October 2024

We’ve missed you!

Our last issue was sent in late July. Since then, we have been busy moving, organizing an estate sale, getting settled, selling a house, and on and on and on. During this time, we’ve learned that moving not only gives us a lot to do; it also gives us a lot to think about. We are glad to once again share our reflections with you – this time, about moving.

Big wheel's rollin'; Big wheel's rollin', movin' on

Big wheel's rollin'; gotta keep 'em goin'

Big wheel's rollin', movin' on

That 1974-76 theme song for the TV series, Movin' On, always brings a smile. Our boys were 5 and 3 and loved to 'ride along' with Will and Sonny...while watching the TV programs. A generation later, I find myself reflecting on moving, movin' on.

This latest move to independent senior living seems like a movin’ on of a different sort: to a place of retirement and slowing down, and at the same time, “keep’em goin’” – I haven’t slowed down yet. Unpacking boxes, getting reorganized, meeting new friends.

Movin’ on again. During our 20-year marriage, we moved 3 times.... Honestly, being a Benedictine Oblate, at times I worried that I was betraying the Benedictine value of stability.* Then I sensed consolation in two writings – the wisdom of Michael Casey and the example of Jesus the Christ.

1st, In Grace, on the Journey to God, Michael Casey writes:

It is here that we are confronted with the challenge of stability, which was the quintessential value and virtue for Saint Benedict. What stability asks of us is that we stay with the process—even though this course of action is counterintuitive…. What is asked of us is that we keep standing amid all the storms and whirlwinds…. The image I have of stability is that it is like surfing. All you have to do is stand on a surfboard and let it take you forward…. It takes a lot of energy and continual adjustment as the center of gravity changes and both board and rider are swept either to a successful conclusion or to an ignominious dumping. To keep standing is the only way forward.**

2nd,

during a morning meditation, I was drawn to the gospel of Mark, for seemingly no reason at all. Then suddenly I imagined Jesus movin’ on from Galilee to Jerusalem. The Markan gospel is short; it can be read in 30 minutes. In doing so, you recognize Jesus’ fast pace through his ministry to its conclusion on the Calvary cross. Jesus maintained stability, an unavoidable element in every human life and in every spiritual journey. And so we pray:

Lord Jesus Christ,

Give us the grace of stability

So that we may continue in fidelity to you,

Faithfully following you in this life

So that we may, one day, follow you into the life that has no end. Amen***

*Benedictine values: Stability of Heart, Fidelity to Monastic Way, Obedience to the Will of God, Value of Work, Balance, Hospitality, Stewardship, Preferring Christ.

**Michael Casey, Grace on the Journey to God. Brewster: Paraclete, 2018/2023. P. 51

***Adapted from: Ibid, p. 54.

Thomas Merton wrote, “Let us come alive to the splendor that is all around us and see the beauty in ordinary things.”

It is often a challenge to see the splendor, the beauty, the wonder in ordinary things. I have been thinking recently of the ordinary wonder of movement.

We live now in a senior living community. That means that all our neighbors are elderly, many considerably older than we are. Not surprisingly, a number of them have mobility challenges. Whenever we go to the dining room, wheelchairs and walkers are to be seen in abundance.

When asked recently to name one thing I was grateful for that day, the word that instantly came to mind is “movement.” I am grateful for the ordinary gift of movement, grateful that I can still walk and still drive. I am grateful that my health allows me to do things that so many others cannot.

Newly conscious of what a gift movement is, I am trying to make good use of that gift. Last Sunday, after preaching in a church in Austin, I did not simply drive straight home down the interstate. I took back roads through the Hill Country and stopped for a short hike in a park.

I am learning to treasure the ordinary wonder of movement.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines movement as “The action or process of moving; change of position or posture; passage from place to place, or from one situation to another.” Think about where you are moving, changing, or passing from one situation to another. Express your gratitude for those gifts. May we all come alive to the ordinary splendor of movement.

--by Bill