A reflection Andrina (who is doing an ICPE School of Mission in the Black Forest, Germany) recently shared with us gal pals in Singapore was inspiring and thought-provoking.
On reflecting how to let go of the distractions of the world, she was encouraged to hang on to His word, not the world - for the difference between world and word is a single "L" which represents the lies that insinuate their way into His word and distract us from its truth in our lives.
St. Paul who was "all things to all men" in his efforts to evangelize, also clung to Christ (a.k.a. the Word made flesh) and advised us not to "conform to the pattern of this world", but to "be transformed" by the "renewing" of the mind.
He also reminds us that while we are living in the world, we should not be of the world. So while we acknowledge the presence of evil in the world, we should not participate in it, and instead should actively seek to transform it.
This transformation of lies of the world into love for the Word, and therefore love for the world of strangers, orphans, widows and the poor* is the only way we can fulfil the ultimate commandments laid down by Christ (on which all others are founded): to love God whole-heartedly and single-mindedly, and to love others as we love ourselves.
Fr. Damian in his homily today offered this pearl: "God is a god of relationships. So if we focus on our relationship with God, then we will have correct dimension in all our other relationships, including the one we have with ourselves."
If we reduce our world into one led by the Word, then we open ourselves to the infinite possibilities of love, and life.
We then have the courage and hope to cross the threshold of love and change the world by bringing the light of Christ into it.
And in the process, we will also be able to calibrate all our relationships into life-giving and mutually affirming ones.
In a world beset with financial crises, environmental distress and greed-driven health disasters, it's imperative we each make a difference each day in how we live out the Word.
* See today's readings: Exodus 22:20-26 and Matthew 22:34-40
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Feminine genius
I just attended a retreat facilitated by Angela Lecomber called "Healing the Feminine" held Friday evening and yesterday. It was quite insightful for me and deepened my understanding of John Paul II's Theology of the Body (Yup, it's my TOB year).
What was especially interesting was the discussion on the feminine genius* and we were asked to reflect and comment on our own feminine genius.
The concept of feminine genius comes from John Paul II who, in 1995, commented that each "woman has a genius all her own, which is vitally essential to both society and the Church…"
This feminine genius is inherent in each woman and marks her distinct from man not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually.
For example, by nature women tend to be more collaborative, relational, indirect, nurturing, spontaneous, intuitive, hopeful, sensitive and creative.
Reflecting on my own feminine genius, the one thing that stands out is my ability to weep easily. It is one that I rejected for a long time for I was shamed at a very young age for this "weakness".
It is only in recent years that I have begun to understand and embrace my tears, which are a unique part of who I am as woman.
My tears are my body's way of reacting to injustice, beauty, rejection, pain, loneliness, joy and tragedy.
My tears are what move me to act with compassion, anger, courage, despair and love.
My tears represent the core of my sexuality, what is essentially woman in me.
While I do sometimes feel I am ridiculously emotional, I know that my tears represent my "heart of flesh" and, without them, I would be half the woman I was created to be.
So along with my propensity for waterworks, I accept the other constituents of my feminine genius and continue to nurture all that has been given to me by the Creator.
* The Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines genius as a peculiar, distinctive, or identifying character or spirit or the personification or embodiment especially of a quality or condition.
What was especially interesting was the discussion on the feminine genius* and we were asked to reflect and comment on our own feminine genius.
The concept of feminine genius comes from John Paul II who, in 1995, commented that each "woman has a genius all her own, which is vitally essential to both society and the Church…"
This feminine genius is inherent in each woman and marks her distinct from man not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually.
For example, by nature women tend to be more collaborative, relational, indirect, nurturing, spontaneous, intuitive, hopeful, sensitive and creative.
Reflecting on my own feminine genius, the one thing that stands out is my ability to weep easily. It is one that I rejected for a long time for I was shamed at a very young age for this "weakness".
It is only in recent years that I have begun to understand and embrace my tears, which are a unique part of who I am as woman.
My tears are my body's way of reacting to injustice, beauty, rejection, pain, loneliness, joy and tragedy.
