new year's blog posts worth your time…

These first days of 2015 I have been reflecting on the below blog posts. Lots of wisdom to consider in posturing our lives for the new year!

“Five Questions for Crossing the Threshold” by Parker Palmer

“7 life lessons to guide 2015” by Phileena Heuertz

“Embracing Mystery in the New Year: Ten Essential Practices” by Christine Valters Paintner

A Collection of Prayers for the New Year :: 2014

I recently posted a couple of prayers that personally resonate with me as I begin the new year. If you missed them, you can check them out here…

The Singing Bowl
A Sonnet by Malcolm Guite

And so we gather the scattered pieces…
By Jan L. Richardson

In addition, over the past few years I have shared several prayers for the new year on the Prayers & Creeds blog. You can check them out by clicking on the prayer below.

New Year’s Eve Prayer

A Sonnet for the New Year by Malcolm Guite

Celtic New Year’s Prayer – The Opening Door

New Year’s Prayer by Ted Loder

New Year’s Prayer by Christine Sine

Help Me to Believe in Beginnings by Ted Loder

Prayer of John of the Cross

And so we gather the scattered pieces...

And so we take the ragged fragments,

the patches of darkness
that give shape to the light;
the scraps of desires
unslaked or realized;
the memories of spaces
of blessing, of pain.

And so we gather the scattered pieces

the hopes we carry
fractured or whole;
the struggles of birthing
exhausted, elated;
the places of welcome
that bring healing and life.

And so we lay them at the threshold, God;

bid you hold them, bless them, use them;
ask you tend them, mend them,
transform them
to keep us warm,
make us whole, and send us forth.

Prayer by Jan L. Richardson (Through the Advent Door: Entering a Contemplative Christmas)
(Originally published in Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas by Jan L. Richrdson)

I Am the Kite

I am the kite:
Red and orange,
Fire in the sky,
Stunt Kite,
Cutting loops
And gashes in the blue,
My skin vibrates
On my frame with power.

I cut the cord
To fly yet higher still,
To show the rest
What freedom's all about.
I turn and twist
My fanciest curl
And set my course
For distance.

But, my mistake
Was not
To take the wind for granted,
But the cord
That tensioned me
To one I did not see
So far below.

The flyer is not me.

Lord, give me the anchor. Give me pause.
Let me know in freedom's limited flight,
The kite's first cause.

Bruce Barton Bailey
Sunday, May 29, 1994
University Presbyterian Church, Seattle, Washington

good words for the new year...

"And now let us welcome the New Year full of things that have never been." 

~ Rainer Maria Rilke  

"… every moment is a new beginning, every handshake a promise. I know that every quest implicates the other, just as every word can become prayer. If life is not a celebration, why remember it? If life — mine or that of my fellow man — is not an offering to the other, what are we doing on this earth?"

~ Elie Wiesel from “Open Heart”

"A new beginning! We must learn to live each day, each hour, yes, each minute as a new beginning, as a unique opportunity to make everything new. Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment pregnant with new life. Imagine that we could live each day as a day full of promises. Imagine that we could walk through the new year always listening to a voice saying to us: “I have a gift for you and can’t wait for you to see it! Imagine!"

~ Henri Nouwen

"Teach me God not to wait for the sound of the arrow, but to listen for the creak of the bow. Tune my heart to your future for me."

~ Twitturgies by Gerard Kelly

Prayer Books for the New Year

For the past four years I have posted weekly prayers on the blog Prayers & Creeds (http://prayersandcreeds.wordpress.com/). While I often come across the prayers on various websites and blogs, many come from various prayer books that I have collected in recent years. I thought I would post the titles and links, in case anyone is looking for a prayer book for the new year. Most are available in Kindle versions, as well. Please post any additional recommendations in comments to this post! Just click on the book title below.

Yours Is the Day, Lord, Yours Is the Night: A Morning and Evening Prayer Book

Edited by Jeanie and David Gushee 

Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals 

By Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Enuma Okoro

Celtic Daily Prayer: Prayers and Readings From the Northumbria Community

Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle 

By Ted Loder

Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann 

By Walter Brueggemann

Prayers for a Privileged People 

By Walter Brueggemann

The Book of a Thousand Prayers

Compiled by Angela Ashwin

Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits 
Compiled by Michael Harter

For those on Facebook here is a great page of prayers from Christine Sine..."LIKE" it! 

