Category: Ignatian prayer

Duc in altum

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith, discernment, Every day Catholic, Ignatian prayer, sacred listening, sacred waiting, season of change, Spiritual Journey, spirituality1 Comment

A little over three years ago I was discerning whether a part-time role on a virtual ministry team was the right opportunity for me. Since the ministry was founded by an author that I had read, I picked up Becky Eldredge’s book, The Inner Chapel, to read it again and get familiar with the person I was considering working for. Early in her book (Chapter 2 “Spiritual Growth is like Stepping into the Ocean”), Becky shared an image of her children at the ocean’s edge with varying degrees of confidence to enter the water to swim and play. Her eldest child was brave and ready to run headlong into the water. Her middle child was curious, ready to explore but more tentative about how deep she wanted the water around her to be. The youngest child was reluctant, initially, but then willing to play in the water but safely at the water’s edge.

As St. Ignatius, in the Spiritual Exercises, encourages us to do in prayer, I closed my eyes and entered a prayerful contemplation of standing at the ocean’s edge, considering my own desire after years of corporate work to go deeper in my journey of faith and to discover whether it was time to consider a role that would combine my skills at work and my desire to help others on their faith journeys. I saw myself walking confidently in the water but stopping with the water around my neck and my feet firmly planted on the sand beneath me. I felt safe but surrounded by the water with an occasional splash of a wave in my face. As I opened my eyes in the contemplation I saw Jesus ahead of me, deeper in the waters. With a curled index finger, he looked at me lovingly and said, “come deeper”. I paused, reluctant to move past the security of the footing I had beneath me. I looked at his eyes again, that inviting finger urging me forward, and I began to go deeper, keeping myself afloat with the support of the spiritual waters of grace. That imaginative prayer became my sign that it was time to move forward in faith. I was offered the position and accepted it, beginning a three year journey of ministry work.

A couple of weeks ago I prayed an Ignatian contemplation with Luke’s version (Luke 5: 1-11) of Jesus’ calling of the apostles. The apostles had been out fishing all night but Jesus sees them, coming back empty-handed, and invites them to cast their nets out again, on the other side of their boat. They are reluctant at first, even challenging Jesus, but cast their nets and bring in a huge haul of fish. They marvel at the miracle, express their faith, and begin their ministry life of following Jesus. As I prayed with this scripture, I heard Jesus invite me to cast my net, to “put out into the deep” (the meaning of the Latin words Duc in Altum), and not to be afraid.

Decision making and listening to the will of God in our lives isn’t always easy. We have our individual will and freedom, God will never ask that of us. But if we want to go deeper in our faith lives and relationship with God, we have to be willing to risk the unknown. Sometimes it might be an invitation just to enter the water a bit more, moving from ankle deep to knee deep waters. Sometimes it is casting a net in faith, unaware of the catch we will bring in. But always, always, Jesus is there to encourage us and let us know that we do not walk, or swim, alone.

Is there an invitation from God you have been hearing? Is it still a whisper or has God’s voice been beckoning louder? I offer these images of standing at the water’s edge, or hearing Jesus ask you to cast your net, for your prayer and consideration. Be willing to hear the invitation. You don’t have to rush, but if you listen, your life might never be the same!

Duc in altum, do not be afraid!

Wishing you abundance peace, Deena

Photo: one of the families on our Italy pilgrimage exploring the ocean edge in Nettuno.

Listening to hear

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith, Daily Prayer, discernment, Every day Catholic, Ignatian prayer, Life in the Spirit, sacred listening, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

I love crafting; making cards, playing with mixed media projects and dabbling with painting supplies. Sometimes an idea comes to me and I create it with ease but often I need inspiration from others. I will turn to crafting videos on YouTube by “makers” like Jennifer McGuire, Tim Holtz, Nichol Spoor, Nina Marie Traponi, Mindy Eggen and so many others to watch them as they express their immense creativity. A technique they share or a card idea created in the video helps me take a product I have and create something in my style or with my vision. Seeing what others, and listening to how and why they are using a technique, help me learn the craft and put my hands to work trying different techniques.

