There is nothing we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as our friend. -Dorothy Day

Tomorrow I head out for a three-day leadership development program, one of my favorite workshops to help facilitate. A reflection exercise that we have planned is a self-inventory of gifts and preferences. I think reflective practice is essential to healthy, self-aware leadership. Playing to strengths is also helpful.

From this reflection I pulled the below quote from one of my inspirations, Dorothy Day, to share. She challenges us to prioritize our efforts to those most in need, as God invites us to do. Enjoy and blessings on your week ahead!

A Call to Action: Dorothy Day

“What we would like to do is change the world–make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do. And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute–the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor, in other words–we can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as our friend.”

All of us bring light to exciting solutions never tried before, for it is our hope that implores us, at our uncompromising core, to keep rising up for an earth more than worth fighting for. -Amanda Gorman

Our puppy Bingo met her first frisbee yesterday. This unidentified flying object, lying dormant in our backyard, evoked great fear and trepidation on the part of our 16 week old Labrador Retriever. Yet within minutes, once she felt more familiar and safe, Bingo eagerly embraced the frisbee among the collection of toys that occupy her time (and her teething mouth!) while outside.

Bingo’s reaction reminded me of our common primal response to surprise, especially that which might impact our well-being. Fear and anxiety may abound, yet with time, trust and relationships, newness can become known and can feel comfortable. I am leaning into some significant change management at work and so I take this lesson from Bingo to heart. And of course, my home life is a series of constant change management given the lives of our teens/pre-teens. God is good with life’s lessons everywhere…when I pay attention.

I am pleased to share this poem below that I came across earlier this week. It supports my own understanding of “Belonging,” and I especially appreciate the notion of “roundtabling.” May we each embrace this invitation to “roundtable” in our own communities. Enjoy and blessings on your week ahead!

From “In Search of a Roundtable” (1977)

For God has called a People,
not ‘them and us’
‘Them and us’ are unable to gather around,
for at a roundtable, there are no sides
And ALL are invited to wholeness and to food. …

Roundtabling means no preferred seating,
no first & last, 
no better, 
no corners for ‘the least of these’
Roundtabling means being with,
a part of, 
together, 
and one
It means room for the Spirit and gifts
and disturbing profound peace for all.

And it is we in the present
who are mixing and kneading the dough for the future.
We can no longer prepare for the past. …

—Chuck Lathrop

When “home” is a person and not a place, that is love. -Ann Garrido

2024 is off and running and we’re already hustling to keep up at home and in life! I am grateful for all the time with my family this month and I remain impressed by my youngpeople’s view of the world. God is good.

This week I share one of my favorite songs by artist Bob Marley. Tomorrow I take this song and the above quote from Ann Garrido along with me as I hop back on a plane to get back into the rhythm of my integration of work and life. And with this prayer below I also give thanks for the God of surprises. Amen!

We Pray…

For healing…prepare us for surprises.

For strength…prepare us for surprises.

For vision…prepare us for surprises.

For transformation…prepare us for surprises.

For messengers and messages…prepare us for surprises.

For community…prepare us for surprises.

For acceptance – of ourselves and others…prepare us for surprises.

For making room at our tables…prepare us for surprises.

For Truth-seeking…prepare us for surprises.

For support…prepare us for surprises.

For Common Ground…prepare us for surprises.

Walk beside us, O Holy One,

as we question and welcome,

as we challenge and invite,

as we discover and understand,

as we see, touch, taste, smell, and listen for the Newness awaiting us in 2024.

May we, Your Holy People, walk forward together, side by side.

Amen

Love is the point. – Rachel Evans

These opening weeks of January have been like the opening sprint of 2024 for my family and my professional community. I start traveling again next week for work and I find myself soaking up welcome morning routines of walking, coffee with Brigid and making breakfast for our kids. Our evenings have consisted of many dinners together, running around to practices and some fun activities like family hikes in the rain, instrumental music concerts and CYO basketball. God is good.

I am sharing two resources from meetings I have been part of this past week- the song below started one off on a positive message, and I think it sets a healthy tone for this beginning month of the calendar year. The reflection that follows comes from my morning reading today, with a helpful reminder of God’s invitation to us to be other-centered. Here’s to the week ahead! Blessings to you and yours.

