Saturday, October 15, 2022

CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER; SOME SIMPLE IDEAS ON HOW TO GET STARTED

 

Meditation for the Common Good

Taken from Richard Rohr's Newsletter from the Center for Action and Contemplation 


Simone Campbell, a Sister of Social Service, is a leader of the “Nuns on the Bus” who advocate for fair and generous federal budgeting, particularly for those on the margins. She is also vocal about her need for a daily contemplative practice of meditation to balance her action on behalf of the common good. She offers some simple instructions:  

In meditation, making space for physical silence is only one part of the experience. It is also important to quiet the body. In an erect posture, I can sit in stillness for long periods. If you are tempted to fidget, take a deep breath and do not give into the urge. Sometimes (or often) I get concerned that my timer has stopped, and I want to check it. When I feel this urge, I take a deep breath and restate my desire to be open to the Divine in all things . . . even the distractions!

Sit straight so that you can breathe deeply. A key to doing this is sitting so that your knees are a bit lower than your hips. Try to imagine a string pulling at the crown of your head that gets your head, shoulders, and lower back in line. Your lower back should tilt in a little to give you the balance of an “S” curve. This is the balance you need for stillness. Take a deep breath. And, as you breathe out, set your desire on being silent and open to the Divine. Sometimes, I just say that I am hungry for an awareness of the sacred.

After focusing on becoming present, I try to be open and listen through my body to the Divine. Sometimes, it is good to have a word or mantra to use as I breathe. It gives my mind a focus while I try to be open. This mantra can be an expression of desire or spiritual openness. Trust what comes to mind and breathe with the word(s). . . .

Do not expect fireworks in this form of meditation. Most days are very quiet. Every now and then there might be some insight or awareness that is important and sets a direction. However, know that the consistent practice brings a profound openness to others and a willingness to risk for the common good.

We invite you to participate in some form of contemplative practice today, setting the intention of “openness to others and a willingness to risk for the common good.” 

 

        

 

 

 

FELLOWSHIP DATE FOR NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 20TH "EVERYTHING PUMPKIN"

 

HOSPITALITY / FELLOWSHIP SUNDAY IN NOVEMBER:: THEME IS “EVERYTHING PUMPKIN “



WE WILL GATHER AFTER MASS ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20TH

 

PLEASE LET ALICE JO OR JANE KNOW  WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE

 

Pumpkin Facts:

·         Pumpkins are usually orange but can sometimes be yellow, white, green or red.

  • The name pumpkin comes from the Greek word ‘pepon’, meaning ‘large melon’.
  • Pumpkins have thick shells which contain pulp and seeds.
  • Scientifically speaking, pumpkins are a fruit (they contain seeds) but when it comes to cooking, they are often referred to as vegetables.
  • Pumpkins are usually shaped like a sphere (ball).
  • They vary in weight but an average sized pumpkin might weigh around 13 pounds (6 kilograms).
  • Giant pumpkins can be grown for competitions, with some weighing over 1000 pounds! (450 kilograms). In 2010, the world record was 1810 pounds! That’s huge!!
  • Pumpkin plants feature both male and female flowers, with bees typically being involved in pollination (the transfer of pollen).
  • Over 1 billion pounds (450 million kgs) of pumpkin are produced in the US every year.
  • As a food, pumpkin can be baked, roasted, steamed or boiled.
  • Pumpkin soup is popular, as are roasted pumpkin seeds.
  • Pumpkin pie is a sweet dessert that originates in North America and is traditionally eaten during harvest time and holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Friday, October 14, 2022

ST JOHN'S FOOD BAGS FOR LINTHICUM ELEMENTARY

 

