Advent Retreat Online

Today I’d like to share with you several meditations from my Advent Retreat, which focused on the Infancy Narratives – the stories of the conception, birth and infancy of Jesus found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. 

If you simply want to listen to the meditations (which are about 10 minutes each), you will find them below – one based on Matthew’s Infancy Narrative (Mt. 1-2), and the other based on Luke’s (Lk. 1-2). 

If you would like a fuller retreat experience, follow the link below.  There you will find everything on one page:  a short “Introduction to the Infancy Narratives” (pdf) that will help you compare Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts (you’ll be amazed how different they are!), links to the texts of the Infancy Narratives, the audio meditations, and reflection questions to correspond with the meditations.

Feel free to share with others, especially those who may not be able to get out for a parish retreat.  We can bring a retreat to them!

CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO AND PRINT MATERIALS: ADVENT RETREAT ONLINE.

John Mosiman, courtesy of The Sacred Art Pilgrim (sacredartpilgrim.com).

The Sacred Art Pilgrim

As you all know, I choose the artwork that goes along with my blog posts very carefully and deliberately.  In fact, sometimes it takes me longer to find the art than to write the post!  It is my hope that the art I select resonates with the words you read and that your mind is filled with beauty, understanding and ideas.  Above all, I want to communicate to you in both word and image that there is something mysterious, powerful and transformative happening in our lives all the time.  I want to believe this myself, and art (like words) helps me believe it and, hopefully, communicate it. 

Last week I discovered a treasure trove of sacred art, and I thought many of you would like to explore this treasure for yourselves.  John Kohan, an international journalist by trade (over 20 years with TIME magazine) and a sacred artist by nature, has set out to gather and display – on his website – beautiful, modern, sacred art.  His collection includes religious art from all over the world in a variety of media and styles. 

You can visit John’s website here:  The Sacred Art Pilgrim.  If you click on “sacred art meditations” (at the top right of his homepage), you can select moments from the life of Christ, themes of faith, or other bible stories, and can view relevant art along with Bible readings, meditations and explanations.  Or you can click on “sacred artists” and view a variety of gorgeous art collected there, along with interesting information about the artists.

John’s own first piece of sacred art was a pencil drawing of the sower and the seed that he drew at six years old (which I would like to see, but it does not yet appear on the site!).  His lifelong journey through sacred art is ours to behold.  

Rise and Walk

John Mosiman

And the Sea Stopped Raging

Barry Moser

Psalm XXIII

Sandra Bowden

Station VII

Pat Allman-Smith

The New Jerusalem

John Kohan

St. Francis

David da Costa

Entombment of Christ

The Kelogregovi Sisters

Annunciation III

Frank Humphrey Allen

Transfigure Me, Lord

In preparation for an upcoming talk on aging as a time of spiritual grace, I’ve been thinking a lot about the changes we undergo as we age.  I wrote this litany for the program, and I wanted to share it here. 

Whether we are growing old or just growing older, the transitions and challenges we face can be painful.  But as in all kinds of change, in nature and in life, through pain and transition, we can become something new.  In our surrenders, we find the new life we have longed for. 

Like Christ on the mountain, we are transfigured as we age.  We are changed from within and without.  Outwardly we age; inwardly we can be illuminated.  Like the Transfigured Christ, we can shine like the sun!

So pray with me:  “Transfigure me, Lord!”  Click on the file below to view or print the litany.

Transfigure Me, Lord:  An Aging Prayer.pdf

Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Lover of Solitude

I’ve been wanting to share this litany for a while now, and the intensely prayerful season of Lent is the perfect time to do so!  This is not the typical “Litany of the Sacred Heart” that you find in most prayer books or around on the internet.  This litany comes from the “Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book,” a remnant from my Episcopal days and still one of my favorite prayer resources.  You’ll understand why when you read this litany!

As you pray it, reflect on the meaning of solitude.  Solitude is withdrawal from the world – it is quiet and peace, being alone, or being alone with someone you love.  You can seek solitude by going to a quiet place – or you can find it anytime by withdrawing into yourself and seeking only Christ, who waits for you patiently.  As you pray this litany, solitude just falls around you, or you fall into solitude.  Here you spend time with Jesus who loves solitude, and who loves you.

Please click the link below for a pdf of the litany to view or print:

Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Lover of Solitude

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter that house.  Revelation 3:20

10 Reasons to Fast

Here is a resource called "10 Reasons to Fast" (PDF).  It seemed like the appropriate day to share this since we are kicking off Lent with a good old-fashioned day of fasting. 

There are a lot of good reasons to fast.  My favorite reason today?  Because it is something we do together.

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