| Quote for the Day: What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. Saint Augustine |
Tasty Tuesday
A little bit ago I had a serious case of the grumpies. I sat down at my computer and it was just not going to work. I just felt the BLAHS and the NAHS and the "GET ME OUT OF HERE" snydrome was taking over. I had to leave. So I did. I took the bird up to bed. Made my bed (was laundry day). Did the checking. It's my job to walk through the monastery every night checking for unlocked doors, irons left on, burglars hiding in closets that sort of thing.... pretty routine. I didn't see any burglars.Then I moved into the Sacristy and did a few chores in there.. and by jove after a little movement around I felt much better!
Guess the bad mood was caused by lack of not moving! Hey maybe that is why one has mood swings.. so you swing from one thing to another to change your mood? Sounds like I'm getting pretty thin on making sense doesn't it?
Oh well. I find I keep thinking about last night on the news when they had about the publication of Mother Teresa's letters. Sort of amazing. Sort of way too much. And yet in some ways it is also a bit comforting to know that such a saint had such interior struggles. The one thing we noticed that even though she talked about not having "faith" she was always talking about "not having faith" to Jesus.
Another point that occurred to me - was that when Mother Teresa first started out... God allowed her special graces to guide her in a totally new direction. Consolations and understanding that most of us never experience. Then when those were taken away - the loss would be much more severe than if she had never experienced them.
Kind of like losing a loved one. If you had never known them so intimately... the absence would not be noted. But because there was such a deep love the loss seems unbearable at times. Which to me makes sense when she says how empty receiving the "Noble Peace Prize" was to her.. because she did not have Jesus.
She did not have the "Jesus" she had experienced.... she was I think sort of like Jesus on the cross saying, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
Boy, I sure hope I never have the dark night of the soul like that .. because I sure don't know if I could hang in like she did. I need a flashlight or something!
One thing I am assured of though is that - Mother Teresa is a saint. Amen.
Blessings of Peace and All Good,
Sister Patricia
The Confession Connection The Sacrament of Reconciliation: Celebrating God's Forgiveness by Sandra DeGidio, O.S.M. Day Nine: Conversion: An ongoing process Lillian Hellman provides a wonderful image of this process of reconciliation in her explanation of the word pentimento at the beginning of Pentimento: A Book of Portraits: "Old paint on canvas, as it ages, sometimes becomes transparent. When that happens it is possible, in some pictures, to see the original lines: a tree will show through a woman's dress, a child makes way for a dog, a large boat is no longer on an open sea. That is called pentimento because the painter "repented," changed his mind. Perhaps it would be as well to say that the old conception, replaced by the later choice, is a way of seeing and then seeing again." To be continued A selected article from "101 Inspirational Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation." |
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Tasty Tip of the Week
from Barbara George
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Tuesday’s Tasty Tip: Peach Cobbler
August 28, 2007
To pick the perfect peach for your cobbler, feel the peach. It should feel firm, but soft, no large brown spots. You should be able to get a nice subtle peach smell when you buy it. This cobbler takes about 6 medium ripe peaches. Allow store bought peaches to finish ripening on the counter for about a day.
Wash and slice fresh peaches into a lightly buttered 8" square glass baking dish. Crumble together 2 tablespoons cold butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/8 cup flour, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle over top of peaches.
Make cobbler topping by using “Bisquik” type biscuit mix. Follow package directions for cobbler. Or use your favorite drop biscuit recipe, using butter for shortening, and adding 2 tablespoons of sugar. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto peaches.
In preheated 425 degree oven, bake for 40-50 minutes until top is browned and peaches are bubbly. Allow to cool slightly, and serve with vanilla ice cream.
This is the best of summer, simple, and makes a special end to a late summer get together.
Not low calorie because some things in life are just meant to enjoy!
2 comments:
Dear Sister Pat,
When reading your post today, it was comforting to know that even religous and potential saints are not exempt from the everyday nagging like the blahs and nahs, or even the dark night of the soul. Mine seem to hit the hardest when the dishes need done, the laundry I did three days ago still hasn't been folded, or I haven't decided what to cook for dinner! Or somtimes more seriously when my feet won't support me, or my back decides to give out while standing at the sink! Sound familiar? I watched a movie on Mother Theresa's life recently. It occurred to me that it must have been scary for Mother Theresa to leave the warmth, security, love and as it turns out relative luxury of her cloister, and venture out on her own, into a completely new direction. Especially when her superior, and the bishop(among others) initially opposed her,and she faced hostility from the other faiths in India, who were convinced that her only agenda was to convert them to Christianity. That is, until she was willing to live among them as one of them! As far as you and I, I think what brought you (and what often brings me) out of the blahs and nahs, was your willingness to take the focus off them, onto something else meant FOR someone else. I think the blahs and nahs are spoiled twins, who will eventually quiet down once they find they're not getting the attention they want. Like any spoiled child it may take a while to get the message across!
Good thoughts. It is so hard to know another's faith. So easy to think the saints have it all together - but I guess since we are all saints in some measure or another - and we know very well we don't have it together... helps us to understand the doubts and fears of the great ones!
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