Taken any Chalk Walks lately?

One of the things I have loved about this covid time is that suddenly, there are children in our neighbourhood. I mean, there have always been children, but now, because they aren't at school all day long and their parents aren't trucking them off to numerous extracurricular activities in the evenings, I actually get to see them hanging out where they live, or at least, see evidence of their presence.

The chalk art that seems to have sprung up everywhere overnight with the arrival of spring is a delightful give away. Hopscotches with 142 jumping places, long wiggly lines from one end of the block to the other, creative "obstacle courses" made by moms for kids to follow instructions like, "spin here," "do five jumping jacks," and "RUN!" and greetings to elderly neighbours make me smile. Then there are the sweet self portraits, cartoon characters, and hopeful messages about love. "We're all in this together" seems to be a popular line. So is "Stay home, stay safe."

On our after supper dog walk these last two evenings, my husband and I came across some grown ups on their knees with chalk in hand. When I commented to a young man how happy I was to see him creating an art walk, he laughed and said, "Mike, the guy across the street, is calling it The Chalk Walk." Mike is probably my age, and he uses stencils for song lyrics. 

This afternoon, my daughter and I took a walk to record a few images before it rains. It's enough to make me want to go out and find some more sidewalk chalk! But it's the little kids' art that I really love, and I'm staying home... except for my chalk walks! 

Taizé Tuesday: Behüte mich, Gott

I'm finding it challenging to remember these Simple Moodlings these days. The weather has turned for the better since my last Taizé Tuesday post, so I'm outside more than indoors, and only at my computer for my daily prayer with the Brothers each afternoon or evening.

Their lovely evening prayer can be found livestreamed on the Taizé Facebook page at 12:30 pm MST, or later in the day at https://www.facebook.com/watch/taize/. This afternoon we sang this beautiful chant, which has become one of my favourites:

Behüte mich, Gott,

ich vertraue dir,

du zeigst mir den Weg zum Leben.

Bei dir ist Freude, Freude in Fülle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6-UneKFn2I

Keep me, O God,
for I trust in you.
You show me the path of life.
With you there is fullness of joy.

In this time of the coronavirus, it's a wonderful psalm prayer. No matter what happens, God is with us, showing us the way home. Plus I'm a sucker for images of Taize as I knew it, and the gorgeous oboe and flute descants. Enjoy!

Simple Suggestion #281... Make every day Earth Day

Yesterday was a strange Earth Day, to be sure. I wonder what might have happened if there was no corona virus keeping us all apart. Marches and rallies? Earth Day parties and concerts? Pollution as per usual?

In an effort to mark it in some way, two days before the event, I went out and decorated our front sidewalk with chalk, reminding people about Earth Day, and inviting them to give her a some love by joining in my little Resurrection Project (click here to read that moodling) and cleaning her up.

In many ways, our covid confinement is cleaning her up. Because we are staying home, there are less fossil fuel emissions, some waterways are cleaner in usually crowded tourist places, our songbirds are heartened by a reduction in noise pollution and are singing more, and other species are enjoying some places from which they've been displaced by humans. Scientists are noticing these things... are we?

I can't help but hope that we will learn something from all of this, though I worry that once covid restrictions are lifted, humans will return to our old ways with a vengeance, as if to make up for all the "deprivations" of being stuck at home.

While we have a chance to notice the good things this enforced simpler living is doing, I'd like to appeal to our higher natures to consider carrying many of the good habits we are developing now into our covid-free future. Things like one grocery trip a week, and saving our elderly neighbours trips to the store. Going for long walks. Spending love miles instead of air miles. You can probably name a dozen other things you might be doing differently that are having a small but positive impact on our planet's health.

It's been a long while since I've posted a Simple Suggestion, mainly because, after 280 of them, it seems I've covered a lot of the possibilities... But every day can be an Earth Day, and global climate change won't stop just because we're all stuck at home for a few months. We really need to live Laudato Si... and do more to protect and care for our common home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=KIVuISZGdug

Let's let this covid crisis and our 50th Earth Week be a dress rehearsal for how we're going to save our planet from further disaster.

If you're looking for more Simple Suggestions, click here.

Sunday Reflection: Resurrection projects

Today's reflection is brought to you by
1 Peter 1:3-9.

Blessed are you,
O God!

You give us new life
through our Christ,
who showed us
that really living
is only possible
after we rise
from our own struggles
and deaths.

In this unusual time,
perhaps we are being tested
by fire:
called to listen
to our leaders,
to care
for each other,
to reach out
to those in need in creative ways,
and to reflect
on ways we can live
in greater harmony with your creation.

Our experience
can be compared
to that of the first apostles
whose world was turned upside down
on Good Friday.

We are being challenged
to listen
to care
to reach out
and to reflect
as Christ did,
and so to show
that we are yours alone.

We are called to be part
of your Resurrection project!

This is our salvation
and we thank you
for showing us the way!

+Amen

* * * * * * *

Happy Easter! Alleluia, he is risen! and so are we, though at the moment, it may not feel that way, thanks to the coronavirus. For some of us, it feels as though everything is on hold, but really, if we look around, it isn't. Life continues, thanks be to God! 

I am unceasingly grateful for the melting of winter's last embrace (it snowed here on Palm Sunday!), the slowly greening grass... and the growing things in our little greenhouse (more on that later this week). I am also grateful that Easter extends for 40 days, and that resurrection seems to extend to all of creation right now. Reading stories about reduced air pollution and cleaner rivers and signs of nature's rejuvenation is heartening after what seemed like the longest Lent ever! May we learn how to live more lightly on our planet from here on!

