MEDITATION on CHILI

As the Dream Circle of HeartSpace, a ministry of 89 Hartford UCC, met to discuss the screening of the film, The Unruly Mystic: Saint Hildegard of Bingen, which will be shown at Hickory Ridge Cinemas in Brunswick on March 8 at 7:00 p.m., Pastor Carol prepared a Chili lunch for the group and discovered that the preparation was in fact a prayer and meditation, see below:

Meditation on Chili:  Seeking a Savory Sensation

Ingredients:  Ground Meat, Chili Powder, Diced Tomato, Tomato Paste, Browned Onion, Kidney Beans Light and Dark

When we are children we are like the individual ingredients:  unique to itself.  Self centered.  Living in our little child world of ME.

As Adolescence and Young Adults the main ingredient of who we are is thrown together to become something else.  At school we begin to learn in a new way what it means to share and mix with seasonings that we might not like, e.i. chili powder, only to discover that seasonings that may be hard to take at first, help us in our discovery and our becoming.

Maturity is found in the big mix as we step up into community in a committed way.  We begin to realize that being  cooked together, taking the heat together, producing the heat together, ripening together  is essential to our maturation.

Elderhood is the final stage of maturity.  Left in the refrigerator for a day or two – a time for the richness and the wisdom to fill the finished product.  When we open to this place - we are wizened and have the richest gifts for our community, our family, our world.

Carol P Vaccariello
Pastor for 89Hartford UCC
snowswan12@gmail.com
Inspirational Speaker/Storyteller and Spiritual Coach 
Erie Benedictine Oblate

We Are Called

Theme for our day of prayer:

"We are called to a spirituality that insists we spend ourselves making the world as beautiful

as God, the Artist, the Word, meant it to be.”

adapted from Joan Chittister, OSB

Recalling the BEAUTY is another name for God, we sing:

O, Beauty, ever ancient; O Beauty, ever new:

You: the mirror of my life renewed, let me find my life in you!

Marilyn Schauble, OSB

Meaningful Moments:

- Always look at others, at interruptions, at anger, at violence, at disruption

with the eyes of the HOLY and feel my own personal transformation in the moment.

-It is more than important, in fact, imperative to stay grounded in the deep river all that

is when the world is storming around me.  Enlarge my soul and deepen my heart

to embrace all in transformative love.  There really is no other way.

-Choose my words from the depth of my being, not the fear of my mind.

-Give up struggle for Blessing!

-The Vow of Stability…..I’m thinking about the implications for my life?

-There is always more.  After all the Cosmic Christ is Cosmic!  The Sacred Universe is Universal!

Each of us is all of that!  So there is always more!

At the end of morning prayer the Monks’ Schola sang a Native American chant:

It is Finished in Beauty

I walk with BEAUTY before me

I walk with BEAUTY behind me

I walk with BEAUTY above me

I walk with BEAUTY below me

I walk with BEAUTY all around me

I walk with BEAUTY within me.

YOU are BEAUTIFUL, O God!

traditional chant

Love Is the Only Way

Friends, 

I received a letter from an old friend that I haven’t seen in a long time.  His name is John Mabry.  We worked together in Berkeley California.  His letter touched me deeply.  It is so moving that I am sharing it with all of you.  Know that I love you.  Find ways to love those who seem unlovable.  Love is the only way we can move through the wave of craziness and the fear that is running rampant.

Thank you, John, for trusting your love to me and to so many.  

Here is John’s letter for all of us:

I have felt numb and a bit shell-shocked since hearing the news about the Orlando massacre Sunday morning. I’m still trying to sort out my feelings and thoughts about it. I listen to the news compulsively, waiting for the next bit of news that will somehow piece it all together and make sense of it—I’m still waiting, of course. We all are. 

Something that moved me greatly was receiving a text from a dear friend yesterday, saying that he loved me. It was unexpected, out of the blue, and completely unlike him. Perhaps he was simply acting on an internet meme that I’m not aware of, but wherever the idea came from, it was also the perfect response. 

