for a Catholic Community?? Yes, I was raised as a Catholic and I still pray the rosary, and I wear St. Gerard and St. Lucy on a chain around my neck (no, really I am Protestant). Then I remembered who I AM. I am a child of God. You are children of God. We are connected by the love we have for God.

And we are connected because together we proclaim Jesus is Lord! How wonderful is that! The phrase puts a song of joy within in my soul and heart.  It brings light out of darkness, it turns tears into joy and it transforms lives because when Jesus is Lord, our role is to be good and faithful servants. Learning how to be good servants and stewards transforms our lives!

In Advent, we take time to prepare for the birth of our Lord and think about how we can become better servants. It’s not always an easy road when we turn our lives to serving the Lord, but for me it is the only road I know. It is embedded in me that my life is to serve the Lord; it is what I do. It is what I prepare for each Advent season. It is a way for me to reemphasis my life as a servant, as a follower of Christ.

I pray that you all are blessed through the rest of this Advent season!!  My husband and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year.

* * Want to revisit the other symbols of Advent? Click here on Jesse Tree. * *

During Advent, members of the A Nun’s Life community will be posting reflections on the Jesse Tree and the O Antiphons.

Day 15 :: Mary written by Sister Maxine

Artwork by He Qi

With Christmas just around the corner, ‘tis the season for Nativity sets. They seem to be everywhere – at churches, the grocery store, schools, my neighbors’ front lawns. Inside each of them is the familiar figure of Mary, about to give birth to Jesus.

In some of the Nativity sets, Mary wears a blue and white flowing gown and is surrounded by dramatic lighting. In others, she looks like a travel-weary young woman in threadbare clothing. In one very unusual Nativity set Mary is wearing a 1960s style peasant blouse and a long brown skirt probably made of organic material (Joseph was wearing sunglasses).

The various images of Mary make me think about the various Marys in my life, and the ways they symbolically give birth to something new. There are the two Marys who received me into the IHM congregation, certainly a life-changing moment for me. There is the good friend Mary whose death at an early age awakened in me a profound sense of the beauty of life. There is the Mary who was my first encounter with Vatican II theology and, to my astonishment, talked about an imminent, loving, caring God and a Church known as the People of God.

So as I go by the Nativity sets this year, I say a prayer for all the Marys in my life, the Marys who are the source of new life not only for me but in all the relationships around them. Thank you, Marys!

Who are the Marys that you know who bring forth new life? How have they affected you?

Mary, be with us as we seek to be a source of new life and hope in the world, to be the bearer of Christ to all we encounter in our life

* * Want to revisit the other symbols of Advent? Click here on Jesse Tree. * *

Join the nuns and community for prayer tonight at 6 p.m. CT at aNunsLife.org/live.

We are grateful for today’s guest blog post by Marg, in honor of World Food Day yesterday!

“You’re so fat!” is a high compliment in cultures where food is scarce. In 21st century America, that same sentence could land you in a pile of trouble. Clearly, food is an elemental, complex, emotionally loaded topic in both its absence and its abundance! In the Old Testament, the Jews, a people living in a desert, envisioned heaven as a place of plenty. Isaiah, describing the time after the end of time, says:

On this mountain [Zion], the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples A feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. — Isaiah, 25:6

I sit here with my far-too-ample gut, smelling the wonderful supper that Karol is making for us, and I think about that quotation. It’s about God satisfying all our wants…not just satisfying them, but providing the finest of the fine for those who are faithful. In making his point, Isaiah focused on real food, beyond the reach of most people of his time, but food that provided a substantial, universally understandable metaphor.

Breaking Bread with Friends

No matter how good the food, however, eating alone is not much fun. My elderly great-aunt essentially lost interest in eating because she was lonely. When she had company, her appetite returned. Sharing food with someone you care for is a strong defense against loneliness. The Last Supper is the quintessential model of Jesus providing the finest of sustenance – his own body and blood – and sharing it with his friends. Sharing food with good friends expresses love and builds community. In a totally different context, consider the following story as another example of how sharing food can build community, even among strangers.

For 16 years, [Joe Cahn], the self-appointed “Commissioner of Tailgating” has traveled to stadium parking lots around the country, sampling food and making friends. “I call it the original Facebook….Here, when you want to friend somebody, you give them food. On the Internet, when you want to friend somebody, you push a button. What’s more fun?”

