December 30, 2011

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart December 30, 2011

Christmas in Faith  Christmas of peace,  Christmas of joy. A Child is born to us not only in a manger but in the heart of my neighbour. (From a poem by Ana Maria Gallart rscj, Province of Argentina-Uruguay)    (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/3036-argentina-poem-by-ana-maria-gallart-rscj.html)

For Reflection...    Mary and Elizabeth each received a son who is pure gift, as is our charism. Let us have an attitude of deep gratitude for the gratuitousness of God in choosing to take on a human heart and to dwell among us. Let us open our eyes to the revelation of God's love in each one. Clare Pratt, rscj (Opening Conference - General Chapter 2008) (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/alerts-notshown-48/2429-december-25-2008.html)          Artwork by Lee Suki, rscj Korea          http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/2618-korea--artwork-by-lee-suki-rscj.html

December 23, 2011

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart December 23, 2011

Advent 1994 "And John sent asking Are You the One we are looking for?" We have so tinsel-towned the story that God's inbreaking Love' ceases to amaze us. We know the words so pat The Angel declared and Mary said. That God should so love the World To seed, fruit, bear that Love nine months enwombed till she brought forth The First born, God's love manifest. What is it? How is it? To bear God's Love? Easier to seek and name it outside but to bear it humanwise To see it in another's eyes - in the tenderness of lovers touch - - in the intimacy of heart - though Emmanuel - God-with-us. wished it so Is it not amazing? The Word is made Flesh.    (Poem by Anne Hine rscj, Province of England - Wales)    (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/2597-various--poetry-by-anne-hine-rscj-carmen-smith-rscj-anna-mae-marheineke-rscj-helen-condon-rscj.html)

For Reflection...    The Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign.  It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)  O Emmanuel   (O Antiphon for December 23) O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people: Come and set us free, Lord our god.    (For more information on the on the O Antiphons: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0374.html)          The Cosmos Crown Jewels 2 by Angelina Vick           http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-cosmos-crown-jewels-2-angelina-vick.html

December 16, 2011

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart December 16, 2011

Prepare for his coming into your hearts, for that is why he came on earth:    to be born, to develop in your souls, and when the beautiful day of Christmas arrives    you will taste that peace the Angels announced to persons of good will. (St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Conferences, II, 1855, p. 300)    (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/pray-with-sophie/celebrate-with-sophie/2700-second-sunday-of-advent-year-c.html)

For Reflection...    How am I preparing for the arrival of the Divine Gift? Am I open in my heart, in my spirit, in my life to see the Christ in others as well as myself? "Prepare the way of the Lord." (Luke 3, 4) How can I prepare the way of the Lord? I can go into a church and stay awhile; read regularly a passage from the Bible that refers to the coming of Jesus, Isaiah, for example; take some action that opens my heart to others; pay a visit that I have put off for a long time... From an online retreat by Marie-Thérèse Deprecq, rscj, France (The full text may be found here: http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/pray-with-sophie/celebrate-with-sophie/2700-second-sunday-of-advent-year-c.html)           Painting by Paz Rosales, rsj, Spain          http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/pray-with-sophie/celebrate-with-sophie/2700-second-sunday-of-advent-year-c.html

December 9, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart December 9, 2011

I told them that for our Lord to be born in our hearts, we must empty them of all attachments... That to motivate ourselves, we ought to consider the infinite love of our divine Savior, who puts aside his glory to take a body like ours, to become a little child, and in such lovable guise to win our hearts. That if we want the divine Infant to be born in our hearts, we must get rid of all pride and all that could make his stay unhappy; we must go to him with confidence, for he does not inspire fear but rather love.       St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Journal of Poitiers, p. 54    (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/pray-with-sophie/celebrate-with-sophie/2716-fourth-sunday-of-advent-year-c.html)

