Epiphany Thoughts & National Migration Week

Today is one of my favorite Church feasts ... the Feast of the Epiphany. As a child, this was always the day when the figurines of the three kings I had carefully been moving throughout the house during the entire Christmas season finally made it to the manger in the living room where they could offer their gifts, gaze upon the infant Jesus, and finally rest (before being promptly packed up into a box and back to the attic until next Christmas!)

Today, thankfully, I did not have to bundle up and trek through the windy snow storm outside to head to mass to celebrate the Feast.  One of my priest classmates who also lives in the CTU residence hall offered to celebrate mass for us in the residence hall chapel. We were a cozy group, praying together in a circle as we watched the snow swirl about outside the 8th story corner window and listened to the howl of the wind. I was asked to read the first reading from Isaiah:

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,the glory of the Lord shines upon you.See, darkness covers the earth,and thick clouds cover the peoples;but upon you the LORD shines,and over you appears his glory.Nations shall walk by your light,and kings by your shining radiance.

These words held a sort of literal meaning as we sought refuge from the elements ourselves and gazed out at thick clouds of snow covering the city.

These words also hold a literal meaning for the millions upon millions of migrants, refugees, and human trafficking victims who are walking through darkness, seeking the light of life, freedom, and human dignity. It is no coincidence that the U.S. Catholic Church celebrates National Migration Week this week (January 5-11). It is also no coincidence that this year's theme is "Out of the Darkness."  In the words of the U.S Bishops Conference:

It is our call as the Church to bring the light of Christ to these populations,banish the darkness, and help to bring them from the margins of society to its center. Doing so will provide vulnerable migrants with a protected space in which they can flourish as human beings. This requires prayer for those who are marginalized, alongside an active presence in the public square to demand that protections are provided to those who need them most.

As you celebrate the coming of the light of Christ into our world and pay him homage, prayerfully consider what you can do for our brothers and sisters walking in darkness.

• Visit the Bishops' Justice for Immigrants Website to send an electronic post card to your members of Congress in support of comprehensive immigration reform
• January 11th, the last day of migration week, is also human trafficking awareness day. Visit the IPJC Website to download a prayer service you can use to pray for an end to human trafficking. The IPJC website also has many resources to learn more and take action about this very important issue.
• Visit the National Migration Week website for more resources, including a downloadable prayer card.

God of all peoples and nations, you sent your son to guide us with the light of compassion, mercy, and justice. Open our hearts and inspire our actions for justice in solidarity with all immigrants, refugees, and victims of human trafficking today. May our care, commitment, and love for our neighbors across all boundaries be the gift with which we pay the Infant Jesus homage. Amen

God Breaks Through

I decided to make this Christmas Eve a quiet prayer day. Tomorrow I will spend Christmas Day with family. Today it was just me and God, catching up and getting reacquainted. I decided to make an outing of it, and even though it was frigid outside (barely entering double digits mind you), I drove out to a forest preserve in the suburbs for a walk. Outfitted with my down coat and gloves, long johns, snow boots (and my camera), I found a beautiful spot in the woods. Sun, snow, trees, beauty!

When I came home, before heading out to mass, I created this video prayer reflection to immortalize the day, set to Sufjan Steven's version of "Joy to the World."


Heaven and nature do certainly sing! Despite the cold I felt the calm and peace of God's creation, the sheer beauty in simplicity. I felt centered and connected, loved as we prepare to welcome and celebrate the in-breaking of God's love into our world ... Jesus, God-with-us.

I was reminded of an earlier Christmas Eve walk, this one when I was discerning which religious community to enter and received gift upon gift through contemplation of God's creation. I've written about that walk before, even sharing my journal entry from that momentous day when God's love broke through and guided me to where I found my heart, as a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace.

Today's Christmas Eve walk did not have any life changing realizations, but instead was simple in its beauty. Taking time away, reconnecting with God and God's creation was what my spirit needed today, and that is gift indeed.

Peace

Home Vacation & Family Time

It's the longest night of the year. I decided to cozy up today in true Christmas vacation fashion and finish a (non-theology) book ... Longbourn by Jo Baker, a creative take on the lives of the servants in Pride and Prejudice.

