We Belong To Each Other

If we have no peace, it is because
we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

--Blessed Mother Teresa

Elder's Meditation -- Choices And Cosequences

The Creator designed us with a free will.
That means we function from choices and consequences.
It is important that we practice thinking about consequences before we make decisions about choices.
Every choice I make is like setting up dominos one after the other that produce consequences.
Not just for me but also for my children and for the children that are unborn.
My choices and decision today will have consequences for seven generations.
For example, if I work on my own spiritual development and I walk the Red Road, the odds are that my children will.
They will marry and their children will follow the Red Road and so will my grandchildren even up to the seventh generation.
This will happen because of the choices and decisions that I make today.

Great Spirit, grant that the choices and decisions that

I make today will honor Your laws and values.

May I live in peace today that will ripple into the seventh generation.

Praryer for Penitents

“Receive, Lord, all my liberty, my memory,
my understanding and my whole will.

You have given me all that I have, all that I am,
and I surrender all to your divine will, that you dispose of me.

Give me only your love and your grace.

With this I am rich enough, and I have no more to ask.”

-- St Ignatius of Loyola

Why Not Now?

The time we are blessed with is limited and tends to be used up all too quickly.
How we utilize that time is consequently one of the most important decisions we make.
Yet it is far too easy to put off until tomorrow what we are dreaming of today.
The hectic pace of modern existence affords us an easy out; we shelve our aspirations so we can cope more effectively with the challenges of the present, ostensibly to have more time and leisure to realize our purpose in the future.
Or we tell ourselves that we will chase our dreams someday once we have accomplished other lesser goals.
In truth, it is our fear that keeps us from seeking fulfillment in the here and now-because we view failure as a possibility, our reasons for delaying our inevitable success seem sound and rational.
If we ask ourselves what we are really waiting for, however, we discover that there is no truly compelling reason why we should put off the pursuit of the dreams that sustain us.

When regarded as a question, "Why not now?" drains us of our power to realize our ambitions.
We are so concerned with the notion that we are somehow undeserving of happiness that we cannot see that there is much we can do in the present to begin courting it.
Yet when we look decisively at our existence and state, "Why not now, indeed!" we are empowered to begin changing our lives this very moment.
We procrastinate for many reasons, from a perceived lack of time to a legitimate lack of self-belief, but the truth of the matter is that there is no time like the present and no time but the present.
Whatever we aim to accomplish, we will achieve it more quickly and with a greater degree of efficiency when we seize the day and make the most of the resources we have at our disposal presently.

All the joy, passion, and contentment you can envision can be yours right now, rather than in some far-flung point in time.
You need only remind yourself that there is nothing standing between you and fulfillment.
If you decide that today is the day you will take your destiny into your hands, you will soon discover that you hold the keys of fate.

-- DailyOM

Thought to Ponder . . .

Growing old is inevitable,

growing up is optional,

growing spiritually is up to you.

I am grateful for this minute.

My eternity may be in it.

A new world came into view.

Spiritual Dryness

Sometimes we experience a terrible dryness in our spiritual life.
We feel no desire to pray, don't experience God's presence, get bored with worship services, and even think that everything we ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is little more than a childhood fairy tale.

Then it is important to realise that most of these feelings and thoughts are just feelings and thoughts, and that the Spirit of God dwells beyond our feelings and thoughts.
It is a great grace to be able to experience God's presence in our feelings and thoughts, but when we don't, it does not mean that God is absent.
It often means that God is calling us to a greater faithfulness.
It is precisely in times of spiritual dryness that we must hold on to our spiritual discipline so that we can grow into new intimacy with God.

-- Henri Nouwen

Elder's Meditation -- Heart And Mind

The combination of heart and mind is very powerful.
The Medicine Wheel teaches that two worlds exist - the seen and the unseen.
The seen world is the physical and the unseen is the spiritual world.
Both of the worlds are necessary to discover true reality.
The seen world is easiest seen by the male side.
The unseen is easiest seen by the female side.
The heart is the unseen and the mind is the seen.
Blessed is the leader or person who has developed the heart and the mind.
Truly, the person is of tremendous value to the Creator and the people.

My Great Spirit, help me this day to develop

both my female side and my male side.

Let me know all the feelings of each,

let me develop and grow my intuition and my mind.

Let my development only serve You.

Wisdom

We don't receive wisdom;
we must discover it for ourselves
after a journey that
no one can take for us or spare us.
-- Marcel Proust

Happiness

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness,
and the word happy would lose its meaning
if it were not balanced by sadness.

It is far better to take things as they come
along with patience and equanimity.

-- Carl Jung

There Is No Total Answer

There is no total answer - no total freedom - only continued growth.
Daily reading, openness to learn from others' encounters with life, and study of how they faced their most challenging spiritual questions will bring us progress.

Two Kinds of Loneliness

In the spiritual life we have to make a distinction between two kinds of loneliness.
In the first loneliness, we are out of touch with God and experience ourselves as anxiously looking for someone or something that can give us a sense of belonging, intimacy, and home.
The second loneliness comes from an intimacy with God that is deeper and greater than our feelings and thoughts can capture.

We might think of these two kinds of loneliness as two forms of blindness.
The first blindness comes from the absence of light, the second from too much light.
The first loneliness we must try to outgrow with faith and hope.
The second we must be willing to embrace in love.

