The Gift of Others - Mary Beth

Dear Mary Beth,

I thank you today for the gift of
You,
for 21 years of growth together as a couple
for the realization that our love
has been guided by God.

Thank you for loving me when
I have been challenging and difficult,
for giving of yourself
for my personal and professional benefit.
Thank you for loving me - body, mind and spirit,
for offering me your artistic genius
for enabling your gifts and talents to
infuse my creative core.

Thank you for the gift of your mom and dad
for Katie and Meg
and the entire Seefelt and Foydel clans
who have enriched my life immeasurably
both as individuals and as a collective whole.

Thank you for the gift of two beautiful boys
who are such a critical reason why
I am alive
who give such meaning to my life
who help me fully realize
who I am as a human being.
Thank you for your kindness and your grace,
for your smiles and laughter
for your tears and honesty.

I sincerely appreciate
the gift of having known you,
the realization that each moment
of each day brings
new enlightenment which
completes me and
remakes me.

God bless you today and always, Mary Beth
I love you!

Rick

The Gift of Others - Nick

Dear Nick,

Thank you for the gift of your smile
present from your first moment
on earth

Thank you for the gift of your imagination
your role-playing ability
the way you move in and
out of empathy

Thank you for your hugs and kisses
for your affection
and warmth

Thank you for your ongoing gratitude
for the way you
appreciate mom and me

Thank you for your sense of justice
for your desire to right
wrongs

Thank you for "men are men" wrestling
for spinning and tickling

You are a great blessing and I love you

Papi

The Gift of Zachary

Dear Zachary,

You have gifted me with your enthusiasm
your energy and your curiosity
Your passion and hunger
for knowledge.

You lead me into places in nature
you guided me to Upland Hills School

You inspire me with your music-making
and guitar wizardry

Your word-smithing and language skills
grow each day

Your command of Spanish was
evident from early-on

Your speed is strong and powerful
bolts of lightning

You command the soccer ball
and weave it, then drive it to the net

You are sensitive and loving
You pay attention to people who need help

I am so blessed to know you and be your dad

You teach me things about my self
that were there all along
but I could never see
until you elicited them in me
from me
and gave them
to me

God bless you today and always
I love you with all my heart and soul

Papi

Appearance part 2

Dear Lord,
Help me to have faith
to teach faith
to breathe faith
Help me to maintain peace in the face of hostility
Help me to breathe deeply
Help my breath and peace to radiate out
and wash over all those around me
Help me to deliver peace, hope, love
Balance
You
to all
today.

Amen

The Appearance on the Road to Emmaus

Dear Lord,

May I recognize you on the road
In the most unlikely of places
May I know you as the
Risen God,
The Savior
who is always there
loving, guiding, protecting me
Always.

Amen

The appearance to Mary

Dear Lord,

May I see you as you are, everywhere.
May I recognize your omnipresence
May I seek you out when it seems you aren't there
May I call you "Rabbuni" as Mary did
May I know that you are with me
May I see you in all things and in all people
May I know and love you today and always.

Amen

Dear Lord,

Help me to empathize with those who see our shared world differently
Help me to see our shared humanity
Help me to love all people, especially those with whom I differ in ways large and small
Help me to grow to a deeper awareness of peace through the practice of unity through diversity in all its forms: thought, word, deed, and appearance.

Amen

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

Dear Lord Jesus,

May I believe without seeing so that I may be open to your appearances to me.
May I see you in all people.
May I see you in the wonders of your creation.
May I see you in my pain as well as my joy.
May I know you are always there.
Bless my faith, Lord, keep my faith, hope, and love strong and unyielding.
Give me the blessings of an eternal relationship with you.

Amen

The Agony in the Garden Mt 26:30-46

Dear Jesus,

I understand the limitations of being human. I know I am weak. Despite your presence in me and despite the faith, hope, and love I feel every day, there still are times when I am full of fear.

Help me to rid myself of fear and let your love grow stronger inside me.

Help me to forgive myself when I hurt myself and others through hurtful thoughts, words and actions. Help me to remember that I am human and that I am not perfect.

Help me, too, to know all sides of myself - strong and weak - and to grow the strong, faith-filled side.

Help me to drive the insecurity and impatience away, and replace it with the only true security - love of you and your creation.

Amen

The Washing of Feet Part 2

Jesus reminds us that we are all connected when he says, "Whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me/and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me."