Of course, many items on my vacation to-do list were also beckoning. I realized the other day that when one says yes to lots of little projects and commitments, they pile up rather quickly! This is true in my case anyway. So these days of winter break from school will also necessarily involve a variety of projects, mostly editing, a little writing and research.

But it's a balance.  Monday I'm planning to have some quality father-daughter time. Christmas Eve will be a quiet Susan prayer day. Christmas morning with my little nephew, big sis and brother-in-law (that's where Santa fills my stocking these days!). Christmas afternoon with my Dad at his retirement facility. Then more family fun the day after Christmas when my oldest sister and three nieces descend on Chicago for a week.

Classes start January 6th (ecclesial Latin) so in between now and then will be a mix of family, quiet down time, and whittling away at my many projects.

While I'm at it, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish each of you, dear readers, a blessed last few days of Advent and a very merry Christmas!

Peace

Merry Christmas

I often post more serious blog posts or prayers on Christmas. This year, I decided to just post a somewhat silly electronic Christmas Card for all my bloggy friends, featuring my cartoon me. Enjoy!

Blessings of Peace & Joy this Christmas

 

Remember Haiti

A few years ago, Haiti was high on our consciousness.  As usually happens, we forget bit by bit, but the people living in Haiti are no less in need of our assistance, presence and prayers.  I just watched this marvelous little video that features one of our CSJP Sisters, Sister Ann Crawley, who has been ministering in Haiti since a few months before the earthquake.  One of our CSJP Sponsored ministries, Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, NJ, has also recently announced a commitment to this mission in Haiti.


Please keep the people of Haiti and the CRUDEM Foundation/Hopital Sacre Coeur in your prayers.  If you are financially able and are looking for a charity to support this holiday season, I recommend visiting the CRUDEM website to learn more.

Family Time

The nights are getting darker and darker.  The lights of the season shine bright.  The shopping malls are buzzing.  The airports equally so.  Must be the Christmas Season.

I'm having a family Christmas in different acts.  Today I went with my big sister and her little guy to Navy Pier to visit with Santa.  It was apparently a serious consultation as you can see from the photographic evidence.


We then had some less serious fun at the Winter Wonderland exhibit (that's me and Ash pretending we are elves) and Children's Museum. I also pretended I was a butterfly today and had a pretend snowball fight with a two year old. Enough said.

Tomorrow I am headed to the airport to visit my Dad in DC.  I'll be there until Saturday, coming back to Chicago to spend Christmas Eve with Ash and his Mom and Dad.  I'll be interested to see what he convinced Santa into putting in our stockings this year.

Retreat Day in the City Part 2 - Wandering

After my quiet morning at the Art Institute, I went wandering a bit around the city. I stopped off at the "bean" in Millennium Park.

Where I took the requisite "self-portraits."

Then I found my over at the Christkindlmarkt in Daley Plaza where I looked at the crafts and had some yummy German food before heading home.

I'm planning to finish my quiet day with, well, some quiet time with God, reflecting with gratitude on this day and praying for everyone who crossed my path.

Peace

Consumer Responsibility on Black Friday

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, traditionally a day to give thanks, as the name implies, and to spend time with family and loved ones away from the hustle and bustle of our busy lives.  Some folks throw watching the parade or football into the mix.  All of us eat too much of treasured family recipes and sleep inducing turkey.  All in all, it's a great holiday in my book.

Except that increasingly, bit by bit over the years, it has become a day not to give thanks for what we already have, but to plan how to get what we want.  Yes, I'm talking about the advent of "Black Friday," infamous for "door buster" sales which now not only begin at midnight, but in some cases begin on Thanksgiving Day itself.