Since school starts August 29–31 with Staggered Openings for ECI, PreK, and Kindergarten and August 3 for grades 1–12 we will begin to restock our pantry to provide weekend food bags for Linthicum Elementary. The guidance counselor needs time to determine the students needing the most help. We usually start delivery about 2 weeks after school begins. Below is a total list of food items we collect to fill the bags. Any food items as well as monetary donations to Weekend Food Bags is greatly appreciated. We thank you for all the support the congregation has given this ministry over the years and our students and staff at Linthicum Elementary appreciate any help that we have provided.    Food items can be left in the Outreach Room on the table facing the shelves with the bins on Sundays. Anyone anyone interested in joining our team on 2 Tuesday mornings a month to sort, pack, and help deliver are welcomed! The members of the team are Pam Weammert (410-766-4208), Cheryl Barrett (443-831-9897), Linda Hill ( 410-562-0897),Sharon Honts, and Amy Everhart (410-859-5314) .  You can ask any of us for information or let the office know you are interested so we can contact you

 FOOD BAGS SHOPPING LIST 

  • Individual boxes of raisins
  • Fruit cups
  • Applesauce cups
  • Spaghetti Sauce packets
  • Knoor's packets - both rice and pasta sides
  • Vienna sausages
  • Ramen noodles
  • 6 oz. Cans tomato paste
  • 3x5" box Hormel pepperoni
  • Vegetable cups
  • 16oz jars of peanut butter
  • Individual packets of oatmeal
  • Pudding cups
  • Zatarains or Rice a Roni box of Rice and Beans, Gumbo, or Jambalaya
  • Boxes of pasta
  • Individual cups or boxes of cereal
  • Packets of Cocoa mix
  • Pudding cups
  • Large and small cans light tuna
  • Large and small cans chicken breast
  • Cups of mac n' cheese
  • Boxes of Mac n' Cheese
  • Cans of Beanie Weanies
  • Cups or cans of Chef BoyArdee or Spaghetti O's (with meat)
  • Snacks - peanut butter crackers, cheese crackers, granola bars, popcorn, fruit snacks, and other snacks that are individually packaged

MEETING GOD IN PRAYER FROM THE CENTER FOR ACTION AND CONTEMPLATION

 



                                                                                                                                                                 Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts. It is, rather, a stance. It’s a way of living in the Presence, living in awareness of the Presence, and even of enjoying the Presence. 

                                                                                                              

  Prayer is not primarily something we are doing to God, something we are giving to God but what God is doing for us. And what God is doing for us is giving the divine Self in love. 

                                                                                                                                                                  Quiet, contemplative prayer happens when we are still and open ourselves to Christ’s Spirit working secretly in us, when we heed the psalmist’s plea: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10). These are times when we trustingly sink into God’s formless hands for cleansing, illumination, and communion. 

 

  In prayer, we know we’re not being manipulated, we’re not being used, we’re not being judged, we’re not being evaluated. Who wouldn’t want to go there? It’s the place of ultimate freedom.    

                                                                                                                                                                            We can imagine God as our intimate friend, with whom we share everything. We can talk to the Divine about our needs, complaints, and difficulties. We can ask for advice, offer thanksgiving, and make acts of faith or reparation for our sins. We can seek guidance for our children, or shed tears about illness and death.

 

  Prayer is the longing of the human heart for God. It is a yearning and desire for relationship with God, and it is God’s attention to our desire: God-in-communion with us.

Excerpted from the Center for Action And Contemplation

WINTER RELIEF AT ST CHRISTOPHERS FOR 2022

 



WINTER RELIEF AT ST. CHRISTOPHERS

 

St. Christophers will be hosting a mixed gender group of 20 people for Winter Relief from  Monday December 5th thru  Monday December 12th.  We have volunteered to help with staffing and providing dinner  for Monday December 5th (Dinner and Snack) . And providing lunch for distribution on Tuesday the 6th. 

 What can you do to help ?

# 1. We will assemble lunches for 20 people on Sunday December 4th. This will be done after mass on Sunday.  These will be distributed on Tuesday December 6th

# 2. We need 4 people to help serve the dinner.  Totally optional to “ hang out “ afterwards from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the 5th. Also assist in dinner clean up and help with "snacks" in the evening. 

