I am reading a book on Mother Teresa. She is a mysterious woman, not much is known about her early years. She spent nearly the first 20 years of her time as a nun working behind closed walls of a school in India. There is no record of her venturing out into the slums and working directly with the poor during this time at the school. One day, she had a vision to venture out beyond the walls of her comfort zone and live side by side with the poor. It more time of formalities and bureaucracy before she was permitted to start her own Order, The Missionaries of Charity, and move outside the safety of her walls. I have spent the last few weeks meditating on my own walls. More specifically, meditating on the walls of the wolf cave I find myself in (see the last blog for more details). I have continued to meditate on “The Lord is My Shepherd” and experienced shifts in my soul. I started with an image of me being alone in a dark, col...
Today is Holy Thursday, the day the disciples reclined around the Passover Table with Jesus – leaned with their whole selves and listened to the words, “This is my body . . . this is my blood . . . eat and drink in remembrance of me.” This is the day Jesus took off his garments and washed the feet of the disciples. This was a humble gesture, Jesus making himself a servant and cleansing the dust trodden feet. A symbol mercy and forgiveness and instructions to do the same for one another. I try and picture myself in this story. What would I do? How would I react? What would I do with the words I heard? I find it easy to wash the feet of strangers. As a nurse, I have patients come in soiled and dirty and I find it a privilege to help clean each person up in their time of need. They are vulnerable and helpless, and I can help. We have homeless come into the hospital with dirty, calloused feet and mud-caked b...