Awaakening The Dreamer: Changing the Dreamer

What could indigenous people teach us?  I was stunned to learn their courage, simplicity, and wisdom!  Last week at the center I attended the Pachamama Alliance program entitled: “Awakening the Dreamer: Changing the Dream” led by Sr. Kathleen McCabe, OSF and Lynne Piser.  The Pachamama Alliance was born out of an invitation from the Achuar people to work in partnership to preserve their land and culture while bringing forth a new worldview that honors and sustains life.  The Achuar are a group of indigenous peoples who have lived in the Amazon on either side of the border between Ecuador and Peru.  They have had a fierce devotion to their land and kept their sophisticated culture and worldview remarkably intact as late as the mid-20th century when individuals and corporations from the so-called “modern” world have sought to exploit their land for its oil, disregarding its irreplaceable ecological and cultural wealth.   Their response shows the depth of wisdom of their leaders and the simplicity and courage of this people..  Get more detail about the alliance in this twelve minute video clip A Call for our Time: The story of the Pachamama Alliance.  

Thought-provoking, challenging, and deeply moving, the program is a dynamic multimedia presentation drawing on some of the most respected social and scientific experts of our time, interwoven with wisdom and inspiration from the indigenous peoples of the Amazon.  It is well worth your time and is offered all over the world.  It invited us to explore a new global vision built on Sustainability, Spiritual Fulfillment and Social  Justice and confront head on the biggest challenges and opportunities of today.  Some examples of the topics covered were:  the state of our industrial world and the thinking that got us where we are today, a new dream--new ideas about what really matters, leading to deep connection and surprising solutions, and how you can be a part of what's emerging,!  Here is a four minute video that will move your heart to change your dream and brings us to the awareness that everyone can do something::  Awakening the Dreamer: Equality and Sustainability for all.  

As a Franciscan I sat there telling myself I can do more than recycle and monitor my ecological footprint. I left knowing that nature had rights that I had violated and that there are collective rights of all peoples that I never allowed to enter my consciousness.  In partnership with our brothers and sisters we can change the world and create a new dream.  The program  touched both the heart and mind. It provided insight into how our modern worldview and economic and political systems are preventing us from creating the world in which we want to live.  Our human and environmental crises is urgent, and we need each other’s support to shift the way we look at and live in the world on a mass scale.When you leave you believe that we live in a time of  extraordinary possibility. and you are committed to being part of the solution rather than part of the problem.  We can all make the shift from the so-called “modern” worldview that places short-term economic gain over the long-term interests of people and planet to a fulfilling life where we can  have a positive impact on our families and communities and truly respect all as brother and sister.   Join us in creating a new way forward for the entire human family.  You might want to consider joining the movement and making the difference.  Here is their website and you might find a symposium near you:  The Pachamam Website.

Be Still And Know That I Am God

In the stillness of an autumn weekend twenty participants focused their hearts and their love on a word, a sacred word, a word found deep in their heart.  Led by presenter Theresa Saulnier, they allowed their hearts to be empty so that our God could fill them.  In the stillness, the sun shone bright the whole weekend and the trees were painted in the color of autumn, that time for letting go, when the trees teach us about not clinging to what was  but opening to what is always meant to be in this present moment.   It was an invitation to intimacy with a God of extravagant love, an invitation to come and sit awhile and simply BE.  They took the journey  into contemplative prayer, an intimacy their hearts sought.  Choosing a sacred word as the symbol of their intention to consent to God's presence and action within them, they sat quietly, settling into that dwelling place within.  Therese taught them the 4 Rs of Cynthia Bourgeault (Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, 2004, p. 38-39): RESIST no thought; RETAIN no thought, REACT to no thought, RETURN to the sacred word."  All participants seemed to cherish the opportunity to experience the stillness of God and judging by their desire to have a week long retreat they found a nourishment within their heart that truly comes from the silence.  The invitation is there for us as well -- the invitation to sit in stillness and stay empty before our God, to move from an ordinary level, to a spiritual level to the divine indwelling -- all it takes is the willingness to respond to the call:  BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.  Perhaps all that is needed is our willingness to show up,  if only for a few minutes;  God is already there within, waiting like a lover.