There is still work to be done, even after resurrection. We went for a bit of a drive this afternoon, and I was dismayed to see so much litter in different ditches and parks -- and this year, the usual Capital City Clean Up has been restricted thanks to covid-19. So my resurrection project for the next few weeks is to go out dog-walking wearing gloves and with garbage bag in hand, so that nature doesn't have to try to decompose those things of which humans have failed to properly dispose.

What's your resurrection project?

A very different Good Friday

Because of the coronavirus, we have just come through the most unusual Lent I can remember -- a time when not only Christians, but people of all faiths have been asked to give up many things. And now we have reached the Triduum, the three holy days marking the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

How do we carry it through?

For me, Easter weekend has always been one of the busiest weekends of the year because I am usually up to my eyeballs in liturgical music for the season. But this year, even our churches are closed, and Alberta Health Services and the provincial government have outlawed gatherings of more than 5, or just those who live together in one household. So I won't be gathering with friends to sing the solemn songs of Good Friday, lead Taizé Prayer Around the Cross, or participate in our joyful Easter Vigil choir. Heavy sigh.

Really, it's a small price to pay for preserving the health of people, particularly those on the front lines during this pandemic. But I will miss all the Triduum singing, and the people with whom I so enjoy making music of solemnity and celebration.

Fortunately, many Good Friday events will be happening online. A couple of dear priest friends will be livestreamed saying mass from their parishes in Sherwood Park and St. John's NL, the brothers of Taizé will hold their Prayer Around the Cross on their hillside in France, and the Edmonton Outdoor Way of the Cross, which celebrates its 40th year, has been pre-recorded using appropriate social-distancing protocols and is now posted online for participants to enjoy. Even if you've never walked with Good Friday crowds in Edmonton's inner city, I would encourage you to take your faith to the streets listen to the message of this walk... This video goes live at 10 am on April 10th, the time the walk is usually scheduled.

One thing is certain... there will never be another Triduum quite like this one. May it move us to a deeper solidarity with all those who are struggling, and motivate us to be the hands and feet and heart of God on earth.

Taizé Tuesday: Heureux qui s'abandonne à toi

As anyone who has been reading these moodlings for a few years knows, I find a lot of comfort and joy in the music of Taizé, that small ecumenical monastic community of brothers who welcome people from all over the world to pray with them on a beautiful hillside in France.

They are still praying, online these days, without any guests, every day at 12:30 pm MST (my time zone). And I'm finding that so many of their chants are perfect for the time in which we find ourselves, a time of many uncertainties and concerns. So for the next while, I've decided to give those songs space on my Tuesday moodlings.

This chant is one I've only learned since the brothers started their online prayers on March 16, after they sent home all visitors and volunteers and social-isolated themselves. If you're at all inclined to sing along, these are the lyrics:

Heureux qui s’abandonne à toi, ô Dieu, dans la confiance du coeur.

Tu nous gardes dans la joie, la simplicité, le miséricorde.

In these challenging times, what can we do but abandon ourselves to the will of the One who made the universe with all the trust we can muster? I'll post the English translation below the video. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrTLu4IjdSk

Happy are those who abandon themselves to you with a trusting heart.

You keep us in joy, simplicity, and mercy.

Sunday Reflection: Palm Sunday 2020

Today's reflection is brought to you by Philippians 2:6-11.

Jesus,
God,
you show us what true humility is.

You
of all people,
could have been a big shot,
but you chose to live
an ordinary life
with extraordinary love for all.

You emptied yourself
of all ego
and showed us
how to be servants
of love,
even dying the worst death imaginable
in solidarity
with those who hunger
for truth and justice
but are denied.

God raised you
after you showed us
that only by walking through
valleys of death
do we truly learn to live.

You
are above all
and your name
bows us low
no matter where we are.

Help us to live through
our valleys of death
and to reach out
to those who struggle
as best we are able.

We confess that you
are our tender God
and our glorious brother.

Be with us
this Holy Week
and in the weeks and months ahead.

Show us,
in the fullness of time,
that our actions are
enough.

+Amen.

* * * * * * *

It's strange to have Palm Sunday without the usual ritual, and togetherness. But this year, it's what a lot of us are called to do. Though I wish there was some work I could undertake to help the world cope with this coronavirus, as I'm not in healthcare or essential services fields, I have to recognize that my main work is to stay home, pray, and check in with family and friends while social distancing.

So this morning, I cut some Canadian palm branches (from the juniper evergreens under my bedroom window) and attended Palm Sunday mass via FaceBook. Then I put pieces of my virtually blessed juniper all around the house, as I have done every other year with palms imported from the southern U.S. When that was done, Lee and I walked a block to our elderly neighbour, Lidia, and fastened a small Canadian palm branch to her front steps to mark Holy Week, wishing her a happy Palm Sunday through her screen door and blowing kisses.

It's the best we can do, and it is enough.

Remember that whatever you do these days to show kindness to others -- whether a small gesture of solidarity, a donation to an organization that helps those struggling at this time, a smile, a prayer, or simply staying put to prevent this virus from spreading more quickly -- is enough. 

Christ is walking with us through our lonesome valley.

Peace to you all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85BvT5X6WSo

Creative connections

It's still early in this time of Covid-19, and things will get worse before they get better. But I have to say that, so far, I'm really impressed with the many creative ways that people are coping with this crisis. Besides being invited to socially-distanced walks with neighbours, I've been on the receiving end of several other fun initiatives to keep spirits up... mostly online: games of Trivial Pursuit and dice (I won 40 cents that will never be collected!), a yoga class, meditative evening prayer from Taizé, and a wine and cheese phone call with a high school chum.

