Tag: older adults

Gathered Wisdom, Feb 15

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

Wholeness

To become wise, we must learn to listen – first to God, and then to wise and good teachers. To become wise we must become students and observers of life, recognizing ways of living that lead to wholeness, seeing what works and what doesn’t.

-Br. David Vryhof

Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Read More and Comment

Let The Sun Rise

In another wonderful video from Green Renaissance, James Motlhamme shares his experience of orienting to each new day with a sense of contentment and optimism. No matter how hard it gets, he says, each day the sun rises and gives us an opportunity to begin again.

Watch the video.

From A Network for Grateful Living.

The Really Terrible Orchestra

Some years ago, a group of frustrated people in Scotland decided that the pleasure of playing in an orchestra should not be limited to those who are good enough to do so, but should be available to the rankest of amateurs. So they formed The Really Terrible Orchestra, made up of those who love to play but aren’t very good at it.  Read this delightful essay about what happened next.

Read the essay.

From Daily Good.

A Prayerful Stance

Prayer, says Fr. Richard Rohr, is not words or even thinking. It is, rather, living in the awareness and presence of God right here, right now, all the time. Wherever we are, however we are, God is there with us.

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

What we Do in Private

Since we are all part of the Body of Christ, everything we do affects the whole body. As Parker Palmer says, f you are here faithfully, you bring great blessing. Conversely, says Rumi,  If you are here unfaithfully, you bring great harm.

Read the reflection.

From the blog of Ron Rolheiser.

Practicing Rehumanization as We Move Into Uncertainty

John Paul Lederach is a sociologist and specialist in conflict transformation. In this essay, Roshi Joan Halifax offers John Paul’s ideas for rehumanization in this time of uncertainty. We must foster our moral imagination in order to put others first and us second.

Read the reflection.

From Daily Good.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Living with the Desert Mothers -corrected

Marjorie George

The original post sent Feb 10 had a bad link to Marjorie George email address. Apologies. it is corrected in this post.

An Online Lenten Study from The Wisdom Years

March 3 through April 7

Thursdays, 4 to 5:15 p.m.

By Zoom

In the third and fourth centuries, after Constantine declared Christianity legal throughout the empire, faithful men and women became distressed about the encroaching secularization of their religion and sought refuge in the deserts of Egypt and Syria. There they lived in silence and solitude in caves and hermitages, where they came to be called the Desert Fathers – or Abbas – and Desert Mothers – Ammas.

Their lives were devoted to prayer and denial of the material world in order to be closer to God. Often people came to them for a word of wisdom.

Using The Rev. Mary Earle’s book The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness, we will look at the practices that sustained the Ammas – silence and solitude, balance and moderation, simplicity and fasting from anger, judgment, and frenetic activity.

We will read the book on our own, then gather weekly for conversation about what we discern. We will work in both large and small groups as we consider ways to incorporate the wisdom of the Ammas into our own lives.

Along with the weekly gatherings, this study will offer spiritual practices to help us grow our faith, and daily text messages of inspiration.

There is no charge for the study except the purchase of your book on your own.

To indicate your interest in this study or for questions and clarification, email Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com.

Order the book from St. Mark’s bookstore by contacting Carla Pineda at stmarksbookstore@gmail.com. St. Marks Bookstore has reserved copies for this study and may be able to deliver to those in the San Antonio area with no shipping charge. 

For more about the work of The Wisdom Years,visit our website. at www.wisdomyears.org

Gathered Wisdom, Feb. 8

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through…
Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.

-Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

From Well for the Journey.

The Hero We Need

A beautiful and inspiring song from The Makepeace Brothers lifts up everyday, simple heroes and invites us to be one.  You will listen to this again and again.

Watch and listen.

From Karmatube.

Alicia Doyle: Fighting Chance

“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life,” said Muhammad Ali. Alicia Doyle learned lessons from professional boxing after she left the ring.

Read the reflection.

From Daily Good.

Caring for the Dying

“Being with someone who is dying is a sacred ministry. It can be one of the greatest gifts given to someone. Attending the dying is like the privilege of being at a birthing. It is a sometimes-painful celebration of a new life,” says Joanna Seibert.

