sunspot articles

7/27/2019 SunSpot Articles

1/74

WHAT TO PRAY FOR?By Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

oulcKLINKDoesGodanswer urprayers?Whatoughtwe o pray or?Forn*"rr44'"r o* anyone, hohasspent ny ime at allpraying,hese re wo weightyF1ffiquestions.FromexperienceweknowthatGoddoesanddoesnotE.EVERNDEN.nswer urprayers.Whenwearegettingwhatweask or in prayer,csP obviouslyGod'isansweringutp*y.ts. Whenwearenotgettingwhatwe ask or, henGod s notansweringurprayers.n thissituationwe, am, hecriteriaof whether r notGod sansweringprayers.believehat here ssomethingundamentallyrongwiththispicture. believehatGodalways nswersurprayers,o hereis something rongwhen makemyselfhecriteriaas o whether rnotGod s cominghrough n God's ndof thedeal - I prayandGod'sdelivers.don't hink this s thewav t works.

It hasn'tworkedhis way or me n thepastmonthor so.My motherbecame eriouslyll abouteightweeks goanddiedon GoodFriday.This ssomethingprayedwouldnever appen,r at eastwouldn'thappen ny ime soon.Goddid notanswermyprayer.Manyof my friends ere n Morgantownndaroundhecountryprayedor herhealing.Goddidnotanswerhose rayers ither.Somemightsay,whybother rayingat all, since t evidently oesn'tdo anygood?During his ime have earned few hingsandone sthatprayer oes ogood.While didn'tgetanything wanted goteverythingneeded.A phrase ame o mindaboutaweekbeforemy momdiedand hephrase as acceptances thepathwayo peace." hisbecamealmost mantra orme.So, prayedor acceptancend heabilityto bereallypresento bothmy momanddad. wentplaceshatemotionallyewwant o go o and emainedurprisinglyalmandcentered.hisdoes ot meanhatunpleasanthingsn our ivesbecome leasant.t doesn'tmeanhatwedon'texperience,n averydeepway,personaloss. t doesmeanshatwecanbe rulypresenttowhat sgoingon n our ivesand he ivesof others ndknow heabidingpresencef God n themidstof it all.


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As someonence aidprayer oes ot changeGod,butchangesheonewho spraying.Godknowswhatweneed venbeforewe ask.Prayers a wayof opening urselvesp towhatweneed nd hepowerful ifu thatGodwants o bestow ponus.Whileour"wants"maybeansweredrnotdependingn ourperspective,ur"needs"ix*:ilffi*:ffiffi,$ answeredositivervbvodwhoAs an endnote want o thankall of youand heprayerfulsupportthat have eceiveduring hepastmonth.

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3/74

TRAGEDYBy: Rev.MichaelE. Evernden,SPqqcf_L$Ig Fromeveryangleheschool hootingsn Jonesboro,rkansasastTHE ARCHIVES. f f i -weekisatragedy.It isanationaltragedyandpointstoacrisisof

utelIAEL - meaning. nceagainwearedealingwithsymptomsatherhan heEVERNDEN'sProotcausesf ourproblems.heshootingsnot heproblem.Whatleads eople, e heyeleven r seventy,o takesuchactionstheproblem. believet is a crisisof meaning. veryone antso knowwhy andhowsuchan ncident ouldhappen, nd hese reverygoodquestions.nfornrnatelyhese uestionsetovershadowedythequestor revengegainstheperpetratorsf this uglycrime.There s no doubt hat heymustbepunishedor theiractions utthequestor punishmenthould ot blind us romourquestor asolution.Theresa hungeror meaningn our ives oday.Theres a spiritualhungerhat stheresultof manypeople eingunableo avoid hebrokennessf theworldandof beingunableo escapeheemptinessof their ives.DouglasCoupland, hohasbecomeheunofficialspokespersonor Generation andauthor f "LifeafterGod,"declareshathisgenerations the irst toberaisedwithout eligion.In hisbook heres a series f encountersetween youngmannamedScoutandacastof charactershohavenumbedhemselveswith drugs, ex,andpointlessobsandarenowawkwardlysearchingor something oremeaningfirln their ives.Scoulidentifiesheneedhathasgiven ise o thisgeneration'searchorsomething oreasan nability o "maket alone."What heyseernto lack sa visionof life that scompelling ndchallenging,nd heability o feelsecuren knowingwho heyare.Eleven nd hirteen earolds hatdonmilitiat',peuniforms ndambush therchildren oming ut of school on'tknowwho heyare.Theyarenumb otheconsequencesf violence ecausef alltheysee ia themedia. hemedia arelyseemso capturehe osthopes, reams ndpossibilitiesf thosewho suffer romviolentacts, or heconsequencesf thosewhoperpetratehem.This snotto blamehemedi4only a recognitionhatwhenwe acka sense f


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our own dentitywe will co-optan dentity romsome laceelse.We needo takea ookat themaskswe wear hat hideus romothers ut moremportantly ideus romourown rueselves.Masksareworn,or we numbourselvesn a varietyof ways,becausewe ear heemptinessemight ind nside.t is a crisisof spiritandacrisis f spirituality. hatwe ack saprofound ensef beingrootedn goodness,n loveandmerciful orgiveness.our religiousnstitutions eedo reformhemselvesoo.ourchurchesannot fford o getcaught p n managementssues fwho s in andwho sout,creatingetanother laceof estrangement.Churcheshatmoralize nd ell others ow heyought o act,withoutgiving hem he ools o behave ifferently, ommitheworse f all sacrileges.hechurch as ichresourcesithin tstraditions,whichaffrrmshevalueanduniquenessf eachindividual,he ncarnation,hich ies heSpiritandsocialusticeothe earth, nd hegift of forgivenesshat econcilesurestrangedrelationships.we needo know hatwearepartof asacred niverse,nddespiteeverythinghat swrongwith ourworld, his ife is ultimatelytrustworthy. verything elongs,venourbrokenness,nd t isthrough urbrokennesshatwe mostoftencomeo Love.Mysuspicionsthat he woboys n Jonesboronewnoneof this or iftheyweremotivatedy ove,mercy,orgivenessnda knowledgefthesacrednessf all creation,his ragedywouldnever avehappened.TheRev.MichaelE.Evernden,sP, isAssociateastorat st.John'sUniversity arish n Morgantown,W. ,,FatherMichael,,,ashisfriendscall him, sfeatured veryweek nThesunspot piritualsection.Drophimane-mailat mecsp@,earthlink.net.

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5/74

LentenSeasonBy: Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SPOL'ICKLINKToostChristian hurchesind themselvesn themiddleof theLentenTHE ARC}IN/ES-ffi* season.Theword lent is a Latin word meaningspringtime.We\rrcHAEL associatepringtimewith the engthening f daylight,and heEVERT\DEN'sPgreeningof our gardens.t is a time to plantnewseeds o we canexperience ew ife, both in our gardens nd n our own lives.

The season f Lent s madeup of threeactivities:prayer, asting andalmsgiving.Theseactivitieshelp usplantthe seeds f newbehaviorin our lives andhelpusdevelopa deeperelationshipwith God, oneanotherand ourselves.When wasgrowingup about heonlyquestionheardwas"whatareyougiving up for Lent," the focusbeingon fasting.For many Lent didn't meanmuch more hanfastingor somethingelse hatmight be unpleasant. ent shouldnotbe a downerseason nd he world needsa lot more hanwomenandmen asting rom HersheyBars. The world andour lives needprayer, astingand almsgiving.In our very busy ives we do need o pull away o reflect andpray.We all need t, and most of usrecognizehis need;yet somany indit terribly diffrcult. Peoplewonderwhere n the world they aregoingto find time to pray n analready ull day.RobertMorris writesaboutwhat hecalls"TheSecondBreath"prayer.This prayer s bornout of our fiustrations the momentwe are about o lay on the horn,or do someother iturgicalgesturewith our finger, when someonecuts usoffin traffrc -- we need o takea secondbreathand blessrather han curse. f we arecaught n a long line at a checkoutstand, ather han page hrough the "National Inquirer" we couldtake a secondbreathandprayfor all thosepeopleaheadandbehindus in line. Anytime we areon thevergeof "loosing t" we can enterinto the peacefulplaceof this secondbreathprayer.Wittr all thelittle annoyancesf our day his would add up to a rathersignificantamountof prayertime.We need o fast. We don't have o fast from HersheyBars, but we doneed o fast from conspicuous onsumption.We need o fast n


6/74

ordero useournaturalesourcesor thebenefit f all.Weneedofast romwar,oppressionndprejudice.Weneedo fast romactivitieshatust dull themindandengagen activitieshatenhanceurcommonife.Weneedo fast romourangers ndresentmentsnd he earshatcausehem.Hershey arswouldbeeasier, ut hat snotwhat heworldneeds.The astactivityof the rnten seasons almsgiving.Many hinkofalmsgiving sdonatingo thechurch or at easthepoorboxat herearof church.Almsgivingsmuchargerhan hat. t is aboutteaching urchildren ow o read, elpinghehungryhave ood,#frT:::;:1,"#:,,?tni"ffl';tfilH;:?-#to ourselves.TheLenten easonatherhanbeingaboutgivingup is aboutplantrngichseedsn thegarden f our ife.Thisseasons about:lftrJffiiil'f;i:.Te

urrest'eepeningurerationshipithGod,TheRev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePsstor at St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown, I{V. "Father Michael,,,ashisfriends call him, isfeaturedeveryweek inThe Sunspot piritualsection.Drophimane-mailat@.

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7/74

FAITH OR APATHYBy. Rev.MichaelE. Evernden,SPqW5=L= gIgThere s afine linebetweenaithandapathy.Some egardaith asTI{E ARCHIVES-oRffi:

just letting God do whatGodwants o do with thepeople,places,r'tcnenr,B. things and situations n our lives;sitting back and doing nothingEVERNDEN'sPexceptmaybepraying.St. Paul remindsus that ufaithwithout worksis dead."This meanshat there s alwaysanaction componento ourfaith. So,what do we do or not do?I am eamingwhat to do or not do right now one dayat a time. Mymotherhadmajorsurgeryon Saturday,February2l to removeacancerousumor that wasblockingher intestine.Someof the cancerhasmoved o her iver. Right now the doctorsarevery optimisticthatthis can be treatedsuccessfullywith chemotherapy.What doesone do?Oneresponses to prayof course. don't hink, however,tmeansust to prayand hen sit back and wait for the outcome -doing nothing.Whatdoesoneprayfor?Certainly prayfor mymother's omplete ecovery,but more mportantly pray oracceptance fwhateverhappens, nd prayto know how I can beofservice ight now, not only for my mother,but also or my dad andmyselfaswell.I have aith that God makesall thingswork together or thegoodbutI alsoneed o know what I need o do right now -- today. prayedover t and alkedwith someclose riendsas o whetheror not Ishould ly out to [.os Angeles.With their help andGod's, discernedthat should. t hasbeena gooddecision.How longshould stay nLA? How can be supportiveof my mother's ecovery? hese ooarequestionshatneed o be brought o God in prayerandfaithfulness;but which also equireaction. n suchsituationsweneed o listen o our hearts,o our guts,becauset is thereand n thewordsand deedsof close riendsand advisors hat God'sspeaksous.When firstheard henews wasveryupset.My mindwent unningin ahundred ifferentdirections ith a ot of "if only's"and whatifs" goingon n my head.t wasprayerhat inallycalmedme down


8/74

andallowedme o makehe contactshat neededo make.Theserenity rayer f my l2-Step ellowship elpa ot, "Godgrantmetheserenityo accepthe hings cannotchange, ourageo changethe hings can,andwisdomo know hedifference."his soneofthebest aith in actionprayershat I know. t meanshatwedowhatis possiblendallowGod o dowhat s mpossible.Faith s farfromapathy ecauseaithcallsus o engagen lifeatlevelshatwe neverhought ossible.The Rev.MichaetE. Evernden,CSP,s Associate astorat St.John'sUniversity arish n Morgantown,WY. FatherMichael,"ashisfriendscallhim, sfeatured veryweek nTheSunspotpiritualsection.Drophim an e-rnailat [email protected].

