"Awaken your spirit..."

PORTIUNCULA CENTER FOR PRAYER August 2024

How are you all doing? I selfishly ask that question as I want to tell you about me:) As I was beginning to write this reflection the idea of a bouncy castle came to mind for how life feels these days. And then I found an image that depicts the various moods we experience in the course of a day and occasionally minute to minute. Sometimes we are the happy girl in the front but check out the boy behind her clinging to the bottom of the castle, the boy hugging the wall, the girl staring into the camera and holding on, and the girl in the back who looks like she is jumping ship. This feels like life today. I heard a statement recently that we are descending into the soul. That makes sense to me. We are going deeper and deeper into our innermost selves. While all around us the carnival continues. This quote from Richard Rohr sums it up:

“Remember this: There are always two worlds. The world as it operates is power; the world as it should be is love. The secret of kingdom life is how we can live in both—simultaneously. The world as it is will always be built on power, ego, and success. Yet we also must keep our eyes intently on the world as it should be—what Jesus calls the reign of God.”

Oh Richard, how easy you make it sound. What I am relearning is that messages, reassurances, are all around us if we take time to notice. My 2004 Forester, Blue Moose de Mayo, has taken to trying to get my attention regularly. The ABS light keeps appearing, disappearing, reappearing. In car world that is Anti-lock Brake System. What I finally figured out is for me it means: Angels By my Side. As soon as I sorted that out I glanced at the car in front of me and the license plate said: New Day. So sometimes a car ride is not just a car ride but a wonderful reminder that angels are with us, and as Richard says, we need to keep our eyes intently on the world as it should be. Now I just have to figure out what that Check Engine light means. Be well my friends, Mary Lou

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

John O'Donohue

SEPTEMBER PREVIEW

Below are the first two sessions in September. They will be followed by The Art of Mentoring and Zentangle. Hope we see you here.

POWERFUL VIBRATIONAL SOUND MEDITATION

Friday, September 6 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. $40

At the core of all healing, meditative, and spiritual pursuits is the goal to expand an individual’s awareness of possibilities. Experience a uniquely multi-dimensional tapestry of sounds designed to relax and invigorate you simultaneously. Heal your mind and body in a colorful environment of ambient and ancestral sounds of 5 gongs and other sound tools. Please bring a yoga mat, pillow, blankets for your comfort. Zero gravity chairs need to be requested at registration. This event will be held at the Motherhouse Auditorium.

Facilitators: Gabriela & Marian Kraus have both studied gongs and sound therapy with renowned master teachers. Their inherent artistic & musical abilities, years of studies in psychology and metaphysics, and life experiences work seamlessly together to facilitate a unique experience.

A MINDFULNESS HOUR FOCUSED ON MINDFUL EATING via Zoom

Monday, September 9 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Donation

Mindfulness is being aware and present in the moment, without judgment and with acceptance. It involves paying attention to your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. We will engage in a mindful activity, and then discuss how that practice can be implemented into daily life. This evening’s program will focus on mindful eating - being fully attentive to food, feelings, hunger, and satiety cues. Discover more about eating consciously, engaging all the senses, and acknowledging responses, and physical cues like hunger or fullness. Mindful eating tips, as well as an example of mindful eating, will be explored in this session. Facilitator: Debra Vinci Minogue, an Associate Professor at Dominican University, is trained in Mindfulness Meditation (with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach), chair and laughter yoga, and facilitating Veriditas Labyrinth. She is also trained in Heartwork Journaling and is a forest therapy guide.

The new Calendar of Events has been distributed. It is also posted on our website. Please let us know if you would like one mailed to you.

Poverello Holistic Center

815.464.3880 for questions, appointments, registrations.

Port Web Site programs, online registration, and appointments.

Spiritual Direction

Port Email:

We have openings at The Poverello for Massage therapists.

If interested email Mary Lou at marylou.nugent@fssh.net