Words Matter
Ever notice how a new and different translation of a scripture passage can catch your attention and cause you to think? Ever find your mind wandering during a scripture reading because the words are so familiar your head doesn’t need to pay attention? Because I love words so much, I am always looking for new words to give me a fresh look at familiar passages and keep my head engaged. One of the best resources I have found is The Message, The Bible on Contemporary Language – Catholic/Ecumenical Edition, by Eugene H. Peterson. It isn’t new (first edition was published in 2002) but there is a 2013 edition, and several in-between.
Waves of Change: Sustainable Food for All
I had the privilege of attending the opening event of Waves of Change: Sustainable Food for All, Food Secure Canada’s eighth National Assembly. The keynote address was given by world-renowned writer, environmentalist, and seed campaigner Vandana Shiva as part of the Sow Much Love campaign.
Vandana Shiva is an inspirational author and award-winning Indian environmentalist, and founder of Navdanya, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seed, organic farming and fair trade.
On a Prayerful Path with Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys
Charles de Glandelet, Marguerite Bourgeoys’s spiritual advisor and biographer, wrote about her, “When someone on whom she relied asked her to give an account of her prayer, she said that she could not pray discursively (…). A single word or a single truth occupied her mind for long periods of time.” In what ways did the truths she contemplated keep her so long in prayer, absorbed and in the presence of the God she loved?
In the early 17th century, the “French School of Spirituality” was emerging. Marguerite was undoubtedly immersed in it and prayed in the manner of this School.
This spirituality was centered on the Word Incarnate – the Son of God made man, true worshiper of the Father. For her spiritual advisors, the Bible was their book of prayer. They strongly encouraged a prayerful reading of Scriptures. These two sources, the Word Incarnate and the Gospel, inspired a three-point method of praying: “Jesus before your eyes, Jesus in your heart, and Jesus in your hands.”