But the most amazing thing so far was a re-connection with a large group of friends, many of whom I haven't seen in over 30 years. I traveled for a year as as a student member of an Up With People cast of 130+ people in a musical, educational and cultural program which focused on peace, love and friendship among nations. We performed in the U.S., Canada, and more than a half-dozen countries in Europe, while participating in community involvement activities at schools, senior centres, and social agencies. Living with a large group like that, I made a few lifelong friends, but keeping up with everyone was impossible. Back in the 80's, all we had was snail mail, and long distance phone calls were pricey, especially overseas!

But communication now is another story altogether. On Saturday morning, my friend Allie, who subscribes to an online conferencing service, invited as many castmates as she could to join her in an online video gathering. By the end of the meeting, 2 screens worth of about 40 friends from 7 different countries connected (some for over 4 hours). Everyone agreed that it was pretty great to see people we hadn't seen since we did our final show at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. on July 4, 1988.

At first, our online gathering was chaos, everyone trying to get a word in edgewise, but then Andrew decided we should all take turns updating each other about our lives, and that worked really well. Our lives have taken many twists and turns, and it seems we're all in different stages of self-isolation because of the corona virus, but are finding all sorts of different ways to stay connected with the people we love.

If the human race learns anything from this pandemic, I hope it's a deeper appreciation of the things we've been taking for granted, and that who we are and how we love one another is what's most important.

Here's a beautiful little video about how one poet sees that the coronavirus is helping us to reframe our lives... Thanks, Nora, for sharing it with me! Be well, all...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgm9E_cmvWA

Sunday reflection: From non-necessities to needful things

This Sunday reflection is brought to you by

Ezekiel 37:12-14.

You open our graves,
O God,
though we don't realize
the many ways we have died.

You bring us up from our graves,
and we begin to see
how we have exiled ourselves
from the good you want
for us.

Suddenly
we begin to understand
how we have chosen
other spirits to lead us
instead of your Spirit
within us.

Our lives have been filled
with non-necessities:
self-importance,
busy work so that we can impress others
by our useful lifestyles,
needless activities and possessions,
and many other things
that ultimately do not matter.

But you choose this time
to put your Spirit within us
and to ground us
in the needful things:
compassion,
connection
(from the appropriate social distance)
and appreciation of basic necessities and
all that we have received from you.

You promise that
your Spirit
gives us life,
and that even in this time of struggle
you speak and act
through our love for each other.

Stay with us,
O God,
and keep us grounded
in you.

+Amen

* * * * * * *

I love how on this Lazarus Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent, we are told the story of Jesus' interactions with his three friends from Bethany at a time when they are in crisis... how he grieves with Mary and Martha, and turns their sorrow to joy by returning their brother to them.

In this time of Covid-19, we may be feeling like so much of what we have known and loved has been laid in a tomb, but we are called to keep the faith that resurrection will come. We are to continue to support each other in whatever ways we can (don't forget your local farmer's markets and other small businesses), and to share our resources with those who are coming up short (also remember our charities who are helping many in need). 

In spite of all the uncertainties we are facing, I can't help but feel that with this opportunity to re-prioritize our lives, moving from the non-necessities to the needful things, we are learning to live as God has wanted us to live all along, in a greater communion with each other and all of creation.

* * * * * * *

I'm taking a bit of a break from Laudato Si Sunday reflections for the time being, but encourage anyone who has some time to read through it and come to an understanding of the kind of world we might create when we emerge on the other side of this pandemic. Past Laudato Si reflections can be found here, and the Encyclical itself can be found here. Happy reading!

Letting go of fear, choosing change

If you're not living with a sense of unease in these days of the corona virus, I suspect you're more the exception than the rule. I'm already tired of the word "unprecedented" and all the other words like it.

While it's true that our current generations have never been though anything like this pandemic, it's also important to remember that there have always been people around the globe and even in our own neighbourhoods who have lived with forms of uncertainty and fear that we have never known.

But suddenly, we are all in the same boat with Covid-19, which doesn't respect the nice little boxes into which we have placed ourselves. No matter who we are, our lives have changed and are changing because of this epidemic, and it seems that those of us who have lived in relatively secure comfort all our lives are most discomfited by all these things that are suddenly beyond our control.

The virus is frightening enough. It's killing people. What it means for our future is also frightening, because we know that nothing will be the same.

But rather than be engulfed by fear, and its companions, greed and suspicion, I prefer to look at this time as a God-given opportunity to think about the kind of world we want to inhabit once we live beyond the virus. This is a moment when we may have an opportunity to "RESET" our future. And here are some questions I've been asking myself about it all:

During and after Covid-19, can we better care for those who have always been marginalized?

During and after Covid-19, can we choose interdependence over individualism?

During and after Covid-19, can we better care for all of creation?

During and after Covid-19, can we value every person as an equal?

During and after Covid-19, can we re-evaluate and put less emphasis on money and economic growth?

During and after Covid-19, can we put truth and reconciliation to work and re-build stronger relationships with our Original Peoples?

During and after Covid-19, can we choose to live with just enough?

During and after Covid-19, can we re-develop our society into one where everyone works as best they can and everyone is provided a universal basic income that provides for their needs?

During and after Covid-19, can we rebuild our education, healthcare, justice, and social systems so no one falls through the cracks?

During and after Covid-19, can we become more cooperative and less competitive?

During and after Covid-19, can we forgo past teachings about what’s important and replace them with what we are discovering to be truly important?

During and after Covid-19, can we cut climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation by simplifying our lifestyles, living with less and Being more?

During and after Covid-19, can we hold onto the lessons we are learning about community, generosity, togetherness, friendship, love, laughter, nature, and all the things we take for granted, but especially our health?

