A Positively Poetic Priest

"So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." (Acts 1:6-9) Jesus tells his disciples that they are going to be his witnesses, to the ends of the earth. We have talked about being a witness this year. Being a witness requires seeing and sharing. The disciples had seen a lot of things when it came to Jesus and his ministry. They had seen God very handily at work in the world and now was the time for them to go out and share their stories with others. Being a witness means not only talking about Jesus, but sharing, through words and...

"Spiritual direction is a relationship that allows one to assist another in discerning God's activity and presence in his or her life. This relationship assumes that we all need help to listen to God and live out his call." (p. 116 Spiritual Disciplines Handbook) Many people experience spiritual direction for the first time at a retreat. They are scheduled time with a priest, monk, nun, or other spiritual director where they are to talk about where God is in their life at that time during the retreat. Spiritual direction is a God centered relationship requiring trust and maturity. The spiritual director gives a new perspective to the life story of the directee by helping them see God at work through conversation, reflection, and exercises. Find a spiritual director with whom you can have a good relationship some times takes a while. Many retreat centers, diocesan centers, and some churches have lists of trained spiritual directors, however, as a relationship, it is i...

"In a world where people use the Internet an average of 30 hours a week and keep the TV or radio on 7.9 hours a day, we need to get unplugged from virtual reality and address our addiction to technology and the toxins it brings into our lives. Unplug, and look into the eyes of another human face - see the beauty of God's creation!" (p. 87 Spiritual Disciplines Handbook) We all know how much we time we spend looking at screens... right? In the quote above, it says people use the Internet on average 30 hours a week! That is an average of 4 hours and 15 minutes a day! For those of us who work in offices on computers, this average might actually be low. With all the constant distraction and interaction online, sometimes we simply just need to unplug. Put down the phones and tablets and computers, and spend some quality time with other people. God created us as interactive and relational beings. We all need some time where we are in personal contact with other people, in ...

"On the pages of a journal, in the privacy of a moment, we can take tentative steps into truth and scour our feelings, hurts, ideas and struggles before God." (p.   57 Spiritual Disciplines Handbook) I will admit, I added journaling to the list for this summer because it is one of my favorite ways of working out my thoughts, prayers, and the ups and downs of all of my life, not just the spiritual. Not all journals are the same, just as not all people are the same. For some, journaling is writing long prose about how they are doing and what is going on in their lives. For others, journaling is making lists of activities and their consequences, or series of pictures or words tied together in personal meaning. Today, art journals or Bible art journaling are trendy activities. I have multiple journals for different aspects of my life and different kinds of creative moods. However, journaling is not only the process of writing or creating art, but also the process of re...

  "How do you tend to recognize God's presence in your day?" Also known as the Examination of Consciousness, the Examen is a practice of questions which leads to seeing God in the details of our lives. Most people know of the Examen from the Catholic Jesuit tradition, popularized by Ignatius of Loyola. There are many different formats or ways of using an examen practice to deepen our spiritual lives. The focus in each one stays on the details of our daily lives and how and what affects our spiritual lives. In most examen practices, a time is set apart at the end of the day to reflect on where God was in the daily activities. By going through the different activities and looking at our bodily responses or where we saw God or writing down the words which exemplify the activities, we start to see patterns emerge which show us where God is at work. For many, questions of gratitude about our daily lives can be very helpful in long term spiritual growth. Many peo...

"A rule for life is a simple statement of the regular rhythms we choose in order to present our bodies to God as our "spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1). Each rule, or rhythm, is a way we partner with God for the transformation only he can bring." (p. 36 Spiritual Disciplines Handbook) Many of us have heard of the Rule of Saint Benedict or the Franciscan Rule of Life. These Rules were written by monks for monks as a way of structuring and ordering the common life of the monastery. However, having a rule of life goes all the way back to the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Acts 2:42 says, "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." The earliest followers of Jesus thought that every Christian should follow these four ways of living: learning the teachings, being a part of the community, sharing in Communion, and praying together. Ever since then, Christians have been developing th...

Spiritual disciplines? What are those? A good question for anyone in the Christian faith and life. Many people, when they take a moment to think of spiritual disciples, think of things like prayer, bible reading or study, and going to church. While those are good spiritual disciplines, those are not the only ones out there. Far from it! In seminary one of my professors gave me a book which outlines 62 different spiritual disciplines: their practices, their functions, and their strengths and weaknesses. Sixty two different practices! That is a lot of different ways to connect to God! "Spiritual practices don't give us "spiritual brownie points" or help us "work the system" for a passing grade from God. They simply put us in a place where we can begin to notice God and respond to his word to us." (Spiritual Disciplines Handbook p. 19) Spiritual practices help us connect our desire for God in our lives with the work that God is doing in our lives...

Now that the King Cake is settling in my stomach, I have turned my sights on tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, and the season of Lent. I have been thinking and praying about what to do for Lent this year and what I have decided to do is continue what I started for Advent and have not stopped doing. And that is writing a poem every day. I know, for many people, that idea makes you cringe. But for some reason, I have greatly enjoyed the challenge I set for myself for Advent and I haven't stopped. Everyday the Society of Saint John the Evangelist puts out a word of the day with a quote from one of the brother's sermons. (I highly recommend getting their emails.) I put that word in my journal in the morning and let it bounce around my head throughout the day. At the end of the day, I write down the poem that comes. What I am going to do for Lent is share them on this blog. You are welcome to read and ponder them too, and even respond. I do not guarantee that the poetry will always be good...