Who Are the Helpers?
(Note: On my blog, I occasionally feature other peoples’ writing–such as their poems, excerpts from their books, or interviews with them. Today’s reflection is written by Sister Valerie Sweeney, SND, a good friend of mine. Her reflection grew out of a conversation we had recently.)
Many of us are probably familiar with what Mr. Fred Rogers’ shared with the children watching his TV show. One day he said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'”
Following the recent devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, I was moved by videos on Facebook and Youtube of people there pulling survivors from the rubble. Some of them were professional rescue teams with special equipment and trained dogs. But others were family members and ordinary people using their bare hands to dig. All of them were working at enormous risk to their lives. When someone was brought out alive, the joy that erupted never failed to bring tears to my eyes. In today’s world when life often seems expendable, what does it teach us when people will work so hard to save one person?
Those who were rescued from the rubble remind me of Lazarus, called forth by Jesus to live again. What emotions will they have to deal with as they reclaim their lives? Everything they owned has been destroyed, but they are so grateful for the gift of another day. Yet, there may also be a sense of guilt that they survived when so many others didn’t. Now, of course, the time for rescue is past, but the people still work to recover the bodies of their loved ones to bury them with dignity and bring closure to their search. Next comes the seemingly impossible task of rebuilding.
This is only one example of ordinary people helping each other. I am reminded of the many citizens in Minnesota who demonstrated in the bitter cold for their immigrant neighbors. These people were afraid to leave their homes, so ordinary citizens helped them by walking their children to school, bringing them groceries, and picking up their prescriptions. These helpers were people like you and me stepping up to serve because they saw a need.
We can all be helpers. We don’t need professional qualifications to do so. I am a chaplain in a nursing home, and daily I witness our residents helping each other in selfless ways. I have seen them bend over in their wheelchair to pick up an item that another resident dropped. They will notify a server if a tablemate needs something. They often welcome each other to activities with a smile and a cheerful greeting. And that’s not to mention the countless acts of service done every day by our nurses, care partners, pastoral care team, and culniary and housekeeping staff.
Jesus reminds us to be helpers in Matthew 25:35-40 when he says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me… Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Think of the ways you have been a helper to others. Some ways may seem small, like zipping up a child’s jacket, getting the mail for an elderly neighbor, sending a get well card or a text to an ill friend. Others may take more time and effort, like driving someone to a doctor’s appointment, mowing the lawn for a neighbor recovering from surgery, visiting a family member in a rehab center. Sometimes the help we offer is invisble and unacknowledged. Our prayers can be a powerful way to send help to people and places around the world.
For reflection:
Who or what inspires you to reach out to help others?
How do you fit little acts of service into your busy day?
Who has been a helper for you? Have you ever acknowledged them for their help?
How do you feel when you’re on the receiving end of the helping equation? It is easier for you to give than to receive? If so, why do you think that is?
Sister Valerie chose this song for today: “Make Me a Servant,” written in 1982 by Christian songwriter Kelly Willard. Willard says that one day at home, she felt the Holy Spirit gently urging her to have “a little more of a servant heart.” She went straight to her piano and wrote this song. Sung here by the Maranatha Singers, the lyrics are repeated like a mantra, and the images offer more ways we can be of service to others.
Sister Valerie and I welcome your comments below–about the reflection, the questions, the video, the photos. We love hearing from you!
The Moon Is Always Whole
Have you given any thought to the moon lately? If not, I hope today’s reflection will lead all of us to a greater appreciation of earth’s only natural satellite. (This post is adapted from my book When the Moon Slips Away.) Let’s begin with a few facts.
Where did the moon come from? The truth is, we don’t know for sure, but one widely accepted theory is that, roughly 4 to 5 billion years ago, a giant protoplanet collided with earth, sending massive amounts of vaporized rock into orbit around earth. Eventually this rock coalesced (due to earth’s gravity) to form the moon. The moon is roughly 238,855 miles from us. Each year it gets farther away from earth at a speed of 1.5 inches a year–about the same speed as your fingernails grow! Since the moon has no atmosphere, temperatures fluctuate widely from 260 degrees F to -243 degrees F. There are no breezes on the moon. The footprints Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made on the moon in July 1969, are still visible. The flag they planted was designed to look like it was blowing in the wind. Otherwise it would have hung limp.