None of us know when tragedy will strike. How many of those killed on Sunday would have loved to have told those closest to them that they loved them? Most of them, surely. Being out and proud about our love may be the best response we can make. 

So I want to tell you all that I love you, and I cherish the family we have at Grace North. I encourage us all to express our love not only to people we know, but to those we don’t. Let’s express and display our love for the GLBT community, locally and worldwide. Let’s express our love for the Latina/Latino community. Let’s express our love for the Muslim community. Let’s express our love for our fellow Americans, especially those we disagree with most. Let’s express our love for people who are confused or hurting or angry or scared, all over the world. 

How should we do this? I don’t know that, but I trust our creativity. I think it starts with intention, but the opportunities will present themselves organically, perpetually, relentlessly. We don’t lack for people in the Bay Area. We certainly don’t lack people who are different from us! And every encounter is an opportunity to reach out in love. 

I know, we’re supposed to do that all the time, but it’s especially important now. The appropriate response to this kind of hatred isn’t anger or retribution or violence or fear, and it’s certainly not more hatred. It’s love. It always is.

So I press my forehead against yours, I hold you tightly, and I tell you I love you.

And now, a prayer for the Orlando victims - Author Unknown

Walking our Prayer:

We walk tonight in anger and sorrow

in memory of those who died on Sunday morning

died dancing,

died singing,

died embracing,

died laughing,

died in the arms of lovers and friends,

died loving and being loved

died being fully themselves

in the Pulse.

They fell in a rain

of fully automatic Hate. Their lives ran out

and wet the floor.

We walk tonight

remembering their names,

the little we know of their short stories.

We walk in grief and love

wondering who they would have become,

what gifts they might have given,

what lives they might have blessed,

had they lived into their own blossoming.

They were, most of them, so young.

Keeper of Sanity, Civilizer of Hearts,

Great Web of Connection,

Hope Held Deep,

we dance our lives in your name,

in the name of fully automatic Love,

calling down a rain of Love

on the bereaved and the survivors,

on witnesses and first responders,

a rain of Wisdom, Compassion and Inspiration

on those in a position to prevent these horrors,

a rain of Hope and Determination

on all who have had enough

and are prepared to bring to an end

once and for all

this scourge of meaningless deaths.

May It Be So.

AMEN.

Victims’ Names 

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old

Kimberly Morris, 37 years old

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old

Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old

Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

Universal Love and Light

June 15 – Wednesday - Retreat Thoughts:

Universe – UNI – verse

Simply ONE – UNI

All is ONE

Nothing is outside or beyond

UNIVERSE

                        Rupert Sheldrake

*********************************************************************

Let us prefer nothing to the Love and Light of Christ/Buddha.

Light illumine my soul. Love fill my heart.

My LIFE a growing beacon in the place

where I am planted.

Aho! Amen! May it be so!

                        Morning Prayer

*********************************************************************

“Creator wants us to keep nothing,

so Creator can give us everything.”

                                    Adapted from Louis Evely

*********************************************************************

The Prayer of Jesus shared by Diarmuid O’Murchu

Based on John Dominic Crossan, The Greatest Prayer

O Cosmic Householder,

Source of our wisdom,

protector and provider,

embracing all that dwells in the heavens,

naming all for holiness and justice,

In the Championship of Empowerment,

spread throughout the entire creation,

as willed by Holy Wisdom.

In justice, may all be sustained by daily food,

and relieved of the burden of crippling debts.

Lead us not into collusion with any type of violence,

and deliver us from all forms of violent oppression.

For yours is the empowering desire to radiate on earth

the non-violent justice of enduring hope.

********************************************************************

Wherever your treasure is,

there your heart will be.

                        Morning Prayer

********************************************************************

Walk with the Light Shining through you today.

