Buechner, Ignatius: News of the Day

Buechner, Ignatius: News of the day

“When the evening news comes on, hundreds of thousands of people all over the earth are watching it on their TV screens. There is also the news that rarely gets into the media, and that is the news of each particular day of each particular one of us. Maybe there's nothing on earth more important for us to do than sit down every evening and think it over, try to figure it out, at least try to come to terms with it. The news of our day. It is, if nothing else, a way of saying our prayers.” Frederick Buechner, Originally published in Whistling in the Dark and later in Beyond Words

Buechner is maybe challenging us to spend even a fraction of the time that we spend listening to the world news of the day with the news in our own life. At the end of the day, 12 step groups, short courses in Christianity such as Cursillo groups, those practicing Ignatian spirituality suggest  methods for reviewing the day, giving thanks, making gratitude lists, thinking back as to when we encountered God, when we did harm, asking for forgiveness, planning to make amends, and in essence turning our life and our will over to God one more time for the evening. Those in recovery call it the 10th step. St. Ignatius calls it the Examen.  

Buechner reminds us  that we should consider all of  these exercises as prayer. It is our news of the day for God, night time news, night time prayers.   In time, answers will come as to how we are to respond to the world news of the day.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

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