Sr Kym Harris – Page 11 – Benedictine Monastery

July 22, 2020

Mosaic of Life

Some time ago, I did a mosaic workshop – my first. I went with a few possible designs, picked one, hoping perhaps to come home with a trivet. Our tutor was excellent but I still didn’t expect it to be easy. It wasn’t but while it wasn’t killingly hard, it was a challenge. As I went on, I realised that doing mosaics is a pretty good metaphor for much of life.

We start with a good design but as we choose and cut the tiles to fit, we find ourselves hedged by the limitations of the materials. Tiles are shifted around as we try to capture the sense of the picture and maintain a sense of flow. While fingers can be caught in the cutters or cut on the sharp edges of the tiles, the most deflating part is that in looking too closely at the work one loses the idea of picture as a whole. This makes one too critical which then deflates enthusiasm, leading to a sense of defeat and the temptation to give up. The trick to mosaics is, while giving care to the detail, to let the sense of the whole picture determine the work.

As we live our lives, we can become so swamped by its daily demands and duties that we can feel that we have lost the plot. When things get tough, this is the time when we most need to step back and try to see things in the big picture, and the biggest and best picture is the way God looks at our life, that is with love. In the light of that love, we can start to see the design that is being drawn in our lives and we will discover that mess and muddle is often the place of God’s best, creative design.

Loving God, give me a glimpse now and then of the big picture you are drawing in my life and let it give me the confidence to lovingly face my daily challenges. I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020July 22, 2020

Give yourself a break.

Among the most attractive words of Jesus are the following: ‘Come to me all you who are heavily burdened and I will give you rest.’ Few reading this would not feel over-burdened. It seems to be the nature of our society: run, run, run…achieve, achieve, achieve. How we want a break, a rest from it! So how do we get it? Jesus goes on, ‘Shoulder my yoke and learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart.’ ‘Shoulder my yoke…’ he says – not the myriad of things that burden us. When I stop and think of it, I wonder how many of our burdens are of our own making, or rather come from taking on the expectations of others. How many things do we do because we are fearful that other people might think less of us! The only thing worse than other people’s expectations on us are our own. Some of us are very hard task masters.

But if I stop and ask, ‘What is the yoke Jesus wants me to bear?’ everything shifts. I don’t have to live up to anyone’s expectations, not even my own. I just have to accept the unique gift of myself that God is giving me and fulfil the destiny involved in that. So what does this usually entail for us? The very roles we already have: being a parent, a friend, a son, a daughter, a workmate. Of course there will be challenges in loving and serving. (This call has come, after all, from the same Jesus who calls us to carry our cross.) But these will be challenges that bring life, not a sense of being over-burdened.

Loving Father, let me be the unique person you have called me to be. Let me live, love and serve in the special way you want from me. Let Jesus be with me as I take up this yoke and may his kind and gentle heart transform my own. I ask this in his name confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020

Party Time

One of Jesus’ favourite images for the Kingdom of Heaven is of a party. Admittedly he uses the terms ‘banquet’ or ‘wedding feast’ but then these are just fancy words for ‘great party.’ When we look at how Jesus uses the image of a party, we realise that to be a follower of his we need to develop party skills.

Firstly, we need to be able to join in. That is, leave our work and our role behind and be free enough to be with people just as we are.

Secondly, we need to be able to celebrate, to be joyful. Nobody wants to party with someone who brings all their emotional baggage along. At these times, we need to be generous enough to leave our sorrows and preoccupations behind and share joy with others.

Thirdly, we need to look out for others. We need to notice and encourage the shy ones, pass round the food and drink, let the weary get a space to rest.

Fourthly, we don’t have to be the centre of attention. It is not ‘all about me’ but rather ‘about us’.

These skills can be used not only at parties but often when we are with our family, friends or community. As we hone these skills, we will discover that the Kingdom of Heaven truly is in our midst and that we are revealing the face of God to others.

Loving God, you sent your Son Jesus into our world that we may learn how to join in your life of joy and love. Send us your Spirit that we know how to share your joy and love with others. We ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020

Many Voices, One Spirit

How are we going to hold them altogether? We often wonder this in our families, our schools and our communities but we may not use those words. The closer we get to one another, the more we love another, the more we come to realise how different each person is. Even in the closest of families, used to doing most things together, the sensitive loving person will be amazed by the variety of personalities. How much more in our schools and communities, where people come from such different backgrounds!

