The Times, They Are A-Changin’
I witnessed another amazing miracle of nature last week and again it was right in my own backyard. If you’ve been blogging with me, you remember the fawn that was born under our deck and the huge toad on our patio that the grandkids named Katherine? Well I think this latest discovery takes the cake. This summer the grandkids and I have enjoyed one day a week together at Camp Num Num. (Their nickname for me.) On the last day of Camp Num Num we were walking past a tree in our backyard when I spotted a large brown, crusty bug camouflaged on the tree bark. (See photo) I pointed it out to the “campers” who were mildly interested but much more focused on the marshmallows we were going to roast on the stove. So we moved on. A few hours later as we were making our way back from our adventures in the wild at the Chocolate Factory (Notice there is slot of sugar at Camp Num Num?) when I happened to glance at the same tree and there was the miracle! (See title photo) We witnessed the birth of an adult cicada. But to me it signaled so much more. A do-over. Have you ever wanted a life do-over? Another chance to shed your old, crusty, cumbersome habits and ways of living life and bring on a transformation that allows newness and a beauty to emerge for all the world to see? With the isolation brought on by the pandemic, we have been given sacred time to look within. Changes are happening. Our priorities are shifting. We are letting go of control. Our hearts are growing in compassion. Our souls are opening to a bigger picture and a higher power. There is so much potential for growth during this time of quiet, this time the Creator is giving us to transform within. Firstfruits has also undergone a quiet transformation through this time. A beautiful newness of purpose and focus has emerged as a result. We want to be there to walk with you through the transformations. Starting this fall Firstfruits is dedicated to helping women on their unique paths to a lived and meaningful faith life. Our programming is formatted into three tracts: Awaken, Deepen, and Expand, depending on what you are looking for at this time. And if you’re not sure what you are looking for we have Spiritual Sponsors available to help you discern what your...
Silence is Golden
In the later years of my mom’s Parkinson’s disease she found it harder and harder to follow conversations and a lot of talking made her anxious. So when my siblings and I were all together visiting her in the nursing home, she would patiently listen to us gabbing on and on and finally when she couldn’t stand it anymore she would say to us, “Can you just stop talking!” Sometimes when it was just me visiting she would say, “Let’s just be quiet.” She taught me the value of being in the presence of another person and not have to be talking. A very valuable lesson. Silence truly was golden for my mom and it is for us because it is the doorway to living the virtues of Jesus that we have been pondering the last few weeks. Life is a constant struggle between the needs of our ego self and the desires of our true self. A powerful tool in that battle is silencing. And guess what the first thing is that we need to silence in order to live the virtues of Jesus? “All spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that come from his mouth” (Luke 4:22) This verse that describes Jesus is where we are to begin the silencing that prepares us to live fully the virtuous life we are looking for. We need to silence our words. Silence does not mean absence of words, but rather moderation of our speech so everything we say serves some good purpose. In his book Growing in the Virtues of Jesus, Quentin Hackenewerth, SM goes on to say: Saint James says the most important member of our body to discipline is our tongue because if we can control our tongue we can control our whole body. So making a virtue of speaking is a good place to begin our growth in the virtues of Jesus. Words-even ordinary words-have great power. The difference in the effect of our words depends on where the words come from inside us: from the ego-centered habits of our ego self or from the virtues of our new self in Jesus. We develop silence of words by becoming aware of our own habits and by recognizing what is behind them. Then we “silence” what comes from our ego and let our speaking be guided more and more by the attitudes of Jesus in our true self. How many times do we say...
Best Waffles?
Some of my husband’s habits drive me crazy. And it has become more intense as his retirement doesn’t seem to go away. I don’t know what I was thinking but I guess I was in denial that retirement is a permanent position in life. This week’s pet peeve...
