Tag: meditation

Living Words

Leave a comment

A reading according to the Holy Gospel of John (17:20-26)

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“Holy Father, I pray not only for them,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”

Before you just read and run off (it’s so easy to do on a busy day), take your “paws to pray” on the second line of what Jesus said. He asked that God the Father not only pray for the people present with Him but for those who will hear those people’s words – that through their words, others would know Jesus.

Take a minute or two to meditate while listening to today’s Gospel. Really visualize situations you commonly encounter that you could consciously choose to use words that would have you embody Jesus for others. If we plan ahead of time, it is easier to know the best way to respond in some circumstances that are routine. And then through consistent practice, it becomes more than just a habit but, rather, a part of our character.

 

A God Among Humans?

1 Comment

“Suffering is redemptive in part because it definitively reveals to man that he is not in fact God, and it thereby opens the human person to receive the divine.”

-from Life Issues, Medical Choices

Whoo! This quote made my head do a mini explosion this morning when I opened my Franciscan Media Minute Meditation email. It was like a thousand proto-thoughts collided into a tiny epiphany. If you know the movie “The Matrix”  (1999) then you know when Neo is first learning how they load new information with a stick poked into his brain and so they start to teach him different ways to fight and he learns now to do it in, like, five seconds so he opens his eyes all freaked-out like he can hardly believe it would happen so fast, and he goes, “I know kung fu!” I had a, “I know kung fu!,” moment when I read that quote.

Oh, the striving to be God-like that so many people do! Perfectionist trying to attain something they never can have. Control freaks trying to take-over everything but themselves. Type-A personalities who never think anything is good enough. (No hate…I’m all of those things – they’re just examples.) What do all of those personality traits cause? When you really think about it – they cause suffering. Why? Because we aren’t God but we are trying to act like it.

God had to come down into a wimpy people body (Jesus) so that we would understand that even He would have suffering as a human due to its bodily earthly confines. And through that illustration of trust – even through the darkest of times – we are shown a path to a closer relationship with God by allowing the hole that suffering creates to be filled by the divine. In essence, the void that is created by all the taking away of self that happens through suffering creates an opening to be filled by God’s love. Yowza.

That just reminded me how the whole process it a little bit like the Japanese art of Kintsugi. It’s where they fix broken pottery with gold. Instead of trying to cover-up a crack, they accentuate it with something precious and beautiful. So it’s like WE are the pottery and we suffer (get cracks) but then those cracks become part of our beauty because they get filled with gold (God’s love) that would never have been put there unless there was brokenness (suffering) to begin with. Then, by the end of the whole process, we’re even fancier than how we started out! I like it. I like it a LOT.

So take your “paws to pray” today and visualize God filling your broken bits with His golden love. You can incorporate it into a breathing meditation: breathe out to a count of four and breathe in for a count of six as you visualize pulling golden light in through your nostrils. Pull the golden light deeper into your body each time you inhale and let it seep into those little cracks and crevices that life creates in you. Once you have let the gold settle into your body, then take a moment to thank God for His healing love that make you better than you ever were on your own.

Featured Image credit: Franciscan Media Minute Meditations

From Novice to Bodybuilder

Leave a comment

A 40-Day Spiritual Workout for Catholics by Bob Rice (2013)

I facilitated an at-home spiritual retreat using this book with my church. We started January 1st as a New Year’s Resolution. It was a cute play-on-words since so many people’s New Year’s resolution is to workout for physical health, we were doing it to improve our spiritual health. And since any workout is difficult to maintain without a little motivation, having an accompanying online blog was a wonderful addition. We all really  supported each other to keep going for the whole 40 days as well as go more in-depth into the author’s reflections.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about this book! Bob Rice created such a thoughtful progression from day to day that he really did foster a deeper connection to the traditions of the Catholic faith. I kept having so many ah-ha, light bulb moments that it started to get humorous almost. One of the things that can be hard for a lot of people is to move their faith from their heads to their hearts. But, on Day 12, Mr. Rice provided such beautiful imagery of what our reception into Heaven would be like, it provoked very deep emotions for me. The next time I was at Communion, I had a much stronger connection to what I was taking part in. Others in my online group mentioned similar connections throughout.

So whether you are able to read this book as a group (which I HIGHLY recommend) or on your own, I suggest that your spiritual growth is worth the 40 days. I plan on doing another cycle through it, too – since there are always little details that you don’t necessarily pick-up on the first time through a book. Not-to-mention, you are always at a different stage of your spiritual journey, for messages to hit you from another direction. But that’s the fun part that makes religion “alive”!

read-more-live-higher-book-club-logo-v1

Saint Francis did it, so can you!

Leave a comment

St. Francis of Assisi apparently preached to animals. I mean, why not? They’re good listeners and they’re great at looking like they’re interested. You can’t go anywhere without running into some animal – whether it is the dog at your feet, the cat on you lap, a bird in the tree outside your window, a resident spider in the corner of your room, or an earthworm on the sidewalk after the rain. So why not make them a purposeful part of your life?

Worried about feeling silly talking to animals or reading a bible passage out loud just so Spot or Bubbles (your fish) can hear? Think of it as a good first step to being more comfortable evangelizing to other people. We’re all called to talk about God to others – but, I don’t know about you – that can be pretty hard for me. I’m not sure how the other person is going to respond, I feel like I don’t know enough to be able to respond to their questions or critiques, I don’t want to seem pushy about my personal beliefs, then I get all shy and clam up.

But you don’t have to be a street corner, bible thumper to evangelize (not that I’m criticizing that method but there are many of us that are not extroverted enough to do that). My sister had babysitters who were students at the local Christian college. One time she made the comment that she couldn’t understand why they were always so happy! Like, ALWAYS! Yeah, my guess is that it’s probably because they have embraced their faith – and when you do that, there’s no reason to be UNhappy! And just with their attitudes, they evangelized. It wasn’t in-your-face; it wasn’t confrontational, but there was something noticeably different about them…in a good way!

So use the comfort of the solitude you have with your pet (or any animal nearby) to make yourself comfortable with being in your faith. As you walk to get your mail, notice the sparrow in the tree and say, “Why hello there! I see you are enjoying this fine day that God has made, too!” Well, for that one you might want to do it in your head so your neighbors don’t get concerned. But, seriously, can it hurt to say a before meal prayer when you put down the dog’s dinner bowl? I guarantee if you have small children they will LOVE this practice. Not only will it help to instill habits of appreciation, thanks, and praise but it will help to give them the language and comfort level to continue with it as they grow older – with animals OR people! And, really, the worst that could happen is that other people might look at you a little sideways but that just might start a conversation that both of you need.