Spirituality cafe.

QUOTE: "From silly devotions and sullen saints, deliver me, O Lord." (Saint Teresa of Avila, quoted in Praying with the Saints, by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker; Loyola, 2001)

"INTEGRITY includes but goes beyond honesty. Honesty is telling the truth--in other words, conforming our words to reality. Integrity is conforming reality to our words--in other words, keeping promises and fulfilling expectations. This requires an integrated character, a oneness, primarily with self but also with life." (Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; Simon & Schuster, 1990)

IN THIS SEASON. Labor Day provides the opportunity to celebrate the September 3 feast day of Saint Gregory the Great: not only the first monastic to become pope, but the first biographer of Saint Benedict of Nursia--whose Benedictine Rule is famous for its insights about work.

And let this bit of prose by Charles H. Spurgeon lighten your Labor Day as well: "The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! The `divine service' is not a thing of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes holiness unto the Lord, and every place and thing, as consecrated as the tabernacle and its golden candlestick." (Morning and Evening; Hendrickson, 1997)

GOOD GRIEF. One year later, is there any way to wrap our hearts and minds around the horrific events of September 11? Perhaps the Book of Lamentations can help.

From Old Testament theologian Kathleen M. O'Connor: "The biblical book of Lamentations refuses denial, practices truth-telling, and reverses amnesia. It invites readers into pain, chaos, and brutality, both human and divine. It conveys effects of trauma, loss, and grief beyond tears." Important, says O'Connor, for a culture that is famous for sweeping grief and suffering--personal and collective, whether a death in the family or the legacy of slavery--under the rug.

"To hear voices of suffering without massive distortion, it is necessary also to hear the grief and rage that is within ourselves. Without knowledge of our own wounds, the abyss in the lives of others will terrify us and make compassion impossible." (Lamentations & the Tears of the World; Orbis, 2002)

NATURE CALLS. "God in his wisdom created these places and made them accessible to those of all races. Rare visions of beauty and fragrant perfume, distributed freely for all to consume. While enjoying nature, confessions and pardons sincerely flow forth, as love grows in God's gardens." (Poet Catherine M. Prostak, appearing on www.gardendigest.com)

IN PRACTICE. In Space for God: Study and Practice of Spirituality and Prayer, author Don Postema takes readers through many exercises designed to rediscover several time-honored prayer forms--such as the psalms.

"I find that praying the psalms out loud keeps me from using them only as objects of study. Of course, we need to study them to understand their meaning. But praying them requires a different use. Saying them out loud has helped me make them my own prayers. I also have found it helpful to sing the psalm.... Once you have learned some simple `chants,' or psalm tones, you can `sing' the psalms with just your Bible in your hand.

"You may want to read/sing/pray at least a couple psalms a day. You may also want to try your hand at writing your own psalms as another exercise of prayer." (CRC Publications, 1997)