by Judith Best
Contributor
It’s a dark, pre-dawn morning, cool and inviting. The silence is filled with spring energy; resolute, expectant. Sister Moon is alone on the cosmic stage watching, waiting, her gravitational pull affecting tides and psyches. Orion stands tall, witness to the transition of power soon to appear.
I feel energy, expectant hope, a centered moment in my troubled psyche. I listen, smell, leaning into spring, sneezing my unity!
Without fanfare the first rays of Brother Sun dance across a fuchsia sky, generously offering light and warmth.
In silence I honor the Source of All Being whose creativity has sparked this display of exploding fire. And I am drawn into an ineffable relationship, silencing my projects and plans. Seeing with the eyes of deep time and Christ-inspired faith, I am still.
For a few minutes Brother Sun and Sister Moon share the same cosmic stage. I ponder their partnership. How did they learn their place in the scheme of things, harmonizing their respective gifts and energies? What “cosmic communication workshop” over billions of years taught them to grow together?
Believing that “I am making all things new”(Rv 21:5, Is 65:17) expresses a consciousness of evolutionary creativity that has been like a successful cataract surgery. Everything is brighter; hope is spiraling into potential that I never dreamed possible. I cannot forget the moment of sensing, like Mary Magdalene, an invitation to let go of a former relationship with Jesus and move toward Christ-consciousness, opening to a wholeness and deepened awareness of “making one” that has fostered new relationships and deep gratitude.
Sitting in this awesome silence I reflect on the church and Pope Francis.
I am praying for the church, the People of God who have loved me into living. A crazy parish choir who taught me how to negotiate depression simply by their acceptance and laughter, priests who mirrored Christ’s partnership with women, inviting all to leadership roles and respecting our dedication and giftedness, courageous immigrants whose stories of fortitude brought me to tears, the gay community ready to bring the witness of their lives to a fuller Eucharistic table and beyond, and the leadership/partnership in interfaith dialogue that nurtures community, teaching us all how to live with differences.
And I pray for Pope Francis.
As I ponder this moment could it be that we are experiencing a “Vatican Spring?” Could we be seeing a Brother Sun willing to share the cosmic stage with all the Sister Moons spawned from dark, creative energy, giving light to our dark nights? It is possible to learn from creation how to communicate, coordinate and celebrate the truth we see within and around us. What is my role in this cosmic dance? To learn the steps and faithfully practice the dance of compassion and humility I receive from Earth and others.
I accept this insight and suddenly sense someone is washing my feet. I’m invited to let this new awareness wash over me. This invitation is confirmed in a busy moment of synchronicity as I notice a license plate that reads: wash ft!
[Judith Best, SSND, is coordinator of www.sturdyroots.org and gives presentations on the heritage of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She is also exploring evolution as the bridge between science and religion.]