Word of God, inflame our hearts – may we share your love
with one another.
Word of God,
you invite us each day to change of heart.
Word
of God, you call us by name and give us new life.
Word
of God, you call us to peace and wholeness.
Most Holy One:
Strengthen our hearts
and hands
Open our eyes to your
ways
Release us from
bondage
Loosen our tongues to
sing your praise
Free our ears to hear
your words
You, O God, are a loyal friend; help us to be people
of wisdom.May we discern our actions in
the light of our relationship with you and with one another.Grant this through Jesus who lives with you,
Source of all Wisdom, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.Amen
From Sister Christine Kresho's Narrative for her Spiritual Companion Meeting held on Feb. 22, 2022 via Zoom
SC Feb 22
Christianity
needs to tell a new story; note : the story has always been there ; always true;
we just haven’t proclaimed it.
What we need
to keep in mind is how we do that. Sometimes, when we have journeyed to a new
place, a new understanding, we are so motivated to share it that we may go
about it in the wrong way. We want to teach others the good news, the new story
that we have come to believe. Sometimes we teach by “pouring it in” rather than
“drawing it out.” And it's easily understood how we tend to do this with
children, but this statement can relate to how we act with anyone; If we take
time to recognize and accept that the Divine is alive withinall, including children
Teach,(don’t
just “pour “ it in) or preach, or proclaim? Proclaim is about how we act
/talk/share
What new
stories?
How to talk/share/
about prayer—not to a faraway God listening to ourrequests; need for our own personal prayer
life to develop a sense of
being at home within all-present God— the Mystery permeating and holding
all things in existence--all people have the same privilege; prayer is
deepening our awareness of this privilege; means we accept responsibility for making this presence visible.
Franciscan theologian Ilia Delio --
Prayer is the longing of the
human heart for God. It is a yearning and desire for relationship with God, and
it is God’s attention to our desire: God-in-communion with us.
The great spiritual writer Augustine of Hippo
[354–430] --“You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it
rests in you.” [1] We long for God because we are created by God, and this
longing is both the source of our hope in God and the very thing we resist.
Prayer is an awakening to the fact that the fulfillment of my life lies in God.
God delights in creation and loves each of us with a personal
love. Prayer, therefore, is
God’s desire to breathe in me, to be the spirit of my life, to draw me into the
fullness of life. When I pray—when I breathe with God—I become part of the
intimacy of God’s life.
Prayer is recognizing the
intimate in-dwelling of God in our lives, the One who remains faithful in love
even when the world around us may fall apart. . . .
Delio --
To pray is to open up oneself to God who dwells within us. It means holding back nothing
from God and sharing everything with God. . . . Prayer of the heart is
unceasing prayer-----St
Paul—pray always--- where God breathes in us and our hearts are turned
toward God. Doesn’t mean adding formal
prayer times etc;everything becomes
praying. ---This deepening of our lives in the divine life is the path to
self-discovery. In and through prayer we discover our true selves, the self
that God has created each of us to be. . . .
Life in God should be a daring adventure of love but often
we settle for mediocrity. We follow the daily practice of prayer but we are
unwilling or, for various reasons, unable to give ourselves totally to God. To
settle on the plain of mediocrity is to settle for something less than God,
which leaves our hearts restless and unfulfilled. . . . Prayer is that
dynamic, life-giving relationship with God by which we grow deep in God’s Word,
strong in God’s grace, and free in God’s love to dream with God the
unimaginable.
so petition becomes sharing with God our cares,
concerns, hopes etc., when
we pray for others we are praying that others draw strength and healing from
God’s presence and from our thoughts and prayers – because we are
interconnected. And not that God is “above” holding the puppet strings
New story: About
scripture –story of the Fall and literal understanding-- God’s Spirit was
always present and never dependent (was never conditional) on what someone on
earth did—not even Jesus;
Adam and
Eve& the Fall—disregards science
-- where is science
in the creation story every religion has its creation story – never a paradise
lost by sin entering into world
Heaven –some
strange ideas of heaven—Mary in heaven gives our prayers to Jesus? Balance
teaching the Hail Mary with stories that make her human
About death—new life –transformation of life ; anyone
who has died has died IN GOD
About Jesus’
death – for Lent
Breakout:
what ideas have changed for you?
4. Ending prayer
When the question is “Why?"
be the voice that I hear.
When
the question is “Where?
be the guidance I need.
