Dwelling in the Heart of Love                        – Br. Michael, ofm

“One thing I asked of the Lord,

   that will I seek after:

to live in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life” – Psalm 27

 

“One thing have I asked of Love,

that I shall ever seek:

That I might dwell in the Heart of Love

all the days of my life.” – Psalm 27,

Nan C. Merrill translation

 

To dwell in house of the Lord, which is to dwell in the Heart of Love, the very epicenter of love who is God. This psalm has been part of my prayer this past week. It is reminding me of how close our God is and how much God desires for us to dwell in place established by God – a place of love no matter the day or the season.

 

Continuing to navigate through this pandemic, dealing with new “new normals” and struggling with what is safe, what is needed and wondering if there will be enough is exhausting. I am learning time and again that I must choose hope for it is found in the Heart of Love. I encourage us to lean into this hope and the beauty of dwelling in the Heart of Love.

 

Dwelling in the Heart of Love

in days of rejoicing,

in days of right steps,

in days which are long,

in days which are lonely.

 

Dwelling in the Heart of Love

when I am at peace,

when I am free,

when I am worrying,

when I am tired.

 

Dwelling in the Heart of Love

in the moments of quiet,

in the moments of demands,

in the moments of prayer,

in the moments of service.

 

Dwelling in the Heart of Love

when I am celebrating,

when I am in sorrow,

when I am feeling it is too much,

when I am aware of God’s love.

 

 

Yes, it is good to dwell always

in the house of the Lord –

which is found anywhere

and everyday

in a heart, in my heart

where faith, hope and love dwell.

October 4, 2020

My Dear Brother Francis,

Here we are at the great festival marking your place in the company of saints. This day full of joy and celebration is also a day of looking inwardly mindful of your words: “I have done what is mine to do, may Christ teach you what is yours to do.” You indeed did do what was yours to do and eight centuries later we are still contemplating your actions, words and you simply being.  What you did still impacts us: the friars, the church, and people of good will the world over.

You remind me of relationship. As I ponder your life I learn again and again the importance of our relationships with each other and with creation. The idea of being sibling with one another continues to challenge me to present to the other and be a good brother. It has also challenged me to be aware of my relationship with creation and my possessions. How do I enter into a caring relationship not only with fellow humans but with creation? How do I view and use the possessions that have been entrusted to me for this journey? You remind me that all relationship is about an encounter with Christ. Christ my brother is that close and yet I seem to forget. Continue to awaken me to relationship.

You remind me of simplicity. Our world continually tries to rob me and everyone of this gift. It lures us into things, into busyness, into distractions so that we become complicated and busy. You know the power of letting it all go and encountering Christ in the stillness, peace and solitude. As I reflect on your life I am again to simplify and be present. When I do so I know I encounter Christ our brother; humble and simple. Continue to awaken me to simplicity.

You remind me of poverty. On so many levels you remind me of poverty. I must be aware of those who live in poverty and are seen as outcasts in our world again. How am I in relationship with them? How do I embrace them as sibling? As Christ? Like you did the leper. I must be aware of my poverty and how this calls me to surrender into Christ again and again. I must be aware of the poverty of Christ. In his poverty he emptied himself into the great love of God and knew great freedom. This is how you came to know your freedom again and again and I am called to do the same. Continue to awaken me to the vow poverty.

You remind me of peace and goodness. These fruits of the Spirit are gifts to fill my heart for the journey for they are not only for a few, rather they are gifts for all of each of us. Peace which can transform me and my heart. Goodness which gives me a taste of God’s abundance. Oh, how I try in complicate their message and lose them in the demands I think life is showing me. Yet I know as you do that peace and goodness which reside in my heart were made known to me and all people by Christ in the crib, the cross and gifting of the Holy Spirit. Pure gifts. Peace and goodness do dwell within, I must allow them to consume me so I can be the best brother doing what Christ calls me to do. Continue to awaken me to peace and goodness.

The other day I read that “your life was totally permeated by love; a life filled with love.” This really struck me. This truly was you. Not only your dream and desire, but your journey and way were all permeated by love. Your very life transformed was indeed permeated by love. Your life filled with love is the expression of Christ in your life, God at work in you and the Holy Spirit filling you. It is beautiful because it is depth and it is freedom. It is what attracts so many people to you still today. In truth it is what attracted me to you and this Franciscan way of life. When I began to discover the depth of you, I discovered this love also permeated my life. This love – Christ himself has been at work in me and makes me ponder and discern my living, dreams, desires and journey.

In you I have found a companion, whose ordinary life speaks to my own. Whose encounter with Christ has made me pay more attention to Christ in my life. Whose poverty has challenged me to live simply and be more aware. Whose preaching and living have caused me to consider my words and actions and if they radiate Christ. Whose life of penance has continually guided my rediscovery of reconciliation and peace which has orientated my heart to the fullness of life. The fact is dear brother that you stirred all that up in me years ago and you still do today.

