Vocation: Confidence and Endurance

 

“Do not, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”  

- Hebrews 10.35-36

These two verses from scripture caught my attention. I see them as speaking to each of us in our call to live out our vocation. Regardless if we are married, single, a religious sister or brother or a priest we need a confidence to endure the journey of a life and stay in tune with God’s will. All of us are consecrated at our baptism. This gift is embedded with confidence and endurance to “run and not grow weary” (Isaiah 40.31), to “shine our light” (Matthew 5.16) and “bear much fruit” (John 15.5). Each of us are called forth in baptism to be heralds of the good news and the way we live our lives is the greatest witness of this. I am mindful of my baptism as I reflect on my life as a religious brother. It is in this being incorporated into Christ at baptism that then calls me to live my vows and vocation in this specific way.

February 2 is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and also celebrates World Day for Consecrated Life. This year being the 25^th Anniversary of this designation. A day marked in the Catholic Church to pray for and be mindful of women and men religious – sisters, brothers, priests and hermits along with those who belong to secular institutes and those who make private vows. It is in professing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience that we live out the promise of our baptismal call in these specific ways.

 

In living as a religious brother, I am constantly called back to not abandoning the confidence which is mine. This is not about being prideful and boasting, it is rather an anchoring in Christ. My confidence is found in Him whom I pattern my life after by living the gospel. It is this same confidence in which St. Francis trusted when he heard his call to go and rebuild the church. He didn’t set out to become a founder of a religious order rather he was expressing this confidence and living with an endurance the will of God the best he could. St. Francis is quoted as saying near the end of his life, “I have done what is mine to do, may you now do what is yours.” This conviction is established in a confidence that Christ was at work in him, that he was a vessel of the Holy Spirit for his time and place and that the promise of life eternal was at the heart of how he strived to live his consecrated life.

 

As I continue on in this consecrated religious life, I like St. Francis, continue to adjust my focus to see and profess more clearly “My God and My All” in my daily living. If I make my vows and not live them out well, they become empty promises. If I squander the confidence I have in self-sustaining ways, then I am forgetting that my vows call me into relationship with others. If I trust in my will forgetting that God is at work in me, I am out of step with my heart. These are the challenges I face as a religious in making my living authentic, honest and true. The reward is not earthly treasures – although tempting. The reward is not even in trying to live like St. Francis. The reward is in listening and being present to God who dwells in me. It is in doing this that I can live my vows well, walk forward in confidence with endurance knowing that God’s will is at work in me and the promises God makes to me are always kept.

How do you see yourself as consecrated?

Who calls forth this gift in your life?

 

“The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God.” 

– St. Anthony of Padua

    

Top Photo Credit: Marina Raspopova

Called to Follow

A retreatant recently told me a story about an experience he had in his youth. He worked as a camp counsellor at a summer camp. One of the camp staff was an older woman who walked with a limp and cane because of polio. As a way of contributing with her limited capacities she did the laundry for the camp. As a part of this duty, she washed and folded the laundry of the counsellors. The gentlemen who shared this story with me spoke of how she did this humbly but with great dignity. She left a note on the top of his clean laundry which read, “I prayed for you as I folded your clothes. As I folded your socks, I prayed that you would always walk with the Lord.” She also had other notes for each piece of laundry.

This story struck me for several reasons when I pondered the scripture for this Sunday. The psalm ascribed to this Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is Psalm 25. It declares “Lord, make me know your ways, teach me your paths.”  The simple blessing of the folded socks is just this, to walk with the Lord is to constantly seek God’s ways. Not only did the laundry folder know this truth but the camp counsellor grew into this truth as he now walks with the Lord as a military chaplain.

Walking with the Lord is not necessary a call to ministry in the church but it is a call to “come and follow” Christ and be “fishers of people” (Mark 1.14-20). Each of us have this call extended to us and just like the woman folding socks, or the military chaplain we must respond. Responding in ways such as blessing others in their tasks, or offering ourselves for what we can do (especially when others deem us as unnecessary) is indeed a dignity of the call. By guiding others as they discover the paths of the Lord, or caring for children, or listening to a friend, or beginning again after what we thought was the path of life is taken out from under us are just a few more ways to responding to the call. We are called to place our trust in the One who calls our name and says “follow me” responding to Good News.

