I spent the better part (and I mean better in both amount of time as well as quality) at Spring Enrichment this week. For those who are unaware, this is a large scale adult faith formation event sponsored by the RCDA.
If I had to distill down all that I took in it would be this… We live in a post-modern world driven by information. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but information alone is just that… Information.
Information is linear and transactional in many ways. What we long for in our hearts, especially on our faith journey is deep wisdom I think.
How do we integrate information and wisdom so that we might journey more deeply into our faith?
That is the question on my heart today as I reflect on these days.
It is a challenge to surrender and enter into the wisdom in our information-y, noisy, busy and conflicted world, so I am really praying about this right now.
On a practical note, Spring Enrichment was outstanding and I learned to much and met so many amazing people from around the diocese. I am so deeply grateful to be here, especially at St. Edward the Confessor.
I took classes in everything from Parish Leadership to Ecumenism to Scripture Study. I took other classes on how to run a workshop, evening or day of reflection or retreat, I took another class on the spirituality of connectedness, I took a class on the power of story and yet another on how to bring tools of “Catholic literacy” to our parishes.
The breadth and depth of the courses was truly wonderful and the presenters were outstanding. Father Butler gave a four part class on the Gospel of John that he will also offer here on Monday nights starting this Monday May 19. I would urge you to attend if you can; it was astoundingly good.
I will write more in depth about my classroom experiences very soon.
With thoughts of this on my mind, I attended daily mass today on Friday May 16. For the opening prayer from the Sacramentary I heard Father Butler read these words…
“…Faith in your Word is the way to wisdom and to ponder your Divine Plan is to grow in truth.”
That really struck me… The way to wisdom. This poem really struck me too, which I found in my email inbox today and I shall leave you with.
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
Pablo Neruda
Sometimes one must coil up and do absolutely nothing…by nothing I mean to sit in or view the garden through a window and take in the beauty that sourrounds you or settle on a comfortable chair or lay on your bed and listen to soft music playing and evaluate what comes to you. Not time wasting… it just might be a portal to our inner selves and perhaps a word or two of inspiration will come from the Almighty.Thank you Fran, for telling us about your successful ventures.Anxious to hear more. Don