Tag Archives: sacramental life

Easter memories & Summer spirituality

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Easter VII (Acts 16:16-40)  05/12/2013

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A couple of months ago I decided to dedicate some time to a hobby that has long interested me, and that hobby is the research of my family history. At first thought there was the anticipation of finding recognizable names from the past: colonial patriots, founding mothers and fathers of this country, and other people that streets and schools and parks are named after. However, once the real work of the research was underway I soon discovered that most of my time was spent sorting through old handwritten documents, visiting the town clerks office, and wandering through old cemeteries. I think the slow and methodical process of sifting through old records was the cause of my previous departures from this hobby in times past, but this time around something very different happened to me. I discovered that mixed in with all the hard, cold facts and figures of those old handwritten documents are the many, many fascinating stories of my family. Family research also provides the opportunity to discover information that has long since been hidden away; sometimes quite accidentally and sometimes quite on purpose. The more information I found, the more questions I had, so I gathered up all my information and set out to talk with as many family members as I thought would have even the slightest memory of the family stories of our past. Interestingly, those conversations began to shape a new understanding of the past and, remarkably, a new vision of how the past guides and informs our future. Thomas Merton, a 20th century monk and spiritual guide, once spoke of how memories must be more than simply facts from the past. Merton wrote, “Memory is not fully itself when it reaches only into the past. A memory that is not alive to the present does not ‘remember’ the here and now, does not ‘remember’ its true identity, is not memory at all. [One] who remembers nothing but facts and past events, and is never brought back into the present, is a victim of amnesia.”[i] Thomas Merton’s insight helps us to realize that memory becomes something far greater when we allow ourselves to move from the idea of simply recalling facts to the living process of remembering and sharing the sacred stories of our lives. Continue reading →

Flooding our hearts with the saving grace of Christ

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Second Sunday of Easter (John 20:19-31)  04/07/2013

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Several years ago, as a member of the US Navy Reserve, I had the opportunity to participate in a multi-national naval exercise in the waters just south of Ireland. As we prepared for the exercise I learned that I was assigned to be an observer on a German U-boat, a submarine 150 ft. in length with a crew of about 20 people; an up-close and personal experience for sure. The participants of the exercise gathered on the coast of France to discuss the details of the coming week at sea, and after the meeting I met the Captain of the German submarine. He greeted me in perfect English and after a brief introduction he asked me where I had learned to speak German. I told him that, unfortunately, I did not speak German. He was quite surprised at my answer and said, “Do you realize that you will be at sea for more than a week in a German submarine…and you do not speak German?” I assured him that I did realize this was about to happen and that I really did not speak German…I could say “hello,” “goodbye” and “thank you.” “Why would the US Navy send an officer aboard a German submarine who cannot speak German?” he replied. “Because we’re Americans and sometimes we do crazy things,” I answered. He laughed, and did not believe a word of what I said. We arrived at the submarine and he introduced me to the crew, telling them that I did not speak German, but that they should be careful because he did not believe me and I might be secretly collecting information. Several times throughout the first few days the Captain tried to trick me by giving directions or telling funny jokes in German, all to his great disappointment. He struggled to believe the truth of the story that was before him. Continue reading →

Considering your blessings – some silent homework with God

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“For God alone my soul in silence waits; from him comes my salvation.” Psalm 62:1

snow webThe Christmas holidays had just ended, the New Year was past, and we all survived the end of the last Mayan epoch to live another day. As I made my way to my Spiritual Director’s office in late January and considered what we might discuss to guide and nurture my spiritual well-being, I became very aware of just how disconnected I felt with the deeply internal presence of God that dwells within all of us. The outcome of my spiritual direction meeting revealed my intuitions were true, and my Spiritual Director gave me some “homework:” spend some quiet time in the presence of God; some quiet prayerful time that allows your spirit to connect with the deepest feelings of your heart, the very presence of the Holy. I have been practicing silent meditation and prayer for years, in fact, during March I am scheduled to participate in a silent retreat at a monastery in New York. But some of the best lessons we learn are simply the rediscovery of what we thought we already knew…and continuously try to practice. Excuses always seem to be endless, but I felt the busyness of the Advent and Christmas holidays and the subsequent celebration of the New Year pulled me away from my silent practice of prayer. Much as the practice of following a good diet or regular exercise can slip away, the practice of quiet and intentional prayer can slowly take a back seat to other seemingly more important matters.

