Anne Shirley Moments

If you know about kindred spirits, the Rollings Reliable Baking Powder Company and the dangers of currant wine, then this post will make sense.

Sometimes I find myself having Anne Shirley moments.

It might be when my mouth and brain conspire to get ahead of common sense and I say that thing I am actually thinking rather than what should be said in public.

It might be when I spend an afternoon talking about nothing with a good friend, or curl up with a good book, and all is right with the world.

Or it could be like today, when I should be busy about many things, but find myself stopping on a park bench during my morning walk to gaze out at the lake where the sun is making the water glimmer in spots, the birds are playing with the wind, and the waves are quite literally dancing. If Anne Shirley were here, no doubt she would christen Lake Michigan today the "Lake of Dancing Waters."

Sometimes I have Anne Shirley moments, which are really Susan moments, because life is best lived when you let your attention be caught by beauty, make time to soak in the company of kindred spirits, and above all remember that tomorrow is always fresh without any mistakes in it.

15 Books

A Facebook friend (who is also a friend in real life but one I sadly don't get to see very often) tagged me on a note where she listed 15 books that have had an impact on her. She challenged me to do the same so here goes. The rules are to think of 15 books (in less than 15 minutes) that will always stick with you. So here goes, in no particular order.

1. Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Leguin

2. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

3. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick

4. Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling

5. Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg

6. Inner Voice of Love by Henri Nouwen

7. The Stream and the Sapphire by Denise Levertov

8. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

9. Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Attwood

10. Psalms for Praying by Nan C. Merrill

11. Peace Pays a Price by Dorothy Vidulich, CSJP

12. Living Peace by John Dear

13. In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

14. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

15. The Raft is Not the Shore by Daniel Berrigan and Thich Nhat Hanh

What are your 15?

Nuns in Books

It's been a while since I've added to it, but I've had an occasional series here on the blog called "Nuns on Film," highlighting various movie portrayals of women religious. If memory serves me correctly, I've written about a few literary portrayals of women religious as well.

If such things interest you, you may want to check out James Martin's recent article on Busted Halo.

Today when a nun comes on screen—TV, film or Youtube—it’s usually for a cheap laugh. Even books based on the lives of real-life sisters provide much of the same images.

This is pretty surprising when you consider what these supposedly “nutty” sisters have accomplished throughout American history. During times when women were routinely denied opportunities for leadership, sisters founded colleges and universities on a shoestring; ran inner-city schools for vast immigrant populations; and managed far-flung hospital systems for people of all faiths. All this while living together in cramped residences, earning little money, and putting up with those penguin jokes.

In recognition of just a few of their incredible accomplishments, here are three books that take a serious, more accurate look at the lives of those “first feminists.” Hopefully they’ll get you thinking there’s something inspiring about three words you don’t hear too often — poverty, chastity and obedience. Read more...

Persistent Peace

We were blessed to have John Dear with us yesterday here at the Chapter .... my head and heart are still processing everything he shared and challenged us with.

He has an autobiography coming out tomorrow (Friday). I just got an email from him via Pax Christi regarding the book that I'd like to share with you here:

As you may know, my autobiography, A Persistent Peace, (440 pages with a foreword by Martin Sheen) is being published this week, on Friday August 1st, by Loyola Press. I've spent many years working on it, and hope it will inspire others to embark on the spiritual journey of peacemaking and Gospel nonviolence. The times are terrible, but there are signs of hope everywhere, and I hope more and more people will take up the nonviolent struggle for justice and disarmament, and spend their lives working to abolish war, poverty, nuclear weapons and global warming, in order to welcome God's reign of peace in our midst.

So I'm writing today to invite you to consider a few ways you can help me spread the word about A Persistent Peace:

1. Buy the book this Friday! A Persistent Peace will be available on Friday, August 1st at www.amazon.com as well as major bookstores. If you purchase the book at www.amazon.com on August 1st, it will help bump it up on the best- sellers list enabling more people to learn about it and major papers to review it.

2. Write a Review. If you enjoyed the book, please write a review of it at www.amazon.com , or in any journals, newsletters or other places. That would be a big help.

3. Tell your friends. Please consider telling your friends, relatives, and networks about the book. You can read about it at: www.persistentpeace.com. Perhaps you might send this email out to your friends, relatives and networks, and ask them to order the book on August 1st as well.

4. Support My Fall Book Tour. I'll be traveling the country throughout the fall, using the book to talk about our journey to peace, the nonviolent way of Jesus, and the need to abolish war, poverty, nuclear weapons and global warming. Perhaps you could come to an event near you and bring your friends. For the schedule, check out: www.johndear.org.

Thank you for your consideration, your help, and all you do for peace and justice! I am very grateful for anything you might be able to do to help get the word out about A Persistent Peace. May the God of peace bless us all with every gift of peace!