When the question is
“When?”
be the wisdom I seek.
When
the question is “How?”
be the strength I require.
This is an easy versatile cauliflower puree made right in a Vita Mix blender. I had cauliflower soup at the Kitchen Restaurant recently which triggered this urge to create this concoction. I also saw Fettucine Alfredo prepared in the new show The Good Dish using something similar as sauce. Voila! These inspirations gave birth to this creamy, delicious, oil free, and nondairy alternative to fat filled recipes using dairy cream or cream cheese.
I am happy with this puree. I almost devoured all the pasta dish I made with it in one sitting. It was especially good with crusty bread and green salad when used over pasta or soup.
5 loosely packed cups fresh cauliflower florets or frozen cauliflower
1 tablespoon dry onion flakes (note 1)
1 tablespoon dry garlic flakes (note 1)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Microwave the cauliflower for about five minutes.
Add the cauliflower and the rest of the ingredients in the Vita Mix blender. (note 2)
Blend at highest setting till you see smoke out of blender suggesting it is heated. You can feel the sides of the blender getting hot to the touch.
Pour over cooked pasta. or eat as soup as is or thinned out with little water or broth.
Sprinkle with dry parsley.
Notes:
1. I used dry onion and garlic flakes to simplify the steps in the prep by skipping the need of sauteing these aromatics.
2. One can use other types of blender then transfer the mixture to a pan and heat the puree in the stove. One can also just heat the ingredients in a pot and puree the mixture using an immersion blender.
Well this is the closest I can get to Chipotle's Plant Based Chorizo Bowl. I tried several recipes of vegan chorizo and finally used an adapted recipe from of all things, vegan baked hard cheese. What!! Yes. I was tasting the cheese before baking and it was what my mind wants my chorizo in my bowl to taste. I just deleted the use of water. For me, it is better than Chipotle's which is made from pea protein plus tons of other ingredients.
I have in the past used another cauliflower walnut meat recipe, but this is different. Love both. This recipe is smokier like chorizos should be and has a tangier twang to it. Both are good.
Cauliflower Walnut Chorizo
2 cups cauliflower florets roughly chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Mix the cauliflower and walnuts in a bowl. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. Add to the cauliflower and walnut mixture.
Bake at 350 F for 8 min or less in air fryer Place in lowest shelf. Or just place in skillet to just warm the mixture.
Tilden Edwards is a spiritual
teacher and co-founder of The Shalem Institute, a contemplative organization.
In this passage, he describes the purpose of prayer:
Authentic prayer is opening to God’s gracious presence with all
that we are, with what Scripture summarizes as our whole heart, soul, and mind
(Matthew 22:37). Therefore prayer is more a way of being than
an isolated act of doing.
Prayer is aimed at our deepest problem: our tendency to forget
our liberating connectedness with God. When this happens we become lost in a
sense of ultimate separateness. From this narrow outside-of-God place rise our
worst fears, cravings, restlessness, and personal and social sinfulness. . . .
Prayer also arises from our deepest hope: for the abundance of
life that comes when we abide in our deepest home, our widest consciousness.
Prayer is our bridge to Home.
Edwards goes on to distinguish between two types of prayer:
Active prayer is present where our wills
normally shape our opening to God, with faint or strong promptings from deep
within. Intercession, petition, confession, thanksgiving, and praise are forms
of active prayer. These are forms of prayer that most of us learn as children
and find reinforced in corporate worship and Scripture. Their content and shape
rise naturally out of our daily lives and evolving spiritual life.
Quiet, contemplative prayer happens when we
are still and open ourselves to Christ’s Spirit working secretly in us, when we
heed the psalmist’s plea: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10).
These are times when we trustingly sink into God’s formless hands for
cleansing, illumination, and communion. . . . We are in a state of quiet
appreciation, simply hollowed out for God. At the gifted [that is, graced]
depth of this kind of prayer we pass beyond any image of God and beyond any
image of self. We are left in a mutual raw presence. Here we realize that God
and ourselves quite literally are more than we can imagine. . . .
Such contemplative prayer finds us in what Scripture calls our
“hearts”: our deepest, truest self in God, the self that is deeper than our
normal sense of mind and feelings, yet includes these in a transfigured way.
