This week we have our Sunday reflection from Laura along with some more book recommendations.
If you have thoughts on the books, leave a comment! We’d love to hear from you. If you would like to share a favorite read in one of the following categories - fun summer read, faith/spiritual/devotional, of the time - send me an email at jennifer@wisdomsdwelling.com.
Peace,
Jenn
Questions? Comments? Interested in contributing? Contact Jenn at jennifer@wisdomsdwelling.com.
Summer Book Recommendations continue
Kelly Sankowski recommends this week’s books:
Rewilding Motherhood by Shannon Evans - Starting with the concept of "rewilding" a prairie by planting native plants that had previously been removed by humans, Evans explores how we can undo some of the harmful narratives we have all been told about motherhood and bring joy back into it. Each chapter includes some questions for reflection at the end, and Evans weaves in Ignatian spirituality and scripture throughout as well. She released this book almost exactly when my first son was born, and that timing was a grace. While I was not yet fully in the thick of motherhood, I am grateful that she planted the idea of needing to remain true to myself in the midst of a season where it would be so easy to lose myself. I have returned to it again and again over the past four years and would recommend it to moms of all stages (Honestly, I am probably due for a re-reading myself!).
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer - Kimmerer, an indigenous scientist, explores the concept of a “gift economy” in an extended essay (a length which I appreciated!) She observes how the serviceberry tree shares its abundance of fruit, and how birds then give the gift of spreading the seeds. In a world and economy where so much is transactional, this book provides a glimpse into how other parts of God’s creation do not act that way, but instead operate from a place of generosity. While reading, you can’t help but wonder if perhaps we were actually created to act that way too.
Sunday Reflection
For Emmitt
By Laura Gilmartin Hancock
I facilitate Urban Plunge Immersion Retreats. During these retreats students learn about, serve, and hopefully encounter in small meaningful ways, some of the people in our city who have been systemically overlooked because of their poverty. During our introductory conversations we learn about our models of ministry, St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Oscar Romero. I share with students some of my core values, which include authenticity and presence, and ask them to do the same. We review the gift of Catholic Social Teaching, the significance of the universality of human dignity, and pray for experiences of discomfort, believing that when we prayerfully attend to experiences of discomfort God will help us to grow in wisdom and expand our capacity to love.
Recently, in the middle of the second day of a retreat, we had a couple of hours for lunch and rest. I shifted my thinking into the set of tasks that I hoped to complete during this time: I wanted to go for a quick run, run some errands, and check in on my kids after their day at school. As I was filling up my car at a gas station, a guy approached asking if I could help him get some food from the convenience store. Since I was tired and on a tight schedule, I didn’t even really listen to him and said, “No, I’m sorry, I don’t have any cash on me.” He said, “You don’t need cash, you can just go get it for me.” I said, “No, I’m sorry, not today.”
Then he said to me, “You know I know you, right?” I took a little closer look at him, and not recognizing him said, “No, I don’t know that.” I turned my attention back to the gas pump.
He walked aside a few feet and sat on a brick wall to rest. Moments later, the gas station attendant came out of the store and started yelling at the man, telling him to leave the premises. A somewhat heated exchange of words began and I wasn’t sure how this thing would turn out.
And then I heard, really heard, the man’s voice.
And I realized that I did know the man.
We had multiple, meaningful encounters in the past: I knew the man’s name, I knew parts of the man’s story, I knew that he had recognized me because our hearts had been connected, and I knew that because I was distracted by the (reasonable) tasks of my life, I had not had the presence of heart to recognize him.
I think now of the person wounded by robbers along the side of the road in today’s Gospel. In a guided meditation of this passage that I listened to the other day, I was invited to imagine that the wounded person, not unconscious as I had always experienced them previously, was awake and aware enough to see… and even recognize… the people who chose not to help. I imagined that the wounded person saw the first passerby and recognized them from a church service they attended. Then they recognized the second person as a person of local prominence. I felt in my imagination the pain and the anger they must have experienced at having been purposefully overlooked by these leaders.
I realized I was one of those people.
Thankfully, like finally recognizing Emmitt’s voice and being given the opportunity to do better, like the scholar of the law in today’s Gospel, and like Moses who reminded the people in Deuteronomy, we DO know the teaching and the voice of God: “it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out." May we have the presence and the courage to do so.
Classifieds
Here you will find information from our contributors - their sites, publications, shops, and more. If you enjoy their periodic posts, you’ll love all these additional resources!
Sweet Unrest
Renée Roden shares weekly(ish) spiritual and journalistic reflections on the sweetness of god & grace in the unrest of Catholic Worker living. Follow here.
Add to Your GoodReads!
Tantur: Seeking Christian Unity in a Divided City is a timely and important history of a Vatican institute, on the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, that tries to bring unity to a church and a land riven with conflict. Pre-order Renée Roden's debut from Liturgical Press here. Now available!
The Moon's Shadow
Kelly Sankowski's monthly Substack where she grapples with questions about womanhood, motherhood, faith, and the Church, with an eye toward wonder.
The Well Spirituality Center
This is a great place to find online and in person offerings. They hosted our editor, Jenn, when she gave a retreat on Hildegard.
Wonder and Awe
A free monthly newsletter on finding God in words, images, sounds, and spaces by Catherine Sullivan.
The Pondering Heart
A monthly substack where I explore the intersection of spirituality, theology, and everyday life by Alli Bobzien.
Prayers of Lament and Hope for LGBTQ+ People
A blog that gives a list of petitions that can be prayed at mass specifically for LGBTQ+ persons. Email jane.aseltyne@gmail.com or follow me on insta @justonejane.
madisonchastain.com
A hub for writing about the body, faith, and culture, my author website contains links to all my published work as well as access to my Shop where I sell zines filled with exclusive writing, art, and photos.
Katie Davis-Crowder's Website
Discover Katie's offerings (spiritual direction, retreats, music, presentations), read her writing, find event information, and get in touch!