god

Pools of silence that heal the world

Things are so crazy right now. The world is crazy and our lives are crazy. We all know this. My life has had a lot of what people call “drama.” Right now is no exception. As I worked on my book about St. Teresa’s Prayer of Recollection (Meeting the One who loves you; St. Teresa of Avila’s way of prayer. Scheduled to be released on her feast day, October 15,) I thought about the development of my discipline of prayer in the middle of stress and difficulties.

My discipline of daily prayer was, of course, very imperfect. I had trouble being consistent. I was, as I mention sometimes, widowed young then raising two kids alone for many years. I could hardly get a moment to eat or do the dishes when the youngest was a baby. How did I develop a contemplative life?

I was reading over again a few pages from the book Poustinia by Servant of God Catherine Dougherty last night and came across this wonderful quote from her:

Deserts, silence, solitude, are not necessarily places but states of mind and heart. These deserts can be found in the midst of the city, and in the every day of our lives. We need only to look for them and realize our tremendous need for them. They will be small solitudes, little deserts, tiny pools of silence, but the experience they will bring, if we are disposed to enter them, may be as exultant and as holy as the one God himself entered. For it is God who makes solitude, deserts, and silences holy.
Poustinia

This is what I did. I found little deserts, tiny pools and pockets of silence in the midst of my harried days, in the midst of daily tasks like folding laundry, doing dishes. I have clear memories that are precious to me of the tenderness and wisdom of God, passing by as if brushing near my cheek, touching my heart at times I was doing little things like sweeping the living room floor. There were brief but fruitful moments of silence after taking the trash out when I looked up at the night sky and smiled at God, or in the middle of cooking, working or doing dishes.

Catherine writes that when we carry out the duties of our state in life, and when we are disposed in heart to receive these moments of quietness, they will come. We will notice them like a gentle hand on our shoulder saying, “Wait just a minute.”

I was so overwhelmed as a single mom. I had a great dream, during that time though, that I went into the kitchen and Jesus was there, hair in a ponytail, wiping out my refrigerator for me. I was so grateful in the dream, and happy about it when I woke up. Maybe he meant that if I took care of my prayer when I could, he would make sure things got done, and he would be there for me when I turned to him.

I still find little deserts in my still busy life today. I have built on these moments over the years, to include quiet moments of connection with the young special needs people I work with, a quiet moment petting my dog, Joey, or listening closely to someone needing to be heard. As Catherine and all the mystics point out, the fruits of conscious contact with God spill out to contact with others. Love always moves and flows. By it’s nature it can’t keep to itself. If our prayer is authentic, it won’t even stay in it’s scheduled time and place. God will start splashing it all over our lives and the lives of others too. It has to grow, it has to flow, it has to blossom to be real.

Prayer and love of others, of service, support one another, each setting off and intensifying the colors of the other. They don’t exist without one another.

St. Teresa, S.O.G. Catherine Dougherty and St. Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) wrote extensively of how contemplative prayer actually has an effect on the growth and conversion of others. It goes out even further to change the world. We all need to take this very seriously right now. Not only do we need to be supported in these scary times by God, we also need to be his light, and as St. Teresa of Avila says, his hands and feet, his clear voice in this world that needs his compassion and love. We have forgotten these things and closed our hearts. We need conversion of heart as a people.

God has made us all connected to one another. So your moment of “found desert” while your’e waiting in line, stuck in traffic, putting gas in the car, taking a deep breath and reaching out to God, can open a window in Heaven, letting the wind of the Spirit rush in. God can work in an instant, even change everything, making our little second of love BIG.

So let’s pay attention today to our possibilities, our tiny pools of silence, pockets of inner solitude, the quietness of heart that come with God’s touch on our faces, the peace that comes from him in those moments. They are more than we could ever imagine. They will shine on us, on others, on the whole world.

“ … a silent heart is a loving heart, and a loving heart is a hospice to the world.”

Servant of God, Catherine Dougherty

July 19, 2025 1

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Prayer to be prayed every day of the novena

The Flos Carmeli

O beautiful flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, holy and singular, who did bring forth the Son of God, ever still remaining a pure Virgin, assist us in our necessity.

Oh Star of the Sea, help and protect us.

Show us that thou art our Mother.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,

pray for us.

Amen

Day 1

*Pray the Flos Carmeli

I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.
Hosea 2:14

Mary, Queen of Carmel, take us to the places where God spoke to your heart. Teach our hearts to soften, to open as yours did, that we might hear what the Lord has to say in that tender voice of his. Clear our minds of their scurrying, and help us to be still. Lead us, gentle star, into the deepest depths of quiet and peace by your side. Draw us into the Heart of Jesus.

Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. Walk with her in silence the craggy path to the peaks of Mt. Carmel overlooking the sea. A gentle breeze flutters her veil. Watching, you realize the breeze is a voice speaking to you, that it is the Holy Spirit. What does the Spirit say to you as it ruffles your hair and kisses your face?

