“Learn to look behind your judgments to the need at the root of them. Learn from your limitations without losing self-respect. Learn to mourn your actions without blame, without guilt.”—Marshall B. Rosenberg
Today Denise and I awoke for the second morning in our own bed. The past two months have been a journey we could never have imagine in our wildest nightmares. 12,000+ miles driving back and forth between Georgia and Minnesota and Alabama. We (Denise, her brother, and I) sat with their father as he drew his last breath. Burying Chase and Christopher’s grandmother (the dear friend and former mother-in-law of Denise and a dear friend who was family to me as well). The boys lost their last biological grandparents within a ten day period.
So much has gone on as we have driven so many miles separately and together. We have also walked with my Dad through the Valley of the Shadows of hospitalization, rehab, and moving within the place where he has lived since 2017.
Denise and I have found sabbath moments in the cemetery at my Mom’s grave in Minnesota and at her Mom’s grave in Alabama. We have found sabbath moments along the Cedar River at The Old Mill in Austin. We have found sabbath moments along the banks of the Tennessee River in Alabama. We have found sabbath moments with very dear friends who are family.
Today’s class on Shabbat/Sabbath through the Abbey of the Arts offered me the opportunity to connect the dots from the past two months. Even as we continue to navigate all of the life situations we find ourselves in, the Spirit offers moments of Shabbat rest. She invites us to simply Be Still in the midst of all the chaos. For Her gentleness I am truly thankful.
Over the next few weeks/months as this journey continues, we will seek those Shabbat moments and embrace them. Perhaps these words of Thomas Merton from his book, The Sign of Jonas will continue to speak to us both as we journey together.
When your tongue is silent, you can rest in the silence of the forest. When your imagination is silent, the forest speaks to you. It tells you of its unreality and of the Reality of God. But when your mind is silent, then the forest suddenly becomes magnificently real and blazes transparently with the Reality of God. — Sign of Jonas, p. 343
This also reminds me of the last lines of Merton’s prayer (from his book Thoughts in Solitude) which has become a mantra of mine.
Therefore will I trust You always,
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death,
I will not fear, for You are ever with me,
and will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
“I think part of Gandhi’s greatness was that he didn’t want to be a servant; he wanted to be of service. It is very easy to be a servant, but very difficult to be of service. When you are of service, you’re there whether you like it or not, whether it’s Sunday, Monday or a holiday. You’re whenever you are needed.”—Cesar Chavez
“When we rush from one thing to another, we skim over the surface of life losing that sacred attentiveness that brings forth revelations in the most ordinary of moments.”— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD,Illuminating the Way: Embracing the Wisdom of Monks and Mystics
Before moving into your next activity, can you take a moment to pause, centre yourself and open a space for God to work within you?
“The future of the earth depends on a change of consciousness. the only hope for the future is in a change of people’s consciousness and the change is bound to come. But it is left to humans to decide if they will collaborate for this change or if it will have to be enforced upon them by the power of crashing circumstances. So, wake up and collaborate!”—Mira Alfassa, The Mother
Verse of the day
And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
– Micah 6:8
Voice of the day
You might think love of humanity in general was safe, but it is not. If you leave out justice you will find yourself breaking agreements and faking evidence in trials ‘for the sake of humanity,’ and become in the end a cruel and treacherous man.
– C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952)
Prayer of the day May we move with boldness, bringing light and truth into unjust spaces.
“We live in times when it often feels like everything is coming undone. This season reminds us that the journey of relinquishing all we hold dear is also the journey of harvesting. Somehow these two come together year after year.”— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year – A Self-Study Online Retreat
Rest into the mystery of the paradox which is embodied by this autumnal season. Holding it lightly, what lessons are you being taught?
Verse of the day
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
– Romans 12:4-5
Voice of the day
There is no act too small, no act too bold. The history of social change is the history of millions of actions, small and large, coming together at critical points to create a power that governments cannot suppress.
– Howard Zinn, The Historic Unfulfilled Promise (2012)
Prayer of the day May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
– Sr. Ruth Marlene Fox
“Humanity is a family, even a small family. Above everything else, we are called to love our brothers and sisters without regard for any distinctions of race, religion, or nationality. Of course, sometimes we feel like St. John the Baptist, screaming his message in the desert.”—Bishop of Assisi
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
What a journey this has been, Lord
For my Dad
For Denise and for me
For our families who have suffered loss
Yet tonight I feel your hope-filled presence, Spirit
Dad is settling in to his new apartment
We are preparing for rest before tomorrow’s journey
Finally, as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
