Was I deceived? or did a sable cloud

Turn forth her silver lining on the night?

I did not err, there does a sable cloud,

Turn out her silver lining on the night

And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.

- John Milton, 1634

We can all recite the litany of woes and ills visited upon us in this remarkable year of 2020. We recite it so often now, usually in disbelief, as in, How can so much bad happen in such a short period of time?

COVID-19 and a global pandemic. Shut down and lock down. Economic collapse. The death of George Floyd and the ensuing days and nights of rage and anger and heartbreak. A November election shaping up to be ugly and divisive and tribal and unprecedented.

And the year is only 190 days old or so! 2020 is barely half over. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? Heres a first-class ticket on the Titanic! Or as the perpetually downhearted and pessimistic donkey Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh might conclude, Were doomed.

Or maybe not.

Maybe we might be able to actually glean some silver linings from that which has been a train wreck of a year so far. Maybe we might actually find some good among all the bad, some hope among all the pessimism, and some courage among all the fear.

I want to do that. I need to do this: to find hope.

To see hopeful places and movements and ideas and people amidst all the wreckage. I have to do this, to be an explorer for the positive in the midst of all the negative. My faith compels me: my belief in the basic goodness of human beings and my belief in a God who is constantly pushing Creation towards redemption and renewal and rebirth. Im not denying whats broken. Not imagining it never happened. No. But always, to look for the light where it is tempting to only see the shadows.

I can do that. We can do that.

And so, I am grateful that the pandemic has reminded me of one great truth: how much we humans really need one another: for care and mutual support and love and laughter. Since mid-March when I first shut the front door and stayed in, Ive actually connected more deeply and more consistently with those I love.

There was the surprise 85th Zoom birthday party for my Mom last month. Thirty-five folks from across the country showed up to wish her the happiest of birthdays. Who could have imagined that party last January? Or my weekly Zoom connections: with my choir friends on Wednesday evenings every single week, as we laugh and joke and check in. How are you? Or my weekly Zoom meeting with grad school friends, friends Ive loved for more than 30 years. We never gathered so frequently pre-COVID.

COVID has actually connected me more to others, not less. I hear the same from other folks about socially distanced beer and wine gatherings in a neighborhood driveway. Precious time with children now that youth sports are on hold. We actually eat dinner together every night now, they tell me. In the church I serve we actually have seen an increase in folks coming to worship and classes and fellowship who knew the virtual might sometimes trump the face to face?

Silver lining: staying connected, one to another.

And I am hopeful, that the rising up of millions of my fellow citizens in anger and frustration at the sin of racism, filling the streets, pushing for real change, seizing this singular moment to imagine and hope; that maybe this time America will have the courage to face itself in honesty. To begin to redress that most original of civic sins: dismissing the other because they are different than you.

Who could have imagined Black Lives Matter signs appearing on suburban lawns and church yards, or folks of all ages and religions and classes and races, so many people, taking a stand, taking a knee? Statues representing an oppressive and violent history toppling over? Corporations committing to more diversity of voices and employees. Mississippi finally taking the Confederate flag off its state flag?

I know this movement is still in its infancy, that it will be mighty hard to actually move beyond symbolic acts and protests to actually achieve real and lasting societal change a just society but hope for this I must. We must. It will take long and hard work to begin to undo 400 years of injustice but what if we have finally begun this journey as a country?

Silver lining: waking up to the truth of who America is while also dreaming of who she might become someday, one great day.

Give me hope. Show me a silver lining in the midst of the storm clouds. Enough with the bad. Look for the good. Its out there. We just need to look for it with eyes of faith.

Onward.

The Rev. John F. Hudson is senior pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn (pilgrimsherborn.org). If you have a word or idea youd like defined in a future column or have comments, please send them to pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org or in care of The Press (Dover-Sherborn@wickedlocal.com).

