Faith & Life Inspirational Message

I enjoyed reading the recent, short review of Franciscan Ilio Delio’s biography, Birth of a Dancing Star: My Journey from Cradle Catholic to Cyborg Christian.  Nichole Carruba writes the kind of review which is quite helpful.  She offers a summary insight into the main themes of the book.  In the middle of her own insights, Carruba sprinkles in a number of quotations from the book.  These appropriately tempt us to buy the book and see for ourselves.  Since I like Delio’s work, this was a no-brainer for me. Carruba opens her review with the acknowledgement that many of us struggle with the two arenas of science and religion.  Some religious folks simply punt and think only religion, the Bible or some authority like this contains any truth.  They become functional illiterates in contemporary culture.  We all know the other extreme.  Scientists consider any type of religion as pure folly and they proclaim with fervor equally to that of any preacher that only science has final say on what’

I lived long enough and taught long enough, I recognize for myself, at least, there are some basic human truths.  I am not bold enough to claim I know these truths are truths for everyone, but I also know they are true for me.  And they are true for many of the people I spend time with---students, coaches and so forth.  What this means in some ways is life efficiency.  It seems funny to write that, because in many ways I am not very concerned about efficiency.  But by life efficiency I mean I don’t spend time anymore wondering if these things are true for me.  I can give you three examples of human truths for me.  These three come from the work of Gerald May, the late psychiatrist and long-time teacher at Shalem, the spirituality center in Washington, DC.  May says that humans aim for three things in life: identity, meaning and belonging.  I have thought about that quite a bit and I concur.  It is true for me personally and it seems true for many with whom I spend time.  There is not t

I come from the generation of Americans who never thought much about the phenomenon of midwifery.  I am not even sure when I first learned of the term or knew exactly what it meant.  In its original meaning, it probably designated those folks who were willing and able to assist women in the birth of a child.  No doubt, virtually all of the midwifes were women.  They were a kind of sage---a woman wise because of her knowledge and experience.  It does not mean that men couldn’t have been a midwife, but it would be rare.  Today, of course, that is changing.    I learned much of what I know from my two daughters.  They used midwives in their labor, delivery and time after the new baby arrived.  Midwives don’t necessarily replace the physician, but they are assistants in the process.  In most cases, the midwife knows enough to help the birthing mother manage the birth.  The doctor is there in an emergency.  Today’s midwife typically has gone through some extensive training.  But there is

Traditionally, Quakers and Protestants have not talked about formation.  I learned that this language is used to describe the process of training Catholic priests and religious---like monks and nuns.  A couple assumptions are behind the idea of soul formation.  In the first place, it is assumed that humans have a soul.  Or, as I like to put it, humans are souls.  Secondly, it is assumed souls can be formed.  I like the image of formation.  It is easy to think of a potter who throws some clay on the wheel and with deft hands begins to form some object---like a cup or pot.  The analogy works well when I think about souls being formed. As Quakers and non-Catholics became more versed in spirituality, clearly some of the language from Catholicism crept into our language.  I know in my own case, much of my graduate education came within a liturgical context, i.e. a course taken at a Jesuit institution, or at least my classroom had a significant number of Catholic students.  And quite a few

Near the beginning of Brian Doyle’s wonderful book, Eight Whopping Lies , we find a great line that gives us the title of this inspirational piece.  Before getting to that, however, let me establish the context so that you will appreciate it when it comes.  Doyle’s book is a series of short thirty-eight essays.  They are extremely well-written.  It takes a few reads to begin getting used to his style.  The essay I want to use he simply entitles, “100th St.” It opens innocently.  “ By chance I was in New York City seven months after September 11…” (3)  He adds, “…and I saw a moment that I shall turn over and over in my mind like a puzzle, like a koan, like a prism.”  Doyle continues to develop the essay.  He describes attending a conference, which bored him with its people and presentations.  He says he is “weary of it all, weary of being sermonized by pompous authority, weary of the cocksure and the arrogant and the tin-eared…”  So he went for a walk in Manhattan.  And he wound up in a

I would like to share a personal story which touched me when it happened.  And reflecting on the story lets me see the meaningfulness of it for helping others in dealing with folks from another faith tradition.  It is also a story of serendipity, since I did not see this whole thing coming my way. The story begins in a relationship I have with a friend.  This friend and I have done a significant amount of work together, but much of the work is done singly and then we talk on the phone or get together for short periods of time.  The work is not necessarily religious in nature, so we are not spending time sitting around talking about religion and spirituality.  And it is probably worth noting that my friend is Jewish, but not really a practicing Jew.  I respect that and have felt no need to probe.  I am content simply to let his story come out as he sees fit. Recently we had occasion to spend some more time together.  We had a plane trip together and then a couple evenings over a meal an

