God in all things

Today was the feast day of St. Peter and St. Paul, two men who continue to influence the world. St. Peter continues on his work as a model for each new pope that arises. St. Paul encourages us on our own roads to Damascus. Both men fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith as we hear in the Second Reading from Timothy.

In the First Reading, we hear of the martydom of James and the imprisonment of Peter. Peter was fortunate to escape death when an angel of the Lord appeared to him and released him from prison. Sometimes God rests his hands on individuals and rescues them from certain death. Other times God stands with us as the sword is driven through our hearts. Being a Christian does not assure you of the first outcome but it does mean that God is always with us.

We are all called to be rocks–solid foundations upon which others can model their lives. We may not get the keys of heaven but if we have fought the good fight, finished the race despite all hurdles, and kept our faith, we will be greeted by St. Peter when we get to those Pearly Gates.

Run, my friends, run. God is with you in the race. Keep the faith.

Peace,

Suzanne

I am planning a fairly significant journey this summer and at mass today for the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I was suddenly overcome with gratitude at all that might come of my travels. The road seems long to my departure in some ways and yet I also feel like I do not have enough time to prepare.

I hope to make the trip a bit of a pilgrimage. I want my heart to be open to all the questions and experiences to come. I want to have a heart like Mary–one that embraces the unknown with courage, trust and joy. Many exciting adventures might occur in the weeks I will be traveling and like Mary the fruits of saying yes to this trip, might take a while to come clear and I will have much to ponder along the way.

I will be walking in the footsteps of holy saints: St. Ignatius, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare, St. Paul, and St. Catherine Laboure. The road will not be walked alone, though I travel solo for part of it. A great cloud of witnesses will go with me. May my heart be open to all that will bless and disturb it. May I be transformed along the way to walk more closely with the Trinity and heed the voice of the Holy.

Peace,

Suzanne

My friend Anthony designed this wonderful stained glass piece that I saw on retreat this spring. Today on the Sacred Heart of Jesus Feast it came to mind again. I think about a meditation on the Sacred Heart that I came across several years ago. The premise was that when you had a conflict with a person you could place yourself and that person in the huge heart of Jesus and watch what unfolded. I have used that meditation over the years, trusting in the healing that can happen.

The heart of Christ knew pain, grief, joy, love, betrayal, and the whole gamut of emotions that humans experience. His heart holds all of these and can guide ours. The compassion of Christ is an overwhelming reality when we stand in the cathedral of His heart and allow ours to be transformed. We can love the unlovable. We can trust that all shall be well. We can stand in the storm and find firm ground. We can find the deep peace our souls crave, The Heartbeat will soothe us.

Take a moment to feel that stillness, to listen to the steady beat of sacredness that lives inside, and to let your heart beat in the same rhythm.

Peace,

Suzanne

I have been packing up my office and throwing out copious amounts of old papers. I have been stacking files to be shredded. By the end of it, I hope to have less “stuff” to move. It feels good to purge. I have been looking around my home too since the mice infestation knowing that I still need to do the same here.

We store up our treasures like foolish people. We have bins of things that we have hung on to and may be weighed down by it. Like the foolish man who built a larger barn, we cannot take all the material gain with us when our time comes. To learn to live simply is a gift I am still learning.

What are in your bins? How do they prevent you from being free? What are you most grateful for?

Peace,

Suzanne

There is a river whose streams make glad are the words that come to me as I review my day.  Today a student that I have worked with for many years was the graduate of the year in a public school that gave her the award out of pure recognition of her incredibly hard work. I am so proud of this student. I attended another grad though. watching as another group of students also crossed the stage joyfully. The river of life was at full stream today as I watched a young man, originally from a school in Burundi, give the valedictorian speech. So many opportunities lived out this day.

What is flowing in your life that makes you glad?

Peace,

Suzanne

This reading today has always been like a quiet chastisement for me. Matthew has Jesus telling his disciple not to judge. I am aware how often I judge during the course of a day. The plank in my own eye often gets in the way. We can notice the faults all around us but we are blind to our own sin and self-righteousness. How can I ever repent? Gossip runs rampant, scattering seeds of discord everywhere. Lately, I can barely keep my ears out of the range of stories buzzing around, harming people’s reputation and causing havoc.

I still am learning how not to participate. I try instead to steer conversations to goodness or change the topic but some days I fall into the wood cutting business and before I know it that log in my eye obscures the Truth.

