Tuesday, July 10, 2012

In every blessed thing...

Today we're off to explore part of Quebec closest to Ottawa - including the incredible eaterie Les Fougeres - and then we head back to the US on Wednesday.  I came across a quote from the Community of Iona that really speaks to me.

Fundamental to the Community of Iona's understanding of spirituality is the conviction that God's Spirit permeates the whole of life - every blessed thing as George McLoud, the Community's founder, said.  God is thus to be discovered, encountered and experienced in the midst of life - in the hurly-burly and daily routine of our lives, in and through our relationships, not just in tranquil moments or remote, beautiful places like Iona.

Over the past 15 years this spirituality has been growing deep within.  So much so that I no longer secretly ache to do ministry someplace else - like a monastery or radical island community like Iona - because I am in the right place.  In Pittsfield.  In my own skin. In my own life.  As the Occupy folks like to say:  You are the one you've been waiting for.  And so as we transition from vacation time to ministry time - easing the re-entry with a few days at Dianne's family lake cottage - I have a sense of peace heading home.  God is in the whole blessed thing...

all saints and souls day before the election...

NOTE: It's been said that St. Francis encouraged his monastic partners to preach the gospel at all times - using words only when neces...