Archive for category: Thoughts

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,
And daub their natural faces unaware.

(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Everywhere around us flowers are blossoming, trees are blooming, birds are singing, the whole of creation carries a message of new life. And yet, Spring is not a timid but a brave season. Little seeds planted in the soil first have to brave the darkness before they grow enough to pop-up their flower-head into the daylight. Often as they sprout in early Spring they are welcomed with wild wind, with rain and they need courage in order to keep growing. Flowers believe in Spring, somehow they know that a time of winter’s aridity will not last forever, they know that nature can change its course when warmer days come and as they blossom Spring will gradually heal the memories of darker winter days. In your soul there is a garden where flowers can bloom too.

At this time in your life can you notice areas that are blossoming? Those might be areas where you need to cultivate a little bit of courage. Is there a seed within your heart that needs nurturing, protection and encouragement in order to keep growing until it is ready to blossom? If a seed is to grow and develop well the soil needs to be ready, so you may need to do some preparatory work first, but that is okay. 

Take time to reflect on what has been blossoming for you in these first three months of the year. Set some time for prayer in order to talk to Jesus about it….or listen what He is telling you. You may also wish to journal about it, so that later in the year you can revisit the wisdom you gather at this time. I wish a blessing of thousand flowers upon your soul, and a soothing love of God to accompany you through life.

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye of every one that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

(from St. Patrick’s Breastplate)

St. Patrick is one of my favourite people from our Christian past. He was not born in Ireland but probably either in what is today known as Wales or in the North of France. At the age of 16 he was taken into captivity to Ireland, and as he admits in his “Confessions” at that time he “did not know the true God”. This is the image I have of that incident as it was happening: Patrick was on a ship, with thousands of others being kidnapped at the same time, and as they are being taken to Ireland, the Trinity looks down from Heaven; God’s gaze, like the lights on a stage, focuses on Patrick and God says, “This is the lad I want, I choose him to do my work”. That decision and Patrick’s openness to it changed the history not only of Ireland – but it changed Patrick too.

That same gaze is on us too. St. John of the Cross, a Carmelite mystic, speaks about a God who “constantly gazes at the universe, with a look that ‘cleanses, makes beautiful, enriches and enlightens’” (I. Matthew, The Impact of God, 112.). Same as Patrick, we need to allow to be captured by that gaze of God’s love; the gaze that will water the thirsty well of our souls, and nurture it with God’s Presence. St. Patrick’s Breastplate  is a very good prayer for practicing the Presence of God, especially if we pray it slowly, attentively. It brings to our awareness that Christ is everywhere we go. As Jesus said, “I am with you until the end of times”.

Now we remember Patrick as a saint, but he did not become who God intended him to be overnight. It took years for God’s plan to slowly enfold in his life. God used Patrick’s captivity for a good purpose; He made Himself known to Patrick, perhaps through those long moments of minding sheep and cattle somewhere on the Irish hills. Patrick’s calling was shaped like a pearl that is being formed out of dust. Dust coming into a shell is like any bad experience we might have in life. God’s grace and the presence of Christ transformed what could have been an extremely awful experience of captivity by forming Patrick into one the greatest missionaries the world has known. God can use any of our life difficulties too to draw us closer to Himself and to His purposes for us.

As I was reflecting on Patrick’s life a thought struck me: God was here before Patrick, God had a dwelling place in Ireland then, and He dwells here now. Patrick was open to recognise Him; Christ dealt with Patrick on a very personal, heart-to-heart level, as He does with us today as well. When Patrick came back to Ireland it was to give back to Ireland only what he himself received here – faith in Christ. Patrick is an icon of someone who mirrored God’s love to the people of this island, and through the communion of saints he does so to this very day. Patrick came to show Ireland, and all of us here, that we are the Beloved of God, which is after all the central message of the Gospel.

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

I used to be really enthusiastic about the Week of prayer for Christian unity (18th-25th January), especially in my twenties, I would almost jump for joy at the thought of it. I would not be a Christian had there not been for both Catholics and Protestants who influenced my journey, nor would I be who I am today without those influences. Because of that, prayer for unity has been my daily bread all throughout my adult life. 

But then a few years ago my enthusiasm for ‘ecumenical matters’ was challenged because I saw that progress on this journey is sometimes very slow. Differences that could enrich us sometimes unfortunately divide us, and it is easy to get discouraged. I went through a year where I did not attend any of the ecumenical gatherings, and I did not go around visiting different Churches, as I sometimes would, rather I withdrew into the silence of not-doing and prayed to somehow be able to recommit to this call. Since then, I decided to focus more on Jesus and His desire for unity rather than on the reality of our Churches, and to rely on the fact that if He wants unity so strongly so as to make it His dying wish, it must then somehow be possible. I don’t need to understand how.

