Retreat|*|We had a spiritual retreat today and about 8 of us from the seminary attended. It was led by the Lutheran chaplain from OSU who happens to be Native American and trained in spiritual direction by the Franciscans. We did have some quiet time to reflect but we also had some group discussion times. I feel somewhat more renewed spiritually and I am working on ways to fit prayer in next week in the midst of everything else…
Our discussion of spirituality was strongly focused on the more ancient ways like the Desert Fathers and Mothers and the Celtic Church (yay!!!) as well as Native American beliefs. Nature imagery does figure into my spirituality and I have to sometimes fight the tendency to worry about whether or not I’m turning too Wiccan or New Age. (No offense intended to those of you who are Wiccan or New Age.) What I am worshipping is created by God and I see divine fingerprints in it. However, I need to make sure I recognize that it’s the Creator who I pay homage to and not the creation. The Celtic prayers and blessings however really bring me closer to God, perhaps because they are so all-encompassing. For example:
Delightful it is to stand on the peak of a rock,
in the bosom of the isle,
gazing on the face of the sea.
I hear the heaving waves chanting a tune to God in heaven;
I see their glittering surf.
I see the golden beaches;
their sands sparkling;
I hear the joyous shrieks of swooping gulls.
I hear the waves breaking , crashing on rocks,
like thunder in heaven.
I see the mighty whales.
I watch the ebb and flow of the ocean tide;
it holds my secret,|*|my mournful flight from Eire.
Contrition fills my heart as I hear the sea;
it chants my sins, too numerous to confess.
Let me bless Almighty God,
whose power extends over sea and land,
whose angels watch over all.
Let me study sacred books to calm my soul;
I pray for peace,
kneeling at heaven’s gates.
Let me do my daily work,
gathering seaweed, catching fish, giving
food to the poor.
Let me say my daily prayers, sometimes chanting,
sometimes quiet, always thanking God.
Delightful it is to live on a peaceful isle,
in a quiet cell,
serving the King of kings.
–“Columba’s Rock” from Celtic Prayers by Robert Van de Weyer
(If you want to know the reason for Columba’s flight from Eire, read this portion of my senior seminar paper)
I love this prayer because it uses the ocean and its sounds as a metaphor for our praise to God. [shameless plug] If you want to know more about this kind of thing, let me recommend my senior seminar paper. [/shameless plug]
Other Life Things
My mom sent me a very cute card for my birthday (which is tomorrow) with an orange kitten on it who has its head resting on two pears. The inside says “It’s your birthday — a catnap is being taken in your honor!” (To say I’m a cat person is *VERY* mildly understating it.) Inside the card were a few pictures — two of Jon and I in the church and one of Jon and I and our respective parents.
Law and Order
I watched the special episode of “Law and Order: SVU” last night and it was powerful. They decided to tackle the issue of molestations in the Catholic Church. Eric Stolz, the one who played the priest in question, was interested in doing this episode because he knew people personally who were molested by priests. The episode was interesting in that it had the normal plot twists and it was also a very contemporary issue. I read today about LA officials investigating Cardinal Roger Mahoney for failing to report sexual abuse, per a California law that requires clergy to report it within 36 hours unless it falls under the sacrament of confession. (We have this same law ingrained on our brains at the seminary because there is such a possibility of law suits otherwise.) In the episode, this dialogue took place:
The Priest: I became a priest to serve God and the Church
Detective: And those children aren’t part of the church?
…
The Priest: I have to do everything in my power to protect the pentitent.
Detective: What about the faithful? Who protects us?
When the priest exposes the perpetrator (by breaking the seal of confession), the perpetrator (who I will not name unless you email me and tell me that you want to know who the real molestor was) explains that the priest will be defrocked and excommunicated, losing all access to the sacraments for breaking the confession and losing their soul, the priest responds: “Actually, I think I’m saving it.”
Very powerful and interesting episode.