Contemplative Prayer

Dear Guests,

Debra Classen — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:08:36 GMT

Here we are at the apex of the summer and I now many are suffering from the immense heat and drought in some parts of the nation. Here in Ohio it has been hot and humid, but a lush and green summer. Our vegetable garden is yielding gigantic zuchinnis and tomatoes, along with beautiful vines and brilliant flowers blooming all over my deck.

But gardening has been minimal because myself and our expanding staff at the ministry have been working all summer. Our Aug blog posting is minimal, because of our many new launches about to happen. We will be posting an entirely new blog, web site, and prayer site very soon and I can't wait for all of you to see it.

We will also have new online educational and retreat programs, new art, new prayer cards, and an introduction to some of our new "flock"!!

Our prayers and blessings of God's abundant beauty in your life. Please remember to pray for us too.

Debra and the Mute Swan Ministry

God Alone Prayer by Debra Classen

Debra Classen — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:08:16 GMT

I recently had a friend say to me, "God is so mysterious, I wish He would shout his answers to us." I think God does shout His answers and they are simple, but so difficult. I find that I will hear something very clearly, but I don't want to accept it. My 16th year down to Kentucky and I arrived on a hot afternoon and noticed, with a particular attention to it, the words inscribed in stone over the monastic gate, "GOD ALONE."

Two words, but that is God's message to me. I need people and I have been frightened by the very thought of losing loved ones, but if we hang on to God Alone, He will take us through "the valley of the shadow of death."

Death and loss, very much a part of the months of this summer, but God is consoling and comforting us through the losses and I see new beginnings too.

GOD ALONE PRAYER
Lord, For today, in each moment of this day
May I see Your beauty and surrender my will to You alone
Be my vision, my breath, the beating of my heart.

If today I meet poverty, deprivation, or darkness of sin,
May I reflect the richness of Your goodness to the world, and the light of faith.

If today I come across hatred, ugliness or selfishness,
May I introduce Your love, beauty and compassion.

If today I am imprisoned by lies, addiction, or violence,
May I seek freedom in Your truth, serenity, and peace.

If today I encounter rejection, betrayal, or abandonment,
May I embrace Your acceptance, steadfast love, and presence.

If today I know doubt, despair, or death,
May I find hope in my faith and eternal life.

Today, may I be still.
May I have the vision to see You in everyone and everything,
And to reflect Your Beauty, truth, and goodness,
In merciful and humble love.
Amen.

debra, August 2011

Your capacity to care if God, it is your beauty. By John O'Donohue

Debra Classen — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 23:10:10 GMT

...for all who are fighting cancer, for those who mercifully care for loved ones, for those who have lost the fight, and for those who now grieve their loss...

Your capacity to care is God, it is your beauty.

Our love for our friends and family,

Our concern for the world and for earth,

Our compassion for the pain and the desperation of others,

issues forth from the strain of God

in us that prizes above everything,

the kindness, compassion and beauty that love brings.

-John O'Donohue

Psalms 42 Poster, artwork by Debra Classen

Debra Classen — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:26:43 GMT

Thomas Merton Retreats by Debra Classen

Debra Classen — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:17:04 GMT

Debra is currently booking retreats/ workshops/speaking engagements for 2012. Please contact us now for your upcoming event. (retreats prices out of state will include travel expenses).

Dear Guests,

Debra Classen — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:38:00 GMT

Welcome to summer and the month of July, the hottest month of the year in the northern hemisphere. According to the Gregorian calendar, July is the seventh month and in our family it is also the month of the only summer birthday, our oldest daughter's-Tegan. This meant Tegan had birthday swim parties and it also meant a tradition which began on our first birthday and continued until her twenty-first birthday. Each year I planted mammoth sunflowers on our deck from tiny seeds. On her first birthday a sunflower seed was accidentally planted and it bloomed, bright and big right on her birthday, and so began the tradition.

By Tegan's twenty-first birthday I had pots lining our deck where the summer beats down for most of the afternoon. Over twenty of those giant sunflowers bloomed, and most of them bloomed the week of her birthday, bringing smiles, yellow finches, bees and beauty.

