St. Hildegard & Thich Nhat Hanh

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "St. Hildegard & Thich Nhat Hanh"

Mark Hampton
5 years ago
Views:

St. Hildegard & Thich Nhat Hanh The Greening, Healing Power of Compassion September 23, 2017 Susan Gallegos Announcements Opening Song O Viridissima Virga ( O Greenest Branch in praise of Virgen

You budded forth amidst breezes and winds blast in search of the knowledge of all that is holy. When the time was ripe your own branch brought forth blossoms. Hail, greetings to you!

In you, the most stunning flower has blossomed and gives off its sweet odor to all the herbs and roots, which were dry and thirsting before your arrival. Now they spring forth in fullest green!

1 St. Hildegard & Thich Nhat Hanh The Greening, Healing Power of Compassion September 23, 2017 Susan Gallegos Announcements Opening Song O Viridissima Virga ( O Greenest Branch in praise of Virgen Mary) by Hildegard of Bingen Opening Prayer Hildegard - To Mary Hail to you, O greenest, most fertile branch! You budded forth amidst breezes and winds blast in search of the knowledge of all that is holy. When the time was ripe your own branch brought forth blossoms. Hail, greetings to you! The heat of the sun exudes sweat from you like the balsam s perfume. In you, the most stunning flower has blossomed and gives off its sweet odor to all the herbs and roots, which were dry and thirsting before your arrival. Now they spring forth in fullest green! Reading: Hildegard From Scivias in Hildegard: Prophet of the Cosmic Christ I am the living breath in a human being placed in a tabernacle of marrow, veins, bones, and flesh, giving it vitality and supporting its every movement. The soul is like a wind that waves over herbs, Is like the dew that moistens the grass Is like the rain-soaked air that lets things grow. In the same way you should radiate kindness To all who are filled with longing. Be a wind, helping those in need. Be a dew, consoling the abandoned. Be the rain-soaked air, giving heart to the weary. Filling their hunger with instruction By giving them your soul. Reading: Thich Nhat Hanh from For a Future to be Possible The drop of compassionate water is the practice of loving kindness, symbolized by the water on the willow branch. Avalokitesvara is described by the Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans, and Japanese as the person holding the willow branch. He dips the branch into the water of compassion of his heart, and wherever he sprinkles that water, everything is reborn. When he sprinkles it on dry, dead branches, they turn green. Dead branches also symbolize suffering and despair, and green vegetation symbolizes the return of peace and happiness.

Reading: Thich Nhat Hanh on Nonviolence (from Love In Action) The Sanskrit word ahimsa, usually translated as nonviolence, literally means non-harming or harmlessness.

anyone can practice nonviolence, even soldiers.to help soldiers move in the nonviolent direction we have to be in touch with them.

2 Reading: Thich Nhat Hanh on Nonviolence (from Love In Action) The Sanskrit word ahimsa, usually translated as nonviolence, literally means non-harming or harmlessness. To practice ahimsa, first of all we have to practice it within ourselves. In each of us there is a certain amount of violence and a certain amount of nonviolence.anyone can practice nonviolence, even soldiers.to help soldiers move in the nonviolent direction we have to be in touch with them. If we divide reality into two camps the violent and the nonviolent and stand in one camp while attacking the other, the world will never have peace. We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence in ourselves. We must work on ourselves and also work with those we condemn if we want to have a real impact. To create fundamental change, we, the members of society, have to transform ourselves. If we want real peace, we have to demonstrate our love and understanding so that those responsible for making decisions can learn from us. Listening is also a deep practice. We have to listen in a way that we understand the suffering of others. We have to empty ourselves and leave space so we can listen well.we have to listen to everyone, especially those we consider our enemies. When we show our capacity of listening and understanding, the other person will also listen to us, and we will have a chance to tell him or her of our pain. This is the beginning of healing. Sung Responsorial: Psalm 23 (composed by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan) R. All of my days God s mercy follows. All of my days God s love surrounds. All of my days. All of my days. Reading: Thich Nhat Hanh from The Heart of the Buddha s Teachings Without suffering you cannot grow. Without suffering, you cannot get the peace and joy you deserve. Please don t run away from your suffering. Embrace it and cherish it. Go to the Buddha, sit with him, and show him your pain. He will look at you with loving kindness, compassion, and mindfulness, and show you ways to embrace your suffering and look deeply into it. With understanding and compassion, you will be able to heal the wounds in your heart, and the wounds in the world. The Buddha called suffering a Holy Truth, because our suffering has the capacity of showing us the path to liberation. Embrace your suffering, and let it reveal to you the way to peace.

a jewel hiding itself in a stone. I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, in order to fear and to hope. The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that are alive.

3 Reading: Thich Nhat Hanh Call Me by My True Names Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow because even today I still arrive. Look deeply: I arrive in every second to be a bud on a spring branch, to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile, learning to sing in my new nest, to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower, to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone. I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, in order to fear and to hope. The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that are alive. I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river, and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time to eat the mayfly. I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond, and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence, feeds itself on the frog. I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones, my legs as thin as bamboo sticks, and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda. I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat, who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate, and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving. I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my hands, and I am the man who has to pay his "debt of blood" to my people, dying slowly in a forced labor camp. My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all walks of life. My pain is like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans. Please call me by my true names, so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once, so I can see that my joy and pain are one. Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up, and so the door of my heart can be left open, the door of compassion..