As I ask myself these questions, I see some of this work already beginning. Many of our politicians have set aside their differences and ideologies to do what's best for the common good. I cheer them on, and will probably write them a few letters of encouragement with suggestions for our collective future.

We still have a long way to go to get through this epidemic, and many heartbreaks and struggles to come, but rather than living in fear, let's imagine the world we really want and move forward with it foremost in our minds.

It's time to let go of our fear and choose the change we want to see in our world.

Laudato Si Sunday reflection: Protecting what we hold in common

This week's reflection is brought to you by
Ephesians 5:8-14.

You call us,
O God,
to live as your children,
children of light.

Our light --
our goodness and truth --
needs to shine for the world to see,
especially in these darker than usual days.

If we do what is pleasing to you,
avoid darkness
and bring everything into your light,
that light will drive out darkness.

You call us to awake
from the sleep of unconcern for others,
to rise from darkness and death
and you shine on us!

Help us to reach out
with your love and light
as we are able.

Let us do your will
and share your joy
even as we do all we can to
"flatten the curve."

Remind us often
that we are all in this together,
that we hold our health in common
at this time.

May our smiles
rather than our anxieties
shine
for all those
who need reassurance.

Be with us,
O God.

+Amen

* * * * * * *

I'm finding it challenging to connect our little encyclical study with this world pandemic that has suddenly arrived almost everywhere. But I think that this week's piece of Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home connects with things we need to do to protect our 'global commons' -- which is our earth's global health in the face of Covid-19 and climate change. We're looking at paragraphs 173 to 177, which can be accessed by clicking here and scrolling down.

I'd like to begin by highlighting most of paragraph 173, where Pope Francis and the encyclical team say

Enforceable international agreements are urgently needed, since local authorities are not always capable of effective intervention. Relations between states must be respectful of each other's sovereignty, but must also lay down mutually agreed means of averting regional disasters which would eventually affect everyone. Global regulatory norms are needed to impose obligations and prevent unacceptable actions...

These words are referring to caring for the environment, but if there is any good news to be had right now, it seems that many (though not all) world leaders are taking this pandemic seriously and implementing necessary restrictions to slow the virus' spread. I am hopeful that, once we get through this health crisis, our leaders will have learned something about how to work together as a world community to implement necessary restrictions on things that harm Mother Earth. Perhaps our politicians will come to understand that the economy isn't the only bottom line of which we must take care. Our environments and all its living beings must become the priority! Pray with me for that awareness in leaders who are willing to stand for necessary changes to the way the dollar has been more important than creation!

In paragraph 174 Pope Francis makes note of the fact that international and regional conventions on ocean governance come up short due to "fragmentation and the lack of strict mechanisms of regulation, control and penalization..." He can't be more right when he says at the end of paragraph 174 that "What is needed, in effect, is an agreement on systems of governance for the whole range of so-called "global commons."

At the moment, we are learning from one another about ways to effectively reduce the rates of Corona Virus infection. Many scientists and healthcare professionals from around the globe are working together toward something that is necessary for the health we hold in common. Just imagine if we could use similar methods to involve the entire planet in caring for our common home!

In paragraph 175, we hear that we need to make more radical decisions about reducing pollution and eliminating poverty. It seems we human beings are stuck in a rut when it comes to handling our problems, the Pope says, because "the economic and financial sectors, being transnational, tends to prevail over the political."

As I watch our economic and financial sectors fluctuate and tumble, as I see our political leaders offer financial supports to those who are suddenly unemployed and unable to make ends meet because of job losses or health issues, and as I watch neighbours reaching out to neighbours, I can't help but hope that this global economic shake-up will be the wake up call our world needs to help it regain equilibrium for the sake of all creation, that people will understand that true wealth only exists when ALL BEINGS are well together.

So maybe it's time to think outside our previous boxes, "to devise stronger and more efficiently organized international institutions" with leaders who work together for justice, peace, and equity for all (paragraph 175). If you had to come up with "a true world political authority" (Pope Francis is quoting his predecessor, Pope Benedict, at the end of paragraph 175), how would you do it? Wouldn't it be great to have a wise world governing body that can look after humanity as a whole in times of crisis, work for disarmament and peace, ensure an end to poverty, disease and hunger, and protect the web of life that we call creation?

I sure don't know how to create a world governing body that will make a difference, but I'd like to nominate people like our female chief medical officers, who are offering wisdom and calm in this very difficult time. Drs. Deena Hinshaw, Bonnie Henry and Theresa Tam have been amazing in all their efforts. If we can support organizations that dream and brainstorm and train similar wise and calm leaders who can tell it like it is and inspire us to take these difficult steps like these women have in order to "flatten the curve" of the Corona virus, perhaps we could one day have similar leaders to save our 'global commons.'

But we need to start looking for these leaders now, and supporting their environmental efforts. If you find yourself with time on your hands this week, I'd encourage you to do a bit of research into environmental leaders and organizations that are making a difference for the sake of Mother Earth. And if there's a way for you to support their growth, even with just a note of appreciation for their efforts, go for it!

We hold so many things in common -- air, earth, water, our health and the health of this beautiful sphere we call home. Every one of us can do something to leave our home better than we find it right now. We arise from the sleep of unawareness of all those with whom we share our earth, and begin to shine God's light around us. Even just by offering a smile (though I challenge us all to do more than that)!

There's suddenly more time to pray

I had great intentions at the beginning of this Lent to double my meditation time. For the past year or so, I've been doing my best to spend 20 minutes every morning in contemplative prayer. For me, that means sitting, usually with dog close by and a cup of tea, lifting people in my life up to God one by one, and then just resting in God's presence. Of course, my monkey mind runs all over the place, but the point of contemplation is to come to an awareness of my thoughts, and turn them back to God.