Be a Blessing!

                                                      Pastor Carol

A MOMENT in the Morning

How to begin---

Allow yourself a quiet moment in a still uncluttered space.

Away from TV, Phones, Computers, etc…

If available - light a candle - as a symbol of the Light you seek.

Sit outside and let the Sun be symbolic of the Light you seek.

Slowly take a couple of deep breaths.

From Morning Prayer:

Participate in the following - SLOWLY and THOUGHTFULLY

always BREATHING DEEPLY - quieting your whole Being

sing/read twice:  Holy Ground

“This is Holy ground.  We’re standing on Holy ground.

For our God is present and where God is, is HOLY.

This is Holy ground.  We’re standing on Holy ground.

For our God is present and where God is, is HOLY."

"The desire for God becomes the LIGHT.”

pause, ponder, breathe…. 

REPEAT the phrase…..

pause, ponder, breathe…. 

until you can FEEL the words in your soul

"The darkness turns to dawn

 The morning star bursts into glory.”

pause, ponder, breathe…. 

Connecting with Earth and Cosmos

experience the essence of the words and worlds

pause, ponder, breathe…. 

Be the Blessing you seek today,

Pastor Carol

Co-Creating with the Creator

Dawn Sky on my drive from Medina to Erie, PA

June 4 - Spirit of the Seasons Retreat at Mount Saint Benedict’s Monastery.

I presented Creation Spirituality: Past, Present and Future

When starting my journey from Medina, Ohio to Erie, Pa at 5:30 a.m. on June 4th, I knew that I would be driving directly into the rising sun.  I was headed to Mount Saint Benedicts in Erie to present a one day retreat for the monks and oblates of the community.  I wanted to be able to see when I arrived.  I asked my Angels for some help since driving into a bright blinding fireball would be exhausting and very hard on the eyes.  The Angels lovingly responded through the Universe with beautiful cloud cover that allowed the Sun to shine through in picturesque gentleness.  The remainder of the day was beautiful. Blue sky and glorious sunshine.   One of the classes on co-creating with the Creator went outdoors to take in the beauty all around us on the Monastic grounds.  Nature was our impetus for creating poetry, prayers, chants and circle dances.  Rich and full was the sharing.  Lives

Flowers from the Monastic Gardens near the Main Entrance

were touched by immersion into Nature’s beauty and the presence of Divinity around us and deep within.

What a privilege and honor to share with these amazing souls!  

Do you know how amazing YOU ARE?  You are AMAZING.  Truly AMAZING!

Blessings All,

Pastor Carol 

AKA Flash!

Rev. Dr. Carol Vaccariello, obi. with Sr. Carolyn Gorny-Kopkowski (GK), OSB

REVIEW ~ of revised & updated Confessions: The Making of a Postdenominational Priest

Blog review of revised and updated autobiography

Matthew Fox

Confessions

THE MAKING OF A POSTDENOMINATIONAL PRIEST

Matthew Fox, heart friend and colleague first published his autobiography on his birthday, December 21^st, winter solstice 1995.  Now in 2015, on his 75^th birthday Matthew has revised and updated CONFESSIONS: THE MAKING OF A POSTDENOMINATIONAL PRIEST by adding the past 18 years of his life to this incredible telling.  It is no accident that Matthew was born on December 21^st, winter solstice, the day we observe creation welcoming the “new light” as days begin to lengthen.  Matthew’s birth is timely; the gift of his life, precious, a “new light” for us not only to observe but also to take to heart.

I started working with Matthew at the University of Creation Spirituality as co-director of the Doctor of Ministry Program after he published CONFESSIONS in 1995.  So the added 200 pages that tell the story of his last 18 years are much of the time that I have known him.