My daughter is now married and lives far away in Texas. I miss her and I miss all the sunflowers. Sometimes I miss her being a little girl and I miss being a young mother. I feel nostalgic for those summer days when we planted sunflowers, caught fireflies, went swimming at Grandpa and Grandma's, and ate popcicles.

I just finished a wonderful retreat last weekend on Contemplative Prayer and I am working on a new journal on the same topic. I am reminded that the contemplative life is being present to the present moment. Memories are wonderful, but I have a tendency to look back and remember it perfectly. With prayer we can begin to have an awareness of our life right now, and all the beauty that is before us in this moment. We have only the moments, strings of pearls where we glimpse the mystery, the glory, and God's radiance before us. More often we are working really hard to manufacture good times, either through a lot of busyness and 'props', or we editing the past memories.The real gift is to be present to your present life.

Enjoy these summer days, whatever they may bring. Even in the midst of financial struggles, health concerns, relationships problems, and work stress, stay in your life, and look for the presence of God.

Even if you don't have the time or inclination to plant sunflowers or 'gaze' upon them, I pray that a glimpse of God's beauty in your life is revealed to you and gives you a reason to hope today.

Enjoy our summer blog and our new projects, outreach and people.

Be blessed with beauty,

Debra and the volunteers at the Mute Swan Ministry

Adding things Up

Debra Classen — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:09:46 GMT

by Father James Stephen Behrens, O.C.S.O.

at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit,

Conyers, Georgia

I had an uncle whose name I cannot recall--he was actually my mom's uncle and he lived in New Orleans. I can ask my sister Mary and am sure she would remember his name. What I do remember about him is a gift that he had and I heard stories about him when I was growing up.

The gift had to do with counting number and doing so in a flash. He would sit in a bar in New Orleans and not far from the bar were railroad tracks. He would gather patrons around him and boast that he could walk to the tracks and as a freight train passed, he would be able to look at all the freight car numbers as the train moved by and count them without need of pen and paper. The bets were on and off marched the group to the tracks, where they waited for the next train. When the train came, everyone looked at my uncle as he stared at the passing numbers. When the caboose faded into the distance, they all marched to an area where the train always stopped and several counted the numbers, which must have been a painstaking task. They jotted won the sum on a piece of paper and asked my uncle the final number he came up with. He told them and they reportedly gasped as the number matched the one they had. The bets were collected and off they went back to the bar, perhaps waiting for the next train in the hope of recovering their losses. I do not think that train ever came.

My uncle could apparently 'read' numbers and as the numbers lumbered by he 'read' them up without the need to 'carry over numbers' and the like. His brain worked like a calculator--it seemed to have a chip that most of us do not have or perhaps do not know how to access. I like the story because it brings to mind the face that we all have gifts. Some may be admittedly unusual and can be quite profitable if we know how to summon the wagers. But, for the most part, our gifts tend to be of the ordinary kind. Some folks have a gift for putting people at ease. They are simply accepting people, and others sense this and feel comfortable in their presence. Intimacies are more readily shared. I one knew a bartender named Owen who worked at a place called 'Jimmy's' in Manhattan. His nickname was Father Owen the Confessor.

Others are gifted with a positive nature. You simply feel better in their presence. A positive nature can be like sunshine on a wet road. It dries what we can so easily slip on--making the walk a lot easier.Mechanical know-how is another gift. I remember a man named Claude Zarang, from New Orleans, who had an uncanny gift for locating the problems in a malfunctioning car engine and fixing it with a smile and a very reasonable fee. He was known all over the city.

People write songs, or poetry, or a novel. Words come easy, at times with a catchy melody. Some folks can prepare a meal fit for a King. Others can make a dress fit for a Queen. I recently read of a woman who spent most of her life in an iron lung. She was so loved by all who knew her. Her gift was her ability to move into the hearts of many people. She was deeply missed when she died. Her gift was one of making inroads of love into the hearts of people even though her body was confined to a machine. The iron lung enabled her to breathe air. Her heart inhaled people and their stories.

