By Lori Carmody
Over the years
I have been fortunate to be invited into people’s lives to create rituals at
important moments:
- Graduations
- Children turning various ages (5, 13, 16, 18, 21)
- Birthdays (40, 50, 75)
- With grieving parents who have experienced a miscarried
- Ritualizing two families coming together at a second marriage
I have found it
to be a sacred honor to share moments such as these with people who wish to
bring prayer and the presence of God into the changes that are occurring for
them. Inviting God into their circle of
family and friends binds hearts and hands together in openness and grace.
Since
graduation season is upon us, I share with you parts of the ritual that I have
used with families who wish to acknowledge and honor an achievement of a friend
or family member. May all who are
looking forward to a new beginning turn to God with a grateful heart in
remembrance for blessings received and look to both the good Lord and to their
community for support and advice as they spread their wings and take flight.
Along with the
advice received from those close by, I add the following as sound words of
wisdom not just for the newly graduating but for all of us who continue to
create a space for the sacred to take root and grow us into the people we are
destined to become.
- Dear Lord, today I thought of the words of Vincent van Gogh, “It is true that there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea. “You are the sea. Although I may experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shifts in my inner life, you remain the same …..There are days of sadness and days of joy; there are feelings of guilt and feelings of gratitude; there are moments of failure and moments of success; but all of them are embraced by your unwavering love. My only real temptation is to doubt your love …..to remove myself from the healing radiance of your love. To do these things is to move into the darkness of despair. O Lord, sea of love and goodness, let me not fear too much the storms and winds of my daily life, and let me know that there is ebb and flow…..but that the sea remains the sea. Amen. ~ Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Sea Remains The Sea
- Love God, love yourself, love others, and be humbled by the privilege. ~ Author unknown
- God puts mentors in your path. They may not look like you, or be what you expect. But they always know more than you, and that’s the whole point. Use them. Keep your eyes open. Mentors transmit the lessons you need to learn. ~ Father Phil Wallace
- Be in the PRESENT when you want to be happier and more successful. Focus on what is right now. Respond to what is important now. Learn from the PAST when you want to make the present better than the past. Look at what happened in the past. Learn something valuable from it. Do things differently in the present. Plan for the FUTURE when you want to make the future better than the present. See what a wonderful future would look like. Make plans to help it happen. Put your plan into action in the present. ~ Spencer Johnson, MD
- “Do not hide your faith and your belief under a bushel basket, especially in this world that seems to have gone mad with political correctness. These small lessons become the unplanned syllabus for becoming a good citizen and your efforts to live them will help to form the fabric of a civil society and free and prosperous nation where inherent equality and liberty are invaluable.” ~ Justice Clarence Thomas
- People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou
- The first duty of love is to listen. ~ Paul Tillich
- The greatest man is he who does not lose his child’s heart. ~ Mencius
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