Buechner: Lord's Prayer, Advent 4

“In the Episcopal order of worship, the priest sometimes introduces the Lord’s Prayer with the words, ‘Now, as our Savior Christ hath taught us, we are bold to say ... ’”

—Frederick Buechner in Whistling in the Dark (HarperSanFrancisco, 1988), pp. 83-84.

Annunciation . John Collier

Buechner is reminding us of how bold we are to say the most recited Christian prayer. Of course, it is not really just a Christian prayer, since it was written by a Jewish rabbi telling other Jews how to pray.

My experience is that whenever I visit the sick or homebound or those in need, no matter what their mental state, they say or show some awareness of the Lord’s Prayer. I have seen some, who seem unresponsive, twitch or move a hand or mouth a word or have a change in cardiac rhythm—or even begin praying when we close our visit with this prayer. Having once memorized and prayed this prayer is powerful, and could turn out to be one of the last parts of our memory to leave us.

Buechner, however, is emphasizing the prayer’s boldness. If only we could find in our lives a little of what we are praying for in this prayer, the world would be dramatically changed, “turning our lives and our wills over to the care of God,” as those in 12-step programs pray daily. This is similar to what Luke quotes Mary as saying in her response to Gabriel: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

How bold that we ask for forgiveness as we are forgiven. If we have any hope of being forgiven, we must extend the same grace.

How bold that we ask to be delivered from evil. I sometimes share that I recently was prepared to do something that my gut told me was not right, and some circumstances not of my own making kept me from it. It was an answer to prayer. God was doing for me what I could not do for myself.

When spiritual friends ask how to find God, I have suggested that they pray the Lord’s Prayer boldly, as part of a rule of life, at designated times during the day that work best for them until we meet again. I will do the same, and we can compare notes.

Joanna . joannaseibert.com

Norris: Responding to Mystery, Advent 4

“Mary proceeds—as we must do in life—making her commitment without knowing much about what it will entail or where it will lead.”
—Kathleen Norris in Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith (Riverhead Books, 1998), p. 77.

The heart of spiritual direction and the spiritual life indeed is responding to mystery, and certainly Mary is our icon for responding to something that is a mystery to her and all of us to this day. First of all, we must be open to the presence of a call to mystery. I have sometimes imagined other young women that Gabriel visited who responded to the angel by saying, “Let me think about it”; “Come back later”; “This is really not a good time for me to do this”; “No, definitely, not!” or “You must be kidding!” (Of course, I always must explain to my dear Catholic friends that this is just a mind trip, an exercise in my imagination.)
There is no question that our answers to the mystery will change us and our life forever. My experience is that we can learn to respond to the mystery first in small ways so that when a larger call to the mystery comes, we are ready. This is the practice of awareness and openness. We must also be open to going off—or at least temporarily abandoning—our agenda and listening to the interruptions in our life. The mystery is all around us, in every waking moment, in nature and in young children, in older adults, often those in need and poverty, and especially in our interruptions.
Taking time to be in silence or with others in need or going outdoors each day can expose us to the mystery of a world greater than ourselves. Spending time with young children can connect us to joy and love without conditions. Some of the most spiritual people I know are older men and women who know better than any of us how little control we have in our lives and have accepted it and made peace with it.
The people I sit with who come to our food pantry often talk about how blessed their lives are. They see blessings in every offering. I learn from them that “Let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) can be one of our best mantras.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Gifts from Elizabeth

“Each of us carries in his heart an album of lovely pictures of the past: memories of events that brought gladness to us. I want you now to open this album and recall as many of these events as you can.”

—Anthony de Mello, “Exercise 18: The Joyful Mysteries of Your Life” in Sadhana: A Way to God; Christian Exercises in Eastern Form (Image Books, 1978), p. 71.

I am spending another morning feeling the presence of my husband’s mother, Elizabeth. She and Robert’s dad taught me how to love.

I look down as I write. I am wearing Elizabeth’s engagement ring and wedding band. They are bonded together. When Elizabeth started showing signs of Alzheimer’s, Bob gave her rings to my husband, Robert. He almost immediately forgot where he put them; in fact, we had decided that they were lost.

Then three years ago, when Elizabeth would have been 104, as Robert was looking for something in an old briefcase in his office, he found the rings. We talked about what to do with them. Should we break down the diamonds and give them to our grandchildren? Finally, he decided to keep them just as they are. Then, in the summer of Elizabeth’s 106th year, on the patio of Trio’s Restaurant, Robert got on his knee and asked if we could become engaged. He then gave me his mother’s beautiful rings that he had had sized for me at Sissy’s Log Cabin.

I had not received an engagement ring when we decided to get married. So now, in the 49th year of our marriage, I began to wear these beautiful rings that were worn by Elizabeth for almost that amount of time. In Advent we remember the wisdom of waiting. Elizabeth’s rings are an icon for me about waiting.

Did I remember to tell you that Bob and Elizabeth were married the same day, the same year as my parents?

So, what does all this have to do with spiritual direction? I think it is important to remember those who mentored and loved us. De Mello tells us to keep these times in an album in our imagination that we can repeatedly return to. I think we can still feel that love even long after they have died. Their love is with us or beside us or in us. I do not know exactly how it happens. These are the people who give us a little glimpse of the love of God. Often wearing a piece of a loved-one’s jewelry or having something nearby that was precious to that person helps us connect to him or her.

We remember and give thanks for loved ones who are gone, especially as we approach Christmas and remember the joy and love they brought to our lives during this season. We are called now to honor them by passing on that joy and love to others.

Joanna . joannaseibert.com