Imposing conformity can seem like the easy way to unity but we all know that gives a false sense of security and eventually leads to failure. For myself, in a group struggling for unity, I try to remind myself that God has made each person uniquely, that each has their own journey and loves each as passionately as he loves me. That gives me a little bit of emotional space in which I can let them be themselves, while at the same time respecting my own self. Just because I ‘listen’ to a person, doesn’t mean I have to go along with them. True love is when we can disagree, and still respect and love another.

It is difficult, and truly the only way to true community lies not in ourselves but in the Holy Spirit who unites us. God delights in difference and somehow can blend it together to make every sunrise unique, every flower, every snowflake. How much more with each of us! As we celebrate Catholic Education Week, it will be enlightening to take some time and reflect on the people in my family or classroom and ask myself what is the unique voice of each person and how the Spirit of God is speaking to me through that person.

Loving God, you delight in the differences you have created in us. Give us the openness of mind and heart to respect and listen not only to our own voice but also to that of the people around us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020

Love Changes Everything

What do we tell out children about the awful things that happen in this world? The reports about Sri Lanka flood our scenes with the people in that country fearful of a descent back into civil war. We don’t want them to learn from that. But when we look beyond the traumatic event, we can hear of other stories – people who chose to go back into the bombed places to aid others, the people of every religion that gave blood to help the victims. They are the people who chose to respond with love in the face of hatred. We have to take extra effort to find those stories but they are there.

Those who respond with love in the face of hatred are the people of the Resurrection. No matter how much pain and rejection Jesus had thrown at him, he responded with love. So how do we teach this to our children? By responding with love and goodness when we are neglected, used, and even abused. No, Jesus did not lie down and take it. He came back transformed. Children can so easily press out negative buttons and it often takes real grace and the wisdom of God to respond positively.

How we celebrate Anzac Day is another example of how Love can change everything. On the surface, the day could be seen as a celebration of war but listen to where the majority of people choose to look. Not at the ‘glory’ of war but at the courage, sacrifice and care that was shown by so many of those who served. We look to these that we might be inspired to do the same in our own lives.

Loving Father, let me know how to show my children how to be positive and creative in negative situations. May they learn how to draw on the loving strength of Jesus to respond to all with love. I ask this in his name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020

Fathers’ Passion

Mark Webber, a former Formula One driver, stated that he wouldn’t become a father while he pursued his passion for racing as that would have been too unfair to his children. My father, a petrolhead and excellent rally driver, would have understood that. But he chose the kids. As he watched the cars roar round the track, he would moan ‘I could have been an F1 champion’. And we believed him (of course we did, we were his kids.) And Mum would put him down with: “or dead,” (of course she did, she was his wife). Great as Dad’s passion was, we knew we were more important. I know many men who have given up pursuing passions because it wouldn’t be good for their families. That is part of the sacrifice and discipline of being a father.

Dad had other passions to share: his love of the surf he passed on to every one of us; his love of the bush, his work ethic. Finding another passion that can be shared with your children is part of the sacrifice and discipline of being a father.

Passion, discipline, sacrifice – they sound like great words and they are – they are three of the important qualities of being a father. But when they are lived out they can look very ordinary, like Dad’s moan that he ‘could have been the champion’. Fathers’ love, like God’s love, usually works very quietly, hidden under the routines of daily life. This Father’s Day let us take time to recognise and celebrate not just our fathers but all the men who show their passion in simple, ordinary ways.

God our Father, send us your Spirit that we may recognise the people through whom you show your love. Give our fathers passion, discipline and a spirit of sacrifice that they can truly mirror your love to us. We ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020

How to say ‘Thank You’

I read up a book drawn by its quirky title: Adulting: How to become an adult in 468 easy(ish) ways.* Even though I am out of the age range of the intended audience by about three decades, I thought I might learn some things. I did, like ‘How to write a Thank you note’. The formula went as follows:

1. Focus on the other person, i.e. begin ‘You…’

2. List great aspects of the present/action/gift for which you are thanking them.

3. End with the ‘Thank you…’

Notice how the ‘Thank you’ came at the end of the note, not the beginning. We need to actually revel in the good qualities of something before we can express thanks. Thanking too soon can cut short our chance to really appreciate what we have received but taking the time to linger in the enjoyment adds to our pleasure and the good feeling of the person receiving our note.

