Take a Breath, Take a Break

I’m so busy.

I wish I had more time.

I’m stressed out.

It never ends.

There’s always something.

I need a break.

Then take one.

September is a crazy month, I know. It ushers in the busy season for many of us. School’s back in, buses are clogging up the morning streets again. Sports, lessons, homework, teaching, grading, running to those meetings that the summer kept at bay, holiday preparations, transitioning the house for the new season, for the coming cold.

But something else in September is present to counteract this hectic pace. Cold crisp air, burning blue skies, leaves afire, the mournful song of geese overhead, the scent of leaves, of wood-fires, sunsets that throb with color, and starry nights. These are invitations to stillness and to watching. And it only takes a moment to breathe them in, to slow down, to drink freely. Each of these encounters has power in them, because they are natural. And Nature is seldom in a hurry.

I was walking to the parking lot after a long and busy day, with the prospects of a long night of grading and planning ahead of me, when I saw this single leaf in a tree on a patch of grass at the corner of the road. I looked at it. I took a deep breath. And behold, it was good.

Let nothing trouble you, let nothing make you afraid. All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains everything. God alone is enough.

– Saint Teresa of Avila

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

Small Wonders

I love taking pictures. I’m crazy about taking pictures. So I finally decided to get meself a Flickr account and share my little vantage point of this splendid reality with the world at large (you can check it out here). I’ve named the account “Small Wonders” because I think that pretty much sums up the little gems that surround us every day.

We must open our eyes to admire God, who hides and at the same time reveals himself in things, and introduces us into places of mystery… In reality, for those who know how to read in depth, each thing, each event brings a message that, in the final analysis, leads to God.

– Pope John Paul II

With the wonder of technology and the camera feature on so many of our cell phones today, we can all have the chance to capture the small wonders around us… even this close up of my neighbor’s cucumber plant! So keep your eyes peeled and your heart ready for a game of Divine “Hide and Seek” with the Lord. He loves it when we take time to read His Love Letters, big and small.

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

Sea and Believe

I love the ocean. It helps me believe in things much larger than me. Transcendent things, eternal things; Beauty, Peace, The Oneness. Ultimately… God.

Standing before the sea this morning, here in cloudy/sunny Sea Isle City, I had a physical encounter with a spiritual truth. The sea became a channel of grace. And that’s the definition of a sacrament, in a very broad sense. I wasn’t alone either. Other daily communicants were gathering for this celebration of the sun, rising in benediction over the new day. Does this sound scandalous? Let’s recall that the world was God’s first church, or Temple, as the Hebrews saw it. In the beginning, we were all priestly in our vocation of praise and worship to the One Who fashioned it all from nothing.

We’ve spent two nights here and are leaving soon. So I had my farewell coffee sitting in the sand, while Rebecca and the wee lad slept. I snapped this picture with the phone, then just stared and listened for a while as the slow, rhythmic beat of the heart of the sea came into me.

Ponderings…

Who was the first ancient soul to build a craft and seek to cross this watery road to the world’s edge? That took some guts.

What is it about the lapping up of water on sand, endlessly, that stirs me, invites me, into endless peace?

I truly believe we’re drawn to the sea because God is still speaking through it; His first sacramental encounter with us. He sings through it’s salty symphony, He shines in the sun!

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

Open Up and Say "Awe"

“Entrances to holiness are everywhere. The possibility of ascent is all the time. Even at unlikely times and through unlikely places.”

– Bamidbar Rabba

Our little boy is captivated by absolutely everything. He is nine months old; his little eyes are brand new, his tiny ears are brand new, and his little soul is like a sponge absorbing EVERYTHING.

We watch in amazement as the little nuances of sunlight on a wall capture his attention, or the corners and colors of his toy blocks become like the facets of a diamond in his hands. The other day, he amused himself with a plastic cup for about 15 minutes, turning it over and over again in his fingers, crinkling it, bending it, chewing on it. It was hilarious too watch, and humbling at the same time. Humbling that something so ordinary could capture his attention for so long…

Our little boy is teaching us as parents, with our 30 something eyes and ears and hearts, to see everything as if fresh from the Hands of God. These are the days of living wonder for him… and for us.