“The difference between friends and acquaintances is our friends come into our kitchen. Our acquaintances stay in the living room, waiting to get served. Our friends walk in with their spoon and take stuff out of the pot.”

Joe Cahn, Quoted by Glenn Yoder in The Boston Globe, October 12, 2011, p. G-35

Sharing food is not a uniquely human trait. I’ve seen a flock of cedar waxwings perched on a bough passing berries from one to another until each gets something to eat. Interspecies sharing may be an even less common phenomenon, but take a look at this video clip for an interesting example.

So this is my “Irish Stew” of thoughts about food. What thoughts do you have about sharing food…with friends, with strangers, in different contexts? What are your feelings? There are a multitude of possibilities!

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for evening prayer and chat at 6 p.m. CST (your time zone) today at aNunsLife.org/live.

The saints as CEO? Picture this: Saint Francis of Assisi advising financial officers, or Catherine of Siena offering conflict resolution inservices. About 15 years ago author Laurie Beth Jones came out with Jesus, CEO (Hyperion, 1996) followed six years later by Jesus, Entrepreneur (Crown Business, 2002) and a smattering of other applications of Jesus to the business world and everyday life.

Now, we’ve got the saints weighing in! I just read a review by Philip Delves Broughton for the Los Angeles Times about the new book Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership by authors Ruma Bose and Lou Faust.

Broughton says that the authors lay out eight principles based on the life and work of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta:

1. dream it simple, say it strong
2. to get to the angels, deal with the devil
3. wait, then pick your moment
4. embrace the power of doubt
5. discover the joy of discipline
6. communicate in a language people understand
7. pay attention to the janitor
8. use the power of silence

These are definitely worth pondering, though beyond these thoughts, Broughton’s values the brevity of the book. In the end he writes:

“[T]o get a real sense of the joys and travails of Mother Teresa as CEO, I recommend her private writings, which show how lonely it was at the top.”

While I don’t know what it’s like at the top, I concur 100% that the writings of Mother Teresa and the saints themselves is what will really help us in not only our business life but also everyday life as well. My saint of choice (which probably comes as no surprise) is Saint Teresa of Avila.  Reading her writings as well as those of other saints like Mother Teresa give us a sense of the person and her interior life from the inside out — rather than from the outside in which often happens when we read about a saint rather than reading the saint herself which, I might add, also means walking with that saint and praying with her.

What have you learned from walking with Mother Teresa or another saint? How does that help you in your professional life or personal life?

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Join ministry business partners Sister Maxine and Sister Julie and A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today at 6 p.m. CST (your time zone).

"Blessed are the Merciful" in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, Missouri

I find it challenging at times to take Jesus up on his call to be merciful. Sometimes I can swing a bit more towards the “vengeance shall be mine!” philosophy, especially when I’ve been hurt deeply. The sword is, after all, is so much more tangible than forgiveness. Is it really possible to be persons of mercy, without at the same time being delusional or sacrificing who we are and what we stand for?

On days when I’m not up to the challenge of mercy and forgiveness, I take a walk with Jesus. Sometimes we walk a beautiful meadow, other times we walk the street. I look at Jesus …

… amazed at his ability to be a person of strength and tenderness, truth and mercy, vulnerability and peace
… amazed that he could forgive those who hurt him
… amazed that for all he gave up and sacrificed, he never took to the sword or hollered even one a word of insult

And I pray …

… to overcome my fear
… to not mistake reprimand for forgiveness
… to understand and to live the truth of mercy, of compassion especially to those who have been violent with me or others
… and for forgiveness as I fall short so many times

I would be grateful to hear from you about how you tread the path of mercy and forgiveness. What helps you or hangs you up from time to time?

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Join the sisters and A Nun’s Life community at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone) at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE for Praying with the Sisters live podcast and chat.

DM005 Digital Ministry with Father Robert Barron on the theology of ministering online, how to proclaim the Gospel in a digital age. Recorded live on January 13, 2011. Produced by aNunsLife.org ministry. Be inspired by technology, technique, and theology.

Click PLAY below or right-click here to download the MP3.

