Last week I wrote about earth just being temporary as we travel to our true home in heaven.The word “sojourn” stood out to me shortly after I posted on the blog. I like the sound of that word – sojourn.Sojourn means “to stay as a temporary resident; to dwell for a time, a temporary stay.” The word originated from old French and dates back to the 13th century. Its roots go back even further into Latin for “spend a day there.”But don’t think being a sojourner means you are off easy and don’t need to work. A sojourner has a purpose and a passion.On June 1, 1843, Isabella Baumfree changed her name to Sojourner Truth. She told friends, "The Spirit calls me [East], and I must go. ...the Lord gave me Truth, because I was to declare the truth to the people."Later she wrote, “Sojourner means traveler and truth means being real or genuine. I felt that God had told me that my mission in life was to tell people the truth about women’s rights and slavery.”Sojourner Truth was a feisty, not afraid to … [Read more...]
Who Gives You Strength? Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month and this year’s theme is Our History is Our Strength. Intriguing title isn’t it?The web site says, “The stories of women’s achievements are integral to the fabric of our history. Learning about women’s tenacity, courage, and creativity throughout the centuries is a tremendous source of strength. Until relatively recently, this sphere of women's history was overlooked and undervalued. Women’s achievements were often distorted, disdained, and denied. But, knowing women’s stories provides essential role models for everyone. And role models are genuinely needed to face the extraordinary changes and unrelenting challenges of the 21st century.”Living a reflective life is a spiritual discipline I know I need to practice more. I need to take the time to look back over my personal history, and identify my strengths. This month also opens the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the people, especially this month the women in my life, that have empowered me … [Read more...]
A Feather on the Breath of God – Hildegard
I attended a one-woman performance on Sunday. The actress, Linn Maxwell, portrayed Hildegard of Bingen, one of my favorite Christian women in history. You can read more about the actress, see video clips, and hear her beautiful soprano voice sing a song composed by Hildegard here. Famous for her “illuminating” visions and spiritual wisdom, Hildegard wrote nearly 400 bold and feisty letters to bishops and kings, books about medicine and nature, music, and plays; she also undertook several preaching tours and called for church reform. Quite a feat for any woman, let alone in the 12th century!Her most famous writing is “Scivias” or Know the Ways of the Lord. It is a visionary guide to Christian doctrine covering everything from creation to marriage and is written not in ordinary language but in extraordinary images.Hildegard wrote and spoke extensively about social justice, about freeing the downtrodden, about the duty of seeing to it that every human being, made in the image of God, … [Read more...]
Catching God’s Vision with Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) and a 21st Century Man
I interview a young man this week who moved back to this rural area after living in New York for six years. He sought ‘home’ and ‘community’ and a safe place to raise his family. Perhaps what impressed me the most was how he looked at his hometown. I saw closed and empty storefronts, high unemployment, and a struggling school district. He saw historic architecture, a town full of potential, and rich in history. He has vision.As I entered my car to come home, I looked up at the buildings admiring their style and saw with new eyes and appreciation this place he calls home.Today is the commemoration of Hildegard of Bingen, a remarkable visionary, and a woman ahead of her time from the Middle Ages. I wrote about her in a post last March, but will repeat a little of her story today as we remember and honor her. Hildegard of Bingen was born in 1098. The tenth child of a noble family, she was dedicated at birth to the church as was the custom of the day. At age eight she was sent to … [Read more...]
Lighten my Heart, Lord – Light as a Feather
Ma'at, the Egyptian goddess of justice, truth and order, was always depicted wearing a white ostrich feather in her hair. The Egyptians believed that when they died they would enter the underworld or the Hall of the Dead where Ma’at would weigh their hearts against the weight of a feather to determine the worthiness of his or her soul. If the heart was free from the impurities of sin, and therefore lighter than the feather, then the dead person could enter the eternal afterlife. A heart could be made light as a feather by lifetime of kind deeds, love and care for the needed. Makes the expression – “lighten up”- take on new meaning, doesn’t it? My heart has been heavy lately – full of hurts, anger, and resentments. Reading this story reminded me it was time to lighten up my heart. Time to replace my negative emotions for more Christlike characteristics of kindness, gentleness, and love. Being able to find an image to describe a problem or situation I face helps me … [Read more...]
Henri Nouwen
Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite writers. An internationally renowned priest and author, respected professor and beloved pastor, Henri Nouwen wrote over 40 books on the spiritual life. Born in Nijkerk, Holland, on January 24, 1932, Nouwen felt called to the priesthood at a very young age. He was ordained in 1957 as a diocesan priest and studied psychology at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. In 1964 he moved to the United States to study at the Menninger Clinic. He went on to teach at the University of Notre Dame, and the Divinity Schools of Yale and Harvard. For several months during the 1970s, Nouwen lived and worked with the Trappist monks in the Abbey of the Genesee, and in the early 1980s he lived with the poor in Peru. In 1985 he was called to join L’Arche in Trosly, France, the first of over 100 communities founded by Jean Vanier where people with developmental disabilities live with assistants. A year later Nouwen came to make his home at L’Arche Daybreak near Toronto, … [Read more...]
CATHERINE OF SIENA – LESSONS TO REMEMBER
Each year on April 29, many churches remember or commemorate Catherine of Siena. Commemorate means recognizing and learning from the lives of exemplary Christians throughout church history. Until a few years ago I never heard of this fascinating lady, Catherine of Siena, and she has much to share with us today. Catherine of Siena lived during the chaos and violence of the fourteenth century, a time of the Black Death, famine, and numerous civil wars. Catherine was the 25th of the 26 children of a northern Italy wool dyer and was born in 1347 at Siena, Italy. Catherine claimed to have had her first vision of Christ when she was aged five or six. He smiled at her and blessed her. At age seven she vowed chastity, but that was not unusual among little girls at the time, and they were not supposed to keep the vow once they reached puberty. A girl was regarded as marriageable at twelve, which implied that she took an interest in wearing make-up and bleaching and curling her hair. Catherine … [Read more...]
Mother Teresa (1910-1997) Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month or should I say Women’s Her-story Month. The Tuesday and Friday posts this month will feature women who lead lives that could serve as models for us in our Christian walk. It was difficult to narrow the list for the few dates in March but I did try to find some women you may not know very well and women writers. Enjoy!Mother Teresa – my final post for Women’s History Month. This well-known inspirational woman lived a life of sacrifice, prayer, service and love. A woman, many of us watched on television and read about while she was alive – makes growing a heart of God and following him sound possible when we have a “real” model, doesn’t it?Born in Albania, she felt strongly the call of God at the age of twelve. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. At the age of eighteen she left her parental home in Skopje and joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India.Hearing God once again in 1946, … [Read more...]