For Reflection...    Picture the scene: the meeting of two women, cousins; one is quite young but tired from a journey, the other is older. They are both expecting a child. Their faces show their joy at seeing each other. Ask for the grace to recognize the passage of the Lord in your life, the "visitations" of the Lord. The meeting calls forth a blessing. To bless is to wish well to another. Ask the Lord for the grace to bless, to put yourself out for a particular person. From an online retreat by Marie-Thérèse Deprecq, rscj, France (The full text may be found here: http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/pray-with-sophie/celebrate-with-sophie/2716-fourth-sunday-of-advent-year-c.html)           Painting of the Visitation by Arcabas           http://www.arcabas.com/accueil/index.php?lalangue=uk

December 2, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart December 2, 2011

Advent is not only the time in which we name the darkness; it is also the time in which we refuse to dwell in this darkness. We ask for this grace of hope, through Christ our Lord. Amen Maureen Currie, rscj Province of Canada (The full text of Sister Currie's Advent reflection may be found here:  http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/212-december-2007/1610-advent-season-of-hope.html)

For Reflection...    As I hurry and scurry through so much of the holiday season, let me make time to be still, to be quiet and hear the Voice, to reconnect with God's promise and to rekindle the hope. Although creation is unfinished, still in the process of being born, it carries within, a secret hope.  And the hope is this: A day will come when we will be rescued from the pain of our limitation and incompleteness and be given our share in a freedom that can only belong to the children of God. At the present moment all creation is struggling as though in the pangs of childbirth. And that struggling creation includes even those of us who have had a taste of the spirit. We peer into the future with our limited vision, unable to see all that we are destined to be, yet believing because of a hope we carry so deep within.    Maureen Currie, rscj Province of Canada (The full text of Sister Currie's Advent reflection may be found here: http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/212-december-2007/1610-advent-season-of-hope.html)        Photograph of Sprout Creek Farm from Georgie Blaeser, rscj:          http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/155-united-states--photography-by-georgie-blaeser-rscj.html

November 25, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart November 25, 2011 World View All would know  thank, peace, safe, love please hug, enough, hope in at least three languages. All would know  the feel of each in its ripeness; the vision of each in its honesty; the smell and taste of each accented texture; the sound of each in its becoming. Poem by Kimberly King, rscj       (This poem and more of Sister King's work may be found here: http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/2551-united-states--poems-by-kimberly-king-rscj.html)           For Reflection...    As we celebrate Thanksgiving, let us be joyful and grateful for the myriad gifts - tangible and intangible - that bless us. Let us focus on the abundance in our lives - most especially, our fruitful association and loving community. With gratitude, we celebrate the daily efforts of men and women in search of a better world. With them, strengthened by the Spirit, we want to continue finding the face of God in the future towards which we journey. We find hope in initiatives towards solidarity and reconciliation, gestures of sharing goods and of caring for life, and words that console and challenge us. In the beating of these human hearts in accordance with the rhythm of life, with joy we discover the love of the Heart of Jesus.     General Chapter, 2008       (Additional Chapter documents and information may be found here: http://www.rscjinternational.org/who-we-are/chapter-2008-publicmenu-234/final-documents.html#justicepeace)            Photographfrom Kimberly King, rscj:        http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/2551-united-states--poems-by-kimberly-king-rscj.html

November 18, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart November 18, 2011

.... the dear Lord has favored us with a share of His cross.    The greatest and undoubtedly the hardest to bear is the lack of success in our work here.    If a saint had been in charge, all would have gone well. Rose Philippine Duchesne   (From:http://www.sofie.org/quotes-formation-to-mission-45/148-quotes-pd)

For Reflection...    What have we learned from her? The value of a steadfast purpose; the success of failure and the unimportance of our standards of success; the power of grace released by deep, divine desires and simple duties daily done; the old, unearthly, stark, unwelcome fact that God is the worker, we the tools, so that God often takes the keen edge of our choice plans and uses it in God's own way, not ours, producing wonderful results entirely beyond our understanding - but only if the handle of the tool is smoothed and rounded to God's hand by sacrifice and prayer.    (Full text may be found here: http://www.sofie.org/quotes-formation-to-mission-45/148-quotes-pd)               Philippine with Potowatomi Native Americans - after painting at Sugar Creek, Kansas, USA - image from:        http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/seasons-of-prayer-publicmenu-37/119-intros/3001-working-for-justice-with-st-philippine-duchesne.html

