Green Patches

Advent Blog of The Week - The Mercy Blog and Weeble's Wonderings

 

Advent Prayer

 

Lord, still us this today and in this Advent Season – keep us wide awake in these days of waiting. Take from us our anxieties and our preoccupations, our distractions and our despair. Let us be empty in this time before, awaiting your coming with empty hands, and open hearts…

 

Lord, prepare us for your coming. Fill us with the hope of your judgement, and a longing for your justice. Let our hope and our prayer be always for this broken creation of which we are part. Have mercy on all who suffer, human or animal. Help us to bring the good news of your coming, the comfort of hope, the joy of this new kind of waiting…

 

Amen

 - with thanks to Mike F of The Mercy Blog

One evening last week, I was  in  our contemplative prayer group at church, when, towards the end of the session, I was suddenly, as I've described it to myself 'hi-jacked' by a memory  of an item which I'd read in the paper earlier in the day: a particularly horrible example of  pure, gratuitous violence towards a poor, helpless animal, the which defies all belief and about which I simply can't bring myself to give any more details here.  There followed  a  fraught few minutes whilst I  tried alternately to a) push the distraction aside, or b) give  it to God, which last unfortunately and again without giving any details (shudders) seemed unavoidably to involve 're-living it.'  All clever theological explanations seemed pretty irrelevant  just then, and to be honest, pretty feeble, too. We're back to that evergreen topic of theodicy 'How could you, God?'

I've since re-commbobulated myself, so to speak...just, and can see, I think, that this struggle was likely the latest in a series of 'answers,' to a prayer I made leading on from what I brought out of retreat. Why I should be surprised, I don't know. I do think prayer should come with a health warning, though.  Do Not Be Surprised If You Get What You Ask For. 

So the petitions in the prayer "Have mercy on all who suffer, human or animal..." resonates with me as we begin Advent.

 

 

Over on A Weeble's Wonderings Avila reflects on the ever-present struggle with life-work balance and the need to know when and to press those 'recharge' buttons. I chose it for personal reasons; thanks be to God their situation is not my own although some of the issues mentioned do touch several loved ones close to home. It was the final paragraph that spoke to  me however. The 'Who Am I? What Am I?' question and my tendency to define myself solely in relation to the role (I perceive) other people see me in and to whether I shape up to that perception,  has been around now as long as I can remember. We Are Improving slowly....which is good...yet still very much a Work In Progress...

I started with the title 'Who am I? What am I?' - when we can no longer answer these about ourselves, rather than just in relation to other people or roles, then it is a sign we need to find respite, and to find ourselves again.

 - A Weeble's Wonderings - Who Am I? What Am I?

 

  

 

 

Ignatian Advent Resources

And here are an assortment of resources to use with an Ignatian flavour.  I followed  their online 'retreat' a couple of years ago; ( for those of us who'd prefer not to be glued to our computers over Advent, it's possible to print off the readings beforehand) and found it a challenging yet ultimately worthwhile way to journey through Advent, Christmas and beyond. 

Franciscan Advent Resources - Peace Made Flesh

From the Franciscan Friars of The Holy Name -  this was published  in 2008; I gave it a mention last Advent , but could easily be used again each year.

Blog of The Week - Franciscan Associates and The Water Walker's Apprentice

image: freeimages.co.uk

 

Favourites in my googlereader this week: Franciscan Associates and Steve Tilley both write on Welcoming The Stranger. 

Dorothy Parker, the author who was famous for her dark wit, used to answer her telephone with this greeting:  “What fresh hell is this?”  

What do you think when someone knocks on your door?  Is it closer to “What fresh hell is this?” or is it closer to, “Thanks be to God?”

 - Martin B Copenhaver Who's That Knocking at My Door? in Francisan Associates.

 

You can find Steve's Show em yer warts over on The Water Walker's Apprentice.

In case my two prayer partners - due here in just over an hour's time should chance upon this blog, my response is always  the second one. As for warts, after nearly four years, they're used to being a) ambushed by the dog b) stared down by the cat c) tripping over aforementioned dog's bone in the hallway d) having to remove pet hairs from their person and e) being nearly knocked out by my over enthusiastic use of pot-pourri essential oils and scented candles. This last isn't  as much an indicator of my journey further Up The Candle; as an honest, if misguided attempt to disguise the fact that the cat has carefully timed her evening toilet visit to coincide with the arrival of visitors. 

