Inspired by Scholastica

When I was in 6th or 7th grade we were asked to make a sacrament booklet. We were supposed to explain and illustrate the seven sacraments. I worked hard on it but it looked stange because I filled every line to the edge of the paper and hypenated the words in awkward places. I don't know why I felt I had to cram the words together so tightly.  Looking back I think I was trying to save paper. I do tend to be frugal with using up scraps and not wasting paper or other things. My mother was overly thrifty so I'm sure I learned it from her.  I think it hampered my creativity and ability to try new ways of doing things. My style was cramped as my life was cramped in many ways. I was expected to do things one way, my mother's way. I was not encouraged to explore and dream and fantasize. As an adult I'm still hampered by my background. I have tried new things, but I still hate to waste anything. When I embroider, I use the thread to the shortest possible length. I use p...

Pope Francis has some suggestions for fasting this Lent. He suggests that we fast from hurting words and say kind words; fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude; fast from anger and be filled with patience; fast from pessimism and be filled with hope; fast from worries and have trust in God; fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity; fast from pressures and fill your hearts with joy; fast from selfishness and be compssionate to others; fast from grudges and be reconciled; fast from words and be silent so you can listen. These are challenging recommendations. It's much easier to fast from candy or some favorite food. But these require a change of heart and attitude. When we look at our political situation in the United States, we can easily become pessimistic,but we need to try to find reasons to hope. When we see our health diminishing, we start worryiing, instead of trusting God's loving care. When we see so much suffering and injustice in the world, we ...

On Feb. 14, Ash Wednesday, we begin our Lenten journey. Some of us dread the six weeks of fasting and penance. We think we have to do all sorts of hard things so God will be pleased with us. I am reminded of Mary Oliver's poem, "Wild Geese." She says: "You don't have to be good/ You don't have to walk on your knees/ for a hundred miles through the desert repenting/ You only have to let the soft animal of your body/ love what it loves." I smile at the thought of walking on my knees for a hundred miles through the desert. I know I'd never make it. We need to realize that God loves us no matter what we do. We are asked to be loving in return. When we are in love, nothing is too much for us to do for our Beloved. We would be ready to run in circles, dance a jig, sing a song, pray with gusto. We do not need to earn God's love by being good. God cannot NOT love us!  He sends the sun and the rain and the snow to nourish the earth. He welcomes ...

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We all have good intentions to do better, to be better, but life gets in the way. We plan to set aside 20 minutes every morning for centering prayer, then a phone call interrupts  and our prayer goes by the wayside. We plan to write in our journal each night but after a hectic day we are too tired. We decide to not eat anything after supper, and someone in the house brings home Blizzards to celebrate a special occasion, and we are unable to refrain. We set a deadline for finishing a writing assignment, and procrastinate actually doing it. Most of us are weaklings when it comes to achieving goals in our lives. We make excuses for not following through with our resolutions. Is this part of human nature or lack of discipline? Is it in our DNA or can we change our way of life? I must admit I have failed more often than I have succeeded in carrying out my good intentions. I think it helps to have good role models or someone to be accountable to. In my spiritual endeavors it helps me...

Jesus’ relationships with women were always revelatory. I found his conversation with the Samaritan woman especially revealing. He came to the town well and asked this unknown woman for a drink. She is taken aback that Jesus, a Jew, would speak to a Samaritan.  He tells her if she knew who he was, she would ask him for a drink. Surprised, she said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket.” He tells her he has living water that if she drinks of it, she will never thirst again. She is intrigued and asked how this can be? When he reveals that he knows about her private life, she realizes this is no ordinary man. Later she tells Jesus she knows the Messiah is coming and he tells her, “I who am speaking to you am he.” Jesus chooses this unnamed woman of failed relationships to be among the first to whom he reveals himself. And she immediately becomes an evangelizer, running to the town to tell others that she has met the Messiah. In one of the longest conversations with anyone in th...

A new year. A whole clean slate in front of us. What will we write on it? Will we fill it with wishful thinking? Or whimsical ideas? Or flimsy plans? Or down-to-earth resolutions?  I don’t mean lose 50 pounds this year, but lose one pound a week by cutting out soft drinks and potato chips (or whatever your weakness is). I don’t mean walking ten miles a day, but walk one mile a day five times a week. I don’t mean praying more, but setting aside a 20 minute time slot to devote to meditation or some form of prayer that is meaningful to you. Resolutions need to be realistic and doable. And when we fail, we can’t beat ourselves up, but begin each day with renewed determination. Our goal is to become the best possible person we can be, physically, mentally, and spiritually. If a friend’s nudge is helpful, by all means take advantage of it. A recent survey found that only 44 percent of Americans plan to make new year’s resolutions. Twelve percent resolved to become a better per...