Why Pray?
A cloistered nun was asked why she prayed. ‘Because I breathe,’ she replied. People want to pray because ‘they want to experience God’s extraordinary presence in their ordinary lives’. However, prayer demands ‘a slow and deliberate effort, a dedicated time for reflection, and an authentic response from our soul’. The effect of prayer is to see with the heart and respond appropriately. It brings peace to the spirit and facilitates the welling up in the heart of compassion, empathy, gratitude and hope. We also bring others before God as our way of supporting them through good times and bad.
Excerpted from Reimagining Religion: A Jesuit Vision by Jim Maher SJ (p.46)
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Surviving Suffering
This journey of life is filled with such beauty at times. We could all do with slowing down and appreciating that beauty more often. Too often, we allow it to pass us by without recognition.
We do sometimes catch it though. Sometimes, we realise we are in the presence of beauty and we allow ourselves to freeze time – to stay in that presence. In those moments, we are conscious enough to really experience beauty. While these moments may not come very often, when they do they are often very emotional.
They connect us to a central truth that no matter what suffering there is in the world (and there is suffering in the world) and in our lives (there is and will be suffering in our lives), there is also beauty. We cannot explain why it is so, we can only accept that it is so.
Excerpted from Finding God in the Mess: Meditations for Mindful Living by Brendan McManus SJ & Jim Deeds (p.71)
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Jesuits, Spirituality, Religion
God has a vision for the world. Each person, says Ignatius, plays an essential and unique role in the implementation of that vision. Unlike substitutes in a rugby game, no one else can play our part in the distinctive way that only we can. We may not be certain what our role is, but it’s got a lot to do with our temperament and personality. All God wants is for us to reflect on who we are, on what gives us life, on what we are good at, in which direction we’re travelling and how. Our own circumstances determine how best we can contribute to the world. Ignatius again reminds us to reflect from time to time, following the guidelines he gives us for discernment of spirits, decision-making and the Examen prayer.
Excerpted from Reimagining Religion: A Jesuit Vision by Jim Maher SJ (p.108)
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Your People
If you build your relationships on the basis of wanting to know and understand others and to give yourself to them; if you truly discover that, as St Paul says, ‘You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion’ (2 Corinthians 9:11); if you manage to grasp that all you have – your talent, joy, heart song, strength (and weakness) is for giving to others; if you learn to live by reaching out to others or allowing them to reach out to you; if you share your time, energy, plans and ideas with others; if you’re truly interested in others and make space for them in your world, then you will enjoy true, genuine encounters.
Excerpted from Dancing With Loneliness by José Maria R. Olaizola SJ (P.116)
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Fear
Living in fear is like living in a box. The space we inhabit is small. Our journeys in life are short and mainly unsatisfactory. Life becomes claustrophobic and a chore.
Only when we break free from fear can we see how big and full of possibility life actually is. And once we see this, we’re less likely to fall back into fear. The trick is breaking free for the first time.
It’s no coincidence therefore, that the most common thing Jesus, and other major spiritual teachers, teaches is ‘be not afraid’. It seems to have been the cornerstone of what he taught us – the only way to begin a truly enlightened spiritual path.
Excerpted from Finding God in the Mess: Meditations for Mindful Living by Brendan McManus SJ & Jim Deeds (p.8)
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I’m Spiritual
Spirituality inspires how we live, especially what we do, and how we spend our time. The word ‘spirituality’ owes its origin to the Latin word ‘spiritus’ which has connotations of life-giving breath. We could perhaps call it by another name, such as our value system and beliefs. If I spend the day with a compassionate attitude matched by compassionate actions, I have a spirituality that’s inspired by something good and life-giving, leading me towards a space that enriches me as a human being. If I spend my day demeaning and exploiting others, I have a ‘spirituality’ that is life-denying and undermining my humanity, because the fundamental human orientation is to live life, not undermine it.
Excerpted from Reimagining Religion: A Jesuit Vision by Jim Maher SJ (p.19)
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#WhatsTheStory
Sometimes you can be a prisoner of a story not your own. You can be wrapped up in a story of greed, vengeance or vanity. Your entire story can sometimes be captured by others who sum you up in a word or category, and you can then become that word: alcoholic, neurotic, victim, loser, and so on. You can find yourself living through the eyes of others, losing sight of your own value. Stories that tell you you’re hopeless and will come to nothing are self-defeating: stories that tell you you’re wonderful and special can leave you vulnerable when challenges come your way. To be fully alive you need to be in touch with the story that begins and ends in love, and for many of us that is the Christian story.
Excerpted from Dipping Into Life by Alan Hilliard (p.77)
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MentalHealth
If you put too much pressure on any part of your life, there is risk of collapse. If you put too much pressure on any one part of your being, there is a risk of collapse too. The body, soul, mind and emotions are given to you to spread the load. The same is true of your family and friends, and of support services and those things that help you discover your beliefs and values. When you are in good form, you are aware of all these ‘arches’ in your life. The load is spread quite evenly. When you are in bad form, you put too much pressure on one ‘arch’, that single arch just can’t carry the load!
Excerpted from Dipping Into Life by Alan Hilliard (p.48)
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