The title of this inspirational piece might be a bit off putting or even misleading.  I will try to clarify as I go forward.  The title came to me as I was reading an insightful essay on love by Heidi Russell, whom I do not know personally.  Russell is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Pastoral Studies at the University of Loyola in Chicago.  The title of her essay is revealing: “Love leads to suffering, but we take the risk to love because we must.” Her essay begins in this compelling fashion.  "God never promised us that we would not suffer."  For most of us, this sounds like bad news.  If you were like me, I always hoped somehow God could step in and make things better when all else failed.  A God who could not---or would not---do this is some kind of rinky God.  And this is where Heidi Russell also was, theologically speaking, at the beginning of the essay.  Her opening words came when Russell joined a friend at the bedside of a 27-year old woman and mother who

I was recently reading and ran across the name of Vaclav Havel and some of his writings.  Young folks today would not know about him.  Even I have to recognize it has been a long time since he was a factor in the news.  I was surprised, however, to learn that he died in 2011.  I thought it was longer ago.  I remember being impressed with him---both as a writer and as a politician/leader. He first came on the scene in my mind when I read about his involvement in the anti-communist movement in the 1970s and 80s.  He served multiple stints in prison because of his opposition.  In my mind he was a principled person who was standing up for the rights of his fellow citizens.  He played a key role in what was called the “Velvet Revolution,” which toppled Communism in 1989.  He then served as President of Czechoslovakia.  After Slovakia left the alliance with the Czech Republic, Havel served as President of that Republic.  I share this background in order that we might understand the one-l

It is not unusual in theology classes to talk about self-transcendence or, for that matter, God’s transcendence.  If we are talking about God, transcendence typically describes as the belief that somehow God is above or beyond our world.  Of course, these ideas of “above” or “beyond” are indeed descriptive.  They might be metaphorical or poetic ways of saying that God is “more” than the world.  These days I prefer the language of universe to world.  In my mind universe encompasses a bigger cosmology.  We know there are many universes in our galaxy and the many other galaxies.    When we use the language of transcending ourselves, it is similar to God.  Self-transcendence is a good way to talk about being more than self-absorbed or operating purely out of self-interest.  I would be kidding myself if I deny that some element of self-interest is in play in much of my life.  And I believe it is the same with most people, if not all.  Self-interest does not necessarily mean a bad thing. 

Reading through Viktor Frankl’s classic work, Man’s Search for Meaning , has been quite rewarding.  When you think you know a book fairly well, the discovery is normally two-fold.  Indeed, I do know the book fairly well.  The were no rash surprises, as I read it again.  But I also inevitably find things either I never saw the first couple times I read it or I have forgotten what a great point he makes here and there.  Such was the case again. Frankl was liberated from the concentration camp in 1945.  He lived a ripe, old age until 1997.  He continued being a therapist in his native Vienna, Austria.  He was friends with Freud and Jung, but developed his own approach to therapy.  It was the fancy work, logotherapy, to describe it.  Basically that is a combination of two Greek words which mean healing of the mind.  It is grounded in existential philosophy, if that means anything to you.  Frankl was more keen to talk about a person’s concrete situation in life and the future, rather than

I have been re-reading Viktor Frankl’s classic, Man’s Search for Meaning.  This is a powerful book, which impacts me every time I read pieces of it or even hear something about the book.  Frankl was Jewish and spent considerable time in various concentration campus four different ones) during WW II.  He is a psychiatrist or logotherapist, as he claims.  I won’t go into all that means, since it is not pertinent to what I want to give focus.  The book was originally published in German in 1946, very soon after the end of the war.  My front cover says there are more than 12 million copies in the world! Frankl died in 1997, so he lived a long life.  There is some controversy among Jews as to how much Frankl really suffered in the concentration camps and whether even before the war had troubling collaboration with the Nazis.  This is far too complicated for me and again not relevant for this inspirational reflection paper.  Whatever the truth of those times, Frankl’s work has impacted me an

Recently, I read a line from Harvard’s President, Larry Bacow.  At the moment it seemed profound and worth sharing.  He said, “A leader can plan…but not predict.”  (27)  My immediate response was to agree, but I realized I needed some time to sit with that and ponder it. I would like to do that here.  I may well take the short sentence in directions Bacow would not have considered, but that’s what good quotations are supposed to elicit. Clearly, Bacow is talking about leaders.  It is also clear he has himself in mind, but he is smart enough to know all the other leaders are in the same boat.  Surely, it is the responsibility of leaders to plan.  In most cases they are running businesses or non-profit organizations---all of whom want to survive and thrive in the years and decades ahead.  Because virtually all my adult life I have worked for non-profit organizations, I think even better planning is typically in order.  Most non-profits are scrambling to make it a few more months or years

