Beatitudes Community

Lost and Found Again

This past week I read about an international research project conducted by Science Magazine. Hundreds of “lost” wallets containing large and small amounts of money were placed in locations around the world where they could easily be found, with the aim of the experiment being to see what would happen next. Would one nation be more honest than another? Would a particular age demographic be more honest than another? Would anybody turn in any of the wallets at all? Well the results have been surprising to read. Fascinatingly, the study revealed that the more money there was contained in a lost wallet- the more likely it was to be handed in to the fictitious owner, whose contact details were also left inside. For those of you wondering, Switzerland had the highest overall wallet return rates. China had the lowest, and the U.S. ranked around the middle of the 40 countries, at 21st place.

The project reminded me of those various parables that Jesus told about things being lost. Jesus’ teaching using allegorical stories is recorded in all four gospel texts, including stories about lost sheep, lost coins and lost children, with his intent and focus being to help us to understand the joy of God in the lost being found, and the rejoicing in heaven over those who find true fulfillment and joy in their lives by living fully into a relationship of faith and love with God.

According to the Science Magazine study, and contrary to what many might suppose, it would appear that civic honesty is still alive and well. It’s easy to be despondent about a perceived decline in what one might refer to as neighborliness and honesty, but the research certainly suggests that, when it comes to our society, all is not lost. And as we read in Jesus’ parables about the enduring and boundless love of God, it becomes clear that neither are we. May all who walk the pilgrimage of faith, and who search for meaning and purpose find voice for our hearts desire in the words of Martin Luther King’s favorite hymn; “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, help me stand. I’m tired, I’m weak, I’m alone. Through the storm, through the night lead me on to the light, take my hand precious Lord, lead me home.” May all those who feel lost find a home amidst God’s love.

Do You Have a Media Request? Who Is Your Liaison?

Please be aware, that all project requests for the Media Department (including media design, printing and copying requests) must now go through a staff liaison who will track the progress of your project on your behalf. All projects must be campus related unless otherwise discussed with your liaison. Projects will be subject to a two week due date unless there is a rush order approved by the Media Department.

Come to the Quiet

Sometimes we don’t realize how noisy our world is until we escape to a place of quiet.  The Desert Mothers and Fathers believed that silence and quiet prevents us from being suffocated by our wordy and noisy world.  They believed that there is more to silence than not speaking; it is more than the absence of sound.  It is that space we create within, that portable cell, of rest and peace that can stay with us wherever we go.  Madeleine L’Engle wrote a book called A Circle of Quiet in which she described how every so often she needed out—away from all those people she loved most in the world in order to regain a sense of proportion.  Her special place was a small brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet: “I go to the brook because I get out of being, out of the essential.  If I sit for awhile, then my impatience, crossness, frustration, are indeed annihilated, and my sense of humor returns.”

Here on the campus we searched a long time for that circle of quiet, that place to gather thoughts and create that space to help us regain perspective.  Thanks to the inspiration and persistence of some of our residents, we created such a space but it remains yet undiscovered by many.  Irene Cool has helped shepherd the creation of our Quiet Place and I share with you her invitation to visit it.

“Come to the Quiet, Bring Thoughts That You Gather.  This is our Quiet Place at the east-side front of the Life Center and across from Ms. Kimberly’s office. It is there for you and me and all others to go to be still, away and alone or with another. It is there for us to pray, say or simply listen. Our room is there for us to rejoice, to sing, to weep but mostly to just be somewhere and away…from noise, from chatter…a free place to speculate or fret.  Fragrance fills the silence and helps to call on memories and allows our imaginations of happy times and remembrances of comforting places. Soft aromas can calm, purify our souls and heal our bodies.

The fountain of running water, a gentle mantra, assures us of the power of life…a continuum. A great purifier calms our anxieties.  Candles may be seen as a focal point for silence and we can increase our focus and concentration by simple candle gazing…to be mesmerized. The Himalayan salt lamp gives off a soft pink light which brings again the peace of the room to the soul.  So all of you who live here, caregivers and others…when you will sometime want a minute to rest…come to the quiet and find your peace.”

