Monastic Mumblings, a Friar's Journey

Ignatian Retreat in Daily Life

This is a life changing event, not easy but very rewarding.  Consider becoming a part of it.

The Ignatian Retreat in Daily Life is a prayer journey for those who want to live more deeply in relationship with God. Based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the retreat is a time set apart in the midst of everyday life to help participants discern more clearly God's movement in their hearts.

 

During the course of 30 weeks -- from October through April -- retreatants live their commitment to God, to themselves and to their fellow participants by following the steps of this prayer journey. Each retreatant commits to these three activities: 

• Daily private prayer which includes Scripture, reflection and journaling
• Weekly small group meetings in which participants share their prayer experiences with each others. Groups are facilitated by a spiritual guide, and
• Twice monthly individual spiritual direction.

Fees for the retreat are $10 per weekly meeting and $20 per session for spiritual direction - or $80 per month. There is a one-time fee of $50 for materials but no one is turned away from the retreat for lack of funds, and a fee schedule can be agreed upon based on ability to pay.

 

If you are interested in the Retreat in Daily Life, contact Katie Boudreau, [email protected]  (Tulsa area) or in Oklahoma City, Marilyn Seiler at [email protected]. They recruit during the months of July and August for their October session.

 

Give rights to slaves, widows, poor, & foreigners?!

About 3000 years ago, someone, apparently in the Royal Court copied some laws down on a broken piece of pottery.  This was the post-it note of the day.  Archaeologists believe that the Royal official (scribe) was copying down laws in an educational exercise, learning the laws.

The pottery shard was found in 2008 about 15 miles south west of Jerusalem.  It is the oldest piece of Hebrew we currently have, a thousand years before Jesus.  The question I had was, what does it say?  What was the people God was calling to Himself thinking about as laws fro their culture? Will Christians today hear God's calling to us?

“Give rights to slaves and to widows! Give rights to orphans and foreigners! Protect the rights of the poor and protect the rights of minors!”

Well, there it is.  The oldest witness of the Hebrew people, that God called to Himself.  Doesn't sound much like regular old human nature to me.  Foreigners? You mean those ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM MEXICO?  Give them RIGHTS? What sort of Liberal claptrap is this?  Poor have RIGHTS?  Even the poorest workers?  Occupy a Widow's house to keep a bank from evicting her?!

How can America survive if we  follow this sort of Liberal Garbage?

Oh... God calls us to this.  It isn't Liberal or Conservative, it is God's way.  God has for centuries called His people to reach out to the downcast, the dispossessed, and the ones not at the top of society.  Not the 1%.

He is Lord of all humanity, and how we treat His people is important. It matters.  There is a man at the gate, his name is Lazarus.  

Bishop Doyle of Texas has this comment "I am convinced that how we live our lives today affects how we live in the kingdom of God today and how we will live in the kingdom of God in the future.

In fact, it may be impossible for us to arrive at God's gate if we are not holding the hands of Lazarus, himself. The blessing of the Cross and the Resurrection is not some kind of free ticket out of jail at the end of our lives, is freedom given to us in order to serve those in need and those in our midst."

Occupy Tulsa

Last night, I spent an enjoyable evening with some Episcopalians in a local Theology Pub. We had pizza and sodas and beer, but the really interesting part was that we shared that meal with members of Occupy Tulsa.

The conversation as you might imagine was animated, with many agreements and some more divergent viewpoints, but one thing that intrigued me, was the commitment to Orthopraxy that the OT seemed to have. 

One of the members quoted Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel,who joined Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr in his protest marches.  Rabbi Heschel said “I felt my legs were praying” when he was walking with Dr. King.  There is definitely a connection with action and prayer and faith.  Something that our clean suburban communities have kept off our tidy lawns.

It reminded me of a friend, who is a Baptist Missionary that goes to Myanmar (Burma).  He spoke of the freedom of the Church, how they had no interest or ability to affect politics, and simply worked for the Gospel.

I suppose somewhere in many ways we Christians have forgotten that it is Jesus that is Lord, not Caesar.  May all our legs...pray.

Understanding God's Words

I am currently reading "The cost of community" by Jamie Arpin-Ricci.  He is the leader of a Franciscan community in Winnipeg.   In the first chapters he describs how St. Francis, while praying in the Church of San Damiano h eard the words of Christ - "Francis, go repair my house which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin."

Francis heard the wor ds clearly, and began to obey them, rebuilding that small, dilapidated chapel - it was sometime later when he realised the real meaning of the words, to rebuild the Body of Christ.

I am mulling this concept over... how could St. Francis have missed what God meant? The very day I started pondering this, I recieved a card from two Brothers in my community, who are on a Franciscan piligramage in Italy.  They are praying for us at different sites. What a great blessing!

So, how can I hope to both hear and know what God is saying to me?  How can you?

I am beginning to think the answer comes in community and consistency.  It was only after Francis formed his community and worked for some time repairing Churches and Chapels that the fullness of God's command became clear to him.    What do you, my readers think?  I take comfort in today's collect:

O God, from Whom all good proceeds: Grant that by Your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by Your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

 

Greed

It has been ages since I posted, thought I might take it up again. Yesterday my friend, Ben asked on his Facebook page "are you Greedy"?  That really got me to thinking - just how  greedy am I and how do I face it in my own life?  Can I even see it?

Then just before 10 pm, I got a phone call, and though I was already in bed and really tired, I answered the unknown number.

Turns out, it was from a friend who is in prison here in Oklahoma, and will be for a few more years.  All though the call, I kept thinking, how tired I was, and how I wanted to get him off the phone.  Finally, about 20 after ten, he had to go, and I dropped back into sleep.

This morning, Greedy is back.  Here is a friend, desperate for contact with someone who cares about him, alone in the world, and all I could think of was sleep.  Hm...

Then this morning, I looked at this Icon by Fr. Robert Lentz, OFM.  It sits on my dresser among others.

 

The question this Icon poses, is Christ looking out of His prison, or looking in at mine?

 

PS.

This Icon can be purchased at: https://www.trinitystores.com/store/art-image/christ-maryknoll