“Let’s understand, my friends, that true perfection means loving God and loving our neighbor. The more perfectly we keep these two commandments, the closer to perfection we will come. All spiritual rules are nothing but means toward the end of spiritual love. Forget about reckless zeal. It can do harm. Let each one of us look to her self.” Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (1577)
This past week Brad and I had a chance to go back to Overland Park, Kansas, where we lived and worked from 1982-1989. Being back on our old stomping grounds meant that we were able to spend time with many old friends, and I am amazed all over again by the power of love and what a difference it makes in our lives.
One of my Overland Park neighbors, Sandy Isham, is studying prayer at her church, and we connected over Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard Foster, a book both of us have used to strengthen our prayer life and increase our understanding of this great mystery called the spiritual journey. Another friend, Cathy Dykman-Cunard, who was part of my church family in Overland Park, is grieving the death of her dear husband, Paul, who died last year of renal cancer. After caring for Paul in his last days, she says she is no longer afraid of death and she knows in a very real way that nothing can separate us from God’s love. Being with Cathy again was a special blessing, and it reminds me how important it is that we hold our soul friends close in prayer no matter how far we roam.
Throughout The Interior Castle, Teresa stresses the necessity of sharing love with others. She writes, “Let’s understand, my friends, that true perfection means loving God and loving our neighbor. The more perfectly we keep these two commandments, the closer to perfection we will come. All spiritual rules are nothing but means toward the end of spiritual love. Forget about reckless zeal. It can do harm. Let each one of us look to her self.” What God requires of us is not reckless zeal; instead, we are asked to walk humbly and focus on love.
Being in Kansas among my longtime friends helped me remember the gift of love—a gift God shares abundantly every single day—and I am so grateful for its grace and peace that is showered upon us by our friends and neighbors. May all the love we experience be returned a hundredfold in every direction possible!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Friday Prayer Report 50
"Whenever God gives a person the grace and courage to strive for this blessing with all her heart and soul, he is bestowing the greatest mercy. God does not deny himself to anyone who perseveres. Little by little, he increases her courage, ensuring that she will reach her goal." Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)
Here is my "little by little" Friday prayer report for the week of February 7-11:
Monday 1
Tuesday 1
Wednesday 1
Thursday 1
Friday 0
Grace and courage to you and to me!
Here is my "little by little" Friday prayer report for the week of February 7-11:
Monday 1
Tuesday 1
Wednesday 1
Thursday 1
Friday 0
Grace and courage to you and to me!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
God Calls to Us, Part 2
“God calls to us in countless little ways all the time. Through illnesses and suffering and through sorrow he calls to us. Through a truth glimpsed fleetingly in a state of prayer he calls to us.” Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (1577)
For this blog entry, I thought I’d report on my retreat at the monastery from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon by sharing the journal entry I wrote late Friday morning:
I am at the monastery for the second retreat in my Shalom Program. This time I’m staying at the monastery in guest room 307. The retreat started yesterday evening. Sister Michelle Dosch, my Shalom leader, gave me some retreat materials then and we met for Morning Prayer (6:45 a.m.) today. This is a silent retreat, so I have been spending the morning in intercessory prayer. Last night I prayed for people in the light—a soaking prayer—and now I just used one of the retreat texts and prayed for people with it: “Do not fear, ________, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43: 1b-2). That is a powerful verse to pray on someone’s behalf, and I am grateful to Sister Michelle. I’m feeling very alert and relaxed while I am on this retreat. I love the room I am in, and I can’t believe the space of time that stretches out before me for reading, writing and praying. What a gift! I’m trying to gift it right back through my intercessory praying. After I finished using Isaiah, I counted up the people I’d prayed for and found the number to be over 75 people. Those prayers will be circulating in the spiritual realm for more than a thousand years, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be of service.
For this blog entry, I thought I’d report on my retreat at the monastery from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon by sharing the journal entry I wrote late Friday morning:
I am at the monastery for the second retreat in my Shalom Program. This time I’m staying at the monastery in guest room 307. The retreat started yesterday evening. Sister Michelle Dosch, my Shalom leader, gave me some retreat materials then and we met for Morning Prayer (6:45 a.m.) today. This is a silent retreat, so I have been spending the morning in intercessory prayer. Last night I prayed for people in the light—a soaking prayer—and now I just used one of the retreat texts and prayed for people with it: “Do not fear, ________, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43: 1b-2). That is a powerful verse to pray on someone’s behalf, and I am grateful to Sister Michelle. I’m feeling very alert and relaxed while I am on this retreat. I love the room I am in, and I can’t believe the space of time that stretches out before me for reading, writing and praying. What a gift! I’m trying to gift it right back through my intercessory praying. After I finished using Isaiah, I counted up the people I’d prayed for and found the number to be over 75 people. Those prayers will be circulating in the spiritual realm for more than a thousand years, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be of service.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Friday Prayer Report 49
"Whenever God gives a person the grace and courage to strive for this blessing with all her heart and soul, he is bestowing the greatest mercy. God does not deny himself to anyone who perseveres. Little by little, he increases her courage, ensuring that she will reach her goal." Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)
Here is my "little by little" Friday prayer report for the week of January 31 – February 4:
Monday 0
Tuesday 1
Wednesday 0
Thursday 0
Friday 1 (+1)
Grace and courage to you and to me!