The same can apply to God. We all know that we ‘should’ be grateful but perhaps we have that sense of ‘should’ because we haven’t given ourselves the time to linger in enjoyment of the good things we have received. One of the integral parts of the Christian practice of Sunday was to take time to rest and enjoy. This is part of worship. No matter how energetic or committed we are, we need time to relax and take pleasure in just being. And when we have done this, we find that the words, ‘Thank you, God’ just finish off nicely that time of joy.

Loving God, slow me down some time so that I have some time to slow down and enjoy the good things that have come my way. Let me fill up on the pleasure of these people and things so that ‘Thank you” rises freely from my spirit.

*By Kelly Williams Brown. Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020

Love Letters

Recently, Frances Whiting in an article suggested that we take up writing love letters and she shared one that she had written. No, it wasn’t to her husband, children, Mum or even her younger self. It was to librarians. In it she thanks them for all the amazing things they had done in her life and in the lives of others. It was such a gracious generous letter.

It led me to pondering, who would I write to? Very quickly, the Road Team of Livingstone Shire came to mind. We had an intersection that I dreaded crossing. Every time we used it going to the pool we felt like we were risking our lives. Then the council put in lights. They have been in for nearly two years now and I still find myself saying a prayer for the crew that put them in. I told this to the Town Engineer (he is in our parish) and he seemed quite chuffed that their work had been consciously appreciated.

Noticing the good that others do, appreciating it and thanking them for it, even in an anonymous way makes a difference. It changes us and how we deal with people, how we deal with life. We become more gracious. When we see this good, it helps us do and be good. We enter into the circle of care that makes our world a welcoming place to live it. Even though we may not consciously think of God, we are acknowledging and welcoming the grace that is the basis of a happy life.

So who would you write to?

Loving God, help we to recognise the many people who create the goodness that surrounds my life. Give me a sense of gratitude for what they have done and when I have the opportunity let me express my thanks. I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me….and thank you for all the good you are doing in my life.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020

Give and it will be given to you.

‘What goes around, comes around, though not necessarily back from the same people.’ So said my brother and his wife after they had been through a particularly challenging period. They had gone bankrupt and were on the road with their family, taking work where it was available. At that time, they met with great kindness from the poor in the caravan parks of the east coast of Australia. Oh yes, there were challenging people there but they are not the ones they focused on. My brother and his wife also gave, and continue to do so for they know that giving generously and freely without thinking of return is what makes us into a community; it is also what makes us fully human.

Next Sunday’s Gospel is the particularly challenging text when Jesus tells us to love and to give without any thought of return. We are to be like God giving without any expectation of getting back what we have given. That is hard for us. We want to make sure ‘number 1’ is protected and not cheated. But to come to real happiness and peace, we need that revolution of the heart and soul that gives out instead of taking for oneself.

The amazing thing about living that way, is that we become alive to all the myriad ways in which we are already receiving from God and others. What we thought we were giving away, it only a generous gift that has already come our way. Instead of being solitary beings protecting ourselves and our things are all cost, we find we are part of the generous community of life.

Loving God, let me appreciate all that I have received from you and from others and then let me give generously with a light and happy heart. I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

July 22, 2020

A time to give…a time to receive.

In Japan, the custom when receiving another person’s business card is to take it in both hands and bow to the person giving. It is almost a religious act. There is a lesson here for us in how to receive the gifts we shall receive in the coming weeks. We put plenty of thought, energy, expense and even time in getting and sending our gifts. How much effort do we put into receiving them? Gifts are symbols of our relationship. Gifts received graciously are gifts given more than twice over. And sometimes it takes some effort and ingenuity to receive well. It is possible the gift we receive is not something we want. It is possible that we have doubts about the person’s motive. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have the opportunity to make something rich and precious out of the situation. This takes thoughtfulness, sensitivity and a buoyancy of spirit on our part.

And so it is with God. God is giving to us all the time. If we feel God is remote from our lives, perhaps it is because we haven’t been truly receiving the gifts we are being given. Oh, we get them alright but we have to receive them into our lives into our hearts. If we just turn to God when we are in ‘need’, our relationship with God will be pretty unsatisfactory, as are all relationships just based on need. Actively receiving and being grateful for what we receive both from God and from family and friends can enrich and deepen our relationships and our lives. May this Christmas be glorious for you in giving and receiving and may the presents you give and receive be signs of deep and bonding love.

Loving God, may we find joy giving and receiving gifts this Christmas. As we celebrate the gift of your Son, Jesus, may we become present to each other as we give and receive. We ask this in his name confident that you will hear us.

Sr Kym Harris osb