July 6, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart July 6, 2012

What reassures me is that you are not alone; you have the good God with you; God will never desert you if you continue to be faithful to him. Our good Master pursues us ceaselessly; it seems that he expects more of you than of many others. He is urging you to give of yourself wholly, without the slightest reserve. St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Letter, 1813    (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/pray-with-sophie/celebrate-with-sophie/2878-tirteenth-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c.html)

For Reflection...     We are not alone; we always have the Divine with us, within us. Through faith, we connect with God, we have confidence in God, we are in relationship with God.       Within the context of our Sacred Heart charism, we have an avenue for exploration and expression of our faith. What a gift! With love for God, love for each other and love from each other, we feel the warmth of God's presence, reassuring us that we journey always, through Him, with Him and in Him. Artwork by Beth Sulleza, rscj    http://www.rscjinternational.org/images/stories/profile/2009/0907_beth_sulleza_2_zoom.jpg

June 29, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart June 29, 2012

Jesus le Christ   Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us. Let not my doubts and my darkness speak to me. Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us. Let my heart always welcome your love.  From the Sacred Heart Taize Prayer Group, Japan      (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/home/projects-with-young-people/3047-japan-sacred-heart-taize-group.html)

For Reflection...     God calls us to transform the world, with great ambition but also deep humility. This transformation has to begin with ourselves: we must allow the risen Christ to change our hearts, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us out into deep waters so we can head courageously into the future. Let us rejoice in the thirst God has placed in us! It gives renewed vitality to our whole lives. "Let whoever is thirsty come; let whoever desires it receive the water of life, free of charge."    Sumiko Debuchi, rscj Province of Japan (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/home/projects-with-young-people/3047-japan-sacred-heart-taize-group.html)   Artwork by Ana Luengo  http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/90-0704/397-preparing-for-retreat.html

June 22, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart June 22, 2012

"Duc in altum - Put out into the deep." After Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."   Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets."   When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. ...    When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. From the gospel of St. Luke, Chapter 5, verses 4 - 11

For Reflection...     And where is "the deep" for all of us? We know that it is a dark and scary place, as it was for Simon Peter. He and his brothers had truly labored all night and caught nothing, but they had, like so many of us, remained safely close to shore, in a sheltered harbor, unwilling to venture into the deep waters where sudden storms and tumultuous waves put their livelihoods and, in fact, their lives at risk.    The "deep" is a place of war, pestilence, famine, and death; a place of suffering, and above all, a place of fear and uncertainty. And even when we hear the words of Jesus, "Do not be afraid," without a deep faith - one of the goals of Sacred Heart education - it will be difficult, if not impossible, to find the courage to venture into that place, much less to struggle against it.  Excerpt from a graduation address given by Dr. Robert Bérard to the first graduating class from Fountain Academy, Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 12, 2010    (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/home/projects-with-young-people/2910-canada-fountain-academy-of-the-sacred-heart-halifax.html)   Photograph by Miyako Namikawa, rscj, Japan  http://media.rscjinternational.org/general/whoweare/creativespace/resources/0507Miyako/0507Miyako11.jpg

June 15, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart June 15, 2012

Prayer for the Feast of the Sacred Heart    Father,    We honor the Heart of your Son    broken by man's cruelty    yet symbol of love's triumph,    pledge of all that man is called to be.   Teach us to see Christ in the lives we touch,    to offer him living worship    by love-filled service to our brothers and sisters. The Roman Missal (http://www.rscj.org/node/620)

For Reflection...   "...either we live our fellowship authentically, in the spirit of the Beatitudes, or our life ceases to have meaning." To do that, we were called to "build fraternal communities centered in Jesus Christ." (p. 7) Among fundamental elements of this life, "a contemplative outlook on the world, which presupposes times of deep prayer, both solitary and shared." (p. 14) Community prayer is seen as a way to build communion for mission. Selections from  The Chapter of 1970 (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/reflections/157-0206/722-the-tradition-of-community-prayer-in-the-society-and-its-contemporary-challenges.html)   Steel Sculpture by David Norris, 2000,   At Digby Stuart College,  Roehampton, London, England Wording on the sculpture reads: "We discover and make known the Love of Christ  through the service of Education."   (Constitutions of the Society of the Sacred Heart) "Think glorious thoughts of God and serve Him with a quiet mind."   (Janet Stuart, rscj Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart 1911-1914) http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/creative-space-publicmenu-35/3048-england-wales-sculpture-by-david-norris.html