Living with Flexibility

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, internationally known author and speaker in the field of self-development, wrote a book called Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life—Living the Wisdom of the Tao in which he has written essays on the ancient wisdom of Lao-tzu.  The essay on the 22nd verse deals with “Living with Flexibility.”  Dyer says, “Having lived by the ocean for years, I’ve observed the beauty and majesty of the tall palm trees that grow at the water’s edge, often measuring 30 or 40 feet in height.  These stately giants are able to withstand the enormous pressure that hurricane-force winds bring as they blow at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.  Thousands of other trees in the huge storms’ paths are uprooted and destroyed, while the stately palms remain fixed in their rooted selves, proudly holding sway over their otherwise decimated domain.  So what is the palm trees’ secret to staying in one piece?  The answer is flexibility.  They bend almost down to the ground at times, and it’s that very ability that allows them to remain unbroken.”

Living without flexibility in the way we act and see the world leaves us at a disadvantage.  Trying to control everything never works out in the long run.  We all know people who are rigid and set in their ways who cannot bend or budge.  I imagine that each of us have times when we are that way ourselves.  The Tao suggests that nurturing flexibility helps us to withstand the storms of life and remain open to all possibilities.  If you imagine yourself as a tall, stately palm tree—the wisdom of the Tao would say: When criticism comes, listen.  When powerful forces push you in any direction, bow rather than fight, lean rather than break.  When you live from the perspective of being able to say, “I don’t know for certain, but I’m willing to listen,” you become a person whom others identify with because your flexibility lets them see that their point of view is welcome.  Let go of having to win an argument and being right by changing the atmosphere with a statement such as, “I’ve never considered that point of view.  Thank you for sharing your ideas with me.”  In this way you give everyone permission to relax their rigidity because you have no need to prove yourself or make others wrong.  Let us live the wisdom of the Tao by being flexible in the way we act and see the world.

Big Tech, Big Brother and a Bigger God

George Orwell’s novel, 1984, was so successful at creating an imagined yet potential future reality that seventy years later, one of its most famous phrases ‘Big Brother is watching you’, continues to be used when describing the potential for governments and business to use technology to intrude into our daily lives via technology. This past week, that phrase was used by many journalists writing about another breach of technological security. This time, the text messaging service WhatsApp had been hacked by people who had installed spyware, turning users’ cell phones into a surveillance system by activating its camera and microphone, tracking users movements and extracting information from messages that were sent. As Orwell envisioned, that potential in the hands of those seeking to cause harm or to control others has some very serious consequences and implications. If someone hacked my phone, I suspect the most interesting thing they would find would be my wife and I discussing our dinner plans, but the incident is another reminder of how much we value our privacy. Technology has created a double bind. It facilitates communication to an amazing degree. We can send a message to anyone, anywhere, anytime. But it seems to be coming with an increase in surveillance that makes private communication risky. What are we to do? Throw away the phone and return to sending letters with the Pony Express? I hope not. In Psalm 139, traditionally attributed to King David, we hear a half-complaint and half-rejoicing in the truth that he is unable to escape the omniscient God. ‘Where can I hide from your spirit?’ he asks. He answers his own question by saying that he can’t and that perhaps it doesn’t matter. He knows that God’s gaze not only penetrates the rock of the cave in which he hides, it sees into his very soul. God is able to read his life, decrypt it end to end. To use a modern idiom, David knows he has been soul-hacked. The idea of being soul-hacked would be appalling if the one knowing the secrets of our hearts was a malignant force out to mine the data of our lives and use the information for their own ends to crush and oppress us. But as the Psalmist goes on to say: ‘Your eyes have seen my unformed substance.’ ‘Created my inmost being.’ The God who cracks the encryption of our hearts, created that heart and gives us the code to open it. The One who is watching us, in this instance, is not against us but for us.