Radical Amazement

I'm reading a book recommended by my Vows/Universe Story workshop presenter last week: Radical Amazement: Contemplative Lessons From Black Holes, Supernovas, and Other Wonders of the Universe by Judy Cannato.

The fact that we are the universe come to conscious self-awareness is radically amazing. Consider this: You are able to sit and read these words as the result of 13.7 billion years of development. Over the last four billion years, life on Earth has developed from primordial cells that did not even have a nucleus into Homo sapiens. The water in your body contains primordial hydrogen formed in the first seconds of the Big Bang. The carbon atoms that form you came together as a result of the explosion of a supernova. The concentration of salt in your body matches the concentration of salt in the ancient seas. Your cells are direct descendants of unicellular organisms that developed billions of years ago. You have a reptilian brain and are able to walk courtesy of vertebra that developed 510 million years ago. You see because chlorophyll molecules mutated so that, like plant leaves, your eyes can capture the light from the Sun. And in your mother's womb your tiny body repeated the whole process of multicellular life on Earth, beginning as a single cell and then developing greater and greater complexity.

That is pretty amazing!

I bought this book because I am not a science type person, and it was described as giving 8th grade science level descriptions. I'm about half way through and I think I pretty much understand it! Plus, it's just very well written. I highly recommend the book if you're thinking about exploring the spiritual implications of our broadening understanding of the universe.

publishing

Someday I might expand my publishing horizons from blog form to book form. Many moons ago I shared a dream I had about writing a hypothetical book with this cover. These days I'm thinking "the book" would be more memoir than vocation guide, but who knows ...

The thing is, if I ever do get to the point of having a book published, by my count I will be the fourth member of my immediate family to be a published author. Or actually that might be fifth. Yes, my bloggy friends, it's true: I come from a family of overachievers (not that there's anything wrong with that!). Let me count the ways ...

• Big brother Joe is an economics professor with oodles of publishing credits to his name that are all way beyond my comprehension, including at least 4 books. He also has a blog, although I started my blog before him!
• Big sister Marie is a history professor, whose book entitled A Culture of Everyday Credit: Housekeeping, Pawnbroking, and Governance in Mexico City was recently published.
• Big sister Monica has her own cross cultural training firm. She's co-author of a textbook and an upcoming guide to global business ethics.
• My Dad's even gotten into the game (no pun intended), writing the story of how two guys from Iowa saved basketball. Do you remember how the glass behind the basketball hoop used to shatter when they made a slam dunk? Well, my dad was the patent attorney for the little invention that stopped that from happening -an interesting capstone to his illustrious career.
• And last but not least, my big brother Michael (who is some sort of big shot internet executive) is working behind the scenes, helping to publish and edit my Dad's book. I'm sure he'll join the publishing game sooner or later.

Looking down from heaven, my mom must be very proud of her family. She may have never written a book, but in a way she did by her very life. She taught us all to use our gifts to make the world a better place, and led by example.

lifting the load of gloom, by dorothy day

I was reading an article by Robert Ellsberg in the Tablet about a collection of Dorothy Day's diaries that has recently been released (they were sealed for 25 years after her death in 1980). The book definitely looks like a must have. I was really struck by this bit:

While she was a witness or participant in many of the great social and ecclesial movements of her day, her diaries are a reminder that most of any life is occupied with ordinary activities and pursuits. Inspired by her favourite saint, Thérèse of Lisieux, Day was convinced that ordinary life was the true arena for holiness. Her spirituality was very much focused on the effort to practise forgiveness, charity and patience with those closest at hand.

Like most holy people, she often fell short of her ideals. We know this because she herself calls attention to her faults - her impatience, her capacity for anger and self-righteousness. "Thinking gloomily of the sins and shortcomings of others," she writes, "it suddenly came to me to remember my own offences, just as heinous as those of others. If I concern myself with my own sins and lament them, if I remember my own failures and lapses, I will not be resentful of others. This was most cheering and lifted the load of gloom from my mind. It makes one unhappy to judge people and happy to love them."

Definite food for thought

tagged

I've been tagged by the Ironic Catholic.

Rules: Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

The Book: Passion for Christ, Passion for Humanity by the International Congress on Consecrated Life.

Page 123 is well into the footnotes for an article entitled "Seekers of Wells and Roads: Two Icons for a Samartian Consecrated Life" by Dolores Aleixandre, RSCJ. It's telling a story told by Thomas Merton.

"The monk who accompanied him wanted to bring a caravan of about twenty-five yaks loaded with all kinds of provisions. The Dalai Lama said to him, "We won't be able to take all those yaks with us; we'll have to wade and swim across rivers and we need to travel light." The monk replied, "We have to take them; we have to eat."

That was actually quite fun (if random) and makes me want to read that particular article!

I don't usually tag, but if you happen to be reading this and are so inclined, please play on your blog and let me know in the comments! Or, if you don't have a blog or feel like putting it on your blog, feel free to play IN the comments!