Jesus’ prayer

More than Two Thousand years ago, on the night before He died, after He washed the disciples feet, and after the Last Supper, at which as some Churches believe He established the Eucharist, Jesus went to pray. He asked three of His closest friends to accompany Him. When we know we are facing death, like He knew, we think and pray for what is most important to us. Jesus prayed to the Father to glorify Him and he prayed for all those who believed in Him, but then He said: 

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message [which is us], that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17:20-21)

Jesus prayed for us, and we are still gathering fruits from that prayer. Whenever we pray for unity between Christians we join Jesus in this prayer, we accompany Him into the garden like Peter, John and James did. It is a testament of perseverance in prayer that this week of prayer for Christian unity has been taking place regularly for over 100 years now. However, the very fact that this week exists highlights that we have ‘a problem’, that we are not yet united, as Christ would wish us to be. There should be no special ecumenical gatherings nor special services where we gather together. It should be normal that we come together, it should be part of our daily reality, and I know that for some of you it is, but on a global scale unfortunately we are still not united, not enough anyway. 

Is Christ divided?

‘Is Christ divided?’ is a theme that Canadian Christians chose for us this year. We know that Christ can never be divided, and we are each in His heart, individually and each Church too, in His heart we are united, but our reality often does not show that. I think it is not a problem that Churches are different, perhaps that is even good because diversity of Christian expression can be enriching. But unfortunately some of our differences happen to be divisive. Paul said to the Church in Corinth I hear “that there are quarrels among you” (1 Corinthians 1:11). This sounds familiar as sometimes there are quarrels among us as well, especially when talking about the ‘hot-button-topics’. I must say that those make me feel very uncomfortable and I often don’t know how to address them. And I actually wonder how we will ever find unity in some of them; unless we allow each other to remain different. When we encounter those we realise there are gaps between us and it can be hard to stand in the gap because that’s where we encounter the pain of our disunity. I don’t think that any one of us can bridge those gaps, only Jesus can, Jesus is the bridge, but we as His followers need to be bridge-builders.  

Perhaps the time has not yet come

A few years ago I heard that ecumenism was in winter; I am not sure if this is true, but even if it is – winter is important. There can be no spring or summer without winter, winter is a time of preparation, of healing, of restoration. Recently Pope Francis said how “we have not yet managed to take necessary steps towards unity between us and perhaps the time has not yet come”. It made me think: “Perhaps the time has not yet come” – I never thought of it this way. God takes time, and from my experience He does so especially when something is important to Him; I wonder whether at least sometimes it is true that the more important something is to God, the more time He will take with it. That is very hard for us to comprehend, as we would like to rush things, I know I would. But throughout ‘the times of waiting’, the in-between times, the Holy Spirit is active and there are fruits on the way that maybe we would miss otherwise.

I believe that for God journey is important as well as the goal; maybe we are not yet ready to receive the fullness of unity, and whatever God is doing in each of us and in each of our Churches at this time, is important too. Sometimes we do not see God’s work fully, it is hidden from our eyes, but that does not mean that He is not active. We cannot rush spring into winter, seasons have their natural flow too. 

I would like to invite you now for a moment to reflect on one or two things from your own tradition through which you experience God the most intimately, something that if you could you would like to share with all other Christians. (pause here for a moment to think before you read further) Or maybe there are things in another Christian tradition that you wish your own Church would emphasise more. Until we are able to share those freely, our unity will be incomplete. 

Healing our divisions

God wishes to heal our divisions; in Isaiah He said “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them” (Isaiah 57:18). Sometimes in the Gospels when Jesus healed He would ask “what do you want me to do for you?” but I think that here when we pray for Christian unity we need to reverse the question, “Lord, what do you want me to do for You?” Because the Church in all its branches is ‘the body of Christ’, when we allow our divisions to be healed we help Jesus’ wounds to heal as well. I believe that our disunity is painful for Christ, it is heart-breaking really. Also our disunity is a distraction because our job is to build the kingdom of God, and together we could do that much better. 

We can never achieve unity on our own, no matter how much we desire it. We can assist God, we can prepare the ground as we are doing these days, but ultimately unity is going to be God’s work, unity is going to be a gift. Someone that I know, who wished not to be named, said: “we must continue to plant the seed of unity. When it falls on good ground it will produce fruit. Good ground is ground prepared with love. We must be receptive and make the ground good.  The ground will then receive the seed and produce the fruit of unity.  The seed is the word of God” and this week the Word is: ‘That they may all be one’. We must keep planting this seed.” 

