Tuesday, February 28, 2012

meanness

 

My Spiritual Director shared the following quote with me,
which she received from her Spiritual Director.
Thought I should pass it on.
 
“Once you understand what Jesus asks for in following him,
you have to follow, or choose your own form of meanness.”

-Flannery O’Connor

Friday, February 24, 2012

fan the flames


“Father of my soul, Mother of my heart,
I know your love for me is
limitless beyond imagining.
You care for me as a loving parent.
Through my smallest Lenten sacrifices,
help me to become less selfish
and more aware of your ways.
Fan the flame of my desire
to draw ever closer to you.
Guide me to seek your love.”

photo from here
prayer from here

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

the beauty of Ash Wednesday

“The beauty of Ash Wednesday is
that very ordinary people,
heading to the train, to work or school,
exercise the simple act of wearing their faith
for this one day a year.
A very old ritual against the backdrop of
modern society.”

 Greg Miller, photographer,
who for the past 15 years has been photographing people in midtown Manhattan,
who have just received ashes at nearby churches.
Visit Greg’s website – Dark Cloth Diaries, to see more
of his very moving images from his annual collection – Unto Dust.

Greg’s photo is from NPR article.

Monday, February 20, 2012

no hurry



“Nature does not hurry,
yet everything is accomplished.”
-Lao Tzu
(such an encouraging thought.)
 
photo taken at Hawaiian Botanical Gardens

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Hawaiian Grace


"Hawaii is not a state of mind but a state of grace."
-Paul Theroux

Just returned from 10 days in Kona.
Took lots of photos. 
This is one of my favorites,
taken across the road from my friend's condo.

Who knew sunsets could be so sacred?


Friday, February 3, 2012

looking for happiness

Today’s quote is from Inward/Outward. I love their daily quotes which you too can receive from their website. Enjoy!

Looking for Happiness
by
Thomas Keating

"Our spiritual journey does not start with a clean slate.
We carry with us a prepackaged set of values and preconceived ideas which,
unless confronted and redirected, will soon scuttle our journey,
or else turn it into pharisaism, the occupational hazard of religious and spiritual people.

 The developmental character of human life
has become much better known in the last hundred years,
and it has enormous implications for the spiritual journey.
Our personal histories are computerized, so to speak,
in the biocomputers of our brains and nervous systems.
Our memory banks have on file everything that occurred from the womb to the present,
especially memories with strong emotional charges....

 We may not remember the events of early childhood, but the emotions do.
When events occur later in life that resemble those once felt to be harmful,
dangerous, or rejecting, the same feelings surface....
The human heart is designed for unlimited happiness--for limitless truth
and for limitless love--and nothing less can satisfy.
We travel down various roads that promise happiness
 but can't provide it because they are only partial goods.

Since the emotional programs from early childhood are already in place,
our search for happiness in adult life tends to be programmed
by childish expectations that cannot possibly be realized....

 We come now to the heart of the problem of the human condition.
Jesus addressed this problem head-on in the gospel.
What was his first word when beginning his ministry?
"Repent."
To repent is not to take on afflictive penances like
fasting, vigils, flagellation or whatever else appeals.
It means to change the direction in which you are looking for happiness."

 Source: Invitation to Love