Category: sacred seeing

Wonder and wandering

On By dpavinatoIn Daily Prayer, Doing what we love, sacred listening, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Epiphany of the Lord. We remember the visit of the three wise men, bearing gifts and paying homage to the infant king they were searching for. Today and tomorrow, the Baptism of Jesus, mark the end of the Christmas Season. It went too fast for me this year. I cherished the long (albeit shorter this year) waiting and reflecting time of Advent. Then Christmas, New Year’s Day and today’s feast of Epiphany were over in two weeks. I love the readings of the Christmas Season, taking time to remember what truly matters in life and the colorful and bright lights that remind us of the Light that has come to illumine the path for us.

I heard and read so many beautiful reflections on the Epiphany this weekend, as I hope you did, I can’t think of anything to add to them. So I reflected on the search of the three wise men, kings of the Gentile world, seeking and having faith in the journey they were undertaking. Most of us start the new year with an intention or purpose, something we seek, as we begin the year of 2024. I was in conflict about some of the intentions I was clarifying in my mind and ways I was hoping to find the answers and direction to their accomplishment. It wasn’t that the practices were unethical or contradictory to my faith, but I wondered if I was placing my focus on the right things. Would those things bring me closer to God? How was my 14-day health reset program that I will begin on January 15th, for example, making a difference in my spiritual life? The answers came as I wandered through two practices I began in the New Year, or the week before.

I mentioned, last week, the 90-day program of contemplative prayer and reflection, based on Ignatian Spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises. These early days of the program invite us to reflect on the love of God for each of us and the Principles and Foundations of St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. The basic premise of the Principles and Foundations is that we are created out of love, in order to praise God’s infinite love and goodness, and by dedicating our lives to his service in order that we may enter eternal life with him. The desires of our heart then, those intentions we name each year, are given to us to attain the specific purpose we have been created for. So, we pray for the right disposition, a perspective as we make decisions, that will help us live that purpose. We hold on to the things that bring us closer to God and let go of the things that hinder that. What a simple and easy way to make decisions!

As I consider my 14 day health reset program, will losing weight and drinking my NingXia Red juice bringing me closer to God? No, not in and of itself. However if the program helps me stop the self sabotaging behavior of ignoring my feelings and distracting me by eating the wrong foods, that don’t help sustain my body in this world, then yes! The program will help free me from the stresses of this world and turn to God when I am in worry, stress or despair. It will be a physical, emotional and spiritual cleansing if I pay attention during the process and make appropriate decisions.

The other program, to mention quickly, is the “Divine Rhythms” course by transformational life coach, Leah Darrow on the Hallow app. Routines, according to Leah, help us stay focused, in a world full of distractions, and create a sacred space to discover and live our divine purpose. Our personal life purpose is to align our lives, in our unique way and varying interests, with God’s divine purpose. As we define our interests and routines for each day, we create a way to be who God called us to be in life. Discovering and creating our daily routines, helps us consider the desires of our heart and then create a life that sets time aside to do them and discover how they are helping me live that divine and specific purpose I was created for.

On the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, there is a lovely practice of blessings our homes for the year. Hopefully your church or place of worship has provided some blessed chalk for you to use. There are a variety of blessings online (just Google, Epiphany House Blessing or search Epiphany of the Lord on Facebook) that you can use. I will provide a link to a blessing that our founder of Ignatian Ministries has published (also available for free download on our website). Even if your chalk isn’t blessed, if you have some, make the markings of the home blessing, indicated below, and read the blessing by Becky Eldredge, or a blessing you find on Facebook.

20 + C+M+B + 24

The numbers of 20 and 24 mark the year, the letters in the middle are said to represent the three wise men, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar and secondly, represent the Latin phrase which translates to “May Christ bless this house.”

It’s a beautiful tradition I love to practice each year, updating the year, reading a prayer and then blessing my doorways, inside and out, for all who live here and all who may enter, blessing the home, keeping us safe and protecting us from evil. This year I also pray that within this house I spend time on the things that matter most.

Lastly as we end the Christmas Season, I offer this guitar rendition of We Three Kings and Coventry Carol (the carol that remembers the death of all the innocent boys King Herod had murdered seeking to destroy the infant King he perceived as a threat to his reign). Spend time today reflecting on the desires of your heart and ask whether your daily routines and activities bring you closer to their accomplishment and are in service of the divine purpose for which you were created.