-- Henri Nouwen

Father Andrew Trapp

Attended mass yesterday and was delight with Father Andrew Trapp, a newly ordained priest. Father Trapp grew up in Aiken, SC, and was a member of St. Mary's. He had a refreshing enthusiasm for his calling and his faith.

He described the hole in our heart that we constantly want to fill as being "God-shaped." And can only be filled by God even those we try other things. That ring true for me.

Another good day and now a new one starts.

Thought to Ponder . . .

Without change I am just a non-drinking drunk.

The Darkest Hour

In the darkest hour the soul is replenished and
given strength to continue and endure.

-- H.W. Chosa

My Own Faltering Steps

The love, the acceptance of other persons makes me
into the unique person I am meant to be.

--Peter G. van Breemen, S.J.

The letter, the smile, or phone call I offer a fellow traveler today will bless my own faltering steps throughout the long hours ahead.
Each time I focus my attention on the struggle or joy of someone else, my personal well being is enhanced.
If I give away my love, I'll doubt less that I, too, am loved.

Elder's Meditation -- Each Other

If we sat in a circle and put an object in the center of the circle and we all described what we saw, everyone would see different points of views from each other.
Some would even see opposites because they would be sitting on opposite sides of the circle.
In other words, you don't have to see what I see for you to be right.
In fact, everyone in the circle is right based on their own point of view.
If we are willing to listen to everyone's point of view, then we can get a more accurate description of the object in the center.
This is one way to put our minds together.
When we get the clarity from each other, we should give thanks and be grateful to each other.

Grandfathers from the four directions,
guide me today with Your wisdom from the east,

from the south, from the west and from the north.

A Window on Our Spiritual Lives

Even though our emotional and spiritual lives are distinct, they do influence one another profoundly.
Our feelings often give us a window on our spiritual journeys.
When we cannot let go of jealousy, we may wonder if we are in touch with the Spirit in us that cries out "Abba."
When we feel very peaceful and "centered," we may come to realise that this is a sign of our deep awareness of our belovedness.

Likewise our prayer lives, lived as faithful response to the presence of the Spirit within us, may open a window on our emotions, feelings, and passions and give us some indication of how to put them into the service of our long journey into the heart of God.

-- Henri Nowen

Thought to Ponder . . .

I saw, I felt, I believed.

The Dynamics of the Spiritual Life

Our emotional lives and our spiritual lives have different dynamics.
The ups and downs of our emotional life depend a great deal on our past or present surroundings.
We are happy, sad, angry, bored, excited, depressed, loving, caring, hateful, or vengeful because of what happened long ago or what is happening now.

The ups and downs of our spiritual lives depend on our obedience - that is, our attentive listening - to the movements of the Spirit of God within us.
Without this listening our spiritual life eventually becomes subject to the windswept waves of our emotions.

-- Henri Nouwen

Elder's Meditation -- Laws of Harmony And Balance

The outside is merely a reflection of our insides.
My mind is designed to tell me that I'm not crazy for thinking what I am thinking.
Even if I have angry thought, my mind is giving me excuses and reasons why it is OK to think what I'm thinking.
I need to be knowledgeable about the laws of harmony and balance.
I cannot twist the laws to serve me but I can adjust my life to serve the laws.
This is the law - I am here to serve the earth.
The earth is not here for me to misuse and abuse.

Oh Great Spirit, allow me the insight and knowledge of how

to live in harmony and balance with my surroundings.

Grant me change from within.

Clarity

Today, I will trust that the events in my life are not random.

My experiences are not a mistake.

The Universe, my Higher Power, and life are not picking on me.

I am going through what I need to go through to learn something valuable,

something that will prepare me for the joy and love I am seeking.

Thought to Ponder . . .

Trust God.

Clean house.

Help others.

Being Vulnerable

On the Journey Towards Being Vulnerable

written by STEVE IMBACH

Our media are saturated with images of individuals wearing the mask of "all togetherness".
I rub shoulders daily with people quick to reassure me of the unreality "I'm fine, thanks".
I find myself trapped in a superficial community, stuffed in my self-imposed cocoon of fear and shame, afraid to admit my brokenness and weakness.
I can't face the possibility of rejection and loss, not making the cut, not fitting in.
To break out of this prison, we are invited into the honesty of becoming vulnerable.
Vulnerability dismantles our obsession with getting it right.

As I take off the mask of "all togetherness", I discover a vast world of freedom.
In my vulnerability, I become accessible to fellow companions on the journey.
My vulnerability invites others in, offers understanding and empathy, but also can be a cry for help.
Even though vulnerability's path is often painful, its reward of deepening intimacy is welcome.
Being vulnerable opens my heart to a larger worldview.
I become free to explore beyond the exhausting self-focus of supporting my false image of "OKness".
I find myself challenged to deeper transparency as I sing along with Leonard Cohen

"Ring the bells that still can ring,

forget your perfect offering,

there is a crack in everything,

that's how the light gets in".

Give Thanks

Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.

-- Hausa proverb from Nigeria

Forgive And Love

Digging Into Our Spiritual Resources

When someone hurts us, offends us, ignores us, or rejects us, a deep inner protest emerges.
It can be rage or depression, desire to take revenge or an impulse to harm ourselves.
We can feel a deep urge to wound those who have wounded us or to withdraw in a suicidal mood of self-rejection.
Although these extreme reactions might seem exceptional, they are never far away from our hearts.
During the long nights we often find ourselves brooding about words and actions we might have used in response to what others have said or done to us.