Here is the “home” of God in us, where we are most together, “I pray that
Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians
3:17). It is the core dimension of our being where we most realize our divinely
gifted nature, indeed, where we sense ourselves being intimately breathed in
and out by God continually. In the placeless place of the spiritual heart we
are in touch before thoughts, beyond thoughts. We can bring into that inner
sanctuary only our naked trust and longing. . . .
If the
fundamental spiritual discipline is prayer, opening to God, then the
fundamental discipline of prayer is turning to our heart and inviting a
sustained mutual presence.
Tilden Edwards, Living in
the Presence: Spiritual Exercises to Open Your Life to the Awareness of God (San
Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1987, 1995), 11–13.
Dear Lord, show us how to live in a place where we are aware of our constant communion with You.
As Your child I humbly come before You. Thank You that I get to rest under the shelter of Your wings, here in the secret place of Your presence. I praise You, and I worship You, Lord.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1 NKJV)
I humbly hand over my heart to You, and I say, “Lord, here’s my heart, search me and know me, show me anything in my life that is keeping me from being as close as I can be with You.”
“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV)
As You show me these things in my heart and in my life, Holy Spirit, will You show me what You would like me to do? Will You show me how to let go of these things? Will You show me if there is any unforgiveness or pride in my heart?
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (Psalm 51:10-12 NIV)
Anything I am hanging on to that belongs to You, anything that I have willingly allowed into my life that is not in alignment with You and Your ways, I lay it down at the foot of the cross. I surrender all to You, Lord Jesus. Thank you for taking these burdens, Lord. Thank you for what You did on the cross to set us free from death. In You I have victory! I praise You, Jesus!
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29 NIV)
Easy dressing to use over your spinach salad. Something different with the use of miso paste. No oil or vinegar used. Lime juice is the acid used. Any sweetener can be used. Two thumbs up from my picky taster, my husband/
Spinach Walnut Salad with Miso Lime Dressing
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp miso paste
Juice from 2 limes'
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
4 loosely measured cups spinach leaves
1/4 onion sliced thinly
Distribute the spinach and onions on two to four dishes and set aside.
Heat the maple syrup, miso paste, and lime juice in a pan till homogenous. Then add the nuts and mix.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Sister Barbara Johnston and the Associates of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Baden.
Sister Barbara Johnston was one of the members of the Sisters of St. Joseph that have offered unselfish service and dedication to make the Baden Associate group flourish. She became a co-director together with Sr. Lynn Miller of the CSJA board from 2003-2010.
She also was part of the orientation committee with associates like Natalie Foley and Mary Cay Burke-Hamill. One would see her in every orientation meeting with her ubiquitous camera and stand patiently recording the presentations.
While working in different positions in the parishes in Masontown and New Castle, her relationships with some of the parishioners inspired them to become associates. They are Linda Rohol, Linda Patrick, Eleanor Krueger, Patti Daugherty and Judy Movic.
At one time she gave a huge gathering of associates at her beautiful home in New Castle. It was a wonderful event marked with her hospitality and organizational skills.
She delighted in every event that happens to the associates. I will never forget how tearful she was when she rejoiced on the publication of the Associate Cookbook in 2008. I was surprised and touched how open she was in showing her joy.
In 2006 she gave a retreat together with two associates, Dotty Kocur-Boccilli and Christine Hoffman on the Maxims: The Pearl of Great Price.
I could not find the handout of her beautiful talk on this topic. If I remember correctly, she likened the maxims to the pearls that develop inside the oyster shells. The pearl or nacre is actually produced in layers by the oyster as a protection from any irritant that enters the oyster.
The Maxims are like the pearls in our formation as associates They help us by building strength within us.
Another metaphor using pearls is how when light strikes the pearls some of them are reflected while others are absorbed. The combination of the different wavelengths results in their beautiful iridiscent finish.
We are like the pearls. We are reflections of our "perfectly imperfect selves" that are formed with the help of the Maxims and persons who care like Sister Barbara. Thank you, Sister Barbara. Pray for us up there which is referred to in one of the parables as the Pearl of Great Price. You have been an iridescent presence in our lives
Consecrate yourself often to the holy and uncreated Trinity of God, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. To the created one of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and to all the saints of heaven.
Together with this consecration make the following firm protestations :
Declare firmly in honor of God the Father that you will practice what, according to your
knowledge, is the more perfect; what you believe corresponds to his greater glory and to
the greater contentment of his sovereign Majesty.
Declare firmly in honor of God the Son, that you will try to imitate his total self-emptying
and totally empty yourself of self.
Declare firmly in honor of God the Holy Spirit, that you will free your heart from the love
of every created being in order to fill it with the pure and perfect love of God and to do
everything in the constant practice of this holy love.
Declare firmly in honor of the Savior Jesus that you will put aside your old self so that
you can put on the new, namely Christ Jesus himself, living, insofar as you can, by his
life and in the perfect imitation of his virtues.
Declare firmly in honor of the Blessed Virgin who was full of grace and used that grace
so well that, in imitation of her, you will be perfectly faithful to every grace of the Holy
Spirit.
Declare firmly in honor of the glorious St. Joseph, that you will serve and love Jesus and
Mary wholeheartedly as he served and loved them, and that when you serve the neighbor,
you will do so in Joseph's spirit of humility, gentleness and charity.
Finally, in honor of the angels and saints, declare firmly that you will try to model
yourself on the example of their holy life and never do anything that contradicts the
seeking after the great virtue.
In particular declare firmly that, like them, you will have a tender, strong and constant
affection for
- peace and intimate union with God,
- cordial charity towards and forbearance of the neighbor,
- humility profound and totally emptied of self,
- the simplicity, gentleness and moderation of the Gospel,
- childlike obedience that does not line up its arguments in advance,
- poverty perfectly stripped,
- mortification discreet and generous,
- above all, very innocent purity of heart which is the foundation for all these beautiful
virtues.
Conclude these devout protestations with a Veni Creator in order to ask the Holy Spirit
for grace to keep them exactly and to take advantage of them in such a way that, having
lived on earth as the saints did, you may share in their glory forever and ever. Amen. God
be blessed.
Story goes one summer in the seventies, Dr. Baldomero Olivera was watching predatory cone snails prance around in his aquarium at his summer home in the Philippines when he had an aha moment. When Toto saw those Conus snails a light bulb lit up and he came up with a new research topic to pursue in his lab in the Philippines. How exactly does the venom work on its prey when the harpoon like part of the snails stick out and squirt them out? What in this venom paralyze the tiny fishes and even fellow snails that give the predator snail time to eat them up, even leisurely at times?
Toto, as he is popularly known, splits his time between the University of Utah and the University of the Philippines, Padre Faura during his career as a biochemist. This curiosity of his is no surprise. Biochemistry is his passion. After Dr. Olivera graduated from the University of the Philippines with a BS in Chemistry he switched his interest from molecules and atoms to bioplymers particularly DNA. He went on to obtain his PhD in Biochemistry at Caltech and did his postdoc in Biochemistry at Stanford.
After that summer, he went back to the University of Utah where he was a Professor of Biochemistry and continued his new project, The Study of the ConusMagus, a type of predatory cone snails. He was a resourceful mentor giving opportunities to young students interested to do research in his lab. He decided to give a student straight from high school, J. Michael McIntosh, a labor intensive summer project. The incoming freshman was to isolate the key component(s) that is responsible for the lethal property of the venom. Mcintosh turned out to be a stellar budding scientist. He not only isolated the component(s), which turned out to be a mixture of polypeptides, but he also characterized the structure of an important one now known as ziconotide.
Ziconotide is a polypeptide consisting of 25 amino acids strung together like beads, not long but very powerful.
Olivera's group got involved in molecular neuroscience using the Conus venom components as a vehicle to investigate the function of individual ion channels and receptors. With the Ziconotide isolated on hand, Olivera, started to delve into the mechanism behind its action. He found that it is a calcium channel blocker in the nerves transmitting cells. Without the calcium ion the transmitters fail to relay the pain message or signal to the brain.
When Toto and collaborators were working early on Ziconotide, they did not have a definite therapeutic use for it and did not file a patent. They published the structure of this polypeptide which gave another group the idea to synthesize it in the lab with chemicals. This group filed a patent and distributed it as a new pain killer. It is 1000 times more potent than morphine and not addictive and has no withdrawal symptoms. It does not cross the blood brain barrier and cannot be taken orally but need to be injected into the spine.
Olivera studied several polypeptides from conus venoms and submitted them for human clinical trials. In 2005, Ziconotide (now known as Prialt) was approved for the treatment of intractable pain.
Curiosity they say kills a cat. But if it originates in a brilliant mind like Toto Olivera it kills the pain of hundreds of patients for whom opioids like morphine fail to relieve. From venomous snails to pain killers. Predator to savior. Who knew.
