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The talk on Thursday night and the retreat on Friday with Fr. Ronald Rolheiser were really a wonderful renewal for several of us on staff, as well as numerous parishioners. I wish all the parish could have experienced this gift. There were so many different points brought up during the retreat; I'm just going to post on one or so at a time. Today, I'd like to post about some comments Fr. Rolheiser made on faith.
Fr. Rolheiser brought up that we are often anxious, often dealing with the 'insubstantiality of me.' This anxiety is actually the opposite of faith and it positions itself easily to separate us from our call to be in relationship with God. Our internal voice questions us: "Who am I to be chosen by God, to think I am worthy of being loved by God?"
Fr. Rolheiser cited an excellent example of our deep desire for relationship with God from the Gospel of John. He noted that the first words spoken by Jesus in John's Gospel are "What are you looking for?" (John 1:38; spoken to Andrew and John, son of Zebedee). Father then mentioned the need we all have for an affective sense of God in our lives, one where we relate to God on an emotional and intimate level. This relationship, in fact, is the what we are looking for. At the end of John's Gospel (John 20:11-16), when Jesus appears to Mary but she thinks him to be the gardener, He asks her the same question: "Whom/What are you looking for?" After she expresses her anxiety about the missing body of her Lord, Jesus calls her by name, "Mary!" At this point, Mary recognizes Him and calls Him 'Rabbouni.' Fr. Rolheiser pointed out that this story reflects well our need for intimacy with God, our quest to hear God pronounce our individual name in love, with tenderness and concern.
But how do we achieve an affective sense of God in our lives, one where we hear God intimately call us by name? - through prayer. Fr. Rolheiser gave a beautiful example of a man visiting his elderly mother every day, for 45 minutes, for an entire year in a nursing home. Most days, the conversation may be very ordinary. In fact, out of a year of visiting every day for 45 minutes, there may be only a handful of extraordinary conversations. But, you can be sure that this man's relationship with his mother is different because of those 12 months of visits; something unspoken has happened during those visits.
Fr. Rolheiser made an analogy of this story with our prayer life, saying that sometimes we just have to show up and spend time with God. We should not let anxiety take over and worry about surficial things, but rather try to be present and to know, to have hope, that deep things will happen. And just like the man with his mother, showing up and being open will lead to an 'infused contemplation' where we have a divinely given and loving awareness of the presence of God.
I know that sometimes I attend Mass or another Liturgy with an optimistic head, but a perhaps distracted heart. Or, I sit still in prayer, only to have my mind wander to my 'to do' list or question 'who am I' to think that I am even worthy enough to have a relationship with God. At these times I need to be hopeful that our Lord will be looking for me, waiting for me, woeing me, and that if I can continue to show up, even when I am distracted, deep things will happen below the surface...and that, like Mary, at the least expected moment during the day I will hear Him call me by name - "Hilary!"
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Fr. Rolheiser's Retreat at St. Ed's
Yesterday, I spent a wonderful day with some dear friends...Hilary, Nancy, Jo, and Elinor at Father Rolheiser's workshop on leadership at St. Edward's. He was addressing some important questions.
"How do we lead when we ourselves are burdened and tired? How do we lead others and not be unduly influenced by our own egos, wounds, ideologies, tiredness, and temperaments? How do we tap into a sincerity inside us, an authenticity, that is beyond all these other influences? And how do we sustain ourselves in leadership in a way that radiates light and hope to others without giving into anger, bitterness, factionalism, and practical despair?"
Fr. Rolheiser talked about the problems we face, and presented some guidelines for sustaining ourselves for the "long haul".
It was a wonderful, and thought-provoking day....filled with authentic openness, and genuine wisdom.....punctuated by funny stories, and lively conversation. What can be better than hearing a wise man, a priest in our exquisite Church, open his mind, his heart, and his wisdom....lovingly, and thoughfully making bridges over to those who don't stand where we do, as Catholics? How grateful I was to listen to him welcome these ones who are so sincere to a new way to see....one that may bring a desire to enter more deeply into the Truth he was illuminating. Truth that is authentic, and welcoming is always deeply "attractive". Maybe they'll even begin to think "Where can I find more of this Truth?" We'll be happy to have them visit us at SJN!
