Communion of Saints at Mass
In preparing to give a workshop on the liturgy, I was struck by a truth that seldom comes to mind: As we praise and thank God at Mass, all of the angels and saints are with us. This includes all of our loved ones who have “crossed over” and are now with God. They are all present but in another dimension, worshiping God right along with us: St. Francis, Mary Magdalen, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Michael the Archangel, our grandparents, and deceased friends. Actually, it’s not so much that these holy ones join in our liturgy as that we join in theirs. (more…)
Cherishing and Relishing Life
As a significant birthday approaches, I find myself paying more attention to things I can enjoy because I’m alive. The other morning on my way to 6:45 a.m. Mass the sunrise was extraordinarily spectacular: a shining ball of red-orange and wisps of pink-tinged clouds. After Mass a tall dad came into church towing a four-year-old on either side of him. The girl with blond ringlets and blue eyes stretched out her hand to get the priest’s attention and say hi. Later in the parking lot the barefoot children ran and leaped. The dad explained, “We came to visit Jesus before we go to P-L-A-Y.” The charming sight of those two children stayed with me. (more…)
The Jesus Prayer: A Means to Encounter God
On retreat I found myself praying the Jesus Prayer as I crocheted a baby blanket. The words fell in sync with my stitches: “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” We inherited this prayer from the desert fathers of the fourth or fifth century. People today still treasure it as a way to focus on Jesus and realize that he is alive and present. The words are Scripture based. They echo the repeated pleas of Bartimaeus: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47) and the prayer of the publican in Jesus’s parable: “Have mercy on me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). (more…)
Retreat: A Vacation with the Lord
We recharge our laptops and our cell phones. Sometimes our spiritual lives need recharging too. We religious have the luxury of making a week-long retreat every year. This is a time to withdraw from the busyness of ministry and world events and concentrate on deepening our relationship with God. Its a time to ask big questions, such as What am I doing with my life? What needs to change? Who is God for me? Anyone can make a retreat.
Retreat houses as well as parishes offer opportunities for solitude, silence, prayer, and reflection. These range from thirty-day retreats to half-days of recollection. Usually they are conducted by a retreat director. But private retreats are also an option. My community has the practice of making a morning retreat on one Sunday each month. Family and work commitments can make it difficult to get away for a formal retreat. But those who take their spiritual life seriously can carve out a few hours now and then to spend time with the Lord. I heard of one woman who drives to a quiet street, parks her car, and enjoys free time there praying.
A retreat may lead us to God through the wonders of creation. This past week God touched me through a running stream with thousands of darting tadpoles, thirteen soaring chicken hawks, and a fiery red sunset. God spoke through the Bible I read in my room and the readings at Mass. He spoke through the director, who presented Jesus as a rule-breaker who followed his heart. And God showed me a new way to pray.
God tells us in a psalm, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). In the gospel Jesus invites, “Come apart and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31). A wit pointed out that if we don’t come apart and rest awhile, we may just come apart!
Has a retreat ever made a difference in your life? How?
Why the Sacred Heart?
The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Not so long ago I was in line in the library. When the man in front of me opened his wallet, I glimpsed a Sacred Heart badge. Today some people consider this devotion passé or sentimental, and children may think the art is morbid. Still, the heart of Jesus is a powerful symbol. What does the heart mean in our culture? Life, love, our whole being. (Hebrews thought kidneys had this role!) The heart of Jesus stands for his total, tremendous love for us. And that is the heart of the matter!
