SpiritCitings:

Seeing the Spirit at work in the world

People are moved by the Spirit in myriad ways. Those who choose religious life take a road less traveled. Our goal is to put a human face on this countercultural way of living. Along the way we will explore questions of faith, God's unique call to each of us, and the process of discerning a vocation.

Friday

Sister Mary Kay Kinberger, MSC, whose community suffered severely in the wake of Katrina and Rita, wrote a beautiful hope-filled letter to members and friends of the Marianites of the Holy Cross, at the beginning of the year, which included these spiritual questions worth pondering during pensive fall days:
What does it mean to allow Jesus to bring about spirituality in our hearts, a veritable incarnation similar to what was effected physically in Mary? If we say yes to his growth within us, we have to free our hearts and spirits to offer him our sacred space. If we say yes to his reign, our plans and agenda must decrease to allow his to increase. If we say yes to his revelation through us, we walk more with mystery and ambiguity and less with certainty.

http://www.marianites.org/new/marianitespostkatrina.htm


A red letter day in blog history
Boston's Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., a Capuchin Franciscan Friar, recently launched a blog to r
ecord his travels to Rome--the first blog among U.S. cardinals. His inaugural post on Sept. 19, 2006 coincides with VISION's first post on this newly launched publisher's blog. But the Cardinal beat us by several hours. Not that we were in a race!

I forgive
Consolata Missionary Sister Leonella Sgorbati, who was murdered last week in Somalia, us
ed her last breaths to say “I forgive; I forgive” in her native Italian. Forgiveness is an almost incomprehensible act. It goes against all that is seemingly right and just. Yet every spiritual path leads to forgiveness. What does it take to unleash the power of forgiveness? Check out the stories at www.theforgivenessproject.com for inspiration and enlightenment, and, of course, read the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Wednesday

God ways are mysterious and ironic
Cardinal Francis George of Chicago recently approved the closing of Quigley Preparatory Seminary. Although he claims no hard feelings against the seminary, George arrived there as a freshman in 1951on crutches--the result of his bout with polio the year before--and was told that "chances are you will never be accepted for ordination." George withdrew from Quigley and ended up joining the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. George told the Sun Times in a 2003 interview (http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-quig20.html):

"I deal with Quigley without resentment. Had I gone to Quigley Seminary, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be the cardinal archbishop of Chicago," George said in 2003. "They say God has a sense of humor. Here I am."

Tuesday

Pasta waits for no one
Father Dominic Grassi is pastor of St. Gertrude's Parish in Chicago. He recounted in his homily last Sunday that at his first parish assignment, he gave a real fire-and-brimstone sermon telling people how they ought to act more like people of faith. He admitted using the expression, "You people" a lot. After the service he was hurrying home to his parents' house for Sunday night pasta. "Because pasta waits for no one," said Grassi, he was zipping through traffic until he got stuck behind some slow poke. After several minutes, Grassi honked at the guy to get the lead out. Then he tried to pass him. As the priest's car got in position along side the slow driver, Grassi did something he confessed he is not proud of: "I flipped him the international sign for displeasure." And worse yet, as he caught a glimpse of the driver, he realized it was one of his parishioners who he had just spent the last hour haranguing about needing to being more Christlike!

Grassi was featured recently in the Chicago Sun Times series on men who like to cook by Maureen Jenkins (http://suntimes.com/output/lifestyles/cst-ftr-kitman10.html). Grassi didn't start cooking until he was well into his 30s, but he says the art of cooking and eating well are in his blood.

"With Italians, that's how we share our love," says Grassi, who recently took an all-day Tuscan cooking class in a 700-year-old Italian villa."It's much more fun to do cooking for others," says Grassi, a new arrival at St. Gertrude who has planned intimate, once-a-month "Sunday Evening Pastas With the Pastor" as a way to get acquainted with his new parishioners. "When you're a priest, you don't see a lot of outcome of what you do. When you cook a meal, they either eat it or they don't, they like it or they don't."