Breath

Breath, the mindful breath,

the rhythm, out and in,

the wave that washes

through our days, creating

space for stillness, sorrow,

joy, or exaltation. Full,

then empty, ebb and flow,

breath accompanies each

step into the unknown.

In the breath, the soul

finds an opportunity to

speak. Images or intuition,

poetry or wordless wisdom

come and go – no effort but

to breathe and listen.

Danna Faulds, Go In and In

The Trip of a Lifetime — Passion Play 2020 Oberammergau!

Have you considered a pilgrimage to Oberammergau, Germany, for the 2020 Passion Play?

If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to make travel arrangements and get tickets! Here is the official website. Or contact your travel agent or one of the many religious tour operators in the US. Oberammergau is in the heart of Europe and easy to combine with other destinations, whether you travel by car, train or even via a river cruise!

Anticipation of this once-in-a-lifetime event is an integral part of it all! Prepare your spirit (or the spirits of family or friends who are going) with a prayer pocket piece to carry with you from now until you return home from the trip. Creator Mundi has designed a special pewter Oberammergau Passion Play 2020 medallion specifically for this purpose.

Note the Prayer on the back of the coin, one line from the popular medieval prayer Anima Christi.

To pray “Passion of Christ, Strengthen Me” is to ask Jesus, the Risen Christ, to give me strength to endure whatever trial may come my way, to accept the path of suffering and loss where no other path can be found, to find comfort in the Passion of Christ who suffered too, and who, though he was without guilt or sin, suffered for me and for all of humanity.

To pray “Passion of Christ, strengthen me” is to find comfort in the marvelous mystery and reality of God who desires only our freedom, our joy, our fulfillment, and our salvation.

To pray “Passion of Christ, strengthen me” is to admit our physical and emotional vulnerability and fragility and to reach out to the only true source of strength, the Christ, for help and support.

To pray “Passion of Christ, strengthen me” is to put myself into the life-giving flow of the Trinity.

To pray “Passion of Christ, strengthen me” is to know that God protects us from nothing as God unexplainably sustains us in all things (James Finley).

To pray “Passion of Christ, strengthen me” is to trust God’s mercy always and everywhere.

To pray “Passion of Christ, strengthen me” is to ask for God’s unfaltering support on the path of transformation.

To pray “Passion of Christ, strengthen me” is to seek the way out of negative attachment and addiction.

Below is the full text of the prayer in Latin, poetic English and in the translation of Cardinal John Henry Newman:

Latin Text
Anima Christi, sanctifica me. Corpus Christi, salva me. Sanguis Christi, inebria me. Aqua lateris Christi, lava me. Passio Christi, conforta me. O bone Jesu, exaudi me. Intra tua vulnera absconde me. Ne permittas me separari a te. Ab hoste maligno defende me. In hora mortis meae voca me. Et iube me venire ad te, ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te, in saecula saeculorum. Amen

Poetic English Translation
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within Thy wounds hide me. Separated from Thee let me never be. From the malicious enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me. And bid me come unto Thee, that I may praise Thee with Thy saints, forever and ever.  Amen

Translation by  Cardinal John Henry Newman
Soul of Christ, be my sanctification. Body of Christ, be my salvation. Blood of Christ, fill all my veins. Water of Christ’s side, wash out my stains. Passion of Christ, my comfort be. O good Jesus, listen to me. In Thy wounds I fain would hide. Ne’er to be parted from Thy side. Guard me, should the foe assail me. Call me when my life shall fail me. Bid me come to Thee above, with Thy saints to sing Thy love. World without end. Amen.

The Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi is coming up on October 4.

Do you need a unique gift for that special Francis in your life, or for someone who is devoted to Saint Francis? Consider this whimsical original by Colorado artist Tom Sarmo!

This is a truly unique, one-of-a-kind work of art in an acrylic-on-wood medium. The artist used the Grisaille technique (gray underpainting with colored glazes on top) to create this true Saint Francis Original.

The Artist Explains His Inspiration for This Piece

“Saint Francis appeals to me for his personality and his message.  He has always been one of my favorites. I chose him for my confirmation name. His message of peace, his ability to recognize his own faults makes him more accessible to all of us, and the fact that he was a joyful person.  I wanted that joy and playfulness to come out.  He is exuberant.”

Saint Francis of Assisi – “Il Poverello” (The Poor One)

Francis encountered God in all of God’s creation and is for this reason now honored as the patron saint of animals, ecology and the environment (as well as the state of Colorado, the Archdiocese of Denver, the city of San Francisco and innumerable other causes). The fact that Cardinal Bergoglio has taken the name “Francis” as his papal name seems to augur his intent to carry out a program of radical reform of the Church. For Christ spoke from the crucifix of San Damiano in 1204 to Saint Francis in a mystical vision and commanded him to “rebuild my church.”

Chicago, Holy Name Cathedral, September 17, 2018:

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Casey processing out after his episcopal ordination with his new Tree of Life crozier from Creator Mundi – Distinctive Sacred Art & Gifts.

“Cookies of Joy” and Saint Hildegard of Bingen 

The feast day of Saint Hildegard of Bingen  (1098-1179) is coming up on September 17. We consider her the patron saint of Creator Mundi! But is she also the patron saint of chefs and people who work with food in the widest sense? Read on to find out from Loyola Press (and then check out the recipe for her Cookies of Joy!):

“St. Hildegard is not officially the patron saint of anything. But a mystic nun who wrote recipes and developed a nutritional philosophy belongs on any list of Catholic saints associated with the culinary arts.

St. Hildegard’s interest in the healing properties of food makes her a very modern saint. To promote health and cheerfulness and to slow the aging process, St. Hildegard recommended a diet high in foods she considered most nutritious (spelt, fennel, chestnuts, chickpeas, meat from animals fed grass and hay, certain fruits and vegetables) and low in harmful ones (strawberries, eel, refined sugar, and sausage, to name a few). Among her dietary principles were that breakfast should be eaten late and served warm, and that a walk should be taken after dinner.

