Category: sacred waiting

Standing at the threshold

On By dpavinatoIn Catholic faith, Every day Catholic, sacred waiting, spirituality, Teachers and Guides on the journeyLeave a comment

Here we are, at the threshold of Holy Week, Palm Sunday. This week, the holiest of all weeks in the church year is our final week of Lent, leading us to Easter. Just as Jesus entered the gates of Jerusalem, we stand at the gate of this special week, prepared to journey with Jesus. Regardless of how our Lent was, how well we did on our Lenten promises, we can embrace this week with intention to enter into the mysteries of Christ’s suffering and death, leading to the Resurrection, the ultimate victory over death for each of us. It is a week of beautiful and moving Church liturgies, I would encourage you to attend as many services this week as you can.

Regardless of your church affiliation, most Christian denominations have Holy Week Services. If yours does not or has not been one in the past that motivates you to want to return, find a parish or church that has an active community. Last week I visited Christ the King Parish in Moline, IL (after Mass we witnessed the baptism of Wilder, the son of my niece Maureen and her husband Ben) and the priest asked the catechumens to come forward after the homily. They had more than 20! It’s a vibrant parish community as indicated by the number of people seeking to join the Church and that parish family! It was amazing and gives me hope.

This week I began reading William Barry’s Experiencing God in the Ordinary Barry invites us to consider that we don’t have to look for God in special places, we don’t have to go somewhere (“away”, to a retreat or monastery) to experience God, God is present to us in ordinary ways and experiences. In his introduction Barry wrote that it is true that some places make it easier for us to have that experience, that some places are “thin places” (as the Irish Celts would say) for us where God is able to break through to us more easily. I would suggest that Holy Week is one of those thin places or times. As we move through each of these holy days this week, we can more tangibly experience the presence of Jesus in our lives, as we walk with him during his final hours.

I have found that many are not aware of the various services of Holy Week and what they represent. If you are, I hope there is some tidbit of information for you in this explanation.

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and then concludes with the Triduum, the final holy days of Lent, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, we walk through and with Jesus during the final days of his triumphant entry on Palm Sunday into Jerusalem, his final supper with his apostles, his arrest, torture and crucifixion, death and burial. Then on Easter, we rejoice in the Resurrection.

On “Spy Wednesday” we recall Judas betrayal of Jesus for the thirty pieces of silver. We might reflect on the many ways we have betrayed Jesus in the way we live and treat others.

Triduum begins on Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) as we commemorate Jesus’ washing of the apostles feet (an act representing our need to be of service to all) and his final Passover meal, the Last Supper, with them. As Catholics, we celebrate the institution of the Holy Eucharist. The altar is then stripped bare, leaving us with the starkness of the cross for Good Friday. Many parishes create an Altar of Repose, a beautiful space created with flowers and palm trees, with the Blessed Sacrament in a tabernacle. We are encouraged to visit different Altars in the community, to spend quiet time in prayer with Jesus in the garden.

For Catholics, Good Friday Service, is not a Mass but a time that we pray with the Passion of our Lord, have a Communion Service, and then venerate the cross. It is a solemn remembrance of all that Jesus suffered and endured for each of us. Because it is not a Mass and the Eucharist has been removed, we don’t kneel before the tabernacle, the Blessed Sacrament is no longer there. Holy Water is also removed until Easter Vigil, when the water is blessed again for Baptism. In the past local parishes have also had Tenebrae Services, a moving service of the psalms of lament and a slow extinguishing of candles throughout the readings. It then usually ends with a loud noise, in almost total darkness, representing the closing of the tomb that held the body of Jesus.

Holy Saturday morning is a time of silent waiting, concluding with the most beautiful service of the church year, the Mass of Easter Vigil. We light the Easter fire, burning old palms, as the new Easter candle for the year is prepared and from that new candle, representing the Light of Christ, we each light our candles to begin the Vigil Mass. In the midst of that beautiful candlelight, a deacon, cantor or priest sings the Exsultet, the Easter Proclamation, an ancient (7th or 8th century) hymn of praise. It is the most beautiful part of Easter Vigil. You may enjoy listening to this version by Glenstal Abbey in Ireland. It is during this Mass that any new members of the Church are welcomed, receive their first sacraments and join fully in the participation of the Holy Mass.