Hidden Treasures
Last week, on our family vacation in Mineral Point, our oldest granddaughter Emily and I were on a walk when she spotted a large totem pole down a side street. We detoured off our path to investigate. I’m always open to “the road less traveled.” Many times I have found treasures there. Many times God has spoken to me on that road. Well, this was no exception. In addition to a totem pole, turtle, and various other wildlife carved out of a tree in the front yard of this residence, there was a life size carving of a bear in a Chicago Bears uniform undeniably overpowering a wimpy opponent wearing green and gold. Rendering him totally ineffective. (I have to admit I had mixed emotions being that I grew up in Chicago.) At first glance, I wasn’t sure what point God was trying to make on this detour. But I soon realized there really was a treasure on this road less traveled. In the front yard there was also one of those Free Library book-sharing boxes. Emily is an avid reader and I felt she needed a distraction from the creepy statues so of course we opened the box and that was when I found the treasure. There were only a few books to choose from but the one staring back at me was titled Growing in the Virtues of Jesus by Rev. Quentin Hakenewerth SM and published by The North American Center for Marianist Studies. It is meant to be used as a group study. (Or good material for a series of blogs!) The opening paragraphs of Chapter One read: Every one of us is born with all the potential we need to become a happy, mature person. We have what is necessary to learn to deal effectively with the situations of our everyday life. The makings are there, but they do need to be developed. This image of our true self contains all the outlines of the very best that we can be. In fact, it reflects the very qualities of God: love, knowledge, creativity, wisdom, strength, goodness, kindness. From our beginning these qualities of God are like seeds in us. That is what it means to be made in the image of God (GN 1:27). We are born with an inner capacity and disposition to become more and more like God. These inner tendencies are something like the genes of our physical body. At conception...
Katherine, the Toad
Do you ever feel like you are taking a vacation from God in the summer? Or he is taking a vacation from you? Summer hits and we are traveling more. Spending time at the lake or campground. Kids need full time tending to, as do our gardens and lawns. Bedtime is blurred and mornings start a bit later and slower. Our usual routines are jarred into a new normal. If we were disciplined enough during the quiet months of fall, winter and early spring, we may have cultivated a routine that kept us more connected to God and our faith in general. More consistent prayer time, mass attendance, spiritual reading, or Zoom series at Firstfruits! All those things that made us feel the presence of God in a very tangible way. Especially this past winter and spring as we were trying to learn how to live with the unknown that the Corona virus pandemic brought and the greater dependence on God that was needed for strength and calm. Reading scripture, attending mass, praying the rosary, listening to Christian music, and sharing with others our “grace filled moments” are powerful ways that God makes his presence known to us but I realized lately there are also other, less obvious, ways that the powerful presence of God is shown to us. And it happened in summer. Two weeks ago I started Camp Num Num. (My grandkids call me Num Num.) For five hours, one day a week for four weeks I try to have fun and maintain control of a spirited group of under seven-year-olds. Last week, just when things were getting a little out of control I looked over and there on our patio was a large toad. Never have we seen an Elm Grove toad before. The kids squealed and when asked what we could name it they said “Katherine.” I have no idea why. But Katherine (or maybe she spells it Catherine) was a Godsend. We laughed so hard. This past weekend we visited my 87-year-old mother-in-law in Mineral Point, a small town southwest of Madison where my husband grew up. The whole family was there for four days. There was so much love around you could cut it with a knife, as they say. On the last night we took some of the grandkids to their first outdoor movie. As we were pulling into the fairgrounds there was a huge and very distinctly colorful rainbow...
Listening. Learning. Loving.