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9/74

.4,MAN, A WOMAN' AND A WELLBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

Retax nd et,vourminddrift back wo housandearso a hotanddrySamaritanown. t is around oonandpeopie re hirsty.At thattime, f youwere n the ownsquare,vrtuwrtuldc(imeup(maman,awoman,and a well. Thestory aboutJesusmeeting TheWomanatThe ts;'eii," s found n ihc Gospelof John chapler our verses vcthrough orty-two. I wouldsuggesthat you read he storyslowly.Try to feel theheat,picture he well, and maginewhat hecharaclers xik lik-e smell ike - try on thc charactersirr size,picturing yourselfasone of the characters. ead he story now.In our searchor spirituality we, at times,gethungup or caughtupin techniques,he right postureor paceof our breathing.We canwind up wondering f we aredoing something orrectlyor not andmiss he spiritual dimensions f what we are iying to do. What wereally needLoclo s imme.rseurselvcs n wisdomandletthatwisdom speak o thedeep ecessesf our heartsso that our livesmaybe lransforrncd. here s wisckrm n silenceancl here s wisdomin stillnessbut often imes we need o turn to othersources fwisdom o og ourminds, o connectwith what divine wisdom st-ryingo reveal ri us-The readingand eflectingon thesacredLe-xtsof thegreat eligious raditions s oneway to make he connection. . , i19r. ' r i


10/74

live; and hat s whatJesuss trying o do n thispassageoo.Thewoman n this story sn't ust a womanhut s symtrolic f allpeoplewho find themselves xiied rom society.Shewas afrrreigner,hcdidn't haveonehui five hr-rshands,rrdgivcn hcperiodof time shewas a woman.Thesewere all strikesagainstherl ln-. i m.tr la l tar ..n.tf.t. axi . ih ls thg rvtc, c.r- . -- i ta;l frr .m lror c,r-rr- isir , lhail l lcl l l rguv ttvr ul l4wvwPgurw. ur lw vY @ ov g^lr lu l lvlr l rrvr JvwrwcJ trrglit was necessaryor her o travel o the next own over o drawwaterto quenchher irirsi. Shemusihavebeennot oniy surprised utdelightedhat,Jesus ould engage er n conversation-hc miraeleisn't thatJesusold her everythingsheeverdid, but that JesusAnnr'i,Arl har in r.r.n.,ort, .rli itn .t i , t l l l lrnt.rl e'| la rlirl nrr.lr.rLl., nrrrma r-rrriwrr6(r5lu lrv r l l w\r l lYUrJcrlvlr cl crr . vr rrsr Jr lv ur\r PrvusurJ verrw vurin the courseof their healingconversation. esuswas not afraid obreakdown he baniers hat separatedhem and his is what Jesusstryingto icachus, o noi he alraid to hreakdriwn he rarriershaiseparate s from ourselves,rom one anotherand rom God.We havesuchbarriers oday.Therearepeoplewe:re afraid of ori t tn i . t rart* 66nnfta i - ^^-tro-.n*ina Lo^^.t.o ^$+lro ^^ n- ^$fLoi- ^ l.iaJLrJt VYWrr r \,rrSCtS\/ llr vr,rrYvrJ(rLrrrrr r.rvvcr(rJv wr Llrv v\rr\rr lrr Lrrvll Jr\rrror the sexualorientation.This week s gay prideweek at theuniversity.The womanat the weii embo


11/74

''THY WILL BE DONE?''Br-Rev.MichaelE. Evemden.CSP

C)ne f our readerswrote he following: "Oneof thechallenges facein prayer s that f I iruly believe n 'Thy Will beDone' andacceptthal. verythinghathappensn lile is usLpartof Lhe lan henwhyprayat all. It is like prayer sn'tgoing o change hecourseof things,I could praydayandnight for r-rr boutsomethingand f it isn'tGod'swill then all theprayer n the world isn't going o changeanything.What s going o happen s alreadydetermined"Theabovestatements one of the most diffrcult aspects f prayer ounderstand.* As it hasbeensaiduGodalwaysanswers rayers,t isjust that sometimesGod saysno." Theproblem,or rather hemistake,we often make s that'* presumee alwaysknow theright answer,he way God shouldanswerour prayers.This becomesrealdifficult when we arepraying or someone's ealingor thats(lmeone houlel ol.dic.Wepresume he nswers veryeasy.Oflenwhat we need o pray or is acceptancg. don't, for a moment,believe hat Gocl nllicts canceror other clisabilitigs, r lvantsourdeath.God s love.God s life. All thatGod wants or us s love andlife; andnaturedoeswhatnaturedoes. don't beiieve hat Godsends arLhquakes,lcxrds r lornadoes, atureust doeswhai naturedoes.Yes herearesituationsn which thepeoplewe prayover orhold in prayrdo getbcttEr. think prayer s verypcwcrful. If, forexample, am surrounded y an angrymob I amgoing o feeltenible. If I am surrounded y a prayerfulgathering amgoingtofeelmuchbeLter-We can oflen feelanotherperson'sangeror love-Whetherwe focusour angeror our loving prayeron someonemakesa hugedifference.f everyonen the world heldeachother n prayerrather han hate it would makeall the differencen the world. Tothe degree hatwe can do this is the degree o which we can bringabout he transftrrmaLionf our wrrld. Prayerdoesmakeadifference. prayoverpeople,places,hingsand situationsbut notthe way I use o, notpresumingwhat ought o be the cutcome.Prayer s not aboutchangingCrod'smind but aboutchangingourmindsand our attitudes, owardwhat is goingon in our ivesand nourworld-We couldn'L hangeCrod'smind even f we wanLedo. If


12/74

Lost lpdored /18/g7rheu tswrJd"m.ed \t Sful Daierrs - a weh llasoloat''nt (-o',tnnnn

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Godneededo change is/lrermind it would mean hatGod hadmadea bad decisionand now needed o make a goodone namelyour clecision.f Grld wereable ri change islhermindGrd wouldnot be God- namelyperfect n every espect.A prayer hat hasbeenveryhelpful for me is the serenityprayer."Godgant methe serenity o accopt he things cannotchange, hecourageo changehe hings can,and he wisdom o know hedifference."Thereare ive key words n this short and simpieprayer;Grrcl, erenity,accepLanoe,ourage nd wisdclm-I pray o God for serenity,acceptance, ourageandwisdom.Prayingto God shouldbring us serenityand somepeaceof mind. it shouldput us n a staLe f mind in whiehwe cankxft aL ife gracioLrsly,with a certainperspective. t times am ust going o have o acceptthewaythings are. need o au;ept hatat this tirns thcreare ustsome hings hat can't do anythingahout.At other imes need oprayfor the courage o changewhat is wiihin my abiliry to change.Most importantly needLopray frrr the wisdom o knriw lhedifferencebetweenwhat I can andwhat I cannotdo something bout.I believe hatprayer s fundamentallyapping nto the very lovingpow'er f God. Prayers aboutbringingbalance nto our lives, oalign ourselves ith the will of God sowe can ive in wisdomandsereniry. \The Rev.Michaei E. Evernden,CSP, sAssociatePastor at St.John'sLinfuersiiyParish in Marganiolan,WV."FetherMichael," eshisfriends call him, isfeaturedeveryweek nThe Sunspot piritualsecdon.Drop him an e-maii at [email protected].

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13/74

THNGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THBY SEEMBv Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

Things arenot alwayswhat theyseem o be. Oneof my all timetbvoritebooks s'The iitchhiker's Guide o TheGalary. ht thebeginningof thebook it stateshe following. "It is an mportantandpopular act that things arenot alwayswhat they seem.For nstance,on pl+*etEaidt, iuinaits iad alwaysassutiie.Jliat tirey were troiintelligent handolphinsbecause umans adachieved o much: hewheel,New l-ork City, wars and so on -- while aii the doiphinshadeverelr.rneasmuck around n Lhewal-er aving a gtu:d ime-C)n heotherhand,dolphinshadalwaysbelieved hatthey were ar morein lal l i .rani lh.rn h..m,rn..rrr lwrrrSwrrc trrglr l lurr lqtJ.

"Curiouslyenough,he dolphinshad ong knowno{the impendingdesiructionof pianetEarihandhad mademany atteinpts o alerthumans o the danger;rr-rlmostol'theirr:rtmmunicatiunseremisinterpreted s amusingattempts o punch ootballs hroughhocps, .rrwhistie or iidbits, sothey evcniuallygaveup and cllEarthby their own means. The asteverdolphinmessage asmisinterpreted s a surprisingiysophisticated nempt o do adr-ruhle-hackwarriomersaulihrougha hrxrpwhilc whisiling hc'star-spangledanner,'but n fact hemessage as his: so ongandt '^.'aL


14/74

someoneell usnot obeangry rresentfuloesn't elpmuch. f,however,oa bit deeper e can ind he source f such eelings.Oflen hesource f ournegativeeelingss lear Whenwecxamineour ears ehind ur anger nd esenfinenthenwe areon heroadof riclding urselvesf suchemotions rai leastbrining hemunderilffiH'ffiH,T*TffJil?:TJIT,T,"T"irt usor thinkof us f Lhev new he ruthahout s? sriursecuritvthreatened?Developinga spiritualitymeanshat we arerootingourselves t amuchdeeperevei wherewe aren't tossedaroundby all the whimsof chance t the surface f things.Rootingourselve.shroughdailymeditation, uiet ime, ear-iess time with Godwho ovesusunconditionally elpsus ask hcdceper uestionshat will lead crour wholeness ndwell beingbothwith ourselves nd with others.Humansmay well haveknownabout he impendingdoom awaitingplanetearih, hey ust ignoredall thesignsandmesiages.f theyha