From Rachel Held Evans, Inspired

Jesus made it clear that he did not come to abolish the laws of the Torah, “but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). The life and teachings of Jesus, then, embody all that these laws were intended to be. Jesus is what the living, breathing will of God looks like. This includes compassion for the poor, esteem for women, healing for the sick, and solidarity with the suffering. It means breaking bread with outcasts and embracing little children. It means choosing forgiveness over retribution, the cross over revenge, and cooking breakfast for the friend who betrayed you…

When Jesus was challenged by the experts on the Law to give an answer for what Scripture is all about, he offered a very straightforward, very Jewish response. Quoting Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19, he replied, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind, this is the greatest and first commandment.’ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22: 37-40).

This is the point of every liberation, every wandering through the desert…To love is to honor God and keep God’s commandments…Love is the ultimate deliverance story, for only love can sustain the sojourner. 

Love is divine only and difficult always. If you think it is easy you are a fool. If you think it is natural you are blind. – Toni Morrison, Paradise (1998)

Over the past week I have enjoyed time off from work with my family. To be present with them during this holiday time was a true gift. A long weekend getaway to San Diego was soul-cleansing.

Today I share a few quotes that have lifted my spirits throughout this opennining week of 2024. Happy New Year!

Blessings on your week ahead!

Vow in this new year to acknowledge God’s grace in every worthy thing you’re called to offer up. Practice marveling on the spot when something flows from your hand. Thank God humbly each evening for the day’s opportunities to manifest your gifts. -Susan H. Swetnam, Daily Reflections for Advent & Christmas

In her vision of a deeply grounded interior life, Teresa of Avila regarded humilty as a hinge virtue. It allows one to move from a sense of self-centeredness to that of unity with God and communion with God’s creation. To know who we are, as well as who we are not, is a key component of this great virtue- Kathy Hendricks, Give Us This Day

When you’re struggling, you really lean into your values. You lean into your culture. Culture doesn’t just exist when things are going well. If anything, it has to exist when things are not going well…So, that’s what I lean into: relationships within the team, communication with everybody and perspective. Reminding everyone how lucky we are…I think about this stuff every single day with every single guy. That’s probably my main job. It really is. It’s not the X’s and O’s. It’s monitoring and caring for these guys, and helping them have the best experience they can. -Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors NBA Basketball Coach

Hakuna Matata…it means no worries. For the rest of your days….it’s our problem-free philosophy. Hakuna Matata! -From The Lion King

Last night my family and I loved experiencing The Lion King musical. It is a spectacular form of art. From the music, to the scenery, to the actors young and old….I’ve been looking forward to this show for a while, and it did not disappoint!

I count my blessings to have this special time off together with my family as we enjoy the magic of San Francisco. I recognize that our city does have its challenges, yet as a family we sincerely appreciate one of the many core strengths of the character of San Francisco, which is its commitment to the arts. In recent weeks we’ve enjoyed the A Christmas Carol, a Creole Jazz Christmas Concert, and last night The Lion King. Hakuna Matata!

I found this insight from Mary McGlone to be thought-provoking as I journey through these holiday weeks. She writes regularly for the National Catholic Reporter. Mary’s most recent article can be found here, The Nativity of the Lord: The God who dwells among us. Enjoy her excerpt below. Blessings on your week ahead!

“The evangelical message of Christmas is just that. God longs to be with us, God loves us profoundly and respectfully enough to share our mortal life. From such love, God has become vulnerable to us, never imposing but inviting us into a union possible only when God enters into human life. 

The babe wrapped in swaddling clothes is a sign that God exercises power as faithful, loving committed accompaniment in vulnerability. And all of this, to invite us to become like the God who dwells among us, seeking to find a home in us.”

Service is the work of the soul. -Rachel Naomi Remen

As my kids get older, this time of year is filled with a different type of excitement, yet each year I am reminded that the energy and enthusiasm of waiting and our collective eagerness presents itself on many occasions, in many ways, throughout our household. Translation….we are busy and tired and ready for a break, too. Excited for the holiday week ahead!

I look forward to celebrating the real reason for the Season once we cross the threshold of Class Christmas parties, preparing baked goods, studying for finals, and year-end Zoom meetings. Blessings on your week ahead!

