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 66 – Isaiah 43:15-19 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Melinda Schmidt joins me for the summer series on the podcast. We talk about being weary and worn out on religion and its institutions. Many are in a season of transition and shifts. What does that look like for you? We also talk about emotional and mental and physical health. We mention Pete Scazzero’s book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and an older book Eight Ways to Take an Active Role in Your Health.

Find Melinda in the following places:

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

The post Melinda Schmidt – episode 370 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 offering is a poem by Joyce Rupp titled Dry Bones.

The post Poem/Prayer 12 – 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. 8.18.23

1. “This idea of soul care and leader care is not just a hobby. It’s not something where we say, ‘One of these days when we’ve got extra margin, we’ve got to deal with this.’ No. Soul care is in a place where it is the thing, because everything cascades from it.” ~ Stephan Tchividjian 

I believe in caring for my soul. I also know I need help in doing that. For me, that means seeing a spiritual director, involvement in a church, finding a variety of spiritual practices that help me grow closer to God, and meaningful involvement in a ministry. 

I find it interesting that even though I believe in soul care and know what I need to do, I still find myself on any given day to be what Richard Rohr calls  “a very awkward steward of my own soul.” 

Awkward might be too kind of a descriptor. It’s good to be honest about such things.

2. I’m not a ‘Swifty’. I can’t even name one of her songs. I know this much. Taylor Swift is selling out stadiums wherever she goes and she gives her fans everything she’s got at every concert. Wherever she goes she’s making very, very generous donations to food banks and she just gave huge bonuses ($100,000 each) to the drivers of the trucks who bring all the backdrops, staging, costumes, and assorted other things to each venue.  

It’s one thing to be insanely talented. It’s quite another thing to be so generous. To give her fans, night in and night out, your very best, to notice and handsomely reward the ‘grunt’ workers on the tour, to care about those on the margins of life and to lavishly bless those organizations who help feed them is crazy good. Bravo.

I don’t have Swift’s wealth. Neither do you. But we all have some time, talent, and treasure which needs to be invested wisely. The result will be a better world. 

3.  “When we Christians become convinced that only we know the truth, that anyone who opposes us is on the side of evil, and things will only get better if we are in charge of all positions of power, that is when we know we are no longer worshiping God. We are worshiping ourselves.” ~ Rev. Benjamin Cremer

He’s right. It’s a form of idolatry. 

4. I find it disturbing that so many threats to democracy in our country and around the globe can be traced to religious fundamentalists who maintain they are only doing what God wants. I think they are delusional more often than not. I think they do what they want to and then insist it’s a response to a direct message from God. 

5. In the federal case against Trump being heard in Washington, D.C., 

Judge Tanya Chutkan cautioned the ex-president and his legal team “to take special care in your public statements about this case. I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings… I will not tolerate a carnival atmosphere.”

She knows what she’s up against and she’s basically telling them that if they show up in a clown car after having done clownish things, and start to do even more clown stuff in her courtroom, she will hold them accountable. In other words she’ll stick them in a corner for a timeout and then ground them if they continue to act like petulant, immature children. 

She’s particularly concerned that they will intimidate witnesses and taint the jury pool. Ain’t that somethin’?

6.  MLK, Jr said: “Oh, the worst of all tragedies is not to die young, but to live until seventy-five and yet not ever truly to have lived.”

Thomas Keating wrote that  his growth in the spiritual life was spurred on, in good part, “by the knowledge that I am screwed up and I need a Savior.”

Suzanne Stabile recommends asking the question “Lord, what’s mine to do today?”

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” ~ Thomas Merton

7. I’m reminded of JFK’s inaugural speech in 1961 in which he challenged the people of our nation to “ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.” It was a call to care, to look for the common good, to build up, and not tear down. It was a rallying cry,  challenging us to be active participants in our democracy. Do we have both the heart and the will to accept that challenge today? I hope so. 

I was ten years old when I heard that inaugural address. It grabbed me then and it still does. I’m a sucker for great oratory. There’s something about really good  content coupled with a great delivery that stirs something deep inside me. 

In a world addicted to sound bytes, great oratory that stirs our hearts isn’t deemed to be all that important. It’s a big loss for our country.

8. Q. Why would a multi-billionaire need your money to pay his legal bills and what would possibly motivate someone to give their money to him? 

A. Someone like that  believes that a sucker is born every minute. He doesn’t need your dollars but he’s thinking “Why spend my own money when you’re willing to give me yours?”  When greed meets gullibility, con men start licking their chops. Game on.

9. As seen on a t-shirt. “Equal rights for others doesn’t mean fewer rights for you. It’s not a pie.”

That’ll preach. 