It is precisely here that we have to dig deep into our spiritual resources and find the center within us, the center that lies beyond our need to hurt others or ourselves, where we are free to forgive and love.

-- Henri Nouwen

Olive Tree

One traditin holds that the olive tree was the tree of life planted in Eden.
Christian sentiments thinks of the cross as the tree of life that awaits us in paradise restored.
From it flows the grace of the Spirit that reaches us through God's word and all the Scaraments.
Those who sink their roots into the stream of grace bear, like the tree, life-giving fruit in prayer and in deeds of kindness, justice, and mercy for all.

Remember that if we wish anything from God
we must ask, seek, and knock.

-- Blessed Peter Favre

Pride

Pride sets subtle snares.
Whenever I imagine that I am in control of life -- my own or someone else's -- I have fallen prey to the ancient whisper in the Garden: "You shall be like gods."
Mortality is the enduring reminder that I become like God not by my own power but by the power of the cross.

Crabby Old Man

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Tampa, Florida, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Missouri. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem. And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this anonymous poem winging across the Internet.

Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . . . . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . . when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man. . . . . not very wise
Uncertain of habit . . . . . .with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food . . . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . . "I do wish you'd try!"
Who seems not to notice . . . . . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . a sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not . . . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . . the long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . . you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am . . . . . as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding . . . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . . . . . with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . . who love one another

A young boy of Sixteen . . . . . with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . . . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . . that I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now . . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . . and a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . . my young now grown fast,
Bound to each other ...... with ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons . . . . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me . . . . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more . . . . . babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . . my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me . . . . . my wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . . . and the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man . . . . . and nature is cruel.
T'is jest to make old age . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone . . . . . where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass . . . . . a young guy still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . .my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys . . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . life over again.

I think of the years . . . . . all too few . . . . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . . . . pen and see..
Not a crabby old man.
Look closer . . . . . see . . . . . ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person that you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within . . . . . we will all, one day, be there, too.

Love All, Serve All

Death can come at any minute, in any way.

We do not know what is in store tomorrow, or,

whether there is a tomorrow, or even a tonight!

But still, we have the golden present.

Now we are alive and kicking.

What should we do now?

Love all, serve all.

-- Swami Satchidananda

Elder's Meditation -- Your Words

Come into my heart this morning.
Allow me this day to live in the now.
Help me to see all the beauty You have created in all things.
Let me know myself.
Today, as I make mistakes, let me see them as lessons.
Guide me.
When I see others make mistakes, let me honor them for where they are.
Let me realize that they are Your children and only You, my Grandfather, knows what is really going on.
When my lips move, let the words be Your words.

Allow me to have the courage to speak Your truth.

Courage And Patience

Courage is not grim determination, boastful arrogance, or uncontrolled aggression.
True courage comes from quiet conviction, which shows itself in self-control, calm assurance, and patient persistence.

Today, I will face life with courage.

I will respond calmly and confidently to life's challenges.

I will place my faith and trust in God and

the principles I am learning in this philosophy of living.

Eternal Spirit

Eternal Spirit -- Earth-Maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver;
source of all that is and that shall be;
Father and Mother of us all.
Loving God, in whom is heaven.
The hallowing of your name echoes through the universe!

-- The New Zealand Prayer Book

The Alphabet for Senior Citizens

A is for apple, and B is for boat,
That used to be right, but now it won't float!
Age before beauty is what we once said,
But let's be a bit more realistic instead.

Now...

A's for arthritis;
B's the bad back,
C's the chest pains,
perhaps car-d-iac?
D is for dental decay and decline,
E is for eyesight, can't read that top line!
F is for fissures and fluid retention,
G is for gas which I'd rather not mention.
H is high blood pressure--I'd rather it low;
I is for incisions with scars you can show.
J is for joints, out of socket, won't mend,
K is for knees that crack when they bend.
L is for libido, what happened to sex?
M is for memory, I forget what comes next.
N is neuralgia, in nerves way down low;
O is for osteo, the bones that don't grow!
P is for prescriptions, I have quite a few,
just give me a pill and I'll be good as new!
Q is for queasy, is it fatal or flu?
R is for reflux, one meal turns to two.
S is for sleepless nights, counting my fears,
T is for Tinnitus; there's bells in my ears!
U is for urinary; big troubles with flow;
V is for vertigo, that's "dizzy," you know.
W is for worry, NOW what's going 'round?
X ; is for X ray, and what might be found.
Y is another year I'm left here behind,
Z is for zest that I still have-- in my mind.

I've survived all the symptoms, my body's deployed, and I am keeping twenty-six doctors fully employed!!!

My Neighbor?

Who Is My Neighbour?
"Love your neighbour as yourself" the Gospel says (Matthew 22:38).
But who is my neighbor? We often respond to that question by saying:
"My neighbours are all the people I am living with on this earth, especially the sick, the hungry, the dying, and all who are in need."
But this is not what Jesus says.
When Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:29-37) to answer the question "Who is my neighbour?" he ends the by asking:
"Which, ... do you think, proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the bandits' hands?"
The neighbour, Jesus makes clear, is not the poor man laying on the side of the street, stripped, beaten, and half dead, but the Samaritan who crossed the road, "bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, . . . lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him."
My neighbour is the one who crosses the road for me!

