Gathered Wisdom

To know the guidance of God’s Spirit, you need to be still and silent. In the cadence of your day, create some enclosures of silence where you pause and breathe and are really present to God’s presence.
-Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE.
Learn more about the Society of Saint John the Evangelist

This Week

• Videos
  Students and Seniors use Technology to Cure Loneliness
• Articles
  How the Daily News Increases Anxiety and What to do About It
  Leaving Peace as our Final Gift
  Volunteering Without Leaving Home
• Prayers and meditations:
  A Walking Meditation
  A Prayer for Uncertain Times
  

Students and Seniors use Technology to Cure Loneliness

In this time of increased isolation for older people, a group of students from Austin has created “video pals” with seniors. Both age groups benefit as they connect across the generations. Watch the video.
Found in Happify Daily https://my.happify.com

How the Daily News Increases Anxiety and what to do About It

If you feel yourself caught up in a cycle of fear, anger, and despair as you digest all the latest news of a world and people in crisis, you owe it to yourself and the world to be kind to yourself and take a break says Brother Nicholas Bartoli of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. Now is the time for elders to be peacemakers of themselves and those in their families. Read the article.
From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Leaving Peace as our Final Gift

There is a way of dying that leaves peace behind, says Fr. Richard Rolheiser, president of Oblate Seminary in San Antonio. That peace involves harmony and completeness. Read Leaving Peace Behind as our Farewell Gift from Father Ron’s blog.

Volunteering Without Leaving Home

Older adults are called to be blessings, but in this time of sheltering at home, that can be hard to do. The Volunteer Match program offers ways to volunteer from home. Read 10 Ways to Volunteer from Home from the Volunteer Match blog.

A Walking Meditation

We can still get out and walk during this crisis, and in fact that’s one of the best things we can do for our bodies and our minds. Walking has been shown to decrease depression and increase energy. Author Angeles Arrien invites us to “honor sacred time” with a walking meditation. Read Developing the Inner Visionary at Spirituality and Practice.

A Prayer for Uncertain Times

God of infinite mercy, hear our prayer!

In this time of bewilderment and fear, we ask you to give us the courage to take care of one another as Jesus did. 
For those who are ill, especially those who are frightened and alone, for those who cannot access healthcare, for those who are homeless and lost, 
hear our prayer! 

In the midst of our sadness and grief, we ask you to give us words to comfort one another. 
For those who are dying, and for those who have already died from this virus, for those who tend them and for those with no one to tend them, 
hear our prayer!

In the midst of our own anxiety we ask you to give us the courage to support one another as you would. 
For those who are unexpectedly unemployed, for employers who share what they can, for our government and financial institutions and those who lead them, 
hear our prayer!

In the midst of our struggle to ensure a healthy future for all who live on this planet, we ask you to give us the hope that surpasses our current understanding. 
For healthcare workers, spiritual leaders and our faith communities, for artists and poets, for prophets and teachers, 
hear our prayer!

In the midst of our growing awareness that all life on Earth is connected, we ask for the heart to respect and cherish all life. That all peoples recognize that we are all your children, 
hear our prayer!

We trust in you and your power working in us. Please hear and answer our prayers. Amen. – Sister Cynthia Serjak

From the newsletter of Contemplative Life Bookstore, June 14, 2020 www.contemplative-life.org

Gathered Wisdom is from Spirituality in the Wisdom Years, a ministry that invites older adults to deepening spirituality in the last third of their lives. If someone forwarded this to you, learn more about Spirituality in the Wisdom Years and subscribe to the site at
ww.wisdomyears.org.

If you have something to add to Gathered Wisdom, send it to Marjorie George at
marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com