THE BIG PICTURE

Catholics are back in “Ordinary Time,” liturgically speaking, but beware… this is just when the most extraordinary things can happen. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, I think we’re given the power to see things in their true light, finally.

Our boy is still dripping with the waters of Baptism; he can see. But with the gift of the Spirit, we too can “see.” Finally, the veil of mediocrity, of ennui, of agenda, or mere utility (only seeing a thing as a thing for our use) is pulled away. The Spirit is our Divine Physician making a house call, inviting us to open up our mouths and say “awe.” To be captivated again. Behold! The world is full of gratuitous beauty! Faces, places, colors, sounds take on all the freshness which they had for us when we were young and the world was new.

Further, we can with the gift of the Holy Spirit go into those places we once feared the most; the inner depths of our own hearts, those locked rooms, those shadowlands that we thought we’re unapproachable by anyone, including ourselves, let alone God. Now, He whispers, let’s “lower our nets for a catch.” And He says, “Fear not,” reminding us that we are truly called to be like little children, and that He Who Is Our Father will take us into those places by the Hand.

May God grant us “old heads” the grace to become little again. To rediscover everything, to see every object and every subject, every thing and every person as a gift from the Hands of the Father. From the ordinary and mundane to the extraordinary and sublime…

“To see the miraculous within the ordinary is the mark of highest wisdom.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

What’s Inside You?

One filled with joy preaches without preaching.
– Blessed Mother Teresa

Some people are seemingly always happy. Like the Psalmist says, “They have heard no evil news.” They float, they roll, they fly, they bear it and wear it well in all manner of circumstances. They actually believe Blessed Julian of Norwich’s famous phrase “All shall be well, in all manner of things. All shall be well.”

Please understand, I don’t mean a kind of flaky, out of touch, dilusional happy. I mean content, satisfied, fulfilled; actually possessing a deep peace at their center, regardless of the choppy waves on the surface of things.

I think the better word here is JOY. Happiness is too often the effect of happenstance, stuff happening to you.

“Hey, it’s stopped raining!”
“Ooo, a quarter!”
“I don’t have to pay for my parking?”

Real Joy flows more from convictions than it does from conditions. That’s why when the saints were suffering in such terrible conditions, they could still smile, be at peace, love. They had conviction. Their hearts were not shallow puddles that could tremble at the slightest atmospheric changes, but rather were deep wells of trust in God.

So there it is… a goal to shoot for; to place your pursuit of happiness not in feelings but in the freedom of your will. To begin to construct your conviction that all shall be well. To build the well within, and let God fill that well with His Grace. We’ll discover that even as bad as things may feel, they can never again rob us of His Joy.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” (Rom. 8:35-37)

It’s been said that if the joy Christians proclaimed with their lips were shining on their faces, there would be no unbelievers. Well, “peace begins with a smile” (Mother Teresa). So let us “rejoice always…. I say it again, rejoice!” (St. Paul) There’s a gloomy world out there that needs some serious silliness and “There’s no such thing as a sad saint.” (St. Theresa of Avila)

Thanks to Cecilia for the video below! The ending just about sums it up!

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

A Year in 40 Seconds

One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

Time flies, when you piece 12 months together into a 40 second clip. Very nice transition with the sounds of nature and all. So long 2008! Hope 2009 slows down a bit!

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

Just a Moment

So we’ve had a wee bairn in the house for sometime now. That’s Scottish for “little one.” And after five years, cries fill the house, and we are singing 80’s songs put to new words, like “We’ve been waiting… for a boy like you… to come into our lives… yeah waiting, for a boy like you, to make us feel alive…”

And then we tag team bottle time, and snuggle time, and we gaze into the little pools of this other little person’s eyes…. and we see they are “impregnated with distance” in the words of C.S. Lewis; his eyes are full of light and of a future full of walks in deep woods and sword fights and drawing maps of Grandpa’s land in Maine, of leaping from cliffs into cold water, and singing the Clancy Brothers songs, and a host of other adventures. Sure, the weight of glory that’s been set upon our hearts with him is beyond measure. What greater thing is there in the world than to be given stewardship over one of His little ones? We have fallen head over heels in love with this squishy wee babe. Thank You God.