Crossing the Road for One Another
We become neighbours when we are willing to cross the road for one another.
There is so much separation and segregation:
between black people and white people, between gay people and straight people, between young people and old people, between sick people and healthy people, between prisoners and free people, between Jews and Gentiles, Muslims and Christians, Protestants and Catholics, Greek Catholics and Latin Catholics.
There is a lot of road crossing to do.
We are all very busy in our own circles.
We have our own people to go to and our own affairs to take care of.
But if we could cross the street once in a while and pay attention to what is happening on the other side, we might become neighbours.

Bridging the Gap Between People
To become neighbours is to bridge the gap between people.
As long as there is distance between us and we cannot look in each other's eyes, all sorts of false ideas and images arise.
We give them names, make jokes about them, cover them with our prejudices, and avoid direct contact.
We think of them as enemies.
We forget that they love as we love, care for their children as we care for ours, become sick and die as we do.
We forget that they are our brothers and sisters and treat them as objects that can be destroyed at will.
Only when we have the courage to cross the street and look in one another's eyes can we see there that we are children of the same God and members of the same human family.

-- Henri Nouwen

Life Is Not Fair

Life guarantees a chance - not a fair shake.

--Bernie Y.

Life is not fair.
Most of us know that, but few of us accept it.

But life is like soil, not like seed.
The chance of a harvest is there, but only if I plant the seed.
And even then I may not get the harvest I expected or wished for - not on my own timetable.
It is an act of faith, and of great courage, to keep on sowing seeds when I don't know what I am going to get.
But it's the only chance I have.
I need to stop expecting the soil to provide the seed.

Today, I will be grateful to be alive.

This day offers a chance for a fuller life, and I

will accept what comes of my efforts.

Thank You

There are all sorts of books which describe how to meditate
and what formulas to pronounce during these meditations.

I do not deny that they are beautiful, useful, and effective.

But there are two words which are never mentioned,
words which for me are the most powerful of all,
words which clarify, which harmonize, and which heal,
and these words are "thank you".

-- Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

What We Feel Is Not Who We Are

Our emotional lives move up and down constantly.
Sometimes we experience great mood: swings from excitement to depression, from joy to sorrow, from inner harmony to inner chaos.
A little event, a word from someone, a disappointment in work, many things can trigger such mood swings.
Mostly we have little control over these changes.
It seems that they happen to us rather than being created by us.

Thus it is important to know that our emotional life is not the same as our spiritual life.
Our spiritual life is the life of the Spirit of God within us.
As we feel our emotions shift we must connect our spirits with the Spirit of God and remind ourselves that what we feel is not who we are.
We are and remain, whatever our moods, God's beloved children.

-- Henri Nouwen

Elder's Meditation -- Power Of Gentleness

Our Elders have taught us many lessons about becoming a Warrior and how to think and act like one.
We have been told about the power of gentleness.
We have been told about the power of the stillness.
Physical power is about effort.
Mental power is the opposite.
It's about being effortless or less any effort.
Gentleness is one of the greatest attributes of the Warrior and one of the greatest mental powers.
It takes a lot of love to be gentle.
Gentleness is not an ego word.
Gentleness is the weapon of the Great Spirit.

My Creator, today I will be gentle with myself and with others.

I will listen to the whisper of my heart and learn the power of being gentle.

Progressive Deadening Of Conscience

"It is sometimes discouraging to see how small the Christian peace movement is, and especially here in America where it is most necessary.
But we have to remember that this is the usual pattern, and the Bible has led us to expect it.
Spiritual work is done with disproportionately small and feeble instruments.
And now above all when everything is so utterly complex, and when people collapse under the burden of confusions and cease to think at all, it is natural that few may want to take on the burden of trying to effect something in the moral and spiritual way, in political action.
Yet this is precisely what has to be done.

[T]he great danger is that under the pressure of anxiety and fear,
the alternation of crisis and relaxation and new crisis,
the people of the world will come to accept gradually the idea of war,
the idea of submission to total power, and
the abdication of reason, spirit and individual conscience.

The great peril of the cold war is
the progressive deadening of conscience.

[I] rely very much on your help and friendship. Send me anything you think will be of service to the cause of peace, and pray that in all things I may act wisely."

-- Thomas Merton,
"Letter to Jean and Hildegard Goss-Mayer,"
The Hidden Ground of Love. Letters, Volume 1: 325-326

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is the feast of St. Hilary [January 14], Doctor of the Church, who said:

"The best way to solve the problem of rendering
to Caesar what is Caesar's is to have nothing that is Caesar's."

-- Thomas Merton,
The Hidden Ground of Love: 337

Back At It

My higher power has given four days to improve my patience, tolerance, and love.
I have had the pleasure of taking care of my wife following arthroscopic knee surgery.
Today is a beautiful and cool summer day in South Carolina -- a true blessing.
A few prayers, a good walk with my dogs, and I am ready to face the day.

Achievements

Truly humble people are centers of peace because they fear neither their own failure nor others' success.
Let us pray for the wisdom to judge as God judges: to look at our own and other's achievements from God's perspective.

Aware And Awake -- Intent

We tend to associate the energy of intent with complicated or profoundly meaningful actions that require our full attention and effort in order to succeed.
For example, walking a tightrope, taking a test, and taking a vow are all tasks that call us to be fully present and single-minded.
However, intent can also be applied to everyday events, like eating breakfast or going to work.
In fact, everything we do benefits from the presence of intent, which has the power to transform seemingly mundane tasks into profound experiences.
You only have to try it to find out.

