“The second half of my life will be ice breaking up on the river, rain soaking the fields, a hand held out, a fire, and smoke going upward, always up.”
I begin this reflection on second half of life spirituality with an excerpt from Joyce Sutpen’s poem “Crossroads.” With so many poems on the topic from which to choose, I picked Sutpen’s for its evocative imagery and its outright acknowledgement that we can choose to thrive in the second half of our lives. In just a few lines, the poet describes some of the beautiful gifts we can anticipate.
Poet, peacemaker, minister and Celtic spirituality scholar, John Philip Newell, gave a retreat entitled "The Song of the Sacred Earth" at Mercy by the Sea in mid-July. Sister Mary Daly offered this spiritual practice as part of the three-day retreat.
“I was searching without while you were within ... more inward than my inmost self and superior to my highest being.” St. Augustine, The Confessions
“Let the final word be, ‘God is in all things’.”
Every artist knows that her work of art bears some resemblance, some likeness to herself. And then, the viewer contemplating the art work also is, in some sense, contemplating the artist. Sometimes you resonate, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you find a piece of yourself being opened by this art as you let it enter your being.
So I would like you to consider God the artist present to all that God has made, that bears God’s likeness. Let the God in creation, actively present, actively engaging us, impinge upon your senses, arouse your feelings, engage your thoughts and emotions through some part of creation that will speak God to you.
People came from 13 states and Canada to attend the New England School of Celtic Consciousness with John Philip Newell held at and in collaboration with Mercy by the Sea. The second annual gathering drew 170 participants; all seekers wanting to deepen their knowledge of Celtic Christian wisdom.
In 2016, John Philip founded the School of Celtic Consciousness with the conviction that Celtic wisdom is “urgently” needed at this moment in time. “The instinct for seeing the sacredness in all things is rising again,” he said. John Philip also observes a widespread spiritual yearning for a deeper integration of the feminine and the masculine.
Centering prayer is like coming home. It helps me remember who I am. In a world that has so many claims on us and that pressures us to be other than who we “truly” are, it is a reminder that we are a loved being, a child of God. We realize and remember that we are literally breathed by Another and connected to all others in a web of care. All of our strivings for security and safety, affection and esteem, power and control are meaningless outside of God’s love. It is the ultimate rest stop on our journey, where we bring “nothing” and receive everything.