National Mental Health Month

May is National Mental Health Month, and it gives us an opportunity to address issues surrounding mental health and our community. One of the most common conditions that affects many of us at one time or another is depression.

Depression is more than ordinary sadness that comes and goes; although we sometimes use the word in a more casual sense, depression also manifests itself as more than a passing blue mood. Although depression is not an “expected” part of aging, it can accompany life changes that are common to the aging process, such as the death of a partner or friends, physical illness and other life changes.

It’s important to know that help is always available, whether you are feeling down for a day or find yourself in a more persistent state. While sometimes mood can be improved by taking a walk, listening to music, or talking with a friend, there may be times when more intervention is needed.

One group of local professionals is the Crisis Response Network. Available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, their trained counselors are there to listen. Your call is confidential, and they can help by problem solving with whatever situation you present. They are there with the “Hot Line” to help if you have thoughts of suicide, but also have a “Warm Line” if you just need to talk to someone confidentially. The Crisis Response Network Crisis Line can be reached at 602-222-9444.

You can also reach out to our Campus staff with whom you have a good rapport, or to those who have had the Mental Health First-Aid Training course. As the name suggests, the “first-aid” training helps staff evaluate whether you would benefit from a more involved professional intervention, and they may, in turn, suggest calling the Crisis Response Network. The Crisis Response Network can send a team of professionals your way, at no charge, to do a more detailed interview. There are no flashing lights or emergency vehicles, just two “plain clothes” mental health counselors. They may offer either in-patient or out-patient support groups, connected with behavioral health networks, to address more persistent needs. This process lets you be in charge of how much help you want, and when you want it. Whether your feelings of depression are temporary or long term, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the support that is available.

Campus Responders with Mental Health First-Aid Training:

Rev. Peggy Roberts, Sr. VP of Spiritual Life, x16109.

Rev. Andrew Moore, Associate Chaplain, x18481.

Josephine Levy, Success Matters Resource Navigator x16117.

Crisis Response Network Crisis Line (602) 222-9444.

One Wild and Precious Life

Much-loved poet, Mary Oliver, died recently at her home in Florida at the age of 83. She lived for many years in Provincetown, Mass., with the love of her life, the photographer Molly Malone Cook. Oliver got a lot of her ideas for poems during long walks — a habit she developed as a kid growing up in rural Ohio. She wrote about one such walk in her poem “The Summer Day”:

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean-

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

A friend of Oliver’s described her as “a visionary poet, and she’s also the quintessential tough old broad who finds traces of awe in, for example, scooping out the shining wet pink bladder of a codfish, or getting down on all fours with her dog out in the woods and, for an hour or so … see[ing] the world from the level of the grasses.”  What I particularly appreciate about Mary Oliver is that she knew the rewards of paying attention.  As Jesus encouraged, she seriously considered the lilies of the field how they grow. Her essay called “Staying Alive,” is about escaping from her difficult childhood into nature and literature.  Her work speaks directly to us as human beings in lines such as: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” In her poem, When Death Comes, she beautifully says, “When it’s over, I want to say all my life I was a bride married to amazement.” Writer Ruth Franklin says her work is infused with a deep spirituality. “The way she writes these poems that feel like prayers, she channels the voice of somebody who it seems might possibly have access to God. I think her work does give a sense of someone who is in tune with the deepest mysteries of the universe.”  As we move into the dog days of summer, I look forward to reading more of Mary Oliver.  What will you be reading?

On the Other Side of Easter

Now we are on the other side of Easter. Remember, Easter was not the glorious event for the disciples that it was for us. The trumpets did not sound. Easter lilies and spring flowers did not announce new life in their midst. Unexpectedly, momentarily, they saw Jesus alive and then very quickly he was gone. It had to have been a very uncertain place to be. What happens now? I imagine the disciples were tempted to go back to where they were. They were tempted to go back to who they were. They were tempted to go back to what they were.

