Lent Ideas and Announcements

Lent is less than a month away!

An Idea for Making Your Lent Meaningful

This Lent, how can we better follow Jesus’ command to love one another? Be thinking about one particular person or cause that you want to “build up” this Lent. Perhaps there is someone in your life that needs prayer support, companionship, or encouragement. Maybe there is a cause such as homelessness or human trafficking that you have always wanted to engage with but never took the time. Choose a person or a cause and give yourself over to serving this Lent. Daily, committed prayer coupled with some concrete action can ground your Lenten experience and benefit the people in need around you. “Everything should be done for building up” (1 Cor. 14:26).
 

Two Lenten Programs

For those of you in Connecticut, I hope you can join me at one or both of the following programs:

Lent Retreat: In the Garden with Jesus. Come away for a prayerful Lent Retreat as we enter the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus and experience an extraordinary moment of human struggle. What lessons can we draw from Jesus’ struggle in the garden? Can we stay awake with him this Lent? Our retreat day will consist of a close reading of the Gospel accounts of this story, meditations on the Agony in the Garden, and time for quiet reflection. The day will end with an optional Holy Hour from 3:00-4:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Sat., Feb. 24 (snow date is Mar. 24). 9:30-3:00 p.m. Caritas Christi Center, 295 Benham St., Hamden, CT. $60 is requested by the Caritas Christi Center by Feb. 10. To register, call Sr. Jeanne Marie at 203-281-2569, or register online by clicking here.

One-Night Lenten Mission: At the Foot of the Cross. All are welcome to join us in beautiful Mount Sacred Heart Chapel on the property of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for a prayerful evening of music and reflection. Meditations will be offered by Amy Ekeh, Sr. Virginia Herbers, ASCJ, and Deacon Art Miller. Music will be provided by the St. Ann Choir of Milford under the direction of Peter DeMarco.  Pray, reflect and sing with us as we stand together at the foot of the Cross! A free will offering will benefit the ministries of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For more information, visit amyekeh.com/lent.
 

Something to Read Alone or in a Group

If you’re looking for a short Lent book to read alone or with a group of friends or parishioners, I hope my new book (Lent: Season of Transformation) might fit the bill! It provides commentary, reflection, prayers and questions, all centered around three Bible passages.

To look inside the book and find out more: amazon.com.

To buy in bulk if purchasing 6 or more copies: litpress.org.
 

And Finally….

….if you subscribe to Liguorian magazine, my article on Popular Devotions is in January’s issue. I was especially interested in Pope Francis’ respect for what he calls “the people’s mysticism” and the way popular devotions can build up communities and even evangelize. I took the photo on page 17 at Enders Island, Mystic, CT – with my phone!

Liguorian, January 2018.

Being Right and the End of Wisdom

Happy New Year, all! The reflection below came straight from my heart in 2017, and it found a home in Little Rock Scripture Study's monthly newsletter Little Rock Connections. It is republished here with permission. I hope you will recognize within it your own wisdom, earned by years or given by grace, and that you will enjoy its fruits in 2018!

* * * * * * * * * *

Bell bottoms, encyclopedias, cursive, dinosaurs. Things that aren’t around much anymore. 

Will we soon add “wisdom” to this nostalgic list?

Wisdom is the fruitful combination of experience, knowledge and good judgment. It is a dynamic thing; wise people are dynamic. They learn, grow, adapt, change their minds, take forward and backward steps. Wise people are interesting. They have something valuable. It is sometimes a gift but more often hard-earned.

Emerging from experience and learning, wisdom is an inherently slow-growing thing. But have we lost patience for its cultivation? Has our tolerance for the fluidity of wisdom dried up in hopes of something solid and firmly defined? Has it become more admirable to be right than to be wise? Is it better to “come on strong” than to come on…thoughtful?  Is it more admirable to “stick to your guns” than to muddle your way through that cloudy, sticky, murky, stubborn, ever-present but oft-denied gray area? That gray area is life.