Then, as the piece de la resistance, we were able to let what we had heard take root and have life....five enthusiastic, spry women discussing deep things over a somewhat dry turkey sandwich, and feeble looking apple. What a gift!
I wish you all could have been there! But we will have a fantastic dinner together in November....only, I promise it will be better than dry turkey and feeble apples!
Blessings to you all!
warmly,
sally
"How do we lead when we ourselves are burdened and tired? How do we lead others and not be unduly influenced by our own egos, wounds, ideologies, tiredness, and temperaments? How do we tap into a sincerity inside us, an authenticity, that is beyond all these other influences? And how do we sustain ourselves in leadership in a way that radiates light and hope to others without giving into anger, bitterness, factionalism, and practical despair?"
Fr. Rolheiser talked about the problems we face, and presented some guidelines for sustaining ourselves for the "long haul".
It was a wonderful, and thought-provoking day....filled with authentic openness, and genuine wisdom.....punctuated by funny stories, and lively conversation. What can be better than hearing a wise man, a priest in our exquisite Church, open his mind, his heart, and his wisdom....lovingly, and thoughfully making bridges over to those who don't stand where we do, as Catholics? How grateful I was to listen to him welcome these ones who are so sincere to a new way to see....one that may bring a desire to enter more deeply into the Truth he was illuminating. Truth that is authentic, and welcoming is always deeply "attractive". Maybe they'll even begin to think "Where can I find more of this Truth?" We'll be happy to have them visit us at SJN!
Then, as the piece de la resistance, we were able to let what we had heard take root and have life....five enthusiastic, spry women discussing deep things over a somewhat dry turkey sandwich, and feeble looking apple. What a gift!
I wish you all could have been there! But we will have a fantastic dinner together in November....only, I promise it will be better than dry turkey and feeble apples!
Blessings to you all!
warmly,
sally
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Narcissism, Pragmatism, Unbridled Restlessness and the Non-Contemplative Personality
In this chapter, Father Rolheiser discusses the factors that mitigate against contemplation in our culture; narcissism, pragmatism, and unbridled restlessness. I found it very interesting to read this chapter in light of what the Church teaches about the temporal consequences of sin. Now, we all know that "sin" is a much maligned concept these days. But a different perspective on sin might be helpful. As Catholics, we start from the premise that God is love.....that it is His essence, His being. It was out of this love that He created us. We then, are made by Love, and because He gave us the exquisite gift of His "image and likeness", we are made FOR LOVE. We cannot be complete without it....without Him.
For the sake of love, He stands before us always, offering Himself to us....asking us to choose for love....choose for Him....choose our own good, our own true self, which is embedded in the 'image and likeness' which is planted in our deepest selves. In fact, we cannot be ourselves without giving life to our essential being, which is our fundamental call to holiness. It is in holiness that we are united with Him, and find our fulfillment, our true happiness, our peace and joy.But because one of the most essential parts of our "likeness" to God is our freedom, this fulfillment of our purpose requires our cooperation. He offers us Himself and His love as a gift, and never imposes Himself on us. One of my professors in graduate school, Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, described this rather bluntly, though certainly memorably, "God is a lover, not a rapist". That kind of statement tends to stay with you! Sin is essentially turning away from Love as He stands there offering Himself to us. In that sense, we are also turning away from "ourselves", from who we were made to be, images of His love. So, infidelity to God, is infidelity to ourselves.