Intent is one of the cornerstones of the Zen tradition of Buddhism in which monks work for years to develop the stillness and sharpness of mind to do only one thing at a time.
Most of the time we are doing one thing and thinking of something else, or even doing three things at the same time, such as talking on the phone, doing dishes, and boiling water for tea.
There is nothing inherently wrong with multitasking, which seems necessary at times, especially in the midst of family life.
However, balancing this with a healthy dose of intentional activity can provide valuable insight into the benefits of doing one thing at a time, being fully present with whatever the task at hand happens to be.

From the moment we wake up, we can apply intent to our situation by simply saying to ourselves, "I am aware that I am now awake."
We can use this simple tool throughout our day, saying,
"I am aware that I am driving to work."
"I am aware that I am making dinner."
Or even, "I am aware that I am breathing."
As we acknowledge what we are doing in these moments, we come alive to our bodies and to the world, owning our actions instead of habitually performing them.
We may realize how often we act without intention and how this disengages us from reality.
Applying the energy of intent to even one task a day has the power to transform our lives.
Just imagine what would happen if we were able to apply that power to our entire day.

-- DailyOM

Elder's Meditation -- Justice

I cannot hide my true spirit and intent from the Creator.
He created a system of justice.
This system of justice says we will get back whatever we plant.
If I plant good then good returns - if we plant bad, then we will suffer the consequences.
Whatever we think about another person, the same things are thought about us.
Whatever we send out is sent back.
Man cannot alter this system of justice.
It doesn't matter what we say or do.
What really matters is what we really, really did.

Oh Great Spirit, guide me today to do good,

to have good thoughts.

Let me remember the things I do

are to honor Your way of life.

Contentment

The world is full of people
looking for spectacular happiness
while they snub contentment.

-- Doug Larson

Today I feel contentment, cheerfulness, serenity, and peace.
Just like I do with a pair of new shoes, I need to try on my new feelings.
I need to wear them through my daily routines and my nightly schedules.
It won't be long before they fit me well.
It won't feel so strange when I feel stability and gentleness.
I will soon learn these feelings have always been within my reach.
I have just been too afraid to feel them.
Today I am grateful to be off the roller coaster.
I am unafraid of the content feelings that I have.

The Fruit?

The unity for which Christ lived and died is not an abstract ideal.
It is the result of hard work: suspending judgment, choosing others before self, forgiving, seeking reconciliation rather then nursing hurt pride.
In other words, it requires we die to self in Christ.
The fruit?
The blessings of God's peace!

The notion that one gains freedom by rebelling against god has been a popular illusion since Eden.
The paradox of the Gospel is that we are set free from the chains of our own making by choosing to yoke ourselves to Christ, who bursts our bonds by his own death and resurrection.

-- Magnificat, July 2007

I pray:

For those who are in prison
-- that they may learn the way to freedom.

For those who are entrapped in addiction
-- that they find the road to recovery.

For those who live in defiance of your word
-- that they may discover the freedom of the Gospel.

O my God, forgive what I have been,

correct what I am, and

direct what I shall be.

-- Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Elder's Meditation -- Power Of Love

Oh my great Creator:
Help me this day to love myself.
I can't give away anything that I don't have myself.
If I am to love others, then I must love myself.
If I am to forgive others, then I am to forgive myself.
If I am to accept others as they are then I need to accept myself as I am.
If I am to not judge others, then I need to lighten up on myself.
Let me experience this power of love. . .

My Creator, today I will love myself so I can love my neighbor.

I will look at each person today and see Your light within them.

If I do this, I will hold my brothers and sisters without guilt.

Unity

"The heresy of individualism: thinking oneself a completely self-sufficient unit and asserting this imaginary "unity" against all others. The affirmation of the self as simply "not the other". The true way is just the opposite: the more I am able to affirm others, to say "yes" to them in myself, by discovering them in myself and myself in them, the more real I am. I am fully real if my own heart says yes to everyone.
I will be a better Catholic, not if I can refute every shade of Protestantism, but if I can affirm the truth in it and still go further.
So, too, with the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists, etc. This does not mean syncretism, indifferentism, the vapid and careless friendliness that accepts everything by thinking of nothing. There is much that one cannot "affirm" and "accept," but first one must say "yes" where one really can.
If I affirm myself as a Catholic merely by denying all that is Muslim, Jewish, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist, etc., in the end I will find that there is not much left for me to affirm as a Catholic: and certainly no breath of the Spirit with which to affirm it."

-- Thomas Merton,
Conjectures of A Guilty Bystander: 144

"If I do not have unity in myself,

how can I even think,

let alone speak, of unity among Christians?

Yet, of course, in seeking unity for all Christians,

I also attain unity within myself."

-- Thomas Merton,
Conjectures of A Guilty Bystander: 143

Elder's Meditation -- The Last Day

The question one should ask themselves is:
Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?
If you want to be right, this is a request from your ego.
If you want to be happy then this is of the Great Spirit.
The only meaning anything has is the meaning we give it.
Maybe we should develop a philosophy of:
Today is the last day of the rest of my life.
If this were true, how easy it would be to let things go - how easy it would be to forgive.

Oh Great Spirit, let me live today as if it was my last.

Let me express Your joy and be happy today.

