March 2022 Continued

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! There’s a saying among the Irish that in the world there are the Irish and the ones who would like to be Irish. So, enjoy the day whether you are Irish or not! I am not a full-blooded Irish American, but I am primarily Irish according to my DNA results.

Who was Saint Patrick and why do we honor him so much? Although there is plenty of folklore, legends, and myths about him, we are fortunate that he left the world a brief autobiography of his life. It has often been called: Saint Patrick’s Confessions.I prefer the title that a book on Celtic Spirituality gave his autobiography: Patrick’s Declaration of the Great Works of God.For indeed, that is exactly what he writes about – how God manifested Godself in his life. He was a humble servant of God who was called to bring the faith to the land of Ireland.

In his autobiography, he shares that he came from a Christian fourth century family in Britain, himself being a Briton Celt, whose father was a deacon of the Church. At 16, he was captured by Irish pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave where he stayed for six years. During that time, his faith grew, and he recognized God’s power in his life. He eventually escaped and found his way back to Britain where he received another call to return to Ireland and bring the Good News to the Celtic pagans. To prepare for that reality, he studied for the priesthood and returned about 20 years later, having been ordained a bishop. Although he doesn’t go into much detail about his ministry in Ireland, he does say that there were many conversions among the people. By the time of his death, he had established a strong Christian community especially around the area of Armagh and northern Ireland.

Some of the characteristics of his spirituality revealed in his Confessions area strong belief in the Trinity, the power of Christ to transform us, the holiness of the created world, the communion of saints, and the need to be protected by the evil one.
Most scholars do not believe that St. Patrick wrote the poem known today as “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” but the words of the poem very much reflect his spirituality. I invite you to google “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” in your computer and meditate on its words. They are profound!

Cead Mile Failte!

Sister Eileen Smith, RSM

As I reflect on the readings for the Third Sunday of Lent – [Exodus 3:1 – 8a, 13 – 15; 1 Corinthians10:1 – 6,10 – 12; Luke 13: 1 – 9] – I am drawn to reflect on this question: What have I done with the mercy that God has granted to me in my life’s journey? 

I know that I have experienced God’s mercy many times in my life. Some of those times happened when reconciling a relationship after words filled with anger or hurtful attitudes. Some of them were invitations from a friend to change my sinful habits into a new way of being and living. Some were theophanies like the one in the first reading. [Exodus 3: 1 – 8a, 13 – 15]. I know from studying sacred scripture that the mark of biblical theophanies is a sudden appearance of God. Some of my experiences were within that framework. 

During the years of my marriage to Carolyn we lived many mountain top moments in the ministries that we experienced in our growing church community. Looking back, I think that pride was starting to seep into my attitudes.  After Carolyn’s passing in 2012, I found myself wandering a bit. God seemed to be inviting me to journey with wounded people, many of whom expressed high anxiety. The invitation to walk with suffering and anxious people has turned out to be a big part of my continuing journey. One powerful example is in the way I have been called to become a spiritual companion for many in the LGBTQ community. Moses, and St. Paul and Jesus walked with and ministered to wounded people.

I often ask myself if this is where I am invited to take God’s mercy and share it with others. Most of the names for God in sacred scripture are action words. Are my actions a way of reflecting God’s mercy in the world around me? The Gospel reading causes me to dig a little deeper into the areas of my life where I must redirect my own sense of pride. As I reflect on this, I pose this question to myself. What attitudes or actions allow the Holy Spirit to be cultivated in my own life? 

Where does your life need the cultivating of the Holy Spirit?

In Mercy,

Ed Reitter

Today’s Gospel preaches about forgiveness, forgiving not once not twice but 70 X 7. An impossible task! Many years ago I was in the position of complete unforgiveness for a past event. In my mind,I was justified and lived by that. I spent many hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament lamenting my cause. There happened to be a library in this chapel with over 100 books. So, I picked up a random book, opened it, and the Good Lord presented this reflection to me on forgiveness. It changed my life and my heart to see how transforming forgiveness can be. So, I will share it with you and unfortunately, I am unsure of the author. 
 
“Perhaps nothing so weighs down the spirit as the sadness endangered by broken relationships. It becomes the lens through which we see everything invariably tarnishing whatever our eyes rest upon. So much beauty passes by unacknowledged simply because we’re caught in our own melancholy, our own sense of alienation.” 
 
“But how things change the moment we experience a shift, when life reveals the possibility of a new beginning that is sincere and open. Is it worth the risk? That question perhaps best answered by our own experience, when another offered forgiveness when we deserved nothing. Could we bear now to live without it?”
 
“While one of the most precious gifts we can offer another, the effect of forgiveness is equally dramatic on us. Suddenly, our world feels different, unhindered by our need to keep others locked up.”
 
Let your forgiveness believe in the human capacity to change and reclaim the higher ground by giving another person the freedom to become new. 
 
In God’s abundant mercy,
Anne Mendez

Listen

Ever have one of those experiences where you don’t receive what you expect? This happened to me recently as I was preparing and reflecting on an upcoming Sacred Time, Sacred Space. When I have time for a retreat, I pause and think about what I might work on – in my life and in my discernment. My intent was to focus on how to adjust to our new empty nest. 

Empty nest is a funny term, it implies something is missing. And rather in this new phase of life, my life is pretty full. 

The evening before retreat, I packed lunch and gathered journals and books for the day, thinking about tomorrow. Will I sit in the chapel, walk to the garden, look out a window…planning a rough idea of my whereabouts and movements for the day. With that a single word popped in my head – LISTEN.

It’s easy to be caught in the asking or telling in life, so I prayed and I listened. Nothing, no words or answers. Just peaceful silence. I guess it’s not a coincidence that as I looked around the library for nothing in particular one book popped off the shelf – Listening for the Heartbeat of God by J. Philip Newell. Basically, the book is about the balance of Scripture and Creation. It speaks about the need to have God experiences in both nature earthliness and in scripture. The teaching stresses the importance of being alert and attentive to Christ moving among us in creation just as we are to the voice of Christ in the Scriptures. It’s about the contrasting Gospels of John and Matthew. And how these two messages work together, not opposing. 

Sometimes we need not the busyness of a church but the solitude of a hill to be still and attentive to God. I am still perplexed about going on a retreat to listen and discover only silence. Or maybe that was the answer. 

So, tune up the volume and listen – to the poor, homeless and marginalized. Listen to creation – the birds, wind and crackle of spring. Listen to word of God and Jesus in scripture and proclaimed aloud. 

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts(Psalm 95)

When sharing my experience with a friend she said, ‘LISTEN is half the prayer’. That pretty much sums it up!

In Peace,

Jennifer Sparrow

Psalm for Lent

Lord Save Your people.

Earth shattering sounds
Invade my home,
Penetrate the peace,
Rob me of sleep.
Horrific scenes of destruction
Attack my senses.

Historic buildings,
Sacred sites reduced to ashes.
Mammoth tanks rumble through
Blood spattered streets.
Childrens cries are heard
Throughout the world.

Wifes, mothers, grandmothers
Flee their homes,
Leave their loved ones,
Husbands, fathers, grandfathers behind
To fight the battle, sacrifice lives,
For love of country.

Chaos reigns.

Lord save your people.

Soften the hearts of the aggressor.
End the war
Restore peace to Ukraine.

In Mercy,

Pat Leposa

In today's gospel, Jesus asks: "Do you want to be well?" I always thought that was an odd question. After all, who wouldn't want to be well--to be healed if sick? But as I've hopefully matured, I've realized that there are often times when we choose--consciously or not--to be less whole, less well.

That's where this picture comes in. I call it--Muddy Sneakers. I walked out to my favorite rock one retreat after it had rained all night, and of course, my sneakers were full of mud. Somehow I like to think of Jesus like that--at least if he wore sneakers. He wouldn't care if he got dirty. He wouldn't mind wet feet or soggy shoes. He would want to be where he was needed. He would seek out, I believe, those who might need healing of any kind. Those who MIGHT want to be well, if given the choice or invitation.

Today, your shoes might not get dirty, but you still might want to seek out someone who needs the invitation to heal. And you might want to ask yourself: Do I want to be well?

In Mercy,

Laura M. Arvin, OP

Seeing the goodness right where you are.

This morning as I sat looking out my window, I could see a bright, clear light in the distance. Wondering whose light was on so early in the morning, I moved a little closer to the window pushing aside the sheer curtains.  
As my vision cleared, I realized it was the morning sunrise. 

I was awed.

So many things raced through my mind as I gazed into the light. 
In that moment my heart felt filled, yet still.
I didn’t want to risk turning away as we all know that in the blink of an eye we can miss it. 

I remained.

So often we move past the goodness that is right before us. 

Today, stay with the goodness you find right before you.

Behold it. 

Savor it.

Thank God for it.

Then,  at the end of your day, ask God to bless a stranger far away from you, on the other end of the world. As God to bless them with the same goodness that God has shared with you today.

Amen 

In Mercy,

Joanne Carey