Everyone has a gift. If you have trouble seeing the gift of someone, seek out one who loves him or her. They will tell you. And I will bet that you will make some wondrous discoveries. We can go near the tracks of life and do our addition. The sum of the gifted will always be the same.

Mindfulness by Megan Furman

Debra Classen — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:02:00 GMT

Life is lost in the frenetic

but gained in the deliberate

contemplative revelry

Go slowly

My grandfather use to sit and

watch as hummingbirds sipped cider

from the necks of flowers

How could one be content, so silent, so still

I want to cook breakfast

to feed the five thousands

work wonder into whole wheat

slice heaven in an omelet

But the planning, shopping, chopping, dicing

inevitably turns to work

between errands and essays and tax returns

Where went the worship?

And when they slam it all down

nevermindful of the quiche’s crust

the perfectly peaked meringue turns to sawdust

But never mind

The day, I breathe, is fixed

My expectations, sigh, are not

Which is more malleable:

what Is, or what I Say?

To live in the interstices,

the spaces in between:

it is a right—or—what’s more,

perhaps, a duty?

In the gaps between the seams,

it seems,

the unplanned pregnant moments

full of concentrated emptiness

dwell the glimmers of heaven.

-Megan Furman

Living at God's Speed, Healing in God's Time

Debra Classen — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:48:43 GMT

Living at God's Speed; Healing in God's Time, by Charles W. Sidoti

Most of us have a difficult time allowing God to work on God’s time and to put aside our personal time line. God listens to our wants and needs and He is faithful in His own time, however, trusting God is one of the hardest things we can do in our lives. His timing is definitely not our timing!

We must continue to be spiritually prompted and reminded to be aware of the difference between chronos (the time of clocks and calendars) and kairos (the appointed time in the purpose of God-in short God’s time). And most importantly, to understand that chronos and kairos do not run concurrently!

So, how do we strive to keep our time schedule and time frame under God’s while trying to reduce our stress level? The self help book market is overflowing with tools and techniques to transform our lives. However, the methodology of Sidoti and Feinstein is not based on new age philosophies. This becomes apparent to the reader as the book opens with a beautiful prayer:

Free me, Lord, from the inner bondage and endless cycle of what I think needs to happen before I can be happy. Free me, Lord, from my idea of the solution. Help me to wait with open-ended joyful expectation; and help me to experience your peace. –Charles Sidoti

Living at God’s Speed, Healing in God’s Time is arranged into four sections representing key aspects of spiritual growth. Following each reflection is a short “Connecting Point” which helps the reader to relate what they have read to their personal life. This is followed by a short prayer. Sidoti and Feinstein, writing in everyday language with the use of amusing anecdotes, have put together an impressive work. It makes for an engaging and thought-provoking read!

In this simple, yet beautifully written book the proclamation that God is at work in the everyday world permeates the pages. The authors challenge the reader to “see things differently” and urge us to open our eyes and our hearts to see irrefutable evidence that we can let go of our worries if we only become aware of God’s presence in our lives and in the universe and to live in kairos.

Book Review by Carol Ann Gall

Moving forward I choose to live on God’s clock. I pray you do the same also!

Photo by Tara Marcic

Debra Classen — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:43:35 GMT

That Man is a Success

Debra Classen — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 02:07:57 GMT

who has lived well, laughed often and loved much;

who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children;

who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul;

who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it;

who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.

Poppies, artwork by Debra Classen

Patience Now! June Journal by Debra Classen

Debra Classen — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:41:59 GMT

St. Paul names nine qualities as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness (or generosity), faith (or faithfulness), gentleness, and self-control. Each of us have strengths and struggles and different 'fruits' can be harvested during different times. We live our lives in the context of different relationships and circumstances which reveal (or not) different aspects of our personality.

In faith we believe that the Holy Spirit's power can deeply permeate and transform our lives, even those troubling aspects we struggle with throughout our journey.

