WATERmeditation December 2023
Follow-Up to WATERmeditation
with Adrienne Corti
“Advent: Piercing the Darkness”
Monday, December 4, 2023, 7:30 PM ET
WATER thanks Adrienne Corti for bringing a very meaningful theme to our monthly meditation: “Advent: Piercing the Darkness”.
Video can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52L_WoNaw1c&list=PL0HGdoj4ztpdlzks59g8wEB83FEgR2x8W
Adrienne Corti is a Canadian colleague who taught both French and Italian before her retirement. She was a Religion Consultant in the Catholic school system in Ontario participating on writing teams for the revision of Religion programs for the Canadian Bishops. Among other activities, she designed summer Religion courses that took teachers to Israel, Greece and Italy, an experience that gives her plenty of insight into the current war.
She has generously shared her reflection which follows:
“Advent: Piercing the Darkness”
In tonight’s meditation I would like us to dream about the possibility of seeing a great light and feeling the light shining upon us and within us. Isaiah the prophet in Chapter 9 tells us that “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them”. We all know we are walking in a dark land, each year seeming to get darker and darker as we watch in country after country leaders being elected who do not appear to bring light and hope into our world. War and violence are all around us and although in North America we appear to be living in relative peace we do not have to look far to see violence in human trafficking, domestic abuse, murdered indigenous women and the unrest in our own hearts. To move into the light and beauty does not mean to bypass the suffering world but to draw it into the light.
When we think of the Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank or the Israeli and other hostages we feel their despair with no immediate hope of rescue. This parallels the world into which Jesus was born, Galilee from a poor family surrounded in bleakness. Then come unexpected breakthroughs, signs of hope in the star, signs of angelic hosannas. What hope nourishes you in the darkness of these times?
For our reflection I will draw on the wisdom of two modern day prophets who have been working relentlessly for much of their lives to promote non-violence and peace wherever they can. They are Jesuit John Dear, peace activist and founder of The Beatitude Centre for the Non-Violent Jesus, and IBVM, Loretto Sister from Kenya, Sr. Wamuyu Teresia, co-president of Pax Christi International.
John Dear talks about three attributes of non-violent peace:
- Be totally non-violent to yourself. We need to examine our resentments, bitterness, anger and allow the God of peace to disarm our hearts and become people of non-violence.
- Practice meticulous non-violence toward everyone else. Those who irritate you are your teachers. Train yourself to use creative love and allow Spirit to work through you to reconcile with others.
- Join the global grassroots of non-violence being an activist in whatever way is your capacity.
We need to reclaim the non-violent Jesus by putting down our swords and weapons, including our words and actions and become the peacemakers.
Sr. Wamuyu Teresia recommends ways to pierce the darkness. There are cries for healing in our world: the brokenness of a people, our culture of greed and consumerism, the widespread migration of people, the abandoned elderly, the bleeding environment due to climate change. The signs of hope and life we can bring to them are ways of caring and embracing, seeing all as living in a common home, valuing our youth as vibrant, adventurous, creative beings full of potential, seeing our elders as oases of wisdom.
The passage of Matt. 14:15-21 models for us Advent as a giving time. Jesus sees the crowd and his heart is moved with compassion. He invites the disciples to feed the crowd. The people are fed and there is food left over. We must reject consumerism and give to those in need by opening not only our wallets but our hearts.
These two prophets in our midst give me a hopeful heart. These days I also find hope in the youth who are activists finding their voices and using them to spread messages alerting us as Pope Francis does to put our energy and efforts into climate change and the environment. Closer to home, my 17 year old grandniece from Atlanta who is studying in Kingston, Canada has become a very involved activist using any opportunity she has to use her songs, poetry and voice at protests with messages such as this, “Together the power of love will amplify what we believe in and we can make the world a better, safer and healthier place”. In Advent let us imagine using the power of our love to create such a place.
“Bring Me to Your Light” by a Canadian songwriter, Pat Mayberry, was Adrienne’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3aKREJjBoM suggestion for our contemplation.
The invitation is to visualize and dream the possibility of piercing the darkness however we experience it, with a great light that will envelop and soak into our world and our very beings. Let us unite with one another in this hopeful silence.
Following the period of communal contemplation, several participants raised insightful points:
–One person reported that a young woman in a graduation address spoke of bringing the gift of love even to a very troubled world.
— Another person shared words from her meditation including: “walking with light, stopping with light, carrying light, bringing light, then ‘Oh, darkness, hold the light’…”
–When people irritate, we were taught not to respond with irritation. This colleague is less willing as an older person to react like that, but she is less and less tolerant and wishes to be more tolerant. It is hard.
–One person observed that light can only piece darkness; it cannot piece daylight. So the darkness and the chaos can be the places of greatest creativity.
–One appreciative member of the group cited the writings of Canadian feminist activist Maud Barlow, Still Hopeful: Lessons from a Lifetime of Activism https://www.amazon.com/Still-Hopeful-Lessons-Lifetime-Activism/dp/1770416323. Maud Barlow is a longtime activist and a wise woman.
–The call to be peacemakers was what inspired a person in Nicaragua to reflect on the covering up of light which makes it so hard to be peaceful.
–Another person suggested that hope is a habit. Songwriter Holly Near sings of being hopeful in difficult days in her song “I am Willing”
https://genius.com/Holly-near-i-am-willing-lyrics.
“I am open and I am willing
To be hopeless would seem so strange
It dishonors those who go before us
So lift me up to the light of change
There is hurting in my family
There is sorrow in my town
There is panic in the nation
There is wailing the whole world round
May the children see more clearly
May the elders be more wise
May the winds of change caress us
Even though it burns our eyes
Give me a mighty oak to hold my confusion
Give me a desert to hold my fears
Give me a sunset to hold my wonder
Give me an ocean to hold my tears”
–A wise member described her developing practice of finding inner peace, gratitude, safety, focusing on those nuggets to expand in her consciousness. Sometimes we need to step back from the immediate problems and find peace.
WATER is in Adrienne’s debt for a meditation topic and reflection that led us in a useful direction at a challenging time.
Thanks to all who participated for doing it together because most of us would probably not take the time to do this alone. The power is in our common focus.