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Spiritually Speaking: Silver linings from a dark cloud of a year - Wicked Local Framingham

The Northern Province is embellished with Hindu kovils. In the vast land of palmyrah trees, devotion to Hindu deities has dominated the lifestyle of the Tamil community for centuries. The most iconic landmark of Jaffna is the Nallur Kovil. It is perhaps the most visited kovil in the entire province. The month of August is synonymous with the famous festival that takes place in this kovil, often lasting for nearly two weeks. This year after the impact of Covid-19 on places of religious worship, the grandeur of this vibrant Hindu festival will be restricted as devotees cannot gather in their thousands. Yet, remembering the history and tradition of this magnificent kovil is a worthy narrative.

Five kovils

Ancient Ceylon once boasted of pancha ishwaram five kovils dedicated to Shiva along the coastal regions. Naguleswaram in the North, Ketheeswaram in the North West, Koneswaram towards the East, Munneswaram located on the West and Thondeswaram situated in the South. This bears testimony to the Hindu communities that once thrived here, before the invading Portuguese went on a rampage and destroyed these kovils.

The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is bestowed with sacred art and is an enduring icon of Tamil culture. For decades, this kovil has been a sanctum where devotees gathered in their thousands. Inside we see the depiction of Murugan, the god of war. Murugan is venerated as he makes manifestation in the form of the vel (chariot).

According to history, a kovil was built by Puvaneka Vaahu, a Chief Minister of Kalinga Magha. This is substantiated by the records of the Yalpana Vaipava Malai, a chronicle written in 1736 by the poet Mailvagana Pullavar. The ruler of Jaffna, Kalinga Magha supported the building of the kovil. The capital of Jaffna moved from Karanthodai, (Vallipuram) to Nallur and Pooneryn over the centuries. Years later, King Kanagasuriyan regained this area and administered the kovil. The prospering domain of Nallur was once the capital of Jaffnas rulers when the rajadhani was built with four gates, with a temple at each gate, to invoke divine blessings upon ancient Ceylon and all her citizens. The four kovils were Veyilukantha Pillayar Kovil in the East, Veeramakali Amman Kovil in the West, Kailaya Vinayagar Kovil in the South and Sattanathar Kovil facing the North.

A display of faith

The Hindu adherents of the Northern Province remained faithful and in 1734, work began with eagerness to restore the Nallur Kovil, which was being built for the fourth time, during the reign of the Dutch. The daunting task was accepted by Ragunatha Mudaliyar who worked at the kachcheri. The present land was commonly known as Kurukkal Valavu (Garden of the Priests). It is said that Krishna Aiyar became the first incumbent priest. The seventh custodian of the temple, Arumuga Mapaana Mudaliyar worked tirelessly to upgrade the kovil. He built the first bell tower in 1899. The fortified wall which demarcates the large kovil was built by him in 1909. Kumaradas Mudaliyar, the tenth custodian, is credited with restoring this kovil to its present position as the largest Hindu kovil in Sri Lanka.

I am a Christian but have visited Nallur Kovil on many occasions to understand the rich culture and tradition that it holds. The tranquil aura around the kovil is beautiful. I walked inside this amazing edifice, and saw four gopurams and six bell towers. By tradition, all males must remove their shirts before entering the Kovil.

The variegated designs on the ceiling are brilliant and Dravidian forms of architecture originating from South India are very much evident. Ancient temples were built with sandstone and granite. The Vastu Shastra describes in much detail about building temples with emphasis on spatial geometry. Every kovil has a garbhagriha (Sanskrit for womb) the innermost sanctum where the statue of the primary deity is venerated. The southern side has a pond and garden (poonthotam).

The temple has shrines for Lord Ganesh, Vairavar and Sooriyan. Kandaswamy Kovil incorporates the iconography of Hindu cosmology. The Vedas depict time in four epochs (yugam).The old Tamil word koyil (residence of god) is today used as kovil. Hindu temples have their boundary wall painted in red and white. There is a reason for this style of painting. It was explained to me by Professor Dharmaratnam. The white stripes indicate sattva guna (goodness and harmony) and red stripes indicate raja guna (passion and confusion). It is painted in this manner to remind the devotee that one must overcome life to be enlightened. As the Bhagavad Gita teaches us, Hell has three gates: lust, anger and greed.