If you as you laid dying and suffering could give praise to God, trust in peace, pray and be aware of the fraternal relationships (that are sometimes ragged), and see the beauty in the “siblingness” of relationship and creation, I too must fix my gaze on the heart of Christ. This love which fills my life. For through the grace and mercy of God my life is also permeated by love. I ask myself: “Am I open to receive the fullness of this gift?” Can I learn from you and surrender my all into love? I place my trust in our awesome God, as I pray:

God, you who are love, you are ever present to, for, with and in me.

            Your love permeates my life, as it did St. Francis. May I in turn radiate

this love out to the world by doing what is mine to do in the name of

Christ your son. Amen.

St. Francis – pray for me, pray for us.

Your brother,

Michael

Psalm 145: The Abounding Greatness of God’s Love                      

– Br. Michael, ofm

As the season of autumn was welcomed this week, I have been in awe of the splendour of the transition this year. I always appreciate the changing of the seasons but this year I seem to be seeing with new eyes. Maybe I am learning to appreciate the pausing more, or maybe it comes with age, regardless it has been a needed gift. I find autumn is a magnificent time to ponder and appreciate God’s creation and how close to us is our God.

This past week a dear friend of mine led a prayer reflecting on Psalm 145. I was taken by the word abounding in the psalm and in his reflection. The idea of abounding being plentiful, many and multifarious not only speaks to the changing of the seasons but to the depth of God’s great love. It is also a reminder of how we are called to care for our sister Mother Earth and for our brothers and sisters. Abounding has captured my attention in new ways as I hear it proclaimed and see it on display in creation. I have tried to capture the brilliance of both this psalm and the autumn transition in the words that are filling my heart and through photos of the autumn beauty which surrounds me. I offer this as a reflection as we enter more deeply into this autumn season.

May your autumn be filled with deepening peace, restoring comfort and renewing strength.

I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name for ever and ever.

In the changing of the seasons, in the seasons of my life,

God, you are ever with me.

Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and ever.

On the days that are straight paths,

on the days that have more twists and turns.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
God’s greatness is unsearchable.

 

From the simplest detail in creation,

to the grand majesty which is on display.

One generation shall laud your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.

 

Those who have walked this share of the sacred earth before me,

those who will walk this way after me will indeed declare your goodness.

On the glorious splendour of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

 

In the quiet with the morning star, or walking a tree covered path,

sitting by the gushing water, or gazing at the magnificent mountains.

The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.

 

Your love consumes me, your gentleness caresses me,

your truth liberates me, your peace fills me, your greatness is present.

They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

 

In the golden leaf, in scripture proclaimed,

in the melody of a song, in the prayers lifted up, your goodness is here.

 

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

 

As I walk this autumn path,

your mercy, endless love and graces are made known to me.

The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.

 

This autumn time awakens me again to how close you are,

and that your love is infused in creation and humanity (even when we miss it).

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your faithful shall bless you.

 

With joy in my heart, gratitude on my lips and peace in my soul

I raise up my praise to you, O God, for your good and great abounding love.

 

Actions of Solidarity: Ideal Generosity                   – Br. Michael, OFM

“Morning!” I called out as jogged past the man walking his dog in the dawn moments of the day. “Morning.” came the deep reply as his dog followed my every move. Several strides later a city worker emerged from his truck near my path and shouted, “Morning!” I replied the same. I continued my jog back to the Friary as the day began to unfold under new light.

Later in the morning an employee helped me with a small project and another generously helped me with task. Shorty after lunch a friend kindly gifted me with a food item I was struggling to find and I returned his gesture with some tea I was hoping for him to try. Simple actions and words that made me think “oh, this is how the world should be!” It also made me think of the line, “Are you envious because I am generous?” from the parable about the landowner in Matthew 20.

Life is full of generous moments. Even something as simple as a greeting can be a gesture of generosity and kindness. There are moments of generosity that we never notice and others that happen to help us simply function. Generosity is often linked to deeds and actions, an outward sign of the position of our heart. If our heart was envious it would not be in a position to be generous, for the giving would come across as stifled or fraudulent. It would echo the labourers from the parable in Matthew 20 who grumbled about the generosity of the landowner.

Our God is indeed a generous God. God endlessly shares an abundance of freedoms, opportunities, and moments to encounter the splendour of creation and the depth of relationship not only with God but with each other. Our God never lacks in generosity even if we think otherwise or misconstrue God’s ways with our limited ways and understanding.

The generosity of God and our life has me thinking about a post I wrote in early June as protests continued across North America and around the world, heightening our awareness of Black Lives Matter. In that post I committed to learn more about racism and about poverty. I also made a solidarity statement of listening and allyship. Over the weeks that have passed I have been paying attention to my actions, my lack of action, what I am hearing and what society and I choose to let fall on deaf ears.

Generosity is not a race issue. Generosity whether given or received, whether divine or human is for all people. How we are a human race together speaks of generosity. How we support each other or not speaks about generosity. How we rise up to the occasion to break down the barriers we use as safety nets speaks about generosity. If it does not it leaves us with the envious labourers from the parable.

Over the past several weeks I have been trying to read and listen to people’s stories. Stories I have read, interviews I have heard that speak of the brokenness that Black Lives Matters and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movements are calling to our attention. Where are our generous hearts? Are they stuck in comfortable ways and easy donations? Are they willing to move beyond this and truly be generous, to be the generous that our God continually shows us as the true way?