Yesterday was my first day of volunteering as a tutor at a local school. I was assigned to help a wonderful young man with his math homework. This eager young man appeared to know his math quite well, but he was in a rush to finish his work. I found my challenge was more focused on getting him to slow down and thoughtfully apply his knowledge rather than concentrate on helping him learn new concepts. I saw a lot of myself in his eager desire to accomplish what was set before him. My hour with him was wonderful: I hope I was helpful to him, and I know that my experience was uplifting and nourishing to my personal “homework” of spiritual presence. As these winter days slowly make their way toward spring, the vision of the careful work of a spider working out her web continues to come to my mind. The web, while delicate and intricate in its composition, is strong enough to hold its own against the buffeting forces of nature. The delicate and silent work of prayer nourishes our souls as we face the buffeting challenges of this world. As we move through these days of March toward the glorious day of Easter, I pray that we can do more than simply “count our blessings.” I hope we can make the time to quietly sit in the presence of God and intentionally “consider our blessings” and discover that our souls are truly nourished by the deep and abiding presence of the Holy.

“Beyond Ash Wednesday”

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O'CollinsExperiencing Jesus by Gerald O’Collins, SJ; Chapter 1 – “What’s it all about?”

Ash Wednesday marks the start of the holy season of Lent; a journey of 40 days (not counting Sundays) that ends with the glorious, powerful and life-saving resurrection of Christ. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it’s still just the morning after Ash Wednesday and the brilliance of Easter Morning seems very far away. Gerald O’Collins begins his Lenten reflection book with a chapter titled “What’s it all about?” The “it” O’Collins refers to is the subject, and the exploration, of the chapter rather than a mysterious and confusing pronoun (I always tell my kids, “use a proper noun before using a pronoun!”); and the “it” is not simply Ash Wednesday, but all that Ash Wednesday hopes to point toward as we begin our journey of Lent. And the journey begins with a funny smear of ashes on your forehead, should you so choose. O’Collins’ first chapter makes a clear point, however; should you not choose to have the ashes smeared across your forehead, the meaning remains and envelops your journey as well. What is that meaning?

The complicated answer is that there are so many meanings it would take a lifetime to approach the truth of it, but that seems like a cop-out. So, let’s take up the matter of the ashes again and focus our attention there. O’Collins makes a blunt point of it: “Ash on our foreheads shows what we are: people of dust and destined to die.” (p. 12) He continues to make several points of mortal life, points we know all too well – life if fragile, life is transient, life happens in the midst of the mighty cosmos, but life is sacred and God given; and this last bit about life trumps all the others. We head into Lent knowing that life is not always a box of chocolates (yes, Forest Gump’s mother said that) but we have been given our lives through the grace and love of God, which means that our life, our fragile mortal life, has a depth that transcends the fragility that appears on the surface of it. Lent’s journey is about exploring the depth of life so that we might appreciate, maybe even understand a bit of the abundant love that we have been given from the One who gives everything through love.

“May the Light of Christ move you in this New Year”

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Epiphany (Matthew 2:1-12) 01/06/2013

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Happy New Year! The New Year always brings an opportunity that I look forward to each year, an opportunity to find some new and interesting calendar to guide the days and months ahead. And as we take down last year’s calendars and replace them with new ones, we too have been given an opportunity to renew our lives and begin this New Year with a fresh start. The end of the year also invites us to spend some time in reflection, giving some thought to these past twelve months; where we have been, what we have seen, and how we might approach this coming year with new and enlightened understandings of our world. During this past year we have experienced many challenges: Hurricane Sandy, Sandy Hook School and the fiscal cliff…and that just covers the past three months. But we have also witnessed the joys of watching the world come together in London for the Summer Olympics and closer to home we have heard from our young Pilgrims and their trip to Belize and our community has visited our friends in Haiti and Cuba. Our experiences of this past year are memories now, but our reflections provide us with insights that help us to learn and grow into a new year of hope filled opportunities; opportunities that await us if we are willing to turn our faith in Christ into actions of love and service. Continue reading →

“Let’s believe best intentions from others”