Delightful festival

The Maha Raja Gopuram rises on the northern skyline. It is a commanding nine-storey tower adorned with many intricate statues. A gopuram is a monumental tower at the entrance to a kovil and is topped with a kalasam, a stone finial. The temple tower reaches to the sky seeking divine union. Sri Lankans of all religions know the splendour affiliated with the festival of the Nallur Kovil in August, when multitudes of devotees gather. I had to gently push past people to get a closer look. Some were immersed in forms of penance, enduring physical pain. This is a reflection of their personal belief.

The fragrance of jasmine flowers and burning incense permeated the air. The ceremony begins with the ancient ritual of kodiyetram (hoisting of the flag). The orange hue of the flag symbolizes the sun, which dispels darkness and the saffron shading depicts fire, which is an unblemished purifier. It was nice to see policemen and soldiers engaged in worship. The colourful festival laden with much pomp and tradition dominates the Northern peninsula for almost 25 days.

I saw a mlange of poojas pooja in Sanskrit means reverence and adoration. Commencing annually at 6.15 am, the flamboyant Ther thiruvila festival of the chariot is the highlight. Devotees venerate the simmasanam (silver throne) where the deity Shanmuhar and his consorts are placed. The silver throne was handcrafted in 1900 by the seventh custodian. A group of pious men are attired in saffron clothes, a colour that symbolizes renunciation. Joyous chants of aro-hara resonated around the kovil premises. According to Sathiyasuthan the phrase aro-hara originates from the words. A devotee explained that the phrase appeals to god to remove all evil.

The pulsating drum beats at the festival were almost deafening. The silver throne is reverently carried on the shoulders of hundreds of worshippers, amidst an oblation of flowers. The heavy ropes of the chariot were pulled with zeal. I felt lost within this ocean of devotees. The commitment of the devotees was awesome. This kovil draws all Sri Lankans together. It is a sanctum that generates reconciliation and acts as a cultural gateway for those who desire to understand Tamil culture. The Nallur Kovil festival will continue for decades to come, shining her spiritual beacon upon our nation.

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Nallur Kovil: Spiritual beacon of the North - Ceylon Daily News

Artists have a unique connection to spirituality though they are wary about talking about it, according to Dr Jackie Bailey.

Australians dont like the s word. We blush the second someone mentions spirit outside the context of a team, or soul other than as a descriptor of a particular genre of music. But if artists are to survive the current crisis, we need to swallow our secular pride and start talking about spiritual wellbeing.

Spiritual wellbeing is all about the stuff we, as artists, engage with every day. The term refers to a sense of meaning, purpose, connection and transcendence. As artists, so much of what we do is about connecting at a deep, spiritual level. We are knee deep in the business of making meaning.

If we are working at the level of souls (the other s word! No apologies!), then we must be mindful of our own spiritual wellbeing. To be spiritually well we need both the skills and the environment to nourish our sense of meaning and connection.

The skills of spiritual wellbeing

Good news! Three of the four skills of spiritual wellbeing are ones which artists have in spades: mindfulness, courage and reflection.

As we know, practicing mindfulness is about bringing ourselves to attend to the present moment. This allows artists to silence the inner critic and get to work. Mindfulness is also foundational to spiritual wellbeing because it re-connects us, however fleetingly, with the wonder of being alive.

Acknowledging the miracle of existence can just as easily lead to existential despair and despondency as it can to hope. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Weinberg wrote in his book The First Three Minutes that, It is hard to realise that this [Earth] is just a tiny part of an overwhelmingly hostile universe [] The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless. This is why courage is the second skill of spiritual wellbeing.

Deciding to live as though life is meaningful is not a given, but something which has to be constantly and wilfully re-chosen. Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist and survivor of Auschwitz, built the branch of psychology known as logotherapy on his observations that the ability to live as though life is meaningful was the key differentiator, all other things being equal, between those who made it out of Auschwitz, and those who did not.