Read the reflection.

Learn more about Joanna Seibert.

Members of One Diverse Family

Mungi Ngomane, granddaughter of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, talks about ubuntu. The African concept means that my humanity is caught up and bound to yours. We are nothing without each other.

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

The Most Spiritually Literate Films of 2021

Every year Spirituality and Practice recommends the most spiritually literate films of the previous year. Pick one or more and settle in for some inspiring viewing.

See the list.

More about Spirituality and Practice.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Jan 25

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

When God calls us, it is always to larger life. But to inhabit that larger life, we usually have let go of some of the outward forms which contain our lives. What we have grown familiar with is simply too narrow, too constraining, and we need to let it go.

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Prayer for the Earth: An Indigenous Response to These Times

A beautiful video prayer from an elder of Cherokee descent calls us back to the sacredness of earth during these hard times.  

Watch the video.

From Karmatube.

What Dying Can Teach Us about Living Better

In years of research, Dr. William Peters has found case after case in which dying persons, at the moment of death, drew on the companionship of the living. The result, he says, changes the living person’s understanding of death and life.

Read the article.

From Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper.

Peace Is Every Step: Thich Nhat Hanh’s 95-Year Earthwalk

“Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who was one of the world’s most influential Zen masters, spreading messages of mindfulness, compassion and nonviolence, died on January 22 at his home in the Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam. He was 95. A monk with global influence and an ally of Martin Luther King, he championed what he called ‘engaged Buddhism.'” This piece is from the New York Times, shared by Daily Good. 

Read more.

From Daily Good.

Finding God’s Will

We ask what is God’s will for us. We search for it and lament when we think we have missed it. But Diana Butler Bass finds that God’s will is for us to receive what God desires and to build communities around it.

Read the reflection.

From The Cottage.

Displacing Ego and Narcissism

We tend to assess the quality of things by how we ourselves are doing.  Do we need to kill our egos? No, says Ron Rolheiser, but we need to remember from whence come our gifts.

Read the reflection.

More about Fr. Ron.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Jan. 18, 2022

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength
to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.

-Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love

Found at Well for the Journey.

Being a Part of the Symphony

A 20-second solo by the cellist taught her that each of us plays a unique instrument in life, and our part is to add to the fantastic sound of the entire composition. 

Read the reflection from Jonna Seibert.

More about Joanna Seibert.

A Trinitarian Way of Life

Knowing God is impossible unless we enter into a life of love and communion with others, says Elizabeth Johnson. This is the meaning of the Trinity.

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation Daily Meditations.

Praying with the Old Testament

“The whole of scripture is a gift from God,” says Brother Lucas Hall from Society of St. John the Evangelist. “Though it can be daunting and challenging, engaging with the Old Testament as a wellspring of prayer can illumine truths about God, the Church, and ourselves, in ways we may never expect.”

Read the reflection.

More about Society of St. John the Evangelist.

The Light is Still Waiting

When did death become a bad thing, asks Fred Smith.  “When did we begin to distance death from our everyday lives?  When did we cross from preparing for death as a part of life to avoiding the subject whenever possible?” 

Read the reflection.

From The Gathering.

Mercy

A poem by Rudy Francisco

She asks me to kill the spider.
nstead, I get the most
peaceful weapons I can find.

I take a cup and a napkin.
I catch the spider, put it outside
and allow it to walk away.

Read the rest of this non-violent poem.

Found in Awakin’.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Jan 11, 2022

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

Hope has holes in its pockets. It leaves little crumb trails so that we, when anxious, can follow it.
Hope’s secret: it doesn’t know the destination—
It only knows that all roads begin with one foot in front of the other.

Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, “Hope,” How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope (James Crews, editor)

Found in Well for the Journey. 

Crones Don’t Whine 

We think of a crone as a wizened old woman – the wicked witches of Disney. But at one time, a crone was a revered member of the community, acknowledged for her wisdom. Author Jean Shinoda Bolen re-introduces that concept in her book Crones Don’t Whine. Crones, says Bolen,  choose their path with heart and speak the truth with compassion. The Wisdom Years Thursday-afternoon group will read and discuss Crones Don’t Whine starting January 20. 