Each Holy Week, and through the Triduum services, I recall my spiritual teacher and mentor saying to me, the first time we met, to “enter the deep, dark incense filled corners of the church” and really experience the ritual and liturgy of the Church. That wise advice helped me find meaning in each of these beautiful liturgies, regardless of any feelings that I have for the church at any particular time or in reaction to any particular teaching that a more conservative priest or bishop might pronounce. We are all human and capable of sin and error, but Holy Week reminds us that Christ died for each of us. My goal is to keep paying attention, to look for God in the places that God seeks to communicate with me, to do my best to get to know this God of tender love and compassion and then make a return of love, in response to that generous love, with my life.

I hope that this Holy Week is one of deep connection with God and that you find many blessings as you are able, and choose, to participate in the beautiful liturgies of the Church. Deena

Photo: Taken during my pilgrimage to Italy in 20923, the Sancta Sanctorum is a Roman Catholic chapel entered via the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs) of the Lateran Palace in Rome. The photo is the chapel at the top of the stairs. It is believed that the white marble stairs were brought to Rome by St. Helena and were stairs used by Jesus as he walked toward his crucifixion.

Seeking peace

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Catholic faith, sacred waiting, Spiritual JourneyLeave a comment

On Saturday we met for our monthly Benedictine Oblate gathering to continue our study theme for this year, Peace and Justice, using The Beatitudes of Peace: Meditations on the Beatitudes, Peacemaking, and the Spiritual Life by Fr. John Dear. It’s a fantastic book, but challenging. I think of myself as someone who stands up for peace and justice, but according to Dear’s definition and barometer of being a peacemaker, to stand up, speak out and take public action, I fall terribly short.

One aspect of being a peacemaker is to cultivate and maintain an interior peace. Peacemakers are nonviolent to ourselves, to all those we encounter, all creatures and creation. It’s a tall order! Our study guide posed this question for us to reflect on, “How can you build a more peaceful heart, a more peaceful community?” We discussed that spending time in silence was essential to building a more peaceful heart. It’s important to spend time in the quiet reflecting the love that God has for each of us and to just sit in that loving presence. If I did that every day, I am sure some of the more harsh and judgmental thoughts I have toward myself would begin to slip away and would be replaced with more peaceful and loving thoughts.

The Church begins Passiontide this weekend, with the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Crucifixes and images of saints or Jesus in our churches are veiled. We enter the final two weeks of Lent, preparing to enter into the mysteries of Jesus’ Passion and death. We remove the distractions, quiet our senses and focus interiorly on how we have done with our acts of prayer, penance and almsgiving.

What would it be like to take on an attitude of acceptance and peace as we assess the first four weeks of Lent and prepare for these more intense weeks. It will not help to look back at them and chastise ourselves if we didn’t do all the things we hoped we would. Enter these final two weeks with a peaceful heart and a desire to do what we can for these remaining days of Lent. The goal is contemplate the great love displayed for us in Jesus’ suffering and death. The darkness of these days are overcome by radiant light we celebrate on Easter Vigil and the joy of the Resurrection.

Wishing you much peace, Deena

Image: A photograph of a blooming tree outside the St. Bede Worship Assembly Center where we gathered for our IL Valley Oblate gathering. As Spring begins next week, it might be enjoyable to spend some of that quiet time outside, looking at all the signs of new life around us, in the trees and flowers or listening to the birds. Just “be”, no worry or stress about what tomorrow will bring. Contemplate the love of God expressed in the world around you.

Walking behind great women

On By dpavinatoIn Daily Prayer, Doing what we love, Life in the Spirit, sacred waiting, Spiritual Journey, Teachers and Guides on the journeyLeave a comment

Some of these blogs start with an idea and a plan and things fall nicely into place. Today my plan was disrupted by the jubilant article written by Maria Shriver in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, “A Woman’s Moonshot”. Maria shares the experience of joining the First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, for the State of the Union this past Thursday. She shares the story of taking her idea to bring equity to women’s health research for Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis, menopause, autoimmune diseases and much more to the First Lady last year. Women’s health research has always been underfunded. She acknowledges the First Lady for taking her request seriously and acting quickly. But the best part of her article, for me, was when Maria stated that as the First Lady raised her arm in acknowledgement of the President’s introduction of the health research initiative, she quickly reached out for Maria’s hand to raise it with hers. As Maria says, “She didn’t have to do that, but she did…”