Psalm 25 also states “he leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way.” The woman who folded socks all those years ago did so with humility. Not to gain any glory but rather to encourage another in his journey. Her work is given dignity in the way this story is told and in acknowledging the gift of blessing another for what is theirs to do. She too was a “fisher of people” by offering this blessing for the camp counsellor. She had trusted when Jesus called her and was responding to his call through the ways she could do so with her life. Do we? Do we respond to the invitation to “come and follow”? Do we offer blessings for others, encouraging them to walk with the Lord in his known paths? What is Christ teaching us about his path for this week? How will we respond?

 

Jesus,

we journey with you

for you are the way

and offer us the path of life.

You call us each day to

“come and follow.”

We are unsure how,

yet we desire to follow you.

Teach us your paths

and make known to us your ways

so, we too may be fishers with you

in our time and place.

Amen.

 

Photo credits:

Waldemar Brandt

Alejo Reinoso

Bearing Fruit

    

        Nine months ago, I became part of an ecumenical prayer group. Our group of four meets online several times a week to pray together. Each gathering is an unique experience and expression of faith. The four of us come from four different Christian denominations and vary in age. This has enhanced our gatherings and the diversity of what it means to be Christian and Church. I think the four of us would each identify as seekers building on ancient traditions, practices and relying upon mystics both near and far, current and of history. We each bring a healthy curiosity to our prayer and dialogue. We also bring favorite authors and theologians who inspire the situations from which we come to prayer. One member is inquisitive, another reminds us of gratitude and another helps us to linger in the sacred moments of silence. It is indeed rich and bearing fruit.

Nine months in we may not be birthing an ecumenical document or a guide to prayer, but we are birthing a common home for Christians from four walks of life. Together we tune into the Divine Love of our Creator God, the anchoring of our savior Jesus Christ and the continual promptings and nudges of the Holy Spirit.

I have been thinking about this gift of prayer in this group as we begin Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This year the theme is “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit” (John 15.5-9). This theme for Christian Unity is manifested in our prayer group. We abide in the love of Jesus Christ by trusting each other with our stories and inviting him as our common anchor. We abide in love as we voice prayers and concerns not just for each other but for our families, our communities and our countries. We abide in love as the words of the prayers become balm for our weary hearts and inspiration for the work which is ours to do. When we abide in love, we then indeed bear fruit in the communities in which we live. We bear the fruit of open hearts for those we encounter. We bear the fruit of welcome and hospitality because we have offered it to each other. We bear the fruit of mystical hearts being transformed because the Spirit is binding us together as we bear witness to the divine love of our God at work and present in our lives.

These simple weekly gatherings of prayer are indeed a witness of God’s abiding love, bearing fruit for the kingdom. It also brings to mind the words of Jesus, “that all may be one” (John 17.21). Here we are four people from four different Christian heritages and we our bound together as one. Our common anchor of Jesus Christ makes us one. We don’t see the division of denominations as a hinderance. In fact, our differences have been one of the riches and is where the seed is being planted for more fruit bearing. I can’t help but wonder if this would not be the way to move forward with Christian Unity.

These prayer gatherings have also reminded me of my small rural town where I grew up. Ninety-eight percent of the community was Christian while I was growing up. In my hometown there are three Christian Churches and yes, we all went (and still do) into our own buildings to pray in certain ways on Sundays but yet were able to come together as a community to support each other. During feasts and festivals, burying the dead, supporting the needy, encouraging the youth and value the contributions of each towards the community and coming together at times to pray, mourn and celebrate. Is this not abiding in love? Is this not bearing fruit? If this not being one?

Too often we use Jesus as the dividing factor instead of the common anchor. Jesus isn’t just for me or just for you or just for them. When we do this, we divide Christ instead of build up his body. When we fail to acknowledge this and push our own agenda we fail to abide in love and bear fruit. It is time for us as Christians to appreciate our diverse heritages, to accept what we offer to the encompassing title of Christianity and to build the kingdom together as one with Christ Jesus as our cornerstone (Ephesians 2.20-21). This is the work of abiding in love and the benefits are fruit which will last, will be shared and will be sustained. It is time… let us be united in the abiding love of Christ Jesus as our world continues to struggle, so together we all “shall bear much fruit.”