#3. We need  people to prepare dinner casseroles that will serve 10 people each.  They would need to be delivered on the “day of ” the event on December 5th. Included with the meal would be a Salad, Garlic Bread and some type of dessert.


 


Thursday, October 13, 2022

A REFLECTION ON THE SEVENTH BEAUTITUDE BY JOAN CHITTISTER

 

Purity of heart' beatitude is at the core of what we need in this country

There's always something

In fact, a good deal of the Bible can easily be dismissed as foreign to the modern world. So much of every book of the Bible is in need of interpretation in a world of digital icons and multiple translations, not to mention the very archeology of the place. 

On every page, something cries out for cultural, social or historical explanations. As in, what exactly is a burning bush or a sea of reeds or the vizier of the pharaoh. Some people let that kind of information go by. Others study most of their lives, one Scripture after another, to apply thousands of years of the spiritual life to this one. And, to tell the truth, all of that is an enriching and soul-stretching exercise. 

But not everything in Scripture lies behind a plexiglass of uncertainty, of confusion and ancient script. Not, for instance, in the first six Beatitudes of Jesus. 

On the contrary, the Beatitudes have a very clear place in life. Anybody's life anywhere. Yours, mine, the Iraqi refugee next door. The Jewish and Black and Asian home or convenience store or political implications down the street. The Beatitudes are not a denominational code of professional religion. They are the about the parameters of what it means to be equally human, always needy, forever aware of what it is to be one of the "children of God." 

The Beatitudes of Jesus are easy to spot. They make sense. They provide a veritable way of life for those who take them seriously.

Justice, mercy, meekness, peacemaking, mourning and righteousness — the first six Beatitudes of Jesus — are easy to spot. They are not just aphorisms, pretty prayers or a recitation piece.

The Beatitudes are verbs. They set out to do things. They change us and everything around us. In fact, to be real at all, they require a very public demonstration of very important dimensions of life.

We're either fair and just with people — or we're not — and if we are not, they know when they're being exploited. 

Being merciful to others eases their lives and helps them to start over in life with dignity, with their sins forgiven and life renewed.

Humility makes us comfortable when we're out of our comfort zones. It takes our differences and turns them into a family of equals. It forbids the oppression of others and prods us to speak the truths of life at all times. 

When we grieve for people in the midst of their hardship or losses, we take them out of their deserts of loneliness and give them a new sense of life when life goes dry and empty. 

Most of all, the righteous rejection of evil and our commitment to the needs of others is the glue that brings families, neighborhoods, the world together. 

Indeed, the Beatitudes of Jesus change the very core of life. 

Jesus did not preach the Beatitudes as lulling examples of soft poetry, though poetry they are. They are within us, the steel spine of life. They hold us up through everything. They enable us to build a new world around us. They are here to enable us to hold up the weakness of the human race, and remind us that we are the co-creators of a world in pain just waiting for us to notice it. Near us. With us. In our own backyards. And with all those others, as well. 

Good. But what about the seventh beatitude? Happy are the "pure of heart for they shall see God"? Now that's something else entirely. 

Being "pure of heart" is not satisfied by physical behaviors or mere acts of public charity. It has nothing to do with changing my behavior in a way that will make you comfortable or give you security or contribute to your physical well-being. Or even if it does, I will never know why you did it. You see, the seventh beatitude is all about motives. Mine.

Jesus is very clear about that when he confronts the scribes and Pharisees, saying, "You brood of vipers and hypocrites. You tell the people that they are no longer bound to care for their elderly parents" — a major ethical principle of Judaism — provided they now make an offering, or korban, to the keepers of the Temple instead.

