One Today

The Franciscan Spiritual Center has had a lot of activity this past month.  At the beginning of the month our Women's Awareness group focused on ZENTANGLE which is an art form that allows you to freely create beautiful patterns in a quiet meditative manner.  The tag line they use  is anything is possible one stroke at a time.  Visit the Zentangle website to learn more about this meditative form of art.  Mary Whalen is shown below teaching us this simple process and there is also  a composite showing the  end result of the participants   As you can see from the picture we had energetic participants but our youngest participant chose to simply enjoy the peace and quiet that flowed from our hearts.

In addition to this art form there was a Tai Chi Chih weekend led by Sr. Antonia Cooper, OSF.  The graceful movement of our participants filled the world with deep peace.  I hope you were able to feel some of it.  We also hosted a retreat week for Georgetown University, a Tai Chi Chih teacher's intensive, and a men's retreat for a local parish.

The prayer that flowed from our little center in these first weeks of the year were magnified by the prayers of our  nation at the inauguration of Barack Obama.  It was an important week, a time of re-commitment  and a time of reawakening the dream of "We The People".  The part that touched my heart the most  was the poem by Richard Blanco entitled One Today.  If you haven't heard it or want a copy visit this website.

Audio and Text of the Richard Blanco Inaugural Poem

It was a poem that touched every aspect of our American Life and reflected the diversity and the hopes of "We The People".  It reminded us that we are all in this together, one community moving together through each day, one community of hope.  May that hope and that desire for unity be evident in our Congress as we try to work for the common good of all peoples and, if it is not, may we let our voices be heard.

9 Day Old New Years Resolutions -- Be Nice to Yourself

Well here we are 9 days post New Years.  How many New Years Resolutions did you make and break already?  In my life, once the New Year begins the pace picks up significantly and I no longer  want to be bothered by resolutions  By about the 2nd week all resolutions are gone.

But as I age I've learned to be a bit more compassionate with myself.  I tolerate failures and look at it as an opportunity to commit again, to restart afresh.  I also never make a serious New Years Resolution until I write a list of all my successes, no matter how small, from the previous year.  Then feeling good about my successes, I look at what God might be calling me to do better so that I can be more whole. I have come to recognize that change happens slowly.  It takes time,  commitment, and a significant amount of grace.  If God wanted to tell me anything about my New Years Resolution it would be to be patient with myself and recognize how pleased God is at my effort.

And so, if you're at that point where you're ready to give up on yourself, take a deep breath and recognize that you are loved just the way you are right now.  And if you choose to have a New Year's Resolution, it's okay if you have to start, fail, restart, and stumble over and over again.  It is the effort and being faithful to the restarts and the grace God gives us, that makes it all turn out good in the end.  Little successes over the weeks of the year are where the real triumphs of life are found.  You can do it! We're right by your side rooting you along.