When we welcome each other and we welcome everyone, we welcome Jesus. We need to always be on the lookout for the presence of Jesus among us, and the opportunity to warmly welcome people as we would want to be warmly welcomed.

Jesus is letting su know he's getting ready to die. He knows he will be betrayed, but he doesn't shy away, he faces his fate with faith. Sometimes we need to die to live. We need to experience pain to appreciate we are alive and to celebrate. We go through cycles throughout our lives of birth and death all the time. They are normal and real and part of living. When we learn to embrace all aspects of the birth/death cycle and to live with love and peace, then we know we are one with God.

Jesus faces his death with a calm, peaceful reserve. May I face all of my "deaths" accordingly.

The Washing of the Disciples

Lord, Give me the strength to be a servant leader. Give me the faith to serve you as you deserve, to be an agent of faith, hope, and love. Lord Jesus, help me to faith my fears and anxieties - even death- and know that I am doing your will. Help me to be calm and full of peace and love. Help me to spread this peace and love to all I meet through my words and deeds. Help em especially to spread peace and love, to be a presence of peace and love, to anyone who I perceive as hostile to me. May my loving and peaceful presence create an atmosphere of calm and a certitude of faith, that even in turmoil and upheaval calm prevails in my heart. Amen.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord

Jesus was not the expected messiah but one riding on the back of a donkey. The idea that God arrives in the most unlikely of people and shows up in the most unlikely of places is a reminder to me to be vigilant for God's presence. I should not expect God to make some grand entrance to the clanging of cymbals and banging of gongs. God is everywhere, yes, but especially present when I least expect God. When I truly see God in these unsuspecting places, I know I am paying attention.

God is especially present when I am under duress - stressed out because I'm hungry, tired, irritated, busy, ruffled, or pulled in several directions at once. God's presence at these times and these places is a reminder to speak and act with love. When I can direct my energy to others in a loving way, I know I am living the life God intended for me to live and being the way I ought to be. I am arriving and presenting myself to everyone I meet as Jesus arrived into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday Mt 21:1-11

Dear Lord Jesus,

May I walk humbly as you walked and lead as a servant would. May I lose my pretenses and put forth the vision of love as you have modeled for me. Lord, my I serve from a point of deference and lead as one who is called by you to serve the humblest of the humble. May I always remember that you are found in all people I encounter, but especially in the powerless, in those who have lost hope, in the sick, in the ill, in the ones who seem to have been completely forgotten. Mat I always remember that that is where I will find you.

Dear Lord, may I praise you as you deserve, as God, as one who saves me from my own fears, anxieties, and self-righteousness. My actions be governed by the sole reason for being, to serve you in the greater honor and glory, to know that everything I do should reflect and uplift who you are and what you stand for, which is love.

Amen.

Week 7 Reflection Question #2

What have been some of my significant prayer experiences? How have they impacted me?

The use of the Principle and Foundation has been very grounding for me. I have continued to see God in all people and all things, especially in the pain, anxiety, and fear, that I create.

The notion of spiritual consolation and desolation has rung very true with me in terms of my history with bipolar disorder. I have been able to label and identify when my mind goes astray from the path of Godliness, and I more fully understand the presence of God and my own humanity. God is omnipresent and I need to merely remember to access God.

This lends itself to the 3rd question:

How has my image of.relationship with God changed/grown? In what ways?

I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit working in me and through me. i can also feel the Spirit in others. I can see/experience/feel what has always been there. I think this is the essence of discernment, a "knowing" of what has been there all along. My sister Marcia mentioned that she hopes that I experience the Holy Spirit in ways that will :blow my mind." I know that is happening in God's way and time.

Week 7 Reflection Question 1

What has been most fruitful for me so far in this prayer series? How so?

The daily discipline of prayer has been most fruitful for me so far. I have benefited from the daily reminders of how to live God's love. The scripture readings and messages, anchored by the Principles and Foundations have stayed with me throughout the day and enabled me to live my faith more fully as a child of God. I more readily see God in all people and all things, in all pleasure and all pain.

The opportunity to make God a part of my daily life has made my life more meaningful. I see meaning in everything, and am able to stop and notice, to pay attention, to be more present. There continues to be a great convergence of positive life force (God's love) in everything I do. I realize the power of God's omnipotence and omnipresence. This calms me and reminds me to have faith.

Call of Jesus Part 5

What part of the message of Jesus is challenging to you at this time in your life?

