Anita Lustrea

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 85 – I Kings 19:1-7 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Happy New Year, everyone!

After somewhat of a hiatus from my Monday release of a conversation, I’m back with my husband and favorite conversation partner Mike Murphy. You’ll enjoy a prayer a poem and a conversation about what the New Year might hold and what kind of posture we might have toward it.

I read from Jan Richardson‘s Advent Devotional, Night Visions, which I highly recommend!

I also read a prayer from Joyce Rupp‘s 365 days of wisdom, Anchors for the Soul, which I also highly recommend and have used for years.

Friend Mike on Facebook here.

Note: When clicking through on links to products on Amazon, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Mike Murphy – episode 377 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

I’m Anita Lustrea and I’m privileged to be a spiritual director. Each time I begin a session, I use a quote or poem or prayer.  As I share one of these with you, see what might catch your attention. Maybe there’s something here for you today. Today’s prayer is from Joyce Rupp and it’s titled At the Gate of the New Year. It’s from her book Anchors for the Soul.

The post Poem/Prayer 30 Joyce Rupp appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings  12.29.23 

1.  “Hope is the simple trust that God has not forgotten the recipe for manna.” ~ W. Paul Jones

Who among us does not need food for the journey? 

2. “There is a place deep within the heart of a person … and there, the troubled soul can find a peace which passes all understanding; there the wounds from the arrows of the evil-one can find balm and healing, and the arrows cannot  penetrate there to wound once again. Here, one does not pray with words, or even with actions, but one weeps and the teardrops themselves are prayer and confession and rejoicing and hope fulfilled… ” Abbot Lazar Puhalo

So beautiful isn’t it? It describes a bit of the essence of contemplative prayer which brings us to a place we are meant to occupy. We are ‘to be’ in that place. Not do- but be. It’s in that place where we are present to the very presence of God. 

3. If you lean to the left politically, so be it. 

If you lean to the right politically, so be it. 

Just be kind, rational, truthful and curious enough to rigorously critique what your particular ‘leaning’ is doing to your heart, soul and behavior.

4. And the Lord God came walking in the cool of the day and called out to Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) 

Jewish scholar, Martin Buber, translates God’s question: “Adam, where are you in relation to me?”

Could we not say that this is a crucial question for each of us.  

Can we sit with this question face to face and hear God’s invitation? 

Can we let God’s question evoke a thoughtful response?

Many of us cross the holiday finish-line breathless and weary. May you find a moment to pause and hear the Father of grace and goodness, gently ask you:

Where are you in relation to me?

Where are you in relation to the people I have placed in your life?

Where are you in relation to your inner world, to the soul that I care about and have placed within you?” ~ Mike Bowden, Grafted Life

Great questions. They make a rather nice end of the year Examen. 

…..

Both my wife and I are spiritual directors. We help those who want to explore questions like these. Each of us has room for two or three directees. Message me if you’d like to explore this opportunity. 

5.  “If you went back and fixed all the mistakes you’ve ever made you would erase yourself.” ~ Louis CK. 

There are times when we really blow it and just want to give up. We can move in the direction of shame but when we do, there’s a good chance we’ll end up on the other side of nowhere. 

We certainly can’t fix all our mistakes but we can certainly learn from most of them. Instead of slowly erasing ourselves, we can choose to discover that our ability to bounce back is a magnificent super-power. 

6.  “It’s hypocritical to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, or toss out someone who is in need of  your help. If I say I am Christian, but do these things, I’m a hypocrite. You cannot be a Christian without living like a Christian.  You cannot be a Christian without practicing the Beatitudes. You cannot be a Christian without doing what Jesus teaches us in Matthew 25,  Christ’s injunction to help the needy by such works of mercy as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and welcoming the stranger. ~ Pope Francis 

The Pope is not so subtly reminding us that Jesus speaks a love language that is significantly different from  the one Christian nationalists  are trying to  force feed us.  He’s reminding us that those people being denigrated and stereotyped are near and dear to Jesus’s heart and shouldn’t be used as pawns in culture war games.  

 So perhaps it behooves us to get with the program. 

7. “In my heart dwells Jesus of Galilee, the Man above men, the Poet, who makes poets of us all, the Spirit who knocks at our door, that we may wake and rise and walk out to meet truth, naked, and unencumbered.” ~ Kahlil Gibran writing as John the Son of Zebedee in the book “Jesus, The Son of Man” 

“Mary and Joseph trusted their encounter with God and acted accordingly: These were two laypeople who totally trusted their inner experience of God and followed it to Bethlehem and beyond. There is no mention in the Gospels of the two checking out their inner experiences with the high priests, the synagogue, or even their Jewish Scriptures. Mary and Joseph walked in courage and absolute faith that their experience was true, with no one except God to reassure them they were right. Their only safety net was God’s love and mercy, a safety net they must have tried out many times, or else they never would have been able to fall into it so gracefully.” ~ Richard Rohr

8. If I asked you what was the biggest mistake your religion, ideology or worldview committed, and you did not come up with something serious, I for one would not trust you.” – Yuval Noah Harari 

Neither would I.  

