Today was really a low-key day. I had no desire to go out or to do anything. I had a good night's sleep and said Mass for the local community, but then I tied up some loose ends for projects that are in process. I worked on this weekend's homily, put together the weekend Mass program, wrote the Prayers of the Faithful, and caught up on many correspondences. Other than that, I corrected a watercolor painting that is not too complex, but it is a greater challenge to make a subject look simple than it is to make it complex. As I look back on the day, I don't feel like I accomplished all that much, but I needed a lowkey day to plan the rest of my time in the city.
At lunch, we had lamb and cusa (rice and beef stuffed zucchini), pasta, grape leaves, rice, and chicken. I only had the cusa and grape leaves and a small piece of lamb. It was quite enjoyable.
After I caught up on correspondences, I noticed that it was already 5:00 p.m., the time in which the refugees would come for some enlightenment. Most of them are refugees from Yemen, Somalia, or the Sudan, and they are learning English and some life skills. We have conversations for an hour after watching a film clip. All in all, we spend two hours together.
I suggested that they watch the TEDx talk, "Celebrating what's Right with the World," as it is Ignatian Spirituality in layperson's words. Celebrating What's Right. I hope you like it. I think you will like it as much as they did. The premise is: Change your Lens, Change your world.
It shows that you are responsible for creating your worldview and that you can discover God in all things, if you simply reframe what you notice and sense. It shows how to achieve the magis, by not only getting a good shot with your lens, but getting a great shot. It helps us to discern - to see what is helpful to us and to leave behind what harms us or at least does not help us. It gives us choices in freedom. We can live in reality and see that there is far more good that happens in the world than bad, and we choose the side of Christ the Eternal King, who calls us to see as he sees and to live as he lives. He calls us into a program of life. The way we see the world determines how we act, see, and dream. We might have to actively seek God's presence in the world, and it is within our grasp. It allows us to believe the Resurrection is real, and that our world can be filled with beauty, wonder, and admiration, even when we know that violence, war, hatred, and destruction goes on. We hold onto hope. We trust in God and by doing so, despair vanishes. It helps us determine our passion and then to direct akk all our resources to our passions because God gave us those desires to achieve and enjoy. Celebrating what's right with the world allows us to live in joy and happiness and to be grateful for what exists around us. It achieves what the Spiritual Exercises is all about because we are to love and see the world the way God loves and sees the world, and when we do so, there's nothing else to do but to celebrate what's right with the world
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