In my defense my entire family of origin is an impatient group, not that I would use the "GPC" card (genetically patience- challenged). It is even possible that I have just learned it watching my family. My brother has something called IED (intermittent explosive disorder) and whenever his patience is challenged in a mechanical or technological way, he malfunctions if he cannot get it working right away. This means that the object is punished for not working (broken), when perhaps it would require simply enough patience to amend. My sister is impatient with people. She has tremendous energy and has done more by 8a.m. than I can do by dinnertime. But if people walk slow, talk slow, or just can't get it done--she's done. And then there is me- a lovely blend of both siblings' impatience, I do not have patience with people or things.

I have noticed, or have had it revealed in obvious (and often humiliating ways) that if the fruit of patience has manifested itself in my life--it rotted on the vine before harvest. Comic relief can sometimes come to us when we see our struggle in the obvious absurdity of another's behavior. I am reminded of Will Farrell in the movie,"Kicking and Screaming" where he goes to the back of a long line in a coffee shop to 'wait' for his coffee. The line doesn't move. The woman at the front of the line is engaging the 'barista' in a lengthy and exhaustive questioning of the ingredients within all the different drinks and which one she might like best. Those behind the woman in line are beginning to fidget, but Will Farrell at the back of the line is beginning to lose it. The woman almost makes up her mind and then becomes indecisive again and wants one more drink explained to her. Will Farrell begins shouting choices to her and then pulls out his coffee card and begins in a loud voice to explain that he is a preferred 'coffee member' and needs his coffee drink NOW. He becomes louder and more obnoxious, and his impatience escalates to the point where he is making a scene. Eventually he is escorted out of the coffee shop, sans coffee. It was my kids, knowing full well the impatience of their mother, who laughed at Will Farrell's impatience in the coffee shop and couldn't wait to show me the movie clip.

I have attempted to lead a more contemplative life, more patient and more gentle and pray for the fruits of the Holy Spirit--for myself and others. And just the other day--it became evident that I need to pray for more patience--immediately! I was a few minutes late getting to my "spiritual book-club" meeting (ah-the irony) and was the last to order my coffee and join the group. I was the only one in the line when the barista was conversing with me. He was making another drink or cleaning something up. I discussed my drink options (not like the lady in the movie!--I had it narrowed down to two options) and decided on my order quickly. He said he would be with me, 'In a minute" as a I pulled out my wallet to pay for the drink. He continued with what he had to finish up and said to me again, "I will be right with you." A few more minutes passed and I began to fidget with impatience, the book club is waiting and I don't have my coffee. I even pulled out my coffee rewards card--flashing it towards the barista for quicker service. He had not yet made it to the register, and pleas for my patience a third time. I can feel my irritation growing and think to myself, "I don't want to wait any longer." Suddenly, time is up and I say, "Never mind, I have a meeting" and I walk off and sit down at the table for our book club. The women inquire about my coffee, and I explain in exasperation that I couldn't get any service. I have a "Will Farrell tone of voice", but it is not funny.

Probably twenty minutes into our meeting the barista comes to our table with my coffee and puts it on the table and apologizes for making me wait. I grab my purse to pay for the drink and he says, "No this is on me". Well--I feel like a loser and incredibly rude for my impatience. It was as if he had put a rotted pear of 'patience' on the table for all to look at. Some fruit of the Holy Spirit!

Most people react negatively, or in kind to the non-fruits of the Spirit, meaning hate, violence, impatience, rudeness, greed, disbelief, harshness of lack of self-control. So to be confronted with my impatience with this man's generosity and kindness was....well, unexpected. The kindness and patience touched me. I kept thinking about his kind reaction to my rudeness. I also thought about the fact that lack of patience only takes a self-centered view, without seeing the situation of the other. I had known nothing about his situation; he may have had a boss in the back room who was about to come out and check on him to see if he had cleaned up everything. Maybe he desperately needed this job and was doing whatever needed to be done to keep his job, before waiting on the customer. For my part I hadn't even been stressed or in a hurry that day, and yet I had acted impatient. Most of all I thought about his reaction to me--only four women had seen his act of generosity and patience. A small incident, but how many small incidents everyday bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit or the lack of?

