Tending Life’s Rhythm 

​Scripture
 Psalm 46:10
Be still and know that I am God.

​1 Kings 19:11-13
Elijah went out and stood on the mountain. Then God went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks. But God was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But God was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire.  But God was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

​…for pondering…taken from
“Small Graces: the Eloquence of Silence” by Kent Nerburn
When the wind stops, it is so loud that everyone pauses to listen.
We hear the rain, but not the falling snow.
The silence of a winter morning is sharper than the silence  of a summer dawn.
No meditation better clears the mind than to listen to the shape of the silence that surrounds us. It opens our heart to the unseen, and reminds us that the world is larger than the events that fill our days.

"Silence is not the absence of noise, but the absence of  clutter.”
                                                                                                                   (source unknown)
 
​The opposite of silence is not necessarily noise.  Rather it is the frenzy, the anxiety, the clutter of our minds and hearts that fills us up so we cannot hear the voice of our deepest selves, the voice of God.  Without silence, we never learn to listen – to ourselves, to God, to one another.  Without silence, we never get to know the person we really are, what it is that we really want to do, what it is that we are afraid of, what it is that speaks of God in us.

​For your Reflection
 1.   Pray Ps. 46:10 in a protracted, very slow way...             
              Be still and know that I am God…
              Be still and know that I am…
              Be still and know…
              Be still…
              Be…  (rest in “be-ing” in God’s arms)
 
2. Close your eyes and listen to what is playing inside your head, your heart.  Write out what you hear.  What is really going on inside yourself?
 
3. Where are the places of silence in your life?  Are there any? How might you enhance those spaces for yourself?
 
4. There are two kinds of silence: one is bitter, the other sweet. Bitter silence freezes people out. Sweet silence is the quiet that takes us inside ourselves so we can offer a listening heart to God, others and the Self.  How do these two kinds of silence play out in your life?  What might you want to change?

​Action
What do you want to say to God about this?
Forego a TV program one night; refrain from turning on the radio or CD in the car.  Savor the time of silence.  Listen to your heart. Listen to God.  Listen to the cries of the world around you.  What do you hear  differently?

Copyright © 2018 by Kathleen McNany, OSB
Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore, MD.
 
 

On this St. Benedict's Day let us ponder:
​Tending Weakness 

Scripture
Luke 13: 10-13
There came before Jesus a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years.  She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.  When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”  When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.
 
Luke 5: 18-26
While Jesus was preaching one day some people appeared, carrying on a bed a paralyzed man whom they were trying to bring in and lay down in front of him.  But as the crowd made it impossible to find a way of getting inside, they went up on to the flat roof and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, in front of Jesus.  Seeing their faith Jesus said, “My friend, your sins are forgiven you….I order you, get up, and pick up your mat and go home.”  Immediately before their very eyes he got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 

Poem for Reflection by Joyce Rupp 
                                         (from “The Star in My Heart”)
Inside each of us there awaits a wonder - full spirit of freedom
              She waits to dance
              in the rooms of our heart that are closed
                           dark and cluttered
              She waits to dance in the spaces
              where negative feelings have built barricades
and stock piled weapons
She waits to dance in the corners
where we still do not believe in our goodness
Inside each of us there awaits a wonder - full spirit of freedom
She will lift light feet and make glad songs within us
on the day we open the door of ego
and let the enemies stomp out. 

“I am sent forth into the morning with the poetry of possibility beating in my heart.” (Kent  Nerburn , “Small Graces”)
 
Paralysis is defined as the loss of the ability to move, a state of powerlessness or incapacity to act. We would not make the choice to be physically paralyzed, yet we do make many choices that keep us spiritually paralyzed. 
 