15/74

DRIVENBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

It is amazing hatyoucanobserveeople oing n their carson theway owork,Fixing heirhair,makingaphone all,shaving. arshavehec,rimexLendedomesandofficeson wheelsncludingnoLonly mobilephones, ut televisions,a:r machines, omputers ndprinters. sesides eing dangeroust demonstratesusl.hr-rw rivcnwe havebecome. n New York, wheremanypeopledon't drive towork but walk or take the subway;you can stopsomeone n thestreel- ndcomplete n enLire ay'swork with whaL hcy ave ntheir briefcase r backpack.Walking,riding or driving we aredrivenpeople,driven to lct everyone roundusknow ust howbusyand hereforehow importantwe are.For hepastcoupleof weeks havebeenholding o a decision hat Imade ecently.WJren am on the interstate decided hat I am notgcingtotry to be at or usLab{rve, he peedimiL.Oh, I amnoLgoing o pokealong,ust go at a comfortable peedandenjoy heridc; not pushing he imits andthen ,vondering hen will or willnot geta ticket. It hasbeena lot morerelaxing and amactuallyenjoyingdriving again.On themy last run to Pittsburgh wasthinking,daydreaming bout,what t was ike when first earnedto drive. wasenjoying hememories f my dad eachingme howtoshift, thefeelof the wheel, hc dimensicnsof the car, the freerjomandmobility his all gaveme.Timepassedmorequicklyandwhilegoinga tadslower t seemedike the shortest rip to Pittsburghhavehad n a lrmg ime.Spirituality s not found n the ast ane.Spiritualitys foundbyslowingdown iterally and igurativeiy. Spirituality s found n thecnjoyment [ fixing ourhair, havinga conversationn thephoneorshaving. t is foundby doingone hing at a time and doing t wellanclwith our full attention.kisure is a preciousand rare commodity n our driven society.Whenwe are n leisure nodewe feelthat we areuseless,hatwe arewasting ime and n order o avoid his evenour eisureimebecomesdriven time tying to cram asmuch as we can nto a day offor a vacation.


16/74

Last tpdatedE/tg/97

Maya Angelousays hat we need o take one day away,a day nwhich we consciousiy eparate urselvesrom thepastand helr-rture; rJay way rorn ohs, lrtvers, amily, employers nd friends-In this holy time magic oftenhappensor when we returnwe findthat answsrs avebeen evealecio us and enlanglemenl.savebeenunraveled.risure leadsus o holy andcreativeimes.Leisure eadsusvery near he oy andcreativiryof God.I will endwith this:

"Nappedhalf the day;no onepunishedme "by Issain "TheEssential aiku"Editedby Robeft HassThe Rev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePastorat St..Irthn'sUniversityPari,shn Morgantown, I/V. "FatherMichael,"ashisfriends eall him, isfeatured everyweek inThe Sunspot piritualseciiun.Drup ]tim urt e-nuil ui [email protected].

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17/74

DISCERNINGGOD'SWILLBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

Recently havebeena partof severalgroupswherepeoplementionedrying to discemGod'swill in and or their lives.Oftenam Lrying o discernGod's will lirr my life. Il- sn'Laseasya.swewould like it to be and think the reason or this is that we areoftenlooking in thewrongdirection.Oneof my favorite scripture eadings s the call of Samuel n theFirstBookof Samuel,Samuel , 3-10.Samuelwassleepingn thetemplewhenGodcallsoul to him not oncebul three imes-Eachtime Samuelgoes o Eli thinking thathe wascalling him. Finally Elifiguresout that God s calling theyouthand ells Samucl hatthenext ime God callsanswer speak ord,yourservants listening."ThusSamuelmakesconscious ontactwith God.This story s veryneul,beautilulandpcnLicand hat is how weoften expecl-God tocall out to us n our lives.When read his story hearabouta naggingGod. Godnagsnotonce,but four timesbeforeGodgetsboth Eli's and Samuel'sattention.God s anaggingthought,or dream, hat won't go away.Payingaitention o this is a key for how we can often experienceGod'scall n and rrrour ives-I believehat t havehada numberof spiritualexperiences,imeswhen God hascaliedout to me but noneof them wereneatbeauf.iful r poeLic;heyne now but not whenLheywerehappening.Cnowingup I alwayshad his nagging hought n the back of myhead hat I would like to be apriest. never eallypaidmuchattentirinLo t andcerlainlydidn't act on it One day someone wasworking with wanted o becomea Catholic,didn't want to go to theclasses lonesoI decided o go atongwith her.Althouglr didn'trealiznt at thetime, acceptinghat invitation was a responseoGod'scall and t broughtme nto contactwith Fr. Tom Dove, CSPwhich lead o my interestn the PaulistFathersCommuniLy fwhich I am a member o this day. Therewere no voices,no visions,just a decision o accornpany omeonec class. r{rking back cansee hat it was Crod's all and hosewereCrod'snagging houghts


18/74

that broughtme to where am today.I ama recovering lcoholicand againGod wascallingme o giveupan old way of life andembrace newway of life. For at leastseveralyears elirre got ntorcc()vcry just had his naggingthought,feeling, hat the way I was iving just wasn't right, that theremust bea bettcrway.Erhile I didn't kno',vwhat c do a coupleof fricnris olmine n Seattle id by telling me heycouldgetme help f I wantedit. i did, and hedecision o iake heir ead ed me o the new ife iwasseeking. gain,during hiswhrile ncidenl"t didn't seem ll$s1lilT,'1'::1f*ru::*,Tff,;;lJffiffilIcanseeSo,what nagging houghtsdo youhave? s theresomethinghatyoualwayswantedo do bui neverhave? stheresomething hat you'dlike to change houtyour ife? helieve hat hese agging houghts[:JtT,?i:i'ffiF"?::TAn:]fi:n'.ill;runafure, n a churchor a templeare sometimes ecessary o we canquiet he noiseof our daiiy tiving so that we canmorecleariyhearthiscall n our ives.The Rev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP,s AssociatePastorat St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown,WV."FatherMichael," eshi.s {rie.rulsanll him i.s fcnture.rl evcry wcck in The Srrnsnot .sniritunlsection.Drop him on e-mail ot [email protected].

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19/74

THE POWEROF WEBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

RosaParks s noted or being he first blackpersono make hedecisionnot to walk to the back of the bus to sit down.Her simpleandcourageousclionsel oose hc Civil RightsMovement n ourcountry."ThePowerof One" s a beautiful andpowerfulmovieabouta youngBriiish boy who skris teachingEnglish o blackSouthAfricans hus urthering he anti-apartheidmovement n thatcoun$. Receniiywe heardhow oneNASA worker broughtanentirespace hutt-le ission o a halLhy ftirgetiingtrtadjusta screwcorrectlyon theshuttle'sair lock. We haveall had he experience fdriving where wo or three anesof traffrc funncl into one ane;andthose ugged ndividualistswho think theyare hetter han he restofus go sneakingdown heside and oy to slip in aheaci f ihe pack.Forgrxrdeir ll therc s greatp(lwer n Lhe ('werol-one-In RosaPark'sactionand he actionof theyoungBritish boy hepowerof onewas ransformednto thepowerof we.ForwhateverreasonhescrewgoLncorrectly djusictl, rrdceriairrl,vn the caseof thesneakyd.rivers,hepowerof oneonly tums into chaos or therestof us.We live in Lheageof egr.r; nd l2-stepprogramspoint out"ego"stands or "edgingGodout." It alsomeans dgingeveryoneelsebut myselfout aswell. The exampies f seifwill run riotabr.rundn our society-Spirituality s born out of the one'sconcern or themanyso hemanymaybecomeone.Spiriruality s born in us when we heipandassist achol-her,makingup ftrrrineanother's hrtrlcomings,aultsand ailings. l2-stepprograms ay"we can do togetherwhat wecannotdo alone."Thesameprinciple s found, oflen too subtly, nour major religious raditions.Theveryreasonwe raiseour hearts nprayer s becausewe recognize ur need or another,we need o be at'we"andnol-alonen our onenessThe creedof the major Christianchurches ays, We believe n oneGod..." The most amiliarof Christianprayers egins,uOurFatherwho art n heaven.--" he steps n l2-stcppmgrams rephrasednthepluralnot the singular.Our cherishedConstitutionof theUnitedSlatesbeginsuWethepeople."To the clegreehal we osesightof


20/74

LastupdatedEnE/97

the "we"we osesightof our spirituality,not only n termsof ourreligiousaffiliationsbut who we areas a people,as a nation.Last weekwe hadnvo dramaticexamples f selfwiil run riot. Thebombingof a clinic just outsideof Atlanta, Georgia s one exampleof self will run riot. Reekinghavocanddestruction s not the answerto our humanproblems there s absoluteiy o spirituality'in suchactions or there s no careor concern or the"we."The shootingdeathof Bill Cosby'sonly son n lns Angeles s anotherragicexample,tto often eplicaLedc]n'rss)ur crountry, f LhewanLs f theone caringnot at all for theneedsof the other, or the "we." Here oothere s no spirituality,onl3r elf rvill run rir:i..During his week n which we rememberhe one,Dr. Martin LutherKing, whotaught us o sing "We shali overcome;"we are emindedLhat nly [ogether, nlyby caring trreach iLher anwe srtlvcourcommonhumanproblems.TheRev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, sAssociatePastor at St.i^L^r^ f l* ; . .^-- ;* , D^-;^L;- l f^--^- i^1.,a i l"L- rtE^iL^- l ,{ ;^L^^t t t ^^tuttr l J tJratvYt,J,a)/ I u, t . tr t ,r t , tv t r t t Surttvfvf t , , f f f . r 'a tat,cr tvravt,uca, (1.)hisfriendscall him, sfeaturedeveryweek nTheSunspot piritualsection.Drop himane-mailat [email protected].

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21/74

SUPERLATTVESBv Rev.MichaelE. Evernden.SP

First I want to wish all our readers veryhappynewyear.Forthepast wo weeks havebeen n LosAngeleswith my folks. It is goodto be backwhere ife seemso beon amore reasonablecale.