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us.

Day 2

*Pray the Flos Carmeli

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.
Isaiah 35:1

In you, Mary, the Word was treasured as you meditated in your heart, and in you the Gospel blossomed abundantly. Your soul and your body were miraculously fruitful. In your humble simplicity the Spirit crowned you with splendor and glory beyond our understanding. But when I see you, Mary, you are quiet and smiling- your ornaments all within. Teach us to adorn ourselves with humility and simplicity. Draw us after you by the scent of your flowers of the heart, warmed by the sun that is the Lord’s joy shining on us.

Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. She is walking in a field of wildflowers. Catch up to her. She is picking flowers and filling the hem of her mantle with them. She motions to you and you offer her the bottom of your shirt for the overflow. She smiles and begins to fill the pocket you made for all these flowers. You have to sit down so she can fill your lap too. Lift some to your face and breathe in their scent.

Mary, beauty and glory of Carmel, pray for us

Day 3

*Pray the Flos Carmeli

Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.
Mark 3:33-35

Mary, you leapt to do the will of God at every sign of it with the love and trust of a little child, with the courage of a warrior bold. You were not only the physical Mother of the Lord, you were his spiritual mother and sister as well. You not only pondered the word of God given to you, but acted on it. Always you “arose and went with haste” wherever the Spirit called you. Teach us to listen, ponder, pray and to act on God’s word to us as you did unfailingly.

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. She puts a plate of food in front of you; bread, lentils and dates perhaps. She sits down to eat with you. As you bless the food together, you think, “Let us eat the bread of the will of God.” She smiles at you. You know you will have everything you need to do just that. And this is really good food, too.

Mary, Mother of the Word, pray for us.

Day 4

*The Flos Carmeli

God lives. I am standing in his presence. – The Prophet Elijah . (See 1Kings 17:1)

Mother of Carmel, you tended the fire of continual awareness of God’s presence in your heart daily as you swept the floor, made dinner, worked in the fields, held your Child, shopped in the market, loved and served the people around you. Open our hearts to perceive God within us, and in our daily lives; among the pots and pans, in the work we do daily, in the stolen moment of quiet, in the breaths before sleep. Help us come into the glow of constant contact with God you lived in within you and around you. Teach us the Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence)

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary now, tending the hearth, keeping the fire burning brightly, talking with her about this and that. Feel the fire’s warm glow on your face. She leans her head on your shoulder.

Mother in whose heart we live, where we find our Beloved, pray for us.

(St. Maryam of Jesus Crucified said, “I live in the Heart of my Mother. There I find my Beloved.”)

Day 5

*The Flos Carmeli

The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
Habakkuk 2:20

Mary you were the temple of the Lord in a unique way. How beautifully you show us the truth that we who love Jesus are his temples too. Help us to make time to be alone and silent before God in the temple of our hearts with the One who we know loves us. (Teresa of Avila) As you did, let us cherish the Lord within us, love him, know him, listen to him, silently speak to him, look at him and let him look at us.

Take Mary’s hand now and allow her to lead you gently to your inner Temple where Jesus waits. Be there for a moment.

Mother of Divine Love, pray for us.

Day 6

*Pray the Flos Carmeli

I have set myself in silence and peace,

as a little child has rest in in it’s mother’s arms,

even so my soul.
Psalm 131: 2

Oh Mary, the lowly handmaid, the simple girl who loved God in your littleness, teach us to be little too. Help us to be humble in your easy, joyful way. Help us to be free to run lightly in God’s paths, to laugh easily, to dance without thinking, to be happy in his world that is so beautiful, and vast. The world around us is sign of his creative love, a glimpse of the Kingdom to come we are helping to make present by being little and humble in the arms of Jesus.

Spend a quiet moment playing with the little Mary a game you loved as a child. Let her throw her arms around you then. Hug her back.

Child Mary, little, humble and free, pray for us.

Day 7

*The Flos Carmeli

As Elisha watched, [Elijah being taken up to Heaven] he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two. Elisha also took up the mantle that had fallen from Elijah. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.…
2 Kings 2: 12-14

Holy Mother and Queen of Carmel, your Scapular is your prophetic mantle over our shoulders, a sign of our consecration to you, our silent devotion to you all though the day and during the night when we sleep figuratively wrapped in it’s protection.. The Brown Scapular is your hand on on our shoulder as we travel the Royal Road of prayer, and in the good works you lead us to. Help us to go forward with courage, to stand confidently as your children; seeing as you see, loving as you love, and serving from the heart. Help us to live as worthy sons and daughters of so wonderful a Mother.

*Spend a moment with Our Lady now. Lay your scapular in her lap and let her kiss it and put in on you again over your head and shoulders.