Icon Workshop

Have you ever been touched by an icon, a painting of a holy figure used as an aid to devotion in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches?  

All last week several retreatants attended an icon workshop presented by Sr. Christopher Marie Wagner, OSF.  They were invited to deepen their prayer experience by writing the icon of the Mother of God of the Sign. which represents Mary as Mother of the Church.  The participants not only learned the history, theology and symbolism of icons but they learned the technique of gold leafing and painting on a board prepared for painting.  They each completed their own icon of the Mother of God of the Sign using acrylic paints.

The greatest joy for me was seeing the intensity of the experience.  As peaceful as the room was during that special moment of creation, you could also sense the fear and anxiety of venturing into a world unknown to them.  Many of us have the experience of praying with icons but never had I seen the experience of writing the prayer of an icon.  The acceptance of their lack of perfection and yet their desire to experience the moment with their whole mind and heart and soul was clear.  I witnessed an amazing bonding that spoke Mary's FIAT in their actions.  Their persistence and support of one another endured as each person presented their icon to be blest by Fr. Cyprian Rosen, OFM cap at our Mass on the final day.

The evening before the icons were to be blest they were laid out beautifully on a table in our chapel.  Later that night I returned to chapel to sit before them.  To my left was a magnificent and very large icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (probably one of the first icons) and to my right were the images of the Mother of God of the Sign created in our Spiritual Center.  I tried to imagine what Mary was communicating to me in both of these images.  I know it is always more than what is seen in the icon but rather what is seen through it – for me it was the love of God overflowing from Mary’s willingness to say yes.  Sitting with icons is a right brain experience of touching and feeling what is.  I’m normally a left brain person but when I calm my heart and let my right brain take over God always has a way of getting to my heart.  I know icons are not simply art, they are a way into the heart of God.  They are thresholds through which we walk into the stillness closer and closer to our God.  If we sit with them long enough and if we listen to them closely we can hear the voice of God.  I thank our participants for giving me that opportunity!

Francis and the Sultan

Several weeks ago Michael Calabria OFM gave a presentation at the Franciscan Spiritual Center entitled “Simply Divine:  Art and Faith in the Islamic World”.  One presenter described his presentation in the following manner:  “Father presented to us with sensitivity, understanding and beauty so that ‘seeing’ with other eyes may lead us to the connective gifts of all people and creation.”  Father Michael is a scholar of Arabic and Islamic Studies and has researched a great deal on St. Francis and the Sultan and last year shared extensively on this topic at the Center. 

This week I was touched deeply by that story because a small group of Muslims visited us (thanks to the initiative of our Advocacy Committee).  To begin the visit, Sr. Pat Hutchison gave a short presentation on St. Francis and the Sultan, based on the scholarship of Father Michael Calabria and Sr. Kathy Warren, OSF. 

You may know the story of Francis and the Sultan but, if not, here it is in a nutshell:   Around 1219 during the Crusades when Christian soldiers took up arms against Muslims, Francis visited the camp of Malik-al-Kamil, who was the sultan of Egypt.  It is thought that Francis, who probably initially went with the hope of converting the Sultan, may have spent as long as two weeks with him.  During that time they most likely prayed together and shared a great deal about one another.  In the midst of a violent crusade they were able to transcend their differences and engage each other with reverence and respect and perhaps even amazement and appreciation. 

Our Muslim brothers and sisters were deeply moved by this story of Francis but those of us who knew the story were also touched by a new awareness of how influential the Sultan had been in Francis Life.  This encounter is said to have confirmed in Francis the idea that we are all brothers and sisters of one loving Father in heaven.  It is thought that the Francis’ Praises of God are modeled on the 99 names of God as found in the Qu’ran.  Scholars tell us the Canticle of the Sun may also be influenced by this visit, as phrases about the sun and the moon and water are also reflective of phrases in the Qu’ran.  And, finally, perhaps the Blessing Francis gave to Brother Leo, which we often sing, is less a blessing for Leo and more a  a heartfelt prayer for God to protect the Sultan and bring him peace. 