Let me take a shot at some answers. 

 9. “Several years ago, I invited a Buddhist monk to speak to my Senior elective class, and quite interestingly, as he entered the room, he didn’t say a word (that caught everyone’s attention).

He just walked to the board and wrote this: “Everyone wants to save the world , but no one wants to help mom do the dishes.”

We all laughed.

But then he went on to say this to my students: 

“Statistically, it’s highly unlikely that any of you will ever have the opportunity to run into a burning orphanage and rescue an infant. But, in the smallest gesture of kindness — a warm smile, holding the door for the person behind you, shoveling the driveway of the elderly person next door — you have committed an act of immeasurable profundity, because to each of us, our life is our universe.”

This is my hope for you for the New Year, that by your smallest acts of kindness, you will save another’s world. ~ John Perricone

10. In the film adaptation of Tolkien’s “The Return of the King” Aragorn rides in front of the gates of Mordor, turns to his sorely outnumbered army and declares: 

“I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day.”

“But it is not this day.” 

Powerful. 

All too often, for a variety of good and not so good reasons, fear washes over us. I’m choosing to channel my inner Aragorn, reminding myself that: 

This can’t be the day our courage fails.

This can’t be the time when we break our promises to friends and allies and begin to think only of ourselves. 

 It just can’t be.

Together, we must be brave, helping each other to calm our fears. 

Together, we must face those who want to do us harm. 

Together, we must live for the sake of others, just not ourselves.

This can’t be the day our resolve falters. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings 12-29-23 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 84 – John 1:14-18 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

I’m Anita Lustrea and I’m privileged to be a spiritual director. Each time I begin a session, I use a quote or poem or prayer.  As I share one of these with you, see what might catch your attention. Maybe there’s something here for you today.

Gabriel’s Annunciation

By Jan Richardson

For a moment

The artists would later

Yet I tell you

I wanted to save her

Yet when the time came,

for the angel

The post Poem/Prayer 29 Jan Richardson appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below

Rumblings. 12.22.23 

“When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock.

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nation,

To bring peace among brothers, 

To make music in the heart.” ~ Howard Thurman

‘Tis good news indeed that a Savior was born and each year, we who call ourselves Christ followers, ponder anew what it all means and what it requires of us. Merry Christmas friends.  

The post Mike’s Rumblings 12-22-23 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is a weekly release of the spiritual practice Lectio Divina. I hope you’ll listen and ponder the scripture passage offered and let me know your thoughts. My email address is [email protected]. Also, feel free to share this podcast on your social media or tell a friend about it. 

If you’d like to support this podcast you can do so through a gift to PayPal using the email address [email protected].

If you enjoy the beautiful guitar music, you can learn more about Steve Wick and how to purchase his music on his website.

The post Lectio Divina 83 – Luke 1:26-33 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

I’m Anita Lustrea and I’m privileged to be a spiritual director. Each time I begin a session, I use a quote or poem or prayer.  As I share one of these with you, see what might catch your attention. Maybe there’s something here for you today.

Today I offer a short poem by Madeleine L’Engle titled  After Annunciation and a brief quote by Loretta Ross-Gotta included in her December 6 entry in the advent devotional Watch the Light.

The post Poem/Prayer 28 Madeleine L’Engle & Loretta Ross-Gotta appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here. You can friend Mike on Facebook for the printed version or read it below.

Rumblings. 12.15.23

1. “It should tell us something about her home country that a mother is willing to travel 2000 miles with her 4-month old son to come here. How we respond when she arrives tells us something about ours.” ~ Beto O’Rourke

“If your response is, “The parents should not have brought their children here illegally,” know this:  I pray to God that you never have to flee violence or poverty or persecution with your children. And if the day comes that you must and your babies are forcibly removed from your arms,  I will fight for you too.” ~ Brene Brown

People of faith might be well served, during this Advent season, to consider what the Holy Family’s mad dash from Herod to safety in Egypt was all about and what it required. It’s layered with unsettling themes of Roman occupation, community misunderstanding, persecution, murder, and unbridled ambition. If we dismiss this kind of grittiness our Christmas story becomes more fairy tale than truth and actually quite unbiblical. But when we enter into the fullness of the story it will change us in profound ways. 

