Poem: Notes to Self

A member of group kindly shared this poem, written by Beth Kress, entitled "Notes to Self." I found myself pondering much of its wisdom during this stressful holiday season. I hope you also find solace and comfort in its words!

Notes to Self

Impressive, the number of ways

you’ve come up with to drive yourself crazy.

Relax, there are plenty of other people

willing and able to do this for you.

For starters, knock it off already

with the sugar and all the racing around.

Stay hooked on sunlight and cycling instead,

allow more lead time than you need.

How about this for a new plan?

Speak gently to yourself when you screw up

say thanks for all the times you get it right,

Find ingenious ways to be kind to yourself.

Treat yourself as you would a ditsy best friend,

surround yourself with people who glow,

be ready to laugh at your amusing self, 

never doubt your own essential lovability.

Every day do one thing differently, always

be hatching something: a party, a gift, a trip.

Strive for a 100% result; be thrilled with 80.

Seek out brilliance and connections. Be curious.

Make your time count, for heaven’s sake

pay attention to what actually matters

dive into your communities with gusto

lean in to the light; hang out in zones of gratitude.

Linger where you catch glimpses of grace,

fill your spaces with what brings out the ahh in you.

Give or put stuff away. Don’t be afraid.

Surrender to the mystery of it all.

Know that you belong here,

keep making room for more people,

more love, and for the immensity of things.

live deeply, unhurried, with humor.

Fall into the peaceful, powerful rhythm

of your own right life.

(Beth Kress, April 2016)

December Meditation

Psalm 23
All: A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. 
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

Meditation: “Lost is a Place Too” by Ron Rolheiser, OMI

In many ways, at least in the Western world, the Church is in the desert, in a dark night, lost, being pruned, undergoing a purifying alechemy.

We’re experiencing public humiliation in the sexual abuse scandal, in our greying and emptying churches, and in the strong anti-clericalism inside our culture. We’re aging, unsure of ourselves, lacking in vocations, and becoming ever more marginalized.

But that’s a place too, a good place to be. From the edges, humbled and insecure, we can again become church.

The same holds true in our personal lives. We have our good seasons, but we have seasons too where we lose relationships, lose health, lose friends, lose spouses, lose children, lose jobs, lose prestige, lose our grip, lose our dreams, lose our meaning, and end up humbled, alone, and lonely. But that’s a place too, a valid and an important one. Inside that place, our souls are being shaped in ways we cannot understand but in ways that will stretch and widen them for a deeper love and happiness in the future.

Good wines are aged in cracked old barrels. That’s what makes them rich and mellow. They can, of course, go sour during the process. That’s the risk. The soul works in the same way and, thus, we might ask whether failure and loneliness, as they shape our souls, need to be re-imagined aesthetically: Are maturity and transformation, growth in beauty, not about more than success, health, having it all, and looking like a million dollars?

Beauty is ultimately more about the size of our hearts, about how much they can empathize, and how about widely and unselfishly they can embrace. To that end, the desert-heat of loneliness is helpful in softening the heart, enough at least to let it be painfully stretched.

That happens more easily when we’re lost, unsure of ourselves, empty of consolation, aching in frustration, and running a psychic temperature. Not pleasant, but that’s a place too.

Song: Let All Mortal Flesh Be Silent

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descending
Comes our homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
Comes the powers of hell to vanquish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Sacred Silence 

Scripture (Romans 8:18-19; 22-24; 26; 28)

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. . . We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption. . . For in hope we were saved. . . Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. . . We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

The Word of the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God.

Sign of the Cross

Article: The Dangers of Overspiritualizing

I recently encountered this article, which I think contains an important message for those of us who are struggling to understand how soul and body are involved when coping with mental illness. It can be just as dangerous to categorize depression as a solely spiritual problem and refuse psychological help as it can be to categorize it as one that has no spiritual dimension at all. To recognize that experiencing depression, like any major medical illness, is going to affect our spiritual lives and our relationship with God is not the same as thinking depression can simply be "prayed away" any more than cancer can. Please, do not refuse the help God is offering to you through psychiatrists and therapists, and encourage others to seek the help that they need!

Next Meeting: December 22

Please join us tomorrow, December 22, at 6:30pm in the Parish Center Fireplace Room for the December meeting of the Saint Agnes Depression Support Group. Together we'll share prayer and fellowship as we travel on the road towards healing and peace this Advent season.

If we don't see you tomorrow, may God bless you this Christmas and always!

November Meditation

Psalm 3

All: LORD, how many are my foes!

How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me,

“God will not deliver him.”

But you, LORD, are a shield around me,

My glory, the One who lifts my head high.

I call out to the LORD,

and he answers me from his holy mountain.

I lie down and sleep;

I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

I will not fear though tens of thousands

Assail me on every side.

Arise, LORD!
Deliver me, my God!

Strike all my enemies on the jaw;

Break the teeth of the wicked.

From the LORD comes deliverance.

May your blessing be on your people.

Meditation

From Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach by Sr. Kathryn Hermes, FSP

Blessed Charles de Foucauld, once a restless adventurer, found his heart’s desire in a simple life of presence among the Muslim people in the Sahara Desert. He wrote a meditation on Psalm 3: “It seems as though there is a great abyss between us, and that you look on us with severity. We wonder where we are and where we are going, and it seems as though we are sinking in quicksand, unable to free ourselves. But, my God, you are so good! You call to us, ‘Find yourself in me,’ and you throw us a solid anchor.

God knows you just as you are, with your history, your fears, your needs, and your tears. God loves you just as you are. God is the one who loves you most, with your garbage, your limitations, and your problems, as well as the beauty you may not be able to see. God is walking toward you, arms outstretched, to help you find meaning in everything. Let God impress you with his love. Even if you feel nothing when you read about God’s love, say to God: “I believe, even though I cannot see.” One day you will no longer need to believe, because you will see.

Song: Open Thou Mine Eyes by the Cambridge Singers

Scripture (1 Corinthians)

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. . . Therefore we do not lose heart. . . For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not one what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The Word of the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God

Sign of the Cross