Great women working together for a common goal, that started with an idea or dream! That’s a vision we need for Women’s History Month. If you have a dream, follow it! Don’t give up, even when the road seems bumpy and unsure. Earlier this week I sat with an idea with my journaling cards, from my Visual Journal monthly class project, and thought of all the reasons why it’s too late, will take too long, or that I am not creative enough. Maria Shriver is seeing this dream come to life at 68, granted she has a family history and life experience to walk in bigger circles and perhaps dream bigger dreams, but she follows her dream of living a “life above the noise” and empowering change-makers – “big thinkers, visionaries and visionaries” to move humanity forward. We can each do this, regardless of the size of our circle of influence.

My original plan for this blog, in honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day this week, was to write a litany to the great women, Saints and saints, in my life. Sr. Joan Chittiser’s powerful Litany of Women for the Church has always been a favorite. This link is 2021, but I think this is revised. I had a much older version, perhaps published by Pax Christi, on a well loved prayer card, that I can’t seem to locate now. It calls on great women, channels of the Word, to intercede for us and model what we might become. I wanted my version to include the women in my life that have lifted me up and encourage me along with way.

Besides saying “pray for us” or “intercede for us” you might also use “model for us”, “show us the way”, “teach us”, etc. Don’t we need to pray for and be that for each other?

Who would you include in your litany?

Wishing you the support and encouragement to dream your big dreams! Deena

Image: a photo our Our Lady of Good Counsel window in the Votive Candle Chapel at the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI.

Trusting in new life

On By dpavinatoIn Daily Prayer, Every day Catholic, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual Journey, spirituality, Teachers and Guides on the journeyLeave a comment

We have been teased the past week or so with a taste of Spring. Then all of a sudden it was winter again. Today the sun is shining with a forecast of high 60 degrees tomorrow and possibly 70’s on Tuesday, before it drops to 30’s again Weds. January was brutal and February, well, was just February in Illinois. It can be exhausting. I watch my bulbs, and early Spring plants, like my Lenten Rose, starting to grow. I am ready for Spring! Later this week we will cross the threshold into March. I hope it will be a month filled with warm days of sunshine and continued growth.

We are also only entering the Second Week of Lent. Perhaps like me, you began Lent full of enthusiasm and a desire to be renewed in the desert and leave it a transformed person. The early days are easy when desire is strong. Yet, they can be challenging too because the new practices have not yet been firmly established.

Last week, for three nights, I attended a Lenten Rosary Mission at a neighboring parish, hosted by Fr. Gary Blake, with the retreat given by Fr. Lawrence Lew, from England and the Promoter General of the Rosary for the Dominicans. It was wonderful to hear the Fr. Lawrence’s message of Jesus’ sacrificial love for us, how we can learn from and model that love in our desire to serve him and to see our prayers, especially in the Rosary, contributing to all the prayers being prayed for each other and the world, as we trust in God’s providence. To pray in community was uplifting but it also took me out of my newly established Lenten routine of special daily prayers and participating in my online retreat. This weekend I reflected that I didn’t completely return to it after the retreat ended. As a matter of fact, I felt a bit disheartened about doing so.

Mark’s gospel of the Transfiguration reminds us that Jesus wanted to give Peter, James and John a glimpse of heaven, and hope to hold on to in the days ahead, days of his arrest, trial, torture and eventual death on the cross. He had just told them he was going to die, so this was his invitation to see beyond the cross. We know that aside from John and the women of the cross, they all ran and hid in fear, the vision of the Transfiguration a distant memory.

Last Spring, and the Springs before that, likely seem a distant memory to us too. But Spring will come, we are seeing signs of it in nature. So, let’s not be discouraged or tempted to give up our desired fasts or initiatives to enter more deeply in prayer. If one day isn’t so great, do not despair. Start again in the morning with an intention to do better. Today I plan to catch up on the days of my retreat I missed this week and do some journaling.