I remember author and speaker Steven Covey sharing a story about getting on a subway in New York on a Sunday and wanting to quietly read his newspaper en-route. At one of the stops a man got on the subway, along with four young boys who began running and yelling in the car, generally being quite disruptive. Steven Covey watched this go on, as did other passengers who seemed to be as impatient with the children's behavior as he was. The father just sat there, oblivious to the disruption. Steven explained that after about twenty minutes of disruption he was growing increasingly irritated and impatient with, not only the children, but with the father who was doing nothing. He finally said something to the father. The father seemed startled, surprised, as if he had not heard or seen any of the disruption. He apologized profusely and explained that they had just come from the hospital where his wife was dying of cancer. That explanation put an entirely different lens on the situation.

There are layers to everything we see and do. The spiritual life means opening to the Holy Spirit in every situation, allowing yourself to look beyond the impatience, lack of self-control, peace, joy or love we feel or see in others and ourselves. It means stepping back and giving the Holy Spirit room to work, giving the fruit time to ripen in us. Hold back and observe your own reactions, see if you can invite the Holy Spirit to transform you. Perhaps we can find the time to wait for our coffee after all.

Blessings of beauty,
Debra Classen

Beauty: The Invisible Embrace by John O’Donohue

Debra Classen — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:36:50 GMT

Beauty; the Invisible Embrace by John O'Donohue

Book Review by Carol Ann

Attracted to the title, I picked up the book actually expecting a long sermon on how to find the glorified ideal of beauty which we, as mortals, could never attain. I could never have been more wrong! It didn’t discuss the ugliness of this world and then try to show you how to solve the problems. Instead it brought you to times past where there was a deeper knowledge of man’s connection to the universe; somewhat more concrete than the abstract world in which we live. So many have lost this connection, O’Donohue brings us back.

Unfamiliar with John O’Donohue, I learned he was a poet, priest, philosopher and some say “mystic”. I was saddened when I heard of his passing in 2008 at a young age of 52, but feel blessed that we have his treasury of writings and recordings which will reach far into the future and bless many generations to come.

You don’t have to be a religious person to enjoy the book. It is definitely a book worth owning and reading again and again. Beginning with the call of beauty we learn where it dwells: in nature, art, music, poetry, philosophy and ending with the beautiful relationship of beauty to death and God. His magical flow of words reach deep into the reader’s heart, to the depth of our being. They open us up to the eternal grace of God’s Beauty.

How would I sum up how this book changed me? Perhaps, one word: “WOW”. Fasten your seat belt and begin your guided journey as O’Donohue infuses the thoughts of beauty into your life. It truly changed the way I look at this world and my life and hope it will do the same for you!

My Faith Journey by Carol Ann

Debra Classen — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:33:39 GMT

When Debra asked me to write a short “bio”, I asked myself where do I begin? How do you summarize 65 years of life into a couple of short paragraphs? What to include? What to leave out? So the best approach was to take one aspect and I chose my faith journey.

First of all, I am a “Cradle Catholic” born into a family that was observant, but not overly pious. I went to Saturday confession and armed with my Roman missal attended Mass on Sunday, breathed in the smell of incense and was intrigued by the number of people filling bottles of holy water at the back of the church. Like everyone else I ate fish on Fridays, kept the fast days in Lent and prayed the rosary with “Grandma”. Basically, I really didn’t understand the true meaning of it all. It wasn’t until much later in life that I finally woke up.

Years passed, I graduated from college, started a career, married and lived a life oblivious to God’s part in all of it. Spending my days in the fast lane impaired the quality of my seeing the real presence of God. Hidden beauty was everywhere. I just didn’t slow down long enough to find its treasure. I led a cluttered, noisy and distracted existence unable to see the real Beauty of this world. I was too busy with my agenda to let God’s agenda bless me.

As a consequence, God had a way of getting me back in sync. He allowed me to experience low points in my life to teach me lessons I would never learn on my own. Several tragic events rocked my world.

While in Rome in 2005, I witnessed Pope John Paul II in his last days. I went to Mass, prayed for the Holy Father and asked for guidance…. and God answered.

During the ups and downs in my life, I have been blessed with loving people who were there to accompany me on my journey. Upon my return to the States, I met a wonderful compassionate priest who helped in my conversion—not to another faith, but back to my Catholic faith.

