Literature and the Spiritual LIfe

Paying attention

‘From the simplest lyric to the most complex novel and densest drama, literature is asking us to pay attention. Pay attention to the west wind. Pay attention to the boy on the raft, the lady in the tower, the old man on the train. In sum, pay attention to the world and all that dwells therein and thereby learn at last to pay attention to yourself and all that dwells therein.” Frederick Buechner in Whistling in the Dark. From Synthesis, Today Quote, November 15, 2018, www.synthesispub.com.

We talk so often about being mindful, paying attention to our surroundings, to the people we meet, nature, those we love and those who love us. In true Buechner form, he reminds us of a whole other world that calls us to be mindful. It is the songs we sing, and the books we read, and the plays and movies we see. Whether we realize it or not, all the art and literature forms have a message of staying in the present, paying attention to the present and listening to where God is calling us to be the person we were created to be.

Cham Canon at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Memphis told us at our confirmation classes so many years ago that when we sing hymns, we are saying some of the most profound words we will ever say.

I think of books I could not stop reading as a young girl, Nancy Drew Mysteries. Many years later after I became a pediatric radiologist, I realized, that radiology is detective work, looking for clues for what is missing or what should not be there. Even now later in life, I am attracted to mysteries and clues that God leaves for us as reminders of God’s love.

Perhaps Jo in Little Women also became such a part of my being that I was not afraid later to cross barriers or seek out mentors searching for more answers which usually only led to more questions.

Something speaks from the depth of my being and sets me back on course every time I see Phantom of the Opera. I have seen it so often that I have run out of friends and family who will go with me!

God keeps talking to us through so many people and things, and we should never forget how our literature is another place God may connect to us so clearly.

I am also continually surprised how the message from the same book or song or play may be different for each one of us.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Gratitude Deficiency

Gratitude Deficiency

“”Ignatius thought that a particular type of ignorance was at the root of sin. The deadliest sin, he said, is ingratitude. It is ‘the cause, beginning, and origin of all evils and sins.’” Jim Manney, God Finds Us, An Experience of the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius.

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As Thanksgiving approaches, we try to remember what we are thankful for, especially on that day just before mealtime prayers. Sometimes we discuss being thankful briefly with family and friends who are gathered around the table with us.

Ignatius and Jim Manney are reminding us that thankfulness is more than a brief one-time event each year. Being thankful keeps us connected to God, a power greater than ourselves, who so loves us and daily showers us with gifts. People stay in recovery from addiction by making gratitude lists every day. Those who practice Ignatian spirituality thank God in their nightly Examen for specific gifts they received during that day. Those who are losing hope or are depressed are sometimes helped by doing this exercise daily of remembering what they were thankful for during the day and sharing it with a friend. Those who see only the negative aspects of their world also can sometimes be transformed by starting to look for even the smallest part of their life where they are grateful. Sometimes we may be thankful only for the sun or the moon, but it is important if we want to change, to keep saying daily, sometimes hourly, prayers of thanksgiving.

Another exercise that can be helpful is to try to write down during a day the times we actually say “thank you.” This sometimes is an eye-opening experience.

Next we can begin to say “thank you” for even the smallest event, such as someone passing a plate of food at a meal, someone filling our glass of water or tea, a waiter serving our dinner, a hug, a hand outreached to help, a visit, a call, an email, a note, a text from a friend, a car door opened.

Eventually being thankful can become an automatic part of our being. We can extend gratitude to other parts of our lives such as a good night’s sleep, the smell of morning coffee brewing, warm clothes in the winter, a place to live, family members especially spouses and children and grandchildren, a community of friends, a church community, an ability to work, the beauty of nature, the sun in the morning, the moon at night, good health, recovery from an illness, improvement in health.

Gratitude has a direct connection to the God who so loves us. Moments of gratitude connect us to the fruit of the Spirit, love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.1

1Galatians 5:22-23

Joanna. Joannseibert.com

Bea, Kanuga, and Prince Charles

Bea, Kanuga, and Prince Charles

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,[a] and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,” Hebrews 12:1

Two days ago, on November 14, Prince Charles of England turned seventy years old. His birthday always reminds me of a woman named Bea whom we encountered at Kanuga many years ago at breakfast at a Lenten Bowen conference. As we pass to Bea the famous butter-baked Kanuga toast we learn she is from Beaumont, Texas, but she does not have a Southern accent. She was born in Germany. Her parents were Jewish, but not practicing. She is a Holocaust survivor. She escaped from Germany and lived in Belgium and France where she was helped by the French underground. There she met her future husband, Henry Buller, a Mennonite, who was a conscientious objector doing relief work in unoccupied France and later in England and Germany.

Bea came to this country when she was in her twenties. She now tells us she is eighty-four. Bea is articulate and knowledgeable and just an interesting conversationalist. She became a Mennonite but now attends a Disciples of Christ church since there is not a Mennonite congregation in her town, but she says, “I will always be a Mennonite.”

We are now joined by Kathryn who comments on Bea’s unusual oriental necklace.

“I do not like living alone,” Bea says. “It was a gift several years ago from Chinese graduate students who lived with me.”

Bea notices my husband’s bronze star label pin. She asks how he was awarded it.

“I served in Vietnam,” he casually replies.

There is a brief silence. She then responds, “My son, Rene, was killed in the Vietnam War. He was twenty. He was a medic and had only been in Vietnam for two weeks. He was killed trying to care for a wounded soldier. His death was such a waste.” Tears fill her eyes. “My son was born on the same day as Prince Charles of England, and whenever I see the prince, I think, this is the age Rene would be. Rene died thirty years ago. He would now be in his fifties, but I can only see him as twenty years old.”

We go back to our room in the Kanuga lodge. I have ridden in its slow but steady elevator so many times. Today I see the plaque on the elevator wall. “This elevator given in memory of Reginald Hudson Bedell, RAF bomber pilot, killed in action December 19, 1942. Born February 13, 1920. Given in memory by his mother, Edna Woods Buist.” Reginald was twenty-two. If he were alive at that time of our meeting, he would be eighty-five, a year older than Bea. But to Edna Woods Buist and to all of us who ride the elevator at Kanuga to and from our meals, her son, Reginald, will always be twenty-two.

Today I say prayers for Bea, Rene, Edna, and Reginald and remember the great tragedies of war and how two women have worked through their loss by honoring the life of their sons by helping others in need. I am also reminded that we are a part of a “great cloud of witnesses,” a community of those of different faiths, of those who immigrated to this country as well as those from other countries who have made enormous sacrifices and contributions to and for us and our country.

Joanna joannaseibert.com