Advent Devotional for Monday, December 22, 2008
Week 4: PEACE
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Luke 1:46-55
Mary’s Magnificat says so much. I’d like to ask you to read it again (and maybe even three times): certainly one reading is insufficient. Even after half a dozen readings, I find it difficult to move past the wondrous opening line: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” What more do we need, especially at this hopeful time, than to allow our souls to do that for which they were made?
Mary’s prayer reminds me of the great (and difficult) Gerard Manley Hopkins poem, “As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame.” Hopkins was a 19th-century English Jesuit and is a favorite poet of mine. In this sonnet Hopkins develops a theme similar to that of Mary’s prayer. Here it is:
AS kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is me: for that I came.
I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—
ChrÃst—for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.
My prayer today is that we can hear and follow Mary’s magnificent lead. Let our souls proclaim God’s greatness in everything that we do today. And let us, as Hopkins suggests, see Christ in “ten thousand places.”
By Adam Musser, Theology Teacher/Campus Ministry
Showing posts with label Saint Martin de Porres High School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saint Martin de Porres High School. Show all posts
Monday, December 22, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The affect that college students can have on the community
Yesterday we were blessed to have 15 of our alumni visit Saint Martin. It was great to catch up with all of them and hear how well they were doing at schools such as Akron, John Carroll, Kent State, Morehouse, and Ohio U!
We also had seven eighth grade students visiting Saint Martin yesterday. One of these young people met an alumnus of ours, Christian. Christian (Chris) is a Saint Martin graduate, Class of 2008, and a first year student at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The young visitor saw Chris and asked him if he was a professional athlete. Chris's response was outstanding: “My profession is academics.”
Christian went on to tell the young man that he should not choose Saint Martin, or any other high school, for its sports program. Chris told the young man that he should choose Saint Martin for overall guidance, college counseling, and because the culture of the school calls students to strive to be their best. Chris said the idea of attending college was hammered into him daily at Saint Martin and the more he heard it, the more it became his focus and goal. Chris proudly stated, “Today, I’m at the college that I wanted to attend. I’m at Morehouse."
How many other young people has Christian impacted in a similar way? Our other alums? This is how urban America will be transformed!!!
We also had seven eighth grade students visiting Saint Martin yesterday. One of these young people met an alumnus of ours, Christian. Christian (Chris) is a Saint Martin graduate, Class of 2008, and a first year student at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The young visitor saw Chris and asked him if he was a professional athlete. Chris's response was outstanding: “My profession is academics.”
Christian went on to tell the young man that he should not choose Saint Martin, or any other high school, for its sports program. Chris told the young man that he should choose Saint Martin for overall guidance, college counseling, and because the culture of the school calls students to strive to be their best. Chris said the idea of attending college was hammered into him daily at Saint Martin and the more he heard it, the more it became his focus and goal. Chris proudly stated, “Today, I’m at the college that I wanted to attend. I’m at Morehouse."
How many other young people has Christian impacted in a similar way? Our other alums? This is how urban America will be transformed!!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Micah 6:8 Advent Devotional
Editor's Note - This devotional was published internally at Saint Martin December 4 and was not included on the blog until now inadvertently.
Advent Devotional for Thursday, December 4, 2008
Week 1: PREPARE
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice,
and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”
- Micah 6:8
Life can be really painful at times. If anyone knew this it was the prophet Micah. A member of the lower class Micah suffered not only financially, but emotionally and spiritually as he watched the nation he loved turn away from God. I’m sure we’ve all suffered this past year whether it’s been emotional or otherwise. We simply can’t avoid pain in this life no matter how hard we try. The cold reality is, the only common experience of humanity is that we all experience pain in one form or another. But that fact may point us deeper into the mystery of why Jesus chose the cross. With open arms and every fiber of his being he said with a resounding cry, ‘I am with you.’
As we prepare this advent season for the coming of our Lord again into our lives maybe we should take a step back, take a deep breath, and allow the Lord to tell us, ‘I am with you.’
Maybe then with the spirit of understanding that Christ is with us will we be able to work for a Kingdom of justice that Micah envisioned: one in which “all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees” (4:4). Maybe then will we again love kindness and treat the person who pours our coffee or hands us our groceries with the same love that Christ showed us. Maybe then will we this advent season hand over all our problems to Christ who asks us to (Mt. 11:28) and humbly realize that without Christ our own vines and fig trees will produce nothing (Jn. 15:5).
