Whoa, I have barely had a moment to breathe for the last two-and-a-half weeks. I’m off to Dublin, there to spend a night at an aiport hotel, to meet up with my friend Dee who is renting a car and BRAVELY DRIVING us to Kylemore Abbey on Saturday, to settle in, and to give the first talk of our weeklong memoir retreat on Sunday evening.
Then we’ll both do a week-long silent retreat at Ards Friary, then we’ll go back to Dublin, again spend a night at the airport, Dee will fly home the next day and I will proceed on to Venice for another week. Then back to Dublin for two nights with my dear friend Muireann.
Venice is California-type weather and Ireland is cold and wet. And since I was determined to bring but a single suitcase, I had to be a super-duper packer.
I’m at the Tucson airport at the moment, two hours early as I feel my presence, waiting, hovering makes the incoming plane arrive on time.
I got through security unbelievably easily (I have Global Entry and thus automatic TSA-Pre, plus this is Tucson), and stopped after retrieving my bags to don my jewelry when I realized my prescription glasses were missing. That’s right. My freaking glasses. WHAT! I mentally re-traced my steps (I’d worn my prescription sunglasses in the cab), ran back to the security lane and inquired there, rifled through my purse a few times and realized I had perhaps left them in the taxi!
Luckily, Anthony of Yellow Cab had called me before arriving, so I had his number (plus I had the receipt so could have gotten in touch with him that way), and the good man–for indeed there were the glasses in the back seat where I must have put them on (then taken them off? why?) to pay–drove back to the airport with them. Good Samaritan #1! (of course I tipped him). Thank you!
The whole prep has kind of been like that: unpleasant surprises let’s say at the rate sometimes of several a day. Then again, everything gets ironed out in the end, as it always does (or not), and we put one foot in front of the other.
My fondest wish at the moment is to get to Dallas in time to watch the Navarro-Sabalenka US Open semifinal on my layover. Be careful what you wish for, as what is not my fondest desire is to have the flight delayed (as has happened frequently and I’m not talking half an hour on my recent travel) or cancelled as happend last year when I was returning from Dublin.
I wouldn’t mind so much except that I need to have a little time to recover from jet lag before launching into workshop leader mode. But again–“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you,” as Teresa of Avila said. “All things are passing away; God never changes”…
Speaking of quotes, today is the feast day of St. Teresa of Calcutta and I heard these from the Portsmouth Abbey, RI livestreamed Mass this morning: “Ask not for success; ask for faithfulness,” and “The person who wants truly to love must learn truly to forgive” (paraphrase but oh so true).
“My beloved Lord, I offer my soul to you as your hiding place, your haven of concealment. Take possession of the depths that I cannot see or feel. Let the silence there be a place to rest your voice, let my dry longing be your comfort and welcome. I want to be altogether yours. I ask that you make my soul your own possession. I willingly offer it to you that you may occupy my soul permanently. Hide there, conceal yourself there, and let me carry you to others in that concealment. Speak to others in your voice with the worlds that I pronounce; speak as well in the silence that encloses my life. It matters not at all what fruits I perceive in the days to come as long as you are acting. I expect to see little; it is better that way. I have become accustomed to your preference in using me without my knowledge. Your action is more effective when your hiddenness remains. The more ignorant I am, the more you are present in fruitfulness ” (a contemplative nun), quoted in Fr. Donald Haggerty’s Contemplative Enigmas
Mother Teresa (as she remains to me, canonization notwithstanding), also says in today’s Magnificat: “Only sin prevents us from growing. If you commit sin, let us use confession. Only see God, speak to God, love God. A clean heart is very close to Jesus, it can love him, serve him. If you neglect confession, sin becomes old adn then we don’t bother about it…If we stay close to Jesus it will protect us from sin.”
I like that a lot. My own sins are usually some version, or combination of, lack of charity (always), pride (also always) and greed. But confessing them gives me a little stab of pain the next time I commit one of them. I’m reminded in a different way than if I hadn’t confessed to try and do better; to beg for grace.
I really tried to scale back on the snacks this time and “surrender” my fear of wasting food, and simply put everything in my fridge that would go bad (including two whole small avocadoes) in the freezer. With me I brought a small container of two cut-up leftover tomatoes, half an avocado, some black oil-cured olives, and a good-sized hunk of cut-up cheddar. And some flatbread crackers, half a bag of dried apricots and three small bags of roasted cashews. That’s pretty good for me, and will serve me well for that US Open semifinal. I’m rooting for Navarro, simply because she’s the underdog.
Let’s not let our sins get old! And may your weekend be sweet.
Leave a Reply