Sometimes I sit for twenty minutes and never get back to God more than once or twice! But God knows I'm trying -- at least I've set aside the time.

My hope for this Lent, which began three weeks ago, was to add a 20-minute evening meditation. Which didn't happen -- until this week. Since Monday, I've been lighting a candle and sitting at about 9 pm, and my monkey mind seems to be a little less frenetic later in the day.

Of course, the big motivation for finally meeting my Lenten resolution is our current pandemic, and all the anxiety that the world seems to be feeling right now, come home in my own psyche. If we've ever needed contemplation and calm, now is the time. So I'm suddenly making more time to pray.

And then the Taizé Community ups the ante! This week, the Community closed its doors and sent all pilgrims and volunteers home (and maybe some brothers, too). But always concerned about hospitality, it has invited us all into its evening prayer through online streaming via Facebook. 8:30 pm prayer in France occurs at 1:30 pm here (MST). The first two days, I was doing other things at 1:30, but the prayer was recorded and can be viewed as soon as it concludes.

Still, I love the idea that there are many of us around the world who are able to join with the men in that little room on a hill in the Burgundy region of France. 3.4 thousand of us joined today's evening prayer from all over the globe, and personally, I delighted in singing the alto (for the chants I knew) with the brothers, who supply the melody, tenor and bass lines. It's international ecumenical prayer without any of us having to burn fossil fuels to participate.

Knowing that I am praying with people from Adelaide, Belfast, Istanbul, Jakarta, Modena, Posnan, Seoul, Turku -- the list goes on -- somehow makes the prayer feel deeper, all our voices calling together to God from across the planet.

It feels right. And I don't doubt that God is listening.

If you would like to join us tomorrow at 1:30, or later tonight for a replay, here's a link to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/taize/.

Sunday reflection: A prayer for the common good

Today's reflection is brought to you by
Romans 5:1-8.

You are our peace,
O God.

Your grace is our hope.

Even in our sufferings,
hope in you will
teach us to endure,
to become who we are meant to be,
to live toward your glory
for the sake of all your creation.

Our weakness has been strengthened in you,
because you have poured your abundant love
over us and all your creation.

That is the reason for our hope!

Remind us
in this time of crisis
that we are to act in the best interests
of our world community,
in the best interests of all that you have made.

Protect us from anxiety
and lead us to generosity.

Bless those
whose health and energies are most severely affected
by this pandemic,
and especially,
those who care for them.

May our prayer and care
fill them with your hope and strength!

Make us mindful of the good of all beings
as we move ahead,
aware that we are deeply connected
to all that you have made.

Help us to share your abundance,
your hope,
and to love one another
in all that we do.

+Amen

* * * * * * *

This has been a challenging week as we've gone from life as we always knew it to "a new normal," in the words of our local Chief Medical Officer of Health. It's a new normal that fits with a lot of our voluntary Lenten practices --  except now we are involuntarily giving up many sources of entertainment -- sports, theatre, dining out, community recreation, etc.

The list of closures and cancellations for local events and venues is growing daily, and we find ourselves using words like "social distancing" and "self-isolation." Our lives are being pared down more severely than we would choose. But rather than take these things as deprivation, why not translate them into personal "retreat"?

These changes are necessary in order to "flatten the curve" that is this pandemic known as COVID-19 so that we can cope with an illness that threatens us all in the weeks and months ahead. We don't want to overwhelm our healthcare systems by all getting sick at the same time.

I won't deny the fact that changes like these produce anxiety -- change at any time is a challenge. But I'm trying to see what's happening as a wake-up call for our human race, an opportunity to step back from the hectic, high-stress societies we have created, and to recognize that it's not our jobs or our possessions that give us value, but who we are and how we care for one another. I'm thinking especially of the people in Sicily, singing together from their balconies. I think they have the right idea.

If there is a silver lining to all this, it might be that in stepping back, we will find better ways to care for the common good of all creation. We can learn to be more generous, to seek out those in need and offer assistance in many different ways. Mainly, being a source of calm and care.

So I'm not writing about Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home this weekend. Instead, I'm thinking and praying about this pandemic, and recalling the last few lines of St. Francis' Canticle of Creation, from which Pope Francis took his encyclical's title. These lines remind us of our mortality and call us to patience and peace, just as this pandemic does. These are Francis' words:

Praised be You,

my Lord,

through those who give pardon for your love

and bear infirmity and tribulation.

Blessed are those who endure in peace

for by you,

Most High,

they shall be crowned.

Praised be You, 

my Lord,

through our Sister Bodily Death

from whom no one can escape....

Blessed are those 

whom death will find 
in your most holy will,

for the second death 
will do them no harm.

I praise and bless my Lord

and give you thanks

and serve you with great humility.

For all those who will not make it through this pandemic, for all leaders and caregivers, and for all of us, that we remain in God's peace and grace and hope!

+Amen.

Things to believe in...

My best friend sent me this gorgeous tune this morning, sung by the Northern Lights Chorale from Minnesota. Her church choir will sing it tomorrow. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT-VdH2lwZk

Love in the time of COVID-19

In the five minutes it took me to put on my uniform for my ushering position at the Winspear yesterday afternoon, everything changed. Once dressed, I learned that Alberta Health Services announced that all gatherings of over 250 people were banned, effective immediately. As I put my uniform back on its hanger, I could hear a couple of younger staff who seemed quite panicked, saying, "How are we supposed to live through this? This is something completely new!"

I affirmed that yes, this is an unprecedented situation that we are living through, and that all we can do is take care of each other and keep our chins up.