I read a meditation during Holy Week that has stuck with me. It keeps challenging my heart and mind. Mary Luti, a longtime seminary educator and pastor writes: “A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you…” (John 13:34) It was on the night he was betrayed that Jesus gave us the love commandment. In fact, it was right after his betrayer, flush with silver, left the table and slipped away into the night. Scripture says that Jesus knew where Judas was going. It’s a safe bet the others did, too. Frederick Niedner once wondered whether, after hearing that commandment about the way they should love each other, any of the disciples got up and went after Judas. ‘Did anyone fear for him, miss him, or try, even after he brought soldiers to Gethsemene, to bring him back and talk him out of his shame, his anger, his rapidly deepening hell?’

Did anyone try to love him as Jesus did? Tradition has consigned Judas to a gruesome death and the deepest circle of hell, so my guess would be no. Which means that the church—that’s you and me—hasn’t yet learned the first thing about the love commandment. Or about our own pain. For we all have at least one Judas missing from our tables, out there in the night, unforgiven and alone. And each of us may be a Judas for someone else, absent from someone else’s feast. Maybe when we sit together at the church’s Table to share bread and cup, we should add a chair. And leave it empty, an aching absence. Maybe the sight of that absence would shame us into the world to look high and low for Judas, and to keep looking until all our Judases come home.”

The commandment to love is demanding. How often do we try to make it easy by loving the lovable rather than seeking out those who really push us and make our blood boil? How often have we chosen to continue sitting at the table while a family member leaves in anger out the door instead of getting up and going after them? Who is missing from your table and how do you deal with the aching absence? Who are you wishing would come home? Have you ever been the outcast of the family, the one absent from the feast? Have you ever felt beyond the reach of forgiveness? As a society, who do we leave behind and never go back for? How will you take seriously the love commandment this side of Easter?

 

A Phoenician Easter

In our Easter celebrations, we find the truth of that victory in ourselves and the world around us, which sets an undying flame of faith within our hearts. May that flame burn brightly today and always. Alleluia.

Happy Spring

The month of April concludes with special activities around Earth Day with the Protect March on Friday, April 26th.  Worship on Sunday, April 28th at 3:00PM in the Life Center will highlight the Beatitudes Campus Choir singing and Chaplain Andrew preaching!  Happy Spring!

Don’t Blink

Country Singer Kenny Chesney sings a great song called “Don’t Blink.”  The song’s lyrics tell of a younger man’s encounter with a 102-year-old man who was being interviewed on the news. The interviewer asks the man what’s the secret to life, and the older man looks up from his pipe, laughs, and says, “All I can say is don’t blink”.  I have to share just a couple of the verses:  I was glued to my TV when it looked like he looked at me and said: “Best start putting first things first” Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand You can’t flip it over and start again. Take every breath God gives you for what it’s worth.  Don’t blink, just like that you’re six years old, And you take a nap, And you wake up and you’re twenty-five, And your high school sweetheart becomes your wife.  Don’t blink, you just might miss Your babies growing like mine did, Turning into moms and dads, Next thing you know your better half of fifty years is there in bed, And you’re praying God takes you instead. Trust me friend a hundred years, Goes faster than you think, so don’t blink.  So I’ve been tryin’ to slow it down.  I’ve been tryin’ to take it in, In this here today, gone tomorrow world we’re livin’ in.  Don’t blink.

Chris Wallin was inspired to write the song after he lost three major family members within a two-year period.  There was a line that he wanted to put in the song that never made it in: “We always send flowers to people when they’re gone. We should send them when they’re living.” Don’t blink.  No truer words are there.  I was thinking about this when our daughter Maddie came home from college for Spring Break.  She is just weeks away from finishing her first year at NAU and we were already talking about what she might do after graduation!  How could the years have gone by so fast?!  Maddie wants to speed up time and jump to when she’s 21 and free to do what she wants and I know I’m going to blink and she’ll be walking down the aisle getting married.  Don’t blink.  Time seems to go faster and faster the older you get (the young never believe that).  Sometimes it can be helpful to remember that yesterday is gone, tomorrow isn’t here, so today is all we’ve got.  The days fly by, but there is only one today so we must rise to each new one determined to make it count.  What will you make of today?  Maybe do something to make life better for someone other than yourself or do something that will make a memory.  Do something you’ve never done before.  Do something fun and funny.  Talk to someone you haven’t talked to in a long time—call them up or write a letter.  Tell them that you love them because you may never get to say it again.  Don’t blink.