10. “As I try to cover the news tonight, I am struck by how completely the Republican Party, which began in the 1850s as a noble endeavor to keep the United States government intact and to rebuild it to work for ordinary people, has devolved into a group of chaos agents feeding voters a fantasy world.” ~ Heather Cox Richardson

When someone of her character and level of scholarship says something like this, I make it a point to pay attention. I think we all should. 

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 08-18-23 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 65 – Acts 20-17-24 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. This is a prayer called Shalom: A Prayer for Many Spiritual Seasons to Begin and End the Day. It’s by The Reverend Canon Elizabeth Keaton.

The post Poem/Prayer 11 – The Reverend Canon Elizabeth Keaton 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. 8.11.23 

1. “Western Christians tend to think of going to heaven or  going to hell as the framework for the gospel but the Bible story is not about us going somewhere but the Creator God coming to live with us.”

 “If you want to know who God is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what it means to be human, look at Jesus. If you want to know what love is, look at Jesus. If you want to know what grief is, look at Jesus. And go on looking until you’re not just a spectator, but you’re actually part of the drama which has him as the central character.” N.T. Wright, a heck of a good theologian and scholar.

2. “Dorothy Day, I think, came upon a quite simple, paradoxical insight, something like this: In the gospel, peace is a verb.  You make the peace. You do not inherit it or hoard it, or borrow it or sit on it. You make it.” ~ Daniel Berrigan, SJ

We are a world at war, often over inconsequential matters. What would happen if we committed ourselves to making peace and then helping to sustain it?

3. Anita and I went to see “Barbie”. I even wore my pink rimmed ‘readers’.  I chuckled many times and loved the satire. It was a thought provoking and clever film. I think it has something to say to our culture and we should pay attention. It won’t make my all time best movie list but I’m glad we saw it. 

4. James Baldwin said: “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”

I insist on that right too. So should we all. It’s part of a healthy checks and balance system. There’s lots to critique, even more to celebrate.

5. When I embrace diversity, I recognize 

that the Creator of that diversity is pleased. Embracing diversity starts by seeing, not necessarily agreeing; respecting, not minimizing; engaging, not dismissing; being ‘curious’, not walled in. Embracing diversity is about moving beyond my insane commitment to myself and my tribe in an attempt to find common ground.

6. This week the former president built upon his already tarnished reputation when he sent a ‘truth’ to his base, excoriating the USA Women’s Soccer Team, Joe Biden and Wokeness. In just 64 words he managed once again to undercut truth, elevate rudeness and show his utter disregard for grace and dignity. I’m sure it was met with much enthusiasm by his base who seemingly delight when their guy comes out swinging.

He’s scared. He keeps saying he’s being persecuted but in reality he’s just getting a taste of accountability and he doesn’t like it one bit. That’s why he’s coming out swinging. Expect more of the same. When he asserts he’s being “indicted for you,” he’s lying. He wants no part of martyrdom. He’s just trying to recruit an army ‘just in case’. 

The real reason he’s facing legal jeopardy is because there is significant evidence that he knowingly and wantonly broke the law. 

7. I’m reminded of the words of Sun Tsu, the author of The Art of War: “An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes.” 

8.  In the book “The Hermits of Big Sur” the author describes a monk who died as “a man who had lived several different lives, each of them dogged by conflict and grief but also filled with adventure and accomplishment.”

What an honest, beautiful assessment of a life well lived. I smiled when I read it and thought “Yah, I know a lot of people who fit that description, including the person I see in the mirror every day. ”

9. “We spend so much time being afraid of failure, afraid of rejection. But regret is the thing we should fear most. Failure is an answer. Rejection is an answer. Regret is an eternal question you will never have the answer to.” ~ Trevor Noah, Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood 

I resonate with this. There are times I should have … and I didn’t. What bothers me the most is that those just might have been the times when my voice was needed the most. I can’t do anything about it now but it reminds me that I don’t have to be that way again.

10. Richard Rohr is fond of saying that the universal patterns of change and transformation look like this:

Order

Disorder

Reorder 

Think of it as your life getting a periodic system upgrade. 

When we have a sense of ‘order’ in our life, prayers of thanksgiving are meaningful. When disorder hits, prayers for help, peace, and discernment are necessary.  When the reordering sets in, the spiritual discipline of  Examen helps us make sense of what’s  happening, and how we deal with what has just become our new normal.

The post Mike’s Rumblings – 08-11-23 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 64 – Matthew 13:3-9 appeared first on Anita Lustrea.

Melinda Schmidt joins me again as part of the summer conversations series. We talk about a deeply formed life and how the Enneagram is a helpful tool for spiritual transformation.

Find Melinda here:

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

The post Melinda Schmidt – episode 369 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. It’s a quote by Pema Chödrön.

The post Poem/Prayer 10 – Pema Chödrön appeared first on Anita Lustrea.