The challenge in this time, as I see it, is to think beyond ourselves and to unite for the common good. Yes, let's listen to our health officials when they ask us to take measures to protect the vulnerable and ourselves, but let's also remember that we are all in this together, and that hoarding needed commodities doesn't help anyone else, while snapping at each other in our anxiety only adds to the feeling of panic. Kindness is much more helpful!

It's hard to know what's coming, but at times like these, a smile goes further than anything else to bring a sense of normalcy and calm to those who really need it, and to ourselves. In this time of COVID-19, as we live through the challenges that come with a pandemic, we need to turn away from "everyone-for-themselves" thinking, listen to wise leaders, avoid gatherings, care for our neighbours, and hold onto the wisdom of the ages. It isn't easy, and it will get worse before it gets better, but if we operate from a place of positive thinking as much as possible, we have a much better chance of overcoming the struggles ahead.

The wisdom of the ages that I'm holding in my heart comes in two phrases:

Love one another. - Jesus Christ.

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well. - Julian of Norwich

What wisdom of the ages are you holding close these days? Please share, as what you have to offer may be exactly what someone else needs to hear.

Laudato Si Sunday reflection: Adding to the grace of God's creation

This week's reflection is brought to you by
2 Timothy 1: 8b-10

O Christ,
you call us to join together with you
in suffering for the Gospel,
which translates to
love.

You showed us what real love is
by uniting with us
in our humanity
and teaching us
to serve one another.

Your grace is enough for us.

Let us be your grace
in all that we say,
do,
and are.

And let the grace of your creation
be foremost in our minds
in all that we say,
do,
and are,
so that we may care for it
and for each other
as you do.

+Amen

* * * * * * *

This week's section of Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home reminds us that humanity is capable of working together to change the course of history when it comes to caring for our planet. We're looking at paragraphs 168 to 172, which you can access by clicking here and scrolling down. Paragraph 168 carries an important message about positive experiences where different conventions made good decisions for the sake of life on earth: the Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes, the Convention on international trade in endangered species, and the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer, which led to the Montreal Protocol which eliminated the CFCs which were creating the ozone hole.

When the ozone hole was discovered, it was a serious problem for the entire planet. And global climate change is the same sort of problem -- there is nothing on earth that isn't affected by weather which causes droughts and fires, floods and disasters. Edmonton had a tornado in 1987. Calgary had the flood of 2013. And for most of us in Alberta, these were fairly minor events. But for people living in developing countries, fires, floods, typhoons and drought cause more deaths and destruction than we can imagine, because the people in the developing world don't possess the resources we have to deal with such disasters.

"With regard to climate change, advances have been regrettably few," says the Pope in Laudato Si, his letter to the entire world. "Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility, above all on the parts of those countries which are more powerful and pollute the most" (paragraph 169). That would be most of the countries in the western world, including us. I wish the Pope had also used the word, sacrifice, because I believe that it's getting to the point where we might have to be willing to give certain things up for the health of our planet.

Unfortunately, our political leaders prefer to point fingers at other countries, poorer than ours, who aren't doing their share to protect the environment. So we in Canada have wasted valuable time, and aren't doing enough to stop climate change as of yet. But the Pope reminds us:

there is a need for common and differentiated responsibilities. As the bishops of Bolivia have stated, "the countries which have benefited from a high degree of industrialization, at the cost of enormous emissions of greenhouse gases, have a greater responsibility for providing a solution to the problems they have caused." (Quote from the Bolivian Bishops' Conference Pastoral Letter on the Environment and Human Development in Bolivia, El universo, don de Dios para la vida from March 2012 (86).)

Those Bolivian Bishops have a lot to say when it comes to the environment, and Bolivia has been a leading country in fighting for the rights of Mother Earth. Bolivia is feeling the effects of climate change more than we are thus far. One of my kids visited the country and saw the huge mountain lake called Poopo that disappeared in 2015 due to water diversion and disappearing glaciers related to climate change. The lake will probably not replenish itself.

I was happy to see that the Pope and his encyclical writing team addressed the issue of "carbon credits" in paragraph 171. It has never made sense to me that countries could pay a certain amount of money to "remove" so many tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere -- after the fact. If I fly to Tahiti and buy a carbon offset so that I can feel better about "dealing with" the greenhouse gas emissions caused by my tropical vacation, someone might plant a tree somewhere with that offset money, but it will take years for that tree to actually remove my emissions. It would be better not to fly at all... and maybe I need to be more serious about how I'm creating greenhouse gases from the beginning. That sacrifice I was talking about earlier.

Unfortunately, so far no one seems to be willing to sacrifice jet setting vacations. While I applaud people who do what they can to offset their air travel -- I'm not saying that carbon offsets are bad -- we also need to reconsider frivolous things like flying to warm places in the winter. And our big, polluting corporations need to stop polluting instead of buying carbon credits from developing countries that don't produce large amounts of greenhouse gases. The idea is to reduce our greenhouse gases and improve the health of our atmosphere, not just to maintain things at the present level of pollution!

Paragraph 172 references the difficulties faced by poor countries and the help they will need from wealthier nations to develop less polluting forms of energy production. It also contains the encyclical's first mention of solar energy as a solution, noting that

Taking advantage of abundant solar energy will require the establishment of mechanisms and subsidies which allow developing countries access to technology transfer, technical assistance and financial resources, but in a way which respects their concrete situations, since the compatibility of [infrastructures] with the context for which they have been designed is not always adequately assessed (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Energy, Justice and Peace, IV, 1, Vatican City (2014), 53.)

I am underlining and bolding the statement that follows the above comment: "The costs of this would be low, compared to the risks of climate change."

It seems to me that, here in North America, we are too afraid to change, to take on our greater responsibility as people who live in countries that contribute the most to climate change. We think it will be too expensive, or too difficult, but in reality, climate change will be more expensive, and more deadly.