 

How I talk to God : How God talks to me.

This year, as well as fasting from my favorite treats, I have also been accompanied on my Lenten pilgrimage by the poet Malcolm Guite’s book Word in the Wilderness; A Poem a Day for Lent and Easter. Poems are an ideal companion for the season of Lent as we seek to reorient ourselves to God, with poetry often providing a call for us to ponder the wonders of the world around us while looking and listening for God at work in us.

One of the poems included in Guite’s collection is entitled How I talk to God, by Kelly Belemonte.

Coffee in one hand leaning in to share – How I talk to God. ‘Momma, you’re special’, three-year-old touches my cheek – How God talks to me. While driving I make lists: done, do, hope, love, hate, try – How I talk to God. Above the highway hawk: high, alone, free, focused – How God talks to me. Rash, impetuous chatter, followed by silence – How I talk to God. First, second, third, fourth chance to hear, then another – How God talks to me. Fetal position under flannel sheets, weeping – How I talk to God. Moonlight on pillow tending to my open wounds – How God talks to me. Pulling from my heap of words, the ones that mean yes – How I talk to God. Infinite connects with finite, without words – How God talks to me.

This beautiful work causes us to ask ‘What is prayer?’, and reminds us that a life of prayer is both speaking to God, but also listening, in turn.

In his reflection, Malcolm Guite says this;

Saint Paul calls on us to pray without ceasing, leading some contemplatives have interpreted that as a call to leave the world with its business and distractions and seek long swathes of uninterrupted time devoted to prayer and prayer alone. Others have seen it as a call to have a continual hidden mantra, wheeling and cycling beneath all we do, providing an undercurrent or ground note of prayer beneath all our daily activities.

In different ways for different people, both of these approaches are valid and neither exclusive of the other. Perhaps the greatest gift of Belemonte’s poem is to remind us, once again, that each day we find ourselves in conversation with God within the ordinariness of our lives.

May we all spend this season of Lent attuned to that conversation, to both speaking and listening, so that that the very rhythms of our everyday lives are opened up to God, and offered up as our unceasing prayer.*

The Healing Power of Human Solidarity

Once again, the world has witnessed another atrocity born out of hatred. The faces of the fifty victims of that murderous shooting, of people gathered together in worship and prayer in Christchurch, New Zealand appear in our newspapers and on our screens, and once again the question is asked; `how did we get here?’ Free societies are an open marketplace of ideas and convictions, however the pluralism and freedoms which we hold dear is indeed fragile. As we have seen in the live-streaming of this latest tragedy, it has become much easier to dole out division and bigotry to an eager and growing audience. Social media sites like Facebook will again come under increased criticism for what they allow to be uploaded and shared, and rightly so. However, our response in the face of such horror needs to be an enduring one, born out of desire to invert the extremism of hate into the radicalism of love. As Professor Mona Siddiqui wrote last week, “Laws can curb the excesses of human behavior, but ultimately it’s our individual moral commitment to human fellowship and friendship which changes relationships and communities.” When we resolve to live out of love rather than submit to hatred, to live as peace-builders rather than turning away from others who are different from ourselves, then we can begin to have the difficult conversations about how we got here and how we can live into the model of humanity attributed to Saint Francis; ‘where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. And where there is sadness, joy’. To love requires much more of us than to hate, and yet, even in the shadow of these days following this massacre, we are witnessing the healing power of human solidarity. May this solidarity and opposition of hatred continue to grow, and may we all commit ourselves in our own way – by prayer, words and deeds – to its flourishing.

