Most people read that word as surrender or giving up but even in a military sense, despite its bad rap it really is not a negative.
A retreat (verb) for me is a chance to step back and regroup. Reassess the situation from a different perspective; take a look at the big picture, assess what’s working and what’s not and move forward with not only a better outlook but with a better plan; one that has a chance of pushing us in good ways and always moving us ahead rather than standing still.
Finding the words on a day like today is not an easy thing to do. The text message found me in the grocery store. It wasn’t a gasping shock after hearing about his health problem earlier in the week, but Leonard Nimoy was one of those few that were supposed to be immortal.
He was an inspiration to me, seeing him on television, growing up, he was a part of my family; not just my Star Trek family. I was born the same year as Star Trek, Star Trek being a couple of months older. I dreamt Trek, I wrote fan letters and fan fiction, I read the fan magazines, collected the trivia, learned Klingon, and through it all was the cast beside me in my living room, sharing the cheese doodles, memorizing lines.
And at the top of that list was Leonard Nimoy. Tall, dark, and handsome. Growing up Jewish, it was nice to have someone of my faith to look up to, that everyone loved. Even some of the Vulcan rituals were reminiscent of theology and customs I was already familiar with.
I watched all the Treks. My favorite movie is one that he directed: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. I remember him from Mission: Impossible and In Search Of, particularly the search for Noah’s Ark. His singing was…. well, he had a great sense of humor. Through all of his enterprises, whether acting, singing or inspiring, he showed the one thing that we all should value: No matter the outcome, try new things. You can never go wrong if you put yourself out there and do your best, and most important of all, have fun.
In the 90s, my husband (before he was my husband) and our friends went to many conventions. We were lucky enough to see Leonard with William Shatner in Manhattan and with Patrick Stewart in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, one of our road trips and well worth it.
Leonard Nimoy is a greatness in a sea of greatness, and he will be missed.
Live Long and Prosper, my friend.
Confession is not for payoffs; it is for healing.
– Lewis B. Smedes, Give Us This Day, 2/27/15
My first confession was required as part of my RCIA program. It may have been the first sacrament I made prior to baptism.
I was forty-seven, and had no idea where to begin. Would anything I felt guilty about count? Should I stick to the ten commandments? Most of those weren’t applicable: murder, adultery, stealing.
I yell at my kids and I curse. A lot.
It felt silly.
But in looking deeper, into years and decades of feeling sorrow for deeds, I managed, with the guidance of my priest to find the right balance, to know what should be confessed and what should be ignored, what needed deeper understanding and what remained superficial.
It wasn’t my confession that freed me; it was the absolution and the absolutism of G-d’s forgiveness through my priest’s words and prayers. With his hands on my head, I could feel the weight lifted, literally going away from me.
It was so much more than I expected, and so much more healing than I could have imagined.
Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
– Matthew 7:8
It might not seem it because we don’t always get the answer we want, but the answers are there. We continue seeking and our eyes will be opened to other possibilities, different perspectives.
Where there’s life, there’s hope.
I heard this today on Supernatural. It was said in a glib, facetious way to put on a happy face, to show that the character didn’t care about his future, but the fact is that he does care. Underneath it all, he’s an optimist.
I would always call myself a realist; or even a pessimist. I have a knack for finding the dark cloud in every silver lining, but slowly, that seems to be changing.
My mantra drones on in my head, it will all be alright, and I think…. I think I might actually meant it.
Intentions are important. My decision to miss morning mass this morning was with the intention of going to tonight’s mass.
Unfortunately, I fell asleep this afternoon, and now I feel like Rip Van Winkle. My head is groggy, my mind is foggy, my hands are tingling, and the last thing I want to do is go out in the cold.
I will probably stay home, and read my devotional. Although I find that positive, it’s not the same as being in the community of church.
Intentions are important.
I must remember that follow throughs are more so.
Yesterday was the first Sunday in Lent, when the Bishops greet those in their Diocese who are preparing for their baptism into the Catholic Church.
One year ago, I was one of the Elect, called by name at our Cathedral. I met our Bishop, and I signed my name in the book. There were prayers, and hymns. My family was there, my husband, my kids; my priest and a church friend standing in as sponsor.
The nervousness of being on display subsided with a calm I’ve only found through Jesus; that unfailing faith that only He can bring.
Surety.
This decision was unwavering; the only one before or since.
Led by the spirit of our G-d, we go to fast and pray
With Christ into the wilderness; we join his paschal way.
“Rend not your garments, rend your hearts.
Turn back your lives to me.”*
This was our closing hymn on this first Sunday of Lent. As soon as those words came from my lips, I was reminded that Lent is not a solitary disposition.
As we fast and pray throughout the rest of these forty days, Christ is with us as He is always with us.
It is not solitary, but it is also not public. No need to make a show of our sacrifices, our abstentions, to announce our Lenten deeds by rending our garments for the world to see. Instead keep Lent where it is supposed to be: in our hearts where G-d can always see our underlying intentions.
* adaptation by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958
In today’s reflection from Give Us This Day, Fr. Paul Boudreau wrote,
“The love of Jesus makes water into wine, traitors into apostles, and is given to us in order to transform the world, starting with ourselves and the people we encounter today.”
Transformation can be a somewhat daunting prospect when looked at as the big picture of our lives; as a journey’s end rather than the journey itself. However, as we teach kids to walk beginning with baby steps, we can see that transformation is best achieved with baby steps.
Little by little, through Jesus’ love and our self-awareness, we can follow our transformation, and reflect on it quietly and thoughtfully in small increments that we each find doable.
Bob Simon, a news man I respected immensely, has died tonight in an automobile accident in NYC.
For me, Bob Simon is one of those voices that has always evoked trust and integrity, from a very short list that includes the likes of Martin Fletcher, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, and Walter Cronkite.
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 