Ultimately, the consequence of sin is death.....eternally rejecting Love, and losing ourselves. But there are temporal consequences, as well. These are the consequences we experience in our daily lives. The Church teaches that when we sin, we experience the "darkening of the intellect, the confusion of the emotions, and the weakening of the will". Effectively, that means that we can no longer "see" the truth. Our understanding is clouded....St. Paul says,"we see in a glass darkly" (1 Cor. 13) We confuse our feelings with reality....calling "lust", for instance, "love". And finally, even if we have a moment of conscience, and know what we SHOULD do, we have no will to accomplish it. St Paul in the 7th chapter of Romans, says, "Those things I wish to do, I cannot do Those things I do not wish to do, I do". These are the very human consequences we live when we turn away from the Truth, and accept illusory truths offered to us by our narcissistic, ailing culture.
When I read this chapter in the light of the Church's teaching on sin, I see how tremendous the battle is for our souls. We must be prepared with the understanding borne of a deeper knowledge of our faith, the clarity and courage that comes from prayer, and the strength of will that is generated in the faithful and sincere reception of the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
St. Paul makes us the the gift of a beautiful and 'perfect' prayer for this battle in his letter to Ephesians:
This, then, is what I pray kneeling, before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural takes its name.
Out of His infinite glory, may He give you the power through His Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then planted in love, and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth, and the length, the height, and the depth: until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.
Glory be to Him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory be to Him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen
With our brother, St. Paul, I pray this for us all! Many blessings and much grace to you all!
Warmly,
Sally
For the sake of love, He stands before us always, offering Himself to us....asking us to choose for love....choose for Him....choose our own good, our own true self, which is embedded in the 'image and likeness' which is planted in our deepest selves. In fact, we cannot be ourselves without giving life to our essential being, which is our fundamental call to holiness. It is in holiness that we are united with Him, and find our fulfillment, our true happiness, our peace and joy.But because one of the most essential parts of our "likeness" to God is our freedom, this fulfillment of our purpose requires our cooperation. He offers us Himself and His love as a gift, and never imposes Himself on us. One of my professors in graduate school, Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, described this rather bluntly, though certainly memorably, "God is a lover, not a rapist". That kind of statement tends to stay with you! Sin is essentially turning away from Love as He stands there offering Himself to us. In that sense, we are also turning away from "ourselves", from who we were made to be, images of His love. So, infidelity to God, is infidelity to ourselves.
Ultimately, the consequence of sin is death.....eternally rejecting Love, and losing ourselves. But there are temporal consequences, as well. These are the consequences we experience in our daily lives. The Church teaches that when we sin, we experience the "darkening of the intellect, the confusion of the emotions, and the weakening of the will". Effectively, that means that we can no longer "see" the truth. Our understanding is clouded....St. Paul says,"we see in a glass darkly" (1 Cor. 13) We confuse our feelings with reality....calling "lust", for instance, "love". And finally, even if we have a moment of conscience, and know what we SHOULD do, we have no will to accomplish it. St Paul in the 7th chapter of Romans, says, "Those things I wish to do, I cannot do Those things I do not wish to do, I do". These are the very human consequences we live when we turn away from the Truth, and accept illusory truths offered to us by our narcissistic, ailing culture.
When I read this chapter in the light of the Church's teaching on sin, I see how tremendous the battle is for our souls. We must be prepared with the understanding borne of a deeper knowledge of our faith, the clarity and courage that comes from prayer, and the strength of will that is generated in the faithful and sincere reception of the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
St. Paul makes us the the gift of a beautiful and 'perfect' prayer for this battle in his letter to Ephesians:
This, then, is what I pray kneeling, before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural takes its name.
Out of His infinite glory, may He give you the power through His Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then planted in love, and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth, and the length, the height, and the depth: until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.
Glory be to Him whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory be to Him from generation to generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen
With our brother, St. Paul, I pray this for us all! Many blessings and much grace to you all!
Warmly,
Sally
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Fr. Rolheiser's Talk on Thursday Night
Fr. Bud Roland, Sally Robb, Hilary Olson and Nancy Biehler will be attending Fr. Rolheiser's talk on Thursday night at St. Edward's University.