We like black and white; we crave clarity; we devour rules. We want to be right, and we like people who are right. Increasingly, we like people who are right quickly. Slow and deliberate seems out of pace. Changing one’s mind is weakness.

But what did the ancients think? Biblical wisdom is not first and foremost about being right. It is an approach to life – how to navigate the intersection of spiritual and secular, how to get along with people, how to make decisions, how to respond to the problems we encounter every day. Wisdom values work, relationships and dialogue. It points one toward the fruitful paths of life. Wisdom includes knowledge, and a wise person is often “right,” but wisdom is much more. 

The wisdom tradition endorses a viewpoint found throughout all of scripture: human beings are not perfect, but they are remarkable. Where they are lacking, they can change and be better. They are not often “one or the other.” They are more often “both and.” Human beings – and their endeavors – are redeemable.

Wisdom, then, is not cut-and-dried, right or wrong. It is not simple and one-note. It seeks a “breadth of understanding” (1 Kgs. 4:29) and acknowledges that human understanding is a process, and often a slow one (even Jesus, we are told, grew in wisdom). A major contribution of the wisdom book of Proverbs is the assertion that wisdom is learned, and learning requires guidance, and guidance requires humility. This natural humility of the learner, the disciple, is a fading virtue in a world that increasingly heaps skepticism on the possibility that “the other” may have something to teach us. When this humility is absent, very little real learning takes place – even less understanding, and certainly no wisdom. Proverbs offered this warning centuries ago: the one who refuses counsel, guidance and instruction will face the consequences of a simple, static, stagnant life.

There is an ebb and flow to wisdom that mirrors the natural flux of life and relationships. Indeed, the ancients believed that we are supposed to learn and grow and change. The only thing we were meant to be entrenched in is the natural human rhythm of transformation fueled by dynamic concepts like searching, repenting, returning, proclaiming, trusting and abiding. 

A lovely passage from the deuterocanonical book of Wisdom declares that wisdom “renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets” (7:27). Friends of God and prophets.  Surely we could use more of these. Then we must choose a slower, more thoughtful, more receptive, more conversant, humbler, subtler, more nuanced way. Yes, this way of wisdom offers a gentle antidote to our excesses of speed, activity, polarization and bluster, in a human community at risk of losing its grip on intimacy, reflection, quiet, intrapersonal intelligence and interpersonal relationships. If wisdom was the architect of creation (Prov. 8:30), might we benefit from utilizing her blueprint? 

Our world does not have a King Solomon, or a King Arthur, or a single person of legendary wisdom. We only have each other, and the biblical promise that those who seek wisdom can find her, and that those who have found her have found a treasure. Being right can be helpful, but being wise is life-giving. It heals and begets in a way that being right never could. An echo of the iconic Tree of Life, whose roots run from front to back of our ancient books, wisdom bears many kinds of fruit, and her leaves are for the healing of the nations (Prov. 3:18; Rev. 22:2).

Sunday's Gospel: Who Is the Advocate?

The following is republished with permission from my column in Catechist magazine. For subscription information, visit catechist.com.

May 21, Sixth Sunday of Easter, Gospel Reading: John 14:15-21

In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse” (John 14–16) continues. In this short excerpt of the discourse, Jesus assures his disciples that, although he will be leaving them soon, he will remain with them. But how?

Jesus tells his followers that if they keep his commandments, the Father will send them “another Advocate.” The Greek word translated here as “advocate” is parakletos, a word that typically refers to an advocate or mediator (but is sometimes translated as “comforter”). Jesus already serves as a mediator between God and his followers, but now he is speaking of sending another mediator, one he identifies as “the Spirit of truth.”

It is clear that the Spirit is distinct from Jesus, and yet the Spirit allows Jesus to continue to be with his followers, to be revealed to them, and even to love them. Thus Jesus can say that even though the world will no longer be able to see him, his disciples will. This is the power of the presence of the Spirit of truth.

