Journeys to Joy

By Helen Knueven

 

Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

 

For the wise men, Christmas was a journey to the manger as they followed the star that led them to the baby Jesus.

 

For the shepherds who were greeted by angels that night – Christmas also became a journey for them as they followed the angels instructions and found Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus.

 

Christmas was a journey for the angels, too, as they trekked the heavens proclaiming God’s message of peace in Jesus Christ to the shepherds.

 

The journey resulted in great rejoicing for all of them. We can read in the Bible how each one of these groups praised God with great joy because of His wonderful gift.

 

May each one of us find ourselves on a holy journey this season; to bring our gift to Jesus, finding His presence in unlikely places and conversations as we seek to honor our King.

Finding Peace

By Jeannette Doran

Fear and anxiety! How they disturb our peace! To live in tranquility is everyone’s desire. Yet, how is that possible in today’s world? Just turn on the news and we see violence and anger exploding from every corner of our world. Can we keep these external events from destroying our inner peace? Do we realize that we allow ourselves to be swept away with issues outside of us that are sometimes minute ? This in turn can create overwhelming fear and anxiety.

If this happens so easily what do we need to do to guard our peace?

I have come to understand that when I focus on the beautiful in my surroundings quietness envelops my being. I like to call these God gifts. I delight in the dancing willow branches newly blossomed, in the greening grass and bare branches painted in yellows and green swaying with abandon.

The beauty of God surrounds us in creation. My solution is to focus on the positive and the loveliness. To choose what brings peace and not fear. It can be a holding on to a lovely thought as well as looking at a golden crocus amidst the brown leaves, the red tulips in bloom or feeling the gentle breeze on my face. I do whatever quiets my inner being and helps me rest there in peace in God’s presence. May we all learn to look at the beauty around us and find God’s peace in each moment.

Search for Serenity

Posted by Jeannette Doran

         Fear seems to surround us at every turn.  In print and on air, the message is fear. How can one be  free from fear and anxiety?  Recently, the news brought a glimmer of hope as the world rejoiced in the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners. In the simplicity of their lives their faith and prayer to God was their strength and confidence that God was able to perform this miracle and hope that God would. We watched as they prayed and offered thanksgiving to the God who saved them. Their faith and trust in God awed most. Perhaps their example of faith and hope shows us a way to find a serenity that will lead to freedom from fear.      

        In my search I have come to realize that our confidence in God's love expands as one experiences God's touch and our faith becomes more tangible. Spiritual growth and knowledge envelop one in peace and stave off fear. As we grow in understanding that God is truly our refuge and strength fear will not take hold of us. For fear and anxiety cannot exist in a heart that sees God’s touch on our daily lives.  I find God’s presence in scripture as well as the golden fields and the yellow orange sunsets of autumn. All these nurture my confidence and faith in God and expand God in my life.

       St Therese truly experienced that God “is occupied with each soul as though there were no others like it.” In Scripture we are urged not to fear, to trust always and “to pour out our hearts before God” Who is our refuge. (Psalm 62v8). We read of God’s tenderness and love telling us that we will never be forgotten, that God draws and leads us “with human cords, with bands of love like someone lifting an infant to their cheek.”  (Hosea 11v4) God delights in us and when we fail remembers us and deeply yearns for our return. In Jeremiah we read: “I am filled with tenderness towards [you].” (31v.20 NEB)  

       As we grow in intimacy with our beloved, God’s life flows into our being, we lose our fear and anxiety and we find God's loving Presence in every detail of our lives. We do at last find a lasting serenity.

Introducing Jeannette Doran

Enter into the Stillness

   When  world chaos and noise leave me in turmoil I know it is time to return to my center. I find help in entering into the stillness.  November a time of dying, when the bare land enters into sleep and a quietness settles in,  I begin to long for solitude and stretches of time to enter deep with in my soul. 

     The spring and summer beauty having given way to autumn splendor has begun to diminish. The days have grow shorter and the cool wind blows . Leaves have scattered leaving their multitude  blanket of color, reds, browns, orange and yellow. I find a new loveliness in twisted bare branches. After the rains and the dying of nature we will awake one morning to a soft covering of snow over the rich Iowa farmland. It's a time when all of earth seems to enter into a long slumber. Newly buried seeds or old ones need a resting time; it's the cycle of life. So, too I think we all need a time of leisure, of entering into the stillness to listen in silence to the voice of God. All things of beauty are created in silence someone once expressed. This symbolizes a need to take time in solitude to be Alone with God Alone.

    Reflecting on the reality that the creator of our universe dwells within our very being helps me to realize how unconditional is God's love for each of us. After time I begin to see my God working within my very being accomplishing what I have been unable to do for such a long time. This stirs up a grateful heart for all of God's gifts. My trust and faith seem to expand and I enter into the stillness in silent praise for my Creator's bondless love.

About Jeannette

After graduation I had the joy of living life in the Chiapas jungle, the land which helped to form Karena Shields into the enriching person we knew at U.S.D..This plantation was her inheritance where she arrived strapped on the back of a Mayan Indian. She grew up in this land of Maya, loving the people and their heritage. Most summers students would accompany her as a learning experience... Since I hoped to enter Carmel I felt this time in the jungle would be a space of solitude in the vast beauty of the jungle. Where I would also learn to adapt to another way of life I would need in Carmel. While I pursued my goal of seeking Carmel, I taught school. In June of 1965, I entered Carmel in Boston and went the following year on the foundation to South Dartmouth, MA. A coastland, where the waves splashed against the rugged rocky shore, was a place of splendor conducive for a contemplative life of prayer. Several reasons brought us to the difficult decision to close the Monastery in 1987. My journey brought me to Montreal for a four year study sabbatical. In 1992 I came to Iowa .and in 1994 I lived with a community of Carmelite Hermits in Minnesota for five years and returned to Iowa. Recently to our surprise when Oda Scheer visited her sister in our community we realized we roomed in the same dorm and graduated together. What a wonderful gift!