Here is my "little by little" Friday prayer report for the week of January 31 – February 4:
Monday 0
Tuesday 1
Wednesday 0
Thursday 0
Friday 1 (+1)
Grace and courage to you and to me!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
God Calls to Us
“God calls to us in countless little ways all the time. Through illnesses and suffering and through sorrow he calls to us. Through a truth glimpsed fleetingly in a state of prayer he calls to us.” Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (1577)
This week from Thursday night until Saturday afternoon I will be on retreat at the St. Scholastica Monastery. The retreat is part of my coursework for the Shalom Program, and I hope to spend the hours listening to God, asking for help from Jesus, and giving thanks for the Spirit’s abounding grace and peace.
In the sixth dwelling place of The Interior Castle Teresa writes, “God calls to us in countless little ways all the time. Through illnesses and suffering and through sorrow he calls to us. Through a truth glimpsed fleetingly in a state of prayer he calls to us.” I agree with Teresa about the ways God calls us, and I’m sure we could add several more ways we hear God’s voice in our everyday lives. Today I heard God calling me twice—once it was through the pain I witnessed which was caused by immature and arrogant actions; another time it was through the compassion I felt for a generous soul with difficult burdens to bear.
For my retreat this week I hope to reflect on the ways God calls to me and I want to pray for the health and well being of all, especially those who need God’s strength and abiding love. If you would like me to include you in my prayers, please let me know…I would be happy to do it!
This week from Thursday night until Saturday afternoon I will be on retreat at the St. Scholastica Monastery. The retreat is part of my coursework for the Shalom Program, and I hope to spend the hours listening to God, asking for help from Jesus, and giving thanks for the Spirit’s abounding grace and peace.
In the sixth dwelling place of The Interior Castle Teresa writes, “God calls to us in countless little ways all the time. Through illnesses and suffering and through sorrow he calls to us. Through a truth glimpsed fleetingly in a state of prayer he calls to us.” I agree with Teresa about the ways God calls us, and I’m sure we could add several more ways we hear God’s voice in our everyday lives. Today I heard God calling me twice—once it was through the pain I witnessed which was caused by immature and arrogant actions; another time it was through the compassion I felt for a generous soul with difficult burdens to bear.
For my retreat this week I hope to reflect on the ways God calls to me and I want to pray for the health and well being of all, especially those who need God’s strength and abiding love. If you would like me to include you in my prayers, please let me know…I would be happy to do it!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday Prayer Report 48
"Whenever God gives a person the grace and courage to strive for this blessing with all her heart and soul, he is bestowing the greatest mercy. God does not deny himself to anyone who perseveres. Little by little, he increases her courage, ensuring that she will reach her goal." Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)
Here is my "little by little" Friday prayer report for the week of January 24-28:
Monday 1
Tuesday 1
Wednesday 1
Thursday 1
Friday 1
Grace and courage to you and to me!
Here is my "little by little" Friday prayer report for the week of January 24-28:
Monday 1
Tuesday 1
Wednesday 1
Thursday 1
Friday 1
Grace and courage to you and to me!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Nothing Can Separate Us From God’s Love
“Fear distorts knowledge of the self. What we should really be afraid of is obsessing over ourselves and never getting free of ourselves! And so I say, my friends, let us set our eyes on Christ, our good, and on his saints.” Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle (1577)
It never ceases to amaze me how every week Teresa writes something that connects to my everyday life. This week I’m finding encouragement in her idea to stop thinking about myself and my fears and to think instead about Christ and his saints.
One of my favorite saints is the apostle Paul who was once Saul of Tarsus, the Jewish leader who threatened and tortured followers of Jesus until one day brilliant light surrounded him on the road to Damascus and he heard the risen Christ ask, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” Saul rose from the ground after that experience—blinded but alive—and become an apostle of Christ.
On January 25 the church community remembers the conversation of the apostle Paul. In our Lutheran hymnal there is a prayer for the occasion which begins: “Lord God, through the preaching of your apostle Paul, you established one Church from among the nations.” Paul traveled far and wide to share the Gospel after his conversion, and I appreciate the letters he wrote to people before and after his journeys. Paul’s letter to the Romans is particularly appealing to me, especially the way he holds up the power of God’s love: “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Teresa is wise to remind us that we should not let fear get the best of us. Instead, we need to focus on Christ, on Paul and on all the saints, living every single day of our lives in the certainty that nothing—earthquakes, illness, plane accidents, nor anything else we fear—nothing can separate us from God’s love.
It never ceases to amaze me how every week Teresa writes something that connects to my everyday life. This week I’m finding encouragement in her idea to stop thinking about myself and my fears and to think instead about Christ and his saints.
One of my favorite saints is the apostle Paul who was once Saul of Tarsus, the Jewish leader who threatened and tortured followers of Jesus until one day brilliant light surrounded him on the road to Damascus and he heard the risen Christ ask, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” Saul rose from the ground after that experience—blinded but alive—and become an apostle of Christ.
On January 25 the church community remembers the conversation of the apostle Paul. In our Lutheran hymnal there is a prayer for the occasion which begins: “Lord God, through the preaching of your apostle Paul, you established one Church from among the nations.” Paul traveled far and wide to share the Gospel after his conversion, and I appreciate the letters he wrote to people before and after his journeys. Paul’s letter to the Romans is particularly appealing to me, especially the way he holds up the power of God’s love: “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Teresa is wise to remind us that we should not let fear get the best of us. Instead, we need to focus on Christ, on Paul and on all the saints, living every single day of our lives in the certainty that nothing—earthquakes, illness, plane accidents, nor anything else we fear—nothing can separate us from God’s love.
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