 

Photo credits:

Jose Alfonso Sierra

Maja Petric

Ben White

Mateus Campos Felipe

 

Baptism: The Treasure of the Beloved

Before and for ever after

Enduring presence is

Love’s gift to each of us

Offering assurance and dignity

Vast in generosity

Ensuring that each of us are

Declared as “Beloved Child of God”

    At the baptism of Jesus, the voice of God states, “You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1. 11).  This affirmation by God of Jesus is an affirmation that we in turn all receive for Jesus as “God with us” embodies our life. Our story is part of his story and his story is part of our story. Being declared beloved is a bold statement. It looks beyond our pettiness and struggles, it looks beyond our sinfulness and selfishness, it looks beyond our failings and shortcomings; looking directly at our inherent goodness. The goodness that we are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1.27) is a gift for each of us. This gift declares we are imitators of God (Ephesians 5.1) through the actions of loving one another as Christ has loved us (John 13.34) and in being a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6.19). Here we find ourselves at the centre of the lavish love of the Trinity. Yes, beloved indeed! Each one of us, not just Jesus but because of Jesus.

    As Christmas fades to a memory and the New Year musters up speed and courage, we carry forth this gift of being beloved children of God. Christmas awakens us to the promise of God dwelling with us. This dwelling among us is not just for a day or a season but in the living out of our baptismal promises and life. We are the followers of the One born among us, born for us, living in the new kingdom where the cross and resurrection awaken us to the belovedness of each person. We are the followers of the One who loved, welcomed and healed and continues this today through us. We are the followers of the One who trusted, who bolded declared mercy and who we are sealed with in baptism. This can’t just be for a day or a season or in the best intentions as year begins but in the everyday and ordinary.

    New Year resolutions come and go, well thought out plans seem to gather dust and our attempts to rise above the mundane seem to stumble. Regardless of all of this still our God remains with us and simply says, “Come and follow me, my beloved child.” As we lean into our belovedness and experience the generosity of our God, we in turn share this generosity – declaring how others too are beloved and valued. It does not matter where we come from, how big or little the bank accounts are, what the color of our skin is, the thrill or disappoint of leadership and governments or the skills and talents we have: beloved is beloved. In being beloved we too help others declare they are beloved. We must look at each other with the eyes of God, the heart of Christ and the openness of the Holy Spirit. This is the treasure (and dare I say responsibility) we carry, ponder and live because of our baptism.

 

Photo credits:

MRJN Photography

Rocco Ronneburg

 

 

Epiphany: A Great Start to the New Year

Epiphany is traditionally celebrated on January 6, however various Christian sects celebrate it anywhere between January 3 and 19. This feast sometimes known as “Little Christmas” is a beautiful reminder of Christ – our Emmanuel – being made known to the world, through the visit of the magi. It also ushers in the dignity of our baptism and our call to be messengers of peace, hope and light. Both great reasons to continue to celebrate Christmas time!

Isaiah 60:1-6 is one of the scriptures ascribed to Epiphany. It is a rich text and reminds us of the light given to us in Christ and the light which we have been entrusted to carry. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” is how this text begins! What a great reminder as we begin this New Year. What a great reminder as we claim again who we are as God’s beloved children. What a great reminder that our God is indeed with us in the chapters of this year just unfolding.

365 opportunities, I was reminded on December 31, to share in God’s love and build the kingdom. Epiphany calls us to see that each one of us hold a treasure. The start of a New Year, even the start of every month is an opportunity for us to evaluate how much we have encountered God’s love and how we have shared the treasure of our light. May we, this year focus on our treasure-light bearing moments as our first reflections each day and each night instead of what was not or the burdens which we face. “Our light has come.” Let us walk in this light today (just as the magi did) and each day of 2021.

In closing for this first reflection of 2021, I share with you the heart-felt prayer of my dear friend and prayer companion Melita. Melita is an amazing child-care provider and continually allows herself to be in wonder and awe of God present. She crafted this prayer in the early part of New Year’s Day, it spoke to me and were the words I was looking for, I know they will be a blessing for you as well.

 

A Prayer of Reflection and Gratitude 

Heavenly Creator,

I offer this heart song to you.