Mary, spiritual daughter of Elijah the Prophet, pray for us who wear your Scapular.

Day 7

*The Flos Carmeli

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galations 6:2

Mary, in Carmel you are not only Mother and Queen, you are our sister and friend. Friends bear one another’s burdens. We know that you have always helped us bear our burdens and that you hear our sorrows. We want you to know we are here for you too. Share with us the sorrows of your loving heart, your concerns for your children. We know you always lead people to your Son, that you love us all, that human cruelty breaks your heart terribly. Help us to care about all that you care about, to listen to you, and to do something to help you in your mission to humanity, to be your kindly hands in this world where there is so much hate and indifference. Help us to find joy in all that you take joy in, the good things people do, the beauty to be seen, the love that is there in everything.

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary. Sit with her at her kitchen table maybe with tea or coffee. Ask her what she wants to tell you about. What does she say? Maybe today you can act on one of her concerns.

Mary, our friend and Sister, pray for us.

Day 8

Pray the Flos Carmeli

Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

1 Kings 17:3-6

Mary, as Elijah did, you allowed the Lord to protect and take care of you, to take care of everything. You hid in the heart of God, drinking deeply from the stream of Divine Love. With you let us learn to hear the still, small voice of God, to let him care for us when we are afraid of the consequences of doing as he asks us. Remind us that when we hear him and respond, he will give us all that we need every time, just as he did for Elijah and for you.

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. Watch her as she fills a clay jar with water from the stream. It’s a sunny balmy morning. Birds are singing. You can hear the brook flowing. She brings you the water to drink. Drink deeply.

Mary, help of Christians, and Mother of Mystics, pray for us.

Day 9

Like a cedar in Lebanon I grew tall,

like a cypress on Mount Hermon;

I grew tall like a palm tree in Engedi,

like rosebushes in Jericho;

Like a fair olive tree in the field,

like a plane tree beside water I grew tall.

Like cinnamon and fragrant cane,

like precious myrrh I gave forth perfume;

Like galbanum and onycha and mastic,

like the odor of incense in the holy place.

I spread out my branches like a terebinth,

my branches so glorious and so graceful.

I bud forth delights like a vine;

my blossoms are glorious and rich fruit.

Come to me, all who desire me,

and be filled with my fruits.

You will remember me as sweeter than honey,

better to have than the honeycomb.

Those who eat of me will hunger still,

those who drink of me will thirst for more.

Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,

and those who serve me will never go astray.
Sirach 24:13-22

Mary, Mother and Queen of Carmel, you are all of this and more to us, our beauty, our joy, our wisdom, our love for you an incense offered to the Lord who loves you even more than we can. Today we consecrate ourselves to you, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. We dedicate our lives to God’s beauty and glory, and to yours. We belong to you, to your Son, to light and life and love. We want to spend our lives in the sweet companionship of your Spirit.

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. She is luminous in loveliness, as if she were made of light. You kneel before her. Closing your eyes, to pray, then opening them to see her again, you realize you are next to her in the kitchen. She is chopping vegetables. Join her. Stay with her all day.

Mary, Mother and Queen of Carmel, our Sister the Throne of Wisdom, pray for us.

July 7, 2025 1

A Litany for Mary’s Immaculate Heart

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.

Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Heart of Mary, according to the heart of God, pray for us.
Heart of Mary, united to the Heart of Jesus, pray for us.

Heart of Mary sister of our hearts pray for us

Heart of Mary in whom the Gospel blossomed in contemplation pray for us

Heart of Mary always merciful pray for us

Heart of Mary stout and of great courage pray for us

Heart of Mary free and open for God pray for us

Heart of Mary always ready to be the first to love, to serve, to be present, pray for us

Heart of Mary in which there is room for everyone pray for us

Heart of Mary, her gracious core of love, understanding, and acceptance pray for us

Heart of Mary, freely humble and giving pray for us

Heart of Mary, never failing to love anyone pray for us

Heart of Mary seeing each one’s beauty and Godly purpose pray for us

Heart of Mary, loving and understanding each of us completely, pray for us

Heart of Mary, always seeing God, living in his presence pray for us

Heart of Mary, attentive to the Word pray for us

Heart of Mary, holding Jesus our Treasure pray for us

Heart of Mary, gifting us the Pearl of Great Price pray for us

Heart of Mary, our friend, pray for us

Heart of Mary, hearing the cries of the world, pray for us

Heart of Mary, scarred by suffering love, pray for us

Heart of Mary, strong in faith even when she did not understand what was happening, pray for us

Heart of Mary, with us in our work, one with us in all things but sin, pray for us