Light for the Journey

2011 Reads & Looking Ahead to 2012

Thanks to Goodreads for helping me easily compile my list of books read in 2011! All good books that uniquely spoke into my year and further shaped my formation.

- Gracias! A Latin American Journal, Henri Nouwen
- Praying our Goodbyes, Joyce Rupp
- Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes, William Bridges
- The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective, Richard Rohr
- The Road To Assisi: The Essential Biography Of St. Francis, Paul Sabatier (Editor, Jon Sweeny)
- Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire
- Living Mission: The Voices and Vision of New Friars, Scott Bessenecker
- An Ignatian Spirituality Reader, George W. Traub
- The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett
- Waiting for the Light: An Advent Devotional, Christine Sine
- Monastery Journey to Christmas, Brother Victor-Antoine D’Avila-Latourrette

Next up in 2012…
This week I started compiling my reading list for 2012. I’m hoping to work in more fiction and autobiographies this year! Here’s my wish list for reads, so far…

- The Sacrament of the Present Moment, Jean-Pierre de Caussade
- Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter (Orbis Books)
- The Long Loneliness: Autobiography of Legendary Catholic Activist, Dorothy Day
- The Seven Storey Mountain: An Autobiography of Faith, Thomas Merton
- Life of Pi, Yann Martel
- Hearts On Fire: Praying with Jesuits, Edited by Michael Harter, SJ
- The Scandal of Service: Jesus Washes Our Feet, Jean Vanier
- From Brokenness to Community, Jean Vanier
- Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, David J Bosch

Yesterday I came across the below quote on “spiritual reading” from Jean-Pierre de Caussade in Richard Foster’s introduction to the book, The Sacrament of the Present Moment. I appreciate this reminder for a few of the books I plan to read this year.

“Read quietly, slowly, word for word to enter into the subject more with the heart than the mind…From time to time make short pauses to allow these truths time to flow through the recesses of the soul and to give occasion for the operation of the Holy Spirit who, during these peaceful pauses and times of silent attention, engraves and imprints these heavenly truths in the heart…Should this peace and rest last for a longer time it will be all the better. When you find that your mind wanders resume your reading and continue thus, frequently, renewing these same pause.” 

Prayers for 2012

As I begin 2012 there are a few prayers and quotes of inspiration that I plan to keep close at hand these first weeks of the new year. Thanks to my friends in my blogosphere who have shared them.

Help Me to Believe in Beginnings...HERE
Posted on Prayers & Creeds. Shared by my friend Ben.

Prayer for 2012...HERE
Shared by Christine Sine on Godspace.

Orthodox Morning Prayer from the Elders of Optino...HERE
Posted on Prayers & Creeds. Shared by my friend Adam.

And...for my Spanish speaking friends, this quote from Eduardo Galeano. Shared by my friend Carolina.

Ojalá seamos dignos de la desesperada esperanza. 

Ojalá podamos tener el coraje de estar solos y la valentía de arriesgarnos a estar juntos, porque de nada sirve un diente fuera de la boca, ni un dedo fuera de la mano. 

Ojalá podamos ser desobedientes, cada vez que recibimos órdenes que humillan nuestra conciencia o violan nuestro sentido común. 

Ojalá podamos ser tan porfiados para seguir creyendo, contra toda evidencia, que la condición humana vale la pena, porque hemos sido mal hechos, pero no estamos terminados.

Ojalá podamos ser capaces de seguir caminando los caminos del viento, a pesar de las caídas y las traiciones y las derrotas, porque la historia continúa, más allá de nosotros, y cuando ella dice adiós, está diciendo: hasta luego.

Ojalá podamos mantener viva la certeza de que es posible ser compatriota y contemporáneo de todo aquel que viva animado por la voluntad de justicia y la voluntad de belleza, nazca donde nazca y viva cuando viva, porque no tienen fronteras los mapas del alma ni del tiempo. 