The moon orbits the earth every 27.3 days. At the same time, it is rotating on its axis. Consequently, it keeps nearly the same side turned toward the earth all the time. So, 40% of the moon we humans had not seen before–until, in 1959, the Soviet unmanned Luna 3 probe sent back grainy photos of the dark side. The first humans to actually see the far side were the three Apollo 8 astronausts in1968. The recent Artemis II astronauts saw even more of the dark side of the moon. One of the mystiques of the moon is the way its gravitational pull affects the earth. The moon’s pull is largely responsibile for the tides of the earth. And some people believe the moon’s pull can cause strange behavior in animals–including homo sapiens. When the moon is full, some people say, “My kids and dog are acting strangely. It must be the full moon!”
Although there are several U.S. flags and the Soviet coat of arms on the moon, international treaties prevent any nation from claiming the moon. Instead, the moon is treated like international waters. The Outer Space Treaty further restricts the use of the moon to peaceful purposes, specifically banning any weapons of mass destruction. Ironically, it’s safer to live on the moon than on earth!
I like some of the things people have said about the moon. Here are four:
- “When I admire the wonders of the sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
- I think a future flight to the moon should include a poet, a priest, and a philosopher…so we might get a much better idea of what we saw.” (Michael Collins, Apollo 11 astronaut)
- “The beauty of the moon is hidden in her scars.” (Anonymous)
- “Be the moon and inspire people, even when you’re far from full.” (K. Tolnoe)
All these facts about the moon cannot compare with simply enjoying the moon. There is beauty and mystery in its different phases from thin crescent to round fullness. There is beauty in the different sizes of the moon from huge when it is close to the horizon, to merely ornamental when it is high in the sky. The moon’s changing colors are gorgeous too: pure white, bright yellow, harvest orange, blue, bluish gray, reddish, to name a few. And to think, no matter what color the moon appears to be, all of its light is borrowed from the sun.
Barbara Kingsolver has written a lovely poem entitled “Remember the Moon Survives.” In it she reminds us that despite the moon’s waxing and waning, the moon is always whole. Though the moon seems to slip away at times, it is always there. Even when it seems to disappear, it is always fully present. Some spiritual writers have compared the continuous presence of the moon to God’s presence in our lives–always whole, always fully there. They compare the moon’s gravitational pull, to the gravitational pull of God’s love.
Prayer: Creator of the moon, help me to surrender to your beauty, to your mystery, and to the gravitational pull of your love. Amen.
For reflection:
Did anything in this reflection catch your attention? If so, what was it?
What role (if any) does the moon play in your everyday life? in your spiritual life?
Have you ever had a special experience involving the moon? Would you like to share this experience with us below?
Here are two very short videos about the moon. The first is a 3 min. award-winning poem-video entitled “How to Love the Moon” by Laura Plummer. The second is a 3:30 min. video by French photographer Laurent Laveder called “Playing with the Moon.” It captures individuals just having fun with the amazingly changeable moon. I hope you have time to enjoy both of these videos. And I hope you’ll let us know what you think of them by leaving a comment below.
“How to Love the Moon”:
“Playing with the Moon”:
I welcome your comments below–about the reflection, the reflection questions, the pictures or the videos!
Small. Gradual. Hidden.
Today I am sharing a reflection I wrote for the March 2025 issue of Give Us This Day, published by Liturgical Press. First, I will give you the Gospel on which the reflection is based. Then I’ll share the reflection.
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Matthew 13: 31-35
Jesus proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come down and dwell in its branches.”
He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
All these things Jesus spoke to the crowd in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.”