My tears are what move me to act with compassion, anger, courage, despair and love.
My tears represent the core of my sexuality, what is essentially woman in me.
While I do sometimes feel I am ridiculously emotional, I know that my tears represent my "heart of flesh" and, without them, I would be half the woman I was created to be.
So along with my propensity for waterworks, I accept the other constituents of my feminine genius and continue to nurture all that has been given to me by the Creator.
* The Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines genius as a peculiar, distinctive, or identifying character or spirit or the personification or embodiment especially of a quality or condition.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Gift giving
Yes, it is finally over, my TOB paper is done!!! Submitted yesterday at 7:30am. While I was not very satisfied with it, I had run out of time and had to let it go in its final mutation.
I've gained a couple of insights while writing it, chief among which is that I suck at starting any big project, especially if I think/know it's going to be difficult.
I have to say my gut feel was right on this and most of the process was pretty torturous for John Paul II is not an easy read. But I now have a better grasp of what the late pontiff was saying in his catechesis, post-paper, and I'm glad for the knowledge transfer that has taken place.
The other Church documents I had to read made a deep impact on me and I came away awed at the wealth of information and the depth of knowledge contained in these documents, although my main bugbear is the language that these documents, including TOB, are written in - must they be written in language that is so inaccessible to ordinary folk like me?
Anyway, that's another story but I do resolve to do something about it, so watch this space...
In my meeting with my SD yesterday, he asked me what was it that I gained most during the course and the writing of the paper and I summed it up in one word: affirmation.
In going back to the beginning of Creation and understanding what is meant by being made in God's "image and likeness"...
In assimilating JPII's philosophy on what the body, my body, was created for and deciphering the language of my body...
In dissecting Christ's suffering and death on the Cross, His redemption of the body and His great love for humanity...
In all these revelations of divine love, I am totally awed and humbled.
I am learning to accept the gift of my body wholeheartedly and I delight in the gifts of the Trinity, Creation and of others in my life.
In turn, I am also challenged to make sense of the gifts I have received and to reciprocate by being a gift to others in the way I am - in my heart, my soul, my mind and all my strengths.
JPII beautifully develops the idea of self-gift which was proclaimed by Pope Paul VI in Gaudium et Spes: Man "cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself".
So when I give, I receive myself more and more in my living, ensouled body.
The more I give, the more I receive?
Gotta love the gift of JPII!
I've gained a couple of insights while writing it, chief among which is that I suck at starting any big project, especially if I think/know it's going to be difficult.
I have to say my gut feel was right on this and most of the process was pretty torturous for John Paul II is not an easy read. But I now have a better grasp of what the late pontiff was saying in his catechesis, post-paper, and I'm glad for the knowledge transfer that has taken place.
The other Church documents I had to read made a deep impact on me and I came away awed at the wealth of information and the depth of knowledge contained in these documents, although my main bugbear is the language that these documents, including TOB, are written in - must they be written in language that is so inaccessible to ordinary folk like me?
Anyway, that's another story but I do resolve to do something about it, so watch this space...
In my meeting with my SD yesterday, he asked me what was it that I gained most during the course and the writing of the paper and I summed it up in one word: affirmation.
In going back to the beginning of Creation and understanding what is meant by being made in God's "image and likeness"...
In assimilating JPII's philosophy on what the body, my body, was created for and deciphering the language of my body...
In dissecting Christ's suffering and death on the Cross, His redemption of the body and His great love for humanity...
In all these revelations of divine love, I am totally awed and humbled.
I am learning to accept the gift of my body wholeheartedly and I delight in the gifts of the Trinity, Creation and of others in my life.
In turn, I am also challenged to make sense of the gifts I have received and to reciprocate by being a gift to others in the way I am - in my heart, my soul, my mind and all my strengths.
JPII beautifully develops the idea of self-gift which was proclaimed by Pope Paul VI in Gaudium et Spes: Man "cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself".
So when I give, I receive myself more and more in my living, ensouled body.
The more I give, the more I receive?
Gotta love the gift of JPII!
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