Aligning with Grace

There are times in our lives when we feel filled... I thought of that this morning when I visited the river for some "Loving-Kindness" practice after my morning prayers and meditation. The river had swollen over its banks and almost up the entire boat ramp area due to the gentle falling rains of the last few days. The rain has been mostly steady, but a couple of days ago when I visited, the river was still pretty calm. But not so today... I could see a lot of debris floating downstream with incredible urgency, as if all the pieces of tree trunks and limbs were late for a date or something. Still, what captivated my thoughts was this image of fullness - of being filled to the brim, like this river that was bursting at the seams and over its banks. Yes, there are times in our lives when we are filled... We may be filled with many things. We may be filled with love, or happiness, or a sense of goodness or well-being - which are not all that different from one another. We...

Yesterday, on March 13th (3-13-13), a new Pope was elected to shepherd and lead the more than one billion Catholics on this planet - no small feat indeed! This pope is the 7th one of my lifetime, beginning with Pius XII, a very controversial figure, beatified, even though widely and I believe rightfully criticized for failing to save our Jewish brothers and sisters in Rome during World War II. My favorite pope is the first one I can remember, John XXIII, who was elected as a compromise and "caretaker" choice. He was not expected to live long - which he didn't - but in the few years he was pope, he threw open the windows of the Church (aggiornamento) and ushered in the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, known as Vatican II, which instituted the first major changes in the Church since the Reformation and the Council of Trent. I was just in grade school at the time that John XXIII lived, and he endeared himself to many. As a child I read his personal journal, Jour...

More than a lover, I came into this world wanting a true soul companion. And while I waited a long time for this rare gift, what I received, in the long run, was a whole harvest of them! I have been truly blessed to have known many wonderful friends throughout my life, but I was always drawn to the notion of spiritual friendship. I wondered what it would be like to have a true friend of the soul - to be a St. Jeanne de Chantal to St. Francis de Sales , or St. Claire of Assisi to St. Francis of Assisi , or to be St. Louise de Marillac to St. Vincent de Paul . Or, St. Teresa of Avila - to St. John of the Cross . I could go on, and on, and on. One of my favorite spiritual works has been Spiritual Friendship by Aelred of Rievaulx . In my graduate school years, I often read the letters or correspondence between such titans in the world of Catholic spirituality. I envisioned writing a dissertation on spiritual friendship - but Dr. Wendy M. Wright , outlined many of these beautiful relati...