Visit this page for more information.

Visit the Wisdom Years.

Rise Up Again

If we are going to survive the divisions that confront us right now, we will need to create room for all of us to collaborate. We may set up boundaries, but we all live on the same planet. That is the message of this short film from Green Renaissance.

Watch the wideo.

From Network for Grateful Living. 

What We Do in Private

Why is it true that our every action has an effect on others, whether or not we intend that? Because we are part of the Body of Christ. What we do in one part of the body – for good or ill – affects the entire body, says Fr. Ron Rolheiser.

Read the reflection.

From the blog of Fr. Ron Rolheiser.

The Pain of Disconnection

We’ve been told we are all on our own, hence as a society we feel disconnected from each other. But if we say we believe in God, we must realize that our soul is like a homing device that will always guide us back to one who loves and cares for us.

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

Blessing for a New Beginning

by John O’Donohue

At the beginning of this new year, we turn to John O’Donohue for a blessing for the way forward.

In out-of-the-way places of the heart, 
Where your thoughts never think to wander, 
This beginning has been quietly forming, 
Waiting until you were ready to emerge. 

Read the rest of the poem.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Dec 14

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

Deborah: Order, Disorder, Reorder

This week in Toward Incarnation we fight the good fight with Deborah from the book of Judges.
Mayhem, murder, backsliding – how can God be found in this? Find the study here. 

Gathered Wisdom is taking a two-week Christmas break.  We will be back on January 4. 

Wisdom of my Foremothers

In the form of letters to her ancestors, the Rev. Jennifer Bailey writes of the deeply-rooted hope she learned from her foremothers in her book To My Beloveds: Letters on Faith, Race, Loss, and Radical Hope. In an interview with Courtney Martin, Bailey says she needed to talk to the people she loves – living and not – for their wisdom, insight, and advice.

Read the interview.

From The Examined Family.

While I Yet Live

The women of Gee’s Bend in rural Alabama pass on their values, their faith, and the beauty of grandmothers along with the importance of family through the quilts they have been making for generations.

Watch the video.

From Daily Good.

Mary and Elizabeth as Spiritual Friends

In her reflection, Joanna Seibert explores the gift of spiritual friendship between these two brave women. When we seek to be connected to each other in Christ, it can be as joyful as singing the Magnificat, says Seibert.

Read the reflection.

To read also: Merton on Mary and Elizabeth.

More about Joanna Seibert.

Benevolent Detachment

Humans weren’t designed to carry the weight of the world in the palm of our hands. Yet we try, says Brian Morykon from Renovare. In his interview with author John Eldridge, we learn about benevolent detachment – loving the world but not trying to solve everyone’s problems. 

Listen to the podcast.

From Renovare.

Night Life

In order to fully live out our callings, says Brother Keith Nelson of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, we – like Christ – must find some time to withdraw. “Without some empty space, there will be no room for God to abide.” Jesus points the way in this. 

Read or listen to the reflection.

From Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Nov 30

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

Toward Incarnation Begins this Week

As we journey toward the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, we are reminded that God is at work in every life, in every time, in every place. Our Advent offering will look at five biblical women who represent the journey from the calling of Abraham to the birth at Bethlehem and consider how their stories reveal God at work in our own lives.

Readings and questions for reflection will be posted on our website each Monday through December 20. Join us on Zoom every Thursday for conversation and discussion, or use the material on your own.  Find it here. 

The Hard, Essential Work of Observing Advent

During Advent we look forward to a time of peaceful reflection. But Advent is more than that. Advent is also about “standing up and raising our heads when we see things that are wrong rather than backing down or ignoring the reality before us,” says Allison Sandlin Liles in Grow Christians.

Read the reflection.

From Grow Christians.

End of the World

Is the world going to end soon? Jesus said some in his own generation wouldn’t die before he returned. But they did.  What now?

Read the reflection.

