Aligning with Grace

Sometimes, we are surprised in life... We may be surprised by gifts... Or, by the visit of a loved one we have not seen in a while... Sometimes we are surprised by the turn of events... And sometimes, we are surprised by joy... We might not see it coming... Sometimes we pray for something, perhaps not really imagining that we will receive it - to which I admonish - be careful what you pray for! On March 17th, the Feast of St. Patrick, I prayed for a change of heart - and for a clean heart... I asked to be rid of all that does not serve, like the mythological snakes that were driven out of Ireland... In the cleansing many things were released, and the process still continues... Space was created for other things to be received... And for other things to be... A new place of indwelling was created within a cleansed heart... An invitation was sent out - and everything began to be seen and experienced with new eyes, and yes, through a new heart... This week, a g...

On Wednesdays, after teaching my morning yoga class, I head off to St. David's, an Episcopal Church nearby, where I meet a small group of lovely women for centering prayer, a form of Christian meditation. It is a real blessing to meditate regularly in community. The wonderful woman who pastors this church, and I, entered into a lively discussion of the readings for this past Sunday's liturgy. She shared what she preached on, and I shared insights gleaned from my own pastor's homily, at the Jesuit parish that I belong to in Georgetown. Sunday, was Good Shepherd Sunday, and the psalm for the day was Psalm 23rd. This has never been one of my favorites, but it's grown on me over the years. I always gravitated towards others, and in my late teens/early twenties, as a liturgical musician, I gave myself the task of setting the psalms to music. Well, that didn't exactly go very far! Recently, I found excerpts of my renditions - lyrics and chords, on torn pieces of pap...

A magnificent Holy Saturday begins with a Cardinal singing on my dogwood tree, even though it is still bare and without any buds yet. Cardinals remind us of our lives' true purpose... Then, I meet the morning with a brace of rich images dancing within the kaleidoscope of my mind; they are simply beautiful memories from yesterday... Where to begin? And where to end? Different scenes from the tableaux of my own spiritual journey, gently come into focus, and so, I share them in a stream of consciousness... My spirit is touched profoundly in ways I can hardly describe... I am blessed to spend the day in silence, and am called to prayer, meditation, and contemplation... I reach out for my oldest rosary, blessed by Padre Pio, the Franciscan priest bearing the stigmata, who died in the late sixties and was sainted about a decade ago. I think of his faith, his simplicity, and how there was a time I prayed this rosary often, choosing to do so today, to commemorate the Passion of the...

Last night I attended Holy Thursday services, often referred to as the Celebration of the Lord's Supper, at St John Neumann, in Reston, Virginia. The Sacred Triduum, constitute the "High Holy Days" of Christians, and it begins at sundown on Thursday, and continues through the wee hours of Sunday morning, ushering in Easter. It was a long service, which included washing of the feet and a final procession of the Blessed Sacrament out of the Church to its resting place in the chapel until Easter. This was followed by adoration for those who wished to remain until midnight, in a quiet and breathtakingly beautiful candle lit chapel. There was plenty of incense and ritual and traditional Latin chants, but with a more post Vatican II flavor. I marveled at the woman next to me, gifted with a beautiful voice whose pronunciation of Latin put mine to shame. But it was the sermon that was most moving for me, and I believe I was led here, to this church that is not one to which I ...