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The Advent season is now in full swing and as we prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ we must also manage to hold back a cacophony of competing tasks and the subsequent thoughts these tasks engender: have I completed my Christmas shopping list; do I have enough cards for the season and the right mix of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays;” I wonder if those Christmas lights will work from last year; and on and on and on. These thoughts not only creep into the forefront of our minds but can take hold of our imaginations…causing us to wonder of the intentions that lurk behind the actions of others. Life in the church is no different, and add to the mix the unfortunate timing of creating budgets for the coming year and counting financial commitments made by church members. We are tempted to wonder why others delay their support…are they looking for something other than we can provide, do they require more information before making their thoughts known, or are they simply too busy with other matters that seem more pressing. The “crush of the holidays” can take hold of us and bring out the dark clouds of our imaginations. But wait: close your eyes, count to three (forward or backward, they both will do) and say the following – “I will believe the best intentions from others,” and I think you will find this is nearly almost always true. The Apostle Paul gave similar advice to the Christian community in Corinth nearly two thousand years ago and they didn’t have to worry about mall traffic or Black Friday shopping sales.

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 10:23 – 11:1) are words we need to hear during this Advent season; a season that is best spent slowing down in thoughtful preparation and prayer for the coming of Jesus, but is often spent going fast and furious from one commitment to the other. Paul advises us to consider that “not all things are beneficial…not all things build up” but that as we continue to work and live with others we should “not seek our own advantage, but that of the other.” (1Cor 10:23-24) Paul’s lesson to us is rather simply stated but perhaps challenging to implement: we live in community, in a diversity of thought, opinion and action; but the diversity of others should best be interpreted as a variety of actions reaching for the best we have to offer. The ability to interpret our diversity in this way requires an expansive understanding of good intentions, and now we have come back to Advent. The season of Advent prepares us for something radically new, something radically powerful, something so creative and imaginative only God could have done it – and that is the Incarnation of the Word of God, so abundant with love that nothing is beyond reach or beyond redemption. If God can do this for us, maybe we can spend the rest of our Advent and the days following believing in the best intentions from others.

“Come out from under that fir tree – the season of Advent is here!”

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Advent 1 (Luke 21:25-36)  12/02/2012

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I imagine that many of us have special memories from our past, vivid memories that are so unforgettable the experience seems to have occurred only recently. One of my lasting memories happened when I was just a young boy, many years ago. As a young grade school student, I was allowed to go home to eat my lunch and then return back to school in the afternoon. My parents worked but I was fortunate that my grandparents lived just down the street and I was able to have lunch at their home …and grandmothers are known to spoil their grandchildren! I was quite happy until one day I was told that my grandparents would be going on a one week vacation and I would have to have lunch at a nearby neighbor’s house. The neighbor was a very good friend of my parents’ and a loving mother of three children. But I wanted no part of this new routine, even if the change was only for one week. The day of my new lunch location loomed in front of me until the day had finally come. I walked down the street and as I arrived in front of my neighbor’s house I saw her at the front door waving at me. My own house was just a bit further down the road and as I approached my neighbor’s front walk I decided to run as fast as I could to reach the comfort of my own home. My mother’s friend seemed to expect something funny might happen and in moments I noticed her quickly heading toward her bicycle. Now, a young boy running in canvas sneakers is no match for a determined mother riding a bicycle…and I quickly noticed a large fir tree in a neighbor’s yard. I crouched behind the large tree and hid myself behind the trunk and the green drooping branches. I tried to remain quiet as I watched her ride by me, calling my name and looking throughout the neighborhood. She returned in no time and suddenly stopped in front of the tree, looked through the branches and called for me to come out. I thought that I might “faint from fear and foreboding of what was coming.” (Luke 21:26a) Continue reading →

“The discerning Blind Man sees clearly”

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Pentecost 22 (Mark 10:46-52)  10/28/2012