Wishing you abundant blessings this year, Deena

Image: my photo of a nativity scene with the three kings in Assisi, Italy

We Three Kings/Coventry Carol – Steve Adams

Epiphany House Blessing by Becky Eldredge and others

Quietly contemplating the new year

On By dpavinatoIn Doing what we love, Life in the Spirit, sacred listening, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

This week has been a perfect week to reflect on the past year of 2023 and look ahead to 2024. I had the week off from my part-time ministry position. The bookends of Christmas and New Year’s Day (tomorrow) have provided an opportunity to rest and relax, visit with family and friends, clean and organize (not as much as I hoped, but a feeble attempt), take some classes and start getting ready for some new programs in 2024. The clouds and softly falling snow this afternoon provide the perfect backdrop for a day of reflection, my favorite way to spend New Year’s Eve.

I pause today thinking about friends or people I am aware of that have lost loved ones in 2023. This morning I woke at 4 and happened upon the recording of the funeral Mass yesterday for the newborn son of one of our Diocesan Directors. My heart broke as I watched him carry the casket of his son down the Cathedral aisle. I have sent condolences to friends and acquaintances that lost parents, children, or good friends. There have been many impacted by changes in jobs or what a job has required. We have watched the horrors of political wars on innocent children and civilians. We cry for our environment and those impacted by flooding and fires. We begin a year hopeful and yet, there are times that we cannot control the unforeseen circumstances of life. It can be paralyzing. Should we just throw our hands up in the air, should we even plan or focus on desires for the new year?

Yes, we should, and not only should, but we must! I reread my post from last year regarding planning for the new year of 2023, the planners I ordered and the desire to focus on Being more than Doing. It can seem insignificant in a world with so much tragedy but we must hold on to the hopes and dreams of the daily life. Today on the Feast of the Holy Family, I contemplated the journeys they took to avoid the wrath of a political king who thought his power would be usurped by an infant king. Even without social media, I am sure they heard of the horror of innocent male children killed by the fearful Herod. They followed their hearts and the guidance of God, they returned to their home town of Nazareth and went on with life.

One of my undertakings for 2024 is a 90-day daily program of contemplative prayer. I began early because I want to finish by Holy Week, the last week of March. This week, one of the reflections was scripture by the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 29, verses 11-14. I was feeling sad, alone, worried and then listened to the words of the prophet: “For I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. When you look for me, you will find me…I will let you find me, says the Lord, I will change your lot…and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you.” The prophet was speaking to the those exiled in Babylon, but I believe that he speaks to me, to us, today too.

So I have asked myself, and invite you to consider, where have I felt exiled and without hope?

Our plans and our goals for the new year are a way to claim those places, listen to the desires of our heart, and begin to find hope in a future that can be different. I believe with all my heart that God desires us to be happy, to find joy in life. Will the intentions I write in my journals or my 14-day health reset program, that begins in mid January, change the world or solve climate change? Of course not, but the healthier and happier I am, the easier it is to be available for others.

When we are focusing on what we desire in life, most importantly for me, to grow spiritually and closer in my relationship to God, and then find ways to live more authentically, honoring the wisdom of my years and experience, I will naturally want to share that joy with others. When I read the verses from Jeremiah, I felt God asking me to trust, to believe that there is more to unfold in the plan for my life, desires that I may have set aside that I can revisit. Those hopes and dreams are placed in our hearts for a reason. It is not only ok to listen to and acknowledge them, it may be part of our response to God given the talents that we have been gifted with.

All week I have tried to get clarity and journal my plans and intentions for 2024. As I do my Examen of this past year, I am grateful for the ways that God has showed up for me, providing the graces of insight, encouragement and support. I don’t know what surprises 2024 has in store for us, but I hope that I live each day to my fullest potential and to encourage others to do the same. Spend a few minutes today or tomorrow looking back and acknowledging moments that you are grateful for. Name and give thanks for them. Then look ahead and identify the places that hold opportunities for growth. What are the things that you want to learn and accomplish? Those desires are there for a reason. Don’t be afraid to name them and hear God say “I know well the plans I have for you…a future of hope.”

