Reflecting on Living, Leading and Learning
This week I share a couple of resources from the new church our family has recently started attending. The above quote from Mary Oliver was included by the pastor in his letter in the bulletin. And this Stewardship Prayer depicted is one that we recite each liturgy. We have been rejuvenated as a family with this invigorating experience of community, prayer, and belonging.
Enjoy this song, “Open Mind,” by another of my favorite artists, Jack Johnson. Blessings on your week ahead!
In her article, “Choosing Joy,” author Shemaiah Gonzalez writes about Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, and his care for those in the formerly incarcerated community, who he calls “homies.” His ministry, Homeboy Industries, is impressive and inspiring. Fr. Greg is a real wisdom figure for me, and I count touring him around my former school among the many highlights of my time at De Marillac Academy. Shermiah writes:
Fr. Greg explains this joy in his new book, Forgive Everyone Everything:
It is precisely because we so fundamentally doubt that we are worthy of love that we find it difficult to traverse the terrain of our vulnerability so that we can choose joy. This is the gentle soft spot that can reach across and connect finally with the other, to make the shift from protected heart to vulnerability. The homies discover tenderness as their weapon of choice. To be grounded in our “tenderoni” self is to know that we will endlessly struggle with our worthiness to be loved. Turns out, this is a necessary ingredient to being courageously tender with other people and is the door that opens to joy.
This ideal of viewing vulnerability, tenderness and joy as such strong assets in relationship-building is a great approach to life in general.
Enjoy this rendition of “Try a Little Tenderness” by another of my favorite artists, Otis Redding. Hang on for the strong finish, it is worth the extra time. Enjoy the week ahead!
Today I write to share just a couple video resources that have informed my reflection in recent weeks. I highly recommend investing the time to listen/watch the interview with U2’s Bono- I find his insights into faith and community to be compelling. Also this Sheryl Crow song was new to me, although it is a few years old by now. I hope you enjoy them both.
Otherwise a highlight for me of this past week was watching Forrest Gump the other night with my kids. I introduced the movie to them in the context of exploring civil rights as we prepare to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. next week. It was a great experience to field their questions and learn from their observations. I encourage you to watch it (again) if you have the time, I found it particularly relevant in light of the past several years.
Blessings on your week ahead!
(Photo courtesy of Seton Hall University)
In the Catholic tradition, today marks the feast of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, who in the United States is celebrated as one of the Founders of the Daughters of Charity. I have had the great fortune to be formed by, and to walk alongside, the Daughters here in California for over two decades. They have modeled courage, resilience and an unwavering heart for those on the margins. Elizabeth Ann’s own journey of perseverence, faith and commitment to children is as awe-inspiring. Pat Marrin’s reflection, “Know Thyself,” provides a thoughtful take on how Elizabeth Ann, as educator, illustrated how discipleship embodies how Jesus himself knew, loved and accompanied those who followed him. As people of faith or even simply as people of good will, this is our calling as well.
Weather patterns across our country in recent weeks have wreaked havoc on holiday travel. For those who are unhoused or who face housing insecurity, I pray that they safely find shelter during this time. In appreciation of the rain that our earth is welcoming to California, I share “Buckets of Rain,” by a favorite of my artists, Bob Dylan.
Stay dry and blessings on your week ahead!
As I write this post, my children are in the room next to my home office, playing Pictionary together after a relaxing morning of art, backyard basketball, practicing guitars and plenty of time on the phone for our oldest child. It’s great for them to have a break from school and sports’ practices, and I look forward to joining them at the end of this week for our upcoming “staycation.”
Last night we rode the cable cars to the handmade gingerbread house at the Fairmount Hotel, one of our favorite Christmas-time traditions. This and other recent activities mark the first time in three years that as a family we have re-engaged with some revered local customs that were interrupted by the pandemic. I am reminded of how much I love where we live and how fortunate I feel for our family to once again be celebrating Christmas in San Francisco. And we work hard not to rush into the season ahead without proper recognition of this special time of Advent.
Personally, the example of Joseph, the father of Jesus, is one that grounds me in my reflection upon Advent. In her Transforming Center blog, Ruth Haley Barton describes Joseph’s discernment and decision-making as a “walk of faith.” I couldn’t agree more.