I am challenged to have faith in m y daily life that everything will be okay and occur according to God's will. I have to constantly remind myself that there is no need for anxiety and fear, but rather that all of my anxieties and fears are self-induced.

Yesterday at the end of the school day I yelled at a group of students for talking when I was talking. There were so many other actions I could have taken short of yelling. This reaction in me is a default reaction, meaning that it is the lowest kind of reaction I could have taken, and far less effective than if I had localized the issue and dealt with it in a more healthy, loving, professional way.

Furthermore, as a parent and teacher, I am aware that every time I yell I model that as a way for my students. I do not enjoy this approach, and no one makes me yell but me. It's not the kids' fault or responsibility, but mine alone. I own my own behavior.

I pledge to do better. To apologize for my transgression, for a violation of the principle of Kind Words, Kind Voice. At the heart of Kind Words, Kind Voice is faith. Faith that everything will always be all right and that there is no need for despair. Despair is marked my emotional upheaval. I seek to be like Jesus. To be calm. To be faith-filled. Just as with the "epileptic demoniac" where Jesus reminds us that all is possible with prayer and that "everything is possible for one who has faith," I pray that my faith be strong enough to guide me through all situations and all circumstances. I make no excuses and offer no justifications, regardless of lack of sleep, hunger, hurriedness, or any other condition. Faith conquers all, and Jesus serves as a powerful model.

Call of Jesus Part 4

In the key relationships in your life, how are you being asked to be more like the person of Jesus?

This question is relatively easy to answer but can be quite difficult to live out.

In my relationship with Mary Beth I am called to be loving. This means to offer myself in love as an agent of God's love, reserving judgment and seeking to serve our relationship in a healthy, constructive, well-balanced way. Much of this love requires presence, both physical and emotional, which can be challenging with a busy life. If I am tired, I don't always feel like giving of myself. I am not home, I can't offer the kind of support necessary to maintain a healthy family life. All in all, if I withhold judgment of Mary Beth and seek to give and support her as a partner and mother, I am living the person of Jesus.

With my sons, again, if I am present to them and for them, physically and emotionally I am being Jesus. If I listen to them and play with them on their terms - instead of always on mine - I am honoring and loving them in a healthy way. Also, if I am patient with them. Patience is sometimes difficult for me, especially with children, as they do not see the world the way I do. I have to remember to enjoy and relish in their childhood as they are closer to God, in many ways, than I am. It is my duty to preserve and protect their childhood.

In key relationships, how am I asked to be more like Jesus?

When I think of key relationships, I think about my relationships with Mary Beth, Zack and Nick. In those relationships I know I am called to love more. I know that love is what is articulated in Corinthians. Patience and kindness are the first two descriptors of what love is, and I need to constantly remind myself to live this way. It is so easy to judge those closest to me, and to do so with a callous heart.

An important component of love is the ability to empathize. When I am empathetic, I release my judgments and approach people from a point of unconditional love, the same kind of love I feel from God. When I love in this way I know IA am whole, I have released the anxiety and fear that holds me back from loving fully, and I am being the person that God in the form of Jesus intended me to be.

What are my God-given talents?

I have been blessed with the ability to communicate well through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. I enjoy these pursuits. I have used them to respond to God's call by being a teacher, someone who facilitates knowledge and understanding by creating communities of love where people come together to teach each other and learn from each other.

In this way, I hope to edify people who are infused with faith, hope, and love, who may, in turn, spread their own gifts to others in order to perpetuate the spread of faith, hope, and love so that we all might live in peace.

Jesus' rejection at Nazareth

I wonder about the meaning of this passage in Luke 4:16-30. Does Jesus mean to foretell his betrayal by his own people? What about the redeeming qualities of Christ in that he comes for all people?

What role has your family played in your personal vocation?

My family has given me the gift of the living word. They have modeled the influence of the Holy Spirit in their creativity and force of love. I have realized that the loving disposition of my family members toward me and others has been nothing less than the Holy Spirit itself, than God in flesh and action in the most deep, powerful ways.

I feel motivated to act in the advance of peace and love. I define my personal vocation in this fashion. I am in complete spiritual consolation when I allow the Holy Spirit to move in and through me and when I accept the presence of God every day.

My whole family lives and breathes the Holy Spirit in different ways which have influenced and shaped me in ways I may not even be able to articulate. I may not even necessarily be able to feel these influences, but I know they are there and they are a part of me.