Early Saturday morning for my prayer time, I turned to a new podcast Wonder with the Word produced by God In All Things. The podcast was an Ignatian Contemplation (reading a scripture and then placing yourself in the scene) for children and young adults or “the childlike”, “exploring the gospels through the power of imagination and curiosity”. The podcast was recorded earlier this week so it didn’t occur to me, I hadn’t done my preparation before Vigil Mass, that it was the gospel for this weekend. The gospel of Mark 7: 31-37 is the scene with Jesus, the apostles, and the people following Jesus, bringing the deaf man to him for healing. With simple prompts, we were invited to enter the scene and watch the interactions that unfolded. I observed the people begging Jesus to lay his hands upon the deaf man, then Jesus pulling the man away from the crowd and healing him.

I considered two things in my reflection after praying with the scripture. First, Jesus pulled the man aside. I don’t think it was to hide what he was going to do from others, Jesus knew they would be watching. Rather I felt that Jesus had compassion on the man. He knew that once the man heard, if still among the people gathered, there might be the sudden shock of many voices and cheers once he revealed that he could now hear. Jesus wanted him to gently enter the world of sound again. Second, I reflected that to hear the Word of God we need to step away, to the quiet, each day to clearly hear God speaking to us. Whether we are simply reading scripture, practicing Lectio Divina, prayerfully repeating scripture and sharing our prayer with God, or Ignatian Contemplation, placing ourselves in the scene to see and hear what God has to reveal to us during the time of prayer, we need the quiet time to reflect on the Word. I heard the invitation from God to be sure to continue to set aside my daily prayer to listen and hear God speak to me.

I attended Saturday Vigil Mass and hearing the Gospel proclaimed, I entered deeper and listened more attentively as Fr. Carlson shared a similar reflection that words help us express spiritual realities and to communicate ourselves to others. We need language to share ourselves, on a real level, with the words we share. God also communicates to us in the Word. That is the reason that we listen to the Liturgy of the Word each Sunday as part of Mass, or as other congregations do each weekend. He reminded us to be open and attentive to the Word of God, to spend some time in silent prayer and meditation, shutting out useless noise. We need to go to be alone with the Lord so that he can open our ears.

As a Benedictine Oblate, in the Prologue of The Rule, we are invited to listen with the ear of the heart. Daily Lectio, or prayerfully reflecting on a scripture passage, is an important part of daily life. We are reminded to be receptive and open before we are active in the tasks of each day.

Then early this morning, listening to Bishop Barron’s sermon on the Gospel, he shared the rich background and insight typical in his Sunday Sermons on YouTube. The word “Ephphatha” means “be open”. Jesus was opening the man’s ears to hear but also reminds us to be open to hearing the Word of God, not to shut it out or off. It’s as if Jesus by placing his fingers in the man’s ears unplugs them, opens them to hearing again.

Jesus, Word made flesh, words we hear spoken from God, reminds us to do the same, in our busy lives and secular society. In most cases it won’t remind us to stop and listen to what God is calling us to. It won’t tell us listening to God is more important that listening to what the world says is important. In some cases it might even try to embarrass or chastise us for trying to hear a deeper calling. Don’t stop, don’t let it. Take time to listen each day. Spend a few minutes reading a scripture. There are plenty of great devotional books with daily scripture, but don’t just read the words. Read the scripture, pause, and listen to what God might have to say to you, what God might be inviting you to do. It might just surprise you!

Wishing you abundant peace, Deena

Photo: Bronze angels in the Garden of Reflection at Anderson Gardens in Rockford, IL.