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Guest: Father Robert Barron

Father Robert Barron is a sought-after speaker on the spiritual life-from universities to YouTube to national conferences and private retreats. The Catholic theologian and podcasting priest is one of the world’s great and most innovative teachers of Catholicism. His global media ministry called Word On Fire has a simple but revolutionary mission – to evangelize the culture.

Topic: The sisters talk with Father Barron about WWJD? What would Jesus do given today’s digital technology and media? Does Scripture give us any clues on why or how we might use digital media for the sake of the Gospel? We discuss these topics and more on this episode of Digital Ministry.

Show Notes

• Fr. Barron’s ministry at WordOnFire.org and teaching at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake Mundelein seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago
• the variety of media that Fr. Barron uses to minister online
• the importance of reading and studying theology and the faith before ministering online
• using other people’s language to communicate the Gospel
• talking about the Gospel to people who are unchurched, or unfamiliar with religion
• like Jesus, hanging out in the “courtyard of the Gentiles,” a place where unbelievers can engage with the Catholic faith
• YouTube and the Internet as a virtual Areopagus (cf: Saint Paul preaching in the Areopagus, Acts 17:16-34)
• how ministering online affects one’s own prayer life
• the influence of Fulton Sheen
• the “YouTube heresies”
• Father Robert’s reviews of the movies Gran Torino and True Grit
• responding to people who show anger in their comments on YouTube or other websites
• thoughts on WWJD — what would Jesus do in today’s digital world
• themes from scripture that can encourage us in our online ministry
• the spiritual needs of people online and adapting to them
• balancing multiple ministry responsibilities and interacting online
• and thoughts on what sermon Fr. Barron would ask Jesus to preach!

Digital Ministry covers a mix of things covering techniques, technology, and theology in order to enhance one’s capacity to do ministry, to witness to the Gospel in every day life on the Internet. The show airs on the second Thursday of the month (today was an exception) from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Central Time. Visit the Digital Ministry web page for more information including how to download this podcast after the live broadcast and our full podcast schedule.

For more information, including upcoming guests and our full podcast schedule, visit the program page of Digital Ministry.

Continue the conversation day or night at the A Nun’s Life Community Forum and look for the topic “Digital Ministry Podcast Listeners.”

On Christmas Eve, I went to mass with my family in the small town where my mom lives. There was only one mass, at 4:00 p.m.—the children’s mass. It was action-packed, and I had a great time! Throughout mass, children were singing at random, laughing, crying, shouting, and springing up and down. Miraculously, the baby in the pew in front of me slept the entire time.

After church, I visited with cousins, who told stories about children’s masses they attended in other towns. My favorite story was about a children’s mass that included a visit from Santa. The church was in a small city, and the pews were packed. It was uncertain when the mass actually began because the children’s voices drowned out the sound system. Suddenly a hush fell over the crowd. There, walking up the main aisle, was Santa Claus.

I can imagine the shock. I’ve never seen Santa at mass. Santa is a kind and generous soul, but the church-going type? Not so much.

Anyway, Santa strolled up to the nativity scene at the front of the church. Then Santa knelt down before the Baby Jesus and new parents. In the twinkle of an eye, Santa rose and headed out the side door. For about two seconds, said my cousin, “you coulda heard a pin drop in there. After that, the place went wild.”

I love that story because it addresses one of the great childhood mysteries –the relationship between Jesus and Santa Claus. To me, the relationship is about the spirit of generosity and being present to one another.

We’d like to hear your stories of Children’s masses!  Share them in the comment box below or on our Facebook page!

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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.

This morning I watched live video coverage of the rescue of the tenth Chilean miner, Alex Vega. He emerged from the rescue capsule and made the sign of the cross. Seconds later, he and his wife embraced. The two gestures were powerful and deeply symbolic. To me, they reflected the intimate connection between love and the cross.

A police officer tries to reach a child’s balloon in “Camp Hope,” where miners’ families have slept in tents and campers during the rescue operation. Associated Press photo.

The gestures remind me that Jesus took up the cross not just at the end of his life. He took it up every day because he loved people. Out of this love, he chose to help others—people who were poor and sick; people who were social outcasts; people of wealth and power who were in need of transformation. His choice to act out of love often brought suffering into his own life. To me, it wasn’t the suffering that made his cross meaningful. It was the love.