After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.

4 Gospel Acclamation and Reading (MT 20:1-16A) God be with you. And also with you. The gospel according to Matthew. Glory to you, O God. Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' So they went off. And he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, the landowner found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last." Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church. Glory and praise! Silent Reflection Followed by Discussion Intercessions Let us beg mercy of our God who welcomes sinners and eats with them. For this holy gathering, and for the people of God in every place. For mercy, peace, and justice among all peoples. For abundant fruits of the earth, and for safety from violent storms, For the sick and the suffering, travelers by land, by water, and by air, prisoners, captives, and their families, and all those in desperate need, For our city and those who live in it, and for our families, companions, and all those we love, For those who rest in Christ and for all the dead,

Lifting our voices with all creation, let us offer ourselves and one another to the living God through Christ. To you, O Lord. (Intercessions from the community), we pray: O God, hear our prayer.

5 Lifting our voices with all creation, let us offer ourselves and one another to the living God through Christ. To you, O Lord. (Intercessions from the community), we pray: O God, hear our prayer. God of the stars of heaven, hear the prayers we offer this day and gather your lost sheep into the bounty of your realm; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Gathering at the Table God be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to our God. Let us give thanks to our loving God! It is right to give thanks and praise The practice of the Eucharist is a practice of awareness. When Jesus broke the bread and shared it with his disciples, he said, "Eat this. This is my flesh." He knew that if his disciples would eat one piece of bread with mindfulness, they would have real life. In their daily lives, they may have eaten their bread in forgetfulness, so the bread was not bread at all; it was a ghost. In our daily lives, we may see the people around us, but if we lack mindfulness, they are just phantoms, not real people, and we ourselves are also ghosts. Practicing mindfulness enables us to become a real person. When we are a real person, we see real people around us, and life is present in all its richness. The practice of eating bread, a tangerine, or a cookie is the same. When we breathe, when we are mindful, when we look deeply at our food, life becomes real at that very moment. To me, the rite of the Eucharist is a wonderful practice of mindfulness. In a drastic way, Jesus tried to wake up his disciples. (Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace is Every Step) Let us pray in the words Jesus taught us. Eternal One, Father and Mother of us all, Holy is your name. Let justice and mercy fill all Creation and let us recognize that every thought and thing belongs to you. Feed us with the bread we need for today. Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Stand with us in trial and temptation. Free us from the grip of all that is evil. For you alone are creating our universe, now and forever. Amen. Breaking and Sharing of the Bread Namo Avalokitesvara (Homage to the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara) chanted by monks & nuns of Plum Village Sing along: Na-mo Av-lo-ki-tesh-va-ra-a-ya (Thich Nhat Hanh says that Avalokiteśvara has 1,000 eyes so that he can see all those who suffer across the world and 1,000 arms so that he can reach out to them and alleviate their suffering.) Silent Reflection

Meditation - Hildegard from Book of Divine Works - Vision 4: 58 Certain birds of immense strength, which we see flying about in the air, are sustained by this same air, which at times descends into

Just as the bird cannot fly without atmosphere, our body, too, is kept in motion by the soul and not by itself.

Thus day by day we fly up into the brightness of eternal joy when we take delight in contemplative faith and the wisdom of holy scripture.

6 Meditation - Hildegard from Book of Divine Works - Vision 4: 58 Certain birds of immense strength, which we see flying about in the air, are sustained by this same air, which at times descends into the rivers to fortify the big fish there so that fish can live for a while without food. Similarly, the soul, by reaching an agreement with the body, flies up to the heavens like a bird in the air. Just as the bird cannot fly without atmosphere, our body, too, is kept in motion by the soul and not by itself. If at times we agree with the longings of the soul, we are totally consumed by the love of God. Thus day by day we fly up into the brightness of eternal joy when we take delight in contemplative faith and the wisdom of holy scripture. Through the sweetness of these writings, we are invisibly nourished and fortified, just like a fish that has been fortified by air and rushing water can live for a time in water without nourishment. Rupertsberg Abbey destroyed in 1632 Blessing May God bless us and keep us. May God s face shine upon us. May God be gracious to us and grant to us, and to all our broken world, peace. May the blessing of Almighty God the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit come upon us and remain with us forever. Amen. Closing Song - I am Free Songs of Plum Village I am a cloud, I am the blue sky, I am a bird spreading out its wings. I am a flower, I am the sunshine, I am the Earth receiving a seed. And I am free when my heart is open. Yes, I am free when my mind is clear. Oh dear brother, oh dear sister, Let s walk together mindfully. Sign of Peace HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSAN HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, AMOROSOS

St. Hildegard of Bingen

St. Hildegard of Bingen To be declared the 35 th Doctor of the Church on Oct. 7 October 6, 2012 Dorsett Edmunds Announcements Opening Prayer O greening branch! You stand in your nobility Like the rising