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Small. Gradual. Hidden
In the gospel passage above, Jesus shares two parable of the Kingdom of God. In the first, he compares the Kingdom to a mustard seed. What does this imply? First, that the Kingdom begins small. Tiny, in fact. Perhaps easily missed. Second, seeds usually develop gradually, often slowly. “Presto” is not God’s usual way of doing things. God’s ways are more slow-but-steady. Third, a seed is not a finished product. It is hidden potential.
Then Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like yeast that a woman (in her kitchen) mixes with “three measures of wheat flour”–enough for sixty loaves! Was she feeding an army? More likely, a wedding feast. Yeast works secretly. A tiny amount has a huge effect on the entire dough. These two short parables (only four sentences long) can raise some questions worth pondering.
Are we too enamored with the big and spectacular in our world? Little is beautiful. Small can be good. Are we too focused on the loud, the showy, the sensational in our lives? What lies hidden can matter the most.
Do we expect instant results? Growth takes time. Do we demand the total package, the finished product in individuals, in our institutions, in ourselves? Maybe we need to nourish potential more. Do we downplay the ordinary in our lives? Instead, may we learn to see the miraculous in the mundane… and come to believe that all places–even gardens and kitchens–can harbor the holy.
For reflection…
What “small” things in your life do you find beautiful?
Is there someone in your own life who helped nourish the potential in you? How did they do that?
Is there an ordinary place in your life that you feel is a “holy place” for you? What makes it holy?
Where do you experience the “Kingdom of God” in your life?
PS: It was a privilege for me to walk this past week with 59 retreatants at Our Lady of Snows Shrine in Belleville, IL. Thank you for your enthusisam, goodness, and prayerfulness. I was deeply inspired by all of you! A special thank you for Fr. Mark and the fine staff there for making the retreat run so smoothly. And finally, thank you to our blog readers for remembering us in your prayers!
Our video today is the old classic, “In His Time” by Maranatha. I chose this version for its array of images of God’s magnificent creation. Just click the link below:
As always, I encourage you to share a thought or two in the comments below…
Dorothee Soelle: Theologian, Mystic, Social Activist
Up until a few months ago, I had never heard of Dorothee Soelle, a German theologian (1929-2003). Now I own one of her books (Essential Writings), I’m reading it enthusiastically, and I’m posting this blog about her! I thank Robert Ellsberg in the April issue of Give Us This Day for introducing her to me. To understand my sudden fascination with Soelle, let me begin with a little background on her.
Dorothee Soelle was fifteen when World War II ended. As the Nazi crimes became better known, she was filled with an “ineradicable shame”: the shame of “belonging to this people, speaking the language of the concentration camp guards.” Like many others of her generation, she pondered the great question: “How could this have happened?” And “If God is all-powerful, why didn’t he stop this?” At the University of Cologne, she majored in theology, philosophy, and literature, eventually earning her Ph.D. She became a university lecturer at Cologne while also becoming very active in the political issues of her day: the Vietnam War, the arms race, anti-semitism, sexism, and other forms of authoritarianism and oppression. From 1975-87 she also taught 6 months every year at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
What was Soelle’s answer to the question, “If God is all-powerful, why didn’t he stop the atrocities of the Nazis–or all evils, for that matter?” Her answer was: because “God is not an all-powerful King.” This answer shocked some people, because that image of God as an all-powerful king was not only very popular, it was scriptural. She went on to say that God is not far removed from us. Rather, God is in our midst as “one who suffers in us, with us, and through us.” God is suffering along side of us. She viewed Jesus on the cross as the great example of God’s union with all who suffer political violence, oppression, trauma. Furthermore, she said, God needs our hands to heal what is broken in the world.