The “should’s , ought to’s, won’ts, can’ts, must’s” that drive us; the negative feelings and unhealthy tapes that play within us, can all render us unfree.  The struggle to be aware, the commitment to listen to what goes on in my spirit, can enable me to make choices that are not driven by my personal “unfreedoms.”   The Buddhists say:  “When anger finds you in the kitchen, don’t escort him to the dining room.  Just because your emotions rise up, doesn’t mean you have to follow.” 

For your Reflection
1. To be paralyzed means to be unable to move.  Are there areas in your life where you feel paralyzed?  What is your unique paralysis?  What prevents you from moving freely?
 
2. What would it look like/feel like for you to be free? 
What would you be freed from?  What would you be   freed for?
 
3. It was the friends of the paralytic, their determination and courage, who occasioned the healing.  Who are the people in your life who support you, encourage you, move you toward the freedom to be?  Spend some time in gratitude for the gift they are in your life.
 
4. Imagine you are the bent over woman, unable to stand straight, able to see only a narrow frame of life.  What keeps you bent over, weighs you down?  Imagine Jesus’ hands on your shoulders lifting you up.  Stand before him, look into his eyes.  What does he say to you, and you to him? 

​Action
What do you want to say to God about this?
 Make yourself a “Should Jar.”  Each time you hear yourself “shoulding on yourself” put a bead, or seed or some ‘counting’ object in the jar. At the end of the week, take stock.  A growing awareness of what motivates our choices can lead us to choose more freely.

Copyright © 2018 by Kathleen McNany, OSB
Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore, MD. 

Tending Our Vision 

Scripture
Mark 8:22-26
Jesus came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind person whom they begged him to touch.  He took the blind person and led him outside the village.  Then putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, “Can you see anything?”  The man, who was beginning to see, replied, “I can see people; they look like trees to me, but they are walking about.”  Then Jesus laid his hands on the man’s eyes again and he saw clearly; he could see everything plainly and distinctly.  And Jesus sent him home.
 
Luke 18: 35-43
As Jesus drew near to Jericho there was a blind person sitting at the side of the road begging.  When he heard the crowd going past he asked what it was all about, and they told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by.  So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.”  The people in front scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have pity on me.”  Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
 
“Sir,” he replied, “let me see again.”  Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight.  Your faith has saved you.”  Instantly his sight returned and he followed Jesus, praising God, and all who saw it gave praise to God for what had happened.
 
John 1:39
Jesus said, “Come and see.” 

A Wisdom Tale    (from Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart)
 A man whose axe was missing suspected his neighbor’s son.  The boy walked like a thief, looked like a thief, and spoke like a thief.  But the man found his axe while he was digging in the valley, and the next time he saw his neighbor’s son, the boy walked, looked, and spoke like any other child.

Perspective reveals what is before our eyes, including what we haven’t been able to see because we didn’t have the “vision” to experience what was there.
(Robert Wicks, “Snow Falling on Snow”)

There is so much in life that keeps us blind to the wonder around us: fears, prejudices, unhealed anger and hurt, cultural biases, ignorance, to name only a few.  It is no wonder that so many of Jesus’ healings centered around restoring sight.  The scriptures remind us that healing is a gradual process, and that we must truly WANT to see, if our blindness is to be healed.

For your Reflection
1. As you begin this prayer time, recall the people in your life who have brought you to new insight and vision.  Invite them to accompany you during these moments.
 
2. What are the things that limit your vision, that blind you to new or different ways of seeing and perceiving?  Pray these questions.
 
3. Imagine Jesus approaching you and saying: “What do you want me to do for you?”  How do you respond? 

Copyright © 2018 by Kathleen McNany, OSB
Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore, MD.
 
 

​Tending the Soul

Scripture
Luke 15: 11-33 
This is the story of the Prodigal Son (we reflected on this gospel last week already). There are three characters mentioned: the father, the younger son, and the elder son. A fourth hidden character is the mother of these sons. Be attentive to whose point of view you read the story from.
 
2 Corinthians 5: 17-18
Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold the new things have come.  And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to God’s own Self in Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation.