A tapestry of connections

On By dpavinatoIn Every day Catholic, Ignatian prayer, mindfulness, spiritual freedom, sacred seeing, Spiritual Journey, Teachers and Guides on the journeyLeave a comment

This week I made plans to take a day off and have lunch with a friend. As we were planning, she said that she mentioned to her parish priest, a former paster at my hometown parish, that we were going to meet. He asked how I was and what I was doing. As I sat down to journal in the morning, I decided to write him a quick letter and send a belated birthday greeting. I summarized all that has gone on the past few months. As I drove Friday to visit with my friend, the letter fresh in my mind, I reflected on his time at my parish. He invited me to be on our parish council and be part of a diocesan committee. I was a lector then as I am now. He held adult religious education classes which I attended. So we got to know each other over his time at our parish. More importantly, I remember that he came to the hospital the Sunday afternoon my mother fell and we were waiting to move her to a larger medical facility due to a spinal injury. I also remember the conversations we would have as I gave him updates after her surgery and my daily drives back and forth, an hour each way, to the hospital each day. He encouraged me to take care of myself too. Of all the homilies he gave and lessons he taught us in class, his compassion is the thing that I remember most about him!

This week I read a poem by Becky Hemsley, titled Patchwork, from her book Talking to the Wild: The bedtime stories we never knew we needed.

Your life is like a quilt

And everybody weaves their share

Some weave huge great tapestries

And some weave tiny squares…

It can feel like all of the moments that we are living in life are ones that we decide upon and take action on. But they are influenced by so many people and events in our lives. Things as simple as a song, a smell, a voice can take us back to a time and place that had an influence on who we are today. Someone’s compassion, or lack of attention, can influence how we respond to new situations as they arise.

But every little thread

That weaves its joy and pain and fun

Has stitched a quilt together

Of the person you’ve become…

As you reflect on your life (I like the practice of doing this each day, using a process called the Examen), give thanks for the people who influenced you in a positive way. If you have the chance, thank them or simply reach out and say hello. As you assess your reactions that are less desirable, consider how and where you might have learned this reaction. Reflect on how you would prefer to respond. Ask for the grace to do better. Consider it all gift!

So I know there are squares that comfort you

And some that you dislike

But without them all you wouldn’t have

This patchwork of your life

To read Becky’s entire poem, visit her Facebook page, Becky Hemsley Poetry. It’s a beautiful poem!

Wishing you abundant peace, Deena

Photo: A quilt that my sister-in-law Stacie made for the grandchildren to play on when visiting. It’s a beautiful symbol of the fabric of their lives together.

Turning of time

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Doing what we love, Every day Catholic, Ignatian prayer, Life in the Spirit, Life of purpose, sacred seeing, spiritual freedom, Spiritual Journey2 Comments

The school children in our area are back to school. There are holiday movies on TV and halloween decorations have been emerging in the marketplace. I have to admit I have picked up a couple of Fall items already and I look forward to unpacking some of the seasonal items that I bring out each year. I am ready to switch colors in the house and bring out my favorite orange/pumpkin, yellows, tans and browns. Sunflowers, mums and chrysanthemums will soon be replacing the brighter pinks and purples in the flower pots. I can’t wait to see the leaves change on the trees. I usually want to linger there longer than the season lasts though. If I had my wish it would start earlier, replacing those excessive heat days that always seem to come when the children are attending full days during September, and last until early December when I am ready to switch gears, slowly reflect on the season of Advent and prepare for Christmas.

But nature doesn’t wait to hear our desires for the year. It simply moves on.

Sunday, August 18 marks another moving on of time for me, another year around the sun. One of my favorite traditions, borrowed from Dr. Troy Amdahl, of OolaLife.com is to move a marble from one jar to another to mark the passing of another year. I added a step of placing the new marble for the year, representing all the opportunities and experiences the year will hold, in a small glass holder in the middle. The full jar represents each of the years I have lived so far. I have to admit when I decided on the number of marbles to put in the future jar many years ago it seemed as though I had plenty. The jar is looking pretty empty right now! I’ve got time, hopefully lots of it, to decide when to replenish the jar on the right and how many marbles to add.

My marble is a visual reminder each morning when I wake that I have been gifted with another day and that this day is the only day that matters, the only day to focus on (or at least give it our best shot!). It’s good to set goals and think about the future. If you know me, you know I love to do that! However, what we do with the day we have been given is what matters!

I am blessed with a wonderful family, good friends, a supportive parish, the Monastery and my Oblate community, and an abundant number of spiritual guides and mentors. I am grateful for my job at Ignatian Ministries and the work we do accompanying others on their spiritual journeys. Even though I have items on my wish life and places I hope to visit, I have everything that I need in life. I am extremely grateful for all of it!