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2024! Deena

Image: This picture is from my trip to Italy of a restored clock in the Senate Chamber in the Doge Palace in Venice. The zodiac signs represent the Republic. The clock hand rests on the scales. The sign of Pisces represents the shape of the city of Venice.

Advent & Christmas 2023 – O night divine

On By dpavinatoIn Catholic faith, Every day Catholic, praying for peace, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

It’s a dreary Christmas Eve morning, cloudy but the fog of yesterday and last evening has lifted. I have my Advent candles lit for the last time, all the Christmas trees and other decorations lit. The lights bring a welcome and comforting light to the drab day.

We began Advent with one candle and now the four brightly glowing candles remind us of the Light that has come into our world. We can rejoice that on this evening, over 2000 years ago, a Savior was born. The fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises, a promise of hope, came into the world and we too can live in hope. It seems quite poignant to me this year that the Holy Land is not able to celebrate Christmas and cities are filled with refugees seeking a promise of a better life. It accentuates our need for hope and peace. Let the final Advent candle, and the white Christ candle, remind us that there is a promise of Peace that we can cling to.

As we move from Advent later today, considering my time of prayer and reflection, I am always relieved that Christmas is an Octave, an eight day celebration of the birth of Jesus. If the last couple of days leading up to Christmas have been hectic and not enough quiet reflection time, you still have time after tomorrow. Spend time considering whether Advent and Christmas were all that you hoped for. If not, what can you do to change that? What grace can you pray for during the Octave of Christmas?

This year I wrote the Christmas letter for our Ignatian Ministries blog, Into The Deep. I scheduled it to post late this evening and our subscribers will receive the email and link to the blog tomorrow morning. If you have time late this evening (after 10 p.m.) or tomorrow after all the activities with family or friends settles down, I invite you to read it. We are so grateful for all that was birthed with Ignatian Ministries this year, it had lots of unexpected surprises but oh so many graces! Just like Advent is for each of us, we started with our prayers and desires, listened and discerned along the way, and said “yes” to those moments that felt like invitations from God. As in our individual lives, those “yeses” bring us to celebrate Jesus, and our relationship with him, each and every day.

I pray that the Light of the Christ Child illumines and fills your heart and home as we celebrate Christmas.

Peace, Deena

Photo: My Advent candles

Advent 2023 – Wake up, be watchful and alert

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual Journey3 Comments

We begin the new liturgical year today with the First Week of Advent. Advent is our season of waiting. The gospels ending the year, this past week, and beginning now in Advent invite us to be vigilant, to be watchful and alert, to be aware of the times that we forget what our true purpose in life is, growing closer to God as we wait for Jesus’ coming at Christmas and to welcome Him when He comes again.

I spent Friday and Saturday this weekend at the Benet House Retreat Center at St. Mary Monastery. I am an Oblate of St Mary Monastery so Benet House has always been one of my favorite places to go and pray. The retreat was an Advent “Hiding Place” Retreat offered by Lorene Knobbe, Assistant Program Director for the retreat center. It was a silent retreat, so I was looking forward to the quiet reflection time in between the four sessions reflecting on each week of Advent. Many of the rooms in the center look out at the beautiful grounds of the monastery so there is always an abundance of birds and wildlife that pop into view and make the scenery even more enjoyable and peaceful. I always see deer. As a matter of fact my desktop photo is of two deer I saw there several years ago.

As we began our retreat the group mentioned they just saw deer in the large grassy area below our meeting room. Another woman mentioned on Saturday, a deer was below the window as she opened the blinds in her room in the morning. I kept watching and waiting. As I was in my room gathering my things, looking out the window again, I thought, I’m so surprised the deer let me down this visit. I got in my car, backed up and turned to leave the parking area and saw a white tail. I pulled up further, alongside the open area next to the retreat house and saw the two beautiful creatures in my photo this week along the tree line gazing back at me. I smiled, thanked them and immediately thought – be watchful and alert, I am here, feel my gaze upon you.

During the retreat Lorene kept reminding us to sit quietly and feel God’s gaze upon us. I love this and often try to enter my prayer time in this way because of a virtual study program I took with Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V. on spiritual discouragement. He also begins his Daily Contemplation series on the Hallow app with this invitation to feel God’s loving gaze.