Heart of Mary trusting and bold like the heart of a child , pray for us

Heart of Mary drawing us to Jesus, pray for us

Heart of Mary, deepening our prayer, pray for us

Heart of Mary, accompanying us always pray for us

Heart of Mary, in solidarity with the lowly, pray for us

Heart of Mary praying that the lowly will be lifted up, the mighty de-throned, the hungry filled, the rich emptied, the proud scattered in their inmost thoughts, pray for us

Heart of Mary to be found among the least of our brothers and sisters, pray for us

Heart of Mary full of joy and always sharing it with us, pray for us

Heart of Mary, ready to laugh, of easy smiles and good humor, pray for us

Heart of Mary, drawing us after you in the fragrance of your holiness, pray for us

Heart of Mary filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom pray for us

Heart of Mary bursting with the praises of God, pray for us

Heart of Mary, drawing the Spirit to rest on God’s people, pray for us

Heart of Mary always speaking Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, pray for us

Immaculate Heart of Mary, meek and humble of Heart,
Make our hearts according to the Heart of Jesus.

Let us pray:

O most merciful God, who for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the wretched, has made the Immaculate Heart of Mary most like in tenderness and pity to the Heart of Jesus, grant that we, who now commemorate her most sweet and loving heart, may by her merits and intercession, ever live in the companionship of the hearts of both Mother and Son, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

June 29, 2025 1

A Litany of the Sacred Heart based on Dilexit Nos

Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Lord, have mercy

God our Father in heaven
have mercy on us
God the Son, Redeemer of the world
have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit
have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, one God
have mercy on us
Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father
have mercy on us
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother
have mercy on us

Heart of Jesus, inmost being of the incarnate Son and his love, both divine and human * have mercy on us

Heart of Jesus, natural sign and symbol of the boundless love of Christ *

Heart of Jesus part of Christ’s holy risen body, *

Heart of Jesus, inseparable from the Son of God who assumed a human body forever *

Heart of Jesus, beating, real, alive, loving us *

Heart of Jesus, receiving our love in return *

Heart of Jesus, our friend *

Heart of the same Jesus who for love of us, was born in Bethlehem, passed through Galilee healing the sick, embracing sinners and showing mercy, who loved us to the very end, opening wide his arms on the cross, rose from the dead and now living among us in glory. *

Heart of Jesus, centre and source from which salvation flowed for all humanity *

Heart of Jesus, profound unifying centre of his body, expression of the totality of his person *

Heart of Jesus, signifying the divine love of Christ, united forever and inseparably to his wholly human love transformed by his Divine love *

Heart of Jesus, beating with the most tender and human affection *

Heart of Jesus, in whose human love, we encounter his divine love *

Heart of Jesus, the Holy Spirit’s masterpiece *

Heart of Jesus, heart of the world *

Heart of Jesus, nourishing our lives with the strength of the Eucharist *

Heart of Jesus, pierced, gushing living water, a flowing fountain, outpouring of a spirit of compassion and supplication, wellspring of new life for us *

Heart of Jesus, warm and tender *

Heart of Jesus, who feeds us from his own breast

Heart of Jesus, in which we rest in contemplation *

Heart of Jesus, source of life and interior peace *

Heart of Jesus, open to all *

Heart of Jesus, in whom our names are carved *

Heart of Jesus , thinking of me, even the smallest hair of my head *

Heart of Jesus whose intense love is fire and light *

Heart of Jesus, free of anger, free of bitterness, filled with genuine compassion towards its enemies *

Heart of Jesus, infinite in mercy *

Heart of Jesus, living in us *

Heart of Jesus, our only Treasure *

Heart of Jesus, all love, forgiveness and justice *

Heart of Jesus one in solidarity with those who are poor and rejected by the world *

Heart of Jesus, consoling us that we might console others *

Heart of Jesus, thirsting for our love *

Heart of Jesus, transforming our hearts *

Heart of Jesus, loving and serving in us *

Heart of Jesus, consoled by our service and love of Christ *

Let us pray.

Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who glory in the Heart of your beloved Son
and recall the wonders of his love for us,
may be made worthy to receive
an overflowing measure of grace
from that fount of heavenly gifts.
Through Christ our Lord.
R/. Amen

Dilexit Nos is an encyclical written by Pope Francis

.Dilexit Nos

June 27, 2025 0

Is empathy a sin? A Gospel perspective

As the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is, at this writing, tomorrow, (Friday June 27th in 2025), and June is traditionally the month of the Sacred Heart, I’ve been pondering the heart’s virtues, such as love, compassion, mercy, solidarity, and empathy especially. This seems an urgent topic to write about right now as so many seem to glory in cruelty, others going so far as to call empathy a supposed “sin”.

I’ve had somebody say to me in response to a plea for compassion for migrants, that we “aren’t supposed to be the Church of ‘nice.” “No, I said, “we are supposed to be the Church of radical love.”