Soelle’s theology was an embodied theology, one deeply rooted in the world. Every morning she prayed with her Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. She always asked herself, “Where is God in the suffering of the world? And “What does love require of us in our times?” She, along with a few other like-minded friends, organized a weekly ecumenical service called “Political Evensongs.” These meetings were dedicated to prayer and lectures on contemporary social issues. Soelle believed God answered our prayers primarily by “inspiring action in our hearts and hands.“
Soelle criticized traditional Christianity’s idea of sin which confined sin mostly to personal morality. This limited view failed to recognize sin’s social dimension. She wrote, “Sin has to do not just with what we do, but what we allow to happen.” She had been appalled that Nazism arose in Germany, an essentially Christian country–mostly Lutheran and Roman Catholic. How could her fellow country men and women have gone to church every Sunday while simultaneously allowing their neighbors to be rounded up and shipped to extermination camps? (Remember, of course, that not all church leaders and ordinary citizens were silent. In Dachau alone, there were “clergy barracks” that held over 2,700 clergy. And countless non-Jewish neighbors also disappeared into the night for speaking out against Hitler and his policies and for haboring Jews. But some historians say such resistance was too little, too late.)
Solle wrote extensively about mysticism. She believed mysticism was not reserved for a few select people living in desert caves or monasteries. Rather, she “democratized mysticism” as a gift available to all. She defined mysticism not as a new vision of God, “but a different relationship to the world–one that has borrowed the eyes of God.” Soelle also believed that women have special insights to offer the primarily patriarchal theology and spirituality of her day. As the mother of four children, for example, she was well-acquainted with the pains of childbirth. She asked, what enables a woman to endure the labor pains of childbirth? And answered, it is her hope for the life of her child. So too, she believed our pain and suffering can be transmuted into giving birth to something new.
Some say we are known by the company we keep. Four examples of Soelle’s “company” include several Medieval female mystics such as Marguerite Porete (burned at the stake for heresy in 1310), Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer (hanged by the Nazis for treason in April 1945), Latin American Liberation Theologian Gustavo Gutierrez, and American “Creation Spirituality” theologian, Matthew Fox.
Susan Rakoczy, a South African professor of theology, called Dorothee Soelle “one of the most important spiritual-political figures of the 20th Century.” I’ll conclude this reflection with four more thoughts by this remarkable woman:
“God does not dominate. God accompanies.”
About excessive consumerism: “If my hands are fully occupied in holding on to something, I can neither give nor receive.”
“Joy, laughter, and delight are so powerful because, like all mysticism, they abolish conventional divisions.”
Some see “a miracle as an external intervention that suspends the laws of nature.” But Soelle says, “Mystical amazement, on the other hand, sees the original miracle in being itself, in creation, in a rose blooming.”
For reflection:
What is your initial reaction to this reflection? Positive? Negative? Somewhere in between? Can you explain why?
Does anything about Dorothee Soelle’s writings, resonate with your own beliefs? Does anything contradict what you believe? Does anything make you say, “Wow!” or “I never looked at it that way before.”
Do you ever pray with scripture placed alongside the news of the day? If so, what happens when you do? If you’ve never tried this, would you like to try this?
Does just being alive ever seem like a miracle to you? Have you ever experienced something in nature that you would readily call a miracle? If so, could you share that experience with us below?
Soelle often referred to St. Theresa of Avila’s prayer, “Christ has no hands on earth but yours.” Here is that prayer set to music and sung by John Michael Talbot, “St. Theresa’s Prayer.” I love this prayer/song so much, I use it for nearly all my retreats.
I invite you to share your thoughts below. Your fellow readers and I always enjoy reading the comments!
Join the “Revolution of Tenderness”
Sometimes I come across a phrase that stops me in my tracks. It’s a phrase I find startling, intriguing, seemingly contradictory, but definitely worth pondering. One such phrase came from Pope Francis when, in 2017, he made a surprise appearance at a TED conference and called for a “revolution of tenderness.” He cited Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate the type of tenderness he was talking about.
