Every day a prayer - one long continuous speaking to God, like the Eucharist prayer. Strange thought, because we think of prayer almost exclusively as supplication - "please give me something or do something for me." But prayer as communication with God - as sending back up to him our response to Creation, which he made us for, and made for us to have tangible knowledge of His love - resonates with me, or perhaps strikes me, like a mallet on crystal bells.
At every moment, God shows His love, the love that gives all, completely open-hearted and handed, with complete awareness of our flaws. "Lord I am not worthy" yet once I have awareness of my flaws, He is there, ready to heal and elevate me.
My daughter told me how the Japanese have a technique for mending broken pottery using gold to join the peices together, because even a broken vessel has beauty. That seems the best image for us broken humans and our relationship with our Creator - He can make perfect even the most shattered, using our flaws to make us even more lovely than we started.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Crooked Lines
"God writes straight with crooked lines." "If I had known how it would all turn out, I wouldn't have worried so much at the time." The tallest of mountains flatten out when you take them one step at a time.
Two years ago, during my oldest daughter's first year of college, I wronte in my journal, "Dear St. Joseph: I would like a job where I can live my Catholic faith and use the gifts God gave me, with a salary of $65000 a year." At the time I was in the middle of a six-month job interview/background check, during which two things happened repeatedly: after passing through each advance in the process I became almost overwhelmed by misgivings about the job itself, and something would happen to tell me quite bluntly that God wanted me to go through the process. I found it a formidable experience. And then: after passing the last hurdle, I received an email saying "we are sorry to inform you..." and the process ended.
I blurted out to my colleague "I didn't get it." and sat numbly wondering what now? A quarter hour later she called, "hey, there's an opening for House Manager at X, you should apply, you'd be good at it." I thought numbly, what the heck, pulled together a quick cover letter and sent it off with my resume. Two weeks later I got the job, and here I am: Care Manager for retired priests.
I love my work, taking care of a big residential facility and working with priests. The only thing missing is the salary. Oh, well, I'll pick up a lottery ticket on my way home tomorrow.
Thank you St. Joseph.
Two years ago, during my oldest daughter's first year of college, I wronte in my journal, "Dear St. Joseph: I would like a job where I can live my Catholic faith and use the gifts God gave me, with a salary of $65000 a year." At the time I was in the middle of a six-month job interview/background check, during which two things happened repeatedly: after passing through each advance in the process I became almost overwhelmed by misgivings about the job itself, and something would happen to tell me quite bluntly that God wanted me to go through the process. I found it a formidable experience. And then: after passing the last hurdle, I received an email saying "we are sorry to inform you..." and the process ended.
I blurted out to my colleague "I didn't get it." and sat numbly wondering what now? A quarter hour later she called, "hey, there's an opening for House Manager at X, you should apply, you'd be good at it." I thought numbly, what the heck, pulled together a quick cover letter and sent it off with my resume. Two weeks later I got the job, and here I am: Care Manager for retired priests.
I love my work, taking care of a big residential facility and working with priests. The only thing missing is the salary. Oh, well, I'll pick up a lottery ticket on my way home tomorrow.
Thank you St. Joseph.
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