4/29/2023 0 Comments Embrace the chaos![]() … Catastrophes and problems were caused by the world literally becoming disordered." Obedience meant knowing your place in the social hierarchy that "kept humanity from falling back into chaos." "In past centuries," Mousseau writes, "obedience was clear and easy to understand. I found it to be an intriguing reflection and connection. Juliet Mousseau reflects on the vow of obedience and our relationship with chaos. In her forthcoming book, Prophetic Witness to Joy: A Theology of the Vowed Life, Sacred Heart Sr. Moreover, Silf points to the current thinking in physics that "breakdown is a necessary precursor to breakthrough." Perhaps we have been collectively fooling ourselves into thinking that we could control and hold back the chaos, or even get through it to the other side. ![]() New possibilities can 'foam forth,' one by one, instant by instant." Chaos is part nature. "The action of God on the raw material of creation gives us a clue," writes Silf. On my second reading this summer, I understood the other side more as the opportunity and possibility inherent in the chaotic mess. On my first reading a decade ago, I focused on the other side aspect, as in getting to the other side where everything would be moonbeams and rainbows. Plus, chaos is a reality, and we can resist it, or we can find a way through. Chaos is a gift, overflowing with potential." Again, the past 10 years I have not been so sure that chaos has felt like a gift, but I concede her point. Silf writes that "chaos is a sacred reality, the very thing that is needed for a new creation to begin. I thought I knew what chaos was like then, but we all know what the last 10 years has taught us in the chaos department. Instead, I wear T-shirts every day, including my two current favorites: one that lists the names of Black saints and another that boldly proclaims, "Embrace Chaos and Choose Joy."Ībout 10 years ago on retreat, I read The Other Side of Chaos: Breaking Through When Life is Breaking Down, by Margaret Silf. I take pictures of the beauty of God's creation. I tend to sleep a lot on retreat (there's the rest part). My community's Constitutions remind me of the reason for retreat: "We nurture our life of prayer by reflective reading, particularly Scripture, by periods of solitude and silence, and by an annual retreat." Over the years, I have come to realize that retreat is important not just for rest, but more importantly for renewal of my relationship with God and of my spirit for mission. However, what seems to most catch the imagination and desires of my friends, especially those who are parents, is time away from the chaos of daily life. They sometimes express relief when I share that I speak with a retreat director each day who helps me in that listening. I then explain that because I don't have the pressures of the everyday when I am on retreat, I am better able to listen for the movement of the Spirit. ![]() "A whole week without talking," they wonder? They look at me like I have transformed before their very eyes into the Dalai Lama. When I share about my annual silent retreat, many of my family and friends at first get stuck by the silent bit. The opportunity to take a week away each year from the chaos of life to just be with God on retreat is one of the luxuries of being a Catholic sister.
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