Joseph Our Brother

Be transparent to others so they can see through you, the qualities of God.

Joseph, Our Brother

Joseph our brother, friend of the night,

In the midst of darkness, you lived from the light.

You journeyed within to uncover insight,

Trusting God and the angels to guide you in flight.

Today in the darkness throughout much of our land,

As we journey with neighbors, please take our hand.

May we recognize Christ within each person we meet,

Be it in newspaper, house or out on the street.

Break open our hearts to see and bring light,

Dear Joseph our brother, friend of the night.

This image of Joseph the Carpenter is from the artist Georges de La Tours and is displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris. It reflects the light of God coming through the Christ Child reflecting on Joseph. 

I am the Light of the World.

You are the Light of the World.

We are the Light o the World.

We offer a Maxim for the Community of St. Joseph:

Be transparent to others so they can see through you, the qualities of God.

We offer a poem prayer to Joseph our Brother.

On this St. Joseph's Day, we celebrate with the Universal Church the first year anniversary of Pope Francis. 

May each of us shine our light this day and every day on our world so much in need of our lives.

                                                           

Mysticism of Relationship

Mysticism of Relationship

Today is Valentine’s Day.  It is the heart of February.  Snow blankets much of our country. Our attention is focused on the young athletes of the world gathered in Sochi, Russia for the winter Olympics. Our hearts are broken open at the same time, as we witness the unimaginable suffering of millions of our brothers and sisters caught in the crossfires of war. Love is seeking us in every direction.

 

Speak to me of God

The mysticism inherent in our vocation continually presents us with the reality of God speaking to us through all things. The silent tree, the open sky and the moonlight are there to commune with everyone. These elements engage me in this mysticism of relationship. When I stop and enter the silence, I become aware of the love of brother tree, sister moon and beloved sky and their care for each and all of us.  In this presence I awaken to the expansion of the heart of compassion.

Last week, in the midst of a snowfall at Mont Marie, I went out at dusk to take in the beauty of the fresh fallen snow on the trees. It spoke to me of peace and shelter.

The Hearth of Community

After supper that evening I enjoyed the presence of a small group of us gathered around the table.  Maddie came up to share her plum pudding. In the shelter and comfort of community, conversation led to lingering.  The mysticism of relationship moves beyond time and space. So much journeying brings us back in close communion with one another. We become aware of the treasure we hold in these earthen vessels.

I left to visit the night sky and was gifted with a surprise. 

In the silence of winter's mystery, be still.

The gazebo in the courtyard glowed with the light from the sky, the color of which I know not the name. Perhaps the red has something to say of the suffering as well as the joy of knowing we are all connected in this mysticism of relationship.

Maxim 88 says: Be careful about the good use of time which is so precious, not losing a minute of it, devoting and offering it to God unreservedly with very pure and noble intentions.

Silent reflection is a good use of time. May we all find time to let God speak to us of ways to appreciate the pure and noble intentions of one another in this communion of life.

We Journey

We are on our 2014 journey in time. It is January and we are in the bleak mid-winter. And what a winter it is. Temperatures dip below zero and rise the next day to 50 degrees. Snow, sleet, rain, wind, sunshine…white sky, gray sky, blue sky, fog and blinding light… black ice, pot holes, ruts and beauty galore… These elements accompany us on our journey. Or, do we accompany them?

Our maxim 63 counsels us:

Do not consider unfortunate events as obstacles but as aids, and cherish them, whatever they may be, as effects of the gentle and loving Providence of God. 

This maxim is part of grouping which counsel us to stop and notice our relationship with ourselves. It takes courage to notice our personal response to the unexpected. It takes patience to adjust to adaptations. Often it is only in retrospect that we are able to see the divine design in the events of our lives.

Today we are ever more conscious of how quickly things are changing. Nature seems to be affirming this for us. She is inviting us to see in new ways and to be in new ways. The unexpected seems to be the new normal. What grace do we need to ask for these days in order to move with the unexpected?