So, what are these religious officials doing here? Is the intention to see that the older generation is cared for or to make money for the Temple itself? Listen carefully: The deal is that the religious obligation of the children can now be met by paying the Temple officials the money rather than using it for the direct caring of their parents. Clearly the motive is toxic. Whatever good may be done on the side this way — though Jesus doesn't name any — the fact is that it was not done for the right reason.   Clever, indeed.

In fact, purity of heart has to do with intentionality, with why I really do things. With my motives. With the real reason for what I do, which, however good it makes me look on the outside, may indeed be poisonous on the inside. 

Being "pure of heart," is not an obsolete factor in the spiritual life. In fact, it seems to be the very core of what we need in this country right now but are finding so difficult to determine.

Why are congressional representatives, for instance, continuing to declare Donald Trump's lie that this legally honest presidential election was stolen from him, was actually a fraud, was taken from him by all sorts of nefarious and nonexistent evidence? Why? Because they actually believe it? Or because they will do anything to cater to Trump enough to receive his endorsement of their own election? But which is it: a hidden political gain or a genuine commitment to the good of the nation?

Have these leaders of ours been fooled, too — or are they simply pulling the strings of Trump's paranoia for their own good? It's an important question. After all, the integrity of the country is at stake.

Which, in that case, means that the country will be sending liars to Congress consciously, foolishly, and with what credentials to prove that they are really operating in our best interest?

And if we ourselves do not call those motives out, who will be the real fools in the end: Trump? Trumpers? Republican shills who want the seat more than they want honest government, a good future, a just system? The Lexico Dictionary calls the shill "an accomplice of a confidence trickster or swindler who poses as a genuine customer to entice or encourage others." 

Their dishonesty lies in the fact that it's all for their own sake, for the sake of a congressional seat they intend to win even if they have to lie to get it.

The national spiritual malignancy lies in this: Those who will lie to you to get your support will lie to you when they get it, as well. Their seat will not be for your good. Not for your sake. Not for the sake of the welfare of the country. Not to make the country, the future, the children of tomorrow secure. 

No, what the shill does is whatever the shill must do to reap the harvest for their own benefit. And when lying is for their own good, they will do it to you again. 

From where I stand, it seems to me that of all the Beatitudes we're in need of at this moment in time, purity of heart may be the one that the political, social, moral dimension of the government may be in need of most. If the preservation of the Constitution, the commitment to democratic principles, the integrity of its representatives is not central, what will be? 

Only purity of heart can save us now. A precious few have stood to call out the lie.

As Jesus said later, "Where are the others?"

Joan Chittister

A Benedictine Sister of Erie, Pennsylvania, Joan Chittister is a best-selling author and well-known international lecturer on topics of justice, peace, human rights, women's issues and contemporary spirituality in the church and in society. 

Excerpted from NCR


ADVENT DAY OF PRAYER AT BON SECOURS

 

Advent Day of Prayer at Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center

Thursday, December 8th  *  9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Guided by Sr. Bernadette Claps, CBS

Cost:  $40.00

The Adult Spirituality Team of St. Charles of Brazil is inviting you to attend a day of prayer.  All are welcome!  

 Advent is about waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus.  This holy season also invites us to encounter God in the here and now.  This quiet day of prayer will begin with reflective input by Sister Bernadette Claps, followed by time for private prayer and reflection.  After a silent lunch, options include walking the labyrinth, wandering the beautiful grounds, reflection in the Peace Garden, sitting beside the pond or finding a cozy corner to read or journal.  The atmosphere of the day will be reverent silence which allows for a deeper encounter with God. 

Liturgy will be offered in the chapel for those interested. 

The day will close with all participants coming together to name the blessings of the day and share a closing prayer.

 To register online:  RCCBonSecours.com

To register by telephone:  410-442-3120  Cost is $40.00 including lunch.

 

Please direct any questions or concerns to Alice Jo Weaver (443-848-7439) or via

e-mail:  alicejo.weaver@yahoo.com   RSVP BY December 5th.

With the busyness of Advent and the coming Christmas celebrations, this is a gift you can give to yourself.