Courage is not an innate quality, but like mindfulness is something which can be cultivated. As artists, we are deft at practicing courage. Every time we tear up dozens of seemingly acceptable pages or sand down the canvas and start again, we are exercising the courage muscle.

Reflection, the third skill of spiritual wellbeing, is also one which artists excel at, integral as it is to a fertile artistic practice. We are adept at constantly interrogating our work hence the tearing up of pages and the sanding down of canvases. We pause and check in with ourselves and the work: is this piece telling the truth it needs to tell?

The fourth skill of spiritual wellbeing is one which we are good at facilitating for others, but not always fantastic at doing for ourselves: connecting. Our work is all about connecting ideas, people, thoughts, feelings, worlds. But sometimes in the process of doing our work, we disconnect from others and even the world around us.

We need to cultivate connection with people in our inner circle, as well as those we encounter in the business of daily life, and with the natural environment.

Practicing the skill of connection might involve a weekly phone call with a friend, going for a walk in nature, and chatting with the shop assistant at the local store.

Using the language of spiritual wellbeing

Even if you have mad skills in reflection, courage, connection and mindfulness, it can be difficult to maintain your spiritual wellbeing in a society which does not have a language to talk about spiritual wellbeing, and we are part of the problem.

We talk about widespread burnout in the arts. This is a productivity term which conceals the underlying, creeping dread that our society, our fellow humans, think that what we do is meaningless.

We talk about being exhausted from working on the smell of an oily rag, but what we dont mention is the loneliness, the isolation, the feeling that we have been cut off from the tribe we so lovingly and longingly helped to build.

We talk about the arts being under-valued, but what we dont say is how much it hurts to be told, over and over, that we do not matter.

We use these terms to be part of a political discourse which has become dominated by economic language over the last thirty-odd years. We compromise our value when we argue for it solely in the language of economics. We need to talk about the spiritual significance of what we do, as well as the spiritual toll that being consistently under-valued takes on our ability to do it.

This article is based on Jackies work-in-progress manuscript,Spirituality for Non-Religious People.

The Wellness and Recovery Resource is supported by the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas.

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It's time to talk about spiritual wellbeing - ArtsHub

ST. JOHN'S, N.L.

There are no prayers recitals, no reading of sacred scriptures, no religious customs to follow and no formalized worship practices inside a church.

For those who participate in Out in Faith NL, their faith is in each other and their celebrations, held in public spaces, are as spiritually uplifting as any other large religious denominational assembly.

Out in Faith NLs multi-faith services are designed to facilitate more faith-based groups getting involved in Pride. With members of other faith-based groups, the group promotes inclusion and fosters a welcoming and comfortable space for those of different faiths and sexual orientations.

We want people to feel like this is a place where they can come and tell their story and all stories are welcome, said Liz Ohle, a member of the groups planning committee.

A member of the Quaker Worship Group, Ohle played a key role in forming the group in 2015 after noticing no other spiritual groups besides theirs participated in the Pride parade.

She contacted people of many faiths and got a positive response.

It was so well received, they were over capacity at their first location, the chapel at Memorial University, with 75 people showing up in early 2016. With interest growing, the services moved to The Gathering Place and eventually to the large gathering room at The Lantern.

The service features speakers discussing issues of faith and the LGBTQAI2S+ community. There are also songs from the Spectrum Queer Choir.

We do the best we can to look at all the different aspects of spirituality, of faith and what brings meanings to our lives, Ohle said. As humans, we seek meaning in our lives. That to me is spiritual.

Father Paul Lundrigan, a Roman Catholic priest, has been involved with the Out in Faith NL group for four years. He said its all about loving one another, no matter what your personal beliefs may be about sexuality.

While we may not share the faith, we may not share the understanding of sexuality and gender identity, we do share a common love for people, said Lundrigan, who added he is blessed to have gotten to know the committee and people in the group.

We support people who are trying to be the best people they can be, people who are seeking goodness and love and understanding and coming together to help other humans and all of creation.

In that sense, I thought it was essential that weve come to this point. I want to be a part of this wonderful way of showing pastoral care, ministry and love to all people, especially people of the LGBTQAI2S+ community.

