Life can unexpectedly drop a mystery into your day. One such situation took me by surprise on an early summer morning. Sticking to my usual routine, I was gearing up for the work day while sipping an extra hot cup of coffee. Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from outside the house. It was a fast, bumpy sound, like the clangor sneakers make tumbling in the dryer. With a few loud planes also flying overhead, I didn’t give it too much thought. Not long after I returned to my steaming cup, the strange sound returned. It was louder this time. While I am no Sherlock Holmes in the making, I sheepishly went outside to investigate, but found nothing suspicious. All was well. So with greater intention, I made my way back inside to finish breakfast. However, before reaching the kitchen table, I distinctly heard the muffling noise loud and…
The desert Fathers knew the spiritual power given in the arrow prayer. They committed to memory, the poetic words the Psalmist prayed to draw God down into their human situation and bless them right where they were. With one breath, the day began with the prayer, “Lord, be with us.” Chanting the words “Thank you Father for the beauty of all you created,” they praised the Almighty for the light given by the sun, shimmer of the moon and sustaining food from the earth. In sickness, their supplications lamented “Have mercy on me Lord, fill me with a length of days” or “Incline thy ear to hear my plea with mercy. For I am without help, make haste and deliver me.” When in doubt, the words “Lord, help me in my unbelief” stand ready. Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta also spoke arrow prayers into her work without end. She said…
Author and theologian Frederick Buechner described the way he saw God as a Shepherd this way… Recalling a memory of a man taking care of sheep, he states, “Some of them he gave names to, and some of them he didn’t, but he knew them equally well either way. If one of them got lost, he didn’t have a moment’s peace till he found it again. If one of them got sick or hurt, he would move heaven and earth to get it well again.” The metaphor helps us to understand why Christ gives Himself the title “Good Shepherd.” He is the One who searches for the lost and calls each by name. Those who hear his voice turn to Him, moving away from those places of worldly overwhelm, fear and lack. For He tells us, “I am the Good Shepherd; I know…
The Wisdom of George Eliot The journey through George Eliot’s life changing novel MiddleMarch – A Study of Provincial Life begins with a look back into the young life of Saint Theresa of Avila. As a child, little Theresa and her younger brother set out from Avila to find martyrdom as a means to restore peace in the suffering country of the Moors. Eliot then quickly takes us into the hidden life of the innumerable quiet souls struggling with hard times not unlike the mystical saint. Thus, the magnificent nineteenth century writer points to the existence of the “many Theresas in our world who found for themselves no epic life; perhaps only a life of mistakes; or a tragic failure with no sacred poet and sank un-wept into oblivion.” Through the lives of the characters living in Middlemarch, Eliot shows us that “it is never too late to be…
Christ tells us that “It is the Spirit who gives life. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life” (Jam 6:63). God spoke the first words, electing to use them to make himself known to us. And by the Word of Scripture, the beloved can envision all that can be known about God. God also uses his creation as the means to reveal Himself. Every blooming flower and soaring bird speaks to the nature of God’s beauty. Poetry, works of art and the giving of one’s love to another reflect his love, holiness and wonder. The Word of God is like an expectant garden waiting for searching hands to dig into its soil. The gardener sifts for the best place to plant seeds. They are left hidden beneath the soil, watered and given back to God. The expectant garden soon…
