This post is somewhat of a continuation on a post I wrote back in February, you can read it here.
We too often lose sight of the mysteries of our faith. We reduce the presence of God in the world to simple wrote prayers, written doctrines and staunchly enforced rules. We gaze at the Most Beautiful Source of Life and force ourselves to suppress our wonder... lest It change us.
Chesterton wrote about this suppression beautifully,
“`Long years and centuries ago our fathers or the founders of our people drank, as they dreamed, of the blood of God. Long years and centuries have passed since the strength of that giant vintage has been anything but a legend of the age of giants.... Long since that bitter drink has been itself diluted; rinsed out and washed away by the waters of oblivion and the wave of the world. Never did we think to taste again even that bitter tang of sincerity and the spirit, still less the richer and the sweeter strength of the purple vineyards in our dreams of the age of gold. Day by day and year by year we have lowered our hopes and lessened our convictions; we have grown more and more used to seeing those vats and vineyards overwhelmed in the water-floods and the last savour and suggestion of that special element fading like a stain of purple upon a sea of grey. We have grown used to dilution, to dissolution, to a watering down and went on forever. But Thou hast kept the good wine until now.'"
I love this quote, especially for the note on which it ends. ‘Thou hast kept the good wine until now.’ This is an allusion to John 2:10, the comment of the head waiter at the Wedding of Cana after tasting Jesus’ miraculous wine. Jesus has taken ordinary water (arguably the most watered down form of wine that can exist) and has transformed the dilution into something magnificent.
This gives me hope for us. Although we may water down the mysteries of our faith and lose all sense of wonder and awe, God retains the power to reveal; to reawaken; to dazzle.
As beautiful as these mysteries may be... it takes incredible courage to ask God to dazzle us again... to allow ourselves to be swept up into God’s permeating presence, the Beautiful Source of Life. I have been praying that God will awaken me to the Spirit’s glorious and mysterious presence around me.
Dear Lord... dazzle us once again!
Peace turtles!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Assumption
Tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption, a remembrance of the Virgin Mary's entrance into Heaven. I always remember this feast day because it corresponds with the birthday of my younger sister Megan (Happy Birthday Megan!!!).
The Gospel reading for the feast day is the Magnificat. A poem/prayer proclaimed by Mary when she was greeted by her cousin Elizabeth (John the Baptist's mom). This is a rare time in the Gospels where a conversation, especially of a theological nature, between two women is remembered. It is a song of reversal, saying that the proud, the confident, and the powerful will be humbled and the lowly raised up. Reid (1996) writes, "Mary's song ends on the confident note that God has promised mercy not only to our ancestors, but to all of their descendants, women and men of faith (p. 77)."
Some scholars believe that the text of this song/prayer may come from a lullaby sung by Israeli mothers to their children. Not in the sense of social justice brainwashing... but that this song encapsulates a great deal of what the community of lower-class Jews believed about the faithfulness and mercy of their God. It makes sense that God the Father would choose to have his Son born into this community. Thus, it's no secret why Jesus was so radically committed to social justice, his mother had taught him solid values!
Here is the text of the prayer:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Now imagine that you were a powerful and misguided (perhaps flat out corrupt) ruler who had abandoned your commitment to God. Imagine how terrifying it would be to know that the women of your territory had begun to sing this song to their children. You might as well start packing your bags.
This Gospel begs us to ask ourselves some tough questions. Have we forgotten the faithfulness and mercy of God? Are we the voice proclaiming God's goodness to the world? Are we committed to teaching our children sound values?
Happy Assumption! Peace turtles!
The Gospel reading for the feast day is the Magnificat. A poem/prayer proclaimed by Mary when she was greeted by her cousin Elizabeth (John the Baptist's mom). This is a rare time in the Gospels where a conversation, especially of a theological nature, between two women is remembered. It is a song of reversal, saying that the proud, the confident, and the powerful will be humbled and the lowly raised up. Reid (1996) writes, "Mary's song ends on the confident note that God has promised mercy not only to our ancestors, but to all of their descendants, women and men of faith (p. 77)."