Let us hold on to that vision of new life that we will encounter at Easter. Lent isn’t about winning a trophy in an Ironman competition of accomplished feats. It’s about growing closer to God, creating more time and space to look closely at our relationship with God. It’s a time to look at the things we spend time on and value in life, considering them from a perspective of our spiritual lives. The Transfiguration gives us hope to hold on during difficult days, with the glimpse of what lies ahead. May we move through these remaining days of Lent with a steadfast spirit of faith!

Wishing you continued strength for your Lenten pilgrimage, Deena

Image: tulips in my flower bed last year

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.

Seeds that will sprout

On By dpavinatoIn Daily Prayer, Every day Catholic, Life in the Spirit, sacred listening, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Uncategorized2 Comments

I’ve been thinking about the spiritual practice a lot this week. When I think of my own practice, I notice the places that need some change and some nurturing. It’s normal to adjust and change as individuals as our spiritual lives deepen and grow. It’s healthy to notice where we need to tend to them a bit more.

The spiritual practice and what it leads to, a richer inner life and ever growing closeness to God, isn’t just a certain set of actions or habits. It is how it changes and transforms us interiorly. I think it is easy to focus on the external behaviors like going to church, saying a rosary or other prayers given to us by others, to sit in prayerful meditation, kneel in reverence or take a walk in nature. But if a quiet and receptive mind and heart aren’t there, then I would guess that the interior life is stagnant or perhaps even chaotic. We might not think that it is “getting us anywhere”.

Perhaps we can imagine the spiritual practice like planting seeds. We get the seeds or tiny plant, find the right environment for it to grow with the proper sunlight and we water it. We care for it. But the growth of the plant is outside of our control, we have to wait, continue to care for it and protect it. Ultimately it is a gift. Or even better, a grace that comes from the result of all the actions we have taken.

When we bake, we gather all of our ingredients, we mix them in the appropriate proportions and place those ingredients in the proper environment, an oven at the right temperature, and hope the result is the cake, muffins or cookies we desire. For those of us that bake, we know that sometimes outside factors can influence the end result, too much humidity, old flour, etc. But, the more we use that recipe, and make sure the ingredients are the best we have to use, the more often we are successful.

It isn’t just the ingredients of the cake, or the seeds and soil, that produce the desired outcome. Oh sure, sometimes you can toss a seed and get lucky. But gardening and baking both take practice, a repetition of the right process, over and over again, of doing the work and patient waiting.

The more I use Ignatian Contemplation, or imaginative prayer, the more I see the positive impact it has on my spiritual practice. Ignatian Contemplation, very simply, is placing ourselves in the scripture or story, listening and watching what is unfolding and then imagining our role in the story, what the scripture is saying to us personally. But just like baking and planting, it takes a bit of practice, as well as an open and receptive heart, to allow the scripture to speak to us personally. We listen to what Jesus might be saying to us, in our life, right now, in response to the needs, or graces, we have presented in prayer. Sometimes it is watching and learning from what we are seeing.

This week I imagined myself in the boat with Jesus and the apostles (Mark 4: 35-41) as the storm came upon the boat suddenly, I heard Jesus say “Quiet, Be Still!” to the storm, which caused the wind to cease and the waves to calm down. I knew instantly that my practice was lacking some calm, Jesus was inviting me to quiet my mind more, less talking, more being, in silence, present to the calming presence of Jesus.

If your inner life is feeling a dull or stagnant, maybe a bit unsettled, or in need of a little shift, a simple answer is to spend more time in prayer and reflection. This week sit with the scripture from Mark’s gospel of the blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10: 46-52). Jesus responds to his calls for help, those around Bartimaeus say “Take courage, get up, he is calling you.” He goes to Jesus and Jesus says to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus replies, “Master, I want to see.”

As you quiet yourself and hear Jesus say, “What do you want me to do for you?”, listen to the words that well up within you regarding your spiritual practice and relationship to Jesus. What do you say to Jesus? What does Jesus say in reply? That just might be the beginning of your next steps, the guidance you are seeking to a more fulfilling spiritual life, which will result in an inner peace that comes from growing closer to God.

Two thoughts that might help come from a great teacher of the interior life, St. Frances de Sales:

One rarely does well what one rarely does.

There is no soil so barren wherein diligent tenderness cannot produce fruit.