After two weeks of dialogues on racism at Firstfruit’s Well Time series it has become clear that there is a lot of work to be done to heal the wound of this evil. That work begins with each one of us. Firstfruits is committed to helping us do this work. It begins with a commitment to listening and learning which are the first steps to the conversion of heart that needs to happen so that all receive the love that God intends. Firstfruits normally doesn’t offer series in the summer but this is too important to delay. I hope you can join us for one of our Listening. Learning. Loving.-Conversations on Racism series in the months of July-August. In this four-week series we will be studying the USCCB (Untied States Conference of Catholic Bishops) pastoral letter against racism entitled Open Wide Our Hearts. In this 2018 letter “We are called to open our minds and hearts to Christ’s love for all people and to experiences of those who have been harmed by the evil of racism.” We will offer the series in two formats. Courtyard Conversations on Racism where we will gather outside in the beautiful courtyard at Firstfruits on four Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:00am. If you are looking to get out of the house and away from the Zoom screen, this is for you! Be sure to bring a lawn chair and your own refreshments. Please bring a mask also. (We will have some new and very stylish “Kiwi themed masks” you can purchase if you forget!) We will have to limit the size of the group so be sure to sign up early! For details and to register go online at Firstfruits.info/Events or contact Joan Carey at . Zoom Conversations on Racism will be available also. The series will run for four Tuesday afternoons from 12:30-1:30pm. The Zoom group is limited to 20. So sign up early! For details and to register go online at Firstfruits.info/Events or contact Joan Carey at . I look forward to doing this work with you. I am convinced change can happen and it happens one heart at time. Or in the very familiar words of a hymn that was sung at our wedding forty years ago…Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me! Joan...
New Eyes
Normal visual acuity, that is clarity and sharpness of vision, is considered 20/20 vision. You see clearly what should normally be seen clearly from a measured distance. The normal way we view the world has been challenged the last few months. Our eyes have been opened to new perspectives. First, with the drastic changes in our routines brought on by the Coronavirus, we have been forced to see the world and our particular place in it very differently. We have begun to reprioritize. Perhaps we have become more keenly aware of the blessings we have and see more clearly, and with greater empathy, the needs of others. Second, and more recently, our eyes have been opened to a different kind of “virus” called racism that has spread quietly for years. Mostly unnoticed, this kind of infection is deadly to God’s plan of unity, justice and peace for all. Ironic that these events, that are opening our eyes and hopefully bringing a clarity and sharpening of vision, are happening in 2020? I think not. God is calling us to clearer vision in many areas. Each one of us has been given an opportunity to awaken and to change. To find clarity in how we view our relationship to our world, to each other, and to God. Any change we want to see in our world has to start with us. That was one of the powerful takeaways from our Well Time* dialogue on racism with Terry Gardner-Smith and her son Arthur Smith last week. Our eyes were opened to the need to acknowledge that change starts with awareness and the ability to admit our own part. That awareness leads to empathy, which leads to a new vision, which ultimately leads to action. As black author Austin Channing Brown states “The work of anti-racism is to become a better human to other humans.” So simple. But in order to do this, hearts need to be transformed, and only God can accomplish that. In the 2018 United States Council of Catholic Bishops pastoral letter on racism entitled Open Wide Our Hearts it states, “What is needed and what we are calling for, is a genuine conversion of heart, a conversion that will compel change and the reform of our institutions and society. Conversion is a long road to travel for the individual. Moving our nation to a full realization of the promise of liberty, equality, and justice for all is...
A Powerful Love
Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday when we recall the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the beginning of the church. When this imperfect, yet committed and passionate band of followers were called and gifted by the Holy Spirit to begin to spread the good news of redemption, hope, and unity in Christ to the world. The church’s work of building the kingdom here on Earth began then and continues to this day. That could only have happened through the power of the Holy Spirit. That same power is available to each and every one of us. No joke. Who or what exactly is the Holy Spirit to you? How do you relate to this mysterious member of the Holy Trinity? Historically depicted as a dove, the wind, or tongues of fire makes it hard to relate to the Holy Spirit, therefore it’s often undetected and ignored in our lives. The best explanation I have heard is that the Holy Spirit is the expression of the love between the Father and the Son. That love is so immense and so powerful. That love powers the world and that love is in us. Through the sacramental grace of Baptism and Confirmation we have been given the in-dwelling Holy Spirit and the potential to spread this powerful love to the world. That powerful love animates our faith. It prompts us to bring our faith to life, to act on and not just rest in God’s love and provision. That powerful love informs our passions and prompts us to action when we see injustice and suffering. Our responsibility is to be aware and respond to the promptings. I have grown increasingly aware of the Holy Spirit prompting me personally and Firstfruits collectively to a greater awareness and a call to action relating to the issue of racism. The culmination of these promptings came last Wednesday as I was preparing to start our weekly Zoom session of Well Time. An hour before we were to start, one of our Firstfruits participants and her son accepted our invitation to lead the discussion that day on their experiences and insights as a black woman and a black man. The dialogue was rich, honest, and real. Which meant at times it was a bit uncomfortable but we became aware that the discomfort is key to the growth in understanding and unity. Those of us who were part of this came away wanting more. We sensed...