Enjoy this inspiring rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” to assist our moment of reflection. May we each walk in faith throughout these concluding Advent steps ahead!
Advent is a time of waiting, and I am enjoying this reflective season. Being intentional, spending time outdoors, pacing myself amidst a flurry of activities (both personal and professional) and keeping my daily reflective practice routines have been essential. As I’ve previously referenced, one of these disciplines is an “Advent Attitudes” email from Loyola Press – I am pleased to share this below excerpt on “Patience.”
| Patient people are more flexible with time than impatient people. Impatient people exist in only one time frame—their own. They are comfortable with only one schedule—theirs. They want things done when they want things done. And they expect the rest of the world to adapt to their schedule. If they want their child to be potty trained by twenty-four months and he is not by twenty-six, they get angry. If they have to stand in line at the store while an elderly lady ahead of them carries on a brief conversation with the cashier, they get upset because that lady is disrupting their schedule. Patient people, on the other hand, can flow back and forth between different time frames. They know, for example, that potty training a child may necessitate entering a time frame other than their own. Waiting in line for a few extra moments while an elderly lady chats with a cashier invites patient people to momentarily set aside their own schedule. They enter with compassion the schedule of another, someone who is lonely and who may have more time than she knows what to do with. Recently I did some creative imagining and took a walk with Patience. When I asked her, “What can I do to become more like you?” she thought for a moment, smiled warmly, and said, “Plant an acorn. . . .Befriend a turtle. . . .Teach a child.” —Excerpted from Gracious Goodness by Melannie Svoboda, SND |
This week I also came across this wonderful show from the sacred space of Preservation Hall in New Orleans, LA (one of my favorite towns). The band, Rising Appalachia, provides a soulful and soul-filled virtual experience. I have listened to this while I worked, shared it with friends, and I hope you find it a helpful resource as well. Blessings on your week ahead!
This Advent season I am enjoying daily email reflections from Loyola Press. Apparently author Joe Paprocki contributes to these reflections with excerpts from his book, Under the Influence of Jesus: The Transforming Experience of Encountering Christ. Enhancing my daily prayer practice during the season of Advent is helpful in grounding me throughout these hectic weeks.
In the midst of holiday business, I attempt to “take it all in” in terms of my family. We’ve started new seasons in CYO basketball and soccer, and my wife and I attempt to tri-locate on one evening each week when all three of our kids practice at the same time in different locations. We haven’t quite figured that one out yet but we are continually learning patience and flexibility.
I recently read “Best Jazz Albums of 2022: In a year of growth and reflection, the music stretched and relocated in often unpredictable ways,” and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed artist Samara Joy as a result. She performs the classic, “Can’t Get Out of This Mood” in this youtube clip, which reminds me of Barbara Holme’s article, “Jazz and the Blues as catalysts for communal contemplation.” Listening to good music always feeds my soul and brings me joy.
I came across this quote recently and it spoke to my understanding of a faith that does justice. This concept, too, brings me joy. May we each be inspired to work toward justice during this Advent time. Blesssings on your week ahead!
Our faith has been about the communities faithfully modeling a way of being in the world, of being in relationship with each other and with the prisoner and the hungry. It has been about Amos, standing up to the establishment in the name of God and in the name of justice. So, I believe that the future of Christianity is indeed its past and present. —Nontombi Naomi Tutu
I hope that this Thanksgiving week affords each of us some time to reflect and discern how we can give back, in appreciation for the gifts God affords us. In particular I pray that our common humanity may inspire us to prioritize those in our society in greatest need. As for me, I am most excited about being home after several months filled with much travel; I look forward to the time with my family! Some of our upcoming annual holiday activities will be coordinating our family charitable giving and also designing our ADVENT-ure calendar activities for the month ahead.
“To become fully human means learning to turn my gratitude for being alive into some concrete common good. It means growing gentler toward human weakness. It means practicing forgiveness of my and everyone else’s hourly failures to live up to divine standards. It means learning to forget myself on a regular basis in order to attend to the other selves in my vicinity. It means living so that ‘ I’m only human ’ does not become an excuse for anything. It means receiving the human condition as blessing and not curse, in all its achingly frail and redemptive reality.” – Brené Brown
Happy Thanksgiving!
Keeping the Faith