The argument that there is a “sin” of empathy, I likely don’t have to tell most of you, is antithetical to the Gospel. At best this argument is coming from people who are trying to protect their hearts from the pain of empathy or their conscience telling them to do something about it. Maybe it’s to justify the hardness of their hearts. God knows what it is. In any case this is the work of the devil. It’s ugly and contrary to love. Love, remember, is what God is and what we are supposed to be doing. Maybe they’ve re-interpreted what that was supposed to mean to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s hard to understand how that is possible. However here we are hearing anti-empathy declarations.

This belief that empathy is to be quashed and not nurtured or respected is mostly found in certain corners of ultra-reactionary or hyper-rationalist “theology.” The argument usually goes something like:

“Empathy clouds judgment. It leads us to condone sin in others. It makes us sentimental and irrational.”

One time I came home from work and my teen and pre-teen were playing seriously inappropriate music loudly in the house. I turned it off and made them stand in front of a picture of Our Lady and recite the lyrics to her. They couldn’t. I wonder if people who discourage or disdain empathy can look into the face of Jesus and tell him that nonsense they say to other people. Lacking empathy, campaigning against it is the more likely sin.

The “sin of empathy” crowd say they feel manipulated by calls for empathy. They put labels on goodness like “virtue signaling.” rather than being inspired to act with mercy. Maybe they think the man beset by robbers deserved what he got, that the Good Samaritan was weak, stupid, being taken advantage of. Perhaps they would say that the priest and the levite who passed by without helping were the real heroes of the story. Maybe these are people who have been put-upon too much in life, or feel used when they do something for someone, or they have trouble with boundaries and they threw the “baby out with the bath water,” as my mom would say. I don’t know but they’re wrong and they try to deceive others as well.

How could empathy erase moral clarity? It can only deepen it and fill it out. As Pope Francis said in Dilexit Nos, his encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the human heart brings together fragments of ourselves into cohesion. The heart brings together soul, spirit, mind and body, enabling true discernment and understanding. We can’t attempt to cut off parts of ourselves and call that “clarity” or “judgement.” To do that only mutilates us as people, distorting our judgement and endangering our salvation.

Being “cruel to be kind” is an oxymoron when it comes to the suffering of another. It is merely mean, dumb, and contrary to the Gospel.

Empathy is the ability to enter into another’s experience — to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). Jesus constantly showed empathy:

He wept over Lazarus (John 11:35) and over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41)
He touched lepers, (Matthew 8:22-26) embraced children, (Mark 10:13-16) noticed the suffering no one else saw and did something about it every time.
His Incarnation was an act of ultimate divine empathy — “He took on our infirmities and bore our diseases” (Isaiah 53:4, Matthew 8:17)
Toward the lowly he never used “tough love.” He reserved that for the powerful alone. He was angry with them for their oppression of others, for their hypocrisy, their legalism that got in the way of mercy, and for their lack of compassion. (See Matthew 23 for some serious rage from Jesus toward religious leaders for these very things).
He healed a woman with a crooked back and was angry when the Pharisees and Scribes confronted him with doing this on the Sabbath. He hated the way they put strict observance of rules over care and compassion for people. (Luke 13: 10-17)

To reject empathy is to reject Christ’s own way of loving. Our Lord never condemned anybody for being too soft hearted; quite the opposite. People were condemned by him for being legalistic without mercy (the Pharisees), for being indifferent to suffering (the priest and Levite in the Good Samaritan story Luke 10:25-37), for being harsh and arrogant instead of humble and compassionate (Luke 18:9–14).

Clearly the “sin of empathy” assertion is a serious distortion of the Gospel – anathema to it. People asking “yeah well who IS my neighbor” and trying to redefine that as people they agree with, like or approve of, are on the wrong path. Don’t listen. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Do not be carried away by strange teaching (Hebrews 13:8 and Ephesians 4:14). If anyone preaches to you a different Jesus than we (the apostles) have, said St. Paul, let them be accursed (Galatians 1:8-9, 2 Corinthians 11:4).

You cannot love God and hate your brother or sister. That would make you a liar. (1 John 4:20)

The intentions of Pope Leo XIV for the month of June are “that the world will grow in compassion.” He says, “Now is the time for love.”

It seems to me there is a battle of good and evil happening, a fight for the soul of the world. I don’t think I usually talk like this. But this anti empathy stuff is the devil. Resist him, solid in your faith. (1 Peter 5:8)

Jesus teaches us that it’s not enough just to resist evil. We have to pray for, bless and love those in the grip of it. We have to shine our light of love and compassion for all to see. And we need to grow in the virtues of the heart ourselves.

Jesus, gentle and humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto thine.

June 26, 2025 2

The Prophet Elijah: A Model for Holy Activism

I dreamed about the Prophet Elijah a couple weeks ago. We were sitting on a mountainside talking.The conversation we had is lost to me for the most part. It seemed significant that I dreamed of him. In the time following, I re-read the stories of Elijah’s life in Scripture.