Pope Francis said our contemporary technological and consumerist culture leaves behind “thousands of human beings, or entire populations, on the side of the road.” He exclaimed, “How wonderful would it be, while we discover faraway planets, to rediscover the needs of the brothers and sisters orbiting around us.” He added, “And what is tenderness? It is the LOVE that COMES CLOSE and BECOMES REAL. It is a movement that starts from our HEART and reaches the EYES, the EARS, and the HANDS.” He added, “Tenderness is not weakness, it is fortitude.”
These words raised a couple of questions for me: How can I join this revolution of tenderness? What small, daily things can I do to follow the example of that Good Samaritan whose love was close and real? Here are a few suggestions focused on those four words heart, eyes, ears, hands.
Heart: We can nourish tenderness within ourselves by fighting against the natural tendency to shield ourselves from pain and sorrow, to run away from all “bad news,” or to harden our hearts to the suffering of others. Instead, we can intentionally and regularly expose ourselves to things, people, and experiences that tend to arouse our tenderness: holding an infant, playing with a child, caring for a garden, doing a small favor for someone, baking a special dessert, helping an elderly neighbor, playing with our cat or dog, watching a movie that might bring tears to our eyes, or listening to music that feeds our “softer side.”
Eyes: We can look into people’s eyes when we’re talking with them–people such as the check-out clerk, the receptionist, the security worker, the person who takes our order at the fast food place, the person cleaning the public restroom–or anyone else who is “orbiting around us.” Every day we can look for people around us doing a good, right, or generous thing. We can intentionally watch or read the news to expose ourselves to what is happening in the larger world–even the heart-wrenching stories we might prefer to avoid.
Ears. We can practice the art of really listening to the people we encounter in an ordinary day: our spouse and family members, our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends, our boss, the people we are “in charge of,” the people who may be “in charge” of us, the priest giving his homily, the clients we serve, the child who keeps asking questions, the person we find annoying or hard to listen to. As I’ve quoted before, listening is so much like loving, it is hard to tell the difference.
Hands. We can take an inventory of what we do with our hands on a typical day. Do we “lend a hand” to someone? Do we open a door for someone or hold a door open for the person behind us? Do we offer to carry something for someone who is struggling? Do we wave to a neighbor? Do we type an email to a congress member about an issue we feel passionate about? Do we cook supper, care for a child, wipe away the tears of someone who mourns, hold the hand of someone who is afraid, crochet baby blankets or prayer shawls for people we’ll never meet, serve a meal at a welcome center, coach a kids soccer team, fold our hands in prayer everyday for our brothers and sisters in need?
One psychologist said that the true hallmark of human maturity is tenderness. Would that more of us all over the world would join in this revolution of tenderness, a revolution of small daily acts of love that “come close and become real.”
For reflection:
What are some of the things, people, or experiences that help to arouse tenderness within you?
Do you remember being the recipient of the tenderness of another person–a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, priest, friend, stranger? What effect did their tenderness have on you?
Who helped teach you to be tender? How did they help you?
Some people say tenderness is a “feminine virtue.” To what extent do you agree or disagree–and why?
What are some of the stories in the gospel that show the tenderness of Jesus?
PS: Once again I ask your prayers for a retreat I will be leading at the Shrine of Our Lady of Snows in Belleville, IL from July 13-19. I will let the participants know that you are praying for their retreat. Thank you very much!
Our song for today is a “classic revival hymn” called “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling.” It was written by Will Thompson in 1880. Thompson was a composer who studied at Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio as well as in Boston and Germany. This song is one of the most widely translated and sung songs in the Christian tradition. It was sung at Martin Luther King’s funeral and was recorded by many popular artists such as Johnny Cash, Reba McEntire, Amy Grant, Alan Jackson, and Kelly Clarkston. Thompson said he based the song on the parable of the Prodigal Son. Jesus, like the father in the parable, is watching and waiting for his wayward son to return. The father tenderly pleads, “Ye who are weary come home.” Here the song is sung by the Altar of Praise Chorale. Lois, to whom the video is dedicated, is the ill mother of a reader of the blog by the video producer, SE Samonte.
I invite you to share some of your thoughts with us below. I LOVE hearing from you!
