Category Archives: Spirituality

The Cross We Choose, The Cross We Get

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The stats are in for my Easter!

Stomach viruses: 1

Family members who succumbed: 7

Percentage of Triduum liturgies missed by me: 75%

Episodes of vomiting: about 20 (sorry, I lost count)

Episodes of vomiting that missed the toilet or any other receptacle: about 16

Risen Saviors: 1

I’m a terrific martyr for Christ, in my mind. It all seems so abstract and manageable. The crosses in my imagination are ever so tidy, full of PR potential, and most definitely lacking the acrid odor of vomit. And then there’s reality, as in the Paschal Plague of 2015.

Franks BlogWhatever the memes say, the crosses of the real world are often sadly unworthy of epic treatment. Mothers know this all too well: after surviving a day of mopping up and washing up from all the spitting up, we kinda want a medal. OK, I’ll speak for myself: where’s my medal?

But that’s not how it works. Kids, for one, are notoriously insensible to the sacrifices of their elders, and, frankly, that’s fine. If they were otherwise, they would be conscientious adults already. The problem isn’t with them but with us elders. Crosses are simply more satisfying when we get some kind of positive feedback loop from them. We, you know, suffer less from them. But then they are, ahem, less like crosses. And while my Facebook friends gave me lots of sympathy for my colorful Easter—thanks, guys!—I sort of doubt that anyone will be singing of my maternal exploits a few centuries from now. After all, what’s so heroic about doing your duty?

And there’s the rub. While the cheerful daily accomplishment of one’s duty is indeed a quiet kind of heroism, it’s not the kind that gets you written up in history books, which also makes it one of the more unpalatable kind of cross to carry. For this reason, it’s often the small, unspectacular crosses that are really hard to carry.

Peter had to learn this lesson. He was going to die for Christ! Yet, as Cardinal Sean O’Malley put it, Peter couldn’t even endure a waitress with an attitude.

Peter had to come to terms with the fact that God has this tremendous ability to provide us not with the crosses we want but the crosses we need. It appears as though our heavenly Father is not all that interested in making us look good. He is, however, passionately interested in making us holy. And that might just mean allowing us a lot of tedious, unspectacular, un-epic sufferings, in the service of a life of quiet holiness.

So, while “the strife is o’er, the battle won” in the Paschal Plague of 2015, tomorrow will bring new and no doubt equally uninteresting crosses. No one will pen a screenplay about them. But perhaps, if I manage them with a modicum of cheerful and generous love, I might see them transfigured into Easter life by my Savior. So, “praise God from whom all blessings flow,” even the ones that involve gross bodily fluids and lots of laundry.

Angela Franks teaches theology for Saint Joseph’s College Online.

 

Peace and Prayer

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On Saturday, March 28, 2015, the Church noted and celebrated the 500th anniversary of the birth of Teresa of Jesus [of Avila], saint and doctor of the Church. In honor of this great feast, Carmelites from all over the world united to pray for peace and invited all of us to join them. Pope Francis took this to heart and celebrated a special liturgy on March 26, spread the word on the World Prayer for Peace, and wrote a letter to the Carmelite Superior General.

In this letter, Pope Francis expresses that St. Teresa’s example can help continue the renewal of consecrated life (to which this year is dedicated!), primarily through her gift as a teacher of prayer. Teresa built monasteries where community life could thrive and the risk of individualism could be thwarted.

Along this line, there is word of a new kind of monastic community in the early stages of being founded through the Cloister walkexpansion of modes and ease of communication. This new community, the Sisters of the Most Sacred Silence, is dedicated to the monastic life – a life of prayer, sacrifice, and labor – in the Carmelite tradition. The unique and innovative aspect of this new emerging monastery is that it is virtual! It exists entirely online! Members live in their own places, but gather online for the Liturgy of the Hours, following GMT for the common time regardless of individual’s time zones.

To be sure, the members of this group need to be creative to maintain both the cloister and community via the internet. The traditional role of portress (the one who answers the door, a post that has ministry of many saints!) now takes on the position of “keeper of the page.” She maintains the dedicated network that, like parental controls, does not permit any secular, sordid, or profane content, just as the portress would protect the sanctity of the cloister. Through the use of virtual meeting sites, the sisters are able to have community meetings, adoration together, and for those in common time zones, they have meals together with someone providing spiritual reading for a portion of the meal.

While most of the monastic life can be maintained in this virtual monastery, there are some elements that need to be worked out. For now, the sisters are trying to coordinate visiting priests to come to each members “personal cloister” for the Eucharist as well as Reconciliation. In the meantime, members are able to stream live Mass from various places in the world and have confession on Twitter.

As this new and innovated group grows, do pray that they may be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit and respond to the needs of the times. We pray for them in a special way today as they celebrate their first Chapter on this the feast of Là Ruith na Cuthaige. God’s blessings be upon them!*

*Anything below the second paragraph is a complete fabrication of my imagination! Happy April Fool’s Day!

Sr. Kelly Connors, pm teaches Canon Law for Saint Joseph’s College Online.