Then after 8 years, I heard God’s call to a deeper spirituality and outreach which led me to become an Associate with the Sisters of Notre Dame.

While on retreat, I met a wonderful woman who introduced me to Debra and her ministry. I became a “prayer warrior” and meet regularly, over a cup of coffee, with several other wonderful Christian women, who feel as passionate about this ministry as I do.

As I grow older and hopefully wiser, I realize God lives in my soul. His life is entwined with mine. I seek God’s beauty everywhere and give thanks for God’s grace to be able to sense, to know, to be aware and to recognize Beauty in all creation.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God's handwriting - a wayside sacrament. Welcome it everywhere and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”

My conversion was not instantaneous, it’s ongoing. I ask you to join me as we feast at the abundant table of daily life. It awaits us with each new morning. The choice is ours!

Love and Prayers,

Carol Ann 5/11/2011

Wait a Minute, by Megan Freeman

Debra Classen — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 01:25:00 GMT

If he’s the sunlight knocking at the window—

forget about throwing up the sash,

loosening the curtains

and polishing the glass

I’m kicking out the window panes,

busting down the bricks

’til the whole thing crumbles to the ground

and the sunlight's streaming in

I want to live in your radiance forever

Megan Furman is from Akron, Ohio. Megan is a beautiful young woman with an old soul, and has been writing poetry since she could hold a pencil. Megan has recently returned from a three month stay at a monastery in Ireland where she lived in a contemplative community. Megan is currently sharing her poetry with the ministry for our new book, "Contemplative Beauty" (no publication date yet!)

May Journal by Debra Classen

Debra Classen — Fri, 13 May 2011 01:21:00 GMT

The Precipices of the Heart

There are poisonous beasts, and all the treasures of evil.

There are rough and uneven roads;

There are precipices; but there is God and the angels.

Life is there, and the Kingdom; there too is light,

And there the apostles and heavenly cities, and treasures of Grace.

All things lie within that little space.” --Makarios, Desert Monk

Although the calendar showed that it was spring, the season had not yet gotten its footing. Most of April left us feeling tricked, day after day of cold and rain bordering more on winter's edge rather than spring's. Today was clear and cold, with a brisk wind, as I hiked through muddy woods. I was thinking about upcoming mother's day this year; I knew many people who quietly struggled through this day and today they were heavy on my heart. There was a dear friend whose son had taken his life; he was smart, vibrant, and funny. But he had become overwhelmed with the troubles of his life, the heartache. His young life had ended suddenly and tragically, and he had left his mother with a broken and grieving heart. I thought of another; a young man struggling with addiction, it had been a small part of his life, but over the years it was eating up more and more of the happiness, casting long shadows on his wit and charm. These last years had embraced as much heartache as happiness, maybe more heartache. And there was the friend whose kind and gentle mother had disappeared in later years into the confused cloud of Alzheimers. Which parts of our lives describe our lives? We all travel "rough and uneven roads", consisting of good and bad, beautiful and ugly. All of our lives are an enigma, a potpourri of virtue and vice, heartache and happiness. Yet we sometimes get only a snapshot, a moment that we use to color our perception of the portfolio in absolute black or white.

Those who know us and love us live the stories and antidotes that are told in eulogies. Those are the stories we save, because they reveal the "best of times", but our hearts know the ache of the "worst of times" too. How do we learn to see God and the angels in the precipices? Can we listen and embrace the paradoxical stories of a troubled soul, can we see the light in the heart during the night? The places of the heart where the dragons and lions live can leave us traveling in fear, yet we recognize those dragons and lions live in some space within every heart. Our humanity encompasses so many things, and at one time or another, we each come to know the "poisonous beasts" living well in our troubled and wounded hearts, and in those we love. When we are frightened of the beasts, it is our courage to love that must rise up. "Imprisoning walls become frontiers of new possibility, difficulty becomes invitation and the heart comes into a new rhythm of trust and sureness. There are secret sources of courage inside every human heart; that need to be awakened in us." * It is the encounter with the Beautiful that can bring such awakening, the belief and the hope that we can traverse the landscape of the heart to discover the precipices of light. We can reach past our fear and embrace the place of God and the angels, life, the Kingdom, and light too. It is courage that comes alive. We can only hope, pray, and struggle that this too is revealed to those we love, a glimpse of the beautiful place in our hearts too. Yes, in each sinner is a saint, and in each saint a sinner. I blinked at the bright sunlight as I hiked out of the woods.