Hello New Day! Hello New Year! We’ve been expecting you … waiting for you. We wonder what you might have in store for us. Will you bring more of the same? Suffering, unrest, division, anger, fear? Yes, surely that is to be expected. The world we fell asleep in last night, is the same world that we woke up in this morning.

This morning we are still in a global pandemic. There is suffering due to natural disasters, racial and social injustice, and political corruption abounds … there is evil, violence, prejudice, and hatred throughout the world. Yes, same world … same burdens.

But what you offer, 2021, is a new hope. An opportunity to look at things with a fresh set of eyes, an open heart and helping hands … a new perspective. You offer a promise that as long as there is a new day, we have a chance to begin again.

So, on this New Year morning (in these early days of this New Year) that welcomed me with a spectacular sunrise, urging me to step out and forward into the day, on this glorious morning, I say Thank You!

Thank you, Divine Love, for the year that was …

- For the drive and motivation

- For the Divine Light that led me

- For the upset, pain, stress, that continues to strengthen bonds and carries us forward into new, loving ways of being

- For the incomprehensible, amazing, life changing, enriching spiritual movements that propelled me throughout this year

- For the technology that has kept us all connected during lockdowns

- For front line workers who have sacrificed and endured, and continue to do so, caring for the sick during the pandemic.

- For God’s Divine Love and Presence, ever strengthening, always enduring, and guiding.

Thank you 2020, for the Holy Darkness that came and magnified the Light. It brought Love and the hope of a new day. Thank you, for the enduring, everlasting light that continues to bring promise and hope of a new day, into this New Year.

Let us not forget 2020. May we hold in reverence the pain and darkness that was encountered this past year and offer gratitude for the gifts of blessings and goodness that came into light.

Thank you, Glorious God - Loving Creator, Nurturing Mother.

In the name of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, I pray.

Amen.

 

                   Happy New Year!

May we be brave enough to let the light fill all our days in 2021!

Happy Epiphany!

May the star also lead us to the crib of Christ and beyond, enlightening our steps forward.

Photo Credits:

Robert Thiemann

Hert Niks

Jude Beck

Welcome Christmas

Everyone tries to find something unique to say for the Feast of Christmas. Writers delve into history and imagination. Theologians dive into ancient texts and lessons from previous generations. Preachers try to find the right combination of joyful news and challenge. Artist seek the perfect colors and hues. Musicians listen for the sounds and messages to tell the story. Not just writers, preachers, artists but all of us try to find a way or many ways to express the amazement of the Incarnation - of God coming to us – to be one of us. This has been on my mind as we move closer to Christmas and try to find expressions for this amazing gift in this very trying year.

An answer came to me when a Christmas card arrived from my dear aunt and uncle. On the cover of the card was a Christmas Tree and it simply said “Welcome Christmas.” Yes, Welcome Christmas is what seems to be awakening me to the heart of the manger stall this year. We have been welcoming Christmas for centuries now and each year we welcome it differently and yet in some ways the same. We hold on to traditions which bring us comfort, we seek light in the darkness, we cherish moments that warm our heart and encourage us for right living. These are good and worthy means. Yet as beautiful as these are and as much as they have been a part of the ways I too have expressed delighting in the Feast of Christmas, to welcome Christmas takes me, takes us, beyond these moments to the heart of the One born we call Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Emmanuel (Isaiah 9.6 and 7.14). 

 

Welcome Christmas!

Welcome “What has come into being in him was life,

and the life was the light of the human race.

The light shines in the darkness

and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1.5)

Welcome a light that enters into our darkness,

not leaving us to stumble alone.

 

Welcome Christmas!

Welcome the child born of asylum-seeking refugees,

who sought shelter and protection

to welcome their child into the world,

who chose life even in the uncertainty.

Welcome a child today not out of charity

rather out of our universal fraternity.

 

Welcome Christmas!

Welcome “Hope we profess,

for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10.23)

and we “will renew our strength”

we will “run and not grow weary” (Isaiah 40.31).

Welcome a hope that is greater than trying times

this year, of the past or of what is yet to be.

 

Welcome Christmas!

Welcome the child born into poverty,

who we encounter in our daily living:

on our streets, in our churches, on the news,

losing employment, not affording the bills.

Welcome a child of God in our brothers and sisters

because of universal fraternity.