I wish you great peace and inner calm this week.

Deena

Image from my PicMonkey account

Delighting in the simple things

On By dpavinatoIn Daily Prayer, Life in the Spirit, sacred listening, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual Journey1 Comment

We’re beginning the Third Week in Ordinary Time this week. Merriam-Webster defines ordinary as a common quality, rank or ability; of a kind to be expected in the normal order of events. So, ordinary is not anything that we get excited about. Ordinary implies nothing monumental or note-worthy. But I began to view “ordinary” differently this weekend. I reflected that we can miss out on the wonder of the ordinary moments and I contemplated delighting in the simple things of life, simple moments that transform a day.

We’re studying the topic of Peace and Justice this year as our study for the Oblate program of St. Mary Monastery. We are reading several articles and the book, The Beatitudes of Peace by John Dear.

This week was a hectic week at Ignatian Ministries. I’m not sure it was entirely due to the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, but rather the amount of work we wanted to accomplish in the week, regardless of the number of days. There were the normal daily tasks of email communication and preparations for a new class that Becky Eldredge, our founder, begins on Wednesday. Becky had preparations for other meetings and a retreat this weekend. I prepared the weekly blog post that emails tomorrow morning. Our team worked to provide data for a quarterly review, that I prepared the PowerPoint for and presented on Friday, as well as launching our Lent Path of Prayer Series for individuals and small group leaders by end of day on Friday. The quarterly review and Lent series were essentially my tasks as part of my role as Director of Programming, a part-time position, while still coordinating some of Operations reporting, so I was feeling the weight of getting those tasks accomplished by the end of the week. On Thursday and Friday, I found myself sitting at my desk, shoulders hunched, not giving myself the periodic breaks that a body needs, stretching or exercising, or drinking the water I committed to drink as part of the 14 Day Reset program I am doing. I know better, I told myself, but choose to ignore the thought.

So by 7 p.m. on Friday I was ready to settle in and read my assignment for Saturday’s Oblate Meeting. The author, in the chapter, Blessed are the meek, wrote of simple ways that we can become more nonviolent individuals, and in doing so, protect the earth and her creatures. First, we need to examine and adopt more gentle, kind and steadfast nonviolent behavior as part of our daily practice, to become more conscious in our daily living. He also, as a second point, invited us to spend more time in daily meditation with God so that we can become aware of the times our thoughts are not so gentle, peaceful or meek. We can “disarm” our hearts and begin to live more at peace with ourselves and each other. There were certainly moments during the week I could have benefited from that quiet meditation!

Then his third point was the one that brought me to the greatest self-awareness and desire to resume a more quiet and gentle perspective to my daily routine. John Dear stated that “in this ever-deepening spirit of gentleness and nonviolence, we delight in the simple things of life – the morning sunrise, the gentle breeze, the ocean waves, the night stars, the moon, the meow of a cat, the beauty of a caterpillar, the flight of a hummingbird, the howl of the coyote, the rain, the snow, and everyone we meet – the whole web of life.” Inside I cried “Yes! Yes! Yes!” I paused as I read and thought of the brief moment I pause each morning to look at the brightening pink and purple sky of winter, the birds that perch on the back fence waiting for the seed I have been giving them in the backyard instead of trudging through the deep snow on the side of the house to the bird feeders, the stretch of Butters and Bela, my cats, when I peek in at them and gently disturb their napping. Lately, the beauty of the falling snow. Those noticings take but a brief pause in the day. I certainly can afford a brief pause every hour of the day and wonder how they might, as John suggests, disarm the less peaceful thoughts that swirl around when I become restless and agitated over activities I allow to take priority over a calm spirit.

Just as I was writing this, Butters waited patiently by the sliding door for me to open it so that he could stick his nose outside or even take a few brave steps onto the patio. He doesn’t last long with the below zero temps we have had but he loves to venture out for a few minutes. I leave the door open so he can come right back in and then enjoy the air from the warmth of the little rug in the sunshine, when it is shining. As I let him out, preparing him for the chilly air, I paused to enjoy the long icicles hanging from the building next door and the patches of bright blue sky behind the cloud-covered sky. Yes, I thought, do more of this!