For us today, Francis' visit to the Sultan clearly provides a model for engaging in open, respectful dialogue which is as important today as it was in the Middle Ages.  We desire to offer hospitality and friendship to our Muslim brothers and sisters because they are our neighbors, our colleagues, fellow Americans, perhaps even members of our families, but definitely our brothers and sisters in the faith of Abraham.  Our hope is to continue this dialogue by visiting our new friends again on the first Sunday in November.  May Francis teach us what is ours to do as we live a journey of peace with our Muslim brothers and sisters. 

Feast of St. Francis

The feast of St. Francis has finally arrived.  Despite the dismal weather that appears outside our window, there is bright sunshine and joy everywhere inside.  Last evening's Transitus led us to that deep satisfaction of knowing and following such a lovestruck troubadour who wanted simply to follow in the footsteps of his Lord.  We also know how blest we are as Sisters of St. Francis to have such good brothers and sisters who desire to share this celebration with us.  It was a joy to have everyone join us and we're looking for many more this evening at 7 PM as we celebrate Eucharist together.

The Franciscan Friars of Sacred Heart Province (http://www.thefriars.org/) have the following quote on their home page:  “We welcome you to the Franciscan vision of the world, a world where love is more powerful than hate, forgiveness more powerful than revenge, hope more powerful than despair, community more powerful than isolation and God is more powerful than all that mitigate against goodness and hope.”  Today I thought that was a profound greeting to share with you.  I also share a poem I wrote a number of years ago that speaks to the simplicity that drew me to Francis:

St. Francis of Assisi

By Julia Keegan

he was a simple man

disentangled from the frames

of a stilted world,

alive to the vital values

that open the hearts of our crippled life…

his cause was openness as person,

what tenderly trespassed

the isolated center of christian hope

and opened the box office

to a real God

who lives and speaks and loves…

he created a radicalism

by living an ordinary life

as the person God created him to be…

he abhorred the extravagant blueprint

of structured living

so he rebelled without revolution

by merely becoming

an extravagantly simple man.

Today at the center we had "Women’s Awareness Salon:  Seeing the Sacred in the Ordinary".  Thirteen women listened to Sr. Christa Marie Thompson share about the relationship between Clare of Assisi and Agnes of Prague.  She shared a little about each of them but focused predominantly on the 20 years they knew each other and how they formed such a deeply spiritual and nurturing friendship that Clare could greet Agnes by saying she was "half of her soul".   Such closeness, despite the fact that they lived about 750 miles apart and never once met face to face.  We were reminded that there was no telephone, no amtrak train, no airplane, no post office, and the only communication was by the friars taking their letters back and forth.  

The discussion that followed was about women and friendship as each shared the beauty of others who have supported and truly understood them throughout the years.  Renee shared that there is an African Zulu greeting which translated means "I see you" and the response from the other person is "I am here."  It is a tender response implying with gratitude that the person's "seeing them" made them present in a different way -- perhaps saying, "once you saw me, something new within me came into existence".   That something new is what we recognized in our sharing about our friendships.  Isn't this  the type of relationship which Francis calls us to?  Francis taught us that we (each of us and all of creation) are  brothers and sisters to one another -- we "see" one another and in doing this we bring each other here in a new way, in a simply extravagant way.

Transitus

Today is the vigil of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  Franciscans from all around the world have a Transitus celebration this evening.  The Transitus is a Franciscan devotion to ritually remember the passing of Saint Francis from this life into God. 

It is similar to what you might do on the anniversary of the death of a  family member or very dear friend.    You sit around and remember their lives, recall the day they died and what occurred.  You share your memories and talk about how much they meant to you.  Tonight at 7 PM we will have a transitus service in our chapel and our hope is that many will join us.  