Asyouprobablynow osAngelessbig, eally ig hUgebig.The reewaysrebig. The raffrc sbig. Thegeographys bigstretched,s t is, betweenhehugePacificOcean nd he bigSanBernardino ountains.ormany ife is ivedon agrand cale;argehouses,ig carsand ofty ncomes. A isnotedor big stars, randparties nd,at imes,big earthquakes.osAngelessa symbolorthesuperlativesn our ives.Heren Morgantown e alsoive withsuperlatives. e akeacertain mount f pride n sayingweare he argest ity in WestVirginiaon ootballweekends. e akea hugepridewhen heMountaineersre 0 and0, but wheres our supportwhen heyarenot,when heyareust havingan averageeason.Weall get rappedinto healluresuperlativesaveuponour ives. want hebestcamera"hebiggest nd astest omputer,hebestseatn thehouse.Ouryoungpeople reconstantly omingup with innovative ays odescribe hat sbest,most adical, ool.We ive,almost,n a cultof superlatives.Whenwe iveon a superlative-intensiveevelsomuchof life, reallygoodandbeautifulife,becomesnacceptableven econdate. n asuperlative-intensiveulturet alsobecomesiffrcult o describereven ecognize urspiritualexperiences. heneverythingsdescriben god-likewaysnothing, otevenGod, s god-likeo us.AuthorAnnieDillard n herbook"Teaching Stoneo Talk*wrotethe ollowingaboutSunday orship ervices.Doesanyone avethe oggiestdeawhatsortof powerwe blithely nvoke?Weshouldall bewearing rash elmets,shers houldssueife preserversndsignal lares.Theyshouldashus o ourpews.For hesleepingGodmaywakesomeday nd akeoffense, r the wakingGodmaydraw


22/74

us out to wherewe cannever eturn."There s a tremendous piritual search oingon in our societyandthe tempowill only increaseNwe near heyear2000. Peoplearealreadymarking out their turf for where heywantto celebratehepassagromonemillennium o another.On a deeperevelpeoplearesearching or a spiritualsuperlativehat will truly fill and ulfilltheir lives. u big andgrandas heyears2000and2001are,marking hepassagerom one millenniumto another, his time alsoshowsushow smallwe are,howvulnerablewe are,how much weare n needof apower greaterhan ourselves.As we begin he newyear,1997, he most radical,cool,rad thing wecando is set out on a spiritualpath.Make room for the God of ourunderstandingo hat God can ake uswere wewould neverhavedreamtwe couldgo.At times he walk along his pathmaynot seemasexcitingasa 10and0 season; ut this pathwill leadus ntothepeace, almandsense f well beingwe searchor. Walking hispathwill allow the spiritual superlativen our livesto radicallychangeour future and he futureof our socieff.TheRev.MichaelE. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePastorat St.John'sUniversityParish in Morgantown, ItV. "FatherMichael," eshisfriendscall him, sfeaturedeveryweek nThe Sunspot piritualsection.Drop him an e-mailat [email protected].

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23/74

Christmas 996By: Rev.MichaelE. Evemden, SP

The raditions f Christmas remany.Theactualdateof Jesus'sbirth sunknown.t wasn't ntil around 00AD that hedatechosenwasDecember5.Selectinghisdatedid twothings.Thedatemadeuniversalhecelebrationf an mportantChristianeast.Thedatealsoeclipsedhe old custom f celebratinghe wintersolstice,hetimewhen armers avehanks s hedaysbegano lengthen.Old St.Nick is morehanafigmentof our rnagination. icholaswasa bishopof Myrawho ived n AsiaMinorduring he ourthcentury.Noted or hisgenerosityesavedhreedaughtersrombeingsold nto slavery ecauseheir atherw.N oopoor o supportthem.Legend as t thatNicholas idn'twant he amily o knowwherehegoldcoinscamerom;soNicholasossedhemdown hechimneywherehey andedn the oeof a sock. SantaClaus,"aDutchname or St.Nicholas, ppeareduring heeighteenthcentury o ongerwearing ishop'sobes ut aredsuitbased n theclothingof FatherChristmas ndmade opular yClementClarkeMooreAEsamous oem, TwasheNight BeforeChristmas."TheChristmasree n ourhomess a blending f nvoGermantraditionsrom heMiddleAges.A feasthonoring damandEveuseo be celebratedn Christmas ve.A fir treedecked ithapples,epresentingheFall,wascentral o thecelebration. nChristmas ay he customwas o bumpyrarnid-shapedandelabra.In time hecandles ereaddedo the ir treealongwith roundcookies ymbols f communion read.Thepoinsettiaomesromour Mexican eighborso thesouth.Legend as t thatapoorboyhadnothingo offer heChristchild atChristmas.s heprayedn frontof a churcha beautiful lantwithbright edblooms rewathisfeet;where pon heboy ook t intochurchandplacedt next o the manger cene. hese ndhundredsmore raditions avegrownup aroundhebirth of a child whichalmostwentunnoticed. hemusic,hepageants,he rees,ightsandgift givingall havegrownup aroundhebirth of a child n achillystable. or me,Christnassaboutwordsor ratheraword. nthe silence nddarkness od spokea word sopregnantwith


24/74

meaning hat the Wordbecameleshand dwells amongus.MeisterEckhart, a fourteenthcenturymystic, asked:uwhatgood s it thatChristwasborn in Bethlehemf Christ is not continuallyborn nus?" believe hat God does peakn us,givesbirth in us; andwearecalled o speakwords hat becomelesh.Thisseasons aboutwordsmade lesh; words ike love,peace,oy and hope.Through he ages, hrough all the traditionsold andnew,all thelegends,we havebeen rying to put flesh on this act of hopeGodspoke n our lives. Our task s to put fleshon the hopeGod hasimplanted n us.Merry Christmas Fr. MichaelThe Rev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePastorat St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown, WV."FatherMichael," ashis riends call him, is eatured everyweek nThe Sunspot piritualsection.Drop himan e-mail at [email protected].

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25/74

SECULARCHRISTMAS - IMPOSSIBLEBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

Theres nodoubthat"it'sbeginningo look a lot like Christmas,"and hatwe are n themiddleof theChristmasush. havealreadyheardmy fair share f criticismbemoaninghe commercializationandsecularizationf theChristmas eason. aybepeopleorgetthat wewouldn'tevenhaveChristmasf it werenot for Christ.Christ s in Christmaswhetherweremembert or not. Oh, sure hereprobablyareafewpeoplewhouse his feastasan excuseo partyormakemoney;but for the vastmajorityall the rushingaboutsconsciouslyr unconsciouslyonnectedo Christ.The irst Christmasappenedn themiddleof a totallysecularevent.TheEmperorAugustus rderedhat a census f thewholeworld be aken.This was he irst suchcensus nd he reasonor thecensus as axation.No matterwhere eopleived heyhad o travelto their homeowns o register or this @nsus.So t was hatMaryandJosephad o travel o Jerusalemo register. eople erepacking,raveling akingcareof noisykids, ooking orplacesostaf not becauseesus asabout o bebom but because census ftheworldhadbeen rdered.In themiddleof this rush,all thishecticactivity,almost o onenoticedhebirth of thechildJesus.We know hestoryandweknowthat herewasnoroom or Mary andJosephn the nn,andso heysought heltern anearby stable, robably cave.There,n totalobscurity,Marygivesbirth o Jesus andalmost o onenotices.TherewerenoChristmasreesor lights,nopresents ith brightlycolored aper,ust a ot of noise, ugecrowds nd otsof traffic.Soundamiliar?Almostnoonenoticedhebirth of achild.Only onesmallgroupnoticedhebirth of Jesus,he shepherds howere endingheir locks.Shepherdidn'tcountandso heydidnothaveo regrsteror the census. heywere iterally nobodies. heyalone eemo havehad he ime o noticeandwonder t hebirth ofa child.Some eoplehinkthat all thingsspiritualand eligious appennchurchand hat nothingof spiritual mportance appensn the


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world of our daily lives.The Christmas tory ells us, oud and clear,that this isn't fue. Godwasn'tbom in a cathedral, hurchor chapel.TheChristmas tory eaches sthat Godwasborn n our midst, ntheworld, in themiddle of the rush o do many hings.Theshepherds f theChristmas tory eachusthat we need o be still, topause,o look and o wonderat what s goingon aroundus.Theshepherdseachus thatright in themiddleof hunied activity divinethings arehappening.The Rev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePastor at St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown,IIIY. "FatherMichael," eshisfriends call him, isfeatured everyweek nThe Sunspot piritualsection.Drop him an e-mail at [email protected].

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27/74

EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFULBy Rev.MichaetE. Evernden, SP

TrappistmonkThomasMertonwrote, Oneof the most mportant,andmostneglected,lementsn thebeginningsf the nterior ife isthe ability o respondo reality, o see hevalueand he beautynordinary hings,ocome live o thesplendorhat s all around s."Spiritual eadersike ThomasMerton,Buddh4andJesus ftenpointto thebeauty f creationopointout spiritual ealities.WhenJesusis teaching saboutworry andanxietyhepoints o creationasanexample f howwe shouldiveour ives. Cananyof youbyworryingaddasinglehour o yourspanof life?Why doyouworrysomuch?Considerhe ilies,how heygrow: heyneitheroil norspin;yet tell you,evenSolomonn all hisglorywasnotclothedlikeoneof these.f Godsoclotheshegrass f the ield which salive odayandgoneomorrow, owmuchmorewill Godclotheyou." Luke12:22-34)We misssomuchof thebeautyhat s around s n thepeople,places,hingsandeventshatweencounterachday.One easonsbecauseheyhavebecome oordinary. rememberriving nto heSanBernardinoMountains,n Southern alifomi4for my firstencounter ithsnow.t waswonder-filled.rememberivingthroughmyfirstrealWinter n Baltimore ndseeing nentirecitycovered ith snow.t toowaswonder-filled. hebeauty f snowhasn't hanged utmyattitude owardsnowhaschanged,o somedegree,ver heyears.NowI sometimeseel hat t is gettingn thewayof what want o do.One ask reallydislike s havingo scrapandclean he caroffbefore candrive t. Snowhasbecome nobstacle r a delayor what want o do.Thebeautys still thereand haveo remindmyselfo stepbacka bit andseehebeauty.MatthewFox,anEpiscopal riestandmodemmysticsays,"Lookingor andenjoying eautys a way o nourish hesoul.Theuniverses in thehabitof makingbeauty.Thereare lowersandsongs, nowflakesndsmiles, ctsof great ourage,aughterbetweenriends, job well done, he smellof fresh-bakedread.Beauty s everywhere."


28/74

We area goalorientated ociety.We getfixatedon destinations.Aggressivedriving is becoming he secondmostdeadlykiller on thehighwaysafter drunk driving. Angry aggressive riversseeeverythingandeveryone s an obstacleo their destination. t takesrealspiritualdiscipline o enjoy he ourney.We fussand umeaboutpastevents, eeping hemalive in our memories; r worry andfret aboutwhattomorrowmaybring,or evennextweekor nextyear,sowe totally miss he presentmomentwherebeautyand spiritualitycan be found.It takes ealspiritualdiscipline o stay n thepresentmoment, heonly real momentwe have n our lives.GerardManleyHopkinssays, all of creation s chargedwith thegrandeurof God." Thisfruth teaches sthat at eachmoment,at any momen we can indbeauty o refreshour soul.The Rev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePastorat St.John'sUniversityParish in Morgantown,WV."FatherMichael," ashisfriends call him, isfeaturedeveryweek nThe Sunspot piritualsection.Drop him on e-mail at [email protected].