 

Welcome Christmas!

Welcome the “goodness and loving kindness

of God our Savior” (Titus 3.4)

who is the “exact imprint of God’s very being,

and sustains all things.” (Hebrews 1.3).

Welcome a dignity which claims all of us,

no matter what, as children of God.

 

Welcome Christmas!

Welcome the child born for all people,

praised by the hardworking shepherds,

adored by the mosaic of magi

seen reflected in faces the world over.

Welcome a child, born for us,

to awaken us to wonder, to love, to life.

 

As we Welcome Christmas and try to express it in ways which are meaningful, may we be awakened to the awe of this celebration. It began with a birth in a stable, to a young couple away from home who only had each other, faith, love, trust and hope. We do have much to welcome during this season, if we see beyond the shiny wrappings.

 

Welcome Christmas!

Welcome Christ Child!

Welcome!

 

This is the day the Lord has made; 

let us rejoice in it and be glad.

For to us is given the beloved child most holy, 

born for us along the way

and placed in a manger because 

there was no room for him at the inn.

– Psalm 15, Psalms of St. Francis

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Thank you for journeying with me over this past year.

Blessings of much goodness and peace in 2021 as we continue on this pilgrim path. 

Happy New Year!

Additional Photo Credits:

Brooke Larke

Patrick Boucher

De An Sun

Advent IV: Love Propels Us Forward

 

A few years ago, a young friend of mine gave me a card during Advent. He had drawn it himself. On it were three mountains and bannering across the top in bold childhood writing was the word LOVE. That simple card triggered for me a reality check about how I was using the word love and how I was not. It also promoted me to make the word Love a more evident part of my prayers and reflections for the coming year. I had found that our culture uses love for everything from cars to pizza to sweaters to family and I was caught up in that. With our limitations on the word love we often fail to express ourselves well and this simple card awoke that in me.

That card crosses my mind again as we move into this final week of Advent and the coming feast of Christmas. The image of the mountains on that card remind me again that God’s love is present on our mountain peaks and also in our valley depths because no matter what we face or endure our hearts can “forever… sing of your steadfast love, O Lord” (Psalm 89). Love on our mountain peaks is easy to describe it is the family at table, the good news we are told and the celebrations of life. However, to sing and live out the steadfast love is not always easy yet our God is with us. When we endure a health crisis, live in a pandemic or stand at the edge of a grave it is hard to think of love bannering over us. When we flee a war-torn country, face the ugly reality of racism or defend the dignity of another it may be hard to think of love bannering over us. Yet it is in these dark valley moments that the banner drops and wraps itself around us with hope, courage and strength. Our hearts are softened as this love settles in and we again align with God’s love, which no matter the mountain top or valley depth is declaring goodness, offering comfort and encouraging us to live well.

Mary had to trust that love was in the message of the angel, she had to trust that love would win over Joseph’s worries, she had to trust that love would guide her as she freely declared “Here am I, the servant of the Lord” (Luke 1.38) This was trusting in the goodness, comfort, encouragement and strength of love. As we journey into these final days of Advent, amongst the chaos, uncertainties and this pandemic can we allow love to banner over us and be the road we walk to Bethlehem? Can we trust that love is the road of our heart leading to the crib of Christ? Can we with Mary trust that love is real and not some simple illusion or fix that commercials try and sell us? Can we with Mary say “here I am, I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord?”

Week Four of Advent is known as the Week of Love. May this final week of Advent awaken us to the truth of love. Where do you need to incorporate love into your daily living in these days ahead? Let that love be your guide to break through the demands of the week. The days are few, the weariness may seem overpowering but hope remains, peace breathes in us and joy lights the flame of our heart. May we walk boldly in love during these final days of Advent, in the coming season of Christmas and into 2021.

BE BORN IN ME

With an earnest heart

and childlike hope

be born in me I pray.

 

Be born in me I pray

your love made known

in my words and ways.

 

Seeking true light

kindled in me

be born in me I pray

 

Be born in me I pray

your very heart

made known each day.

 

Humility and openness

are the vessels I offer

be born in me I pray

 

Be born in me I pray

Christ Child you are welcome

each and every day.

 

 

Artwork: Claire Ziprick

Photo: Josiah Weiss