*You can find these in 1 Kings chapters 17-19, and 21,

2 Kings Chapters 1-2, and in Sirach 48:1-11.

The pattern of his life that stood out to me as I read and reflected, is the path of the holy activist.

Elijah embodies the prophetic response to times of upheaval and injustice. He is an icon of a prophet arising in a time of darkness, burning like a torch. He spoke truth to power, confronted corruption, and defended the vulnerable. He drew his strength and inspiration from God as he served the hungry, healed the sick, and returned to a hostile land he had run in fear from. Sometimes he was afraid for his life, frustrated, burned out. Then he charged back into the fray, blazing, lit by God’s transforming love. Elijah’s life is a map lighting the path of the holy activist.

Elijah confronted corrupt leaders

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were horrible, shameless, lawless people. They were greedy, murderous, corrupt idolaters and false accusers leading the people into apostasy. Elijah confronted them several times over killing the prophets and destroying God’s altars, taking from and murdering the poor, warning of consequences to come.

During one of his confrontations with Ahab, the king called Elijah his enemy, blaming him for causing trouble. This happens a lot to anyone who speaks up against wrongdoing. Elijah doesn’t care what the King says. He contradicts him briefly, undeterred. He doesn’t let himself be drawn into argument. He delivers God’s message with its warning and walks away, leaving the results in God’s hands.

If you have to call out corruption or injustice, remember to detach from what happens after you have spoken. You can do your part and the rest is up to the hearers to choose how to respond.

Elijah spoke truth to power

Baal, a pagan god whose worship included child sacrifice, was popular at the time just as destructive ideologies have so much sway now. Elijah was the only prophet of the God of Israel left and the Queen was trying to kill him as well. Sometimes we have to speak the truth at great risk.

Elijah called the priests of Baal to meet him for a duel between their false god and the true God of Israel. The prophet of God stands alone against 450 priests of Baal and before his own people who had gone over to them. He trusted God to act. Dramatically and miraculously, God came through, sending fire from Heaven to consume Elijah’s sacrifice.

God will give us everything we need to do as he asks; to stand up and speak out even if we are all alone in doing so, he is with us.

Elijah made use of humor

I want to add that Elijah made fun of the prophets of Baal as they called to their false god. He taunted them sarcastically about whether their god was sleeping, or deaf or busy. “Maybe you should yell a little louder.”

Making fun of the powerful can be a good thing at times like these so we aren’t overcome by fear or hopelessness. Those late night comedians keep me going sometimes. I’m all for it. After all, Elijah ends up slaying the false prophets and there are more ways than one to slay.

So if you can, find ways to laugh. Bring the powerful down to size with humor.

Elijah served the needy with faith and compassion

After a time of frustration and even despair, God sends Elijah on a journey to help a poor widow and her son who are on the brink of starvation.

By the prophet’s prayers and the woman’s trust, her oil jug never runs dry and her flour jar never runs out of flour until the famine is over.

Elijah prayed over her son when he fell ill and died while he was there, which brought the child back to life. Elijah shows himself to be a man of profound compassion and faith. His service to the widow renews him and helps him grow.

If you’re freaking out, an act of kindness or service will help your perspective and give you peace.

Defending the poor and oppressed

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel conspired to take the ancestral land of a man named Naboth after he refused to sell. It was already against Jewish law to press someone to sell their family land. Then Jezebel arranged false accusations against Naboth because of which he was executed. Then the King took over the man’s land. Naboth stands for all of the poor who suffer injustice and oppression, from the greed of the rich and powerful, from unjust systems.

Always defend the poor and oppressed and be sure that even if you don’t think you succeed in doing so, God will, either now or in the future.

Being guided by God, motivated by love

One of the times Elijah was in hiding, God asked him, “Elijah, what are you doing?” Elijah pours out his heart to the Lord. He tells him how scared he is with the Queen trying to have him killed. Then he tells God of his burning, intense love for him, which is the spark of his zeal. This is what it means to be a holy activist. Our inspiration, our strength, our courage to confront people in power, our compassion, our hunger and thirst for righteousness, are all from God.

Now and then it’s important for an activist of faith to do some soul searching with God. What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Is God with you on this?

Elijah experienced burnout and renewal

Twice in Elijah’s life story, we see him in hiding, scared and frustrated, overwhelmed to the point he wants to die and asks God to let him. He suffers from exhaustion, fear, frustration and self doubt. Twice God comes to him like a gentle parent, giving him bread, telling him to drink some water and have something to eat. Elijah rests, gets some sleep, and is fed by God until he is ready for a new mission, and sets out restored and reassured.

If you’re overwhelmed or burned out, let God care for you for a while. Rest, get extra sleep, until you’re ready and receive new guidance.