There are many reasons I still enjoy teaching.  It is not normal for people my age to have so many friends in their late teens and early twenties.  If they knew how old I was, they would walk out of the classroom!  I think I have learned a few things over the years.  Mostly what I have learned is things I should not do.  For example, don’t give advice unless you are asked.  Even though I think I know some important things they should know and I should tell them, they don’t want to hear it.  It is ok to share some points if they ask.  But don’t sit around waiting for them to ask! Other things I have learned include not talking about what it was like when I was their age.  Again, they simply don’t care.  Or worse, they really don’t want to know what it was like when you were their age.  I can appreciate for many of them now, they were born in the twenty-first century.  More and more were not even born when 9-11 happened.  Of course, all of us older folks can’t believe that, but that is t

I read quite a bit.  Sometimes my reading is very intentional, such as reading things for class the next day.  I expect it of students; so why not expect it of myself?  Other times I read things for no particular reason other than I am curious and am intrigued whether I might learn something.  It is like talking with someone---maybe even a stranger---with no real intention in mind except to be in conversation.  I have a few things I regularly read.  Many of us have newsletters or magazines from the colleges and universities we attended.  When one of mine arrives, I often turn to the class notes section to see if anyone I know is mentioned.  I am old enough to check out the obituaries!  There are other professional journals I read with regularity.  I think it is important for me to keep up with the latest issues in the field of study I chose.  I am not reading for some utilitarian purpose---looking for something I am sure I will use.  Sometimes I simply want to know for the sake of kn

Regularly I read a religious periodical on line.  It is from the Catholic perspective, but I like seeing things from different angles.  Usually it resonates with my Quaker spirit and, often, I think they have a better take on things than my Quaker gang.  Long ago, I realized how important it was for me to have friends who come from different places than I do.  That is a great way to learn and a significant way to check my own assumptions and prejudices. I just ran across a neat little reflection piece by Pat Marrin.  With a name like Pat, I had no clue whether Pat was a woman or a man.  And it didn’t matter.  The title of the article was “New Wine,” which I have chosen as the title for my reflection in order to give Pat credit.  What she/he says in the article is worth sharing.  It is something I want to give more thought.  It is like putting a hard piece of candy in your mouth.  It takes a while to eat.  Probably like me, you play around with the candy in your mouth.  It is fun.  And

I just spent some time on the road.  Among the places I went was a trip back to Indiana where I lived before moving to my current location in another state.  I also was born and grew up in Indiana, so it certainly has been home for many years.  I left the state for college and graduate school, but wound up back in Indiana for my first teaching job.  So even though I had left my home state once, coming back seemed to solidify it as my home.  I didn’t give it much thought when I moved to another state to teach at another institution, but I suspect I felt like Indiana always would somehow be “home.”  I don’t think I considered I could love somewhere else long enough to become home.  I was ready to re-locate, appreciated my new position and didn’t give much thought to the process of adjusting to a new place and life.  Maybe adjustment is the right word.  Sometimes we are thrown into situations and we know for sure we will have to adjust.  I did enough funerals, I know the remaining spouse

Some things I regularly read, because I know the articles will inform and challenge me.  Among many I read, the National Catholic Reporter is one I began regularly reading years ago.  Part of the drive to read this one consistently is to expose myself to the people and issues in the contemporary Catholic world.  I have many Catholic friends and I like the Catholic Church, so I want to know what’s going on in that tradition.  And of course, the Pope---whoever he is over the years---is going to be in the news and, often, making the news. One of the regular writers for NCR is Bishop Thomas Gumbelton, retired Bishop of Detroit.  I like how he thinks and how he presents issues in a way that I have to think about them differently than I might.  I have never met him, but would very much like to do so.  Recently, he wrote a piece on humility.  I found it to be helpful and would like to share some with you. Gumbleton thinks many of the lessons of the day are meant to teach us humility.  On the

I remind myself it is important to have some fun.  Too often religion and spirituality are too serious.  Everything is a matter of life and death.  I think this is especially true for those who are too doctrinally driven.  Those folks worry too much about what other folks believe and don’t believe.  They are too quick to make judgments and often are found to be judgmental---although they never think they are!  And so in a spirit of fun, I ran across a wonderful little essay entitled, “A Pope Francis gargoyle now watches over Cologne cathedral.”  I have been to the cathedral in Cologne many times.  I lived a year in Germany and we were only a couple hours from that wonderful German city on the Rhine River.  In fact, I loved taking the train to Cologne.  As you near the heart of the city center, you can see the Gothic cathedral dominating the landscape.  Gothic cathedrals are always impressive to me.  Their towering spires literally inspire me.  They evoke a sense of transcendence---a