Hurricanes and God

"Unthinkable Devastation" reads the headline on CNN.com as I check on the latest update on Hurricane Sandy.  Other sub-headlines:

7.5 million without electricity

New York's worst storm ever

New York subways flooded

Many still trapped

We can be grateful in our modern times that at least we knew it was coming and could prepare somewhat for it.  But we are never REALLY prepared to see the kind of destruction mother nature can unleash.  And even in the midst of the best precautions, people can still get hurt or die.  

Our world is a dangerous place to live.

I often wonder when a terrible natural disaster takes place where God is in all of it.  I can tick off a few in recent memory:  the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 was a heartbreaker - over 250,000 people died;  Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the earthquake/tsunami off the coast of Japan in 2011.

I ran across an interesting book a few years ago that tries to make some sense of it all.  It's called Creation Untamed, the Bible, God and Natural Disasters by Terence E. Fretheim.

His premise is stated like this:  "God created the world good, not perfect.  For most people, perfect means something like "without fault, defect, or inadequacy, or in no need of improvement or development to be what it truly is."  The word 'good' however is different in its basic sense and needs closer attention."

He starts with the basic creation text from Genesis.  "Several clues in the text demonstrate that 'perfect' is not the appropriate way to assess the creational situation.  For one if the creation were perfect, how could anything go wrong, such as is reported in the chapters that follow?"

He also talks about the mess of creativity.  "Mess is the precondition of creativity.  Risks abound in every creative enterprise; indeed, risk is essential to the meaning of creativity.  Out of the mess, love and beauty and peace often slowly emerge.  To be a creator entails an almost infinite tolerance of messiness, of inefficiency.   The moment that tidiness and strict orderliness become the rule of the day, creativity is inhibited and the appearance of the genuinely new slows way down.  Natural disasters come into view!"

"God as it were does not paint by numbers.  God gives to creation the continuing capacity not only to be itself, to become what it was created to be, but also to develop into something more."

I think all of the above is food for thought.  Think of the beauty of Crater Lake in Oregon that was created because of volcanic activity thousands of years ago.  Or the crushing ice during the ice ages that carved out canyons of great beauty.

However, none of this is consoling if your house has just been destroyed by a hurricane.  But what I see happening here in the Midwest during this time are trucks leaving Kansas City stocked with food items, water and other essentials heading east to help those in need.  And this is happening all over.  If nothing else, disasters like this certainly remind us how much we humans need each other.  And perhaps for a little while, all our little petty problems get put into perspective.  

Our prayers go out to all in harm's way!

Doing nothing...

Clyde has lots of beautiful maples

October is one of my favorite months.  I love the chill in the air...the explosion of colors as trees prepare to shed their leaves...the harvest of crops carefully tended over the previous months.

It is a month in which I like to make my retreat.  Every year each sister in our community gets 8 days of retreat.  We can choose to make a preached retreat or a private retreat; stay at home or go elsewhere.  We relish in the solitude and silence afforded to us at this time.  I was supposed to be making retreat in a house high on Mt. Lemon in Arizona this week but because of my back injury, my plans had to change.   While that is disappointing, I am more grateful that I can walk almost normally again!   So disappointment has been transformed into gratitude and I am making my retreat here in the comfort of my own monastery in Clyde. 

Retreat for me is about having large blocks of unstructured time in which to do...nothing. 

This does not mean I become some sort of sloth hanging from a tree.  Doing ‘nothing’ is about taking time to notice what God has put in front of me.   (so maybe in that sense I should be a sloth and just hang around enjoying the NOW)   It means I can actually sit down and watch the leaves leap from the trees without worrying that I need to be somewhere else.   Watching them fall always reminds me about the importance of being able to let go - a very important part of the spiritual life and any discernment process.  This season must end.  It’s time to shed what needs to be shed and rest for a time before the new growth begins again.   I might as well enjoy that brief dance on the wind in the midst of letting go!

Retreat means putting myself out of reach...to others but not to God...no checking e-mail...no cell phone...no talking.  Try going 8 days without talking to anyone...it's wonderful when you get used to it.

      

Retreat means I can sit outside as the sun is setting and feel the day turn into night.  It happens very subtly...to notice it takes time and attention...something I probably don’t do on a daily basis.    My patience was rewarded a couple nights ago with a spectacular magenta explosion on the western horizon.  Beauty that is fleeting and will fade is the most precious.   Why do I not take time more often to notice?  I let busyness get in the way. 

Normally I do lots of hiking/walking during my retreat.  This year I just have to take slower walks...which as it turns out...is probably better.  I can often be in a hurry to see the next vista or what’s around the next curve.  This year I am spending more time at the ‘stopping places’ to ponder and praise.

I spend time outdoors because it’s always been a place where I could quiet my soul and it’s always been a place for me to study the artistry of God.  I, for one, cannot look at the beauty in nature and not think there is a Creator behind it.  To have just happened on it’s own because of evolution over time is not a sufficient answer for me. 

As a biologist, I learned about trees, chlorophyll production and why leaves turn color in autumn.  It is my FAITH, however, that causes me to be amazed and awed by the beauty of reds, yellows, rusts, oranges and browns in what is normally green...and to give thanks for it.   

You know what is the best thing about making retreat in October this year?   For 8 days I can be out of reach of negative political ads that tell half-truths.  Now that is worth turning everything off for!