...for pondering
 Harboring resentment is like letting someone you hate live rent free in your head.  (Author unknown)

There are many elder sons and elder daughters who are lost while still at home.  And it is this lostness– characterized by judgment and condemnation, anger and resentment, bitterness and jealousy, that is so pernicious and so damaging to the human spirit.  The younger son sinned in a way we can easily identify.  The lostness of the elder son is much harder to identify.  He was obedient, dutiful, law abiding, and hardworking. But when confronted by his father’s joy at the return of his brother, a dark power erupts in him and boils to the surface.  Suddenly, there becomes glaringly visible a resentful, proud, unkind, selfish person.  There is so much resentment among the just and the righteous...much frozen anger.  The lostness of the resentful “saint” is so hard to reach precisely because it is so closely wedded to the desire to be good and virtuous...it results in becoming less free, less spontaneous, less playful and incapable of joy.(Henri Nouwen in “Return of the Prodigal Son”)

I forgive so that the desire for revenge does not corrode my
being...I can be human only in relationships.  Our greatest good is communal harmony.  Revenge and anger subvert this. (Desmond Tutu)
 
Memories heal over a period of time through the following signposts on the path to forgiveness:
Stage 1:  Denial
I don’t admit I was ever hurt.
Stage 2:  Anger
I blame others for hurting and destroying me.
Stage 3:  Bargaining
I set up conditions to be fulfilled before I am ready to forgive.
Stage 4:  Depression
I blame myself for letting hurt destroy me.
Stage 5:  Acceptance
I look forward to growth from hurt. 

For your Reflection
1. Pick an unforgiven person or situation in your life.  Ponder where you are in the stages of forgiveness. Wherever you are invite Jesus into your heart, and tell him how you feel.  Listen to his response.
2. To which character do you relate in the story of the Prodigal Son? Stand in the shoes of that person, and then speak to each of the remaining characters from your perspective.  In your journal, write your reflections on this experience.
3. Who are the great lovers in your life, those who seem to live free of resentment and open to joy?  Draw courage from them. Write them a note expressing your gratitude for their presence and their encouragement in your life.
4. Who are your “enemies,” those you don’t like very much, those who have hurt you.  Bring them into your heart and into your prayer.  Imagine yourself meeting each one of them in the presence of Jesus.  What do you say? How do you feel?  What would you like to/ hope to change in your response to them? 

Action: 
           What do you want to say to God about this?
            What is one thing you can do to let go of a  resentment; to reach out in             forgiveness to someone who has hurt you? Will you do it?

Copyright © 2018 by Kathleen McNany, OSB
Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore, MD.
 
 

Tending Relationships

Scripture:  Luke 15: 11-33
 
The tax collectors and the sinners were all gathering around Jesus to listen to his teaching, at which the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, “This one welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  Then Jesus addressed this parable to them:  “A man had two children.  The younger of them said to their father: “Give me a share of the estate that is coming to me.” So the father divided up the property.  Some days later, the younger child gathered up his belongings and went off to a distant land. 
 
Here he squandered all the money and inheritance on loose living.  After everything was spent, a great famine broke over the land, and everyone including the younger child was in great need.  So he went to a landowner, who sent him to a farm to take care of the pigs.  He longed to eat the husks that were fodder for the pigs, but no one made a move to give him anything.  Finally coming to his senses, he said: “How many hired hands at my father’s house have more than enough to eat, while here I am starving!  I will break away and return home, and say, ‘I have sinned against God and against you; I no longer deserve to be called one of your children.  Treat me like one of your hired hands.’”
With that, the younger child set off for home. While still a long way off, the father caught sight of the returning child and was deeply moved. The father ran out to meet him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. The  younger child said “Father, I have sinned against God and against you; I no longer deserve
to be called one of your children.” The father said to one of the workers: “Quick, bring out the finest robe and put it on my son;  put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Take the fatted calf and kill it.  Let us celebrate because this child of mine was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and now is found.
Then the celebration began.  Meanwhile the elder child was out on the land. Nearing the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.  He called one of the workers and asked: “What is the reason for this dancing and music?”
The worker answered, “Your brother is home, and the fatted calf has been killed because your father has him back in good health.” The older one grew angry at this and would not go in, but his father came out and began to plead with him.  He said in reply: “For years now I have slaved for you.  I never disobeyed one of your orders, yet you never gave me so much as a kid goat to celebrate with my friends.  Then, when this other one returns after having gone through your property with prostitutes, you kill the fatted calf for him.  The father answered: “My loved one, you are with me always, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and rejoice.  This brother of yours was dead, and has come back to life.  He was lost, and now is found.” 

