Tag Archives: prayer. gratitude

Solitude, thanks, and praise

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I finish my few days of retreat today, grateful for the blessing and opportunity of this time of solitude, prayer, and reflection.

In the words of our CSJP Constitutions:

“Recognizing gospel peace as both gift and task,  we believe that prayer is fundamental to our life.  …

In unity with the church  and with all of creation  we give praise and thanks to the Giver of all gifts.  We open ourselves to the liberating power of God  whose Spirit in us leads to peace.

Personal prayer deepens our desire  to be united with God in faith,  enabling us to see God’s presence and action in our lives and in the world.”

So much had happened since my annual retreat last October, good and bad, challenging and encouraging, and everything in between … in my own life, my life in community, and our wider world. There is so much to pray for and with! It is pure gift to have the ability to take time away in solitude with God’s love and mercy. Such a gift also carries responsibility, which I do not take lightly.

I have held in prayer many these days, those I promised to pray for, those I know, and many I do not. I know too I have been held in prayer. Again, such gift.

I have been so aware of God’s love these days away,  love beyond measure. In the words of the song  My Beloved by Eliza King (a soundtrack of sorts for this retreat), I have been “leaning on my beloved.”

Graced with time by the ocean, going on long walks and just sitting by the sea, I have been so aware of the gifts of creation given freely by the One who loved us into being, the healing power of Christ who became one of us, and the persistent presence of the Spirit nudging us into wholeness.

God is so good, and so are we. May we remember that in good times as well as the more challenging times. May we be people of peace and reflect God’s love, mercy, and care for all of God’s creation. Amen.

Groping our way forward

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Today is the Feast day of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. In today’s Blessed Among Us feature in Give Us This Day, Robert Ellsberg writes:

St. Kateri was born in 1656 near present-day Auriesville, New York. Her mother, a captured Algonquin, was a Christian, while her father, a Mohawk chief, viewed the new religion with deep suspicion. Both parents died from smallpox when Kateri was four. Her own scarred face showed the marks of the disease, which also darkened her vision, causing her to stumble in the light. As a result her people called her Tekakwitha—“the one who walks groping her way.” When a Jesuit missionary arrived in her village in 1674 she requested baptism. She was given the name Kateri—a Mohawk version of Katherine.

Don’t we all stumble at times and grope our way forward? I know I do. Kateri Tekakwitha may be just the companion we need for these complex days of chaos and uncertainty. Just because we stumble in the light does not mean the light is not there. And even if we must at times grope our way, we can walk the way of peace, love, justice, and integrity in gratitude and hope.

Painting by Nancy Marek (mareksaints.com)
Statue of Kateri Tekakwitha in Collegeville, MN

I love these two images of Kateri Tekakwitha. The first, a painting by Nancy Marek, is new to me. The second is a photo I took of a statue on the path near a lake in Collegeville a few years ago. Knowing what I now know about her name and her challenge making her way in the light I love these images even more.

Do you see her posture? Sitting in one, standing in the other, looking ahead in both in faith, wonder, and awe, she is surrounded by the goodness of God’s creation. So too are we, even if we don’t always see it.

Pray for us St. Kateri Tekakwitha. Help us to face forward in hope, love, and trust even if we stumble or grope to find our way. Journey with us as we nevertheless walk together in faith. Inspire us to look for goodness and wonder. Be with us on the journey.

Gratitude amid the mess

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I am grateful for today, for every day really. Yet today is a day set aside to give thanks and, as one is able or in the mood, to celebrate these gifts in the company of family and friends.

This week in the United States has seen the tragic and bloody consequences of violence, the power of the gun lobby, and the consequences of division and hateful rhetoric. It sets an odd context for giving thanks.

This month began with elections that mirrored the polarization and division in our land. Sadly too it seemed that even the Bishops conference was not immune.

Wars continue amid our global family in Ukraine, Ethiopia, and far too many other countries. As we speak families are on the march through the dangerous Darien Gap while others have finally safely reached our borders to seek asylum, only to be turned away.

Our human family is in the midst of a mess. And Earth our common home is caught up in it all too.

And it is in this context that we are to give thanks?

Yes!

Thanks for the gift of life and love.

Thanks for the possibilities and opportunities to turn things around for the common good.

Thanks that the sun rises and sets each and every day, most often with amazing artistic touches.

Thanks for the people in our lives and the air that we breathe and the creativity within our hearts and minds.

Thanks for all that is and was and will be, even if it is messy. Thanks that God is with us in the mess.

Thanks for companionship, family, friends and four legged friends.

Thanks for the gift of hope.

Today we celebrate and give thanks.

Tomorrow the work of making the world a better place continues.