Death and Eternal Life, a reflection
This morning my mother died after a long life. As someone pointed out, most of her life is still ahead of her! When I send a sympathy card, I insert a reflection on death. Today I am posting it for you…and for me, as a reminder:
Life Is Eternal
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone at my side says, “There! she’s gone.”
Gone where? Gone from my sight; that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spare
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the place of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her;
and just at the moment when someone at my side says,
“There! she’s gone,”
there are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout,
“There she comes!”
When you are face-to-face with the mystery of death, what thought gives you comfort?
Advice from the Saints
In honor of the Feast of All Saints, I thought I would post twelve of their words of wisdom. After all, the saints are our heroes. They lived life successfully and know how to do it. One of my favorites from St. Turibius: “Christ called himself the truth not the custom.” Some of these quotations you might have heard before, but some may be new. Some are prayers. So here is the “guest blog” of a few saints:
1. St. Pio of Pietrelcino (Padre Pio), the Franciscan stigmatist who died in 1968: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” (more…)
Contemplation for Everyone
Yesterday four of us sisters discussed contemplation. Sounds like a deep subject, but it really isn’t. Contemplation is not just for contemplatives but for everyone. I once read that people pray more often than they think they do. I think they contemplate without even realizing it. The word itself simply means being in the presence of God, in a holy space. Well, now, doesn’t God fill the whole universe? We are always in God’s presence. The trick is to be aware of it. In our conversation, several roads to contemplation surfaced. (more…)
Discernment for Making Decisions
Last week I made a decision that turned out to be the wrong one. When deciding what to do, the people of old cast lots or consulted an oracle. Some fortunate ones heard God speak directly, telling them what to do. Then they simply followed whatever was indicated. For us, decision-making is not so easy. Especially for major decisions, we might feel as though we’re lost in a dark forest with no clear path to follow. Here are eight tips for finding our way out. (more…)
Banishing Fear, Worry, Anxiety, Dread
Years ago when I had just moved in to begin a week-long retreat, a remarkable thing happened. A hot air balloon landed in the field across the way. We retreatants ran outside to watch, and a woman in the balloon called, “C’mon, Sisters! Who wants a ride?” I wanted to accept the extraordinary invitation, but I didn’t. Why? Not for fear of the balloon (well, maybe a little), but for fear of what others would think! How often we miss out on opportunities because fear paralyzes us. (more…)
