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- Practicing from a sacred space within
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Sunday January 22: Daring to Leave Ourselves
What stirs in me from this reflection is Joyce Rupp’s image of being “patient [enough] to see what is tangled and slowly and gently undo the knots, one by one. All to make the web whole again.” It fits with a vision I had a long time ago of sitting with the disciples on the beach, tying knots in nets to repair. Think of the knots as relationships: gently undoing relationships that need to be left behind, building new connections out of love for Christ and the command to love others. As Father Richard would say, it is “yes/and” – both the undoing and the redoing together that brings the love of Christ to the world. <3 linda
Sunday January 15: The Mystery Beyond All Things
What a lovely shift of consciousness Cynthia Bourgeault expresses: “Then this ‘inner wellspring’ is no longer a place you go to; it’s a place you come from. It’s a whole new structure of consciousness.” It becomes home. How do I serve as the wellspring for other seekers? It is a good question to ponder this week. <3 linda
Sunday January 8: Going Home By Another Way
“To dream another way…for gifts of human treasure not used for the tyranny of tribe, class, nation or ego.” Why is the word “tyranny” drawing my attention? Herod served as the “archetype of the level of consciousness willing to use brutality to maintain power.” What of the tyranny of my own mind, too easily willing to reject those who do not measure up to my standards? Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned. Free me from the tyranny of myself. May it be so. <3 linda
Sunday December 27: The Waiting Is Over
Creation blessed eastern TN with Divine Life with a beautiful white Christmas, and temperatures mild enough to walk river paths last weekend. FaceTime calls with our children shone their Divine Light to us. What precious gifts our sons and their wives are to us. I organize a new home office location and set 2021 goals in the days ahead, trusting Divine Love via my contemplative vocation will direct my efforts. What a wonder-filled way to close the year. Thank You, Abba. Amen. <3 linda
Sunday, December 20: May It Be Done To Me…I Consent
What will be the next mutation for my life? I am working on goal setting and a life plan with the purpose of making 2021 the best year of my life. I am exploring myself and mining deep to see how I can be more a handmaid of the Lord than I have ever been. I pray, thanks to Kathleen Norris, “I may be virgin enough to respond from my deepest, truest self, and say something new, a ‘yes’ that will change me forever.” Amen. <3 linda
Sunday December 13: The Morning Stars Will Sing
Joy! In the midst of a global pandemic, we see joy expressed in very practical and extraordinary ways. People stepping up to help neighbors who cannot get out. People showing compassion to those suffering from other’s inconsideration due to the stresses of their situations. Grace upon grace being extended to wrap the world in a soft netting of God’s love. Come, Lord Jesus! <3 linda
Sunday December 6: The Mild Light of Radiant Fulfillment
When I was a young woman, I had my life mapped out – I used to be a planning machine. God intervened and overlaid God’s plan for me, and sometimes I obeyed better than others.
Now, I am fully submitted to God’s presence and action within me, and to God’s plan for my life. I will once again plan goals for 2021, all according to God’s will, and I will “bow to this strange choosing.” <3 linda
Sunday November 29: In A Garment of Silence
My mantra for this year is quite apt for Advent. It is four words I say on two breaths, as follows:
Inhale: Cease. Stop worry, frets, concerns before they can gain a toehold.
Exhale: Release. Breath those concerns out to God’s hands.
Inhale: Heal. Breathe in the calm of the Spirit’s healing.
Exhale: Peace. Send waves of the peace that passes understanding back into the world.
For Advent, I will focus on one word each week, taking it deeper into prayer. <3 linda
Sunday, November 22: Whatever You Did, You Did to Me
Yes, my contemplative practice has changed the way I live my life. I’d like to believe I am more open to allowing others into my life – God may have a different point of view. So, I continue to pray. My quarantine time has allowed me to affirm my prayer practice and I don’t set foot out of my house without prayer to undergird me. <3 linda
Sunday, November 15: Come Share Your Talents
Yes. It takes a great deal of prayer to rick the silence of my mind instead of listening to the nagging voice insisting I have more important things to do. Centering prayer demands I risk loving the unknown other (hard) and risk loving myself (harder). Without risk there can be no growth, so I thank God for them and pray the Holy Spirit’s strength to take them. <3 linda
Sunday, November 8: Oil in the Lamp
Our region of the country is attending to the coming winter, watching leaves change, feeling temperatures cool, attending the animals readying for the months ahead. Our country is in special watchfulness still from the national election. I attend to my heart, keeping my lamp as trim and full as I can, so when I discern through my watchfulness someone needing light, I can provide without cost. <3 linda
Sunday November 1: Such is the Kingdom
Can I open my heart and let “those others” in, too? In a word, yes. Each centering prayer time I open my heart to all others, past, present and to come, as Father Keating taught so well. Fidelity to the practice, show up every day, pray and do the next practical thing. <3 linda
Sunday October 26: You Shall Offer Hospitality
My moment receiving gratuitous hospitality came in the form of a simultaneous hug from three different women, all named Elaine. I am being beckoned to offer this gracious, hospitable place to my youngest brother, struggling now between continuing to do a job he loves, which requires weekly travel, with the reality that travel by air, stays in hotels and icy receptions at worksites will be the norm for the foreseeable future. I can welcome his complaints and concerns with gracious love, try not to get my feelings hurt when he vents and give him words that encourage him to slow down and listen to his still, small voice before making any major life decisions. <3 linda
Sunday October 18: Rendering One’s Life
As I look at my life, it seems as if this conscious selection of what is of value and what can be set aside occurs daily, as the Holy Spirit guides my next practical steps. Tasks I think are important to complete are set aside for other duties that arise unexpectedly. Later, time will be freed so I can complete those tasks. What is of value continues to revolve around relationships; with Christ foremost, and with my husband, grown children and their spouses next. I refresh myself at the well of contemplative prayer daily and pour that water into everyone I encounter – the more unexpected the better. It seems I am being called to let go of schedules and learn to live more fully present in the moment. Schedules can be tweaked; people are of value and need love. <3 linda
Sunday October 11: The Banquet is Ready
Yes, I accept this invitation to relax into the ground of my being: God’s expression of God’s self in me. I want everyone to come to this party, to relax into who they are as well. More relaxing equates to less tenseness…we don’t need more tense these days. <3 linda