When I watch the miners and their families being reunited, I think about how love places a claim on us. Love can compel people to choose dangerous jobs in order to provide for loved ones. Love means living with the possibility that those who are most dear to us may not return at the end of the day. I think that love brings risk, but even more than that, it brings meaning and hope to life. So today, as the rescue continues, the word that will be my constant prayer for the miners, their families, and the rescue teams is “love.”

Please join me by offering your word of prayer for the miners, their families, and the rescue teams.

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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.

Just the other day a large vase of incredibly beautiful roses arrived at the convent, to our great surprise and delight. The flowers were a gift from the Divine. Really. The card that came with them said so. It was signed, “Love, Jesus.”

The roses truly brighten our day. Every time we see them, we smile. Partly that’s because we love a good mystery. (OK, so I tried to convince the florist to tell me if Jesus had another name, like a name on a credit card, but nothing doing. I think the florist enjoyed the mystery too!).

The roses also make us smile because they remind us of conversations we’ve had with people about images of God and their meaning.  On a recent Ask Sister podcast, we were asked about God imagery in religious life. Sister Julie and I don’t espouse the “spouse of Christ” image in terms of our relationship with God. For us, other images better express our connectedness with God. Sometimes the spouse imagery can tend toward the literal. Sister Julie and I don’t really expect Jesus to bring home flowers at the end of the day. But when roses appear, it’s really wonderful!

There is no doubt in our mind that the appearance of the roses was an act of God. Sister Julie and I will continue to admire the beauty of the roses – God’s goodness expressed through creation and in human creativity, kindness, and sense of humor!

BTW, Sister Sandra Schneiders has written a lot about the topic of spousal imagery in religious life. She’ll be with us on a live podcast this Thursday. (FYI if new to A Nun’s Life podcasts, they are basically like tuning into a radio program, but instead of broadcasting it on the airwaves, we broadcast it on our website. All you have to do is visit our website and make sure the volume on your computer is up.) If you have a question for Sister Sandra, please write it in the comment box.

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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.

The IHM Community has been meeting since yesterday and we’ve been privileged to have with us Father Anthony Gittins, CSSp, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans).

Gittins is a professor of mission and culture at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois. For the past twenty-five years he has with and among homeless women on the streets of Chicago and in a shelter. For seven of those years he was part of Genesis House – a community where women struggle to escape from prostitution (from CTU website).

Here are a few of my thoughts from the presentations (any inconsistencies are mine, not Gittins):

MISSION. Gittins has been talking about mission and what it means to today. He started off by saying that mission is not what we do, it’s not even what the church does … mission is what GOD does. So it can be difficult to define “mission” exactly because it is caught up in the mystery of the triune God which we can never really fully comprehend or explain.

EVANGELIZATION. Evangelization is often connected with mission but again, it’s neither ours nor the church’s. Evangelization is the work of Jesus Christ. This is more than mere proclamation. Jesus’ evangelization certainly included proclaiming the Good News but to really understand what evangelization means, we have to look at the WHOLE of Jesus’ life. So let’s look at what Jesus does … he walks around, talks with people, receives from others, serves, asks questions, teaches, cries, rejoices. In all of these things Jesus evangelizes.

DISCIPLESHIP. So what are we to do if mission belongs to the Trinity and evangelization belongs to Jesus? Our job is discipleship. All we can do (and all is everything) is learn from Jesus, learn from what Jesus does. We cannot just pick one or two things of that Jesus did and say it’s mission — that’s just making up our own thing. We are called to learn from Jesus’ whole life. “If you want to be my disciple you have to do it my way; I’ll show you how; walk around with me day by day.”

Gittins says that we do not have a mission, but that God’s mission has us. What does this mean for you?

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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.

Taking off your outer garment
by Sister Paula Cooney, IHM

I was recently privileged to share a reflection by Ron Rolheiser, OMI on “Creating Sabbath Space in Our Lives” with a group of elder women religious. His suggestion was a new and challenging insight into Jesus’ washing of the feet at the last supper.

The gospel of John tells us, “Jesus, knowing that he came from God and was going back to God, took off his outer garment…” Jesus was able to let go of all the stuff that wasn’t really essential – his outer garment – to minister to the other.

So we asked ourselves: “What are the “outer garments” that we think are essential that keep me from freely washing the feet of the “others” in my life? Democrat/Republican? Gay/Straight? Islamic/Christian? Pro-life/Pro-choice? Pro-immigration/Anti-immigration?