This week I used a blessing from Macrina Weideker from her book, Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day for our team meeting. I had the opportunity to meet Macrina and spend a joyous dinner with her, during an Oblate conference. She was a person who was present to and enjoyed the hours of her day. Some of my favorite lines from the section on the Hour of Illumination and the short prayer, O Warmth and Energy of the Sun are “Renew my commitment to the tasks of this day. Lead me to my courage…Enliven my growing moments.” So if there is anything I ask for this year it is enliven the growing moments in my life and be led to my courage, to stand in my wisdom and to be more of the person that God calls me to be.

Join me in celebrating this once in a lifetime, brand new day, that each of us have been given today, whether it is your birthday or not. Live it to the best of your ability. Appreciate the gifts you have been given. Deena

Note: I edit and schedule the blog posts for our Into the Deep blog for Ignatian Ministries. This week I was also a writer, which I have done a couple of times a year. Visit our blog Sunday night after 6 p.m. to read my post or go to the website and subscribe to receive our blogs in an email each week on Monday morning. We have amazing writers and each of the articles in our various series will share insights and will “accompany you into deeper waters of faith.”

Photo: My marble jars

Ever growing desire

On By dpavinatoIn Answering the great question, Benedictine Oblate, Daily Prayer, discernment, Every day Catholic, Ignatian prayer, Life in the Spirit, sacred listening, Spiritual Journey1 Comment

My niece’s daughter, Genevieve, is going to be 6 this week. She loves to play, craft and create. She really loves her Legos! Last year she worked on a Cinderella castle for ages 12+. It took her a little while longer than her normal creations but I believe she was done in less than a week. The kits for children her age are done in no time. She began with the smaller combinations of regular pieces, then advanced to the small kits with specific designs and now loves the more challenging ones. She gained one level of skill and then advanced to the next, desiring to learn and do more.

As we bring June to a close today, I would like to talk once more about the topic of Who am I in God? What is God calling me to see, to be, to love in my life? Then I will pause it, at least for a while. A few people commented to me, after reading the past few blogs, that they really hoped I found what I was searching for, that it seemed I was really searching for something in my life. I guess on some level I always have been and will likely continue to be searching for deeper meaning and greater depths of understanding in my life. But it is more like peeling back layers of an onion or going deeper into the middle of a spiral. At Ignatian Ministries, we refer to that as “called deeper together”, to go beyond the shallow waters and into the deep waters of faith.

We don’t get a Catholic education in grade school, or as CCD students, and then stay at that level of understanding all of our lives. At least I hope we don’t. Genevieve would quickly be bored with working on Lego kits at a level for 5 year olds. Go to church or not, I believe it’s an important aspect of faith and community, you will be bored with your faith if you stay at a grade school understanding of it. Growth happens as we look for new ways to understand the Mystery of God and its meaning in our lives.

The practice of Lectio Divina, sacred and prayerful reading of scripture, is part of my Benedictine Oblate practice. Listening to and reflecting on the Living Word of God in scripture each day, and our additional study, whether in books, retreats or more structured study programs, should take us deeper and deeper in our understanding of who God is calling us to be in life. We go deeper into that spiral, finding new meaning, based on the desires of our heart and the circumstances in our lives.

I love the First Principle and Foundation of Ignatian Spirituality, to live with God forever, but the depth of the spirituality comes in daily prayer, daily examen and discernment. It is an ongoing process. God loves each of us, uniquely and passionately, where we are in our state in life. It doesn’t matter if someone else is further along or has a greater depth of understanding. We are where we are, with all of our desires and situations, and God wants to meet us there.

Go ahead, touch the tassel of Jesus’ garment today, (today’s Gospel reading is Mark 5: 21-43) let him turn to you and talk to you. Have a conversation regarding who you are and what you are called to be and to see, right now, today. Keep having those conversations, they will change over time, as you do!