Some scholars believe that the text of this song/prayer may come from a lullaby sung by Israeli mothers to their children. Not in the sense of social justice brainwashing... but that this song encapsulates a great deal of what the community of lower-class Jews believed about the faithfulness and mercy of their God. It makes sense that God the Father would choose to have his Son born into this community. Thus, it's no secret why Jesus was so radically committed to social justice, his mother had taught him solid values!
Here is the text of the prayer:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Now imagine that you were a powerful and misguided (perhaps flat out corrupt) ruler who had abandoned your commitment to God. Imagine how terrifying it would be to know that the women of your territory had begun to sing this song to their children. You might as well start packing your bags.
This Gospel begs us to ask ourselves some tough questions. Have we forgotten the faithfulness and mercy of God? Are we the voice proclaiming God's goodness to the world? Are we committed to teaching our children sound values?
Happy Assumption! Peace turtles!
Reid, B. E. (1996). Choosing the Better Part?: Women in the Gospel of Luke. Collegeville, MN:Michael Glazier Liturgical Press.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Santuario de Chimayo
My favorite place that I visited while in New Mexico was the Santuario de Chimayo, a sacred shrine just north of Santa Fe. The story goes that about 200 years ago the sanctuary cross from a nearby church began disappearing every night and miraculously appearing in a small family chapel in town. As this started to happen, many people were healed and experienced an awakening of their faith.
Today, the small family chapel has been made a shrine and is maintained by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Thousands of pilgrims travel to the shrine each year! The dirt of Chimayo is said to be sacred and visitors are encouraged to take some of it as a remembrance of God's faithfulness.
The area is very conducive for prayer. Multiple statues have been erected on prayer walks throughout the tiny campus and a catechetical chapel in honor of Santo Nino de Atocha has been built as well. The chapel is brightly colored to appeal to children and houses a statue of Santo Nino. Surrounding the statue and chapel are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pairs of baby shoes representing infants and children being lifted up in prayer. The sight of this devotion is overwhelming!
I have attached a picture of the Santo Nino statue and some of the shoes. Anyone interested in learning more about Chimayo should start here: http://chimayo.us/.
Peace turtles!
Today, the small family chapel has been made a shrine and is maintained by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Thousands of pilgrims travel to the shrine each year! The dirt of Chimayo is said to be sacred and visitors are encouraged to take some of it as a remembrance of God's faithfulness.
The area is very conducive for prayer. Multiple statues have been erected on prayer walks throughout the tiny campus and a catechetical chapel in honor of Santo Nino de Atocha has been built as well. The chapel is brightly colored to appeal to children and houses a statue of Santo Nino. Surrounding the statue and chapel are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pairs of baby shoes representing infants and children being lifted up in prayer. The sight of this devotion is overwhelming!
I have attached a picture of the Santo Nino statue and some of the shoes. Anyone interested in learning more about Chimayo should start here: http://chimayo.us/.
Peace turtles!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
New Mexico Trip
I was so immersed in my trip to New Mexico that I didn't get a chance to sit down and write any blog posts while actually there. However, I plan to process the trip and write a couple posts about the many different things that I did. Actual pictures of the trip will come later (the ceiling in my office collapsed while I was gone so downloading pics from my camera was out of the question).
I went on a mini-pilgrimage to the state of New Mexico to visit my friend Graham, a Norbertine novice at the Priory of Santa Maria de La Vid (Holy Mary of the Vine). Graham's blog has been featured here on Church of Turtles in earlier posts and I encourage you to check it out. He doesn't post often, but when he does it is always worth reading! Pictures of the priory can be found there.
Every morning we would rise and attend morning prayer and mass with the community of priests and brothers who live at the Priory. It was a unique experience because the Norbertines sing the office instead of simply reciting it… I have never been a good singer, but I was tremendously moved by their singing.
During the day, Graham took me on tours of many different churches and cultural attractions around the state of New Mexico. Once I have downloaded my pictures, I will post about some of the more unique and historical things that we saw.
We returned to the Priory each evening for evening prayer and dinner. After dinner, I retired to the little hermitage that they set aside for me to stay in. It was set apart from the priory just a short walk into the desert. At night I would pray, study, relax and sleep (which I cherished!).
