but for sorrow I might never have asked what could be but for sorrow. I might never have opened to the terrible vulnerability of love but for tears. I might never have begun this treacherous path to God but for emptiness.
Source: “but for sorrow” by Rob Suarez from America Magazine, Vol. 184 No.
10 (3/26/2001).
Poetry, art and music have the ability to open our hearts in a special way. This Lent I will be posting a poem that may help our Lenten reflections. Most of the poems can be found on the website: Education for Justice, www.educationforjustice.org. For a small fee you can have access to a large repository of reflection, study, and prayer material that can take you beyond the personal (just me and God) to our responsibility to our sisters and brothers all over the world.
May Lent be for us A time of learning to see Where Christ is crucified today, A time of learning To recognize the complex roots of injustice, To recognize the Gethsemanes In our global community. May we witness the suffering Of God’s children As Mary witnessed Her beloved son’s suffering.
May Lent be for us A time of learning to become An Easter people, A time of learning To recognize the deep roots of compassion, To recognize we too are called To witness the empty tomb and To announce To a world in despair the Hope of the Resurrection.
Our first reading today is from the book of Genesis. We are reminded of the gift that creation is to us. May we also remember that we are to be a gift to creation.
Let us ask ourselves today, “How is creation a gift to me?” and “How am I a gift to creation?”
God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day.
Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, so today I include both a photo from the Basilica at Lourdes, France, and a lovely stanza from the poem, “Our Lady of Lourdes”, by Francesca Brennan.
Beneath small Lourdes gray-blue sky Cool February’s airs Encanopied in ether high All serve as courtiers.
*The welcoming arms of Mary from the mosaic in the dome of the basilica at Lourdes
The crowded bus, the long queue, the railway platform, the traffic jam, the neighbor’s television sets, the heavy-footed people on the floor above you, the person who still keeps getting the wrong number on your phone. These are the real conditions of your desert. Do not allow yourself to be irritated. Do not try to escape. Do not postpone your prayer. Kneel down. Enter that disturbed solitude. Let your silence be spoiled by those sounds. It is the beginning of your desert.
– Alessandro Pronzato in Mediations on the Sand
This is an artist’s mediation “on the sand” or the beach at Bolinas
To find the kingdom is the easiest thing in the world but also the most difficult. Easy because it is all around you and within you, and all you have to do is reach out and take possession of it. Difficult because if you wish to possess the kingdom you may possess nothing else.
Today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews is very stirring and encourages us to persevere.
Brothers and sisters: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him Jesus endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. Hebrews 12:1-4
One can’t help but think of our own Sister Marion Irvine, a very unique and outstanding woman, when thinking of the perseverance of a marathoner running her race.
Sister Marion on the cover of Runner Magazine
Sister Marion Irvine, O.P., the “Flying Nun,” an accomplished runner , has been an inspirational alumna and supporter of Dominican University. In 1983 she qualified for the 1983 U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon. In her career as a runner, she shattered all major running records in the 50–54, 55–59, and 60–64 age groups, and earned five gold medals at the World Veteran Games in Eugene, Oregon.
Sister Marion when she was a school principal
After forty-seven years of service in schools, Sister Marion came home to San Rafael and served as the promoter of social justice for the congregation until about four years ago. Of course she still stays active in social justice ministry, working with agencies in Marin County and organizing the sisters’ jail ministry.
She continues to find this work challenging, exciting and rewarding. Whether the issue is abolishing the death penalty, creating compassionate immigration reform, or supporting peace and justice, Sister Marion demonstrates the same focus, discipline and energy she did in running . . . and really just about anything she does.
May we be blessed with this same perseverance and dedication in all the way we serve God and God’s people.
Sister Marion and other sisters at the annual anti-nuclear demonstration on Good Friday at Livermore LabsSister Marion’s commitment to the cause of peace allows her to be arrested at the Livermore Labs demonstration
Our first reading today is from the book of Genesis. We are reminded of the gift that creation is to us. May we also remember that we are to be a gift to creation.
OPreach 