Perhaps, we might even start seeing those seeking  refuge at our border in a far different light. I think that would please God. 

2. ‘Come to the edge’, He said. 

They said, ‘we are afraid’. 

‘Come to the edge’, He said. 

They came. 

He pushed them, and they flew. ~ Guillaume Apollinaire

I know what fear is all about. I bet you do too. And every time I nudged myself or had someone nudge me to the edge of my fears and I took the risk of letting go something of value happened in my life. What about you?

3. “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the broken hearted, to  proclaim liberty to the captives,  release to the prisoners, and to announce a year of favor from the Lord.” 

This was  the OT scripture Jesus read, early in his ministry, in the synagogue in Nazareth. He claimed it was speaking about Him and that claim almost cost Him his life. Jesus had a way of rubbing religious folks the wrong way. But if you were broken hearted and at the bottom rung of the ladder, you found a champion. 

“When the gospel has become bad news to the poor, to the oppressed, to the brokenhearted and imprisoned and good news to the proud, self-righteous and privileged, it is no longer the gospel of Jesus.” ~ Beth Moore

4. What I saw and heard from the State of Texas this week made me shiver in a Handmaid’s Tale kind of way. 

And then when Elon Musk opened wide the doors of his social media platform to Alex Jones, I think I saw the devil dancing a jig and the Sandy Hook parents searching the heavens for an explanation. 

5. “ … Jesus did not come to create an elite country club with an arbitrary list of requirements for who’s in and who’s out. Jesus came to reveal something that has always been true everywhere—for everyone—and for all time. Otherwise it is not “true”! ~ Richard Rohr 

Do you know anything about religious clubs with an “arbitrary list of requirements for who’s in and who’s out?”  I sure do. I’m sure I’m on more than a few ‘do not invite’ lists. There’s a certain sadness in knowing that. And yet, it’s also freeing. To go along in order to get along is no way to live. 

6 “And by the way, I can’t believe I have to say this, but ‘Are you going to be a dictator?’ is not a normal question you should have to ask a presidential candidate. If you have to ask your babysitter, ‘Are you going to eat my kids?’,  it doesn’t matter what their answer is. The fact that you needed to ask them means you should get another babysitter.” ~Jimmy Kimmel, referencing Hannity’s interview of Trump

There’s a whole lot of not-normal questions being asked these days in all kinds of places. It’s sad really. Expecting moral norms of conduct used to be a thing.  Now people  are having great success  persuading us that a crooked line, is in fact, straight. And we fall for it. All our  life we’ve  known the difference between crooked and straight. Now we have doubts? I don’t get it.

7.  “The Bible does not leave us with one  consistent portrait of God, but a collection of ancient and diverse portraits of how the biblical writers understood God for their times. These biblical portraits of God are not there to test how clever we can be in making them fit together nicely. They illustrate for us the need to accept the sacred responsibility of asking what God is like for us in the here and now.” ~ Pete Enns/How the Bible Actually Works 

What is God like for me these days?  I’ve been stretched and prodded to reexamine my faith and to specifically admit that the God I thought I knew was much too small.  ‘Tis a good journey to be on. Feel free to join me.

8. “Being chosen is the greatest gift you can give to another human being.” ~ Trevor Noah

We all desire to fit in, to have someone say “I choose you.” We can be that someone. In big and small ways we can do this. 

9.  I have had the good fortune to travel to and then through Israel three times. It was not at all uncommon to see two villages, one Arab – the other Jewish, sitting together on a plain or hillside 200 yds. apart. They shared a common geography but the land between them spoke volumes about the deep divides that can separate people in the Holy Land. Those divides have and continue to lead to war and sorrows beyond measure.

In our country we are at war with ourselves. Our divides are real and exacerbated  by finger pointing, lies, rumors, all sorts of different  ‘isms’, and various forms of grievance.The space between us grows. We can see, feel, and taste the polarization. Will we end up choosing to live in separate villages on a hillside? In many respects, we already have.

“Blessed are the peacemakers,” Jesus told us. Now, more than ever, we need them. 

10. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said that he would not seek reelection next year, expressing disappointment that many fellow Republicans continue to push the “big lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“Our nation is on a collision course with reality, and a steadfast commitment to truth, even uncomfortable truths, is the only way forward. Too many Republican leaders are lying to America…It is impossible for the Republican Party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.” ~ Amy Wang, WAPO

The good ones are being forced out of politics. And the people who need to hear why they’re leaving have absolutely no interest in listening to anything that’s sane and truthful. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings 12-15-23 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.