As if this were not enough to boggle the minds of the disciples, Jesus adds this mysterious nugget: “I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” The unity of Jesus with his Father is an oft-repeated theme in John’s Gospel. But now Jesus draws his disciples into this wonderful communion. It may seem that a mediator is no longer necessary if we are “in Jesus” and he is “in the Father.” Perhaps Jesus is saying that it is precisely this revealing Spirit of truth that makes this intimacy with the Father and Son possible.

We may not understand everything Jesus is saying in his Farewell Discourse, even in this small piece of it. But one message is clear: Although we cannot see Jesus with our eyes, he remains with us. He urges us to believe it.

ASK YOURSELF: Do I feel the presence of Jesus? Or is it something I must accept on faith?

ASK YOUR STUDENTS: Do you think the disciples were ever confused by Jesus’ words? Do you think they came to understand some of his teachings after he died and rose from the dead? Why? How?

PRAY: Spirit of truth, mediate for me, comfort me, and reveal Jesus to me.

LIVE THE GOSPEL: The Holy Spirit is described by Jesus as a paraclete — a mediator, an advocate, or a comforter. How can you be a mediator or an advocate for someone this week? How can you mediate the presence of Jesus by supporting or comforting someone?

In Every Life: My New Collection of Blog Posts Available on Amazon!

I’m excited to announce that my second book, In Every Life: 50 Reflections, is now available on amazon.com as a paperback or eBook.  In Every Life is a collection of my blogs from 2015-2016. (That Mighty Heart is my 2014 blog collection, also available on amazon.)  To go to the amazon page, click here.

I’m very grateful to my talented and generous brother, John Vineyard, who designed the beautiful cover for me.  Thank you, John!

I’m also proud of the cover because it sports book endorsements from three special people in my life:  Jim Forest, Cackie Upchurch, and Fr. Frank Matera.  Trifecta!

“Amy Ekeh writes one of the best liturgy-centered blogs, as this collection bears witness. Column after column she finds surprising stories that anchor her insights to the real world as well as to the church calendar. And did I mention that she has a sense of humor? If you get the paper edition, put it in a handy location. And if you read the e-book edition, it will be just a few clicks away.” – Jim Forest, author of biographies of Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and Daniel Berrigan

 “Beadwork is done by selecting the appropriate colors and shapes, having in mind a final look that will make a necklace or bracelet.  It’s a fine craft to create a piece that is beautiful and timeless. In this book, Amy Ekeh proves that she knows how to select just the right colors and shapes of the spiritual life, stringing them together to make a fitting gift. Her sources are liturgy, family life, Scripture, ministry, even the radio!  She’s perfected the art of finding beauty and humor and, therefore, finding God.” – Cackie (Catherine) Upchurch, Director, Little Rock Scripture Study

 “God is always present to us, but we rarely experience that presence. Amy Ekeh, however, has learned to see God’s presence in the ordinary events of life we take for granted. Throughout this book, Amy shows us how to enjoy the God who is always present to us. Read and savor this thoughtful collection of reflections.” – Frank J. Matera, Professor Emeritus, The Catholic University of America

Thanks also to Mary Lee and Joe Gaffney, Jim Creed and Ruth Vineyard for their valuable editorial assistance!

In Every Life is also available at any of my programs. 

If you read the book, I would love for you to review it on amazon.com!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement as blog readers and as friends!

That Mighty Heart on Amazon!

Just a note to let you know that my 2014 book, That Mighty Heart, is now available on Amazon as a paperback or eBook! 

I would love it if any of you who have read the book could take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon.  Here’s the link:  That Mighty Heart on amazon.com.

I’m working on my next blog collection entitled In Every Life, as well as a new title in the Little Rock Scripture Study Series Alive in the Word that will be available in the fall (Lent: Season of Transformation).  I’ll keep you posted! Thank you for reading!