The Priory is on the outskirts of Albuquerque, which is surrounded by mountains and vast open stretches of desert. Sunrises and sunsets were more spectacular than firework shows!
If you are interested in learning more about the Norbertines in New Mexico. Check out the following video:
Peace turtles!
I went on a mini-pilgrimage to the state of New Mexico to visit my friend Graham, a Norbertine novice at the Priory of Santa Maria de La Vid (Holy Mary of the Vine). Graham's blog has been featured here on Church of Turtles in earlier posts and I encourage you to check it out. He doesn't post often, but when he does it is always worth reading! Pictures of the priory can be found there.
Every morning we would rise and attend morning prayer and mass with the community of priests and brothers who live at the Priory. It was a unique experience because the Norbertines sing the office instead of simply reciting it… I have never been a good singer, but I was tremendously moved by their singing.
During the day, Graham took me on tours of many different churches and cultural attractions around the state of New Mexico. Once I have downloaded my pictures, I will post about some of the more unique and historical things that we saw.
We returned to the Priory each evening for evening prayer and dinner. After dinner, I retired to the little hermitage that they set aside for me to stay in. It was set apart from the priory just a short walk into the desert. At night I would pray, study, relax and sleep (which I cherished!).
The Priory is on the outskirts of Albuquerque, which is surrounded by mountains and vast open stretches of desert. Sunrises and sunsets were more spectacular than firework shows!
If you are interested in learning more about the Norbertines in New Mexico. Check out the following video:
Peace turtles!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Lights Out
I started writing this post over a month ago... then my computer battery died and I forgot all about it.
A series of terrible storms passed through Chicago in June and a very serious one left nearly a quarter of a million people without electricity. My roommates and I were some of those people.
One the first night of the blackout, I was home alone. I lit some candles, prayed Lectio Divina style, practiced some yoga, spoke to two close friends on the phone to catch up and eventually fell asleep listening to the rain in a cozy camp chair on my balcony.
On the second night of the blackout, I was home with two roommates and we stayed up talking and playing a board game by candle light. It was very relaxed and intimate.
On the third night of the blackout, I again spent time with my roommates. By this time the apartment had gotten so hot that I fell asleep laying on our hardwood floors because they were cooler than my bed and our couches.... it was fantastic.
The refrigerator couldn’t humm... the fans couldn’t buzz... the doorbell couldn’t ring and slowly, the laptop batteries died.... the phone batteries died.... the flashlight batteries died... it was a very peaceful series of evenings.
I don’t knock technology. As an IT professional, I understand the many wonderful things that technology can do. But regardless... it was nice to get away.
Next week I am going to get away one more time. I will be visiting my brothers in the Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid Priory in Albequrque, New Mexico. I will make sure to take lots of pictures and post them here for you.
I hope you can get away too... even if that just means turning off the computer and shutting off the lights. Peace!
A series of terrible storms passed through Chicago in June and a very serious one left nearly a quarter of a million people without electricity. My roommates and I were some of those people.
One the first night of the blackout, I was home alone. I lit some candles, prayed Lectio Divina style, practiced some yoga, spoke to two close friends on the phone to catch up and eventually fell asleep listening to the rain in a cozy camp chair on my balcony.
On the second night of the blackout, I was home with two roommates and we stayed up talking and playing a board game by candle light. It was very relaxed and intimate.
On the third night of the blackout, I again spent time with my roommates. By this time the apartment had gotten so hot that I fell asleep laying on our hardwood floors because they were cooler than my bed and our couches.... it was fantastic.
The refrigerator couldn’t humm... the fans couldn’t buzz... the doorbell couldn’t ring and slowly, the laptop batteries died.... the phone batteries died.... the flashlight batteries died... it was a very peaceful series of evenings.
I don’t knock technology. As an IT professional, I understand the many wonderful things that technology can do. But regardless... it was nice to get away.
Next week I am going to get away one more time. I will be visiting my brothers in the Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid Priory in Albequrque, New Mexico. I will make sure to take lots of pictures and post them here for you.