From the blog of Ron Rolheiser.

resources for Advent

Meditations on the Birth of Jesus

Using lectio divina and visio divina, Miriam Dixon and Margaret Campbell of Renovare present a verbal and visual journey through the Advent season. We are invited to spend time with scripture and art that tell the familiar story with new vision. The booklet is downloadable, or bookmark the URL and re-visit it each day of Advent. 

Find the resource.

From Renovare.

resources for Advent

Meditations from Seminary of the Southwest

Professors, students, and alumni of the seminary in Austin offer prayers and thoughts for Advent 2021.

Find the resource.

From Seminary of the Southwest.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Nov 23

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

Even though tried by misunderstanding, hardship, persecution, and martyrdom, our ancestors in faith sought to live in continual thanksgiving to God. Their firm conviction did not seek to deny the troubles of the present. Yet, by the continual offering of thanks, they passed through trials blessing the “goodness and loving-kindness” of God, who created and preserves us with the gift of life.

-Br. Jonathan Maury

Society of Saint John the Evangelist

A Grateful Thanksgiving: Inspiration, Blessings, and Opportunities

A Network for Grateful Living asks, “How might we embrace Thanksgiving as an opportunity to ritualize and reflect on what it means to live gratefully, every day? What feels sufficient, even abundant? What’s the invitation for this particular moment in time?”

Go to the page for a video and other resources.

Found in A Network for Grateful Living.

Being a Guest: Lessons in Receiving Hospitality

During the coming season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we may find ourselves being called to receive as well as give. Brother Luke Ditewig from the Society of St. John the Evangelist reminds us that, “hospitality is about offering our hearts.”

Read or listen to the reflection.

Learn more about Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Prophecy – Challenge and Comfort

What can the Church offer the world just now? More social justice? More scripture reading? More Sunday school classes? No, says Ron Rolheiser; “Like the prodigal son, the world needs first of all to be surprised by unconditional love. Sometime later, and there will be time for that, it will want hard challenge.”

Read the reflection.

More about Fr. Ron Rolheiser.

Thanksgiving for Two

The adults we call our children will not be arriving
with their children in tow for Thanksgiving.
We must make our feast ourselves,

Read the rest of the poem by Marjorie Saiser.

Found at Poetry Foundation.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.

Gathered Wisdom, Nov. 16

Marjorie George

A weekly curated collection of essays, poetry, and reflections for your spiritual journey.  From The Wisdom Years.

The one you are seeking is also seeking you. In his eyes, you are the pearl of great price, for whom he is prepared to give all.

-Br. Geoffrey Tristram
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Our Path 

For every path, there is someone who has walked it before us and left signs pointing the way. Now, in our time, what can we leave the coming generation on the paths they will walk?

Read the essay from Joanne Seibert.

Found in Daily Something from Joanna Seibert.

Spirituality and the Second Half of Life 

When we are young, we struggle with the temptations of the devil and the energies of youth. But when we are old, we struggle with God. Our task in the second half of life is to let go of all that we have legitimately acquired and move toward nakedness, says Ron Rolheiser.

Read the essay.

Found on Ron Rolheiser blog.

Why Having a Good Listener Can Boost Brain Health

Research shows what we instinctively know – there is nothing like a good friend to talk to. It’s good for our souls and good for our brains.  Those who have good friends to talk to have higher cognitive abilities.

Read the short article.

Found in Happify Daily.

There Are Songs

Singer/songwriter Barbara McAfee starts each day with a five mile walk and a jump in a cold, clear river. Then she gathers from nature the sounds and sights that inspire her songs. 

Read the lovely essay and be sure to watch the video.

Found in Daily Good.

To Have Without Holding 

Learning to love differently is hard,
love with the hands wide open, love
with the doors banging on their hinges,
the cupboard unlocked, the wind
roaring and whimpering in the rooms
rustling the sheets and snapping the blinds
that thwack like rubber bands
in an open palm.

Read the rest of the poem.

Found in Daily Good.

Gathered Wisdom is an offering of The Wisdom Years, a ministry devoted to the spiritual journey of the last third of our lives.

If this post was forwarded to you, sign up to receive Gathered Wisdom in your email by subscribing at wisdomyears.org.

To learn more visit our website.