Henri Nouwen's Good Friday prayers

Henri Nouwen's Good Friday prayers, (a shorter version online here), refer to Christ's broken heart:
Your heart is broken, the heart that did not know hatred, revenge, resentment, jealousy or envy but only love, love so deep and so wide that it embraces your Father in heaven as well as all humanity in time and space. Your broken heart is the source of my salvation, the foundation of my hope, the cause of my love. It is the sacred place where all that was, is and ever shall be is held in unity. There all suffering has been suffered, all anguish lived, all loneliness endured, all abandonment felt and all agony cried out. There, human and divine love have kissed, and there God and all men and women of history are reconciled. All the tears of the human race have been cried there, all pain understood and all despair touched.

In Show me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings, Nouwen writes:

...with my minds’ eye I saw large crowds of isolate, agonizing individuals walking away from the cross together, bound by the love they had seen with their own eyes and touched with their own lips. The cross of horror became the cross of hope, the tortured body became the body that gives new life; the gaping wound became the source of forgiveness, healing and reconciliation.

And, finally, a prayer for Lent by Henri Nouwen:

How often have I lived through these weeks without paying much attention to penance, fasting, and prayer? How often have I missed the spiritual fruits of the season without even being aware of it? But how can I ever really celebrate Easter without observing Lent? How can I rejoice fully in your Resurrection when I have avoided participating in your death?

Yes, Lord, I have to die — with you, through you, and in you — and thus become ready to recognize you when you appear to me in your Resurrection. There is so much in me that needs to die: false attachments, greed and anger, impatience and stinginess.... I see clearly now how little I have died with you, really gone your way and been faithful to it.

O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Let me find you again.

Amen.

Assume Nothing

Last night a friend who is a nurse kindly stopped by with supplies of a sort for the latest gadget du jour which will allow me to live independently as a quad. I know that years ago I would have been upset by having to make these changes, but not so much now.

I've learned to assume nothing when it comes to quadriplegia. And before anyone thinks that means I've "given in" or "given up", let me say that assuming nothing runs both ways. Not only am I more willing to make changes quicker when things go south due to (gasp) aging, but I've also learned that I shouldn't assume that things won't/can't get better. It's a two way street.

Usually when I introduce another gadget into my life I find that my quality of life increases dramatically. But every time this happens, some things need to be dealt with and I've found this list helpful.

1. It's not just a change for me, it's a change for everyone around me which leads to number
2. I need to discern and then monitor when/if/how/with whom this change should be shared;
3. I need to readjust my budget if necessary for the cost of the item, supplies, etc.
4. Make a step by step list of how you will get the gadget, how you will learn to use the gadget and where/when/how you will use it in your daily life
5. Check your spiritual reaction. Continue being of service to others.

In this case, I am happy to report that the cost is not as high as for many others, but if anyone else is new to dealing with a disability that costs a lot, number three has to be reckoned with so I added it. Believe me, it's a lot easier to get rid of cable to make a monthly payment in month 1 than to realize in month 13 that you should have done that in month 1.

As for the relationship issues, that is more difficult. People being people, all of them react differently to change and so you need to figure out when to tell some people who aren't good with change so that their overreaction doesn't impact your adjustment. Who needs someone screaming "the sky is falling" as you're trying to wrap your brain around a new way to go about your daily life? Not moi. There are also groups of people you just may choose not to tell. Ever.

As for number four, the step by step list comes in handy when it's a gadget I really don't want, like this one. (And no, sorry, blog readers don't fall in the category of knowing with this one.) Having a list keeps me from procrastinating or, worse yet, refusing to learn about the device and letting it sit useless. The less I want a gadget, the more precise I make my list. After all, there's no sense having others (and myself) investing time and money into something that I'm not going to use.

As for number five, as usual, God is good to me because it's a great liturgical season for change. It is now Lent and the gadget is about to arrive. This is not a time of the liturgical year where whining is acceptable or encouraged. Besides, during Lent, a number of Catholics are grumpy, so maybe I can fly under the radar for a few days.

And I pray that God will give me the wisdom to remain grateful (for this gadget) and patience (for those days when learning to use it may not go so smoothly) and continue to show me ways I can be of service to others.

As we all enter into Lent, I offer this prayer:

God, heavenly Father,
look upon me and hear my prayer
during this holy Season of Lent.
By the good works You inspire,
help me to discipline my body
and to be renewed in spirit.

Without You I can do nothing.
By Your Spirit help me to know what is right
and to be eager in doing Your will.
...

Fill my heart with Your love
and keep me faithful to the Gospel of Christ.
Give me the grace to rise above my human weakness.
Give me new life by Your Sacraments, especially the Mass.

[for the entire prayer, click here]

Multimedia Lenten resources

...are offered by the USCCB if you click here.

Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder for Holy Week

Come to the Table: A Catholic Passover Seder for Holy Week by Meredith Gould, Ph.D. invites Christians to appreciate more fully the Last Seder where Jesus established the Eucharist as a sacrament.

A traditional Jewish seder adapted for home and parish use, The book Come to the Table includes:

Hebrew prayers in English.
Easy-to-follow instructions for conducting the seder.
Details about Passover symbols and their significance relative to the sacraments, with citations to Hebrew and Christian scripture.
Extensive commentary about historical tensions between Christians and Jews, and conditions for reconciliation.
Guidelines for preparing traditional Passover fare and setting the holiday table.

This book is an indispensable guide to interfaith families during Passover and Holy Week, as well as for anyone who seeks a fuller understanding of these traditions and their roots. The book is available for purchase at amazon.com as well as  on the author's site. 

On her blog, Meredith Gould writes:

"Years ago, I decided to create a seder that would reveal Judaism's legacy to Catholics by highlighting the symbolic (and liturgical) similarities of our faiths. I also wanted Catholics to better understand the history of Jewish-Catholic tensions and to appreciate the challenges of reconciliation. And, I wanted to make all this available in a book that provided practical instructions for creating a seder in either a parish or home setting. Not too ambitious, eh?"

To read more about this book by the author, click here.

Formerly known as Quadragesima....

Lent.

From Wikipedia:

"In the English language, Lent was formerly referred to by the Latin term quadragesima (translation of the original Greek tessarakoste, the "fortieth day" before Easter). This nomenclature is preserved in Romance, Slavic and Celtic languages (for example, Spanish cuaresma, Portuguese quaresma, French carême, Italian quaresima, Croatian korizma, Irish Carghas, and Welsh C(a)rawys).
In the late Middle Ages, as sermons began to be given in the vernacular instead of Latin, the English word lent was adopted."

As we approach Ash Wednesday (following Superbowl Sunday and Super Tuesday), I'm reminded of my childhood quest to find the absolute best thing to give up for Lent. Some of the things I tried to give up as a kid that never flew with the adults around me were:

baby sitting my brother and sister
doing chores
doing homework
cleaning my room

Well you get the idea. As I recall, this was a fairly common attempt ("Good try!" was the usual response) among my Catholic schoolmates.

Over the years, I've learned to discern that "giving up things for Lent" is more about a renewal of my commitment to a way of life, rather than about the things I do or do not give up. (Another meaning of Lent comes from the word 'spring'). And part of the process for me is acknowledging my gratitude for what God does for me and the people He's placed in my life.

God makes these things so easy for me. You'll see why I say that in a moment. This morning I received an email from a friend who offered to come over and fix my front door so I can get in and out more easily and work on my recalcitrant computer. Then I got a call from another friend who is making me a custom wheelchair bag for the power chair. After that a third friend stopped by to leave off chicken wings for our Super Bowl get together later. And then there's Meredith.

Thank you all for being part of my process. It makes it very easy for me to do the not as easy task of giving up those things that are blocking my spirituality and my peace, those things that interfere with my prayer life and my ability to serve others or be present to their needs when I see how much has been given to me, how much love is shown to me. How dare I balk at giving up those things that block my connectedness to God? And yet it is still a struggle to get started on this Lenten journey every year.

This year I have a list of several things I am giving up for Lent, a list that is written in my heart if not on my blog.

Praying Lent 2007

Here's a link to a website about preparing for, working and praying through Lent. It's got wonderful spiritual and practical suggestions.

And how's this for a wonderful approach?

"If I imagine Lent as an "ordeal" or a time I dread in some way, then I've already pre-disposed myself to not get very much out of it. These days before Lent are a time to start anticipating something wonderful that is about to happen." (Via Praying Lent website)

What wonderful thing is going to happen in your life ?

{Audio version alert: Please note that the website contains audio versions of several sections, located on the right column of the link above which is the Home Page.)