The Good Lord works in such wonderful ways, you come to see, if you just pay attention. -Paul Mariani

Our Souls in Service

Physician and teacher Rachel Naomi Remen invites readers to a deeper commitment to soul and service: 

It often seems that the problems in the world are large and overwhelming and there are limits to what we can accomplish as a single person or even as a single group. It can be profoundly disheartening. But Tikkun Olam means that we each make a difference and we can heal the world.

Service is the work of the soul. We might view moments of genuine service as a movement toward the soul, a return to what is most genuine and real in each of us. In the trajectory of a lifetime, this turning toward our goodness happens not once but many times. Some of these turnings are small and some are large. All are important. Much in life distracts us from our true nature, captures the Self in bonds of greed, desire, numbness, and unconsciousness. But every act of service is an evidence that the soul is stronger than all that and can draw us toward it despite all.

Perhaps our greatest service is simply to find ways to strengthen and live closer to our goodness. This is far from easy. It requires an everyday attention, an awareness of all that diminishes us, distracts us, and causes us to forget who we are. But every act of service bears witness to the possibility of freedom for us all. And every time anyone becomes more transparent to the light in them, they will restore the light in the world.

Service is not the attribute of any one religion any more than holiness is. Many of those who serve life have no formal religion, while others follow any one of the many religious traditions on the face of this earth. All are a blessing to life.

Rachel Naomi Remen, My Grandfather’s Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging (New York: Riverhead Books, 2000), 327–328, 329.

Our souls long for a Gospel community directed by faith, filled with hope, and acting with love. Let’s embrace this season of hope by taking action to make real the hopes we carry. – Tim Joy

This morning during the bus ride to school my youngest kids were competing with one another about who could name the most players on the Philadelphia Eagles. I have been home for a while now in terms not leaving town for work, and one of my many great joys when I’m not heading out on a plane is commuting with my kids to school. Our rides on public transit are sacred time. So not only was I proud of my children for their loyalty to my hometown team (Go Birds!), I also treasure the time together during the everyday routines like going to school.

Advent is rolling by quickly, and this week I have enjoyed taking time to read regularly from my favorite reflection book. I share a couple passages that resonated with me. Blessings on your weekend ahead!

Whenever we take time to contemplate God—whether we find God in the ocean waves, the beauty of fallen snow, the face of another human being, or the silence of wordless prayer—there is no agenda. The gift is the gift of pure presence. And afterwards, we give thanks for the gifts given.

Marina Berzins McCoy

Advent’s adventure is to move from seeing to beholding…taking time to see deeply is key. Advent gives us time to make our perceptions finer. Spiritual insight sees with the eyes of the heart….Our family and friends gather around the tree and at the table reflect the dignity of our common humanity made in the image of God.

Fr. Richard Gula

It can be hard to see the whole picture…when you’re standing inside the frame. -Ann Garrido

I recently learned of a Buddhist approach to focus. The teaching centers around being mindful of how we respond to situations. Often in life, we will not have control over certain settings, interactions, circumstances or even relationships. However, what we can control is how we respond to any such situation.

The Buddhist approach tackles the question of two arrows…after the first one is thrown and strikes a person, and a second one then strikes the same person again, a questioner asks, “does the second arrow hurt even more than the first?” As I continue to encounter new challenges and life lessons, personally and professionally, rather than focusing on that first arrow (some recent surprises have really perplexed me!) I am instead “leaning into” the second arrow of how I respond…which God willing, will continue to be with faith, humility and openness.

You can read more about The Second Arrow below. Otherwise, blessings on your week ahead!

The second arrow

“God meant for things to be much easier than we have made them”― Dorothy Day

This past weekend my daughter noticed the turtle depicted during a hike. I admit, I originally walked right past it. Yet again my children remind me to notice the important stuff, like the time taken by this innocent turtle to just soak in God’s beauty.

Henri Nouwen’s approach to prayer (below) resonated with me during my morning reflection today. In this busy time of year, as December approaches and my family – and work- calendar gets fuller every day, I strive to remain grounded in what is most important. This cover of John Mayer’s song, “Waiting for the World To Change,” impressed me too.

May your week ahead be a blessed one!

“Prayer creates the openness in which God is given to us…[and] it requires us to live in the constant expectation that God, who makes everything new, will cause us to be born again.”