We all have to make our own choices.  Some may find that the only way they can afford to give their children the new clothing and shoes they need, and the toys and electronics equipment they really want, is by shopping strategically during the Thanksgiving Holiday.  I get that.  But I also highly doubt that the hordes of folks who will be pounding the shopping mall pavement in the next 36 hours really need everything that will fill their shopping carts.  Granted, part of my cynicism may come from having worked as a cashier at K-Mart for five Christmases.  It's not pretty from the other side of that cashier counter, with the never ending loop of Christmas music blaring and folks fighting over the last box of this year's "it"  toy.

Yet my caution and concern also comes from what I know about the reality of child and forced labor in our supply chain, on the one hand, and the forces of supply and demand on the other.  The two, sadly, are connected.  We demand cheap products in quantities well beyond the scope of our needs or even our moderate wishes.  Manufacturers and retailers give us those products at relatively little costs to us, but we might pause and wonder whether the workers making the products received a living wage, or what conditions they worked under.  We might pause to think of the children of the cashier left at home while their mother or father works on Thanksgiving Day, earning minimum wage, so that you can get your door buster prices ahead of the pack.

For those who want to pause and ponder before they purchase, I'd like to point you to some wise words from a source that might surprise you ... Pope Benedict XVI.  His 2009 encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), has some thought provoking words for the consumers among us, which would of course be all of us.

It is good for people to realize that purchasing is always a moral — and not simply economic — act. Hence the consumer has a specific social responsibility, which goes hand-in- hand with the social responsibility of the enterprise. Consumers should be continually educated regarding their daily role, which can be exercised with respect for moral principles without diminishing the intrinsic economic rationality of the act of purchasing. In the retail industry, particularly at times like the present when purchasing power has diminished and people must live more frugally, it is necessary to explore other paths: for example, forms of cooperative purchasing like the consumer cooperatives that have been in operation since the nineteenth century, partly through the initiative of Catholics. In addition, it can be helpful to promote new ways of marketing products from deprived areas of the world, so as to guarantee their producers a decent return. (Caritas in Veritate #66)

So, before you embark on your holiday shopping spree, stop and reflect on his words.  Do you think of your purchases as a moral act? Do you consider the hands that have touched that product, bringing it to the shelves of your local discount store?  How might you be creative in supporting fair trade and just wages?  Are there ways that you can be a more conscious consumer, buy less, reduce or recycle?  Have you considered alternative giving options, like a donation to a local charity or a micro-loan through kiva.org?

As you prepare to celebrate this holiday season, I invite you to spend some time reflecting on how your consumer choices can help contribute to the life and well-being of your global neighbors, even as you meet the needs and some of the wants of your loved ones.

Peace and a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Merry Christmas!

A repost of a video prayer I put together a few years ago to "Only at Christmastime" by Sufjan Stevens.

Margaret Anna Fridays - Christmas Eve Eve edition

Most Fridays, I’m going to share a quote from the founder of my groovy sisters, Margaret Anna Cusack, known in religion as Mother Francis Clare.  Today's installment:

Oh, how blessedly near is His advent! Today we are decking our houses for His divine visit; let us not forget to deck our hearts.  Let us sweep out every imperfection, every imperfect disposition, every wandering thought, with the besom of penance, and adorn ourselves with the fair bright flowers of contrition and love. To-morrow our Infant King will come.  Are we prepared to receive Him? Have we all teh love ready for him we should like to offer him? ~ M.F. Cusack,Meditations for Advent & Easter, 1866

Bugs, Simplicity & Christmas

I've been a little under the weather with a yucky bug, but am happily on the mend after lots of sleep.  Thankfully I simplified Christmas preparations in my life years ago or else I'd be in big trouble as I've been capable of little this week. Donations have been made.  Christmas cards I'm afraid will need to be skipped this year.  A few presents for family.  Ta Da!  Done. :)  I love a simple Christmas.

Tomorrow morning I am flying south to visit my oldest sister and her family for the long Christmas weekend.  Marie inherited many of our family decorations so it will be a little bit of a walk down memory lane.  I'm really looking forward to quality time with my nieces!  I know there will be coloring with the 5 year old, and hopefully some Christmas cookie baking as well.

Merry Almost christmas!