Merely a week later and I was sitting on a mountain in California with my father. My father with his cane, no longer the athletic, fierce, strong, father of my childhood. Life had etched heavy and hard lines of loss and pain on his face. He spoke in a loud voice, pontificating on his political opinions, peppering his speech with four letter adjectives. Early in the day he had killed a rattle snake with a shovel. By afternoon he had a beer in hand and was sharing his thoughts on "how this &*! country should be run". I looked at him, looked deep down into the precipices. I wasn't really hearing his angry political commentary now, instead I could see the generosity, love, courage, and goodness spilling out of his heart. In snapshots I remembered the life lessons he had taught me as a young girl, especially how he had shown me how to persevere, to believe and along the way to see God's beauty in the world. The sun was setting and the mountain was cooling. The greens on the mountainside were infused with long purple shadows. I pulled in my coat against the cool breeze. I recalled a woman once telling me that that a wind is the Holy Spirit carrying graces. I felt the beauty and the grace of this moment, an immense love for the complicated paradoxes of my father and a gratefulness for his presence in my life.

May each of our hearts be touched by the Holy Spirit, graced and carried to the apostles and heavenly cities. I pray Lord, for those I love and those I struggle to love in the midst of dragons. Shine the light on the treasures of grace within each of our hearts, revealing the “immense joy of being human, a member of the race in which God himself became incarnate…”* I want to see the beauty and poetry of hearts shining golden with love "within that little space".

Footnotes:

Love You More Than You Know by Janie Reinart

Debra Classen — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:13:00 GMT

Love You More than You Know by Janie Reinart

When my son went to war, I placed a blue star in my window.

My experience led me to collect 45 personal stories from mothers telling what it means to send our sons and daughters to war. Love You More Than You Know (Gray & Company 2009) is free of political commentary, and completed these goals:

· To share stories from mothers of soldiers so that families living through a similar trauma will see they’re not alone

· To use writing as a therapeutic tool for mothers recovering from the experience of sending their children to war

· To give back to our soldiers by raising money to help our injured veterans when they return from war. (A portion of the proceeds from the book is being donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and ReMIND.org an initiative of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.)

The last chapter offers a writing component encouraging mothers to write their own stories and submit them to be shared on my blog: www.loveyoumorethanyouknow.com.

Ministry Stuff - May 2011

Debra Classen — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:10:00 GMT

"Put Beauty Where There is None"

St. John of the Cross said, “Put love where there is none.” I like a little take on this quote that basically says the same thing, “Put beauty where there is none.” This is what our ministry is about, inspired by the quote of the great Russian novelist Fydor Dotoyevsky, “Beauty will save the world.” We believe that by putting beauty where is none, that beauty can redeem and save the world. This monthly blog will update you on the newest outreach projects of the ministry. For further information on our ministry, or how you can be involved, please visit our web site: www.themuteswan.org.

During April we began our newest outreach project “The Beautiful Baby Project”. In January of this year we created and printed our first 50 sets of laminated children’s prayer cards. Each set contains 6 large cards with rounded corners: cygnets, a bunny, bears, angels on clouds, fish, and a puppy and cat playing together. Along with selling the cards (to fund the project) on our gift web site, we included them in Easter baskets for sick children and young mothers who have little support for their unborn child. The baskets were decorated with silk daffodils and tied in a bow to include; a baby blanket, a stuffed bunny, the prayer cards, and a board book. Ten baskets were delivered to sick children at Rainbow’s Children Hospital in Cleveland, three baskets to young pregnant women at Hanna’s House, and twelve baskets to Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey. (You can also see the baskets on our site, and order them as a baby gift).