As you go through this new week, I invite you to pause a second longer when something of beauty grabs your attention, savor it, breathe it in. Rest a moment there. Be more attentive to the wonders of nature, even if it’s only in your backyard. Become aware of those creatures that play a “necessary role in God’s great design” and as we slow down, we will become more peaceful individuals, and in doing so, we will also be individuals more aware of our planet and our role protecting it.

Peace, Deena

Picture: from my photo album of an amaryllis that was blooming in December.

Alert and listening

On By dpavinatoIn Benedictine Oblate, Doing what we love, Life in the Spirit, sacred listening, sacred seeing, sacred waiting, Spiritual Journey, Teachers and Guides on the journey2 Comments

I have to admit there have been times that I was listening to someone and not hearing what they said. Have you ever listened to a speech, a lecture, a homily, or even a conversation with a friend, and realized you missed what was being communicated? We may be tired, distracted or preoccupied but we can’t really hear what the other person is saying unless we are awake, attentive and active in our listening. I would add that we have to be open to what is being said as well. If I have already decided that there is nothing to be gained from the person speaking, I certainly won’t hear anything.

Yesterday I attended the first session, for me and for the year, of a monthly creative expression workshop offered by visual artist, Lisa Sonora. I have been feeling that I haven’t been expressing my creativity enough lately, so I was instantly attracted to an email Lisa sent earlier this month. Yes, I write this blog and create written content for work, but visual art expression with photos, stamps, ink, paint and my journals has been on a sabbatical for months. I love the tag line on Lisa’s site for her workshops – “Make Art. Feel Better.” I know when I am creating with color and different medium, something comes alive in me. Of course I have to put judgement and comparison aside, that isn’t the point of creative expression. It is letting that inner voice that desires to speak do so. I saw a post this week that I shared to my crafting page on Facebook and loved the sentiment by a crafts and yarn supplier, Mary Maxim, “Crafting may not solve all my problems, but it solves enough of them.” I could not agree more!

In the workshop session we didn’t actually create anything, we listened and then journaled. Lisa asked us questions and we began the “dreaming and scheming” of those voices and desires we keep quiet. I can’t say I was shocked or surprised by my answers to the questions Lisa asked. But I definitely heard from the creative voice within that is longing to express herself. So, I am going to make a point this year to listen to that voice and provide the nurturing and support to let that voice have a place in my life.

The first reading for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time is one of my favorites, from the first Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 3:3b-10,19). The young Samuel is sleeping in the temple and hears a voice call him. He assumes it is his mentor and teacher, Eli and goes to him and asks what he needs. This happens a couple of times before Eli realizes that Samuel is not attentive to the voice of the Lord and guides him to respond to the Lord the next time he hears the voice. Eli tells Samuel to respond “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” There are a couple of key points in the scripture that relate to what I am trying to say in this blog this week. Samuel is not alert or aware of the Voice speaking to him. His teacher, Eli, helps him understand. Then Samuel has to respond to the call he is hearing.

We need to be awake and alert to hear those inner desires of our heart. St. Ignatius of Loyola would say that those desires help us to hear the call to live the unique purpose for which we were created. Often times we, like Samuel, need a guide, a spiritual director, a mentor or teacher to help us discern the call. Lastly we need to respond, take a step in the direction of that purpose. If we remain sleeping and unaware, then we will continue to run to the wrong places and potentially miss an opportunity to respond and live out that call.

Pick up a journal and some colorful markers and draw this weekend. If you don’t feel you can draw freehand just yet, or wouldn’t know where to start, pick up coloring book and crayons. If you don’t have a coloring book, there are plenty of free coloring pages online such as mondaymandala.com to download, print and color. While coloring, ask yourself, “What part of my life, work or relationships feels stagnant or asleep? What would I be willing to invite in to change that?” Then listen, really listen to the inner part of you that knows the answer and is longing to tell you. Listen with the ear of your heart (Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict). Take some notes, journal, write it down. You don’t even have to do anything with that information yet. Just listen and watch to see what shows up in your life. I’ll check back again during the year on this. Feel free to send me a message if you want to share some of thoughts before then.

Create joy, Deena

Images: Blog cover; a page in one of my art journals from 2020, created as part of a class but then also written about in my photo journal soon below.

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.