Recently I was told that from God’s perspective “delay is not a denial, not even withholding” and because “our lives are so linked up with those of others, so bound by circumstances” that delay has to be sometimes; if God would let our prayers always have an instant fulfilment, it might “in many cases cause another, as earnest prayer, to go unanswered”.* This may be applied to our quest for unity. If there seems to be a delay, God knows what He is doing. Maybe He is preparing us for this gift of unity, let us prepare ourselves too. Amen.

* From A. J. Russel [ed.], “God calling. A devotional diary”

(Adapted from the address given at the Ecumenical Healing Service in St Ann’s, Dawson street, on Sunday 19th January 2014)

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

Lord, teach me the silence of love,
the silence of wisdom,
the silence of humility,
the silence of faith,
the silence that speaks without words.
O Saviour, teach me to silence my heart
that I may listen to the gentle movement 
of the Holy Spirit within me,
and sense the depths which are God,
today and always.

(Frankfurt, sixteen century)

As Christmas is approaching it may be hard to find moments of stillness amongst the busyness of our preparations. Yet let us try to give ourselves the luxury of short pauses and practice the awareness that God is in our midst. We can do that while doing ordinary tasks like cooking, washing dishes, buying Christmas presents, or spending time with our family, by simply bringing to our attention the notion that God’s gaze is on us as we go about our daily activities. In this way every moment becomes sacred. This awareness will create attentiveness in us that in turn carves the interior way in our souls and makes us ready for the most sacred night of all, Christmas Eve.

Advent is a time of waiting on the promises of light in the midst of the night; a time where promises of a new dawn, while covered in a deep winter dream, or even in snow, slowly start to emerge in quiet whispers, as if the womb of the earth wants to tell us never to give in.

Take time to slow down. Listen to those quiet whispers. Even soul has its seasons. When we look inside ourselves we may recognise in which season is our soul at present. Listen to the promises that are being whispered inside your own being. The soft voice of God speaks within us each, though we have to learn to trust it. The season of our soul does not need to correspond to the seasons of the year. If your soul is in spring, summer or autumn at this time, let these other seasons speak to you, as God is present in each of them. Yet if your soul is in the season of winter; a season of resting, recuperating, restoring, allow yourself less activity, as much as your circumstances permit, and try to bask in the presence of God’s love. Finding moments of stillness is hardly ever going to be without a challenge or distractions but it is nonetheless worth trying to integrate them in our daily lives. Going for a walk is a great way of doing that as nature can nurture inner silence. However, let us be mindful that for some people Christmas is not going to be a happy season, theirs will be a different kind of silence. If you know of someone who might be struggling at this time, may your presence be like a healing balm to them.

In Advent we remember that God often comes to us gently, in silence. Jesus came to this world through the silence of the womb and Mary was the first one who embraced His reality within herself. That was her advent. Now in this Advent, let us be the womb for Him, in which the awareness of God will grow within us.

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

Grant us a vision, Lord
To see what we can achieve
To reach out beyond ourselves
To share our lives with others
To stretch our capabilities
To increase our sense of purpose
To be aware of where we can help
To be sensitive to your Presence
To give heed to your constant call.

 (David Adam)

A very meaningful way to journey through Advent is by finding time for reflection, creating prayerful moments in our days, moments of stillness, where we wish to direct our attention to God and allow Christ to enter our reality, to light our inner candles and bring light in areas of our lives where we most need it. But it might also be good and even Christ-like if we could find opportunities to step out of ourselves and encourage someone who we think needs light lit in their lives. When we can find balance between a reflective and active preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas, our Advent journey becomes more wholesome.

Take time to notice someone: a friend, a family member or a child who might benefit from your company, greet strangers with a smile, talk to a man or a woman who is homeless, clean your wardrobe and bring things you no longer use to a charity shop, visit an elderly person who might be lonely at this time, say a prayer for people that no one prays for or see what situation moves your heart and respond to it according to your means. Do not take these suggestions as a burden on yourself in what is most likely already a busy season for you. Rather know that in the moments in which we affirm another person’s dignity, moments when we encounter others heart to heart, we meet God in them as well. When we light someone else’s inner candle, our own inner light is relit too.

In the song Be Thou my Vision there is a verse in which we sing,  “Be Thou my dignity, be Thou my delight”. As we bring Christ’s light to each other, sometimes merely by our presence, let us be clothed in His light, robed in His dignity, aware of His delight, knowing that ‘together’ we journey through Advent, together we walk this walk of light.

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland