Benedictine spirituality recognizes the possibility of prayer – mindfulness of the presence of God – in all of life, including our mundane daily tasks. David McKee shares his haiku… ora et labora– the warmth of just dried dishes
Lent calls us to new ways of living and being
Lent is a yearly renewal program. A reminder to live out our baptismal call more fully. This is a time for introspective mediation. A time of letting go. A time of opening one’s heart in generosity. The hallmarks of prayer, fasting and almsgiving are opportunities to examine our thoughts and actions, and in doing so we are drawn together as people of faith. Even in today’s busy world and the uncertainty of life in a pandemic, Lent can call us to seek new ways of living and being. Again we keep this solemn fastA gift of faith from ages past,This …
Being
O drops of dew, where moisture seeks a home and succulence wanders carefully. Are you but my own being? O shade of leaves on branches of a powerful tree caught in dawn’s light. Can it be that your contrast contains me as I create you? O moving, sounding stream. Are your goings my arrivals? When did we, in folly, separate and pretend to be so alien? You are my all, my hope and dream! In me, you find your being, and I in you. Be not cool to me, for I pledge to reunite! And we shall tumble through infinity …
That They May Be One
Submitted by Paul Knitter, Sunday Assembly and Friends of Wisdom Prairie member
We Glory in the Cross
Submitted by Sister Joanne Kollasch We glory in the cross, in Christ, the crucified. In him we die to sin and self and in God’s grace abide. We glory in the cross, in Christ, the risen One. In him we know the Spirit’s life and pow’r of Gospel word. The arms of Jesus’ cross encompass all the earth; in this embrace we find our peace and in this death, new birth. We glory in the cross, salvation’s shape and sign, the pledge of everlasting life, the span of God’s design. The folly of the cross is wisdom to the wise; …
Breaking impulsive action
For several years I have taken up a practice during Lent that has jolted me out of habitual action and set a more intentional behavior in its place: I stop eating while standing. Honestly, I’m not even certain from where the idea came or whether this would be sanctioned a legitimate Lenten discipline in the eyes of anyone who might grant such an attestation. I just knew that it targeted a behavior that represented a lack of discipline and mindfulness in my life. And my vague childhood memory as a Protestant among a majority of Roman Catholics was that Lenten …
Be still
By Steve Zwettler, Sunday Assembly member For some people, stillness is frightening. For other people, stillness is peaceful. For spiritual seekers, stillness is a garden of the Holy One. As the years creep up on me, the season of Lent seems to be more and more an opportunity for grace-filled stillness rather than ascetical discipline. Psalm 46 has such wise and rich spiritual advice for this Lenten Season: “Be still and know that I am God.” There is something counter cultural and deeply enriching about stilling our hearts, stilling our minds, stilling our bodies and breathing in the One who is our All. …
Lenten reflection
By Steven Powell, Oblate class of 2002 I think the phrase, “the Beginning of the End,” has an ominous flavor. But not this time. For many of us, this Lenten season may have been the longest ever – over a year. Palm Sunday marks the Beginning of Holy Week, which Ends in the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Of course, Jesus had a lot to go through. It occurred to me that we can be thankful, not only for the traditional coming of Spring and Easter, but the vaccine. This really is, with God’s grace, the Hope that we are at the beginning …
Lenten Fasting: A Meditation
By Pamela Johnson, Oblate and Sunday Assembly member I grew up in a religiously observant, ritual practicing Lutheran household where each Lent (and Advent) my parents and siblings gathered around our dining room table for family devotions. We lit candles, read scripture, and prayed around the table together – but we did not practice fasting during Lent or any other time of the year. And so I come uninitiated to fasting as a spiritual practice. I am entering into fasting this Lent. And because I was invited to do so, I share what I am noticing. I am noticing that …
Joy Unspeakable
By Dick Russo, Sunday Assembly member On Feb.12, 2021, Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM., in his Daily Meditations wrote: “The spiritual journey is a constant interplay between moments of awe followed by a general process of surrender to that moment.” He went on to say that…Barbara Holmes, author of Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church, called the moment of awe “Joy Unspeakable…we are not headed toward a single goal. We are on a pilgrimage toward the center of our hearts. It is in this place of prayerful repose that joy unspeakable erupts.” I love the image of joy erupting like …