We're especially concerned about our livelihoods here in Alberta, where fossil fuel extraction and related industries have been our main employer for fifty years. But if we really think about it, fossil fuels are a dead end because our great-great-grandchildren can't live on a planet choked with greenhouse gases and terrorized by catastrophic events caused by an unstable climate.

We need to change now.

This makes me think of a young man who used to work in the Oil Sands near Fort McMurray. Paul saw that the future for highly polluting chemical processes to extract bitumen from the sand, water and clay up north was taking our environment downhill, fast. So he pulled the plug on that career and retrained to install solar panels. Rather than adding to climate change through his livelihood, he's participating in less polluting work in the alternate energy field and improving the earth's health, long term.

And more of us need to think this way. How can we change and find better ways to deal with the pollution created by our lives? How can we reduce waste? How can we save energy? How can we in North America, who have created greater greenhouse gas emissions with our larger homes, multiple vehicles, and excessive possessions, shoulder our greater responsibility for providing a solution to the problems our lifestyles have caused the planet?

What is one right thing we can do in the week ahead? Or one change we can make? Can we add to the grace of God's creation?

We found a way to help the ozone layer. Now we need to live in grace with the rest of our beautiful planet.

Adventures in accessibility

On Monday, our L'Arche Day Program core members had a lovely afternoon at their very own art display at the Grant MacEwan University Library. Colleen, an art therapy student at the college, booked a sunny "collaboration room" and we all gathered for coffee and timbits and an opportunity to see the display and art book she had made from art created by our core members. We enjoyed time with Colleen in her university setting, and took many pictures of our group at their display.

Grant MacEwan is the new campus in town, and I had never been up to the second floor. I was quite impressed with Barry Johns' architecture, and the accessibility of everything. Our members with wheelchairs were able to go places almost as fast as those of us on our feet thanks to plenty of elevators and those push button accessibility doors. But it was the touchless washrooms that really fascinated me, especially when Glen* decided to try one out.

Glen and I walked and wheeled past a lot of quiet students to where a sign announced an All Gender Washroom. I had already made a trip there with Sandy*, so was able to explain to Glen to wave his hand in front of a sensor that opened the door, and that when he got inside, he would have to wave his hand in front of another sensor to lock the door.

What I didn't notice was that there were two different sensors inside. As I didn't use the second sensor, I can't recall what it was for, but after the door closed behind Glen, I heard the second sensor beep as Glen waved at it. It clearly wasn't the one that locked the door, though, as the outside sensor light stayed green instead of turning red.

But Glen didn't know that, and I didn't want to disturb the students by yelling at him through the door. I figured we wouldn't be long, so I stood against the door in case someone else would come to use the washroom. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a student came and said, "Excuse me, but I'd like to use the washroom."

"Someone is in there," I told him, and he said, "but the lock light is still green." "I know," I said, "but I think my friend doesn't know that." The student giggled, and waited with me for the washroom to become available.

After the toilet flushed, I heard a faint sound of water running, followed by the clacking of the automatic towel dispenser. Then I heard Glen trying to get the door to open again.

"BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP."

The student beside me started to giggle, realizing, as I did, that Glen was using the wrong sensor to try to open the door. Then he must have tried the right sensor, because the door lock sensor on the outside where I was standing turned red as he locked himself IN.

The student guffawed. "Well, now the door is locked," he said. "Your friend is safe from anyone barging in."

Since the sensor he just tried hadn't opened the door, Glen returned to the other one, and I started to worry whether he would get out of there before we had to return home.

"BEEP. BEEP. BEEP."

"Good luck," the student said, giggling again, as he spotted someone leave another washroom further down the study hall, and headed for it.

"BEEP. BEEP."

Still the wrong sensor, Glen.

I had no clue who to approach for help getting Glen out of his washroom jail and was about to startle the students around me by shouting "Try the other sensor!" when the outside light turned green and the door majestically opened, like the door to Aladdin's vault of treasure.

Glen emerged, wearing a huge grin. "I wasn't sure I'd ever get out of there," he chuckled, seemingly unfazed by the experience.

I doubt I'd have been so relaxed about it all. Two weeks ago I found myself in a public washroom stall with its twist lock stuck and a slight feeling of panic. But Glen had the wherewithal to keep trying -- and so did I. It took a little extra force in my case, and a bit more perseverance in his.

Like many people with disabilities, Glen clearly knows that accessibility often requires a lot of patience and good humour. Those of us without disabilities can learn from him.

As I did.

*I use pseudonyms for the names of my L'Arche friends.

Breaking down barriers

Here's the video I mentioned in yesterday's moodling. If you've ever met my friend B., you know her smile and soft voice knocks down walls even better than she breaks boards. Enjoy! And click here if you would like to subscribe to see more of Michael McDonald's wonderful L'Arche videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAxbdIJL7l4

When pedestals meet sledgehammers

Those who have been following these moodlings for any length of time know that I have long considered the so-called founder of L'Arche to be one of my heroes. I loved him and his teachings about community life, and grieved when he died last May. But on Saturday, his hero's pedestal met a sledgehammer when I read the report released by the International Federation of L'Arche about his sexual abuse of 6 women.

As in the cases of many other men of influence who have been revealed for what they are in this "Me Too" era, there are potentially more women out there who are dealing with very deep hurts caused by a man whom many called "a living saint." I now kick myself for calling him that myself -- and thereby falling into the culture of unbridled admiration that allowed him to be above scrutiny for too long.