June 8, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart June 8, 2012

We are called to become the Heart of Christ on earth today - all of us.     His pierced Heart pours out love, pours out forgiveness, pours out compassion and new life, so that once God makes us aware of what we have done, our sin becomes our salvation.   If our hearts are pierced by the harmful words or deeds around us, we want to pour out love and forgiveness, not revenge, retaliation, rejection. The Spirit of Jesus, dwelling in us, can make this possible. From A glimpse of the spirituality of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Margie Conroy, rscj, Province of Uganda-Kenya     (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality.html)

For Reflection...   Wherever we are sent, whatever our work may be, our lives will be inspired by the love of the Heart of Jesus and the desire of making Him known, expressed in: a concern for the growth of the whole person; a thirst for working towards justice and peace in the world in response to the cry of the poor; a passion to proclaim the Gospel. (#13) Extract from Constitution of the Society of the Sacred Heart (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality.html)      Photograph by Nancy Durand, rscj  http://www.rscjinternational.org/images/stories/creative_space/0609/0609_5.jpg

June 1, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart June 1, 2012

...I beg you to be faithful to your exercises of piety. Our holy Rule tells us we should love meditation.    Strive with all your energy to become an interior soul. You have the necessary dispositions, and, believe me, your present difficulties come from neglecting to develop them....    Our difficulties come from our too great eagerness for the things of this world. Mother Aloysia Hardey, writing in a letter, 1859 From a biography, Mary Aloysia Hardey, Religious of the Sacred Heart, 1809-1886, page 212,    by Mary Garvey   (http://books.google.com/books?id=sOMEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA223&lpg=PA223&dq=mother+hardey+rscj&source=bl&ots=CsOFFI5nmq&sig=P2kuoqLTov0Ety_VI2Cq0HUvceM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DDTIT9b7JsW22gXz_enGDQ&ved=0CFsQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=mother%20hardey%20rscj&f=false)

For Reflection...   Silence and interior life are the condition for recognising God's presence and welcoming his love as an invitation, as the way to go, and as a compass for the plans we make as persons, communities and groups.    "Hence it follows that the spirit of this Society is essentially based upon prayer and the interior life, since we cannot glorify the adorable Heart of Jesus worthily, save inasmuch as we apply ourselves to study its interior dispositions in order to unite and conform ourselves to them." (1815 #5) From Validity, Dynamism and Vitality of the Society's Charism by Georgina Zubiría, rscj, Mexico 2010 (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/news-notshown-47/2844-theological-reflections-by-rscj-on-the-priorities-of-general-chapter-2008.html#theological_reflections_eng)   Artwork by Tona Monzon, rscj   http://media.rscjinternational.org/general/whoweare/creativespace/resources/0508tona/tona5.jpg

May 25, 2012

Reflection on the Spirit of the Sacred Heart May 25, 2012

Pentecost I watched a hen the other day pursue a barn-owl twice her size across the yard. Her flaps and squawks seemed laughably inept yet kept that predator from eating more than half of her new chicks.    She made me think of dark-eyed children  throwing stones at tanks and Rosa Parks defiant on a bus and Gandhi bending low making salt.    Where does such fire come from  that can make a little one stand tall or turn to flesh a heart of stone? I saw it fall in tongues of flame  one day on ordinary folk and knew it would in time all things malevolent consume. Poem written by Beatrice Brennan rscj, province of the United States   (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/seasons-of-prayer-publicmenu-37/119-intros/1932-mayo-mai-may-2008.html?showall=1)

For Reflection...   "If only it were given to me, if only I were not so unworthy, that God might give me the grace to speak to you of the happiness of persons who give themselves over to the Holy Spirit, completely and without reserve!    If I could tell you all that takes place in them, if I could depict their happiness. It is no longer they who act; it is God. They go nowhere, they do nothing except by the Spirit's inspiration; everything becomes easy for them; they no longer experience difficulty; they meet no obstacles. The Holy Spirit pulls them along and sets up a communication between them and heaven.     These people have found the secret of touching hearts. It is as if they do not act of themselves; they do not know whether they are doing good; one might say they do not even desire to do good; rather they have only one desire to follow and obey the impulse of the Holy Spirit in everything." St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Conferences I, 2 June 1827, p. 18   (http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/alerts-notshown-48/3161-june-12th-2011.html)    Artwork by Sophie Maille, rscj   http://www.rscjinternational.org/en/spirituality/seasons-of-prayer-publicmenu-37/119-intros/1287-mayo-mai-may-2007.html?showall=1