Elijah encounters God profoundly

God calls Elijah to the mouth of the cave he has been staying in, and invites him to experience him passing by. There is a mighty wind, but the wind is not God. There is an earthquake but neither is this God. When Elijah hears a “still, small voice” within himself, in a gesture of reverence as he covers his face with his cloak, recognizing the presence of the Lord.

Draw from the Source of all life, and practice attentiveness to God’s presence at all times. You will grow exponentially in love, strength and compassion, reflecting the Lord you love and listen to.

Elijah mentored the next generation to take on the work

An important part of activism is handing on the spirit of the work to the next generation. Elijah, after training Elisha at his side, grants him a double portion of his spirit before he is taken up to heaven. Elisha takes the mantle of his mentor over his shoulders, going on to do the great work of a prophet.

Whatever form of activism or mission you are involved in, always take time to talk to interested young people and pass on your wisdom and experience.

I’ve been so worried about so many things going on in our country, in our world. Maybe you have been too. Let us look to the Prophet Elijah to light our way, asking him for a double portion of his spirit, praying for the knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry it out. * from the 11th Step of AA

“The lord lives! I am standing in his presence.”

*Antiphon from the Carmelite proper, feast of Elijah the Prophet, July 20

April 3, 2025 0

Take refuge in prayer and service on Inauguration Day

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

This post is for those of us for whom the 2025 Inauguration of our incoming president will be a day of grief, or at least a difficult day.

I am very very sad for my country too and worried as well as I have said before. I am horrified by the ugliness and hate this administration is already unleashing into society – bringing out the worst in all of us.

Here are my survival plans for January 20.

I am not watching the inauguration, not in any way. In fact I’m not listening to the news at all that day. Spiritual reading or audio book sounds a lot better.

I plan to celebrate MLK whose day it is. I can do this by being grateful for him, by posting about him, by reading some of his writings, by talking about him with my family, especially with my grandchildren. Locally we have an MLK day March that because of weather will be a caravan this year. We plan to join it.

If you’re home for the MLK holiday then you can make this a mini retreat day for yourself to recharge and put on the armor of God

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“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Ephesians 6:11-17

Pray. Because when we pray we are truly putting more love into the world , in whatever way we choose to pray. If we pray with love and attentiveness God will work through us in secret and powerful ways; our soul becomes a door of grace for the movement of divine love into this world. We don’t have to say anything. We only bring ourselves to God with an open heart. He will only do what is right.

So pray in whatever way you can. Pray as much as you can.

I plan to dedicate my actions that day and any suffering I feel or any happiness, all my thoughts words and experiences of the day, to the cause of truth and justice and right. God knows what those truly are so I don’t even have to be specific.

Next, make this a day of service. Do a good deed. Make a connection with someone. You can pick up trash in your neighborhood. Perform a random act of kindness. Volunteer at a local charity. Spend some time really listening to a child and let them lead the conversation or the activity of their choice. Kids remember things like that. Do someone else’s chores. Pay it forward at a drive through. Give someone flowers. Ask a homeless person how they are. You know what to do.

I also think at least for that day Philippians 4:8 has excellent advice for what to keep in mind. I’m going to try to master my thoughts and put that verse into action.

“Finally, brothers, sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Philippians 4:8

I plan to listen to beautiful music and also to take refuge in poetry. I’ve been reading a lot of poetry lately.

Make good use of that dark day of worry fear and grief. Make it something beautiful for God and for others, for yourself.

It’s like putting flowers in guns I think. Only these flowers are able to bring about the change they represent.

This is it y’all. Let’s prepare ourselves with prayer, with beauty, with acts of service, with peace. That’s our real refuge.

January 17, 2025 0

A reign like no other

Our king is not a king of this world who has to seek or cling to power. He would never scrabble for control of others. He did not seek wealth. He did not fight for victory over anyone, or use force on anyone who disagreed with him. Everyone was and is free to walk away or to take on his gentle yoke.

When asked to show force or use vengeance he refused. When asked to punish someone, the ones who asked ended up walking away in silence, contemplating their own sins.

He was clear about who he was but he never had to brag about anything. Why would he? He was quietly in charge of every star, every atom, every quark, every beetle, every galaxy. His spirit upheld all things. “I am that I am” God told Moses when he asked him his name. He just Is.

And he knew who he was.

When Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king Our Lord’s answer showed us we didn’t understand the kind of king he really was.

Our worldly minds, even as his followers, still find it hard to understand someone who has absolute power but instead chooses dusty feet and sacrificial love.

Can you imagine a mosquito landing on you and biting you? And instead of smacking the mosquito you die for it to save it? We are less than mosquitos given the scale of creation and the absolute power of God. But we are everything to him because he loves us, each one like the only one.

