Journal of Sacred Work

Days 139-140 Pause to Honor and Remember

"Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay, but we can honor their sacrifice." — Barack Obama

As I constructed this collage, I looked at several war photos, which was a somber, poignant experience, especially as I looked into the faces of those who were called to serve our country throughout history. It was very meaningful, while overwhelming to consider the  magnitude of the human cost of war. Since I have never been a soldier, I can't say I have even a hint of the horrors of war but I can imagine. Yet, amid the pain and suffering in these pictures, I witnessed the ever present beauty of the human spirit shining through even in the darkest of moments. 

"Each of the patriots whom we remember on this day was first a beloved son or daughter, a brother or sister, or a spouse, friend, and neighbor." — George H. W. Bush

I was 13 when my brother Philip left home left for Vietnam, I was tearful and in a state of surreal disbelief. I remember watching the nightly news and the war footage on TV as those images imprinted within my psyche.

I remember when my father was at the end of his life, he endured a terrifying flash back from WWII. As he relived what was happening, I caught a glimpse of him as a young soldier in fear of being captured or killed by the enemy. As we tried to reorient him he kept shushing us to keep us all safe.

It is so painfully difficult for the families whose sons or daughters do not come home.  Perhaps, no less difficult are the challenges that soldiers face when they do return. Most rarely ever talk about their experiences and silently live with the memories and emotional scars.  Those who are seriously injured must endure permanent disabilities or a long road to rehabilitation.

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." — John F. Kennedy 

Lately, I've been reflecting upon the loyalty soldiers have to their fellow comrades and how they will risk life and limb to be there for each other. It is profound to think of a love like that, to lay down one's life for the sake of another in such a Christ like way.

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” — Thomas Jefferson

We know we cannot take our freedom for granted. We each have a responsibility to be aware and to avoid the complacency that someone else will solve the problems in our communities, country, our world. As Margaret Wheatley has said, change happens when people begin talking about what matters. Every generation has a turn to stand up for what is right and to make a difference.

"Now it's our turn, for we are the ones we have been waiting for." —Hopi Elders

At 3:00 pm on Memorial Day, I hope you will join with your friends, family and others from around the country to pause for a moment of silence to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. 

Liz Sorensen Wessel

 Internet Photos: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=world+war+2+photos&qpvt=world+war+2+photos&FORM=IGR

 

Days 134-138 Saint Liz

  The Vatican requires five stages before sainthood is declared. But, according to church expert Kevin Cotter, "The church does not make saints; it recognizes someone who is in heaven" to whom Catholics can pray. 

   Gladly Liz Wessel is still with us. If she does not make it to heaven one day none of us has a chance. Meanwhile, let us celebrate her.   

   If you follow the Journal you know this: For more than a decade Liz is the one who has decorated our pages & your life with words & artwork . She has sent her light through your eyes & into your heart & thus heals ones she never sees. 

   In more than 40 years as a nurse she has also healed hundreds in person. The Journal has it on good authority that across her two decades with Saint Joseph Healthcare  (now as Director of Education-Mission Services-Palliative Care) she has delivered hope, love & relief from pain to countless people in crisis as well as to her co-workers. 

   Jesus came to earth primarily to save souls, not to heal bodies. Radical Loving Care delivers Love's grace whether or not a patient is cured. 

   Liz is the ultimate whole-person healer. Her calm voice, lighted presence & kind hands are instruments of the God who created us all.

   Caregivers delivering home care bring relief to those suffering the agonies of terminal illness. This is Liz's mission - whole person care to all. 

   Patients soothed in the middle of crises may never know the impact Liz has had on their lives. They will not even realize that she has been sainted. But, you will.

   Erie Chapman Foundation is glad to recognize Liz Wessel's lifetime of healing by naming her our first Saint of Radical Loving Care.

   Go ahead. Call her Saint Liz. She deserves it. 

   Blessings to you, dear friend. 

-Reverend Erie Chapman, President

Days 132-133 You Are...

 

I am the unopened bud, and I the blossom,

I am the life force gathering to a crest,

I am the still companion of the silence,

I am the far-flung seeker of the quest.

I am the daughter gathering in wisdom,

I am the son whose questions never cease,

I am the dawn-light searching out glad justice,

I am the center where all souls find peace.

 

From the Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews

 

Shared by Liz Sorensen Wessel
Art Collage by ~liz

Days 127-131 - Hope Tucked in Old Movies

   "'Always try to see life around ya as if you'd just come out of a tunnel.'" - Jimmy Stewart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

   Old stories (& some new ones) are populated with questers that champion high ideals. As a kid, I watched the odysseys of movie heroes like Jimmy Stewart, believed in them & thought everyone did.