I hope you can get away too... even if that just means turning off the computer and shutting off the lights. Peace!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Peacebuilder's Initiative
Hey Turtles! I spent the last week working with a group of young people as a part of the Peacebuilder’s Initiative. It is a program that identifies young people with leadership potential and educates them about Catholic Social Teaching and then empowers them to go out an make a difference in the world. The young people spent last week learning about CST and experiencing various different Catholic social services in Chicago. This coming year, they will be designing and implementing various peace projects throughout the area.
This past week we learned about dreams, biblical foundations for peace building, forgiveness and reconciliation, the seven pillars of social justice and the movement of God in the modern world. All of these sessions were taught by the faculty and students of the Catholic Theological Union.
In addition to attending these sessions with the kids, each day I accompanied a group of five students to the Peace Corner in Austin. The Peace Corner is a teen drop in center that is owned and operated by the youth of Austin themselves. My teens and I spent time sharing stories with the youth there, painting a mural, playing basketball and having a cookout. This was an opportunity for some cross cultural (my students were mostly suburban) dialogue and relationship building.
At the end of a very intense week, within the context of prayer, we asked the students to share with us the dreams that they had for the world. Their responses included:
“I envision a world without violence.”
“I envision a world of forgiveness and reconciliation.”
“I envision a world where no diagnosis is without hope.”
“I envision a world where nobody goes hungry.”
“... where children can feel safe and loved.”
“... where people choose dialogue and not war.”
“... where all live in harmony with the environment.”
I found myself choking back tears as these young people dreamed of their ideal world... a world that they would later dedicate themselves to building during our final commissioning service.
I relax knowing that our world in the the hands of these very beautiful young people. Thank you everyone for a great week! Peace turtles!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
CHILL OUT
If anyone was following along with the Gospels readings for this week, I hope that you noticed a theme. This is the week that the Church remembers that a good portion of Jesus’ teachings were calling everyone to CHILL OUT.
Let’s take a closer look...
Sunday, Luke 7- Pharisee invites Jesus over for dinner... unworthy woman annoints Jesus’ feet... pharisee freaks... Jesus tells him to CHILL OUT.
Monday, Matthew 5- Jesus says, “You have heard it said ‘an eye for an eye’ but [I tell you to CHILL OUT and resist the urge to be violent].”
Tuesday, Matthew 5- Jesus says, “You have heard it said to love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you [CHILL OUT and just love from now on].”
Wednesday, Matthew 6- Jesus warns against public displays of piety. Asking his disciples to CHILL OUT and simply pray in secret.
Thursday, Matthew 6- Jesus warns against heaping empty phrases onto heaven when praying. He says, “CHILL OUT and simply pray like this... Our Father....”
Friday, Matthew 6- Jesus says, “Do not worry about storing up for yourselves treasures on earth, CHILL OUT and store treasures in heaven.”
Saturday, Matthew 6- Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow, CHILL OUT, it will take care of itself.”
I hope you realize that the above is an extremely elementary interpretation of these scripture passages, but the message is still the same... CHILL OUT!!!!
Peace turtles!
Let’s take a closer look...
Sunday, Luke 7- Pharisee invites Jesus over for dinner... unworthy woman annoints Jesus’ feet... pharisee freaks... Jesus tells him to CHILL OUT.
Monday, Matthew 5- Jesus says, “You have heard it said ‘an eye for an eye’ but [I tell you to CHILL OUT and resist the urge to be violent].”
Tuesday, Matthew 5- Jesus says, “You have heard it said to love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you [CHILL OUT and just love from now on].”
Wednesday, Matthew 6- Jesus warns against public displays of piety. Asking his disciples to CHILL OUT and simply pray in secret.
Thursday, Matthew 6- Jesus warns against heaping empty phrases onto heaven when praying. He says, “CHILL OUT and simply pray like this... Our Father....”
Friday, Matthew 6- Jesus says, “Do not worry about storing up for yourselves treasures on earth, CHILL OUT and store treasures in heaven.”
Saturday, Matthew 6- Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow, CHILL OUT, it will take care of itself.”
I hope you realize that the above is an extremely elementary interpretation of these scripture passages, but the message is still the same... CHILL OUT!!!!
Peace turtles!
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