What kind of king is Christ? The kind of king who is infinite but makes himself small for us so we can be friends. The kind of king who washes our feet, shares his rule with us for the small exchange of our love. Indeed we are crowned with the stars in his eyes when he looks at us. He makes us like himself, he lifts us up, he washes our feet, feeds us, dresses us in his own bright finery.

What does this kind kind of Christly kingship mean for us? He summed up his expectations of us by saying “love one another as I have loved you.” He would have us love humbly, sacrificially and completely. He said that if we had authority in this world we should never lord it over those in our charge. He never did. He didn’t have to. It means that we should be grounded in the dignity he gives each of us, in his gift of free will, his unfathomable and tender humility. We reflect his heart, keeping him always at the center seeing with his eyes.

I heard in a homily once from Bishop Bill Wack that 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 could be taken to describe the Lord. We know God is love. So we just read the passage replacing the word love with his name.

“Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. He does not dishonor others, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres

Jesus never fails.”

To see how you are doing following this King of ours, go back now and this time put your name in in place of “Love.”

I think we all have a way to go. It’s a good thing we have him to help us.

How can we serve a King like this one? A king who washes feet? Who gives freely? Who rules by love and asks for nothing else?

By washing feet, by giving freely, being ruled by love alone.

November 24, 2024 0

My new book I finished writing this summer

This summer I finished my manuscript for a new book. The working title is Pray Like Teresa; how to pray the Prayer of Recollection of St. Teresa of Avila. The publisher will decide the official title. I agonized a lot writing it but that seems to be part of my creative process unfortunately. It was also my solace during a stressful summer as it turned out to be.

When I have a project on I continually “write” in my head until it’s finished. Then it’s hard for me to stop messing with it and to stop thinking about it all the time. I enjoyed St. Teresa’s accompaniment during the months of working on this little book for her. I hope she is happy with it.

The book is short, only 15,000 words, about half the length of my first one, Come to Mary’s House; spending time with Our Blessed Mother. It is also more instructional than Come to Mary’s House. I would describe the general vibe of the book as St. Teresa with a Shawn twist. I tried to stay absolutely true to Tersa’s teachings and to work in my own Teresian spirituality and experience as well.

An important goal I had for this book was to help everyday Catholics and others to get to know Teresa’s teachings in a friendly way. I included St. Teresa’s struggles and sense of humor along with her teachings on the Prayer of Recollection and her basic foundational teachings that underpin it. I hope for the reader to see that contemplative prayer is for everyone and that this method of prayer is one anyone can do.

I also wanted to show why contemplative prayer is desirable, not only for the growth of the person who prays but for the good of the Church and the whole world. In this way I believe deepening inner prayer and contact with God, friendship with Jesus, and the practice of a life of prayer are urgent necessities in our world today and for the renewal of the Church.

A lot of people may be intimidated by Teresa of Avila because of her profound mystical experiences, because she is the “Doctor of Prayer,” and such a great figure of Catholic spirituality. Maybe they had not thought of reading her works before because they were written about 500 years ago and they assume she is inaccessible and too Medieval to be understandable or applicable to their lives.

I hope the reader will find that St. Teresa was also very human, witty, funny, practical and grounded. Her wisdom is relevant to anyone wanting to live the spiritual life, to grow in prayer, to this day. I hope I have provided a simple way to take up this prayer that Teresa said the Lord himself taught her, to anyone who picks this book up.

I think it would be a perfect book to take to Adoration with you, enriching your prayer in that hour with Jesus, or to keep by the place you like to sit when you pray daily. One could easily read a section each day and try the part of the prayer that section suggests.

I intend to encourage everyone who reads this book to try the prayer, to stick with it, along with giving practical ideas to help them be consistent.

I arranged it as an introduction to Teresa herself, and then I played out reflectively her basic discoveries about prayer such as friendship with Jesus, his Sacred Humanity, and God being experienced as within us.

Then I wrote a section about each step of the prayer and how to do it, each one headed by a quote from Teresa or from Scripture.

I allowed myself the pleasure of writing about the effects of the prayer as well and let myself get poetic about those but not overly so I hope. I wanted to communicate the beauty and joy of intimate love of God.

I am hoping this book will appeal to the everyday Catholic who may be being called by God to cast their nets into the deep or at least the deeper or even a little bit deeper. Whether the reader takes up everything in the book as part of their daily prayer life or not I hope reading it will improve their prayer life and their relationship with the Lord at least a little. I think it will.

My parish is primarily young people in college. They are remarkably devout, however. I can imagine some of them being interested in this book. I thought of them while I was writing, but also of people my own age or so (I’m 56) who at this time of life may be more interested in contemplation and want to give it daily time. I want it to speak to anyone who looks through it.

I turned in my manuscript to Our Sunday Visitor on Assumption Day, a few days early. But I thought it was a good way to honor Our Lady and St. Teresa, whose habit (the Carmelite habit) she wore.

Look for the new book August 25th, 2025