   Ahh, the cold realities of adulthood. I prosecuted corruption & perjury in courtrooms & felt good that I was on the "right" side. But, I also saw corruption among leaders in settings where it was tacitly approved instead of actively opposed.

   As Erie Chapman Foundation continues to advance radical loving care in hospitals we routinely encounter heavy skepticism.

   Everyone claims they believe in Love so why are campaigns for it so hard? 

   Our President has become the world's #1 skeptic. Although Trump claims Christian faith his guiding Bible verse is "eye for an eye" not Jesus' message, "love one another." His chronic lying & the felony convictions of several close advisors demonstrate a fear-based vision. His strategy of cheating & bullying displays his belief that love is for suckers. 

   "There's no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties," Stewart's character says. Sadly, evils appear everywhere & always have. But, cannot we at least support Love's champions?

   Since Mr. Smith is a Capra hero, hope appears. "Great principles don't get lost once they come to light," Stewart claims...you just have to see them again!"

   But we know from Jesus' journey that Love's path will always be strewn with landmines. Comfort emerges in Liz Wessel's essay, "The Rhythm of a Blessing" & its opening quote from Thoreau: “There is no remedy for love but to love more.”

   Thank you for holding high Love's light - especially when darkness seems unending. Thank you for seeing life "as if you'd just come out of a tunnel."

-Erie Chapman

photograph: © 1939 Columbia Pictures Corporation; photograph from a private collection - for educational use 

 

Days 125-126 The Rhythm of A Blessing

“There is no remedy for love but to love more.”

—Henry David Thoreau

Although this is not everyone's experience, I am keenly aware that several of my friends have recently lost their moms.  I feel compelled to acknowledge this huge loss and so I dedicate this reflection most especially to you. It has been my experience that the first Mother's Day and all holidays that accompany the grieving process are the hardest. Perhaps knowing that our loved ones do not wish for us to suffer helps us to garner the needed strength to regain resilience. Yet, we know we can not rush the process but instead honor with reverence the ones we mourn recognizing that the intensity of our sadness gives testimony to the depth of our love.

How can we comfort those who mourn? Listen, bear witness and offer our presence. It is that simple and that hard; hard for us to resist the temptation to paint a silver lining. Yet, in doing so we diminish the person's experience and increase a sense of isolation.  

For many, Mother Mary is one who offers strength when we need it most. In my family, my Irish grandmother Katie found great solace in calling upon Her to intercede and often told my mom that she answered all of her prayers.  She opens Her arms wide to hold us in a Love that offers deep compassion and comfort.

I wish to invite in all who grieve, all who have lost a loved one. I am thinking of you too. For we know that grief is a shared human experience that we all encounter, at different times throughout our lives.

Let us treasure, celebrate and remember our mothers who may or may not be with us on this earthly realm but who live within us, guide and bless us each and every day, who are deeply loved and who love us more…

Blessing for the Brokenhearted

Let us agree
for now
that we will not say
the breaking
makes us stronger
or that it is better
to have this pain
than to have done
without this love. 

Let us promise
we will not
tell ourselves
time will heal
the wound,
when every day
our waking
opens it anew. 

Perhaps for now
it can be enough
to simply marvel
at the mystery
of how a heart
so broken
can go on beating,
as if it were made
for precisely this—

as if it knows
the only cure for love
is more of it, 
as if it sees
the heart’s sole remedy
for breaking
is to love still, 

as if it trusts
that its own
persistent pulse
is the rhythm
of a blessing
we cannot
begin to fathom
but will save us
nonetheless.

~Jan Richardson

Days 123-124 Easter Forever

Note : Guest Reflection offered by Terry Chapman

Easter has come and gone again quickly this year. But really Easter appears for several weeks on religious calendars and should be observed much longer!

We move ahead blithely into our collective futures, not grasping the lasting meaning of Easter, which will always offer eternal hope, forgiveness of sins (or missing the mark), and everlasting love for all human beings everywhere.  Do we keep meditating or praying and try to lead more loving lives as God desires?

God moves through all of us as flowing water moves from creeks, streams, rivers and lakes into the oceans of our world.  Then it is reborn as evaporated water turned into “new water” which falls down on us carrying life giving moisture and a soothing touch to our thirsty bodies and souls!

Strive to practice Easter’s clarion call to love more and cherish each and every day we have on planet Earth.  To do anything less will be to miss out on one of life’s most significant gifts from a loving God.

-Terry Chapman