 

H.A.L.T.: A Self Care Tool

One of the scriptures that is read in the beginning of Lent is about the temptation of Jesus by the devil for forty days in the wilderness. He was tempted with hunger, with power, and the need to prove who he was. Whether or not you believe this actually happened or whether you believe in a hoof and horns Satan or “Tempter” as he is also known, we cannot deny that temptation is very real in our experience of being human. Lent invites us to pay particular attention to our lives and seek self-knowledge. It is in understanding and acknowledging our limitations, our weaknesses, and the urges that have defeated us in the past, that we are better prepared to battle temptations. How do we react when we are struggling with injured pride, a wounded ego, fear of not being appreciated, or anger at being ignored?

One step we can take is to recognize when we are most vulnerable. The mental health and recovery-oriented fields use the acronym HALT which stands for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. When you ask yourself, “Am I hungry, angry, lonely, or tired right now?” it makes you stop and think about how you feel before you react to a situation. Each one of these four physical or emotional conditions, if not taken care of, leaves an individual vulnerable for relapse. Relapse for an alcoholic or addict means resumption of using alcohol or drugs to manage the discomfort, but even those of us not suffering from chemical dependency have our own forms of relapse (excessive gambling, eating, shopping, TV watching — to name just a few). Relapse may also show up as falling back into old beliefs about ourselves that result in feelings such as shame or guilt.

There is no getting away from sometimes feeling hungry, angry, lonely or tired so the more self- aware we are the better. Hunger, of course, describes the most obvious physical condition of lack of food but hunger can also point toward emotional needs: hunger for attention, for comfort, for understanding, or for companionship. Just as food takes care of our physical hunger, the solution to emotional hunger is community. Anger is a little more complex to understand. The way we express anger often takes destructive forms. We either turn anger against ourselves or against others. Anger can range from criticizing and belittling to name-calling and physical violence. Anger can also be like a repeated tape loop; in that case it’s called resentment. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous suggests that a person with resentment towards another pray for the other, that is, imagine all the good in life that we would like to have for ourselves to be bestowed upon the other person. You don’t have to call it prayer; choose a word that works for you.

Next in the HALT acronym is Lonely, which can be a frequent companion for some. It is similar to Hunger in that the solution is the same, namely community. The last of the HALT acronym conditions is Tired. We all have a tendency to ignore tiredness at times. Many of us do not get enough sleep and being tired, overloaded or overwhelmed can affect our well-being. HALT, is a practical tool for everyday living. Thanks to the people in Alcoholics Anonymous, where this acronym initially emerged, for using their experience to benefit us all.

A Happy and a Holy Lent

Happy Lent!

Join us for some delicious pancakes on Tuesday March 5th, 8-10AM, in the Life Center as we keep the old custom of using up all the fattening ingredients in the house before the beginning of the Lenten fast. Ash Wednesday follows on March 6th. Ash Wednesday has, for centuries, been a day for Christians to have our foreheads marked with ashes as an acknowledgement of our mortality, and to reflect in penitence for our mistakes. Residents and staff are welcome to receive the imposition of ashes and spend some time in prayer and contemplation in the Life Center, 8:00AM-12:00PM, or at the regular Rosary gathering held at 10:00PM in the Plaza View Lounge. During the forty days (excluding Sundays) which follow Ash Wednesday, we journey together through the season of Lent. The intention of this portion of the year is for us all to make a conscious effort to focus on turning our hearts and minds back towards God. Sometimes people do this by practicing a little self-denial and self-discipline, perhaps by giving up a favorite food or treat as a reminder to focus instead on our spiritual nourishment.  A favorite family story of ours is how my brother (aged around 6 at the time) was asked by the priest following church what he was giving up for Lent. Without hesitation he replied, “school”. A good attempt, but not quite in with the intended goal of opening the doors of our hearts a little wider to the deep riches of faith.