November 11, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart November 11, 2011

In all the circumstances of our life, wherever our mission leads us, our sole purpose in living is to glorify the Heart of Jesus, to discover and make known His Love. Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 1982   (Full text of How Do We Define Our Spirituality by Rosa Carbonell, rscj, Spain, 2010 can be found here:  http://www.rscjinternational.org/resources/bibliography.html#charism)

For Reflection...    How do I make the love of Christ known - to myself and to others? Can I transform my thoughts, words and actions into prayer through connection to the divine? Will I be a light of God's love for others? Only when life is placid can one be indifferent to conflict. And whoever truly follows Jesus cannot lead a placid life. ...the charism, as a gift of the Spirit, is calling for different ways of living and being present, a shift in emphasis, and so on, precisely so that the following of Christ may be a reality in the midst of human limitations:    Text from: How Do We Define Our Spirituality by Rosa Carbonell, rscj, Spain, 2010  (Full text of may be  found here: http://www.rscjinternational.org/resources/bibliography.html#charism      Photograph from:        http://www.questionanswers.info/2009/07

November 4, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart November 4, 2011

In the midst of turmoil, look after your inner life, daughter, for it is the soul of your action;    it will be empty and lifeless if your soul dries up.    What can a garden produce if the source of its water runs dry? St. Madeleine Sophie Barat writing to Emilie Giraud   (Full text of Being contemplative women will give colour and warmth to life by Mariola López Villanueva, rscj, Spain, 2010 can be found here:  http://www.rscjinternational.org/resources/bibliography.html#charism)

For Reflection...    In doing for others, do I neglect to care for my true self - my soul and my spirit?  Do I attend to the present at the expense of the Presence? ... if we do not become women of active inwardness, if we do not allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit to that place of Deep Life, we cannot be of one mind with Jesus; relationships and tasks will be dispersed and scattered... in contrast to the activity permeated with Presence, flowing gently from the source within. ...if we ourselves do not go to the Fountain, how are we going to be able to lead others there?    Text from Being contemplative women will give colour and warmth to life by Mariola López Villanueva, rscj, Spain, 2010 (Full text of may be  found here: http://www.rscjinternational.org/resources/bibliography.html#charism        Photograph by Gisela Weber, rscj        http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/2190-central-europe--photography-by-gisela-weber-rscj.html

October 28, 2011

Weekly Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart October 28, 2011

...Then I took possession of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Holding him close to my heart,   I went forth to scatter my treasure everywhere, without fear that it would be exhausted. ... All went well, and no sorrow, not even holy sorrow, could find place in my heart, for it seemed to me that the merits of Jesus were about to be applied in a wholly new manner.. Dear Mother, when you say to me,   Behold I send you,   I shall answer quickly,   I will go. Philippine Duchesne's April 4, 1806 account of Holy Thursday, to Madeleine Sophie Barat   (Full text of this reflection may be found here: http://www.rscj.org/node/359)

For Reflection...    How do I feel drawn to mediate Christ's pierced heart to the wounded heart of humanity?  How do I feel drawn to contemplate his pierced heart in my own wounded heart?    Philippine is renowned for her underlining the success of failure. She contemplated Christ's pierced heart in her own wounded heart - and we are invited to do the same. Philippine's response to her pierced-heart experiences was not to turn in on herself in disappointment, resentment, or self-pity, but rather to continue to let Christ speak and act through her, and find joy in his presence.       Text from reflections shared on the RSCJ Associates Retreat Day, Oakwood, Atherton, California, March 8, 2003 (Full text of reflection may be found here: http://www.rscj.org/node/359)          Artwork by Lee Suki, rscj in Korea      http://www.rscjinternational.org/general/whoweare/creativespace/resources/0404suki/0404_sukichapelcross.jpg