Let me see the joy and honor of living on the Red Road.

Elder's Meditation -- A Place Of Knowing

Inside of every man and woman is a place of knowing.
In this place is the knowing that there is a Great One, the Great Mystery, the Holy One, the Great Spirit.
We can deny this all we want but we know what we know.
This place of knowing is at the very center of our being.
It is gratifying to know that God cannot leave us.
It is said we are spiritual beings trying to be human.
With this power in our lives, we can accomplish much.
We can do many good things for our people.

Oh Great Spirit, I know of Your power.

I love the days when I can feel Your presence.

Let today be one of those days.

Let me walk today in Your beauty.

Planned Life

We must be willing to get rid
of the life we've planned,

so as to have the life
that is waiting for us.
-- Joseph Campbell

Elder's Meditation -- Touchin The Earth

Touching the earth - getting grounded, centered.
There is magic in touching the earth and feeling her healing power.
This is especially healthy to do during a troubling time when our minds are racing or can't stop thinking or are locked onto fear or resentment.
When I need to feel free I can go to the Mother Earth.
The Mother Earth is full of life and love.
She always gives her powers to those who come to her. The Mother Earth is alive.

Today, my Great Spirit,

let me remember to touch the earth.

Let me slow down and live just for today.

Let me be gentle, patient and kind.

Now

At any moment the fully present mind

can shatter time and burst into Now.

-- David Steindl-Rast, A Listening Heart

Not My Will

In the long run, it's easier to carry out our Higher Power's will than our own.
Attempting to make the rest of the world conform to what I think I want is a little like trying to push water uphill.
It's not only frustrating - it's exhausting.
Getting in touch with a Higher Power frees me from the trap of self-will.
I can move with the rhythm of reality instead of being stuck in fantasy.
I can discover how I can be useful and what it is we do best.
How can I be sure I'm doing my Higher Power's will?
There is, of course, no certain way to know, but what I rely on is an inner sense of lightness and rightness.
I pray for guidance, I ask for answers, I listen to my inner voice, and I talk to people whose opinion I respect.
I also believe if what I'm doing is not my Higher Power's will for me, I'll find out, since it won't work.
I ask to know my Higher Power's will for me today and the ability to carry it out.

Speaking Fron The Mountaintops

In the land of the Cheyennes, there is a mountain higher than all the mountains around him. All the Cheyennes know that mountain; even our forefathers knew him.
When children, we ran around wheresoever we wanted. We were never afraid to lose our way so long as we could see the mountain, which show us home again.
When grown up, we followed the buffalo and the elk; we cared not where we pursued teh running deer, so long as the mountain was in sight; for we knew he was ever a safe guide, and never failed in his duty.
When men, we fought the Sioux, the Crows, the white men. We ent after the enemy, though the way ran high up, and low down. Our hearts trembled not on account of the road; for as long as we could see the mountain, we felt sure of finding our home again.
When far away, our hearts leaped for joy on seeing him, because he told us that our home came nearer.
During the winter, the snow covered all the earth with a mantle of white; we could no longer distinguish him from other mountains except by his height, which told us he was the mountain. Sometimes dark clouds gathered above. They hid his head from our view, and out of them flew fiery darts, boring holes in his sides. The thunder shook him from head to foot, but the storm passed away and the mountain stood forever.
The mountain is the Black-robe.
(A Native American expression for a Roman Catholic priest.)
His heart is firm as a rock.
He changes not.
He speaks to us the words of truth.
We are always sure of our path, when we look to him for guidance.
He is the mountain that leads us up to God.

-- A story told by Old Wolf,
a Cheyenne chief from Montana,
in the 1880s.

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
(1656-1680)

The blood of martyrs is the seed of saints. Nine years after the Jesuits Isaac Jogues and John de Brébeuf were tortured to death by Huron and Iroquois Indians, a baby girl was born near the place of their martyrdom, Auriesville, New York. She was to be the first person born in North America to be beatified.

Her mother was a Christian Algonquin, taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to the chief of the Mohawk clan, the boldest and fiercest of the Five Nations. When she was four, Kateri lost her parents and little brother in a smallpox epidemic that left her disfigured and half blind. She was adopted by an uncle, who succeeded her father as chief. He hated the coming of the Blackrobes (missionaries), but could do nothing to them because a peace treaty with the French required their presence in villages with Christian captives. She was moved by the words of three Blackrobes who lodged with her uncle, but fear of him kept her from seeking instruction. She refused to marry a Mohawk brave and at 19 finally got the courage to take the step of converting. She was baptized with the name Kateri (Catherine) on Easter Sunday.

Now she would be treated as a slave. Because she would not work on Sunday, she received no food that day. Her life in grace grew rapidly. She told a missionary that she often meditated on the great dignity of being baptized. She was powerfully moved by God’s love for human beings and saw the dignity of each of her people.

She was always in danger, for her conversion and holy life created great opposition. On the advice of a priest, she stole away one night and began a 200-mile walking journey to a Christian Indian village at Sault St. Louis, near Montreal.

For three years she grew in holiness under the direction of a priest and an older Iroquois woman, giving herself totally to God in long hours of prayer, in charity and in strenuous penance. At 23 she took a vow of virginity, an unprecedented act for an Indian woman, whose future depended on being married. She found a place in the woods where she could pray an hour a day—and was accused of meeting a man there!

