March 30, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart March 30, 2012

How would we not love this divine Savior after so many marks of unique love? For it is to us as well as to his disciples that he addresses these words:    "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you; that is to say, to give myself to you as your food. Yes, [my enemies] are going to kill me; I will have to leave you, but my love will not permit this separation. I am instituting this divine sacrament, and by this means I will always be with you and with those who come after you, even to the end of the world..."    I repeat: how can our hearts resist such love? Will we still be without feeling? Will we still refuse Jesus anything? Will we still hold something back?    St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Journal of Poitiers        (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/alerts-notshown-48/3131-april-17th-2011.html)

For Reflection...      This Passion, or Palm, Sunday, the liturgy has us read Matthew's account of the last days of Jesus' earthly life, which invites us to move with him from place to place. Place yourself before a crucifix or an image of a scene that inspires you to pray. Ask for the grace of compassion, that grace to live in silent closeness to one who is suffering. With the apostles, with the women close to Jesus, with the crowd preparing to celebrate the Pasch, follow Jesus suffering...   (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/alerts-notshown-48/3131-april-17th-2011.html)                     Artwork by Regina Shin, rscj,    http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/115-united-states--artwork-by-regina-shin-rscj.html

March 23, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart March 23, 2012

There is within each of us   A quiet clear pool of living water  Fed by the one deep Source And inseparable from it, But so often hidden By a tangle of activity That we may not know Of its existence. We can spend the proverbial forty years Wandering in strange deserts, Sinking unrewarding wells And moving on, driven by our thirst, But when we stop still long enough To look inside ourselves, really look Beyond our ideas about water And what and where it should be, We discover it was with us all the time, That quiet clear pool which is ageless, The meaning of our existence. And the answer to all wanderings. And as we drink, We know what Jesus meant when he said We'd never be thirsty again. "Aotearoa Psalms" by Joy Crowley Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee Province of Australia - New Zealand      (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/97-0205/354-lenten-reflection-week-three.html)

For Reflection...    "As lived by most people today modernity is often pretty dismal. Western civilization is increasingly a desert of meaning and a daily lived crisis of surviving in human dignity....It is a world without prayer.  And yet the very barrenness and desperation of that world seems to ignite a lone spark of spirituality..."  "Prayer in the West Today" Laurence Freeman OSB Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee Province of Australia - New Zealand   (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/97-0205/354-lenten-reflection-week-three.html)                     Photograph of St. Begge Fountain, Andenne, Belgium   http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/alerts-notshown-48/2868-june-10th-2010.html

March 16, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart March 16, 2012

Integration Let these two worlds combine, Yours and mine. The door between us is not locked, Just ajar. There is no need for the mocking or the mocked to stand afar with wounded pride Or angry mind, Or to build a wall to crouch and hide, To cry or sneer behind.  This is ours together This nation - No need for separation. It is time to learn. Let us forget the hurt, Join hands and reach With hearts that yearn.  Your world and mine is small. The past is done. Let us stand together, Wide and tall And God will smile upon us Each and all And everyone. Jack Davies (Spirit Song) Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee Province of Australia - New Zealand      (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/98-0305/351-lenten-reflection-week-four.html)

For Reflection...    "For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. (Hab.2:3) The Apollo astronauts have seen our planets from above as one beautiful and perfect sphere where life abounds and where there are no boundaries. The vision of the heavenly city descending in the book of Revelation also sees the world as one great unity . What one thing do you feel called to do to bring us closer to this dream of unity? Barbara Bowe rscj: Biblical Foundations of Spirituality, Sheed and Ward, 2003 Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee Province of Australia - New Zealand   (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/98-0305/349-lenten-reflection-week-five.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

March 9, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart March 9, 2012

It is true that we do not get rid of our character, as we might take off a dress; it is the work of a lifetime; we achieve it only with the grace of God by constant effort. St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Thoughts and Sayings ( http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/pray-with-sophie/celebrate-with-sophie/2780-fourth-sunday-of-lent-year-c.html)

For Reflection...    Like Jesus, who passed through suffering and was not incapable of feeling weakness (Heb 2:18; 4:15), I, too, have my experiences of weakness and fragility, of suffering and injustice, of the lack of freedom and the absence of peace.  Looking back at my life, I recall significant moments when I personally experienced weakness and fragility, suffering and injustice, or the absence of peace and freedom.   Suffering, our own and that of others in our Earth-community, leads us to the foot of the Cross, where "the pierced Heart of Jesus opens our being to the depths of God and to the anguish of humankind" (Consts. #8).   ( http://www.rscj-jpic.org/lent.html)                     Painting by Arcabas http://www.arcabas.com/oeuvres/index.php

March 2, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart March 2, 2012

Loving God, open our hearts so that we may feel the breath and play of your Spirit. Unclench our hands so that we may reach out to one another and touch and be healed. Open our lips that we may taste the wonder of life.   Open our eyes so that we may see Christ in friend and stranger. Breathe your Spirit within us and touch our lives with the life of Christ. Amen    Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee Province of Australia - New Zealand (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/97-0205/360-lenten-reflection-week-two.html)

For Reflection...    It is very important to recognize the basic nature of humanity and the value of human qualities. Whether one is educated or uneducated, rich or poor, or belongs to this nation or that nation, this religion or that religion, this ideology or that ideology, is secondary and doesn't matter. When we return to this basis, all people are the same. Then we can truly say the words, brother, sister, and they are not just nice words, they have some meaning. Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee Province of Australia - New Zealand (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/97-0205/361-lenten-reflection-week-one.html)                     Artwork by Bethanie Sulleza, rscj,           http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/2506-philippines--artwork-by-bethanie-sulleza.html