September 29: St. Michael and All Angels

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” —Psalm 91:11.

Sunday, the next to the last day of September, was the Feast Day of St. Michael and All Angels. Above my desk in my home office, a carved stone hanging by my window bears a painted picture of St. Michael with his sword. Michael is almost the first thing I see when I lift my eyes from my computer. St. Michael lives in stained glass, overcoming evil just outside my church’s chapel. I give thanks for St. Michaels in my life—and for angels who have been by my side in difficult times, lending me courage to go on.

I think of some of our favorite fictional angels. There is, of course, Angel Second Class Clarence Odbody, played by Henry Travers in the timeless Frank Capra Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). Clarence saves George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, from bankruptcy and suicide.

Whenever I hear a bell ring, I do wonder if an angel has just earned his wings!

Then there is my all-time favorite movie angel, the suave angel named Dudley, played to the essence by Cary Grant in the Samuel Goldwyn Christmas classic, The Bishop’s Wife (1947). Dudley comes to save the life and marriage of Bishop Henry Brougham, played by David Niven. His wife Julia is played by Loretta Young.

Whenever I visit my Bishop’s office, I always look around to see where Dudley is.

As I talk to people in spiritual direction, I listen to hear if they speak about “angels” in their lives—people whom they encounter over a period of time, or who stand by them or lead them through difficult situations or around impossible obstacles. Angels are life changing and life giving. They are messengers, true tellers, who see God in us and, as the angel Gabriel did to Mary, proclaim that God is in us—when we never had a clue.

Give thanks for the angels in your life. Repay them by being a Dudley or Clarence or Michael—or another angel to someone else you meet.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com

Steven Charleston: Gratitude, Acceptance, Peace

“Be glad today for the many small graces that line the path of our lives like flowers. Be open to the surprises that may come and alert to the quiet messages whispered on the wind. Be creative in how you shape your life in these few hours for every day is a blank canvas. Be a blessing to others as the night draws near and let your evening prayers keep them safe until you awake again.” —Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook page.

Ann’s garden

Every day we have choices. First, we can obsess over the past, what we have lost, mistakes we have made. Second, we can obsess over the future, what we will lose, especially as we age or fall into new mistakes. The past and the potential future become our “gods, taking up rent in our heads”—consuming all our time and energy. Our mind keeps racing faster to make plans and find solutions.

Our third choice is living consciously, moment by moment, in the now. We can enjoy, treasure, give thanks for the gifts of each day, what comes to us in each present moment. This involves a great deal of awareness of our surroundings and of our relationships, enlarging our worldview, getting “out of ourselves.” The challenge is not to forget the mistakes we have made, but to learn from them so that we can make them less frequently in the future.

Acceptance of ourselves as works in progress, not works seeking perfection is huge. Acceptance that there is a power greater than ourselves caring for us is “huger.” I daily talk with people who were upset about plans that were not going their way, only to become thankful later, because “their plan” would have been destructive.

I think of old boyfriends I obsessed about who ignored me as a teenager. I realize today that my life would have been a disaster with any of them. I think of people who came and continue to come into my life to change its direction when I am going the wrong way. I think of people who cared for our children when we couldn’t or were not the ones they needed at the time.

As we age, we may find ourselves filled with anxiety from contemplating deterioration of health, the death of a spouse, or living on a fixed income. There are so many uncertainties.

We do have a part to play in overcoming this. We need to do our best to keep ourselves healthy through diet and exercise and proper medical care. But then our best response should be to wake up each morning with gratitude for the gifts of another day together.

Acceptance and gratitude are our cornerstones, the major building blocks to peace and serenity. I am writing this so I will continue to believe it.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com

Unlearning and Climbing Down Ladders

“When C. G. Jung was an old man, one of his students read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and asked Jung, ‘What has your pilgrimage been?’ Jung answered: ‘ Pilgrim’s Progress consisted in my having to climb down a thousand ladders until I could reach out my hand to the little clod of earth that I am.”’ —C. G. Jung Letters, Vol. 1, Gerhard Adler and Aniela Jaffé, eds. (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972), p. 19, footnote 8.

Richard Rohr describes the spiritual path of unlearning and climbing down as “The way down is the way up.” We do spend our lives learning and unlearning, climbing up and climbing down. Thomas Merton said, “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, when they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong building.”

When three spiritual leaders share this secret, I listen. My experience is that people who try to stay at the top of the ladder soon are overtaken by younger and smarter people in their profession. Attempting to contend with this paradox leads many people to seek spiritual direction. They realize that their old life no longer holds the answers. Their soul cries out to be heard.

The “climb down” can be gentle, with the help of our friends who care for us because they love us, not due to what we have accomplished. They see the face of Christ in us and try to describe it to us. We meet some fascinating people on the way down whom we never would have paid attention to before. The outer life becomes less important. Our inner life speaks more clearly and becomes heard. The descent is an ascent.

[See: Richard Rohr, Simplicity: The Freedom of Letting Go (Crossroad Publishing, 2003), pp. 168-169, 172-173.]

Joannna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com