A brilliant woman, she also invented an alphabet, composed sacred music, founded monasteries, wrote books on medicine and botany, spoke out against corruption, travelled through Germany as a preacher and healer, and corresponded with popes and emperors. Never formally canonized, St. Hildegard was recently named by Pope Benedict a Doctor of the Church, one of only four women to be so named.

St. Hildegard’s recipe for “Cookies of Joy” is still used today. She encouraged bakers to eat the cookies often: “They will reduce the bad humors, enrich the blood, and fortify the nerves,” she wrote.”

https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/prayer/arts-and-faith/culinary-arts/the-patron-saints-of-the-culinary-arts

And here is the recipe for Hildegard’s “Cookies of Joy!”

In our society, there is so much fear, suffering, violence, despair, and confusion.

But there is also, at the same time, the beautiful blue sky.

Sometimes it reveals half of itself,

sometimes just a little bit of blue peeks through,

and sometimes none at all.

Storms, clouds, and fog hide the blue sky.

The kingdom of heaven can be hidden by a cloud of ignorance

or by a tempest of anger, violence, and fear.

But if we practice mindfulness,

it’s possible to be aware that even if the weather is very foggy, cloudy, or stormy,

the blue sky is always there for us above the clouds.

~~Thich Nhat Hanh,

Fear – Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm

Prayer for the Life of the World

Whichever way we turn, O God, there is your face

in the light of the moon and patterns of the stars

in scarred mountain rifts and ancient groves

in mighty seas and creatures of the deep.

Whichever way we turn, O God, there is your face

in the light of eyes we love

in the salt of tears we have tasted

in weathered countenances east and west

in the soft skin glow of the child everywhere.

Whichever way we turn, O God, there is your face

there is your face among us.

John Philip Newell, Praying With the Earth

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We can only move forward when we name the evil of clericalism

An article from the National Catholic Reporter …

Jordan Peterson on taking responsibility for your life – YouTuBE

https://www.facebook.com/SLJonsonStudios/videos/1801661006556452/

Ab. Fisichella: ‘Death penalty against human dignity’

An amazing simplification comes

when we “center down,”

when life is lived with singleness of eye,

from a holy Center

where the breath and stillness of Eternity are heavy upon us

and we are yielded to God.

Some of you know this holy, recreating Center of peace and joy

and live in it day and night.

Some of you may see it over the margin

and wistfully long to slip into that amazing Center

where the soul is at home with God.

Be very faithful to that wistful longing.

It is the Eternal Goodness calling you to return Home.

It is the life beyond fevered strain.

We are called beyond strain,

to peace and power and joy and love

and thorough abandonment of self.

We are called to put our hands trustingly in God’s hand

and walk the holy way,

in no anxiety assuredly resting in God.

Thomas Kelly, A Testament of Devotion

(abridged and adjusted)

Howard Zinn on Hope in Bad Times

TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

Even
After
All this time
The Sun never says to the Earth,

“You owe me.”

Look
What happens
With a love like that,
It lights the whole sky.

~~Daniel Ladinsky, The Gift: Poems by Hafiz

Only Grain and Goats

by George Longenecker

In Knossos there was no way to write love,

for written language was only used by scribes,

to keep tabs on grain and goats,

no written words for doubt or fear,

for hate, war, devotion, charity or loyalty.

There were no poems, no plays,

no epic dramas — at least not in writing —

no threatening letters, no marriage proposals,

birthday cards or tweets —

as though today only accountants could write,

and had words only for buildings,

cars, cash, coal and oil.

There were no pronouns;

only in person could you say:

    I love you

    or

    I want to kill you —

if you could write

and send a love letter:

Three goats, ten bushels of wheat,

five sheep,

ten pomegranates,

one house, two people.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL (1,3)

        Katherine Lee Bates

O beautiful for spacious skies

For amber waves of grain

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And every gain divine!

     HAPPY 4TH!

Namaste!

   (excerpt from an explanation on the Chopra Center website)

This Sanskrit word brings about the essence of oneness, and an understanding of the true nature of reality. 

At the base level, namasté is a salutation of respect and reverence. A traditional Indian greeting, it literally translates to “I bow to you” (namah or namas, meaning bow, te meaning you). 

One of the most common translations of namasté is “The divine light in me bows to the divine light within you.” However, a simple Internet search provides many beautiful meanings and translations of namasté, such as:

• I honor the place in you where the entire universe dwells.
• I bow to the place in you that is love, light, and joy.
• When you and I bow to our true nature, we are one.
• My soul recognizes your soul.
• We are the same, we are one.
• I honor the place in you that is the same as it is in me.

Namaste!

We bow to the place in you that is love, light and joy!

“In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable we come to understand that here, in this life, all symphonies remain unfinished.”
Karl Rahner wrote those words and not to understand them is to risk letting restlessness become a cancer in our lives.

~~ Ron Rolheiser’s reflection on Karl Rahner’s wise words. Here is the entire text:
http://ronrolheiser.com/the-insufficiency-of-everything-at…/

The imagination works through suggestion, not description.

Description is always direct and frequently closes off what it names.

Suggestion respects the mystery and richness of a thing.

All it offers are clues to its nature.

Suggestion keeps the mystery open and extends us the courtesy

of inviting us to see the thing for ourselves.

It offers us the hospitality and freedom

to trust the integrity of our own encounter with a thing.

This is how a work of art can allow itself to be seen

in so many different and often conflicting ways.

It does not foreclose on the adventure of revelation.

~~John O’Donohue, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace (HarperCollins: 2004)