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

The Trouble with Angels

Throughout human history, in our philosophy and in our cosmology (or worldview), the pendulum of our place in the cosmos has swung back and forth again and again. Are we the crown of creation or are we just “trousered apes?” In our tinkering with the inner and outer worlds that we find ourselves swimming in, we are often ennobled and belittled all at once. The great Shakespeare summed it up well:

“What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” (Hamlet, Act V, scene ii)

And of course, the Bible encapsulates the enigma even better:

“What is man that you should care for him? You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet” (Psalm 8)

The perennial question remains for each of us as to where our destiny lies. Are we angels or are we animals? The singer-songwriter John Gorka once sang “We are dust that was made in stars, now we roll off to work in cars. When we were young we spilled our dreams in bars. Now we clean up the mess.” I think the answer as to our place in the universe is, scandalously, up to you and me. You see, we alone in this wonderful cosmos can choose chaos. We can be sacred or profane, holy or horrible. No other created reality, stars, dogs, planets, buttercups, can choose it’s identity. But we can. I think this freaks us out.

I’ve been reading an amazing book for the past few months (that’s my style, a couple pages at a time). It’s called the Philosophy of Tolkien by my hands down favorite author, Dr. Peter Kreeft. He took me through a whirlwind of deep thoughts by positing this idea that we, as free persons made in God’s image have the power (because of our freedom) to maim or to manifest that image; to distort or declare it. At the end of the day, I think we are afraid of this great task that God has laid upon us; the challenge of living up to our own dignity. We seem today to be shrinking away from it, from our worth as human beings. God has “put all things under our feet,” and all we are concerned about is leaving our “carbon footprint.”

Wake up, people of the earth. “Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:7)

And this brings us to today’s Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. They are clarion calls to us, trumpet blasts from the Realms of the Infinite. Their mission it is to “trouble” the waters of our complacency, to stir us up, to remind us that there are indeed “more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies.” (thanks again Mr. Shakespeare). Are we angels or are we animals? Neither. We are men and women, a unique bridge in the visible universe that opens up into an invisible world. So today we should take a long look below us at the plethora of animals and a deep look into Heaven at the myriads of angels. We should rise to the occasion and take our assigned seats in God’s plan; to be voices of praise lifting up created reality, and hearts made for eternity that will someday swim in God.

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

Mist and Sun and the Meaning of Life

I love back roads. Swervy, windy, half in shadow, half in sun ribbons of asphalt. They’re like “mobile prayer” for Rebecca and I. Add a little Lord of the Rings or Dances with Wolves soundtrack music into a Sunday drive and you are GONE… floating away to Happy Land, the Land of Contemplation! And all’s right with the world! Well, mostly.

My drive into school each morning is a gift; back roads abound! There are a number of paths to take and I generally mix it up from day to day. Case in point: just last week, after passing it for three years in moderate “haste,” I decided to take “Grubb’s Mill Road” for a spin.

Now don’t judge a road by its name. As I made my way over hill and dale (what is a dale anyway?) I was literally captured by the sunlight streaming through morning mist over wet grass. I flipped on the hazards and with the handy iPhone (I know I know, Geek Boy Returns) I snapped a few pics. One is handsomely portrayed in this post above for your observation. Click on it and it should fill the screen…. go ahead, try it!