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29/74

THANKSGIVING -. BAH-HUMBUGBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

ThisThursdays Thanksgiving.t marks hebeginning f theholidayseason.erhapst iswise hat he irst holiday sThanksgivingecauseften,bytheendof the season, e arenot na thankfulmoodbutabah-humbug ood.Weare iredandexhaustedrom the sprint hat astsonly fouror five weeks.WhetheryouareNewAge,or traditionalChristian, ewish r Muslim, t isthemostspiritualof seasons.hewintersolstice, ndings ndnewbeginnings,he celebrationf God'sWordmade lesh n ourmidst,all pointus owardhespiritualmeaningsf our ives.While his seasonsthemostspiritualt also estsour ability o livespiritualives.Alreadywe arebeginningo feel he crunch.Placesogo,presentso buy, urkeys o coolgdecorationso unpaclgrees otrim,peopleo visit,andpeopleo include nour ists.Ontopof allthe"haveo be dones,"hereareour emotions ndexpectations.ewanteverythingo beperfect,magical.if ossible.Manyof us ry torecaptureheperfectChristmas f ourpast,or createhe Christmaswe never ad.On all levels, othof doingand eelingweare ncrunch ime. don'tbelievehat t has o be his way.While don'tbelieveheperfect olidayseasonspossible,t canbea verygoodholidayseasonf we ust do a ittleplanning.Well,notsomuchplanning,aspayingattention o whatwe really wantanddon'twant.Sit downandmakea ist of whatyou'd ike to seehappen uringthisholidayseason. ake t a simpleistof ten hings,attitudes,rfeelingshatyou'd ike to have.Better et,make t a listof fiveorless. owering henumber f ourexpectationsill make t amuchmorepeaceful easonor everyonenvolved.The irst expectationoletgoof is perfection.Realizehat t isn'tgoing o beperfectnomatterwhatyoudo.This akesa ot of ttrepressureff. Expect heturkey ogetover cooked.Expecthe sizesor all theclothes oubought he elativesouhaven't eenn overayear o beall wrong.Too much urkey astyear.Expect hatnotall the ights will workwhenyougoto trim the reeor thehouse;andcertainlyexpect hemto be n a bigtangledmesswhenyouopen hebox hey've eenstoredn. Expect ines o be ong and emperso beshortbecause


30/74

otherpeople aven'toweredheirexpectationset.Now f noneoftheabove appensouwill behavinganearlyperfect eason.f itdoes appent won'tbother ouasmuch.If youhaveowered, rgottenealabout, ourexpectationshentheres room orsome piritualiving."I want o praymore." f thisiswhatyouwant,spendive or tenminuets achdayprayingaboutandcomposingprayeror yourThanksgiving ay meal.Make t aprayerhat ruly blessesll gathered,ndexpresseshatyouarethankful or. "[ want o touch he spiritualmeaning f thisseason."If this swhatyouwant, henspendust fiveor tenminuets ach ayin quietprayer.Youcan ocuson he originalevents,what heymusthavebeen ike, how hepeoplewere,what t wouldhavebeenlike for you o be here.Go out atnightandwalkunder he starstheyseemo bemuchbrighter t his imeof year.Walkunderhesame tars heshepherdsalked wo thousandears go. I want olovemore." f this s whatyouwantpickpresentsot for theircost,butfor what heysayabout ouandyour eelingsoward hepersonyouaregiving hem o.Whenyouare n a line hatyoucan'tgetoutof, create heer ather hana eer.Engage omeonen small alk. twill makehe ineseemo move aster.fyou arestuckn traffic,sayaprayeratherhan ume.Giveunexpectediftsof goodwill -lettingpeoplentoyour aneof traffic,or allowingsomeone ithonly wo temsogoahead f you n line.There recountlessaysto make his a moreholyandspiritual easonor all.Aboveall,payattention. hereare hosewhobemoanhatChristisn't n Christmas nymore.hat's ot rue. n themidstof all thelights, heSantaClauses nd he eindeer,hereareangels ndmanger cenes,ignsof hopeand he ove hat his seasonsallabout. t ust takes ittleattention. esus asn'tecognizedwothousandears goeither, xcept y a fewshepherdshowerequietenougho notice. t ust takesa littleattention thenandnowto make t agrateful ndnota bah-humbugeason.TheRev.MichaelE. Evernden,CSP,s Associate astorat St.John'sUniversityParish n Morgantown,WV."FatherMichael,"ashisfriendscallhim, sfeatured veryweek nThe Sunspotpiritualsection.Drophiman e-mailat [email protected].


31/74

PAYINGATTENTIONBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden,Sp

Placeso go, hings o dq peopleo see; ur ivesareverycomplicated ostof the irne.Mostof us eelpulled n avarietyofdirections,lffiy notof ourownmakingail aithesameime. iamazes e hat amiliesmaket to church tall onSundaymornings.hoes ndsockso matchandputon;pettysquabblesogyj9t" ood o prepare,he ist canbequite ong.Sometimesfind itdifficultenougho getmyserfo church,o saynothingof havingogetanentireamily hereon ime.we are n a constanttate fdistraction,eeingmany hingsandpayingattentiono few.wewindupat heendof theday ired,sometimeseelingempry,wondering hat t allmeans. hemeaning f whatwehavedoneescapess; hespirituality f whatwe havedoneescapess,becauseehavenotpaidattention.Sr.Joan hittister,spiritualwriterand ecturer,writesabout indingenlightenmentndspiritualityn everything."whereshall look or Enlightenment?"hedisciple sked."Here." heelder aid."Whenwill it happen?"hedisciple sked."It ishappeningightnow," heelderanswered."Thenwhydon't I experiencet?"thedisciple ersisted."Becauseoudonot ook," heeldersaid."Butwhatshould look or?uhedisciple ontinued."Nothing. ustook," heelder aid."Butatwhat?' hedisciple sked gain."At anything oureyes rightupon,"heerder nswered."Butmust look n a speciarindof way?" hedisciplewenton.'No. Theordinarywaywill do," heeldersaid.fl_Buton't alwaysook heordinaryway?" hedisciple aid."No,youdon' " theeldersaid."Butwhyevernot?" hedisciple sked."Becauseo lookyoumustbehere. ou'remosflysomewherelsg',theelder aid.

(JoanChittisternThere s a Season)


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MalcolmMuggeridge, hristianournalistsaid: Everyhappeninggreatandsmall saparable herebyGodspeakso us,and heartoflife is to get hemessage."piritualitydoesn't eginwhenweget ochurch,t happensongbeforehat.spirituality s to be ound n thetyingof shoes,matching f socks, reparing f food,quietinghesquabblesnd hedrive o church. obespiritualwhat sneededsattention; ndwhile his sa verysimple onceptt takes rotofdisciplineo develop.Thenext imeyou eelcompletelyutof control,pulledn athousandifferent irections ll at once, implypayattentionowhat s right n frontof you.Don'tworryaboutwhere ouhavebeen, r where ouneedoget o, ust payattentiono whatevershappeningight n fontof you. f it isapainfulmoment hold tgentlyn prayer ask orhealing.f it is oyful - relish t forall thatit is worth.Thispresentmoments all thatwe have.Thispresentmomentstheonlyone hatwecanbespiritualn; theonlymomentin whichGodspeaks parableo us.Payattention.TheRev.MichaelE. Evernden,CSP,s Associate astorat St.John'sUniversityParish n Morgantown,|/V. ,,FatherMichael,,,ashisfriendscall him, sfeatured veryweek nTheSunspotpiritualsection.Drophimane-moilat [email protected].&nsc.net.

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La* Itpdated B/IB/97contacting s oday.

The unsw Ltd-ThLc itcMqintoinsl bl S*,t D*isns - A WebDevelopment orrrpuny1997 heSuasptltd.Raised:August IE,1997TlreSmspt is.anqpenoruman4 assucbprovides paceor awidevarietyof viewsandqpinions.Materials ppearing The&mspotrpresentheviewsandopinions f tre writersandnot necessariblpse of TheSrmspoqtd-


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WHO ARE THE OPPRESSED?Bv Rev.MichaelE. Evernden. SP

Fr. ElwoodKiessr,CSP,Paulist riest,authorand ilm maker,wentto Ethiopian themid 1980s t theheightof theirdevastatingdrought nd aminewhichkilled housandspon housands. ewent here o film anddocumenthe crisisn ordero raiseconsciousnessndmoney, eren theUnitedStates,o easeheirtenibleplight.Fr. Kieser ound hesulleneyes f starving hildrenand hehopelessituation f theirmothers,athers,arnily, riendsandneighbors. ealso oundsomethingerysurprising. r. Kieserfoundoy amid hedevastation.n prayermeetings, orship ervicesbothCatholic ndnon{atholic, therewasa evelofjoy thatFr.Kiesersaidhe rarely ound n prayerandworshiphere n the UnitedStates. heirjoy, heirspiritualitywasbornout of theirhunger ndoppression.heirhopewas ocused n apowergreaterhanthemselveshatwoulddeliver hem rom heir slaveryo hungerpoverty ndoppression.Whenwe hink of poor,hungryor oppressedeopleweoftenimmediatelyhinkof ThirdWorldpeople, r people ehind henownonexistent erlinWall. Rarely,f ever,do we hink about urselvesaspoor,hungryor oppressed.f youare eadinghisarticle ouhaveaccesso a computer, robablyhavearoofoveryourhead, noughfood o eat,andno one s lookingoveryourshoulder smightbe hecasen a totalitarian tate. havementioned,n previous rticles,thatspiritualitysoftenbomour of our eelingof beingup againstthewall. Sooftenwe ind ourselvesrayingwhen ife isn'tgoingourway,whenweare acinga crisis.Spirituality s abouthope,t isabout iberationand reedom,t is about urning o apowergreaterthanourselves. ope, iberation, reedom realternativewords orsalvation nd edemption.f we see o need n our ives or thesequalities owarewegoing o develop ur spirituality?Whenwe eelself-satisfied efeelwe haveno needof apowergreaterhanourselves.f we believe hat we are he centerof the universehere snoplaceor God.I believe hat deep piritual iving is bornout of adversity ndoppression.believe hat hepowerof the scriptures, ndof


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l-ast todatedEnsnT

spirituality, s experienced estby thosewho feel the need o beliberated.We, in theFint World, experience n almost nvisibleform of oppression f our own making. Why do, socalled,"well off'peopleendup in divorce,separated, lone,usedrugsandalcohol,and ake heir own lives?There s oppressionn the workplace.People an be spiritually crushed y their perceptions f what"success"s. Onecanbecrushed y successtself. Any godotherthan he Living God will turn out to be, n fact, anoppressor, venakiller. Suchgodsdemandunbearable acrifices,andsuck he iferightout of the soul.Wealth ..public mage .. body mageorphysicalooks ..politicalpower..."excitement"... need o proveoneself ..demandso "produce omething..." romance" ndeventheneed o feel "loved" ... are among he hundreds,maybethousands, f oppressivealsegodsout there hat we fall victim to.Until we get o the basic,humbling ruth of how UN-wholewe are,howmuch we need iberation,we areprettymuchoppressed.Wewill continue o sacrificeourselves nd our families, riendsandneighborso somehonific falsegods.We will continue o suffer ourownnegativeselfjudgmentsuntil someone ropheticcomesalongwho can bring usgoodnewsof liberationand help us to pick theright God and dump he falseones.Ourreligions,imesof prayerbothpublicandprivate,ourspiritualityought o be he bearers, nd he moments, f thegoodnewsof liberation. f they arenot, then hey too havebecomeoppressivealsegods.The Rev.Michael E. Evernden, CSP, s AssociatePastor st St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown,WV."FatherMichael," ashisfriends call him, isfeatured everyweek nThe Sunspot piritualsection.Drop him an e-mail al mecslf,ELabyrinth.net

I Home Orieinal Work I Views Classified Communitv Hot SootsTheSunspots YOURcommunity ewspageMakeyourcontributiono NorthCentralWestVirginia's nlinenewsandentertainmentource ycontacting s oday.

