Month: July 2020

Today, July 31st, is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, one of my favorite saints and a true hero to me.  I didn’t know much about him growing up, and in fact, only came to dig deep into his story in my early forties.  While he was alive, he was a force of nature and the spirituality which flowed out of his powerful conversion and later his Spiritual Exercises literally changed the world.  He’s still having an impact today, not only in my life, but in the lives of millions of others.

I’m always struck by the fact that the saints recognized in the Catholic Church are celebrated, not on the date of their birth, as is normative in most cultures, but on the day the person died, born into Eternal Life.

You can find more about Ignatius on many other posts on this site or do a google search.  You will find volumes.

Join me in praying this Ignatian prayer, so challenging but also very freeing:

The Suscipe Prayer

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will – all that I have and call my own.

You have gift it all to me.  To you, Lord, I return it.  Everything is yours; do with it what you will.

Give me only your love and your grace.  That is enough for me.

Last week, I received an email from the Retreat Center where I have been leading retreats for the last several years, and where I meet monthly with people for Spiritual Direction.  Bon Secours is like a second home, and oasis for me and I haven’t been on the property for months due to the pandemic.  One of the staff sent the email, asking if I would be willing to participate in a “test retreat day” before they officially reopen this weekend. Although I’m super busy right now, I said yes, mainly because I wanted to reconnect with this holy ground.

I felt blessed when our little group gathered, learning that there were just six of us.  The day would be in silence, but we were encouraged to walk around (with mask on) and explore the familiar property, being sensitive to social distancing rules.  So far, it’s been a wonderful day, with very few people on the property.  I’ve been here many times when there are multiple retreats, all sold out, and the place is filled with people seeking to take some time away, to pray, relax and rest.

I have to admit that the place seems rather lonely, but with all that’s going on right now with the resurgence of the pandemic, I’m glad the few that are here have the place mostly to ourselves.  The bridge in the photo, seen in other posts on this site, is situated at the end of the pond next to the Retreat Center.  I guess I’ve been coming here for nearly thirty years, making various retreats or just stopping by for some exercise, and one of my favorite activities is to walk around this pond, eventually walking over the bridge.  I always think about how I’m generally in one place, but feel pulled to go somewhere different, somewhere new, someplace holier.  I love the bridge metaphor, and as I cross from one side to the other, I sense that the Lord is always calling me to somewhere new.  I can leave my “baggage,” no matter what that might be, on the side I leave, slowly making my way to the other side.  I often stop mid-way, looking down and the koi swimming in the water underneath me, oblivious to my presence.  So very normal.

I’m glad to be here today, returning to a place of normalcy for me.  I can’t wait for my next retreat, to be held in September and entitled “Finding God in the Mess.”  I came up with that before the pandemic hit, but now, is realize it was very providential.  Who could have imagined all that has occurred since the early part of 2020?  In talking with some folks here today, we are all longing for a return to normalcy, but none of us knows what that might look like, or when the return will come, if it ever fully does.  For me, I’m satisfied with my return to Bon Secours today, even just for a few hours.  As I sit here, I’m sensing the Lord is calling me across this little bridge, encouraging me to experience a new normal, trusting that all will be well, and that He’s right here with me, no matter which side of the bridge I’m on.  He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, and He loves you very much.

Wow, we’re back!  It seems like forever since I last did a post.  Some of it had to do with a big platform conversion, returning http://www.makingallthingsnew.com back to WordPress.  A longtime friend, who has been very generous over the years with his time and talent facilitated the switch, which involved moving years worth of content.  I have to add that the current pandemic we have been experiencing the last several months, with no end in site, also played a role.

But here we are, ready to seize the day and partner with God to make something good of it.  I took this photo three years ago.  I had just finished defending my dissertation, and was exhausted.  Wisely, I made plans months before to make a retreat and I chose a Jesuit retreat center in Gloucester, MA.  Eastern Point  faces the Atlantic Ocean, and let me just say its a wonderful place if you are seeking to recharge.

The main building of the center is a large mansion, built for a wealthy family early in the 20th century.  The photo is of a sundial mounted on the ocean-facing side of the house.  I guess it’s probably been there for nearly 100 years at this point, still performing the function for which it was made.

When I saw it, I reflected on the words, Carpe Diem, or Seize the Day.  I remembered the scene in the movie Dead Poet’s Society, where Robin Williams, playing the role as teacher Mr. Keating, challenged the boys gathered around him, looking at photos of long-dead former students, to seize the day and make their lives extraordinary. 

Friends, we seem to be at a major crossroads as a country and as a culture, and for me at least, it’s hard to see how it gets played out.  This being said, the Lord called us to not be afraid.  He promised to be with us always, until the end of the age.  I believe in that promise, made two thousand years ago, and I for one trust in it deeply.

So, with this fresh new beginning at Making All Things New, the very title of the blog speaks to me.  God is making something new, even though it’s not too clear at this moment.  Let’s not give into despair and useless anxiety, which won’t help us much.  Instead, let’s seize the day, and focus on all the good which is around us, and pray to God that we can make our lives extraordinary so as to be beacons of light to those around us. In these days, that would be extraordinary indeed.