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.