Last night a group at my church began the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. You can learn more about this great spiritual tool by hitting the St. Ignatius tab to the right.
Listening to Nancy, our facilitator, I was reminded of my own first encounter with the Exercises. During this first session, we talk a lot about balance. In fact, balance is one of the key factors in Ignatian Spirituality.
something is going on with WordPress. I can’t post my picture of tulips from my garden. You’ll have to use your imagination 🙂
I can’t fault my mother. She purchased her spring bulbs last week, and too early for her region, planted the bulbs with the help of my brother. Hopefully, next spring she will bask in the beauty that is hard to see in those little shriveled up nuggets.
I started receiving bulb catalogs in the mail at the end of August. If you’re a gardener like my mom and me, these catalogs immediately transport you right through fall and winter. Turn the pages and move directly to spring. Well, it’s nice to dream a bit, isn’t it?
We had a meet and greet with our new pastor this morning. I can already tell he’s going to fit in very well at our parish. Everyone on the staff had the chance to introduce themselves, tell him a bit about what he/she does every day, and then he had the chance to ask questions. Overall, I thought was great. Then he told us a bit about himself and began building a vision for the future. It marked a new beginning for our parish. It was exciting.
I thought you might like this drawing by M C Escher. Sometimes, you can’t change our situation right away. Maybe you feel stuck in a job, but you are hesitant to find another because of the economy. It could be that you have some health issues that took years to develop, and will now take time, effort and lifestyle changes to resolve. Sometimes it helps to step back and change your perspective on things. Here’s a little story to illustrate the point.
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 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?”