Faith In Seeds

I need to think about the seeds that I am planting in my life, and make sure that they are seeds that I want to nuture and grow.

Seeds I want to plant:

1) Going to grad school for the fall in library science, and then possibly onto seminary.

2) Becoming more organized, and content to living with less.

3) Becoming more helpful to people, especially my family.

4) Becoming more open to people, and deepening/renewing current relationships/gaining friendships with people.

5) Finding a volunteer position that I love, helps the people it is designed to serve, and makes me happy.

6) Not being so hard on myself when I do not meet my exacting standards. I am my own worst critic! I need to learn to nuture myself, especially during times of stress.

And above all, deepen  my faith in God….

Yesterday was the feast day of Saint Mary Magdalene, one of my favorite saints.  I probably acted more like Martha, bustling around, and baking chocolate madeleines, and navettes, two sweets traditionally associated with her. However, as I had the day off from work, I did recite the Daily Office in honor of her, and listened to a playlist of music of songs about her.  I did want to share one of my favorite pictures of her, and a quote from the Song of Songs, which is traditionally read on her feast day in the Catholic Church

Song of Solomon 3.1-4

All night long on my bed
I looked for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.
I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.
The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.
“Have you seen the one my heart loves?”
Scarcely had I passed them
when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go”

I went to an Ash Wednesday service at my Episcopalian church early this morning, and got ashes imposed. It was a somber service, the church linens purple, no music, no flowers. Very bare and plain. The priest dipped his hand into the bowl of ashes, and drew the cross on my forehead, he said:

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Saying that to dust we shall return is comforting. No matter who we are, where we have been, what we have done in life, all humans come to the same end: death. Lent is about death: the death of Jesus, the death of Self against human wants versus what God wants. It is a period to examine our priorites in life, and “go into the desert” to prepare ourselves to meet the Risen Christ on Easter.

I had the awesome experience of seeing the Irish choral group Anúna in concert on their 2007 Celtic Origins tour. When they performed Media Vita live, I got goosebumps down my spine. A snippet of lyrics from this site:

Media vita in morte sumus/In the midst of life we are in death
Quem quaerimus ad iutorem nihi site domine/ What helper do we seek except you, oh Lord
Qui pro peccatis nostris /You who for our sins

It is a perfect song for Ash Wednesday no?