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I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine and he mentioned that he hoped to soon walk the Camino de Santiago. The Camino de Santiago (or the “Way of St. James” in English) is a walking pilgrimage that has been popular for centuries. I found my friend’s story very interesting, but not because of his desire to take up a pilgrimage (we all know many pilgrims in this very place of St. John’s Church – our J2A youth just recently returning from Belize). I found my friend’s story interesting because his interest in walking the Camino de Santiago is the third or fourth mention of this pilgrimage I have heard in the past few weeks. Over these weeks, as I have heard the name of this pilgrimage repeated time and again, I have taken notice because repetition holds a particular meaning all to itself. The Bible regularly uses repetition, with stories of great significance being told over and over again. Repetition brings the story to the forefront of one’s mind, calling for special attention in the midst of the vast amount of information we encounter daily. This process of sifting is called “discernment” and discernment is a practice for everyone, not just pilgrims or people with a special concern. My friend’s story prompted me to think about the significance of this ancient walking pilgrimage. The Camino de Santiago started more than one thousand years ago and remains popular today. The earliest pilgrims started their journey from their homes and walked several hundred miles to the legendary burial place of St. James the Apostle, located in northwest Spain. Whether St. James is actually buried where legend says he is buried is not of the greatest significance, for the sacred way of this pilgrimage has long transcended any historical truth. During the many days of walking the Way of St. James, pilgrims meet others on their journey and they experience things they have never known before, and come to know themselves in new and unknown ways. Many share their stories in books, or blogs, or travel guides in an effort to help future discerning people come to know themselves in new and unknown ways. The process of sorting through all their experiences, this process called discernment, is an important element of dealing with so many stories, so many experiences. Discernment is the key to unlocking the mystery of all the stories and messages we receive; messages that urge us to stretch beyond the limits of our current understandings and expectations. Continue reading →

“In the midst of change, all things are being made new”

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Pentecost 19 (Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12)  10/07/2012

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A few days ago the morning paper provided a map of the coming fall colors, with the peak times for each section of southern New England. The map reminded me that we are in the midst of change; the change from summer to fall. But change in our lives is certainly not limited to the seasons or to the colors of the leaves on the trees. This weekend we observe Columbus Day, a curious holiday celebrating the “discovery” of a land that had been inhabited for thousands of years. But regardless of how one might define discovery, Columbus’ voyage certainly marked the beginning of significant change for both Native Americans and Europeans alike. And this morning we remember St. Francis and his abundant love for every part of God’s creation. This year we remember that all creatures are blessed by God’s love and grace by bringing our beloved pets to church for a blessing during the morning service. We are truly surrounded by change! Some of these changes are expected and beautiful (like the fall colors of the leaves); some of these changes are fun and exciting or perhaps a little peculiar (like pets in the church nave); and some of these changes create lifelong and historic alterations to the way we live our lives (like Europeans arriving on the shores of the Americas). Change can be exciting; change can be unsettling; change can leave us bothered and bewildered. Change comes in many varieties and in many colors; every change is not always beneficial but change often marks the path of progress; change points toward the road that leads us to discover new things, new realities, and new ways of being. Continue reading →

“Following Christ beyond the classroom”

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16th Sunday after Pentecost (Mark 8: 27-38)  09/16/2012

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Earlier this week I received my monthly college alumni magazine. I always enjoy getting caught up on the latest news about my classmates and this month I was also reminded that this year will be the 25th reunion of my college graduation; a time to remember and celebrate a milestone of hard work, an accomplishment of four years of learning. I remember four years of college was followed by another year of specialized training and then I finally arrived at my first ship. As I walked aboard the submarine I was welcomed by one of the ship’s Chief Petty Officers; he said, “Welcome to the real Navy, Mr. Perkins.” The “real” Navy, what was that supposed to mean? I replied, “I have been in the Navy for more than five years, Chief.” Unimpressed, this experienced sailor told me to keep my eyes and ears open, listen to the Chief Petty Officers and I would eventually learn about being a Navy sailor. A few years later, as I was preparing to leave the Navy and join the business world, I thought business school would be a wise decision, a way to better understand the new world I was about to enter. Business classes were very helpful in my preparation to embark on my new career, but remembering the experienced sailor’s advice, I wondered if the information I learned in the classroom would be enough? In a recent news article written by a business leader and author, that same question is considered: can the classroom provide students everything they need to know about the world of business? The author presents the advantages of classroom instruction combined with practical training in the field and asks the reader to consider this thought: “Whatever led us to imagine that classroom teaching alone was a smart way to teach anything practical, like law or business?”[i] The article holds up the medical teaching hospital as the ideal and praises the model of teaching students “where their subject is taking place in front of their eyes.”[ii] An interesting question: “Whatever led us to imagine that classroom teaching alone was a smart way to teach anything practical, like law or business”…or being a follower of Jesus? Continue reading →