X Marks The Spot!

"No one longs for what he or she already has,

and yet the accumulated insight of those wise about the spiritual life

suggests that the reason so many of us cannot see the red X that marks the

spot is because we are standing on it."

Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World

Can you find the treasure hidden under your feet? Make a list describing what you have found. Keep it as a handy reference for the next time you feel unsure about where you belong.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.


I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.~

Build Your Wings!

If we listened to our intellect,

we'd never have a love affair.

We'd never have a friendship.

We'd never go into business,

because we'd be too cynical.

Well, that's nonsense.

You've got to jump off cliffs

all the time

and build your wings

on the way down.

- Annie Dillard

When have you had the experience of “building your wings”?

Lost in the Fog

Thank you to Sr. Guadalupe Medina, OSF

for presenting the following poem written by Joyce Rupp

during our faith sharing meeting!

"Quiet mystery,

today the earth wears mufflers on her ears.

Heavy wet clouds disguise the silent land.

The city is a giant mound of bleary white

with dense fog permeating everything.

Even the sparrow's song sounds thick.

In the concealing mist of morning,

street lights blur with masked revelation,

and walkers are lost in a veil of obscurity.

Secret one of my soul,

portions of the land within me are dimly lit,

answers to my daily struggles are hazy,

and direction for my future lies hidden.

Often I lose my way as I meander in this inner fog,

struggling to find the path of some deeper peace.

As I reach out in this dim state of my inner domain,

I cry out for you and find you there,

safely leading me amid the mystery.

Quiet me, as fog quiets the external world,

so that I can listen more intently to you.

Draw me further into surrender.

Rest me in your comforting stillness,

and let me be content with what is unclear."

Reflect today on the 'foggy' areas in your life, what aspects need greater clarity and vision?  How are you responding to these foggy areas?

Feast of the Epiphany



Epiphany, the 12th day after Christmas, celebrates the visit of the three wise men to the Christ Child.

The Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ is one of the oldest Christian feasts, though, throughout the centuries, it has celebrated a variety of things. Epiphany comes from a Greek verb meaning "to reveal," and all of the various events celebrated by the Feast of the Epiphany are revelations of Christ to man.

"O God, Who by the guidance of a star didst this day reveal

Thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles,

mercifully grant that we, who know Thee now by faith,

may be so led as to behold with our eyes the beauty of Thy majesty.

Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son,

Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost,

God, world without end. Amen."

catholicism.about.com

You Mustn't Quit!

“You Mustn’t Quit!

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest! If you must – but never quit.

Life is strange, with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about

When he might have won if he’d stuck it out;

Stick to your task, though the pace seems slow –

You may succeed with one more blow.

Success if failure turned inside out –

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt –

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems afar;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –

It’s when things seem worst that YOU MUSTN’T QUIT!”

~The Book of Virtues~

Happy New Year!

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

No hands but yours,

No feet but yours,

Yours are the eyes through which is to look out

Christ’s compassion to the world

Yours are the feet with which he is to go about

Doing good;

Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now."

~Saint Teresa of Avila~

It is a new year filled with opportunities to make a difference. May you be blessed as you live into that call.