2011: My Year of Stability

My friend Daphne recently posted an article on her blog about “Choosing to Name Your Year”…HERE.  “A year name can help align us with purpose and help us live our days more fully focused on what we are committed to.” While I am still considering what I will name my 2012, I am recognizing that I named my 2011 without even fully realizing it.

2011 was my year of stability.

This season of growing in stability actually began back in July 2010 when our WMF Staff Gathering focused on the theme of stability. The book, The Wisdom of Stability: Rooting Faith in a Mobile Culture by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove was our primary guide. I highly recommend this book. It is up there as a top book that has formed and shaped my life. In the book Wilson-Hartgrove points us towards Benedictine spirituality and rhythm of life as our example. The Benedictine Rule requires commitment to stability, fidelity to monastic life, and obedience. Benedict put stability first. “If we’re going to climb Jacob’s ladder toward the humility of Jesus, Benedictine wisdom says the first thing need is a stable place to begin.” You can read some of my favorite quotes from the book…HERE.

Then last January I wrote “Attentiveness and Call to Place,” posted on This Ignatian Life blog….HERE.  In the article I wrote, “This new year I desire to do just that. I intend to make effort for more exercises like my Christmas top ten. I plan to pay attention to the things I love about the city, culture, and people of Buenos Aires. I trust that this posture will enable me to more deeply embrace and share in the fullness of life with those I am called to serve among.” And I did just that. I identified and shared eight of my favorite things about life in Buenos Aires throughout 2011 here on my blog. I am still hoping to round out a top ten before too long.

The image of trees and roots became my symbol of stability. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove speaks of establishing ‘roots of love’ that bind us “intimately to our landscape and the people who share life on it.” He goes on to say, “If the love of God and neighbor is our end goal, roots of love in stability are the means God has given for making progress in this life.” The depth and reach of our roots directly impacts the reach of our limbs and fruit we bear. Fortunately, Buenos Aires is full of trees. So, I spent a lot of time paying attention to trees. I did not lack reminders of my desire to grow deeper roots of stability this past year.

So, as I close out 2011 tonight, I begin with gratitude to God for my year of stability. Grateful for the meaningful ways my roots have deepened in community and place. Grateful for those who have encouraged me and accompanied me along the way in this desire for stability. Thank you!

Tomorrow I begin the new year seeking to name my 2012. While I intend to give it some more space to take shape, I believe it will have something to do with “living in the present moment.” Stay tuned!

Reflecting on 2011

This morning I stumbled on this reflection exercise in a prayer book I recently purchased, Hearts on Fire: Praying with the Jesuits edited by Michael Harter, SJ. The below reflection questions were proposed by Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit from India. While the questions are proposed to reflect on a lifetime (a pretty big undertaking!), I think they could also be valuable in reflecting on a year. Perhaps some of the questions could be useful in reflecting on 2011 this New Year’s weekend.

I also recommend this blog article from my friend Daphne, as you look forward to 2012...Choosing to Name Your Year.  More soon on this one!

A Testament
I imagine that today I am to die. I ask for time to be alone and write down for friends a sort of testament for which the points that follow could serve as chapter titles.

1. These things I have loved in life:
    Things I tasted,
    looked at,
    smelled,
    heard,
    touched.
2. These experiences I have cherished.
3. These ideas have brought me liberation.
4. These beliefs I have outgrown.
5. These convictions I have lived by.
6. These are things I have lived for.
7. These insights I have gained I the school of life:
    Insights into God,
    the world,
    human nature,
    Jesus Christ,
    love,
    religion,
    prayer.
8. These risks I have took,
    these dangers I have courted.
9. These sufferings have seasoned me.
10. These lessons life has taught me.
11. These influences have shaped my life
  (persons, occupations, books, events).
12. These Scripture texts have lit my path.
13. These things I regret about my life.
14. These are my life achievements.
15. These persons are enshrined within my heart.
16. These are my unfilled desired.

I choose an ending for this document:
    a poem – my own or someone else’s,
  or a prayer,
  a sketch or a picture from a magazine,
  a Scripture text,
  or anything that I judge would be
    an apt conclusion to my testament.

~ Anthony De Mello, SJ