My Deer Old Dad
In my last blog I talked about the importance of learning how to just be. I mentioned that Jesus invites us to sit at his feet and just be and often those invitations come through the simple moments of our everyday lives. Like when I saw three deer outside my bedroom window. So if three deer outside my bedroom window are an invitation from Jesus, what is the birth of a baby fawn next to my deck? (See the above picture) It was just one of the God gifts I received that day. Gifts from the Father through my father. You see, whenever I spot a deer, it reminds me of my dad. I grew up in a house with a screened-in porch that overlooked a forest preserve. My dad’s favorite thing to do was sit in the screened-in porch and watch the Cubs games. And he would get all excited when a deer would wander into the yard. After my dad died we sold the house. My mom and I were in the backyard saying our last goodbyes when three deer showed up. They were spaced evenly across the width of the yard and looking right at us. Then, as if on cue, they all slowly moved on. My mom and I both felt the same thing, the presence of my dad and affirmation that it was time for us to do the same. Over the years since my dad died, I have had numerous deer encounters. They often happen at times when I am emotionally teetering and could use a good reminder of the power of faith. My dad’s life was a reminder of the power of faith. He never missed a Sunday mass and we buried him with his well-worn rosary in his suit pocket, just where it always was. With few words he made it clear, there is nothing more important than your faith. So this week, when my husband texted me that a newborn fawn was laying under our deck, I wasn’t all that surprised. Especially in light of what happened earlier that same day. Our granddaughter and I were on a nature walk in our old neighborhood. We passed the spot where a beautiful bright pink crabapple tree was planted by my friends twenty-one years ago as a memorial to my dad. I glanced at the branches to see if by some slim chance the metal tag with his name...
Just Be
All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone. Blaise Pascal I came across this quote from seventeen century Catholic theologian Blaise Pascal and it really stopped me in my tracks. So simply true. The happenings of the last few months have been unsettling for many not just because of the fear of getting the Corona virus but also the anxiety that comes from social isolation and down time. The degree to which we can handle quiet, unstructured time varies greatly. Some of us handle quiet time alone with more grace than others. What is it about the quiet that disturbs us? What is it about being alone with our thoughts that causes us to avoid it at all costs? Who or what made us feel that just “being” is uncool, unproductive, and undesirable? Why do we make endless “To Do” lists but never “To Be” lists? That was the homework today from the daily morning reflection I was listening to: to make a “To Be” list. A daily list of how you would like to be or who you would like to be. Then ask for God’s help. And at the end of the day see how much of your list you were able to check off. We were reminded during the reflection, of the story of Martha and her sister, Mary, in the gospel of Luke. Mary chose to just be at Jesus feet listening to him speak while Martha was “anxious and worried about many things.” Jesus said to Martha, “There is need of only one thing.” And pointed out that Mary has chosen that one thing; to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen. Are we being called to just be at the feet of Jesus these days? Could this time of limited social activities and quiet time be a beckoning to the feet of Jesus, a beckoning to an encounter with Jesus? Maybe that’s why it so hard. Jesus longs to reveal himself to us and usually through the simple moments of our everyday life. Like when three deer come into view as you gaze out the window. If we can become more comfortable with stillness, the loosening of our schedules, and the forced return to a simpler life, we just might find ourselves in a place to hear Jesus speak to us. What would he say to you today? Joan...