The Rule of Benedict 4. 20-31,41  The Tools for Good Works
 Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; the love of Christ must come before all else.  You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge.  Rid your heart of all deceit.  Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love.  Speak the truth with heart and tongue.  Do not repay one bad turn with another.  Do not injure anyone, but bear injuries patiently.  Love your enemies.  If people curse you, do not curse them back but bless them instead.  Endure persecution for the sake of justice.  Place your hope in God alone.
 
“Stop the wars within yourself.  Whatever happens to the heart is the beginning of a revolution.”
(Joan Chittister, OSB)

The violence we all experience today in society calls to us to open our hearts in new ways, to meet the stranger as friend, to be gentle with ourselves, the other, the earth.  Peace- the fruit of non-violence- comes as we learn to come home to ourselves, one another, and God. Forgiveness, acceptance and reconciliation nurture hospitality-the receiving of all who come into our lives as receiving the Christ.
How we make space for the other – be it a person, a new way of thinking or seeing or understanding,-could change our world, making it a world of potential friends rather than a world of probable enemies.  Feasting on hospitality, tending to mending relationships,  can turn a prejudiced world around, one heart at a time.

For your Reflection:
1.  To whom do you relate in the Scripture story: the runaway son, the returning son, the father, the elder brother? What might that be telling you about the relationships  that need tending in your life?
 
2.  Which “tools of good works” most challenge you right now?  What might they be saying to you about the relationships that need tending in your life?
 
3.  In what ways does violence play out in your life?  In what ways do you do violence to yourself, to those you care about, to those you are called to serve, to those you might not even know?
 
4. What role does “hospitality” play in living a non-violent life? How can I nurture a “hospitable heart”?
 Action:
What do you want to say to God about all this?
Mend a broken relationship.
  
Copyright © 2018 by Kathleen McNany, OSB
Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore, MD.
 

​Scripture
 
2 Timothy 1: 6-7, 14
Fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self control.  You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in you.

Matthew 17: 5-8
​Peter was still speaking when suddenly a bright cloud covered them with shadow, and from the cloud there came a voice which said, “This is my son, the Beloved, on whom my favor rests.  Listen to him.” When they heard this, the disciples fell on their faces, overcome with fear.  But Jesus came up and touched them.  “Stand up,” he said, “do not be afraid.”  And when they raised their eyes they saw only Jesus.

A Prayer/Poem to Ponder:  CROCUS HOPE  (source unknown)
 
It takes courage to be crocus minded.
Lord, I’d rather wait until June, like wise roses,
              when the hazards of winter are behind,
              and I’m expected, and everything is ready for roses.
But Crocuses?  Highly irregular!
Knifing up through hard-frozen ground and snow,
Sticking their necks out because
they believe in Spring
and have something personal and emphatic to say about it.
Lord, I am by nature rose-minded,
even when I have studied the situation,
and know that there are wrongs that need righting,
affirmations that need stating,
and know also that my speaking out
may offend for it rocks the boat…
Wrongs don’t work themselves out,
Injustices and inequities and hurt don’t dissolve.
 
