Dear Friends,
As the end of the year 2011 approaches, we pause again to contemplate where the year has taken us. Looking back, I can see that for the LHR management team it has been a year focused on study. As Counsellors and Course Facilitators, we are constantly drawn to continue our own personal and spiritual growth in order to be able to lead others in this journey of life. As our founder Br Paul used to say, You cant take someone where you havent been yourself. Having done the study, we are now preparing to put it into action, by offering some new programmes next year, as well as continuing our usual courses.
This year we have seen a number of natural disasters and I am always impressed by the goodness of people and how it comes to the fore at times like this. For example, in the flood areas, we saw people banding together to offer help to strangers. Also, the response of the Tongan and Samoan communities after that tragic fire and loss of eleven lives - supporting each other, praying and keeping vigil - Im sure was an inspiration to us all. Conversely, we have only to turn on the TV or read a newspaper, to see the opposite in human behaviour; senseless wars, fighting, injustice and corruption.
This leads me to contemplate the dual nature of our human condition. We live in a world of contrasts day and night, light and dark, joy and sadness, birth and death, action and rest. This duality is expressed in the Bible, God said Let there be a vault through the middle of the waters to divide the waters in two (Gen. 1:6). This separateness or division is present also within ourselves as human beings and is reflected in the constant struggle between good and evil, love and non-love.
Carl Jung saw life as a process of transformation that has a spiritual purpose beyond material goals, namely, to discover and fulfill our deep innate potential; a journey to meet the true or higher self and at the same time to meet the divine.
However, this is a difficult task. Along the way, we meet setbacks, hard times, disappointments, broken relationships, losses, all of which can cause us to lose our way. In order to find the way back, it is helpful to take the time to become conscious of what is happening, so that we can make healthy choices and restore balance. There are people all over the world now, choosing to actively participate in the transformation of consciousness. This involves choosing to pay attention to what is going on in our thoughts, beliefs, feelings, perceptions, and the affect our actions have on those around us.
As one writer puts it, All challenges in life give us the opportunity to work up spiritual strength in order to fulfill our life purposes. So rather than viewing the difficulties of life in a negative light, we can choose to see them as obstacles to be overcome and opportunities for further transformation.
In the words of Walt Emerson, What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
We wish you many blessings for the festive season and look forward to seeing you in the year ahead.
Trish Carter
On behalf of the Management Committee
Prepairing For Christmas
By Kay Curran
Well here we are planning for that wonderful feast of Christmas. I enjoy reflecting on the fact that our salvation is tied to the cradle and the cross. However our quiet reflections are often interrupted by concerns of getting the ham ordered and whether to get 1,2, or 3 chooks. And then there is the worry of the presents for all the family. Must think a bit harder this year about what to get dear Auntie Alice who was not too keen on the gloves we gave her last Christmas.
Oh sorry God, I am back again but I do find myself full of these bits and pieces occupying my mind instead of prayer! What I could do of course, is think a little harder about the St. Vinnies Christmas Hamper to be given to all the struggling families in our parish. Hmm, instead of just grabbing a couple of tins of ham and some Christmas cakes, I could put a bit more thought and prayer into my shopping for them and ask you to take care of them, as you do of course. I could always put some toys in for the kids and some lollies. So when I get stressed about my family, I need to turn to you and talk to you about these special families.
I just thought ... maybe I could give myself a Christmas present and make some special time to speak with you each day? And listen to you of course! I usually do as you know but I tend to get caught up in the worldly whirl. Help me please.
I will start today to think about Mary, your gift to us as our Mother... When I was pregnant and the baby was coming, I was whisked off to the hospital, to a private room but for Mary there wasnt even a room at the Inn. However, like a good husband Joseph made her comfortable with love and attention.
Then the child was born and no family to visit with flowers and gifts, just the humble shepherd sent by an Angel. And lets not forget the 3 wise men who brought gifts as an early acknowledgement of his Kingship... and there was Mary the Mother and Joseph in his role as husband and father warmly welcoming these unusual visitors. Its just as you continue to welcome all of us who call on you. I wonder if the dads of this world realise how much they can learn from Joseph ...
Thank you God for listening. I feel much better and have decided to give Auntie Alice an extra hug and a regular phone call as well as the gloves or soap or hankies this year.We hear so much these days about how difficult it is for families in this crazy secular world we have helped to create. This Christmas I will try and remember less is more especially if it releases us to reach out in a different Mary and Joseph way to our families and to our neighbours. There, I was feeling frustrated and worried about Christmas but with your help I now feel quite calm and renewed. It really is true Nothing is impossible to You.
Take Time
By R. Wullems
We live in a fast paced culture, constantly pressed backwards and forwards in a race that does not seem to want to slow down. Demands from family, friends, work, and social engagements are often upon us and seem to have the power to shape the trend of our every days life. We tend to treat our bodies as indestructible machines and when they stop (rebellion through sickness), instead of taking time to properly heal; we join the pill-popping, quick fix society and demand a speedy intervention, so that we can join the rat race again.
How often, so caught up in this frenzy we miss the beauty of the moment, the wonder of nature, the rhythm of seasons, the learning that comes from a paused reflection of what is at any given time.
To get more of a sense of what it means to be in touch with what is, one needs to go back to a childs play. Have you watched children playing? They do not seem concerned with the passing of time, as they are totally immersed with the enjoyment of their play.
May be the reason why there has been such a proliferation of therapies such as mindfulness and an increase in the practice of meditation nowadays is because humanity is trying to bring back what has been lost in time: the ability to be still, to enjoy a union and communion with one another and with the Divine.
Margaret Silf, a renowned spiritual writer, in her reflection of the book of Genesis, recalls the time of the creation of humankind when the union between man and God was intact , as they walked with Him in the garden: They talked freely with God, their dialogue was unbroken. There were no power cuts, because they lived and moved and had their beings with the source of all power (1).
Dear reader, you are invited to take time to smell the flowers, to watch the sunset, to feel the rhythm that in nature runs through the seasons, to encounter, each day the wonder and the appreciation that comes from your lived experience. Each day, each moment represents an encounter, a journey, a connection with the human family, an unbroken chain with the Source of all power.
There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven, says Qoheleth, son of Davida time for silencea time for searching.a time for embracing (2).
(1) Silf, Margaret, 2005, Sacred Spaces p. 20
(2) Ecclesiastes, Ch. 3: 1-8
