Given the present economic situation most of us find ourselves in, we have become afraid of risk. Caution seems to be the word of the day. I’m wondering, though, if our caution and risk aversion has given way to a kind of paralysis. Many have become afraid to do anything, but at the same time feel frustrated and trapped. Does this resonate with you?
I hope you’re having a good weekend. I just got back from a quick trip to South Carolina, and today marks the beginning of my parish’s religious education year. Say a prayer for us 🙂
Over the past few days Pope Benedict has been in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the visit is to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890). For those that don’t know, beatification is the last step in the process of being declared a saint in the Catholic Church.
I know, it’s a bit early for Nativity scenes, but let me explain 🙂 Use of our imagination is a key component of Ignatian Spirituality. It’s funny, as we get older most of us don’t daydream like we used to. Remember when you were a kid, and you could close your eyes and instantly transport yourself to some epic event, with you playing a key role? I’m not sure how it happens, but it seems to me that we become so focused on the reality of our lives that we stop dreaming.
I spent the evening up at Mc Daniel College, listening to a friend of mine introduce the college students to Ignatian Spirituality. If you want to know more about St. Ignatius and the gift he left us, check out my page to the right.
As it turned out, tomorrow will mark the one year anniversary of my starting the Spiritual Exercises. Nancy, the person who led me in the Exercises, and I met for the first time on the Feast of St. Robert Bellarmine, which is September 17th. What a year it has been!
I had the chance to take a hike with a good friend today. We went to Catoctin State Park and took the trail that led to Chimney Rock, where I took this picture. As you can see, it was a glorious fall day here in Maryland. It was good to get out, and it was great getting some strenuous exercise.
The trip reminded me of the adventures of Maltbie Babcock, a man I learned about a couple of years ago while making my annual retreat.
At church this past Sunday, the recessional hymn was Lift High The Cross, one of my favorites. Since we don’t hear it so often, I’m assuming it was played in anticipation of today’s feast of the Triumph of the Cross. This feast is linked to one of my favorite memories. The event took place at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, where I was once a student. It involved the man in the photo to the left, Archbishop Dominic Tang Yee-Ming, SJ (1908-1995).
When he was named the apostolic administrator of Canton, China in 1950, it didn’t sit well with the Communist leadership, and it was even more so when he was consecrated a titular bishop in 1951. The government indicted him as “the most faithful running-dog of the reactionary Vatican” and imprisoned him without a trial or conviction on February 5, 1958. He spent the next 22 years in prison, seven of which were in solitary confinement.
I want to keep going on my seedthrower image for just one more day. Thanks for bearing with me 🙂
In the movie Facing the Giants, Grant Taylor, a discouraged high school football coach, gets an unexpected visit from Mr. Bridges, a man who has been praying for the Christian school for years. When the coach tells Mr. Bridges “I just don’t see God at work here,” the man responded by telling a story:
Grant, I once heard a story about two farmers who desperately needed rain. Both of them prayed for rain, but only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. “Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?” “Well, the one who prepared his fields for it.”
“Which one are you? God will send the rain when He is ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it.”
I loved this movie from the first time I saw it, and I continue showing it to high school and college groups whenever I get the chance. It’s a wonderful reminder of how God works in the lives of people today. You can get it from Netflix, so if you haven’t seen it, put it in your queue.
Imagine if Mr. Bridges was talking to you instead of Coach Taylor. “Which one are you?”
Several months before 9/11/01, our two young interns sat me down to talk. In order to reach people their age, they said, “you have to get an AOL instant messaging account.” They also informed me that I had to come up with a screen name. Because I was venturing into this new world begrudgingly, I told them that if they really wanted me to do it, they would have to come up with a screen name for me. With that, they went back to their office to figure it out.
About ten minutes later, they came back to my office. One of them said, “we think your name should be seedthrower, since that’s a big part of what you do.” They also added the fact that I’m always concerned with what sprouted, and how its growing, but that I’m not supposed to keep looking back to check. Ouch.
Most people don’t know that the first recorded victim of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 was a Franciscan priest.
Fr. Mychal Judge was a chaplain with the New York Fire Department and raced to the scene of the World Trade Center as soon as he got the news.
As he was giving last rites to one of the many fire fighters who lost their lives that day, both were struck by falling debris or bodies, and killed instantly. A spiritual son of the author of the Peace Prayer, Fr. Judge lost his life while serving to his last breath.
I’m taking an on-line course right now that’s all about leadership change. From the postings my classmates have been putting up, it’s clear that most of us have experienced more poorly executed changes than those which have turned out positively. That’s really unfortunate, since change is a part of life, and when done well, it can lead us to greater and better things.
Maybe so many of us avoid change because it more often than not involves risk. Given all the financial meltdowns we’ve just experienced, many of us might be falling into a pattern of risk aversion. That would be a shame.