W* o*r"rreit bybot Miens- A webDevibpment nyny


35/74

WHAT GOVERNSUS?By'Rev.Michael .Evernden,SP

By the imeyou ead hiswewill have lected newor re-electednincumbentresident. lectionTuesday, r electionweek or thatmatter, ocusesur affention nhowwe aregovernedsanationandas ndividuals.Whator whogovems s? n l2-stepprogramsthe deaof "principles efore ersonalities"susedasaguidingattitudeowardife within the ellowships. avingpaidattentionotherecentcampaign know moreabouthepersonalitieshan doaboutheprinciples f those unningor office.Elections aveturnedntoa battleof characterefects; ndnocandidateouldpossiblyiveup o theexpectationshatweplaceupon hem.As aprinciple,hepresidentselectedo "serve, rotectanddefend heConstitution f theUnitedStates,"o saynothingof TheBill ofRights.n our orm of governmenthepresidentsnot aruler,not akingor aqueen, uta servant hoseole t is to provideor thecommon elfare o hatall of usmay ealize ur Godgivendestinies. nlygovernmentyprinciple, otpersonality, illachievehisend.We expect ur aws o protect saswell; o ensure ur safety ndcommonwelfare.Our awsaren'tdoing his, andust increasinghenumber f lawswon't do his either.t seemshat he awhas unamuckn manyareas. first or secondraderwhogivesagirl apeckon hecheeks accusedf sexual arassment.n elderlyadyin Cincinnati,rying o beagoodSamaritan,s thrown n ailbecauset is "againsthe aw" o putcoinsn someonelse'sparkingmeter.Wehavebeenwarnedime andagain hat he etterof the awwill kill us,only hespiritof the aw will freeus. thinkwe expectoo much rom hepresidencynd oomuch rom he aw.Weexpecthepresidentnd/or he aw o dofor us whatwe cannot,orwon' do or ourselves. ewantsomeoneo blameand hepresidentnd he aw arebothgood argets. heresthecase f thepersonwho sued he stateof California and henationalparks,becauseheywerehit by lightening nHalf Domen YosemiteNationalPark.Theysued ecauseherewereno warning igns.Wearealwaysooking or someoneo blame.Thisperson nowsneithertheprinciples f nature r the arv.Don'tmisunderstande,we do

- : . r : I


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need aws,guidelinesandregulationsbut we needsomething ardeeper swell; we needspirituality. We need o be changed,transformed ot from without,but from within. We needsoul.Millions of people n l2-stepfellowshipsaregoverned y spiritualprinciples.Thereareno electedeaders, o hardand ast awsorrules,but spiritualsuggestionss o how one can ransform heirlives from within with thegoodwill, prayerand supportof others;and most mportanta God of their understanding, powergreaterthan hemselves.n these ellowshipsmiracleshappenon a dailybasis,peoplepassingrom thewayof death o the way of life andfreedom.M. Scott Peck, he authorwho wrote"TheRoadLessTraveled,"says hat l2-stepprograms ouldvery well be thesalvationof WesternCivilization. I believehe s veryclose o thetruth. Our political and religious nstitutionsneed o take noteofthese eopleiving by principles ather hanpersonalities.We needa revolution n our country,not with handguns r streetfighting,or evenmore aws;but a revolutionof our spirit, arevolutionof our soul which unitesus, supportsus andsustains s.TheRev. Michael E. Evernden,CSP, sAssociatePastorat St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown, WV."FatherMichoel," ashisfriends call him, isfeaturedeveryweek n TheSunspot piritualsection.Drop him an e-mail6y [email protected]

I Home Orieinal Work I ViewsI Classified CommunitvI Hot SpotsTheSunspots YOURcommunitl,'ner,vspageMakeyourcontributiono NorthCentralWestVirginia'sonlinenewsandentertainmentource ycontactings oday.

I'astUpdaed8/18/97TheSlznsm,Ild.T;;tr'yffiftY spdDaipns'A eb evetopmentonpanvRaised: August IE, 1997The &msqntis anopn orum and, as zucluprovidesspace or awide variety ofviews and opinions. Materials appearingnThe &mspotrepresent he views ard Winions of the writers urd not necessarily hose of TheSunspot,Ltd.


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WHEN YOU'REFEELINGUP AGAINST THE WALLBv Rev.MichaelE. Evernden. SP

The elevision magesof fires raging n SouthernCalifornia s an alltoo familiar sightfor me. was bom andraised n Los Angeles.Thefires area tragicannualevent.They becomeevenmore ragic whenthey sweep hroughneighborhoods,urning o thegroundall thatpeopleown in the world. We arenot without our own disasters erein WestVirginia. In 1985 he CheatRiver went on a rampagedesfioyinghomesand businessesn its path. nevitably elevisioncrews arriveto report the tragediesand o interview those affectedby them.As peoplestandat the sight of their bumedout or floodedhomes nterviewersask he samequestion. Whatwouldyou havesavedf you could?"Thereply is almostuniversal,pictures,ournalsor anything hat would connect hem with their memoriesand hepast.Spirituality abounds ut weoften don't see t until we arepushedupagainst he wall. Whenmy life is goingwell I ammore han willingto take otal responsibility or what is happening. t is when ifetums sour hat I begin askingquestions.When he tragedyof fire,flood,or someotherpersonal r family tragedyhappenshe questionthat comes o our lips first is: "why is God doing his to me?" Thereare hosewho blameGodfor all the unfortunateeventsn their lives;and hen akepersonal redit or what s goingright. Thereare hosetoowho say hat Godsendshe firesand hefloods, ornadoes ndearthquakes.While I don't believe hat God s the causeof ourtragedies, do believe hat God canbefound in the midst of ourfiagedies.t is when our lives are otally out of control hat we beginseekinga power greaterhan ourselves. his is what is beginning ohappenwhenpeoplesay heywould like to save hosepersonalitems hat connect hemwith their past.What we seelgmorethananythingelse,arespiritualconnections.We wantto knowthat wearenot alone.A feelingof communityoften only forms n the faceof tragedy.TheIsraelites ecamea people n the face of their commonslavery nEg5pt, I have been hrough a number of earthquakes.After a quakeneighbors, eoplewe maynot have alked o in years,are chattingtogether ike old friends about a commonexperience.n the


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aftermath f tragicevents ll sortsof localandnationalorganizationsush n to assistwhereneeded.When ohnF. Kennedywasass{lssinatedn Dallas herewasafeelinghat he wholecountrywasone. n these ituations e eela spiritualconnection, e feelaspiritual ommunion ith oneanother. he eal ragedysthat ttakesa tragedyo feel ike this.I don't believehat t has o be hisway. t isgood or us o reflecton whatwe sharen commonwith all othermembers f thehumanrace. t mightbegood o think aboutwhatwe wouldwant o savefeverything asgoing o be swept ut of our ives. believehat:1:',.;Tlffi":T,:,ll1i'ffiH"fti";ll"T"'i:T::thatwill sustain sno matterwhathappensn our ives;no matterwhatwe might oose n hematerial lane.People anonly endure ersonalr communalragedywhen hey

ffif.?f,'"il:,iTfi,1lT#'ilfJJ,TH,ffiJil:f',H,over;which s whatmostof thosewho haveexperiencedires, lood,tornadoesr earthquakeseemo beable o do.I:;i:"iy:"y:;';,fiJ-:f',1;:::;,:I::';;";":;:ff::;;,:fhisfriends call him, isfeatured rrry week inT-heSunspot piritualsection.Drop him an e-mail Dy [email protected]

lHomeOrieinalWork ViewsClassifiedCommunitvEotSpotsTheSunspots YOURcommunityervspageMakeyourcontributiono NorthCentralWestVirginia'sonlinenewsandentertainmentource ycontacting s oday.

ffi"etl by naeaisns-AwebDewlopmentompany1997heSuns@ItuLRevised:agust 18'1997fitc Smspotisan opsr forumand,assuch,provides paceor a widevarietyof views andopinions.Materials ppearing The Stmspotrepresentreviewsmd opinions fthe writersandnot necessarilyhose f TheSmspo Ltd.

LastUpdated /IEn7


39/74

WE MOT]NTAINSB1':Rev.MichaelE. Evemden,CSP

Manypeoplehink rhatspiritualitysdifficult o comebybut his snotso.Manybelievehat otsof prayers nd ancygesturesreneededn order o bespiritual, ut this snotso.othersbelievehatonly bygoingoffto remote r farawayplaces an heyget n touchwith theirspirituality, ut his oo s notso.Spirituality urroundss.Spiritualitys bornout of silence,silencewhichconnectsswithour deepestelves, ithour humancompanionsn heroad,andwith all creation. hissilenceshospitable.hissilencewelcomesll whocallandembracesithlove.Spiritualrtys a verygentilehing;at timesas ragileasasnowflake,tother imesasstrong s hemountains,utalwaysgentile.We,who ive n WestVirginia, resurroundedyspirituality;n ourmountainsnd iversand n thepeoplewhohavesettled ere.Thisspiritualitysso closeo us hatweoftenmiss t or take t forgranted.t is a verygentilehing.As anoutsider, rrivinghereust overseven ears go, wasstruckby thegeneral ospitality f our state; ot ust some eople utageneraleelingof havingrulycomehome.This eeling,his"spirituality" aspersistedn my travels roundhestate.Partofthis spiritualitys theeverpresentmountains.heyarenot oud,grandandboisterousikethose ound n the westernunitedStates;theyaregentile, ven ilent.SisterRobinElam,S.S.J., native f WestVirgini4capturedurmountainsn apoemwhich eflectsor me hespirituality f WestVirginia.


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"WeMountains""Wemountains...

Rooted n the sarneand.Reachingor thesamesky.

We arenot the largestof mountains,we are not the leastneitherare we alone.

Yet we stand ogether.Mysteriousclarity in loving shadow,strainingup wards o crystalclearnessDepositsof blue,painful silence.

Distancesharpens ur forms,An infinity of space pens'round s.lntimacydeepens ur love.

Scars isible,newgrowth.Patterns merge, recherished.

We Mountains..Dying in this same and,Risingtoward hesamesky.