Last year, Pope Francis offered a list of ways which we can fast, and by doing so grow deeper into our relationship with God and each other. 1. Fast from hurting words and say kind words. 2. Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude. 3. Fast from anger and be filled with patience. 4. Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope. 5. Fast from worries and trust in God. 6. Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity. 7. Fast from pressures and be prayerful. 8. Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy. 9. Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others. 10. Fast from grudges and be reconciled. 11.Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.

Ultimately, for Christians the penitence and fasting of Lent should be a preparation for the celebration and joy of Easter. Fasting is not about misery, self-punishment and joylessness. The fasting goals of Pope Francis make that clear to us all. However it is only possible to truly rejoice in the feast, when we have truly experienced the fast. And so, I wish you not only a happy Lent, but a holy Lent also.

Weave: The Social Fabric Project

Every year 47,000 Americans kill themselves and 72,000 more die from drug addiction. Journalist David Brooks says: “This kind of pain is an epidemic in our society. When you cover the sociology beat as I do, you see other kinds of pain. The African-American woman in Greenville who is indignant because young black kids in… read the whole article here https://wp.me/p7o8lu-gQi

Long-Lasting Consequences

Have you noticed how many more people seem to be drinking from reusable water bottles? This is a great step forward in reducing our plastic waste, and in moving us away from being a ‘throwaway society’, although there is clearly much more yet to be accomplished as we seek to become better stewards of God’s creation. To use another example, did you know that according to Eco Age, (an organization which helps companies to focus on sustainable production methods) in the West, new clothes are worn on average for just 5 weeks before being thrown away?! That is the scary truth of the ‘fast fashion’ world in which we live…. read full article here https://wp.me/p7o8lu-gME

A Place for the Tiger

There’s a story about the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci.  During the time when he was working on his famous painting “The Last Supper,” he became angry with an acquaintance of his. The two men had words and parted from each other on very bad terms. Leonardo returned to the church on whose wall he was painting the fresco.  It was no use. Leonardo could paint nothing he was happy with. He had reached the point in the project where he was doing the face of Jesus. Time and again he tried to render a likeness of the Lord, but he was unable to do so.  Finally the great artist realized that he had work to do, but it was not in the church he had been commissioned to decorate. Leonardo put down his brushes and sought out the man who had been the subject of his wrath. He asked the man’s forgiveness. The man accepted his apology and offered an apology of his own. It was only then that Leonardo was able to return to the church and finish painting the face of Jesus.

St. Paul wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus because he knew that the church was engaged in quarreling that threatened to tear them apart.  He counseled them: “No more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself. Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.” Sometimes we feel we should never be angry, we should repress our true feelings.  However, when we do that, our anger continues to simmer within us and ultimately festers or blows up and can be terribly destructive.  Avoidance of conflict makes room for the devil.  Anger is a natural part of our emotional makeup as humans.

Think back on your own life and reflect on what role anger has played in your relationships—was it healthy anger or destructive? Are you a spewer or a stewer?  Anger itself is not a sin. Sometimes we are called to be angry.  The world would have lost much without the blazing anger of William Wilberforce against the slave trade. If Martin Luther King had not been angry at racism, the civil rights movement would not have flourished. If Gandhi had not been angry at oppression, India’s independence might not have happened. Anger, channeled in a positive way, can be a catalyst for change.  The famous writer Dr. Samuel Johnson was once asked to temper the harshness and anger in a book he was about to publish.  His answer to that request was that “he would not cut off his claws, nor make his tiger a cat, to please anybody.”  There is a place for the tiger in life; and when the tiger becomes a tabby cat, something is lost.  How many relationships have been forever destroyed because some small issue was left to fester, grow, and divide the best of friends? Resolution of differences may take a long time but Paul is telling us to put aside our anger quickly.  If we have been in the wrong, pray to God to give us the grace to go and admit that it was so; and even if we have been right, pray to God to give us the graciousness which will enable us to take the first step to put matters right.