If we aren’t watchful we can miss a sudden sign or nudge to move closer to God. If we aren’t vigilant about our emotional well-being, the concerns of the season can overwhelm and distract us from the experience of hopeful anticipation. If we aren’t careful the noise of the world can move us away from the peace and calm we find resting in God’s presence in prayer and reflection.

I always try to pick up a book in one of the sitting rooms at the retreat house, even though I bring a bag of books and resources that I want to reflect on during my stay there. This trip a book of Rumi’s writing immediately caught my eye. I would like to share this with you:

The Beauty you craved in things was always my face seen through a veil.

Turn around.

See now where the beauty comes from.

How might you find some time to set aside and let God’s loving gaze come down upon you? What are some things you might change this Advent to be more watchful and alert? What grace do you seek, or is there an intention you would like to set, during this season of quiet waiting?

Then watch; watch for opportunities to turn to God instead of giving in to the anxieties or busyness of the holiday season and watch in hope for signs of God’s presence in your life.

Advent blessings, Deena

p.s. I also want to say a note of thanks to each of you who read my blog. I began a year ago, in November, on the first Sunday of Advent. I have enjoyed the feedback you have given, online or in person, and am grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.

Images: Advent wreath – KaLisa Veer on Unsplash

Photo: My photo of the deer at Benet House Retreat Center

Anniversary of thankfulness

On By dpavinatoIn Life in the Spirit, sacred seeing, Spiritual Journey, spirituality1 Comment

We were looking forward to something special, this Thanksgiving, as a family. Life had other plans and as a result we experienced a roller coaster of emotions dealing with the change in plans. It is easy to get disappointed after realizing something we desired so much can’t take place. This morning I found myself thinking of many wonderful Thanksgivings in the past. It helped me to take a fresh look at this Thanksgiving and look forward, God willing, to the many Thanksgivings in our future.

My Mom and Dad were married on Thanksgiving Day. It was November 24th, which this year is Friday, but my Dad always recalled their anniversary and celebrated on Thanksgiving Day. Well, I actually think it gave him a reason to celebrate twice, if the 24th didn’t fall on Thanksgiving Day!

My uncle Tony and aunt Marilyn were married on November 24th as well, but not on Thanksgiving Day. Gene and Stacie, my brother and sister-in-law, were married on November 28th and my niece, Maureen, and her husband, Ben, were married on November 30th. My nephew, Eugene, and his wife, Jennifer, celebrate their anniversary in December so still within the special bookends of Thanksgiving and Christmas, seasons of thanksgiving, joy and love. The holidays have always been a time to come together to celebrate as a family but then also a time to give thanks for the gift of family that continues to love and grow as a result of the commitment that is made in marriage.

So whether Thanksgiving will be a raucous family celebration or a quiet day at home, take some time to appreciate special memories and family members of Thanksgivings past. Say a prayer of blessing over those you are gathered with and especially over those you cannot gather with. Be at peace with the day, no matter how it turns out.

Wishing you abundant love and peace this Thanksgiving! Deena

Finding light in the darkness

On By dpavinatoIn Catholic faith, Every day Catholic, praying for peace, sacred seeing, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

Sunny days like yesterday and today give me hope. I know it will stay light a little longer, perhaps until 5 or so, instead of 4:30 on dark and cloudy days. I treasure whatever moments of daylight we can get before the evening settles in.

I canceled my cable subscription a couple of months ago. I don’t miss the mindless TV and have other opportunities to catch up on news each day. I have a streaming app for $6/mo and can watch local Chicago news if I am free or something is happening that I want a quick update on. With YouTube and phone news apps, as well as ability to search for anything online, there are ways to stay informed. It is important to stay informed, but not let the news of the world consume or overwhelm us.

After reading a link to The Washington Post from Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, I was left confused reading the disagreements between United States, the United Nations, Israel and Hamas over the differences between a humanitarian pause and temporary cease-fire regarding the war in the Middle East. Neither side can agree or is willing to budge for the sake of the lives of innocent civilians. Both were viewed as “tactical pauses” that would result in the continuation of the war and continue to delay the work of those trying to get aid to those impacted by the war as well as continue to negotiate the release of hostages. It can be overwhelming to think about the pain and suffering of all the lives being ravaged by this war.