If you are planning to attend, please let us know as we are hoping to sit together as parishioners.
Please note that the room assignment at St. Ed's has been modified. Information below:
The 8th Annual Sr. Mary Rose McPhee Lecture with Ronald Rolheiser
Thursday evening, October 29 at 7:00 p.m.
St. Edward's University
www.setoncove.net
Due to a flood in Jones Auditorium, the venue for the lecture will be the Mabee Ballroom rather than Jones Auditorium. Mabee Ballroom is in the same building (Ragsdale Center) as Jones Auditorium. Mabee Ballroom is on the third floor.
If you are planning to attend, please let us know as we are hoping to sit together as parishioners.
Please note that the room assignment at St. Ed's has been modified. Information below:
The 8th Annual Sr. Mary Rose McPhee Lecture with Ronald Rolheiser
Thursday evening, October 29 at 7:00 p.m.
St. Edward's University
www.setoncove.net
Due to a flood in Jones Auditorium, the venue for the lecture will be the Mabee Ballroom rather than Jones Auditorium. Mabee Ballroom is in the same building (Ragsdale Center) as Jones Auditorium. Mabee Ballroom is on the third floor.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Problem of Unbelief Among Believers
Dear Fellow Readers,
There are many different ways to generate a more thoughtful and informed faith. Certainly, one of them is to read insightful and challenging books that lead us to examine our faith in a deeper way. When we genuinely seek the Truth….He will find us! For Christ is “the Way, the Truth and the Life”.
Father Rolheiser, in his book The Shattered Lantern: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God, addresses the larger issues of our “godless” culture. What does it mean to live in a culture that no longer has a sense of God, where there is no longer a common assumption of His watchfulness, and His love? What we have all experienced, I’m sure, is that it is very difficult to enter into an authentic dialogue with our friends and family when we don’t understand their embedded assumptions derived from the pervasive notion that we are “independent”, with no attachment to a God who loves us. Father Rolheiser helps us to become more conscious of these cultural assumptions, and then presents some “antidotes” to confront them in ourselves, and in our relationships.
Like any book, there may be ideas that we find difficult. That is OK! In fact, it is a good and healthy thing! When we are presented with an idea that we don’t agree with, we often find that our own faith becomes more conscious, more deliberate, and more well-defined. My prayer is that we may enter together in this dialogue of faith….meeting these ideas as Catholics, and trying together to find a voice to speak the Truth (He Who is the Truth) more deliberately, and lovingly to the “world” around us.
I look forward to going on this adventure with you! May the Beloved breathe the grace of His understanding, wisdom and love into you as we begin together this journey of seeking Him….with One Book, in One Parish.
-Sally Robb
(Pastoral Associate for Family Faith Formation)
There are many different ways to generate a more thoughtful and informed faith. Certainly, one of them is to read insightful and challenging books that lead us to examine our faith in a deeper way. When we genuinely seek the Truth….He will find us! For Christ is “the Way, the Truth and the Life”.
Father Rolheiser, in his book The Shattered Lantern: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God, addresses the larger issues of our “godless” culture. What does it mean to live in a culture that no longer has a sense of God, where there is no longer a common assumption of His watchfulness, and His love? What we have all experienced, I’m sure, is that it is very difficult to enter into an authentic dialogue with our friends and family when we don’t understand their embedded assumptions derived from the pervasive notion that we are “independent”, with no attachment to a God who loves us. Father Rolheiser helps us to become more conscious of these cultural assumptions, and then presents some “antidotes” to confront them in ourselves, and in our relationships.
Like any book, there may be ideas that we find difficult. That is OK! In fact, it is a good and healthy thing! When we are presented with an idea that we don’t agree with, we often find that our own faith becomes more conscious, more deliberate, and more well-defined. My prayer is that we may enter together in this dialogue of faith….meeting these ideas as Catholics, and trying together to find a voice to speak the Truth (He Who is the Truth) more deliberately, and lovingly to the “world” around us.