Now curiously, I was able to use this image as a teaching moment in class that very day. I start off my freshmen theology course light on the homework, heavy on the heartwork. I invite them into a fresh way of looking at the world…. into a “sacramental” vision. Afterall, this is how a Catholic sees the universe….. as a mosaic full of meaning, an icon, a Mystery wrapped in ribbons of protons, neutrons, and electrons. This is pretty dang exciting. Here’s that quote I love to quote… again:

To materialists this world is opaque like a curtain; nothing can be seen through it. A mountain is just a mountain, a sunset just a sunset; but to poets, artists, and saints, the world is transparent like a window pane – it tells of something beyond….a mountain tells of the Power of God, the sunset of His Beauty, and the snowflake of His Purity.
– Bishop Fulton Sheen

Back to the back roads…. This image (above) was breathtaking. And I guess what intrigues me about an encounter like this is how the physical channels the spiritual, the visible can communicate the invisible. How does it happen that we alone in the universe can “see” this? Apprehend this? Comprehend this and be captivated by this? Objectively, the scene I saw was made of water vapor, chlorophyll, and a swirl of elements bending and twisting in the rising heat of a large ball of gas 93,000,000 miles away. But it was beauty that caught me. The squirrels didn’t stop and stare. Mr. Bluebird didn’t land on my shoulder and strike up a conversation on the matter, cool as that would have been.

For some reason, I saw in these elements a wonder, a story, a window that opened into my own experience. In this sacrament of the present moment, as the mist swirled before the sun, I thought of our sorrow thick and dank, sapping us of hope. The trees reached in and broke its cloudy mask, like the hands of friends praying for us, reaching into our lives and rooting us in hope. And then the Sun, beyond hope, pierced that mist of melancholy like a dozen swords of holy light that shone and fell upon the earth. And behold, there was light and heat and a new kind of “illumination.”

I think it was Dostoyevsky who once wrote that, in the end, “Beauty will save the world.” Well, Beauty has arrived, and often lies waiting for us on the back roads, in places least expected, in sudden and sharp turns from shadow into light. Perhaps all we’re asked to do is stop and look with love and gratitude.

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org

Jawdroppin’ Jesus

What’s the most exciting adjective ever hurled at you?

Funny?
Crazy?
Caring?
Compassionate?
Nice… ?

How about spellbinding. Now that’s an adjective for ya.

This rarely used word is the one used in today’s gospel from Luke 4. Jesus is making his rounds around the towns and villages of Galilee (the sea of which is pictured above), and this time he’s in Capernaum. The people are “spellbound” by his teaching. What a great word…. spellbound. It means “entranced by or as if by a spell; fascinated.” But why were the people so entranced, you ask? Because he spoke with authority.

Now there’s something we need desparately today but are afraid to take, like nasty medicine that we know is going to heal but it hurts to go down; words of authority.

The funny thing is, they only taste nasty when we are sick, that is, need to get out of unhealthy situations of self-righteousness and autonomy. When we are arrogant, anarchists, or anti-authority, words of authority come storming towards us, shining with all of the clarity, force, and power of a waterfall or a flash of lightning. They quite literally rock our world, like the words of Jesus did to the powers that be (or were) in his own time. But the truth is, we need a shock to our systems, so dulled as they are by soupy words, wishy washy words that dribble out from our lips or in opinion polls or from the media. We need a center of gravity. We need a Son to revolve around. In the me-o-centric universes that we can construct for ourselves, we simply end up floating through space like asteroids, bound sooner or later to crash into something.

But it takes alot to convince us of this truth. To assure us that there is an Authority and a Law, and that we need to obey it (Him) just like the planets follow the rules. But we have the added challenge of doing so willingly, of placing our hearts and wills into His system. Falling in line with the Law of Love is the surest way of finding ourselves, of discovering our ryhthm, our pace, our deepest identity. All else is chaos. To resist his words of authority is to fall prey to the black hole of self-absorption, to lose all sense of space and time, to be bent… to be lost.

The prayer today is to realign ourselves, reorient ourselves under His authority. So God, make our crooked ways straight. Draw us in and bind us to Your Truth. Then we can truly be spellbound, and in that binding we will truly be set free.

“In His will, our peace.”
– Dante

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Inspiration for the New Evangelization
http://www.missionmoment.org