Spirituality s aroundus and within us. All we needdo is bestill andembracet lovinglyTheRev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePastor at St.John'sUniversityParish in Morgantown, (V. "FatherMichael,,,ashisfriends call him, isfeaturedeveryweek nTlte Sunspot piritualsection. Drop him an e-mail by mecso(Drbvrinth.net


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POWERLESSBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

We hearphrasesike "powerfulheadacheeliet the mostpowerfulantacid,works wice as astas any other," and he military alwayswantsmore"bang or the buck." We alwaysseemo besearchingfor what is morepowerful, aster,bigger.Howeverwhen t comes ospirituality ess s actuallymore,A major key to spiritualdevelopments powerlessness.eingpowerlesss not somethingwelike to hearabout,or be, n a world wherewe equatepowerwithcontrol and success.We would havea lot fewerheadaches,psetstomachs, nd war if we exercised bit morepowerlessness.Thealarm clock rings, wepress he snooze ar,and OOPS,we'relate.All's goingwell until we go to tie our shoes.There'sa knot -drats, ug, pull, yanh we fight to the bitterend andnothinggetsbetter. t is time to admit hat we arepowerless ver he shoelace.We relax for a moment,meet t on it's own termsandgradually tcomesunraveled.We areon our way qt last.We wastedmore imetugging,pulling and swearing han hetime it too to gentlyunravelthe mess.But, we are ate. 'm not golng o give an nch to anyoneon the wayto work. We guardour spaceike a buried reasure. hepressuresbuilding. There s a slight throbbing n our templeand our stomachdoesn't eelverygoodeither.For all our effortwe may haveshaveda wholeminuteoffour commute.We arepowerless ver otherpeople'smistakes,andbad habits but that doesn'tmean hat we haveto be angryandupset.Relax, 'm powerless. may aswell make hisan enjoyableexperienceor all; giving others he right of way, beinggentile,beinggood o myself. may oosea minuteor even wo but Ifeelsoooomuch better.Embracinghe realrtyof my powerlessnessakesme mmediatelymore spiritual because recognizehat I don'thave o controleverything. don't have o control or make excuses or otherpeople'sbad behavior. don'thave o take on total responsibility or ourworld. I'll leave hoseobs to my higherpo\iler, o the God of myunderstanding.When we let go we canrecognizewtrereall goodthings come rom. Thegoodthings come rom God; andthosegood


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Last Updoted /18/97

TheSunspots YOURcommunity ewspageMakeyourcontribution o North CentralWestVirginia'sonlinenewsandentertainmentource y

things can low throughme nto the lives of others.Thebad hingsusually esultwhen try to take back control,not allowing hegoodness f God o flow through me.I need o add hat beingpowerless oesnot mean hat we arehelpless.Beingpowerless oesnot mean hat we becomedoormatsfor the whimsof otherpeople.Beingpowerless imple ecognizesthe sourceandmeaningof our lives. Beingpowerless lacesus nthe correct context, and brings balance nto our lives.Life is not amatterof winning or losing,but of living in balanceandharmonywith all that is aroundus.Whenour headsbegin o throband our stomachs egin o ache,we need o let go of something.Wearedoing something hat s not ours o do. We are rying to controlsomething hat is not oursto control. Eachand everydaywe arereceivingmessageshat will leadus to a moreharmonious ndbalancedife; but we areoften o busy rying to control everything ohear hosemessages.Thegospelmessage f love, healingand wholeness omesmostpowerfully o thepowerless,hepoorand heoppressed.t was herich andpowerfirlwho could not hearandreceive he messagefJesus ecausehey were oo busy ry to protect hemselves ndcontrolothers. f you want o bemorqspiritual- stop, elan, et go.The Rev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePastorat St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown,WV."FatherMichael," ashis riends call him, is eatured everywee in The Sunspot piritualsection. Drop him an e-mail by mecs{drobvrinthnet

lHome OrieinalWork ViewsClassifiedCommunitvHot Snots

contacting s oday.

The Sunslrfi ltd.ffi".a by sodrlais,,s -A webDevelopmentcompanylelryy*ry ry.Revised: ugust 18,1997


43/74

CHANGINGOURMINDBy Rev.MichaelE. Evernden,CSP

Our world stouched ywonder ndpossibility. he hing hatmakest so schange. heoneconstantn life is change. verythingchanges.all s n theair.We canseeand eel he ransitionromthewarmthof Summero thecoldof Winter.Changes everywhere.Why hendowe ind it sodiffrcult o change urminds,hecourseor pattem f our ives?Oftenwe are ike the astmapleeafclingingto abranch, nwilling o letgoandmoveon o newwonders ndpossibilities.Whyaresome eople o esistant,o unwilling o letgoof thewinter-deadranch ndembraceomethingew?We holdon evenwhenwe know we ought o letgoof somedestructiveelationshipor behavior.Weholdon to the amiliarevenf the amiliar suncomfortablerdownright ainful.Why?Fears a major eason.Fearof failure.We areafraid hat henewway won't work.Weareafraid o admit hatwhatwe havebeendoingdoesn'tworkanymore,maybe everworkedat all.N0 one ikes o admit ailure.Perhapswe areafraidof whatotherswill think andwe ear ejection. astly,we maybeafraid hat we arenot up to the taskof changing ecausechange oesequire nergy. lose ntheheels f theseears swinningand osing;we want o bewinner'snot osers.Spacelight fascinates e.Voyager's dysseyrmongheplanetsandbeyondsparticularly xciting ome.However,hevoyage fthis iny craftwouldnotbepossible ithouthundreds,venthousands,f tiny midcourseorrections. changen plansswhatmakeshiswonderful oyage ossible ndopens sup o thewonders f unseen orlds.What s trueof Voyager'soumey o the stars s trueof ourjourneyamong eople ndbetweenations. he ecentroubles etweenIsraelandPalestine rebetween eoplewho refuse o changeheirminds.Holding ast o old,andsometimesired, deashey ight tothebitter end,not knowrnghow or trying to find apeaceful ath.Afraidof losing, heystandpat n thepainandmisery.What s true of nations s also rue of someamiliesand riendships.


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. . - , . : . . . . '

We unconsciously rift into differentcorners, ot evenknowinghow we got there.What is worsewe don't know how to getout ofour respective omers gracefully.So afraid of giving in, of lookinglike a loser,we too standpat in our pain andmisery.Sometimesradical moves ike separation, vendivorce,arenecessary; ut oftenour pathsust need o be weakedn newand exciting directions oimprove he qualityof our lives.What s true of some amilies and riendships s also rue in ourindividualpersonalives. Foryears knew I was n troublewith myabuseof alcohol. didn't want to admit that I couldnot managemyown life. I didn't want to bea loserand didn't know how to ask oror where o go for help. knew changewasnecessary ut didn'tknow how orwhere to begin.Fortunately wo friendsof mine inSeattledid know what o do, did it, and amnow enjoyingyearsofrecovery.Changecontinuesn my life. Recently 've had o make someverydifficult changeso improve hequalityof my life. What I find,when t look back over heyears,s that ust the right peoplearethere,sayingand doing ust the right thing, that I need o make henecessary hangesn r$y life. My spirituality eachesme hat ustthe right opportunities,ust theright peoplearegoing o continue ocropup in my life. What need o pray or is thewisdom o seize heopportunitiesandrecognizehepeople hat the God of myunderstanding lacesn my path.While the one constantn life is change; he oneconstant n myspirituality is the unconditionalove of Godwho wantsnothingbutgood or me. need o prayso as o alignmyselfwith the lovingpowerof God. I need o prayso tts o experiencehewonderandpossibilityof eachnew day.The Rev.Michael E. Evernden,CSP, s AssociatePastor at St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown, IV'V. Father Michael," oshisfriends call him, isfeaturedeveryweek nThe Sunspot piritualsection.Drop him an e-mail by nucsp(dr'bvfuuhnet

IHomeOrieinalWork Views ClassifiedCommunitvHot Snots. : i . , \ r . . . i :_ rTheSunspots YOURcommunity ewspage

t : : : al


45/74

SAINTS, ANGELS, and UFOsBy'Rev.MichaelE. Evemden, SP

An all timerecordat hebox offrcewassetwith the eleasef themegrmovie ndependencery. Our maginations,f notoureyes,are urnedupwardwith the eleasef suchmovies, nd hepopularity f televisioneriesike TheX Files.A sholl hrough nybookstore, r evenaHallmarkcardstore, evealshe nterestnangels ndotherspiritualbeings.People re rying oget n touchwith theirpast ives; ying to find something oresecurehan heeverchanging resentmoment. heCatholicChurch as everedit's saints ver hecenturies.hyllisMcGinley n herbookSaintWatching hows he concemor anddesire o knowour spiritualsuper eroes.We aremarking imeasweapproachheendof onemillennium ndthebeginning f another.Weare nterested,ndsome eemobsessed,egardinghingsspiritualand hings eligious. heresnodoubt n this writer'smind hatweare ooking or apowergreaterthanourselves,opefully benevolentne.UFOsandaliensmayverywell be he echno-angelsf our day;benevolentr malevolentdepending ponwhat heybring o our inyplanet.We always eemto assumehat heyaremoreadvanced,higher,"andhopefullywiser hanwe are, hough ndependenceayshattershat llusion.However, e areseeking,earchingheskiesand he universeor asign,a word,agesture,ome int of hope or our oo ragmentedandbrokenworld.Maybewe are ooking n thewrongdirection.Most, f notall, of theworld'sgreateligionseachusnot o look otheheavens,ut to lookwithin for thepowerandshengtho guideour ives.As a RomanCatholic ries obviously, atholicismsthetradition hat knowbest.As a Christian, mongChristians,esussmysuperhero.Jesuss my Word, hepowerand he strength f mylife. Againandagainn theGospel tories esuseminds s hat:"TheKingdom TheRealm)of God s withinyou."WhenJesusinstructs s onhowto prayhe ells us o goto our rooms, losehedoor andprdy, n private; n otherwordsgoinside,go ntothesilencewithin us whereGodour higherpowermaybe ound.Thegreatmystics,MeisterEckhart, ohnof theCross, heresaf Avillqandcountless thers howuspathsdirectingusdeepntothe


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interior ife where hepower,direction and serenityof Godmaybefound.Having apped nto this powerandserenf we areenabled o betterlive the ives we havebeengiven.On a practical evel haveoftenfell into thetrapof thinking that God s with me whenall is goingwell, andnotwith me whenall is going o pot. In themomentswhenI have elt God's absencet is a temptation o think that I am notpraying n theright way; that someother ormula will getGod'sattention,or maybe need o run offto a whole differentkind ofreligionor religiousexperience. owever eligion,spirituality,prayer s all aboutestablishing ndmaintaininga living relationshipwith God.When ife doesn'tseem o beworking the way we want tto work; this is not the time to blastoffon somenew venture,gethigh on drugsor alcohol,or search he heavens or a benevolentalien Jesusells us t is time to onceagaingo within - to lookdeeperwithin our own spiritual and religious raditions, o lookdeeperwithin ourselves ndreestablish ontactwith the sourc,e f alllife and all good.The reality is that Godhasn'tmoved,we have.Forthoseof you who may haveno formalized eligious radition, orway of prayingdon't worry. Just startwhereyou a^re.alk to God asyou imagineGod o be.Talk to God asyou would talk with a closefriend. Ask for whateverhelpyou may need n a givenday, and saya quiet hankyou when heday draws o anend.Realizpthilwalking in the woods, ishing,playingon thefloor with a two yearold, can be veryprofound ormsof prayer.Prayer s asnear o youasyourdesire o pray. t is all quitesimple,so don't complicate t.This article of "reflections"weremeant o be introductoryonly. Ihope n future o reflect to chat about hings spiritual, hingsreligious. n the mean ime, find your religioussuperhero,walk withthe angles,and keepan eyepointedskyward youneverknow.