Clearly, he was nowhere near a living saint. Yes, he started a movement which inspired many good people to create family-like homes for people with disabilities. Adults who had been warehoused in mental institutions for many years blossomed and continue to do so because of L’Arche spreading world-wide, and that I can applaud. I know and love many of them.

Yes, he wrote many wonderful books about love, vulnerability, living in solidarity with the marginalized, the beauty of every human person, community, and the gifts we receive when we befriend those with disabilities, and his writings can be considered spiritual classics in many cases. Several friends of mine tell me that one of his books changed their lives.

While I recognize the deep truths in so many of the L'Arche writings by the man I put on a pedestal, now they also feel tainted because of his hidden life. It's tempting, as another friend said, to make a bonfire out of his books. I had close to 60 moodlings here that either quoted or referred to him, but I have managed to keep most of them simply by removing the quotes and references. And you can rest assured that I won't be using his quotes to support my moodlings in the future.

The problem with the man I put on a pedestal is that he projected the persona of a wise spiritual leader with an intense, charismatic presence. The many accolades he received as such gave him a celebrity status that allowed him to exploit vulnerable women who came to him for help. Who could speak against a living saint? This makes his actions an even graver indecency.

The problem with the man I put on a pedestal is that he was a broken human being who hid his brokenness all too well. It is well-documented that people who become sexual abusers have been abused themselves. I know I should feel sorry for the depths of the hurts that turned him into a perpetrator of abuses, but as a woman who has felt my hair stand on end because of unwanted advances from certain men, feeling empathy for any man who abuses women is not something I find easy.

The problem with the man I put on a pedestal is that he was unrepentant when confronted by one of his victims before he died. How does one forgive someone who doesn't ask forgiveness? Or someone who asked for general absolution as his life came to an end, even though he was aware of his greater sins? None of this fits with how he presented himself to the world.

The problem with the man I put on a pedestal, dare I say it? is that he's really not so different from Harvey Weinstein and others of that ilk,  men who used their status to take what they wanted from women. Our so-called founder's power and position nearly went unquestioned by our L'Arche family, even when his "spiritual father" was recognized to be an abuser many years ago. For those of us who held the man we put on a pedestal in high esteem, his lies may be the hardest pill to swallow. We did not suspect a thing.

The problem with the man I put on a pedestal is that our very human selves want heroes, and we didn’t see that hero worship too often has us putting imperfect square pegs into saintly round holes. No one is perfect, and too often the people we choose as heroes run the risk of inflated egos that allow them to take advantage of the unsuspecting.

I feel a lot of anger toward the Vatican for suppressing critical information about two men's deviant sexual practices and theologies for so many years. Had archival information been made public from the start, it may have prevented over 35 years of abuses. It's yet another sexual scandal involving the Church protecting abusers/itself rather than the victims. How many times must we call on the Vatican to open its vaults and end the protection of criminals?

I laud the courageous women who came forward and told their truth to the investigators appointed by L'Arche International. I applaud the international leaders who believed the women and widened the investigation, and who made this report public as quickly as they could once they received it. My prayers are with all the L'Arche communities of people with and without disabilities who share life in 154 communities and 19 projects in 38 countries around the world, (including 6 homes here in Edmonton, the second such community in Canada). How will we come to terms with this shocking and devastating news?

I support and pray for healing for all those who have been so deeply hurt by the man I put on a pedestal. After this shock, I will remind myself to look through the projected personae of celebrities and leaders rather than allow them to be unexamined heroes. I will continue to befriend and connect with people with disabilities and break down barriers between myself and all those who are different from me. And I will carry on, knowing that, though no one should be put on a pedestal, we can all do our part to make the world a better place. Will you join me in doing these things? Have I missed anything?

I sat down and cried when I received the news about the crimes of the man I put on a pedestal on Saturday morning. I know too many people who have been hurt by abusers to be silent about this ongoing hurt. But after feeling grief and anger for a good part of the day, I found a beautiful little video in my L'Arche inbox, and laughed with delight to see one of my L'Arche friends as its star! I'll post it tomorrow, as it deserves a space of its own, away from this broken pedestal.

For the moment, I have decided that my shock, anger and sense of betrayal are less important than the beauty, goodness, and truth of L'Arche around the world. I am angry and grieving, but I am determined to hold onto the delight I find in all my L'Arche Edmonton friendships. It's the best anyone can do. 

This moodling may seem quite harsh, but I have no real words of comfort to offer to anyone, other than to say, keep your pedestals for potted plants, and be kind to and listen to one another. Those who loved the man we put on the pedestal and what he seemingly stood for are all in this pain together.

Peace to all,
Maria

Happy 20,000th birthday??

Last night, my sisters called to wish me a happy birthday. I was very confused, because my birthday isn't until May. But at some point in the past, they figured out when would be my 20,000th day of life, and today is it. Now I really feel old!

The last time I had to calculate my age in days was for a computing course in university. At that time, I was probably about 6,900 days old, and not thinking about getting old at all. But now that I have a few more years behind me, I've developed a deeper appreciation for having as many days as I do, and for all the little things that make up my every day: a steaming cup of tea and morning prayer with the dog beside me, a walk in the fresh air, daily chores, visits to friends, family and neighbours, the meals I prepare, my new job in patron services at the Winspear Centre for Music, and a warm bed with my best friend-husband at the end of the day.

So although my sisters were teasing me a little about getting old, their "birthday wishes" have given me pause to be thankful for my 20,000 days of life, and to bless God for my time here on the planet with all the people I love.

I can pray with David in the words of Psalm 21 --

You meet me with rich blessings...
I asked you for life; you gave it to me --
  length of days forever and ever...

Well, maybe not forever and ever. But no matter how many days I have lived, it's a good day to be grateful for life!

How many days old are you?