The Year of Faith

The Year of Faith kicked off this past Thursday, Oct 11.  It is the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Vatican II and the 20th anniversary of the most recently published Catechsim.   So...just what is a Year of Faith?  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explains:

The upcoming Year of Faith declared by Pope Benedict XVI is a “summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the One Savior of the world” (Porta fidei 6). In other words, the Year of Faith is an opportunity for Catholics to experience a conversion – to turn back to Jesus and enter into a deeper relationship with him. The pope has described this conversion as opening the “door of faith” (see Acts 14:27). The “door of faith” is opened at one’s baptism, but during this year Catholics are called to open it again, walk through it and rediscover and renew their relationship with Christ and his Church.

Every baptized Catholic is called through baptism to be a disciple of Christ and proclaim the Gospel. The Year of Faith is an opportunity for each and every Catholic to renew their baptismal call by living out the everyday moments of their lives with faith, hope and love. This everyday witness is necessary for proclaiming the Gospel to family, friends, neighbors and society.

or if you want to know everything there is to possibly know, and I am SURE you do, you can go to the official home page for the Year of faith http://www.annusfidei.va/content/novaevangelizatio/en.html

One of the things we Catholics are encouraged to do during this year is read the Catechism.  As I was nosing around on Fr. Robert Barron’s website http://www.wordonfire.org, I found a great link to help study the Catechism this year http://www.flocknote.com/catechism.  When you subscribe, you get an e-mail each day with a portion of the Catechism and so in 365 days, you will have read the entire book.  Now that doesn’t sound too difficult so I signed up.  I have read portions of the Catechism but not the whole thing straight through.

As an interesting historical note, our sister archivist shared with us what our community did back on October 11, 1962.  

We rose at 2:30am this morning in order to have the community Mass at 3 am - in Rome this was 11am and the opening Mass of the Ecumenical Council was being celebrated...we had the votive Mass of the Maternity of Mary.  May she who is the Mother of the mystical Body help us her children to achieve that unity so desired by her Divine Son.  At 9 o’clock this morning all our tower bells rang for 10 minutes to signal the beginning of the Council.  We could hear the echo from the Conception Abbey bells and though our hands were busy with the 65 bushels of pears needing attention at the canning, our thoughts were in Rome, praying the Holy Spirit to hover above all the proceedings.

Our community has talked about some things we might want to do for the Year of Faith and I’m so glad one of them was NOT that we get up at 3am like we did 50 years ago!  :)  One of the first things we are going to do is watching some footage from the opening and have our elder sisters share what it was like for them to live through that time.  In various discussions before the Council actually convened, Pope John XXIII often said that it was time to open the windows of the Church to let in some fresh air.  Those of us who are post Vatican II will never be able to quite comprehend the impact it had on our church and the excitement it generated at that time.  

It has also been a walk in faith as I recover from my back injury 3 weeks ago.  I have faith that it WILL get better but it just isn't happening as quickly as I want it to!   My physical problem is peanuts compared to what a lot of people go through.  It is surely an act of God's grace when people can retain their faith in the midst of incredible suffering and tragedy.   As we begin this Year of Faith I'm going to strive to be thankful for the gift of faith I do have and ask for perseverance in the midst of this sometimes crazy world.

The hunchback of Clyde, MO

I took an unexpected hiatus from my blog when I injured my back 2 weeks ago on Saturday.   I wasn’t lifting correctly and my back proceeded to let me know it!  I thought it would be okay, it’s not the first time I’ve done something I shouldn’t have, but when I woke up Sunday I was in agony.   By Tuesday I was at the emergency room begging for any sort of pain killer they might be willing to give me.   A CT scan revealed a bulging disc.  Needless to say I spent most of that week flat on my back laying on my bed in my bedroom.   Sitting was nigh on to impossible so even trying to work in my office was out of the question.  

That gets boring after awhile...staring at the ceiling...watching the light from the window increase and fade as day turns into night and vice versa.  Kind sisters would bring up meals for me and attend to my needs. 

What does a Sister do when laid up?  Ideally, you would think she would have more time to pray but in reality, if you don’t feel good or you are in pain it’s hard to concentrate and pray.  My prayer was an ‘offering up’ of my pain for the suffering Body of Christ and an occasional  Rosary or Divine Mercy chaplet.  It would feel good to just hold the beads in my hand, even if I couldn’t concentrate on any words.  I also have a little wooden cross that is meant to be held in your hand when you can’t pray with words.  It’s edges are soft and it’s shaped to ‘fit’ your hand...sometimes just holding that was my prayer.  

I spent a lot of time listening to NPR, EWTN radio and read a lot of books.    I thought with all this available time I might as well start on some Classics I've always wanted to read.  They had to be light paperbacks because I was flat on my back holding them above me.  (not easy to do for a long period of time but it did get me through some rather sleepless nights) 

So I started with The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.   (One of my sisters laughed at the irony of the title with my own back situation, it WAS rather amusing) I moved on to One Day in the LIfe of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and waded through Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.   For some reason I had picked tragic tales...or perhaps a lot of the Classics ARE tragic tales...but I slipped in Catholicism by Fr. Robert Barron for more uplifting reading.  I highly recommend his book or his DVD series and his website. 

Every time I’m laid up with sickness or injury I tell myself I will never take my health for granted again.   And that’s true immediately after my recovery but then it’s not long before I have forgotten.  That’s typical...our life resumes its normal course.   I’m in good shape, I expect to get my former life back!   

But I’m hoping, at least for awhile, that I will take noticeable joy in being able to walk pain free, relishing each step instead of just rushing down the hall in order to get to my office, chapel or wherever I am supposed to be next.  Living mindfully is difficult, it takes practice, and it is probably brought to our attention mostly when we get knocked off our feet for awhile.   So, I can at least be grateful for that particular lesson from these past 2 weeks.   I'm just sorry it usually takes a 'crisis' to remind me!