At the end of April we shipped 500 Mother’s Day cards to prisoners at Sing Sing, to mail home to their mothers on May 8^th. This is the third year for this important project. We will be expanding this ministry's outreach to those grieving on Mother's Day (those who are post-abortion, infertile, lost a child, lost a mother, estranged from their mother or their child....). Mother's day cards along with prayer cards will be mailed out to those experiencing loss on this day.

Upcoming for June we will be printing new prayer cards of the art : the woman at the well. The three paintings will include: the woman approaching the well anxious and worried, the woman at the well meeting Jesus, and the woman gloriously transfigured by her time with the Lord. These cards will be available with beautiful poetry by Megan Furman, and on our web site in June. The proceeds will fund our fall outreach projects. They make great gift enclosure or card enclosures for many occasions.

Tatoos on the Heart by Father Gregory Boyle

Debra Classen — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:06:00 GMT

Tatoos on the Heart by Father Gregory Boyle
Book review from Amazon:
"Description - How do you fight despair and learn to meet the world with a loving heart? How do you overcome shame? Stay faithful in spite of failure? No matter where people live or what their circumstances may be, everyone needs boundless, restorative love. Gorgeous and uplifting, Tattoos on the Heart amply demonstrates the impact unconditional love can have on your life. As a pastor working in a neighborhood with the highest concentration of murderous gang activity in Los Angeles, Gregory Boyle created an organization to provide jobs, job training, and encouragement so that young people could work together and learn the mutual respect that comes from collaboration. Tattoos on the Heart is a breathtaking series of parables distilled from his twenty years in the barrio. Arranged by theme and filled with sparkling humor and glowing generosity, these essays offer a stirring look at how full our lives could be if we could find the joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally. From giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JCPenney fresh out of prison, we learn how to feel worthy of God's love. From ten-year-old Lula we learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Pedro we understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the darkness. In each chapter we benefit from Boyle's wonderful, hard-earned wisdom. Inspired by faith but applicable to anyone trying to be good, these personal, unflinching stories are full of surprising revelations and observations of the community in which Boyle works and of the many lives he has helped save. “

I was given this book by a friend and read it on the plane ride back from California. We stayed in Los Angeles and I realized as we read Father Greg Boyle’s book that the ‘neighborhood with the highest concentration of murderous gang activity in Los Angeles’ was about twenty minutes where I once walked to grammar school. The schools, shops, families and homes I once knew in this Los Angeles suburb have been overridden with violence through gangs. Father Greg, like Father Ron (Chaplain at Sing Sing) knows the value of any life and conveys that respect and dignity to all the men they encounter. Through their faith and loving men with violent pasts, and potentially violent futures and early deaths they heal, they save lives. I loved reading the personal, and often funny stories of these lives of courage and faith. I realized after reading the book, that Father Greg was the commencement speaker at my son’s college graduation from Loyola Marymount in Lost Angeles. Hopefully one day I will meet him again. I highly recommend the book—it will make you smile, it will make you pray, it will make you grateful.

The Samaritan Woman, Poem by Megan Furman

Debra Classen — Thu, 12 May 2011 03:02:00 GMT

I am tired.

I am worn.

I really don’t have time for this.

Just let me draw my water in peace.

Who does he think he is?

He doesn’t know who he’s up against.

Just like the rest of them, witty and clever.

He says he has water

of a living kind.

Believe me, I’ve heard it all before.

Not one of you—

not one—

for all your boasting and swagger

have a lick of a clue what I need.

What could this one possibly have that I need?

What do I need?

What do I need.

He dares to confront me.

He dares to—

he dares to see into my soul.

Who is this one

and why is he still here?

But I am still here.

Could it really be that he speaks in earnest?

I Am, he says.

His eyes say

You are.

You are

because I Am.

What does he know of me?

I think that maybe

once

long ago

someone looked at me

something like this.

In a dream, perhaps.

There was a young girl

with a crown of lilies upon her head

running through a meadow

into arms, outstretched, that knew her.

What does he want?

Just take the water and go.

Go home. Just turn

and go home.

A group of men call out to him.

Look: so he has friends.

I must go.

They will be awaiting the water.

I must go.

The sky today is so so blue. Did I notice that this morning?

Oh God, I’ve left my jug!