How often a day do you find yourself in a moment of judging? Can you let it go and be affirming instead?

Peace,

Suzanne

This is one of my favourite Sundays. Many years ago when I became a Eucharistic Minister, I served first on this Sunday. Corpus Christi or Body and Blood of Christ Sunday reminds me of the importance of the Eucharist. It reminds me that from ordinary fields comes an extraordinary harvest. Jesus himself has broken His body and spilled His blood so that we all might have Life.

How do we return our thanks for this great gift? Perhaps by recognizing Christ in the bodies around us on the one hand and on the other hand, becoming His hands, feet, and heart in this world. Do you greet others as you would the Risen Christ? Do you look into the eyes of the homeless person begging for money and see the Crucified Lord? Do you see the girl struggling with an eating disorder and see that she is Jesus? Do you see the gang member and find any trace of the Hidden One?

Are your eyes filled with the compassion of Christ? Are your hands wrapping around the skeleton body, praying for healing? Have you stopped judging long enough to hear the story as Jesus so often did? Is your blood being poured out for a cause? Are you exorcising the demons that haunt someone?

From an ordinary field come extraordinary gifts of bread and wine. From an ordinary life, we can change the world. Christ counts on each of us. What will you give back this day in thanksgiving?

Peace,

Suzanne

I am a prairie girl through and through. I get distracted driving in the country, mesmerized by field and sky. Cloud formations are spectacular. Yellow and purple crops dazzle the eye. As much as I love the mountains and sea, this is truly home to me.

As I listened to my father recently speak of his farm boy memories, I could hear his love for working the land underneath the hardships incurred. I must have inherited at the very least, the longing for land and sky so vast that one’s heart can hardly contain all the emotions the sight evokes. This is the time of year when road trips are welcomed. The fifty shades of green are accented with varioius colours. Birds of various feathers flit by. Storms seem foreboding on the horizon. Clouds are the source of a white ink blot test. Rivers sparkle.  Occasionally, one can spot wildlife. This is the prairie, a place of exceptional beauty and peace. The wide expansive nature calls my heart to embrace all of it, every aspect of life here.

Where in the world calls your spirit to a place of deep wonderment?

Peace,

Suzanne

Today I had a small surgery done and I thought I was recovering nicely until about 6:00 tonight when I noticed that the incision was bleeding. I am not an alarmist but I was sort of concerned that I might have popped a stitch. I called Health Links and spoke to an incredibly helpful nurse who gave me some tips on what to do. None of these things the doctor had mentioned. I believe I am a pretty good advocate about my health after all these years of dealing with specialists but I still mess up. I believe them when I should not and I do not always know what questions I should ask.  I was given no other directive except that I could carry on with my daily routine. 

Clearly, that was not the case. I did not carry on with my daily routine because I suspected I would pop a stitch. Even taking this extra precaution I found myself needing to take care of myself. It triggered in me my frustration with the overworked medical profession who do not always understand the patient’s needs. Now late at night I sit with an ice pack on the incision, wondering if I had done this several hours ago if I would be a happier patient.

My family has not had the best luck with doctors. My father, for example, is the recipient of 6 hip replacements. No, he does not have six hips; he is not part octopus. He received less than good care a number of times which resulted in redoing the original work. My own health journey has been less than stellar but I am persistent in getting good care. I could be embittered and cynical but I try to think of it all as water under the bridge and then move on.  The crux for me is that one little setback cannot keep me down. I choose to believe that all shall be well and that I will be given all that I need for the journey. My father is the perfect role model in many ways, Like a cat with nine lives who has used up eleven of them, he just keeps going despite it all. He amazes me.

When you cross a bridge, look a the water that flows under it and know that there is a powerful force that won’t be held back.

Peace,

Suzanne

“I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion–and where it isn’t, that’s where my work lies.” ~ Ram Dass

We did an exercise at our last staff meeting prior to summer break yesterday of writing each of our colleagues three affirmations.  Even though it was not a new team building exercise it was nonetheless a good one for me personally. I learned a few things about how people perceive me, some enlightening, some obvious.

I have been thinking lately about where I need to do my work, the work to improve myself. It is easy to get caught up in the accolades but at this stage of my life, I am also very interested in what else I must do to become more loving and more compassionate.

What is it that you need to be working on?

Peace,

Suzanne