The fifth annual Out in Faith service is scheduled to be held Thursday during Pride Week. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration will be online, starting at 7 p.m. The link for the celebration will be available on the Out in Faith NL Facebook page and can be seen on YouTube.

This year, participants are asked to show the group something that represents their spirituality, from photos and artwork to poems and songs.

rosie.mullaley@thetelegram.com

@TelyRosie

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Out in Faith NL welcomes people of all faiths and sexual orientation - The Telegram

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ -The Mount Carmel Society Feast will look a little different this year, but the procession will go on at 8 a.m. this Thursday, July 16 starting at Mount Carmel Society located at 56 River Road in Berkeley Heights.

The Mount Carmel Society will continue the traditional feast and procession this year, with some adjustments to traditions in line with safety requirements put in place by Governor Murphy due to COVID-19. The annual, traditional Procession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (the Parade) will begin at 8 a.m. at Mt. Carmel Society (56 River Road, Berkeley Heights) outside in the front of the building, traveling its usual route through town. Please note the change in the starting location due to the construction at Little Flower Church.

"The traditional morning bombs (which are in fact just fireworks) will still happen at the start of the parade to honor our blessed mother, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel," said Mount Carmel Society President Joe Franchino. After those traditional initial fireworks (bombs), as is tradition, they will continue throughout the parade route as the Mt. Carmel Society recognizes and salutes current and past members, those no longer with us, as well as in recognition of those impacted by the coronavirus.

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After the procession, at 11a.m., a mass will be held outside at the Mount Carmel Society, in the back of the building.There will be chairs available for those in need. It will be a shortened ceremony as it will be outside and most people will be standing. Parking will be available in the front and in the rear of Mount Carmel Society.

Later that evening, the Mount Carmel society will host an evening celebration from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. featuring live music with the fan-favorite local band Missing Pieces, and a BBQ for members and guests.Local businesses and town residents are invited as long as the total attendance remains within allowable attendance limits. All attendees are asked to maintain safe social distancing (6 feet apart) or to wear masks where that is not possible along the procession route and at the evening festivities.

"Unfortunately, the famous and traditional nighttime fireworks show will be postponed this year," said Franchino. "The Mount Carmel Society hopes that the famous Feast and all the traditional fireworks displays will be scheduled safely at a future date. The Mount Carmel Society will let everyone know if and when that is possible. Thank you for your support!"

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Mount Carmel Society Feast Procession and Family Barbecue Goes On With COVID-19 Adjustments - TAPinto.net

Most of us are familiar with the concept that we were created in the image of God, but what exactly does that mean? Do we physically resemble the Divine? Does God have fingers, toes, and a belly button? Probably not.

In his book, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Trappist Monk Thomas Merton famously wrote,

In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world. . . .

This sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and such a joy to me that I almost laughed out loud. . . . I have the immense joy of being man, a member of a race in which God Himself became incarnate. As if the sorrows and stupidities of the human condition could overwhelm me, now that I realize what we all are. And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.

Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in Gods eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed. . . . But this cannot be seen, only believed and understood by a peculiar gift.

Is it possible that Thomas Merton had some rare insight into what it might look like-with eyes of the Spirit-to be an image bearer of God? Is it possible that every single one of us is radiating with the presence and glory of God at all times? I think he was onto something.

I believe that what Merton had eyes to see-at least in that moment-was humanitys true self. Just imagine how our lives would change if we could see ourselves the way that God sees us-beautiful, free, significant, whole, and healed. What would that do for our insecurities? How would that change the way we interact with others?

We carry our personal pain and trauma deep within and it manifests in a hundred different ways. Personally, I am often impatient, demanding, jealous, and resentful when living out of my pain. Obviously, this negatively impacts each of my relationships and creates stress and insecurity where there should be peace and freedom.

In this second half of life, I am finding that the more I intentionally center my thoughts and self around who I really am-an image bearer of God-the more freedom I experience from the imposter that I often pretend to be. Im grateful for those rare moments of clarity in which I see myself and those around me for who we really are-the beloved of God.