Her dedication to virginity was instinctive: She did not know about religious life for women until she visited Montreal. Inspired by this, she and two friends wanted to start a community, but the local priest dissuaded her. She humbly accepted an “ordinary” life. She practiced extremely severe fasting as penance for the conversion of her nation. She died the afternoon before Holy Thursday. Witnesses said that her emaciated face changed color and became like that of a healthy child. The lines of suffering, even the pockmarks, disappeared and the touch of a smile came upon her lips. She was beatified in 1980.

We like to think that our proposed holiness is thwarted by our situation.
If only we could have more solitude, less opposition, better health.
Kateri repeats the example of the saints: Holiness thrives on the cross, anywhere.
Yet she did have what Christians—all people—need: the support of a community.
She had a good mother, helpful priests, Christian friends.
These were present in what we call primitive conditions, and blossomed in the age-old Christian triad of prayer, fasting and alms: union with God in Jesus and the Spirit, self-discipline and often suffering, and charity for her brothers and sisters.

“I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus.

He must be my only love.

The state of helpless poverty that may befall me if I do not marry does not frighten me.

All I need is a little food and a few pieces of clothing.

With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is necessary and what is left over I’ll give to my relatives and to the poor.

If I should become sick and unable to work, then I shall be like the Lord on the cross.

He will have mercy on me and help me, I am sure.”

-- Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

-- From American Catholic Saint of the Day

In the River of God’s Love

The love of God is like an infinite river . . .

it flows with an irresistible power, and

its deep current is unhindered.

You and I are in the river of God’s love.

If we swim with the tide,

we will float along with that love.

It will bring us to wherever we are supposed to be.

-- From Quiet Moments with Benedict Groeschel: 120 Readings

Be Kind

So far as past errors are concerned,

forget them and start afresh,

as if it were your first day in this body;

but so far as your present contacts are concerned,

be kind to them,

as if it were your last day in this body.

--Paul Brunton

Elder's Meditation -- The Great Spirit

Great Spirit - Sometimes I don't feel like praying.
Sometimes when I have done something wrong, I'm ashamed to come to You.
Even though You have always been there for me, I sometimes choose to stay away.
It's hard for me to understand what all knowing is.
Sometimes it's hard for me to see how much You really care.
But I know if I take a few minutes and think about what I know to be true about You, the things change and I am able to realize Your power and Your love.
Today, I'll start by thinking of You.
I'll think about all the times You have helped and guided me in the past.
You are life,
You are love,
You are power,
You are desire,
You are truth,
Your are principle,
You are intelligence,
You are courage.
With You I am everything; without You I am nothing.

Creator, thank You for allowing me to start my day with You.

Where is God?

There's nothing wrong in simply visualizing God as a Higher Power that has always been within me and around me.
"Before they call, I will answer," goes an old saying, and that was true even in my darkest days.
I can look back to realize that a certain force was moving me toward recovery long before I knew I needed any recovery.
But God works in ways that can seem to come from chance or coincidence.
Quite often, I'll find that little events had far-reaching results in my life.
When I review how such things happened, I should not conclude that this happens only to certain "special" people.
All human beings are part of God's creation and can avail themselves of guidance and direction.
The more serious problem is that guidance and direction are sometimes ignored or rejected.

I'll go about my affairs today

with the knowledge that my Higher Power is

making the important decisions in my life.

I'll come out about where God wants me to be.

Elder's Meditation -- Our Center

Our bodies are both physical and spiritual.
At our very center we are spiritual.
Our bodies are built around the spiritual.
The center is the unseen world.
Therefore, we cannot see it with our eyes and we tend to judge the body because we can see it.
The body is not who we are.
We can see the spiritual if we are spiritual ourselves.
We won't see this always with our physical eyes.
Usually we will see it with our spiritual eye.
We will hear ourselves say "I know this to be true."

At the center of all human beings is the place of good.

That includes myself.

At my very core is good.

I can find this place by staying free of
resentments, fear, dishonesty and self-seeking motives.

My Creator, keep me free this day of
resentment, selfishness, dishonesty and fear.

A Divine Mirror

If you look at every human being as a Divine mirror,

you will know yourself and understand life.

-- Sherif Baba

'Supporting the troops' means withdrawing them

From my email today, a former shipmate sent this to me and I pass it along without additional comment.

'Supporting the troops' means withdrawing them

COMMENTARY July 05, 2007

Gen. William Odom writes that opponents of the war should focus public attention on the fact that Bush’s obstinate refusal to admit defeat is causing the troops enormous psychological as well as physical harm.

By William E. Odom

Every step the Democrats in Congress have taken to force the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq has failed. Time and again, President Bush beats them into submission with charges of failing to "support the troops."

Why do the Democrats allow this to happen? Because they let the president define what "supporting the troops" means. His definition is brutally misleading. Consider what his policies are doing to the troops.

No U.S. forces have ever been compelled to stay in sustained combat conditions for as long as the Army units have in Iraq. In World War II, soldiers were considered combat-exhausted after about 180 days in the line. They were withdrawn for rest periods. Moreover, for weeks at a time, large sectors of the front were quiet, giving them time for both physical and psychological rehabilitation. During some periods of the Korean War, units had to fight steadily for fairly long periods but not for a year at a time. In Vietnam, tours were one year in length, and combat was intermittent with significant break periods.

