Word(s) on the Floor

Among those present at Convention and offering their prayers for us are those who are members of monastic orders such as the Order of the Holy Cross, the Order of St. Helena and the Society of St. John the Evangelist, among others. As a member of the Fellowship of St. John, I was delighted to see Brothers Mark Brown, Geoffrey Tristam, and Curtis Almquist here in Indianapolis this week.

Curtis handed me a little packet of business-sized laminated cards earlier this week that I have had with me on the floor ever since. Each offers a word, e.g. "peace" or "faith" or "humility" or "joy" and then a short quote from one of the brothers on that word. And then at the bottom of the card, instructions to Pause/Breathe/Meditate/Share.  I have found these brief meditations helpful in keeping me centered and open to God's Spirit, and want to share three of these words in particular, in this context:

Mission.
God loves to invite us to make journeys. Because through the journey, God teaches us, forms us, invites us to grow and change into the person God longs for us to be.
Br. Geoffrey Tristram

Gratitude
The prayer of thanksgiving frees us from the bondage of our own too-small worlds. It lifts us beyond ourselves and our petty preoccupations. And it does not come naturally to any of us. Rather, paradoxically, like all prayer, thanksgiving is a gift, from God, for us, waiting to be received.
Br. Kevin Hackett

Jesus
Whenever we bury Jesus, he comes back to life. We can bury him in the Bible or in stained glass windows, in creeds and formulas and the heritage of our own tradition, in movies and plays and music; in our past. We can even bury him in bread and wine. And each time from each place he rises from the dead. He sheds the words and images and walks right on out into the world.
Br. Curtis Almquist