Never mind. My view is  that there's nothing a Nice Cup Of Tea can't put right. 

 

 

 

 

A Hairy Moment

No, don't worry -  I'm not nominating myself for Blog of The Week; I'm not that desperate! I'm simply sharing a couple of hairy moments from the last week or so, courtesy of The Wibsite. 

Blog of The Week - Franciscan Ponderings and LutheranChik

image: freedigitalphotos.net:xedos4

 

 

Two contenders this week for bloggers who've made me stop and think. 'Community'  is a bit of a buzz word nowadays.   What exactly  is it? How do we define it? Why do we need it? Is it the answer to all ills? Was there ever a 'golden age' when everybody was enveloped in a caring, sharing, loving community like the  folk in the above picture, neighbours dropped in and out of each others' houses to borrow a cup of sugar and we all watched  out for the children? And now, in the age of the so called nuclear family, where is 'home' and how do we 'do' community in a new way?

That churches have and should take the lead in this seems to be a given. Franciscan Ponderings reflects on what we can offer here. This is the ideal, yet as LutheranChik in Losing My Religion; And What Does Community Mean? and, I'd suspect, many many of us have discovered at some point, even or more especially they all too often fall short of this ideal.  You can preach it, teach it, but, (excuse the tired cliches here) when the chips are down and the rubber hits the road, all that matters is IMO, do you do it? Does  your church, organisation, group, really reach out to everyone as in the illustration? All of the time?  Are you sure? Or might it sometimes appear more like this? (And before everybody rushes to say 'hypocrite,' yes, I'm as guilty of neglect as anyone.)

image: freedigitalphotos.net:savikeatavee

Or even - and here's the downside of modern technology  - like this?

image: freedigitalphotos.net. renjithkrishnan

 

I'm fortunate  - my present church is pretty good at watching out for folks.   That's not been my experience everywhere, though, sadly.  I don't think it  needs to be an emergency necessarily either. To me, the true test of community churchwise is  - when it all goes pear-shaped or simply  a tinge of grey, 'Who you gonna call?' Or even better - 'Who's gonna call you?' 

And no, there are times when a FB 'like' just doesn't cut it.

 

re-cycled 'Blog of The Week,'

I was tempted to say 'bloggage,' given the  continued attack of writer's block  I mentioned last week.  A quick search on 'retreats,'  shows this is no new thing for me;  it's become a part of the landscape at this time of year for me to emerge from the wilds of the countryside gawping like a stranded guppy. Earlier in the year Opinionated Vicar's  reflections on his IGR at St Beunos prompted me to try to articulate  some thoughts on changes in my own prayer. These changes wove their way almost  effortessly into my own time recently at the same retreat centre and have come out with me as seamlessly. Which isn't to say, of course, that everything was plain sailing. On the contrary,  but underneath the struggles I always had this deep down  sense of 'all will be well.' The nearest I can get to describing my spiritual state is to liken it to a radio: yes, it took some 'tuning in,' and at times I wasn't quite sure which station I was headed for, yet for the first time for as long as I can remember, there was a complete absence of interference, static and crackle.  And a discernible deepening amd moving closer to God which even a hard of hearing Greenpatch was able to pick up on. More than that, I simply can't say. 

Far better to leave you with a picture of the beautiful grounds  surrounding St Beunos; they speak far louder than words.

 

Late but not 'late' Blog of The Week - Rory is Available

Yes, I know that this is Wednesday, not Monday.  Yes, I know that Greenpatches hasn't been vocal over the last few weeks; partly due to ennui, partly because she's been holed up in the wilds of North Wales, contemplating her navel.  To be blunt: I'm speechless. More later maybe...

So, what better way to begin to shift the 'bloggage' by sounding the trumpet for another faithful blogger and long-standing member of the blogroll over on my other blog: the keeper of the witty, wise and wonderful Mr Gnome, Rory Keegan. Rory says:

 

Bravo for brilliant visionaries! 

I’m privileged to work with many such men and women, enabling them to turn dream to reality: finding the format, perfecting the text, sourcing the packaging and liaising with a legion of creative professionals (illustrators, video producers, graphic designers) to deliver projects on time and on budget - in short, the whole kit and caboodle.

I'm Rory Keegan: resourceful, reliable and ready for new opportunities. 

 - Find out more about Rory's work  over on Rory is Available

 

Oh, and while you're there, don't forget to say hello to his equally witty and urbane friend, Mr Gnome