With the assuredness of his heart’s convictions and the undergirding by his vast intellectual capacity and extremely well read and informed mind, his creative soul insists on combining, correlating, finding, developing, sharing, leading with new metaphors, new myths that have the power to bring Christianity into a new way of being.  Matthew believes that it may be too late for organized religion as we have known it and he hopes it is.  It is time for something new.  This is a new day where all belief systems are coming together to create a new thing.   

Matthew states what he believes: Principles of Creation Spirituality (316).  In these last 18 years he has doggedly stood by those Principles in every written document, book and lecture.  He lives and breathes these Principles and challenges the Church and each of us to embrace them and begin to exemplify them.  In so doing, we might still have an opportunity to save our Earth home.               

In his Confessions we witness his courageous heart. He has a large heart and a willing persistent spirit as he demonstrates by taking on organized religion that has been amuck in patriarchy far too long. I am a woman who has been oppressed by that patriarchy. It is not only women who are oppressed.  Men suffer oppression and the poor who seek liberation suffer at the hands of patriarchy.  This oppression touches all of us.  Reading Matthew’s remarks about the need for change, his historical reporting of the papacies that have wounded the church by their actions and silencing the voice of the already oppressed.  And then, like a breath of fresh air, we witness the hopeful spirit of Matthew’s courage when Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Jesuit training, first from the Americas with intellectual curiosity and a heart for the poor is selected for the Papacy.  He chooses the name, Francis, another first. Matthew writes “Letters to Pope Francis: Rebuilding a Church with Justice and Compassion” stating his expectations for this papacy (433).  Way to go, Matthew.

I believe that Matthew Fox’s name will be recorded in history as one theologian who made a significant impact on the way that Christianity is experienced and understood in the 21^th Century. He has a courageous heart; a large heart for justice and compassion; a heart that longs for justice and compassion for all of creation and he is specific to the needs of women, children and the LGBTQ community.  He puts himself on the line for the oppressed.  When I read his writing I find words for what my heart has always known and has never been able to voice.  If you are seeking to understand your own personal spiritual unrest you may very well find a comrade in Matthew’s words that are clear, firm, loving, compassionate, direct and forward reaching.

Reading these pages I experience the light of wisdom and profound care of his courageous heart.   What a relief to have such a powerful and relentless advocate!

In reading CONFESSIONS I came to think of Matthew’s Mind as a huge mansion; each room a treasure of codified knowledge garnered from personal experience as activist/prophet and from tireless hours of research.  He takes elements from each room and mixes them together in precise alchemy of the Wizard and challenges us all. One of the wonderful gifts of this book is the descriptive overviews that Matt provides for many of his books.  He lists the main points, sometimes offers an outline, or enough detail to wet the appetite and entice the reader. Each book is a work of scholarly art based on thorough research and knowledge along with his vast ability to pull all that he knows together into deep teaching that we might understand and embrace wisdom not only with our minds, but also with our hearts. 

I was surprised to learn of a Children’s book; a Seuss-like telling of the creation story, In the Beginning There Was Joy (395).

Matthew’s creative presentation is inviting, for example, when presenting Hildegard anew at the time of her canonization and being made a doctor of the church, he wants to present the power and true presence of Hildegard.  Matthew seeks a way to bring this twelfth century genius and leader into the twenty-first century.  He selects a methodology of placing Hildegard in a room with various twentieth century thinkers of note. Hildegard meets folks like Mary Oliver, Howard Thurman, Einstein, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Dorothee Soelle and the final chapter is a question: “Is Hildegard a Trojan Horse Entering the Gates of the Vatican?” (427). 

Another aspect of Matthew’s writing that I find delightful and I am thrilled to see him doing is RAPPING. Matthew shares a rap that he created for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 2006 (405) and one that he shared at a poetry slam in Oakland, CA. on the State of the Church, 2006 (411).  They are both “stoppers!” They encourage the reader to “stop” and hold the energy of the words that stirs ones heart to justice and compassion.  They embrace ALL and that’s what I love about this “new light” that shines through Matthew Fox, a solstice child by design.