In Iraq, combat units take over an area of operations and patrol it daily, making soldiers face the prospect of death from an IED or small arms fire or mortar fire several hours each day. Day in and day out for a full year, with only a single two-week break, they confront the prospect of death, losing limbs or eyes, or suffering other serious wounds. Although total losses in Iraq have been relatively small compared to most previous conflicts, the individual soldier is risking death or serious injury day after day for a year. The impact on the psyche accumulates, eventually producing what is now called "post-traumatic stress disorders." In other words, they are combat-exhausted to the point of losing effectiveness. The occasional willful killing of civilians in a few cases is probably indicative of such loss of effectiveness. These incidents don't seem to occur during the first half of a unit's deployment in Iraq.

After the first year, following a few months back home, these same soldiers are sent back for a second year, then a third year, and now, many are facing a fourth deployment! Little wonder more and more soldiers and veterans are psychologically disabled.

And the damage is not just to enlisted soldiers. Many officers are suffering serious post-traumatic stress disorders but are hesitant to report it – with good reason. An officer who needs psychiatric care and lets it appear on his medical records has most probably ended his career. He will be considered not sufficiently stable to lead troops. Thus officers are strongly inclined to avoid treatment and to hide their problems.

There are only two ways to fix this problem, both of which the president stubbornly rejects. Instead, his recent "surge" tactic has compelled the secretary of defense to extend Army tours to 15 months! (The Marines have been allowed to retain their six-month deployment policy and, not surprisingly, have fewer cases of post-traumatic stress syndrome.)

The first solution would be to expand the size of the Army to two or three times its present level, allowing shorter combat tours and much longer breaks between deployments. That cannot be done rapidly enough today, even if military conscription were restored and new recruits made abundant. It would take more than a year to organize and train a dozen new brigade combat teams. The Clinton administration cut the Army end strength by about 40 percent – from about 770,000 to 470,000 during the 1990s. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld looked for ways to make the cuts even deeper. Thus this administration and its predecessor aggressively gave up ground forces and tactical air forces while maintaining large maritime forces that cannot be used in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sadly, the lack of wisdom in that change in force structure is being paid for not by President Bush or President Clinton but by the ordinary soldier and his family. They have no lobby group to seek relief for them.

The second way to alleviate the problem is to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as possible and as securely as possible. The electorate understands this. That is why a majority of voters favor withdrawing from Iraq.

If the Democrats truly want to succeed in forcing President Bush to begin withdrawing from Iraq, the first step is to redefine "supporting the troops" as withdrawing them, citing the mass of accumulating evidence of the psychological as well as the physical damage that the president is forcing them to endure because he did not raise adequate forces. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress could confirm this evidence and lay the blame for "not supporting the troops" where it really belongs – on the president. And they could rightly claim to the public that they are supporting the troops by cutting off the funds that he uses to keep U.S. forces in Iraq.
The public is ahead of the both branches of government in grasping this reality, but political leaders and opinion makers in the media must give them greater voice.

Congress clearly and indisputably has two powers over the executive:
the power of the purse and the power to impeach. Instead of using either, members of congress are wasting their time discussing feckless measures like a bill that "de-authorizes the war in Iraq." That is toothless unless it is matched by a cut-off of funds.

The president is strongly motivated to string out the war until he leaves office, in order to avoid taking responsibility for the defeat he has caused and persisted in making greater each year for more than three years.

To force him to begin a withdrawal before then, the first step should be to rally the public by providing an honest and candid definition of what "supporting the troops" really means and pointing out who is and who is not supporting our troops at war. The next step should be a flat refusal to appropriate money for to be used in Iraq for anything but withdrawal operations with a clear deadline for completion.

The final step should be to put that president on notice that if ignores this legislative action and tries to extort Congress into providing funds by keeping U.S. forces in peril, impeachment proceeding will proceed in the House of Representatives. Such presidential behavior surely would constitute the "high crime" of squandering the lives of soldiers and Marines for his own personal interest.

Lieutenant General William E. Odom, U.S. Army (Ret.), is a Senior Fellow with Hudson Institute and a professor at Yale University. He was Director of the National Security Agency from 1985 to 1988. From 1981 to 1985, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, the Army's senior intelligence officer. From 1977 to 1981, he was Military Assistant to the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs, Zbigniew Brzezinski.

A Tireless Seeker

Having wandered from any true sense of a spiritual home and any real sense of direction, I was lost, and hungered hopelessly for I knew not what.
My high power, however, is a tireless seeker.

Five Minutes

Don't quit five minutes before the miracle happens.
--Anonymous

The most important miracle I can expect and count on each day Is the freedom from my addiction.
I can trust that if I stay close to the Program, the miracle will be repeated, one day at a time.

Elder's Meditation -- Seasons

Our earth continues to Grow by cycles and seasons:
The cycles of growth - spring, summer, fall, winter.
The cycles of the human being - baby, youth, adult, elder.
It is through these cycles that we will experience the changes.
I will not always necessarily agree with these changes but I need to trust the Grandfathers are in charge.
Things will come and things will go.
Really, I own nothing, the Creator owns all.
Too often I label things as mine.
I say this belongs to me, but it really belongs to the Creator.
He gives me things to take care of.
I need to do the best I can with what I have, with what I know at the time.
And when the Creator changes things, I need to let go for His planning is the best.

Oh Great Spirit, today let me do the best I can

with what I know, with what I have.

Let me experience acceptance of Your will.