Antidote

Most of us take good health for granted. We might suffer from an occasional cold or infection, although with Covid-19 lurking around the corner, this sense of security has been diminished. Recently I have been trying to get rid of an infection, despite healthy food, saline solutions and paracetamol, something more substantial was required. Penicillin was the answer.

 

This leads me to ponder the state of the Church in general. It seems that clericalism and abuse scandals are like an infection. They have festered for some time and have not been dealt with appropriately. Despite Vatican Two and the caring attitude of Pope Francis, some habits and behaviours of other clergy are challenging to deal with. People have been hurt and are continuing to be hurt and not heard. Apart from the issues about sexual identity or preferences and the inequality of women, to name a few; there is also the inequality of lay versus clergy. We need each other. Without a congregation – of lay people – there is no need for priests. Without priests, the lay cannot celebrate the Mass. Well that is the understanding of the Catholic Church.

 

We are created in the image of God; we are invited to Co-Create with God. In an earlier blog (Seek my face) I described the three faces of God. The God within, the God out there, and God always with us. I wonder if the antidote to clericalism, (grumble and crumble), lies in the invitation to Living the Gospel as St Francis instructed his brothers.

 

Gospel living for me is following St Francis. Praying and meditating on the Gospel, involves simple living with an awareness of our growing edges. Or as Chantal Fouchi puts it: “To live simplicity... means to treat everything in life as a pure and total gift from God”. In Gospel living, we treat others as you want to be treated, recognising that each and every person is worthy and has dignity. It is about Social Justice. I also think it is about focusing on Creation spirituality, with the emphasis on original Blessing.

 

Luke’s gospel (17:21) states that the Kingdom of God is within you, or amongst you, depending on the Bible translation you use. God planted a seed in each and every one of us. The God spark leads us to that place of inner peace, of union with God. I believe we all have to nurture that connection, in the same way we nurture a young child, or those we love. By being attentive to God, we grow the seed and sustain it into a flourishing relationship.

 

So the antidote to clericalism, (grumble and crumble for me), is about my spiritual practice, which includes centring prayer, Lectio Divina, liturgy, walking, chaplaincy and many forms of craft that sustains my creative spirit and helps me to go within.

 

Do you have an antidote that helps you to remain focused on the Divine and distracts you from the grumbling and crumbling of church life?

 Seek Peace and find it within.

Ignation Contemplation

Do you have a rich inner life with the ability to visualize and daydream? In that case, praying with Scripture may well suit you.

 

I suppose there are as many definitions of prayer as there are people. We all have an idea of what prayer is about. We can divide prayer is corporate or personal prayer using the old and trusted prayers taught by parents, the Church and maybe at school.

We can separate prayers in other ways; for example, there is free expression, liturgical prayers, prayer with art forms, and also praying with Scripture.

 

Prayer is a vast subject. Many people think prayer is talking to God or thinking about the God ‘out there’. Prayer is, above all personal, and it starts with you; with your reality and experience. Prayer is about a relationship, similar to a relationship between people.

 

Our deepest self is within us, and that is where we are meeting the God within.

St Ignatius would agree with that notion. He says: “God speaks to us in our deepest human experiences, through our feelings, desires thoughts and ideas”. We give meaning to our world through thoughts, feelings and emotions. Our outer life is filled with demands of work, children, chores etc. We talk about a rich inner life; this is where we reflect and meditate, where we mull things over and use our imagination. This nourishes our creative spirit. And probably our sense of well-being.

 

St Francis of Assisi recreated the first Nativity scene in 1223. Although Ignatian Spirituality is has made the use of imagination popular, it was St Francis who understood that ordinary people relating to the Holy Family was a powerful experience that was deeply meaningful to the people of his time.

 

Ignatian Contemplation uses a passage from Scripture and invites you into the scene using your imagination. To make use of all your senses. What do you hear? Who is speaking? Are the conversations light-hearted, or is there confusion? What other noises might there be in the background? Seeing, what colours stand out, who is present, what is their mood like? What about fragrance? What can you smell? Is it pleasant? What do you taste? Feel, can you imagine what the surroundings feel like, the coarseness of the garments maybe? Depending on the scene, you might be able to identify a variety of things you can engage with.

 

If you are ready to try this approach, I suggest you chose a story from the gospels where you meet with Jesus and others. For example, the woman at the well in John’s gospel.

As you begin, place yourself in the presence of God. Then think about and clarify in your mind what your hopes are of this encounter.

 

Read the passage slowly, so you are familiar with the scene, become a spectator. When you reread it and remember the conversations, the mood and the scene you place yourself within. At the end, you may want to have a conversation with Jesus.

 

You may wonder if the thoughts and conversation are simply a result of your imagination? A Jesuit priest told me once that if God can speak to us through other people and situations, surely God can use your imagination too!

 

Seek Peace and find it within.

Perfect

On a recent walk, I was mesmerized by trees. The variety of size and complexity. Large trees, smaller trees; trees with a few sturdy branches reaching up high. And then there are the trees with myriads of twigs and branches. Research suggests that trees can communicate underground by sending a variety of signals through mycorrhizal networks. I am not sure that trees have a conscious-awareness like people do. Although ‘Hug a Tree’ was trendy at some stage and I believe both the tree and the person may have benefited from that experience, for God is in all things.

 

I wonder if the trees look at each other wistfully or with contempt, do they judge and dream? Ezekiel 31:9 would suggest they do. (I made it – the Cedar- beautiful with its mass of branches, the envy of all the trees in the Garden of Eden). It makes you wonder, is there something like a perfect tree?

 

In Matthew’s gospel, we read that we are “to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect”. I like to do things well; however, the idea of perfection has negative connotations for me. A perfectionist who loses sight of everything else in order to be perfect, is not something I relate to.

 

In our world today we are (or can feel) judged on our appearance, food and exercise habits and many more aspects. To be perfect, whatever that may look like is difficult to attain. The expectations, for example, ideal beauty depends on our cultural background. The perfect mother, daughter, wife or workmate depends on the expectation of others. No person is an island. We are all influenced by the culture we live in. Expectations in the workplace differ from those in personal relationships. Being perfect is fluid and intangible.

 

In Greek, we can translate the word 'perfect' also as ‘complete’ or ‘whole’.

 

For me, being content and whole or complete, has several components. Apart from financial security, good health, loving relationships and a sense of purpose, I think the spiritual element of my faith is also an essential factor to my being ‘complete’. Which I find in my encounter with God, in whom I live and have my being.

 

Wholeness is about unity rather than fragments, it is about personal relationships, and it is about the relationship with the Divine.

 

Have you considered what you need to be whole or complete?

                 

  Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. Gautama Buddha