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Pax et Bonum The Online worship resource for St. James Parish The mind is its own place, and in itself,
can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven. ---John Milton---
You who are over us, Shadowlands
Periodically, I come home to Chico to visit my father, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease about 10 years ago. Until recently, it has been a slow decline, now speeding up, and accompanied with physical disabilities that make life doubly difficult for him and his wife, who is his primary caregiver. I watch her patiently deal with his mood swings, his forgetfulness, his insistence on having his own way. I am little more than an observer, living so far away; there is very little I can do to help, other than try to make life a bit easier for the few days that I am here. I can suggest they consider a nearby assisted-living community; I can let them know my own concerns; but it is their life that must be lived, and I cannot control its outcome, as much as I would like to. Today, as I sit at a favorite coffee house while they nap, I struggle with a question many of us face: Where is God found when those we love enter into the Shadowlands of dementia? Some psychologists believe that those with cognitive impairment are actually closer to God's Spirit. Perhaps that is true. It is something we cannot know. What we can know is that, somehow, in unseen ways, God is at work. We often cannot comprehend it, for we are outcome oriented. We want to fix the problem in some way - by making sure our loved ones are in a safe place, or by trying to care for them ourselves. For my parents, God's grace is found elsewhere, outside of my influence and interference. Perhaps the lesson is like many of the lessons we have learned in this Lenten season - it is a lesson about Sabbath. We must stop our work, get out of the way, and allow God to do God's work. It doesn't mean we do nothing; it means we are made aware once again that we are not, after all, in control.
Father of light,
 Debra's Midweek Meditation The Imitation of Christ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, Phil 2:5
As we pray, we begin to harmonize, not just our hearts, but our minds, with the mind that was in Christ Jesus. Another way of translating this verse is to say, "let the same attitude be in you that was in Christ Jesus."
This is a way of telling us to lean into the same posture that Jesus had.
The mind, the attitude, and the heart are all involved in this posture of imitation. And I want to suggest a book that has been used for 500 years to inspire and encourage seekers and saints.
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a' Kempis.
"HE WHO follows Me, walks not in darkness," says the Lord. By these words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Daily Morning Prayer:
Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. This Week at St. James:
Wednesday: 6pm Soup Supper;
7pm Contemplative Eucharist with Charlie+ Prayers Etc.
For those on our prayer list:
For Laura our Seminarian, and Lyle her husband.
Our Father, you called us and saved us in order to make us like your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Change us, day by day, by the work of your Holy Spirit so that we may grow more like him in all that we think and say and do, to his glory. AmenIn Closing:
"Gently"
Pax et Bonum, |
Greetings from Northern California, where the lupin and poppies are in bloom, the trees are budding, and there is a fragrance of spring in the air. How lucky I am to experience two springs this year! First this lovely respite in March, and later the delight of Spring in Monkton.
The Christian prayer life may be summed up in this verse from Philippians.