3/4/2008
Happiness
Our mission begins with
our faith in the Resurrection
which sends us out
on the path of Jesus
in hope and love
to all the world
Spirit and Lifestyle
Archbishop Romero put it clearly in Louvain, Belgium, in his
acceptance speech for an honor conferred on him on Feb. 2, 1980:
We believe in Jesus who came to bring life in its fulness, and we
believe in a God who gives life to human beings and wants them truly
to live. These radical truths of faith really become truths, and
radical truths, when the church takes its place amid the life and
death of its people. Here the church, like every human being, is
faced with the choice that is most fundamental for its faith: to be
on the side of life or on the side of death. We see very clearly that
on this point no neutrality is possible. Either we serve the life of
the Salvadoran people or we connive in their death. Here too, is the
historical mediation of what is most fundamental in the Christian
faith, either we believe in a God of life or we serve the idols of
death.
3/11/2008
As lay persons we wish
to demonstrate
the ability of all
men and women to be
fully committed Christians
whilst pursuing
our own lifestyles
and work in the world.
We do not separate
our mission as Christians
from our day to day life.
Spirit and Lifestyle
I never cease to marvel at the wisdom found in Spirit and Lifestyle.
In We Drink from Our Own Wells (Gustavo Guttierrez), I retrace
Edwina's experience - that encounter which is "not only a point of
departure but a permanent wellspring of life.... a privileged moment
of grace, discovery, searching, and life... Such experiences are the
source of a great spiritual freedom." It is the well from which
Edwina drinks.
The theology comes afterward. Edwina took that spiritual experience
and made it a subject for reflection. This made it easier to
communicate as well as to exercise discernment regarding it. "To
reflect theologically on a spiritual experience means to work through
it by relating it to the Word of the Lord, to the thinking of one's
own age, and to other ways of understanding the following of Jesus."
"A spiritual experience and the ensuing reflection on it are not the
end of the line; that would be a denial of their very meaning. On the
contrary, they are offered to the ecclesial community as a way of
being Christian. As "a" way, not "the" way of being Christian. A
spirituality is only one expression of that diversity of charisms in
the church of which Paul speaks so often.... The depth of the
spiritual experience from which they sprang, as well as the amplitude
of the theological reflection that they inspired, have kept them alive."
This why it is so important to reread Spirit and Lifestyle and also
to return to our own "wells" and to drink from them, reflect and act.
"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly,
now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to
complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it." - The Talmud
3/18/2008
Sum Up Your Life
We wish to ground our own
personal and spiritual growth
in striving to become fully human
within the context of
our work and service in the world.
We represent a wide variety
of charisms and lifestyles
and may be distinctive only
by our commitment and openness
to the Spirit of God.
Each VMM missionary
takes personal responsibility
to seek and pursue
fullness of Christian faith
in his or her own situation
and lifestyle.
Spirit and Lifestyle
The Table-talk chat room asked its participants to "sum up your life
in six words." Among the entries so far:
"They don't hear unless I yell."
"Broke. Payday. Broke. Payday. Broke. Payday."
"I took my placebo, feel better."
"Didn't do what I should have."
"Oh, no, not again. Again. Again."
I don't suppose a chat room is where you would expect the most
edifying thoughts, but these entries made me think of what I would
write.
Here's mine:
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
Yours?
3/25/2008
We Are Easter People
Aware of the
support and prayer
of the whole VMM,
our task
is to be true Christian witnesses
in the world,
with that freedom and flexibility
that invites and embraces all.
We recognize that
we need each other.
We are a community-based movement
that stresses and encourages
the value of
praying together, working together,
and sharing our Christian journey.
We believe that it is through
our shared and reflected experience
in family and community
that we will truly
grow together
deepening our spirituality and making
a difference in our World.
Spirit and Lifestyle
I finally printed and read the last issue of Bridges last week. I saw
in there so much of what this passage from Spirit and Lifestyle talks
about: freedom and flexibility, community, shared and reflected
experience, making a difference in our World. I invite you this week
to reread Bridges and also to reflect on your favorite phrases from
this passage. I also invite you to make one positive gesture this
week: thank a journalist for a good story; write a letter to the
editor; speak to someone you often see but whom you don't know; go
through your address book and choose someone to contact this week; etc.
We are Easter People making a difference in our world.
Cecily
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