Mystic Musings: Lent 3/08

“I once spoke to my friend, an old squirrel, about the Sacraments—he got so excited and ran into a hollow in his tree and came back holding some acorns, an owl feather, and a ribbon he had found.

And I just smiled and said, “Yes, dear, you understand: everything imparts His grace.”

St. Francis of Assisi, a 13th century Catholic mystic and poet

Photo by James Coleman @jhc

I grew up in the Presbyterian tradition and served churches in that tradition for over three decades. In most of our churches, the first Sunday of the month (today) was reserved for the Lord’s Supper, one of the two sacraments of the Church. The other is baptism. For me it was one of the richest religious observances that I had the privilege of presiding over. I think it was the fact that we were observing a ritual that goes back two thousand years in Christianity. I was also moved by the simplicity of the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper we take elements—bread and wine—that are basic to our physical and social existence and imbue spiritual significance on them. The same is true in baptism. The ritual is grounded in the most basic of elements, water. Ordinary, and yet, saturated with spiritual meaning.

Handcrafted vase that tells of story of my 2011 pilgrimage.

Christians discover the sacred in bread, wine and water. The old squirrel discovers the sacred in acorns, an owl feather and a ribbon. I personally have objects in my office that hold sacred significance—an old coffee cup, a piece of wood from Death Valley, and a handcrafted vase that came to symbolize my discoveries from my first pilgrimage.

Singer/songwriter, Mary Chapin Carpenter, has a special shirt. In her song, “This Shirt”, she sings of all the places she has been and the experiences she has had wearing that shirt. It has become sacred to her. She writes,

“This shirt is a grand old relic, with a grand old history. I wear it now for Sunday chores cleaning house and raking leave. I wear it beneath my jacket with the collar turned up high. So old I should replace it, but I’m not about to try.”

St. Francis says to the old squirrel, “Yes, dear, you understand: everything imparts His grace.”

Sit quietly. Place your feet firmly on the ground. Breathe deeply and try to allow the distractions of your life to dissolve away for a few minutes. Ponder these questions:

• Think about the various items around your house. Which of them come with back stories?

• Do you have something that has lost its usefulness, but you still keep around? If so, it has probably taken on sacred status. Ponder that.

• What items do you reserve for only special purposes or as a daily, weekly or monthly ritual?

• How would your relationship with “stuff” change if you began to see that everything can take on sacred status?