I look forward to going on this adventure with you! May the Beloved breathe the grace of His understanding, wisdom and love into you as we begin together this journey of seeking Him….with One Book, in One Parish.
-Sally Robb
(Pastoral Associate for Family Faith Formation)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Parish-wide Book Study Begins October 18th
Dear Parishioners,
This fall, we will be reading The Shattered Lantern by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI for our parish book study, One Book One Parish. The program will begin October 17th/18th weekend, will include this online blogging community for One Book One Parish and will culminate in a parish event for personal discussion and sharing on November 21st. You can pick up a copy of The Shattered Lantern in the parish office during the week or on Sunday.
We are looking forward to participating in the study with you, and we look forward to reading your discussion posts on this blog site. Every week, Sally will be posting a prayer and a reflection for the week. Our schedule is as follows:
Week 1 (Oct. 18th) - Chapter 1
Week 2 (Oct. 25th) - Chapter 2
Week 3 (Nov. 1st) - Chapters 3 and 4
Week 4 (Nov. 8th) - Chapters 5 and 6
Week 5 (Nov. 15th) - Chapter 7
November 21st (Sat.)
Parish-wide discussion gathering, Morris Hall, 6:30-9:00pm. Bring a dish to share and bring your book (with all those great yellow highlighter marks). We will share a meal, hear a short presentation on the work and then discuss the book.
In preparation for our reading program, we would like to encourage parishioners to attend a lecture presented by Fr. Rohlheiser on Thursday, October 29 at St. Edward’s University.
8th Annual Sr. Mary Rose McPhee, D.C. Lectureship on Leadership and Spirituality THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29: Evening Lecture (7–8:30 p.m.)
Listening to the Experts and Listening to the Street — Carrying the Tensions Innate within Leadership
by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI
$35/$20 students & seniors; Pre-registration required: www.setoncove.net
Location: St. Edward’s University, Jones Auditorium, Ragsdale Center, 3001 S. Congress Ave.
Many blessings on our parish-wide read!
Peace,
Sally Robb and Hilary Olson
www.sjnaustin.org
This fall, we will be reading The Shattered Lantern by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI for our parish book study, One Book One Parish. The program will begin October 17th/18th weekend, will include this online blogging community for One Book One Parish and will culminate in a parish event for personal discussion and sharing on November 21st. You can pick up a copy of The Shattered Lantern in the parish office during the week or on Sunday.
We are looking forward to participating in the study with you, and we look forward to reading your discussion posts on this blog site. Every week, Sally will be posting a prayer and a reflection for the week. Our schedule is as follows:
Week 1 (Oct. 18th) - Chapter 1
Week 2 (Oct. 25th) - Chapter 2
Week 3 (Nov. 1st) - Chapters 3 and 4
Week 4 (Nov. 8th) - Chapters 5 and 6
Week 5 (Nov. 15th) - Chapter 7
November 21st (Sat.)
Parish-wide discussion gathering, Morris Hall, 6:30-9:00pm. Bring a dish to share and bring your book (with all those great yellow highlighter marks). We will share a meal, hear a short presentation on the work and then discuss the book.
In preparation for our reading program, we would like to encourage parishioners to attend a lecture presented by Fr. Rohlheiser on Thursday, October 29 at St. Edward’s University.
8th Annual Sr. Mary Rose McPhee, D.C. Lectureship on Leadership and Spirituality THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29: Evening Lecture (7–8:30 p.m.)
Listening to the Experts and Listening to the Street — Carrying the Tensions Innate within Leadership
by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI
$35/$20 students & seniors; Pre-registration required: www.setoncove.net
Location: St. Edward’s University, Jones Auditorium, Ragsdale Center, 3001 S. Congress Ave.
Many blessings on our parish-wide read!
Peace,
Sally Robb and Hilary Olson
www.sjnaustin.org
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