In a world that feels more and more divisive, with the wars in our world, as well as political and religious dissension looming large in the news, I found comfort in the words I saw in a post yesterday of the first African-American Nobel prize winning author Toni Morrison (1931-2019), written in 2015:

“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.

I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge – even wisdom.

Like art.”

In his Angelus message today from Rome, Pope Francis also offers us words to reflect on, looking to the Gospel for today, from St. Matthew, and the parable of the 10 virgins, 5 prepared and 5 unprepared with their lantern oil, for the arrival of the bridegroom and the wedding feast. The Pope asks us to consider the many ways we are more concerned with the things of the world, our appearance and our image to others, instead of “taking care of the things that cannot be seen…caring for the heart.” He suggests we should not ignore the “oil of inner life” and take time to look at our inner lives, of God’s gaze upon us.

Let us let the chaos in our world, lead us to that time of inner reflection, listening deeply to how God might be calling us to reach out to others in our broken world.

Like Bela in my photo today, look for the light wherever you can find it. Find stories of hope and inspiration. Stay informed but pray for peace and watch for the uplifting stories of those helping others, whether in war ravaged parts of our world, like the Middle East and Ukraine, aid being given to refuges being bused to cities with no homes or job, or those seeking to help those less fortunate in our country – veterans, mentally unstable and the homeless. Keep our inner lanterns replenished with nourishing oil by dedicating time to the matters of the heart and soul, being service to others as much as we are able, and to the things that matter to our spiritual lives.

Abundant blessings, Deena

A picture paints a thousand words

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, sacred listening, sacred seeing, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

Last week I talked about the power of sacred reading, or Lectio Divina. This week I am going to share a few thoughts on Visio Divina, or sacred seeing. When we view a painting, sculpture, landscape, photo, or gaze at nature we can, if open to the invitation, allow our hearts and minds to view life in a new way, shift our focus from the mundane, enter a sacred silence, and allow that image to speak to us of greater realities.

As I mentioned last week, I was doing some audio recording, guided Lectio Divina and Visio Divina reflections, for an Advent retreat and I thought about my upcoming pilgrimage to Italy. I recall from my last trip to Italy, and more recently to Spain and Portugal, seeing beautiful and moving artwork. Artwork that touched me on a spiritual level. Artwork that helped me speculate about my spiritual beliefs on a deeper level. For this trip, I am especially looking forward to seeing the Fra Angelico frescos in Florence at the San Marco Museum, which was formerly a Dominican convent. Far Angelico was a monk there, then later the Prior, who painted the walls so that monks could reflect on the images of scripture as they prayed in their cells (rooms). Some of his paintings are my favorite but I have only seen most in images online. I wait in eager anticipation of seeing these frescos in person.

In a recent article written by the team at Center for Action and Contemplation, thoughts by Barbara Holmes regarding sacred art were shared in the daily email update. They quoted Barbara as saying: “Art can amplify the sacred and challenge the status quo. The arts help us to hear above the cacophony in the midst of our multitasking. The arts engage a sacred frequency that is perforated with pauses. Artists learned … there were things too full for human tongues, too alive for articulation. You can dance and rhyme and sing it, you almost reach it in the high notes, but joy unspeakable is experience and sojourn, it is the ineffable within our reach.” “This shift of focus bends us toward the universe, a cosmos of soul and spirit, bone and flesh, which constantly reaches toward divinity.”

Visio Divina can unfold in the same four steps as Lectio – read a scripture and/or gaze at the image asking what captures your attention, reflect again asking what the image might have to say to you, view it again and state a prayer that comes to mind or a grace you seek in life, then lastly sit in silence and just be in the presence of God.

While Lectio is listening with “the ear of the heart”, we can say that Visio Divina is praying with the “eyes of the heart”. During my pilgrimage I am going to share some photos of art or images along the journey. I might add a scripture or reflection based on the art we encounter. I invite you to spend some time with the images and see what it inspires for you.

This week’s image is a favorite. It is a watercolor by Corby Eisbacher entitled Jump for Joy, depicting the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. You can visit Art by Corby on Etsy here. Spend some time with the image. What speaks to you as you view it? What does the image have to say to you?

Create Joy, Deena