Wishing you overflowing peace today, Deena

Image: Sen on Unsplash

The grace I seek

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Daily Prayer, Doing what we love, Ignatian prayer, Life in the Spirit, sacred listening, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

A way of praying that has become ingrained in me the past couple of years, learning and growing in Ignatian spirituality, has been to begin prayer time reflecting on and naming a grace I seek for that time of prayer, retreat or gathering. It’s very different than praying prayers of petition or praying for intentions, which is also an important part of raising those people and concerns that we have to God. I’ll share a couple of articles, at the end of this post, that will introduce you to naming a grace, if that is not a practice you are aware of. The articles are by two authors that I regard highly, Becky Eldredge and Vinita Hampton Wright. Asking for a grace is “not for God, but for us”, Vinita writes. It is something we are seeking or wish to grow more deeply aware of in our lives. It might be peace, clarity, freedom from anger in a situation, or greater joy.

Yesterday afternoon I read the daily reflection in Give Us This Day by Sr. Colleen Gibson, a Sister of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia. She has a podcast, Beyond The Habit, which I haven’t listened to yet but looks very interesting and frankly, like a lot of fun too! Sr. Colleen speaks of yesterday’s daily Gospel and Solomon’s request for wisdom and an understanding heart. She reminds us that having a discerning heart, to seek wisdom in our daily lives, is a “gift and a muscle”. We have to exercise and use it. She also comments that asking for a grace is a “first of many steps on the spiritual journey.” The gifts or grace that we ask for may not come to us the way that we expect but they are graces we then have to use.

To slow down and reflect on that which we are seeking in prayer helps us, I have found, center and ground ourselves before the prayer. It makes the prayer more intentional, our eyes and hearts become open to see and hear what God might want to say to us or invite us to consider.

Lent begins this month on February 14th. Those of us that grew up Catholic typically prepare for Lent thinking about what we want to “give up”. Yes, this is still important. Giving up a favorite food or behavior helps us learn about sacrifice, perhaps offering that sacrifice for the needs of others. It also helps us clear our thoughts and minds of things that are habitual or distract us from God’s presence. It isn’t about a diet or another chance to revive a forgotten New Year’s resolution but rather make space for God.

This Lent I invite you to spend some time thinking about a grace that you seek this Lent. This will then open the way to consider what you would like to “fast” from this Lent. You might also consider a program or book that will help you on this journey toward the grace you are seeking. I once read that The Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, read the book Life of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen during the 40 days of Lent. It’s a large book, so not one that you could fall behind on daily reading but rather develop the daily habit of reflecting on the life of Jesus. Many other publishers, such as Loyola Press, Ascension Press or Word on Fire Catholic Ministries (there are many others!) have books or daily reflection programs if that is something you would find helpful. (See below for information regarding the daily Individual Path of Prayer for Lent that we offer from Ignatian Ministries.)

I will be participating in a second offering of A Different Kind of Fast by Abbey of the Arts. We walked through the sections of Christine Valters Painter’s book two years ago and now that the book has been edited and published we will be walking through it again this Lent. As Christine wrote in her weekly newsletter today, “Ultimately, the practice of fasting is about making more space within us to encounter our deepest, most radiant selves. How do we listen to the whispers of the Holy One when we constantly distract ourselves with social media and doomscrolling. How do we discover the radical abundance available to us, not of food or entertainment, but of nourishing gifts like joy, peace, love, and gratitude? How do we make room for the grief inside us which is a witness to how much we have loved if we are fighting to be strong and keep control in an unpredictable world?”

You have some time but begin to think about Lent before we arrive there on Ash Wednesday. This time will allow you to really reflect on the grace you seek. What would you like Lent to look like this year? What do you hope for your spiritual life as you move through the forty days of Lent? What practice might you add that will enrich your daily practice of prayer and reflection? What Lenten sacrifice or fast would clear the way in your heart and mind for a closer relationship to Jesus?

May it bring you greater peace, Deena

The articles I mentioned above:

Gathering the Graces by Becky Eldredge, August 2020

Asking for the Grace to Want the Grace by Vinita Hampton Wright, June 2019

Jesus: Companion in our Suffering, An Ignatian Prayer Path for Lent, Ignatian Ministries, 2024

Image from my photos, the prayer and adoration chapel at St. Mary Monastery, Rock Island.