wisdom – Page 16 – The Wisdom Years

Gathered Wisdom, March 1

March 1, 2022Marjorie George

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

One discovers the light in darkness…but everything in our lives depends on how we bear the light. It is necessary, while in darkness, to know that there is a light somewhere, to know that in oneself, waiting to be found, there is a light.

-James Baldwin, Nothing Personal

From Well for the Journey.

The 5 Kinds of Love We Often Overlook

Romantic love gets all the attention, but there are many ways to love, and not all of them involve a sexual partner, says Marisa Cohen. Most of us give and receive more love than we realize. Look at these five ways to experience love.

Read the essay.

From Happify Daily.

An Unusual Gift From My Grandfather

Her grandfather always brought her such unusual gifts. The little cup full of dirt she could not play with seemed senseless to her. But she watered it every day just as her grandfather had told her to do. Then one day something unusual happened. She still thinks it was her first lesson in the power of service.

Read the reflection.

From Daily Good.

Writing a Better Story

Singer, songwriter, and poet Carrie Newcomer reflects on the stories of her life and comes up with a new storyline, in reflection and in song. “I can tell a story of love or a story of fear. I’m choosing each day to smooth down that clean page and tell a better story,” she says. What might your better story be?

Read and listen.

From Daily Good.

Trusting Our Essential Self to God

Immense humility, not arrogance, characterizes someone who lives in his or her essential self. Richard Rohr calls it “the true self.” In this position, says Rohr, “You simultaneously know you are a child of God, but you also know that you didn’t earn it and you are not worthy of it. You know it’s entirely a gift.”

Read the reflection.

From Center for Action and Contemplation.

Working-Class Spirituality

Joanna Seibert reflects on the admonition of Bishop Steven Charleston that Christianity is not a spectator sport. “Eventually, all our spiritual practices connecting us to God will be calling us to some action, reaching out of ourselves in some way.”

Read the reflection.

About Joanna Seibert.

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.

Soul Stirrings Lenten Retreat

February 24, 2022Marjorie George

Friday, March 11

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

At the Bishop Jones Center in San Antonio

An offering of The Wisdom Years

Our in-person Lenten retreat will look at some of the wisdom figures in scripture and in the words of writers who present ancient understandings of the wisdom characteristics of God.

The day will include:

some brief presentations
time on the grounds to reflect and respond by painting, taking photos, journaling, writing, or just sitting and enjoying nature. (Bring your own supplies.)
small-group work
lunch
Eucharist

Cost of $30 includes box lunch.

To save your space and for further registration information, email to Marjorie George at marjoriegeorge62@gmail.com. Participants will be limited in number – only 24 spaces available.

The Bishop Jones Center is located at 111 Torcido, San Antonio TX 78209 in a calm and beautiful natural setting.

For everyone’s safety, we ask that those who attend be fully vaccinated against COVID and willing to wear a mask indoors.

For more information about The Wisdom Years, visit our website at www.wisdomyears.org.

Gathered Wisdom, Feb. 22

February 22, 2022Marjorie George

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

Formation

A person’s spiritual life is formed by all manner of processes working in intricate, entangled ways. Some aspects of formation are a process of addition, things like absorbing scripture and prayer. And some are a process of subtraction, letting go of those things which are not life-giving, relinquishing attempts to control what we cannot. Some erosion is important to wear away what cannot, what should not endure.

-Br. Todd Blackham

Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Gathered Wisdom, Feb 15

February 15, 2022Marjorie 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

Living with the Desert Mothers -corrected

February 10, 2022February 11, 2022Marjorie 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

February 8, 2022Marjorie 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

January 25, 2022Marjorie 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.

Gathered Wisdom, Jan. 18, 2022

January 18, 2022Marjorie 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

January 11, 2022Marjorie 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

December 14, 2021Marjorie 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.

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.