Im finding this meditation helpful in this season. Perhaps it will be of use to you as well.

I have the DNA of the Divine.Love is the fiber of my being.I have come from love, live in love, and will one day return to love.I radiate the love and presence of God.I am free from every weight of concern and hindrance to the purposes of love.I have eyes to see everyone I encounter today as a beloved child of God.I will celebrate the breathtaking image of the Divine in everyone I meet today.

May you have eyes to see the breathtaking beauty of you today.

Have you ever seen humanity as Thomas Merton described above?

Have you noticed any specific distractions that keep you from living out of your belovedness?

What practices have you found helpful in keeping you centered?

Id love to hear from you in the comments.

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The Breathtaking Image of God | Messy Spirituality-Finding God in Unexpected Places - Patheos

This is the book cover of Heartstorming: Creating a Place God Can Call Home by Robert J. Wicks. The book is reviewed by Kathleen Finley. (CNS)

By Kathleen Finley Catholic News Service Posted July 13, 2020

Heartstorming: Creating a Place God Can Call Home by Robert J. Wicks. Paulist Press (Mahwah, New Jersey, 2020). 158 pp., $21.95.

In these unsettling days, the prospect of talking with a gentle, listening friend about our relationship with God may sound appealing indeed. Thats what Robert Wicks, author, speaker and psychologist, provides here for the reader. His introduction sets the tone: Come Sit By Me: An Invitation to Prayerfully Experience Living with More Meaning, Inner Peace and Joy.

He describes his goal as to enhance the spiritual life so our approach to meeting God can become more powerfully incarnational, experiential and relevant. Heartstorming, as a process or attitude, is designed to help us move more deeply into the present with God in all of our life, in every encounter.

He suggests that to do this task well we need both clarity and kindness, which he goes on to embody throughout the book.

Although it was written well before the pandemic and its forced isolation, there is much in this book that can be helpful these days.

For example: Sadness, disappointments, rejections and other gray times in our day and life need to be brought to prayer and quiet reflection. In doing this, the themes can be taken to heart, pondered on a walk or shared in a discussion with an old friend. On another level, they will also prompt us when guiding others to encourage them to be more sensitive to the question of where sadness might be leading them in their lives as well.

Wicks suggests that our emotions, instead of getting in the way of prayer, may help us tune in more effectively to God. In seeking to appreciate the presence of God through an awareness of our emotions, none should be ignored. Both the positive and what we would term negative emotions are portals to experiencing both what God is trying to teach us and ways of intimacy that can only be touched through appreciating those feelings. Emotions serve as hints to look further to see how God may be sitting with us.

After a couple of general sections in the book, Wicks presents 45 examples of what he calls field notes, each a couple of pages of reflection on the ways he has noticed God at work in his life lately. An example is the inevitable feeling that we all have at times of loneliness, feeling a bit left out of the action.

He suggests: In each instance it is actually the beginning of a transforming experience. It awakens you to the sense of your own uniqueness in the eyes of God. Only God will ever really, completely get you. You remember at that moment of loneliness and separation that you are not really, totally alone or on your own. You feel at the core of your existence that your name is written in the palm of his hand.

You recall the messages from Johns Gospel: I wont leave you orphaned; I will come back for you. You are my friend. You are not really alone, he continues. Its a shame that periods of loneliness are often not unwrapped for what they can be: a chance to go spiritually deeper and to be a gentler, understanding presence to others when they are having a tough time in their own journey because of experience of feeling apart.

His final section invites the reader to make his or her own field notes and offers some ideas of how to begin. This book is especially helpful and geared toward those who are in a helping position, whether officially or just by who they are in their lives, although almost anyone could benefit from this warm, supportive conversation.

***

Finley is the author of several books on practical spirituality, including Savoring God: Praying With All Our Senses, Building a Christian Marriage: Eleven Essential Skills and The Liturgy of Motherhood: Moments of Grace, and previously taught in the religious studies department at Gonzaga University.

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Author's ideas on meeting God offer welcome antidote to isolation - CatholicPhilly.com