My grandparents and ancestors before them have all left their evolutionary imprint on my consciousness in ways that have shaped me into the person I am today. My grandparents were immigrants and their willingness to strike out and take risks embodied a faith that I enjoy today. My mother was a woman of unshakable faith and strength who was pragmatic in her approach to life and family. She went to work for the first time outside the home at the age of 45 to earn salary and health benefits as a cafeteria aide. She worked and sacrificed in a professional position which did not match her intellectual capability, but she served out of necessity and love for her family.

My father was a small, independent grocer who enjoyed success in business only to see his fortunes change and devolve into insolubility as a combination of changing income levels and a shift in living patterns prompted him to sell his business at a loss. His faith was strong as he endured the travails of a failing business, and he was, at times, riddled with self-doubt. Teh strength of his family sustained him, and his personal interests in stamp collecting and swimming helped give him purpose.

One of the reasons my father held on in business as long as he did was that he had a strong sense of social justice. He believed that for the last 10 or so years he worked on John-R that he was doing missionary work at times, as the level of poverty and the disintegration of families increased. He was born to help others, and his life was committed to making the world a better place. He always "rooted for the underdog" and valued the presence of God in all people.

My father has helped to instill a strong sense of justice and fairness in me through his words and actions. He enabled me to see that the world is an inherently unfair place and that injustice exists. Furthermore, in order for me to serve the will and glory of God, I must dedicate my entire life to helping create a grater reality of justice and peace, one person at a time. "Let peace begin with me," of course, is an important notion, as I must truly live the peace and love of God myself first before I can effectively bring it to others.

As combinations of my parents in a new generation, my siblings have all influenced my personal vocation in a myriad of ways. My brother John's magnanimity has always impressed me as an embodiment of his love and kindness which reminds me to conduct myself in the same way. My brother Tom's adventurous spirit infused in me a love of all things new and a willingness to forge new paths in unlikely places. My sister Denise's dedication to service of children with special needs is a constant reminder that Jesus uplifts the "least" among us and they are the most favored in the kingdom of God. My sister Marcia's overwhelming, genuine love of God has always been a challenge to em to discover God in my way, and to deepen my relationship with God. My sister Andrea's love and warmth towards others displayed for me the power of nurturing effective interpersonal relationships. My sister Suzanne's quiet, understated presence teaches me to walk softly and to speak quietly an avoid calling unnecessary attention to myself.

The Call of Jesus Pt.1

What does my personal history reveal to me of the particular ways in which I have been called by God?

When I think of my personal history I begin with my place in my family. I was born the youngest of seven children to a 46 year-old mother and a 51 year-old father, relatively old in 1968. I was not at all a planned or expected child, and there are nine years between the 6th child and me.

As I get older and reflect on my own fatherhood, I appreciate more and more the great faith that my parents possessed as they moved through life in all their human roles and relationships. My family has always been a family of great faith, whether I always realized it or not.

I believe God has called me to this world, to this existence, in slightly unlikely circumstances. I have used my role in the family to relate well to older people. I have a level of empathy for people with disabilities and the disenfranchised. Part of my sensitivities and sensibilities come from who I am and part comes from what I've learned, I suppose, but what I now know is that everything has been ordained by God. God has enabled me to exist and I am blessed to be here.

After living with mental illness, I began to learn to embrace challenges as gifts instead of liabilities or irreparable hurts. After getting fired from a teaching job, I found something that suited me better. I have learned to manage my anxiety and I hope to eliminate it from my life all together.

These experiences have bolstered my sense of faith and the awareness that everything truly happens for a reason, however joyous or painful, which is meant to teach me, so that I in turn may help others and glorify God. I know that if I consciously live my life to guide others as I have been guided then I am fulfilling my destiny as a steward of God.

Baptism of Jesus

Jesus is baptized by John even though John has his doubts about his worthiness to baptize the one who is more powerful. May I have the courage to step up and face challenges that seem illogical or counter-intuitive as John did. When I accept and submit, as Mary did in accepting the words of the angel Gabriel that she would be the mother of Jesus, I play my rightful part and fulfill God's will for me. This requires faith and trust. I know that I am of God, I am from God. I know God is in charge, God is in control. Dear God, help me to submit to your will. Give me the courage and strength to rise up and eb strong even when I feel inadequate or inferior.