To ritually revisit the story of Francis' passing is important to us; without it, something significant would be missing from our celebration.  At Transitus tonight we will listen to the stories Francis' early brothers and Clare of Assisi shared  about the night Francis died.  They tell that, despite the pain he was enduring, there was a deep joy and peace in him.  He wanted the Gospel read to him and he wanted all his followers there so that we could give them a blessing.  And, of course, Francis wanted singing all around him as he welcomed Sister Death.  Come see what it is like!  If you can't join us, this link might help you to understand a little more about it and then you can plan to join us next year on October 3, 2013:  Transitus explanation.  St. Francis tells us "it is not fitting,  when in God's  service, to have a gloomy face or a chilling look" and so, like good Franciscans, we will have some delightful refreshments after the transitus in order to make tangible our Franciscan joy.

Angels: Yes or No?

Today is the Feast of the Guardian Angels.  As Fr. Cyprian said at Mass this morning, some people believe in them and some people don’t  -- Me, I’m a firm believer!  One of the Fathers of the Church, St. Basil the Great (329-379AD) told us:   “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him (sic) to life.”  (St. Basil, Adv. Eunomium III, 1: pg 29, 656B)  I think I feel that protective presence each day.  But what I also believe is that we can be angels to one another.  One of our sisters tells the story of sliding off the road during a snow storm and two young men helped her get her car back on the road and when she turned around to thank them they were gone.  Angel or not?  I think they were. 

Henri Nouwen tells us:  “We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow but also a cup of joy will we be able to drink it.” (Can You Drink The Cup, Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, IN,  1996, Chapter 3)  Yesterday the team of the Franciscan Spiritual Center (FSC) went out for breakfast to celebrate one another.  One was transitioning from the FSC to a new ministry, one was just starting her first day ministering at the Spiritual center, and one was beginning the year of her golden jubilee.  The one thing that is clear to me as we share our lives side by side  is that we influence one another and we make each other better than we could ever be alone.  We have different talents and different personalities and all of those gifts come together in a wonderful way to manifest as the Franciscan Spiritual Center.  We are angels for one another.  Luciano de Crescenzo, the famous Italian writer, tells us:  We are angels with one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.  Enjoy this song based on that quote and ponder the question for yourself:  Angels:  Yes or no?

Angels With One Wing

First Day Blogging

Today is my first day blogging for the Franciscan Spiritual Center.  I come with excitement but some anxiety not knowing what you, our readers, would like most to hear.  You'll have to direct me as I move forward into this new blogging world.  Today is an exquisite day in the neighborhood, bright sunshine and blue skies everywhere with a obvious hint of Fall in the air.    There is a stillness and an excitement around here as we anticipate the Feast of St. Francis this week.  We celebrate Transitus on Wednesday night at 7 PM and the liturgy for the Feast on Thursday at 7 PM.  All are welcome to join us.


The excitement is deep within our hearts as we ready for the feast.  Our call down a Franciscan path is different because it does not ask, “what would Jesus do?” but “how does Jesus live in me?”  (Delio, Ilia (2011-06-29). Franciscan Prayer (p. 147).  Kindle Edition.)   As we ponder the life of Francis and our life in a Franciscan Spiritual Center we recognize that what's really important is the authenticity of the person that enables us to be in relationship, that enables Jesus to live through us  No one ever doubted Francis' sincerity.  All were awestruck by that clear and singular desire Francis had to imitate Jesus, our brother.  And so the challenge continues for us to do the same.  Sometimes in our lives we do things because others expect it of us and other times we allow the life that wants to live within us to manifest itself fully-- that is what it is to be authentic.  To look in our hearts and to find the dwelling place where we are one with this good God of extravagant love and to let it move out of our eyes into the eyes of those we meet,  That's how Jesus lived.  That's what Francis understood and that's what's important to us. What we do is not all that important but who we are inside our heart is what Francis shows us is key.