May each of us be open to receiving the effects of God’s gentle and loving providence in our lives each day.  May we share our stories as we accompany one another on this winter journey.

Holy Darkness of Desire



Desire little in this world, and what you do desire,desire that very little.
Abandon yourself, surrendering gently, to the very loving Providence of God.
Maxim 17

In this season of minimal light, snow bright and wind chill, we are called within to sit with these gifts of nature. This morning I sat in the darkness, enticed by the tiny speck of the light from a full moon fading in the morning dawn. This being the time of shortening days, I will soon be at home, awaiting the dusk, then twilight and before long the moon rise of the winter solstice. Such moments invite Holy Communion.

This is one of the many gifts that come when I abandon myself and surrender gently to the loving Providence of God. Such moments usher in an awesome hush! Desiring little, I am graced with with an abundant awareness of the fullness of Life.

As I delight in the bright  snow and go out into the cold, I am grateful for the humanity I share with all in this world. I am grateful for the capacity to carry the suffering of many within the enlarged space of my heart that  has opened to their presence in the silence of prayer. My one desire is to be one with them.

God so loved the world….. Jesu Joy of All desiring….. Mary, Shadow of Grace…. Joseph, the one who desired little in the world. You surrendered to the loving providence of God. We honor and receive this Holy Communion. May we all recognize our capacity to embrace one another as you have embraced us.

Moving with Grace

Never go ahead of grace by an imprudent eagerness,

but quietly await its movements, 

and when it comes to you

go along with it 
with great gentleness, humility,

fidelity, and courage.
MAXIM 84

October days beckon me to take a road less traveled. 

One of my favorite people is my "Little Sister" to whom I have been a "Big Sister" for eight years. She is sixteen. On an early October Sunday we took a ride to Pownal, VT and discovered a hidden road.  Most of our time was spent in silence. We were in the world of apple orchards, horses and beauty beyond our imagining.

This past Sunday we decided to take a little walk. The walk took us and we went along with it to the magnificent Natural Bridge State Park in North Adams.  

Here we were welcomed to spend time in the presence of a marble carved arch formed by the force of glacial melt 13,000 years ago. The area rests on 550 million year old bed rock marble.

Growing up is quite a challenge for my "Little Sister" and accompanying her has called forth from within me great gentleness, humility, fidelity and courage. We have discovered that walking in nature, often in silence, is providing a new way for us to communicate. 

As far as I am able, I will companion her through these adolescent years and quietly await the movements of grace that come to us.

I value the counsel of Maxim 84.

In Nature, Grace and Glory!



.

... in nature, grace, and glory for time and for eternity ...

Autumn in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts is glorious. As over many a country road I travelled these past two weeks, I was taken out of myself by the beauty, while invited from within to stop and take it all in. Are not earth, mountains and sky also neighbors that seek relationship with us?

I stopped to photograph this scene in Cheshire on my way to Mont Marie last week. Such presence speaks to me of nature, grace, glory and fidelity. It also speaks to me of time and eternity.Father Medaille tells us in Maxim 40:   "Love nothing that is not eternal."

Our Sister Andrea touched our lives in a glorious way this past week as she fulfilled to the end her promise to live out Maxim 73:  " Live out your life with one desire only: to be always what God wants you to be in nature, grace, and glory, for time and for eternity."

As we shared memories at her wake service we were brought into the beginning years of her life as a Sister of St. Joseph in Fall River. I was particularly touched in hearing that when she was anointed a day of two before she died, that she opened her eyes and told those present that she wanted to tell about her vocation. She spoke of how at age 5 she had heard God to speak to her heart saying, "You  are mine you belong to me." At age 12  she experienced God again speaking to her as she received Holy Communion saying,"You belong to me and I want you to be a Sister."  She entered religious life at age 16 and was a sister for close to 80 years! It was evident in the sharing that she influenced many people from her earliest days until the very last.

Like the autumn trees, Andrea's beauty, in the midst of much suffering and joy, caused us to stop and take in her life among us. It is a blessing to know that we are one, in nature, grace and glory throughout eternity.