The Rev.Michael E. Evernden, s CSPAssociatePastorat St.John's UniversityParish, Morgantown, W.

ISope IOrieinelWork lV_iewsCb$ilied ICommunitv Eot Soots


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\\.H}' CAN'T I GET HAPPYAND PEACEFUL?Bv Rev.MichaelE. Evernden

Mostof uswant o livepeaceful ndhappy ives.So,why aresomanypeople nxious ndunhappy?believehatspirituality, rayerand eligionshouldeadus n thepathof peace ndhappiness. hy,then,dosomany religious" eople eem ounhappy, r comeacross onegative ndudgmental? think it is a matterof whereour spiritualivesarecentered.Theheartof the matter s that weareconstantly rawnaway romour center.We iveon hesurface ndonlywith difficultydo wesink down ntothe spiritualand herefore ink down ntopeace ndhappiness.neof my favorite eadingsromscriptures found nthe irst Bookof Kings,chapter 9. t is the storyof Elijah, heprophet, oingon to themountainof God Horeb.Therehe sinstructedo gooutsidehecaveand ook or Godwhowill bepassingy.First heres a strong eavywind- but Godwasnot nthewind.Next herewasanearthquake,hen ire,butGodwasnotin these ither.Finaltyherewasa "tinywhisperingound" ndElUah id his ace or thiswasGod.In anotherlaceGodsaysBestill,andknow hat amGod." Bestill?"Youhaveobekidding. 'vegotplacesogo, hings o do,peopleo meet, xpectationso bemet. Bestill?"Yougot o bekidding.Berng till isamajorkey nto hespiritualife,a majorkeyto unlocking eace ndhappiness.imeandagain esuseminds sthat he ealmof God ieswithinus.Timeandagain esus oes ffto an solated laceo be still andcommunewith God- his Father.When takea brief nventoryof spiritualpeople admire hey arethe oneswhowereable o be still for significantmomentsn theirlives.Rarelydo wehearhat"tinywhisperingound" ecauseurlivesareust toobusy,oonoisy.Oftenourvacations reust asbusyandnoisyas herestof theyear.Another avoritescripture tory sthat of Peter, t the biddingofJesus,walkingonthewater.As long asPeterwas ocused n Jesus,on the calmcenter, e wasaU ight.As soonasPeterbecame wareof thewind and hewaves,heworries, earsandanxieties f life heOrtl to sink.We oo easilygetovenvhelmed yall that s goingon


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in our ives,all thatstuffthatdraws s awayrom our spiritualcenter.The urtherweget rom our spiritualcenter hemoreanxiousand earfulwe become.Someonealledme heotherday.His mind was acing.He wasjumping rom oneexpectationo thenext hatmightcome rue nhis ife. nWhatshould do?"heasked. toldhim to consciouslywalk moreslowly. toldhim to breathemoreslowly. toldhimtotalk moreslowly. toldhim hat f hedid these hysicalhingshismindwould ollow, t toowouldslowdownandbemorepeacefulandhappy. told him thisbecausehadust been rying he samething, indingmyself acingromone hing o thenext.Thissimpleexercise orks,and t issomethinghatwecandono matterwhereweare. t is, I believe, form of prayer ecauserayers anythingthatbringsus back o ourspiritualcenter.At anymomentwe canreturno thecalmspiritual enter f our ives,getour bearings ndmoveonmore elaxed, eaceful,appyandserene.Elijah oundhis spiritual enter t theentrancef a caveanda "tinywhisperingound."Peteroundhisspiritual enter y focusing nthe calmcenter f his ife, Jesus.We oomust indourspiritualcenter ndpracticewaysof aniving hereat anytimewe want.Ourpeace ndhappinessesultsrom imesof solitude, uiet,calm,nourability o bestill.

The Rev.Michael E. Evernden. s CSPAssociatePastor at St.John's UniversityParish,Morgantbwn,WV.Returnto The SunspotHomePaee

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THIRSTY?B1':Rev.MichaelE. Evernden, SP

TheAmazon iverflows nto the SouthAtlantic with such orceandvolume hat heresdrinkablewateronehundredo onehundredand ifty milesout n theocean.t hasbeen eportedhatpeoplehavediednot knowingherewasdrinkablewater ightunder heirboats. his s thecaseor manywho areseeking pirituality. ustaswe wouldnot expecto find drinkingwaterahundredmilesoutatse4 wedon'texpecto find spirituality ightunderour eet.Theocean eemsikeanunlikelyplaceo find drinkingwater;andourordinaryivesseemsikeanunlikelyplaceo find spirituality.Over hepast ew weeks havebeensaying hat here s far more oprayer ndspirituality hanust going o church r saying urprayers.often eel hatweput he cartbefore heox.Mostof thetimeour starting oint swith church, nychurch,with its beliefs,practices,ulesand egulations;henwe ry to figureout howall thisfits into our ives.Often t feels ikesquare egsn roundholes.believewe have o startat heotherend.Weneedo beginwith ourlivedexperiencesndmoveowardbeliefs, hurch, ractices,ulesand egulationshatwill helpus makesense ut of our ives.Weneedo beginwith the"stuff'ofour livesand hen igureouthowwe aregoing o dealwith our"stuff."Thecenter f ourspirituality eedso residewithinus.Only herecan he spiritof spiritualrty rodus,motivate s,moveus o deeperanddeepernsights boutourselves,ur Godand heworld n whichwe iveandmoveandhaveourbeing.Our spiritualityssomethingthatpervadesvery ingleaspect f our ives.Theseparationfchurchandstatesgood or providingreedom f worship ut wecannotake his oo iterally.Our spirituality anandshould olorall of our houghts ndactions, hould olorall thatwe do whetherin churchor out of church.We cannot elegate ur spirituality omoments f formalprayern privateor in community. piritualitysfundamentally boutour ivesand he ransformation f ourselves sindividuals nd ogether sacommunity.Our ancestorsn faith moved rom their experience f God o waysof expressingheirrelationshipwith God.First comeshe


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experience,hen come heexpression f that experience. heexperiencealways comesbefore he story.We write down orcelebratewhat we haveexperiencednot the otherway around.Thisis why birthdayscomeat the end of theyearwe are celebratingrather han at the beginning.To developour spirituality wehave o begin wherewe are- notwherewe hopeor want to be. often hearpeoplecomplain hatwhen theypray they get sodistractedby thoughts, eelingsandemotionshey would rathernot have.People omplainbecauseheythink thatprayershouldsomehowalwaysbe blissful,calming,holysounding.People eel that if theygo to a quiet place hen t shouldbe quiet.Oftenwhat happenss that all sortsof moods, eelingsandvoicesenter nto thequiet place n our minds we have ried tocreate.Thequestions what areyou being distractedby?Thedistractionswe havecan be he "stuff' of our prayer. f we areangry,moody,upset then his is what we need o prayover.Prayershouldalso eadus to actionswhich will bring about he desiredtransformationn our lives and he lives ofthose aroundus.If I ammoodyor depressedneed o prayover t and hen mayneed o seekout a counselor r someself helpgroup. f I am ecstaticaboutsomeevent needpraya prayerof thanksbut alsoseekout afriendto share t with or a wholegoup of people.We deepen urspiritualitywhen we seekout the fellowshipof otherswho haveexperiencedhe same hings aswe have.Togetherwe draw upon heexperience, frengthandhopeof one another.When gather or worshipwith my Catholic community do so olisten o what our ancestorsn faith have o say hrough hescriptures.join in thesharing f the breadof life andcup ofsalvationwe share o draw strength rom Godandoneanother.bringto Sundayworship he cares, he successesnd hefailuresofthepastweek andput them n God'shands;andI prayfor thestrengtho do what Godwantsme to do in the comingweek.Ourlivesare he "stuff' of bothour communaland our privateprayer.The"stuff' of our spiritualityis right underour feet.TheRev. Michael E. Evernden, CSP, s AssociatePastor at St.John's UniversityParish in Morgantown, I{V. "Father Michael" isfeaturedeveryweek n The Sunspot piritual section.Drop him ane-mail be clicking lgre.


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WHAT'S IN A NAME ?Bv Rev.MichaelE. Evernden. SP

I hada baptism he other day, andas usual, he first question askedtheparentswas"whatnamedo you giveyour child?"What's n aname? ustabouteverything.Refening o the child as"child, boy,girl or it," u'ould be avery mpersonalwayof relating o thechild."Don'tyou ust love it," has a far different eeling han"don'tyoujust love Mary, or John" or whatevernameyou gave he child.Think of how many times a dayyou namesomething.Wenamepeople,places,hings, eyenmoodsand eelings,sothatwe canbe inrelationshipwith them.Without a namewe arestuck.How wenameour experience f thingsoften determineshefeelingswe havetowardvarioussifuations.How we name hings canoftendetermineour psychologicalmood andour well being.Just asnaming hepeople,places,and hings aroundus s importanlnamingGod s also mportant.How we nameGod determines owwe aregoing o relate o God or whetherwe aregoingto relate oGodat all. I run into peopleall the time who havegrownup withvery dysfunctionalmagesof God.God s imaginedas he angryoldman, hetaskmaster,he onewho is "going o getyou" if you aren'tgood.Often hesenegativemagesof Godhavebeenusedbyindividualsand nstitutions o controlotherpeople.Manypeopledon't hink theyhave he ability or theright to nameGodforthemselves. thersworry that if we allow people o nameGodthatwe will comeup with all sortsaf crazygod'sandnot be nrelationshipwith God.This has not beenmy experience, or has tbeen he experience f our ancestorsn the faith.Even a brief overviewof the bible revealsa multitude of imagesorGod.God s roch motherhen, riend, over, savior,warrior,king,defender,wall of brass,pillar of fire by night, smokeby day,eagle'swings andon and on the descriptions o.God s all of these hingsandyet noneof these hings.The biblical writers used mages hatwerefamiliar to them, images hey felt captured he goodness ndlove of God.While their list is extensivet is my no meansnclusivebecauseheywerewriting from a verypatriarchalpoint of view.There are so manynirmes or God becausewe ust can't contain, nhumanwords, hemysteryof God's ruenafure.Perhapshe onewe


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use hemost s "God s ove."God sperfectove,compassion,justice, orgiveness,ife giver,andall theotherpositiveaspectshatwe wouldattributeo God.We don'tattribute arlqevil,or sinisterffiH:ff:1X1fi"*.1"f;:?iil:i.T:Tl,i,::1God,and hat isn'tpossibte.Theproblem s thatwe expectGod obe and o interactwith usaswe do with eachother. f we call G

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