The Seven Last Words, Day 4: Today, we hear Jesus cry out from the cross in pain and anguish and bewilderment.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:33-34
Ignatian Spirituality
What’s Inside?
What’s inside, everyone wants to know
what’s inside? And I’ve always told them,
but I feel something needs to change.
You wanna know what’s inside?
I could tell you if I wasn’t hiding.
My whole life is in here,
in this kitchen, baking.
What a mess I’m making.
Sara Bareilles, “What’s Inside,” from Waitress.
I had the privilege a few years ago of seeing the musical Waitress on Broadway with its original Jenna, the remarkable Jessie Mueller (who also portrayed Carole King in the original Broadway cast of Beautiful). What Jenna is hiding inside is, on the surface, the ingredients in her delectable pies. But on a deeper level, she is hiding her insecurities, a bad marriage, an unwanted pregnancy, and her stifled dreams. And the mess she’s making? Oy vey. Go see the play.
We’re all hiding something inside, and we’re all making a mess of it from time to time. We’re multilayered people, all of us, onions (to shift the food metaphor) that need to be peeled away if we’re ever going to get at our centers.
Pope Francis’ Compassion and Humility an Outgrowth of His Ignatian Heritage
My next “Faith Perspectives” column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch appeared online Saturday and should appear in the paper next Saturday morning. It’s a reflection on Pope Francis and his Ignatian spirituality and heritage. You can read my column below or online here: http://bit.ly/francisandignatius
Pope Francis, it seems, is a popular guy. Many around the world, Catholic or not, look up to and respect him for his humility and simplicity — for breaking tradition by washing the feet of women, Muslims and prisoners on Holy Thursday, for embracing the sick and disabled, for denouncing inequity and championing justice. He has called for the installation of shower facilities for the homeless in St. Peter’s Square while he himself lives in a simple apartment and foregoes many of the trappings of the past.
[Read more…] about Pope Francis’ Compassion and Humility an Outgrowth of His Ignatian Heritage
Video Post: Psalm for a Day
Almost a year ago (March 31, 2018) I posted a reflection about “waiting” during Holy Week, and that post included a new song I composed and performed with my two musical partners, John Caravelli and Phil Cooper. A year later, we now have a video to go with the song, so I thought I would post it here.
Sit with it, pray with it, let it be a reminder that God is present throughout all of our days and nights…
Psalm for a Day
When the morning sun
Defeats the darkest night
I will hope in you, Lord
I will hope in you.
When the sparrow flies
And the flower blooms
I will hope in you, Lord
I will hope in you.
I will accept the peace beyond
All my understanding
And I will find you there
I will trust in you
I will trust in you.
When the evening calms
And the madness fades
I will look to you, Lord
I will look to you.
When the setting sun
Sheds its final light
I will look for you, Lord
I will look for you.
When the darkness falls
And I close my eyes
I will rest in you, Lord
I will rest in you.
I will rest in you, Lord
I will rest in you.
© 2018 Potter’s Mark Music.
Words and music by John Caravelli, Phil Cooper and Steve Givens.
The Players
John Caravelli, acoustic guitar and BGVs
Phil Cooper, piano and BGVs
Steve Givens, lead vocals
Pondering as Prayer and an Act of Faith
“The most fortunate are those who have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder and even ecstasy.” – Abraham Maslow
A bright red male cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) just came to rest on a post outside the porch where I sit praying and writing this. It immediately grabs my attention, of course, because of its radiance and beautiful angular lines. I know its trilled, two-part call, for it’s a prayer of its own, a hymn of praise to the new day: cheer-cheer-cheer-purty-purty-purty. (Translation: Yay! It’s a beautiful new day!)