Precious Present

Precious present

"God speaks to every individual through what happens to them moment by moment. The events of each moment are stamped with the will of God ... we find all that is necessary in the present moment."  Jean Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence. Synthesis Today, Quote for August 8, 2018, www.synthesispub.org

Turner winning pinewood derby

 We spoke earlier about Spencer Johnson’s famous book about living in the present called, The Precious Present. (A Daily Spiritual Rx for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany).  CS Lewis writes that God speaks to us in the present, not in the past or future. Many mindfulness exercises are about getting into the present moment, living in the present moment, as are many of our spiritual practices such as walking the labyrinth, using the rosary, waiting in silence, walking meditation.

Anthony DeMello in Sadhana teaches us that living in our body and not living out of our head keeps us grounded. Our bodies are what keep us in the present moment. Our mind is always in the future or the past.  Spending time in nature connects us to the present. The trees photosynthesize, transform the energy within us to see  beauty. Beauty keeps us in the present. Being and playing with children keeps us in the present, for that is where they live.

Joanna  joannaseibert.com

Sabbath

Sabbath

Sabbath-keeping is a resistance movement, and it’s very counter-cultural. Sabbath-keeping is a resistance to the clutter, the noise, the advertising, the busyness, and the “virtual living” that sucks the life out of our lives. Sabbath-keeping is a resistance to constant production, and work, and accumulation. It may be the most difficult of the Ten Commandments to keep, and it may also be the most important.

-Br. Curtis Almquist Society of St. John the Evangelist, Brother Give us a Word, SSSE.org August 26, 2018

Keeping Sabbath in our culture is indeed more than difficult. I have one friend who rests completely on the sabbath. She does nothing work related, tries to spend as much time as possible outdoors. I am reminded of my grandparents who did this as well. My grandmother would not even do a little sewing on Sunday. I often spent Sundays with them. We ate, we rested, we walked about on my grandfather’s farm, and we went to church. We did watch the Ed Sullivan show at night on the television after making seven up floats. I would then spend the night in their guest double bed that seemed unbelievably huge at the time. I most remember the feeling of love and peace on these days. I wonder how much was related to Sabbath keeping.

They mentored for me what to do, but I have forgotten. I am an important person. I will never make those deadlines unless I do a little work on Sunday. A little turns into several hours. Once I start, it is hard to stop. I will rest later.

I do want to keep the sabbath. It is not too late to start. Join me. Let us encourage one another. Maybe we need a sabbath  recovery group to share stories with each other about what happens when we keep the sabbath.

When  I meet with people about spiritual direction, I try to ask them how they keep sabbath. I am hoping to learn from them as much as reminding them about this spiritual gift which is also the third commandment. It may be the only spiritual gift that is a commandment.

The  ten commandments honor God but also were given for our own health and safety. Sometimes it is helpful for me to view them not just as rules but as guides to a healthy life more important than diet and exercise.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

working class spirituality

Working class spirituality

“I think you have to put a little sweat equity into what you believe. You have to practice what you preach. Justice does not just happen. Compassion is not a spectator sport, but something I have to exercise as I roll up my sleeves to do my part in creating a better community. I need to put in my hours as a volunteer. I have to join the prayer crew and put my life on the line to make a difference. The world will not change by wishes, but by the labor of love we call faith. Spirituality is not a spa but a construction site where we build hope one heart at a time.” Bishop Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook post

Harriet Faith Frederick

Oh goodness! I love to sit and meditate and walk and write and read and sit in silence and go to weekly Eucharist. Bishop Charleston  reminds us that being a Christian is not a spectator sport. Eventually all of our spiritual practices connecting us to God will be calling us to some action, reaching out of ourselves in some way. Even when we are homebound we can call or write or cook or knit or invite others in. 

My experience is that we do not have to go out of our way to realize what we are called to do. It will present itself to us daily. A person will come to guide us or suggest something. Someone in need will appear. Suddenly we will see a situation that was always there that calls us to reach out. Often the problem is that there are so many needs that we now become aware of around us that we become overwhelmed. Buechner  gives us a good formula to find our next step. We are called to the place where the world’s deep hunger and our deep gladness meet. We look for where our passion is, where we are energized by the ministry.

We will soon learn that we are not called to the ministry our parents or our friends or the world thinks we should do. We are called to the ministry that is our passion, that we would do for no compensation, where we begin to do things we never thought we were capable of doing, when we gain energy as we work in this ministry instead of losing energy.

When we find this calling, we start becoming the person God created us to be.

Joanna   joannaseibert.com