One of the sisters reflected, “It wouldn’t be so difficult if everyone would become vulnerable but it’s really hard if you are the only one doing it.” Another shared, “If I could only remember that “the other” is just like me – one who has come from God and is going back to God!”

I wonder what our world would be like if everyone “took off their outer garment?”

Paula Cooney, IHM, is an IHM Sister who is currently in ministry to the retirement community of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Orange, California.

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Check out a clip from a video of Ron Rolheiser, OMI, on
Creating Sabbath Space in Our Lives.

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Join A Nun’s Life Community for prayer today at 6 p.m. Central Time (your time zone). Praying with the Sisters is a live podcast where we pray the scriptures together and our prayer requests via the chat room at http://aNunsLife.org/LIVE.

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.

Today’s Scripture reading is one of my favorites. It is 17 glorious verses naming the ancestors of Jesus. The fun starts with Abraham and Sarah and goes through Judah and Tamar, Ruth and Boaz, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, up to and including Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. “Of her,” writes Matthew, “was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” (Matthew 1:1-17)

Why a lengthy genealogy of Jesus? Read Robert P. Maloney, C.M., of the Congregation of the Mission, The Genealogy of Jesus in America Magazine (December 17, 2007).

Why do I love it so? Through there are controversies around the genealogy and how it adds up, how it matches the genealogy in Luke’s gospel, and what it all really means, there is a simple truth that speaks loud and clear to me. The genealogy gives us a sense of Jesus’ people and of how anticipation of Jesus has been interwoven throughout history long before Mary first got word from the angel that she was carrying the child of God. The genealogy of Jesus also reminds my of my people, of how my life is rooted in my family, my grandparents, great-grandparents, and so forth.

In my IHM congregation, there is a saying that we use often: “Everything before us brought us to this moment, standing on the threshold of a brand new day.” In light of today’s reading, we can also say “Everyone before us brought us to this moment …” Like any family “everything” and “everyone” in our history hasn’t always been that pretty, but still, it has all brought us to this moment. Even Jesus had some racy ancestors yet I’d say he turned out okay!

So today let us celebrate our people — our own ancestors and our spiritual ancestors through Jesus the Christ born of Mary.

What familial or spiritual ancestor do you celebrate today?

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Today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 15:29-37) is a powerful story of Jesus healing people one after the other. Scripture tells us that Jesus simply went up a mountain and sat down. That’s all he did. No indication that he set out to change the lives of the community and individuals forever. He just went up a mountain and sat down. No doubt word of Jesus’ presence and deeds had been spreading. He had just healed a young girl because of her mother’s faith. Whether for curiosity or suspicion or desire for healing, the people of the area through which Jesus was traveling (the Sea of Galilee) went to find Jesus.

Maybe Jesus was taking a break up on that mountain. Maybe he wanted some quiet time for prayer or a chance to be with his disciples alone. Maybe he sensed the needs and desires of the people and hoped they’d come out of their familiar setting into the mountain wildness, a place known for encounters with God.

Regardless of what Jesus may have had in mind, there he sat, and the people came to him.

The more Jesus heals, the more the crowd comes. First a person who was blind, then someone who could not speak, and another who could not walk. I imagine it was an exhilarating though exhausting day for Jesus and the disciples. And not just one day — Jesus tells us that this went on for three days.

So why did Jesus do this? Why did he take three days out of his traveling, out of his retreat time, out of whatever schedule he had in order to tend to the people?

Compassion.

Jesus said, “I have compassion for the crowd.” He said this as he gathered his disciples together to figure out how to feed the crowd who was rather hungry after three days with no food.

“I have compassion,” said Jesus.

Compassion is the ability to feel deeply for another person, a consciousness of how another is feeling and a desire to reach out. For Jesus, this was not some whimsical understanding of compassion or a “touchy-feeling” kind of thing. Jesus practiced this way of being in the world, this compassion, both with people it was “easy” to give compassion to, and people who weren’t so easy, like those who persecuted him.

As the dawn of Advent continues to break upon us, may the spirit of Jesus enliven all that we do and all that we are, that we might be a people of compassion and find ways each day to live this compassion of Jesus.

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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?

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?