We will fail, certainly for as Micah reminds us, we are mortal, but this advent season is time to begin anew with that timeless Christian hope in a better world. It’s true, we will die and we can’t escape that pain that comes with this life. But if Christ has shown us anything it’s not to run away from pain. By accepting the pain, by entering into it to we come closer to the Jesus who accepted the vulnerability of what it means to be human and the Jesus who accepted the fragility of being born in a manger. All of which brings us joyously closer to the resurrected Christ who has conquered death and reconciled us with our God: our God whom through Jesus tells us “I am with you always” (Mt. 28:20).
By Pete Range, Theology Teacher
Advent Devotional for Thursday, December 4, 2008
Week 1: PREPARE
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice,
and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”
- Micah 6:8
Life can be really painful at times. If anyone knew this it was the prophet Micah. A member of the lower class Micah suffered not only financially, but emotionally and spiritually as he watched the nation he loved turn away from God. I’m sure we’ve all suffered this past year whether it’s been emotional or otherwise. We simply can’t avoid pain in this life no matter how hard we try. The cold reality is, the only common experience of humanity is that we all experience pain in one form or another. But that fact may point us deeper into the mystery of why Jesus chose the cross. With open arms and every fiber of his being he said with a resounding cry, ‘I am with you.’
As we prepare this advent season for the coming of our Lord again into our lives maybe we should take a step back, take a deep breath, and allow the Lord to tell us, ‘I am with you.’
Maybe then with the spirit of understanding that Christ is with us will we be able to work for a Kingdom of justice that Micah envisioned: one in which “all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees” (4:4). Maybe then will we again love kindness and treat the person who pours our coffee or hands us our groceries with the same love that Christ showed us. Maybe then will we this advent season hand over all our problems to Christ who asks us to (Mt. 11:28) and humbly realize that without Christ our own vines and fig trees will produce nothing (Jn. 15:5).
We will fail, certainly for as Micah reminds us, we are mortal, but this advent season is time to begin anew with that timeless Christian hope in a better world. It’s true, we will die and we can’t escape that pain that comes with this life. But if Christ has shown us anything it’s not to run away from pain. By accepting the pain, by entering into it to we come closer to the Jesus who accepted the vulnerability of what it means to be human and the Jesus who accepted the fragility of being born in a manger. All of which brings us joyously closer to the resurrected Christ who has conquered death and reconciled us with our God: our God whom through Jesus tells us “I am with you always” (Mt. 28:20).
By Pete Range, Theology Teacher
Isaiah 61:1-3
Advent Devotional for Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Week 3: JOY
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
As I was reading Isaiah I was thinking how much we need these words today. When I look at the daily paper or turn on the World News I see a world that seems broken. Constant fighting, acts of terror, starvation, ethnic cleansing, the list goes on. Many families will not be able to share the holidays with loved ones, and many will spend it in a home they may lose soon. The news is not good.
Isaiah brings us words of hope and comfort. He tells us the Good News that there will eventually be a time of rebuilding the things which have been destroyed. A voice that still echoes through the ages, “The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings.” In Isaiah’s messianic prophecy he is awaiting this day with great joy, the joy that we need so much in our world today.
Are you poor? He will make you rich. Are you brokenhearted? He will heal you. Are you a captive? He will set you free. He will take away the ashes and make you beautiful. These are the words we cling to as we search our hearts in these times of trials and cling to the promise that God will not abandon us.
As we await this promise and look both back on the birth of Christ and forward to the Christ to come let the words of Isaiah envelope us with the profound hope of the unchanging loving nature of God.
Merry Christmas!
By Terri Rawlings, Admissions department
Week 3: JOY
Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
As I was reading Isaiah I was thinking how much we need these words today. When I look at the daily paper or turn on the World News I see a world that seems broken. Constant fighting, acts of terror, starvation, ethnic cleansing, the list goes on. Many families will not be able to share the holidays with loved ones, and many will spend it in a home they may lose soon. The news is not good.
Isaiah brings us words of hope and comfort. He tells us the Good News that there will eventually be a time of rebuilding the things which have been destroyed. A voice that still echoes through the ages, “The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings.” In Isaiah’s messianic prophecy he is awaiting this day with great joy, the joy that we need so much in our world today.
Are you poor? He will make you rich. Are you brokenhearted? He will heal you. Are you a captive? He will set you free. He will take away the ashes and make you beautiful. These are the words we cling to as we search our hearts in these times of trials and cling to the promise that God will not abandon us.
As we await this promise and look both back on the birth of Christ and forward to the Christ to come let the words of Isaiah envelope us with the profound hope of the unchanging loving nature of God.
Merry Christmas!
By Terri Rawlings, Admissions department
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