Decorating Grace House

Grace House is decorated for Christmas!  One of my housemates is on retreat this week but my other housemate and I had fun this morning decorating the house while we listened to Christmas music (including Sufjan Stevens of the video clip below).

I put out my manger set this year.  Past years I haven't put it out because one of my housemates had her own quite substantial collection of nativity sets and it just seemed like to much to add one more.  She's moved though, so I put mine out.  It's simple and reminds me of my mom's.  I'm going to be in California with my sister's family on Christmas day so I had to tell my housemate where I was hiding baby Jesus and ask her to put him out next Sunday.  The 3 Kings and their 2 camels are starting their long trek through the dining room. They should make it to the manger by Epiphany I think.  That was always my job as a kid, walking the kings through the house, every day a little closer.  Yes, I'm a grown up now but it's still a fun tradition.

Lastly, I set up my little mini Christmas tree.  When I closed up my apartment, I gave away the majority of my Christmas decorations. I kept the manger, and I kept a small collection of ornaments that mean something to me.  I have a little artificial tree that is just big enough for my few ornaments. It's cute and keeps me connected to Christmas memories past.  However, it already has lights on it so I couldn't put the lights on the tree.  But I could sing this song!

Happy last week of Advent everyone.  May your preparations be merry.

Snow Globe Quiz

Many of my family, friends and CSJP Sisters & Associates (on the East Coast & the UK) are living in a snow globe right now. I'm happily in a snow free Christmas environment. Except for this silly blog quiz that is:

You Are Creative

You see the world in interesting and unique ways. You are definitely a visionary. You are constantly being inspired to create something new. You are a natural artist. You see beauty in almost everything. You can appreciate people for who they truly are. You are authentic and honest. You may be a bit quirky, but you never hide the real you.

The Christmas Snow Globe Test

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

Community Christmas

Well, Christmas 2010 is almost over! It's been a nice simple groovy Christmas. Mass at the local parish last night for Christmas Eve, then mass again this morning at groovy sister hq followed by a scrumptious dinner and games with some of my favorite wisdom women. Tonight it was just my local community spending a quiet night at home after our simple gift exchange. I also talked to my Dad and all of my siblings this morning. All in all a very nice Christmas.

I realized today that this is my sixth CSJP Christmas! (One as a candidate, two in the novitiate, three back here in Seattle). Where does the time go?? In any case, it was very enjoyable.

Hope you all had a safe, holy and fun Christmas!

C & E Catholics

I spent my formative years after my return to the Catholic Church (after ten years away) in a parish staffed by the Paulist Fathers. I must say that some of their charism -- evangelization in particular -- rubbed off on me. This is never more clear to me than on Christmas and Easter, when all of the C&E Catholics (as a priest friend of mine lovingly called them) come out of the woodwork. You know, the people who were raised Catholic and consider themselves Catholic, but generally get to church twice a year on the big holidays.

Several years ago, I remember ministering as an usher at Midnight Mass with a friend. We were overwhelmed by wave after wave of smiling unfamiliar faces, all dressed up and ready for their one Church experience of the year. One of us commented at the end that it was like holding an Open House, except that all of the people coming are complete strangers. What the Paulists helped me to realize is that this is a good thing. By inviting people into our house on our big night, they get a chance to see us at our best. They get a chance to experience God and celebrate with other people. They get a chance to tap into those deep desires ... the desire for community, the desire for relationship, the desire for God.

Tonight I went to 9pm mass (no midnight mass at my local parish). There were many C & E Catholics there. The tip off is they are all dressed up and fumbling with the missal. They also try to sing the songs and say the responses, but don't quite know the words or what comes next. Perhaps most importantly though, is their earnestness. They WANT to be there. Often times they have brought along a significant other who doesn't seem to want to be there quite as much. And yet they are there. Who knows, perhaps they will come back?

For the Church, they are an opportunity and a challenge. An opportunity to reach out and invite inactive Catholics home. But they also represent a challenge ... what are we inviting people back to? Inspiring and meaningful liturgies? Homilies and community that call us to be people of light, life and love? Or something else entirely?