​Somebody has to stick her neck out,
Somebody who cares enough to think through
              and work through hard ground,
Because she believes and has something
              personal and emphatic to say about it.
Me, Lord?
              Crocus Minded?
Could it be that there are things that
              need to be said,
              and you want me to say them?
I pray for courage. 
AMEN

​“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”  (Dorothy Bernard)
 
Re-reading or re-watching the Wizard of Oz could be an interesting Lenten activity.  The story deals with dreams and hopes, with love and relationships, with the inner journey we all must make, and with things that are most important in life: heart and soul.  The tin man looks for a heart (from the Latin root cordis), the lion seeks courage (from the same root), the scarecrow seeks a brain (…and God gave them a heart to think with…Sir. 17:5).  Dorothy desires to “come home” – which is the plea of the Lenten Season – “return to me with all your heart.” (Joel 2:12)
As each one faced their fears, that which was sought was found!

For your Reflection
1.   “That which we most desire, is often that which we most fear.” What are the deepest desires of your heart?  What are your deepest fears? Are these connected in any way? Can you find any encouragement in this?
 
2.    One of the most repeated phrases in Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, is “Be not afraid.”  What does this say to you about God’s desire for us?
 
​3.   Spend some time with the disciples at the Transfiguration.  What enabled them to overcome their fear?
 
4.   In Paul’s letter to Timothy, how would you name the  “something precious you have been trusted to look after?”
 
5. Reflect on the courage of the crocus.  How might God be calling you to “stick your neck out?

Scriptures
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
For everything there is a season, and a time for every
purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.

​Mark 6: 31
You must come away to some lonely place all yourselves and rest awhile; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat.

Additional Readings:
Nurturing the Heart  (Robert Wicks , “Snow Falling on Snow”)
                           Read a bit
                           Listen to a favorite song
                           Call a friend
                           Remember a kindness
                           Help the poor
                           Keep perspective
                           Smile broadly
                           Laugh loudly
                           Close doors gently
                           Do what you can
                           Live gratefully
Relax for a moment
Tease yourself often
Take a quiet walk
Tell God a funny story

“Our uneasiness and our frantic scrambling are caused by our distorted sense of time, which seems to be continually running out...We are always meeting deadlines; we are always short on time, we are always running out of time….The monastic understanding of time is that it is holy; an hour is not only a unit of time composed of 60 minutes.  It is not a numerical measure; it is a soul measure...for our God is present, and where God is, is holy.” 
(D. Steindl-Rasst, OSB, “The Music of Silence” and the song “Holy Ground.”) 

​Time is all we really have to work with in life.  It is given to us as gift and opportunity; we so often turn it into an oppressive burden; we make it enemy instead of friend.  We talk about losing it, wasting it, spending it; we save it, count it, and invest it.  We too often forget to savor it.  We worry and are anxious about so many things; we fill our moments with frenzied activity, and go to bed wondering if what we have lived really is life!  Holy leisure is the foundation of all contemplation.  Holy leisure is the seed bed of gratitude and appreciation.  Holy leisure nurtures hope.  Holy leisure is the basis for play, and for cultivating a Sabbath heart.
(thoughts from THERE IS A SEASON by Joan Chittister, OSB)

​For your Reflection:
1. How do you experience time?  Is it gift, burden, etc…?

2. What time is it in your soul?

3. Have you ever been so busy there was not even time to eat?
Be with Jesus and the disciples in the scene depicted in Mark 6:31. 
What might have been the conversation between Jesus and his disciples?
What could you contribute to the conversation?
 
4. Reflect on the relationship of leisure, contemplation and play. 
What faces does busyness wear in your life? How do you play?
Is there space for contemplation in your life? 
​What changes would you like to make so that you might savor life more?

Copyright © 2018 by Kathleen McNany, OSB
Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore, MD
 
 

Our Lenten Reflections will start on Ash Wednesday, February 14 and then on every Wednesday during Lent.
We are looking forward on sharing our Lenten journey with you!