“God became flesh not because the world is full of sin but in order to transform the world into a communion of love centered in Christ. But as Albert Einstein warned, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything”” (Patrick Carolan, St. Anthony Messenger, August 2020). It is up to us to continue to delight in God’s generosity, to be caught up in this communion of love. This is the depth of relationship and the beauty of the simple ideal world I encountered earlier in the day. How can we simply stand by and watch and not do anything? This does not speak of generosity. Rather it speaks to a closed heart unwilling to let the movement of the Spirit transform us.

Adele Halliday, a black Canadian in her perspective piece in September’s Broadview magazine says, “Undoing the legacy of racism is long-term work; please persevere long after this particular display of anti-Black racism fades from the news cycle. I need you to partner with God in actively doing this work… I believe God’s Spirit is also moving among the privileged and is disrupting, prodding and urging. God’s Spirit is also moving among the wounded and is soothing, comforting and encouraging. The work of racial justice is ours to do with God.” Ms. Halliday points to the generosity of our God and forces us to look at how this generosity is awakening us (or should be) to the work of the Spirit. God’s Spirit of love which is infused in us, which we are reminded of in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, “is not envious, boastful or jealous” (12.31-13.8). It does not allow us to watch “without doing anything.”

I know I have a longways to go on this journey of being anti-racist. I am however grateful for the gifts of generosity in my day that have once again reminded me that the God’s Spirit is indeed inviting me to partner with God to do my part in rebuilding the world as it should be. How about you? What is generosity and God’s Spirit stirring up in you as we try to heal our hurting human family? What can we do, so that it is not said of us, they watched and did nothing?

Open Heart and Soul

I open my heart

to love

to holiness

to life

these trinitarian gifts entwine

through my heart and soul…

beat – beat

heartbeat

each beat.

I open my heart

to the oxygen of love

to the oxygen of holiness

to the oxygen of life

giving breath to the very core of my heart,

to the very depth of my soul…

beat – beat

heartbeat

each beat.

I open my heart

to the sacredness of love

to the discovery of holiness

to the awareness of life

these nutrients strengthen my heart

for daily living and for the work of my soul…

beat – beat

heartbeat

each beat.

I open my heart

to God’s love

to Christ’s holiness

to the Spirit’s life

with each beat Trinitarian goodness and hope

engulfs me, filling my heart and soul…

beat – beat

heartbeat

each beat.

I open my heart,

I open my soul,

I open my all

to and for you my God.

I am open.

 

August 2020

The past couple of weeks have been full. Full not in the usual sense of how we use that word – as in there is way too much on the plate. Our lives will always be that type of full and yes, my days past have indeed been full in that sense, however I speaking of the fullness which moves beyond the surface to our very core. The depth of our heart and soul requires a different fullness, rather they move us to a different fullness. This is the fullness that has filled my last weeks.

It has been in lingering conversations, in quiet moments in the garden, in periods of prayerful stillness, in reading and in creating that this fullness has surfaced. This fullness which is speaking to me and my vocation. The vocation that we each live out is about fullness. This fullness is that which our God desires to lavish us with and the fullness which is part of our inherent goodness. We are given a glimpse of this fullness and the beautiful effects through the gift of the sacraments. How we are claimed as beloved in baptism is just the beginning of the richness of these gifts.

The gift of my baptism is never far removed from my vocation as a Religious Brother. It was in my baptism and confirmation that my heart and soul was open to be a vessel for the indwelling of God and divine love. My baptism is probably one of the greatest gifts I ever received, anointed as child of God my heart and soul have continually been opened since that day. It is in the Ephphetha (Aramaic: be open) blessing where the priest touches the ears and the mouth of the child that this opening is made evident. The blessing prays: The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.  Yes! How beautiful is that? What a beautiful gift to be anointed to have an open heart and soul because of an opened ears and mouth. With an open heart and soul, I have been able to declare my faith and give glory to God. When I have doubted or stumbled along, I just have to come back to this blessing to be reminded that the lasting effects of my baptism infuse my life over and over again.

It is here that I turn to my life as a Religious Brother and my vows. My vows are an extension of my baptism and are how I am still receptive to the Ephphetha blessing. As my opening poem reflects, I open my heart time and again for God to work not only in my heart but through my heart. To be an open vessel for God to dwell. My vows of nothing of my own (poverty), chastity and obedience speak to the receptivity I must have to live my vows well. My vows are indeed about openness and if I live into them well the fullness I experience is not only full but also life-changing. Each day I must listen for the voice of Christ Jesus for often my ears are deaf and my mouth is trapped. Each day Christ Jesus touches my ears and my mouth so my words and actions, my heart and soul are filled with praise and in turn fullness; true fullness. This is the depth of my vocation as a Religious Brother and speaks to its fullness and beauty. I hope that no matter what your vocation, you too may see the true fullness of your life and continue to open your heart and soul.

May the summer week ahead offer you space to be in the fullness of God’s love and for your ears, eyes, mouth and heart to be opened.