In any case, as I was sitting at Christmas eve services this evening I found myself praying for all those in my parish and in every parish across the globe who were drawn today by something, by the celebration of the birth of Jesus. May their hearts be touched, may they find their deepest desires somehow reflected in the community gathered, and may they find peace, hope and love.

Merry Christmas!

Margaret Anna Fridays - Christmas Eve Edition

Every Friday, I’m going to share a quote from the founder of my groovy sisters, Margaret Anna Cusack, known in religion as Mother Francis Clare. This week’s installment …

“How good and holy these dear shepherds must have been, whom our Lord selected, in preference to all others, for this vision of angels and this marvelous announcement! We may well believe that it was not without a special design of Providence. Perhaps it was because the poor and unlearned are always more ready to believe than the rich who are hardened by their riches or the learned who are blinded by their pride. Perhaps it was because Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor as the fittest subjects for the eternal kingdom. Who can imagine their simple joy, their lively faith, their ardent devotion? Those who have been privileged to work with the poor of a truly Catholic country can best imagine and realize what these shepherds did and said that Christmas night…They did not stay to consult whether the vision of the angels was imagination or reality. They simply believed, and believing they loved, and loving they hastened.”
-Meditations for Advent & Easter

Only at Christmastime

A repost of a video prayer I put together last year to "Only at Christmastime" by Sufjan Stevens.

Time to Breathe

Well, it is the day before Christmas Eve. To be quite honest, I'm not sure where Advent went, let alone the past six months. But we are here, and I am so very grateful to be in the midst of wonderful community members to really celebrate the gift of Christ in our world and my life.

As well as the wonderful community, there is also some time and space for these days. School is on a break. I'm somewhat caught up in my ministry. And because the holiday falls on a weekend, I have some extra time off as well! Looking forward to catching up on some things (like managing my somewhat messy personal space), finishing Christmas cards (which at this point will most likely be electronic), but mostly just enjoying our house, which as of last night is officially looking quite Christmasy.

Who knows, I might even have time to blog! In the midst of all that's been going on with family, ministry, school and community, it's been a bit of a challenge to find the time to blog, let alone time to reflect on what to blog about.

May this time be one of peace and joy for all my bloggy friends!

Open House at Grace House

The community house I live in is called Grace House. We've had this house for over 50 years. It's in a great neighborhood. Close to the local Catholic parish. Close to my place of ministry. Cozy and comfortable. That's just the house ... the people in this local community are great as well! I've been here about four months. Definitely a time of grace.

Today we're having our annual open house. Last year I came as a guest. This year I'll be one of the hostesses. Hospitality has always been one of the hallmarks of our community. Should be fun. Many of our Sisters and Associates come, as well as family and friends. We're still decorated (even though the church is celebrating Epiphany today, I'm happy we're staying decorated through the entire 12 days of Christmas).

Well, on that note, I need to turn off the computer and walk next door for mass. So nice being so close!

Hope all my bloggy friends are having a wonderful Sunday.

nice christmas

I had a very nice community Christmas. A good mixture of fun and laughter, prayer and celebration, good food and conversation. This is my 5th CSJP Community Christmas, celebrated in my 4th house (I had one with my Candidate house, 2 in the Novitiate Community, 1 at St. Mary-on the Lake, and 1 at Grace House which included a visit at St. Mary-on-the-lake). Each celebration has been a little different, based on the personalities and traditions. It's always fun to find the best way to celebrate this amazing feast together. I think our local community did a great job of deciding how we'd like to spend the day together this year.

I was also able to connect with family via phone and email. I used to go home for Christmas every other year, although these days there isn't really a "home" anymore anyway since we sold the family house after my mom died. Still, it's important to share the day with them too, even if by distance. Entering a religious community doesn't mean that you close off connections with family and friends. Instead, you find new ways to keep those connections strong as you build new memories with your religious community.

I'm looking forward to the post-Christmas weekend, which is a 3 day weekend for me. I'm planning to see a few movies and work on an almost over due project. I've also got a new book that was under the tree for me which I might try to start reading tonight before bed.

I hope your Christmas was filled with fun, laughter and celebration!