"Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain? Whoever walks without blame, doing what is right, speaking truth from the heart; Who does not slander a neighbor, does no harm to another, never defames a friend; Who disdains the wicked, but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath despite the cost, lend no money at interest, accepts no bribe against the innocent. Whoever acts like this shall never be shaken." - Psalm 15
This weekend we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Nazareth Farm. We started the celebration with a board meeting Friday and today (Saturday) we celebrated a prayer service in the morning with a renewal of the mission statement of the Farm and a blessing of the Farm and its affiliates over the years. Tonight we will have a local band come and play for all those who came to celebrate and on Sunday we are celebrating Mass in the morning followed by a dedication of our porch to Jeanette Sandora.
In the prayer service the above Psalm was read and it caused me to reflect upon the purpose of the Farm and our lives in general as Christians. This Psalm gives us a little insight to the religious tradition to the people of the time period. The "tent" refers to the temple in which the Isrealites gathered. Prior to the building of a temple, Moses and the people traveled through the wilderness in search of the promised land. During their search, they carried the ark of the covenant in a tent which was a designated place where the Lord resided. The mountain is a referral to a designated holy place as well. This also could be a referral to the mountain in which Moses encountered God and received the ten commandments and the laws of the people.
In this Psalm an Israelite is asking a temple official what the requirements are to enter the presence of God. You then notice that the requirements simply spoke are to be true to yourself, love your neighbors, love your friends, refrain from what you know is wrong and when you assist the poor do it free of charge. (At the time period people did not lend money as investments, they did so to help out a struggling neighbor and hence they can be seen as the "poor" in their community. It would have been against the Law of God given by Moses to charge interest on that loan.). It was the belief of the Jewish people that they must abide by the commandments and laws in order to receive salvation. The laws included sacrifices of lambs, rams, cattle and other various animals. However, God became man in Christ Jesus and sacrificed His life as one final sacrifice for ALL humans. Christ became the sacrificial lamb. Before He departed this earth He left us with a series of teachings through stories, parables and His own living example.
Upon His death and resurrection the Holy Spirit was transferred into the bodies of the Apostles at Pentecost and through Baptism we receive the living God within us in the form of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of our faith is a beautiful thing yet challenging and extremely radical. Because of all this we are now called to take our faith to the next level. Not only must we follow the instructions given to us in Psalm 15 to be able to enter the temple (church) where God is present, but we must become a living EXAMPLE of Jesus Christ who is present with us through the Holy Spirit. This means that not only must we be respectful to the poor WHEN we help them but we are called to go OUT OF OUR WAY to help the poor. As we also heard in our prayer service today Jesus tells us in the book of Matthew chapter 25:31-46 we are to be judged by what we do for those around us. It is not just those who rob the poor (charge interest on loans) who break the Law of God as the old testament suggests, but it is also those who do NOTHING who are not answering the call to love and serve one another.
Nazareth Farm was developed to become a community deeply rooted in prayer which lives simply in honor of those who lack basic needs and who uses their many blessings to live with and serve the needs of those around them. Is this not what we are all called to do as Christians? I urge all of you to reflect upon your living situation, your family, your community. Are you worthy of "entering the tent" as listed by the Psalmist and are you a living example of Christ to others as we are called to be in the New Testament? Celebrate with us the last 30 years of "Just Living" which Nazareth Farm has been an example of by bringing home the ideas and cornerstones of the Farm into your own lives.
Welcome Home,
Nazareth Farm
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Reflection from a Volunteer
A Home Away From Home
It’s been said that “home is where the heart is”, but I never quite understood what that truly meant until the Spring of 2008 when I spent a week in Salem, West Virginia, one of the poorest districts in the country. Having been raised in the Bronx, to me home was basically a safe haven from the cruel world we live in; a place where I rested my head at night, did my homework and all the other daily routines of life.
“Welcome Home!” – these were the first words I heard when we arrived at Nazareth Farm, the place we would call “home” for the next week as we helped to repair homes that were condemned by the City of Salem, West Virginia. One week of hard work, teamwork and spiritual growth would be the week that would change my life forever.
During this week, myself, along with 11 others from my school and 40 others from Tennessee, New Jersey and Washington D.C. would become a “family,” and Nazareth Farm, our “home”. We worked on many different homes and visited many different people in the area. As part of our service, we learned to put up ceilings, gutters, siding and floors. At “home” we cooked, cleaned and welcomed our workers back home.
Nazareth Farm was a home of complete simplicity that included no electronics – no cell phones, no iPods, not even a watch – none of the things that made me feel at “home”. Not having all of these electronic distractions allowed me the time I needed to focus on what really mattered in life. We were all there, together, to form one family – coming from all different walks of life, with very different backgrounds, we lived together and worked to help others one step at a time.
Through this experience, I have learned that I am a lover, a helper and a friend. I am someone who can make a difference in the world - and will do just that - one day at a time. I am me and through my experiences, I know I can make a difference in this world by showing everyone that small actions make a huge impact.
- Rosa Maria
It’s been said that “home is where the heart is”, but I never quite understood what that truly meant until the Spring of 2008 when I spent a week in Salem, West Virginia, one of the poorest districts in the country. Having been raised in the Bronx, to me home was basically a safe haven from the cruel world we live in; a place where I rested my head at night, did my homework and all the other daily routines of life.
“Welcome Home!” – these were the first words I heard when we arrived at Nazareth Farm, the place we would call “home” for the next week as we helped to repair homes that were condemned by the City of Salem, West Virginia. One week of hard work, teamwork and spiritual growth would be the week that would change my life forever.
During this week, myself, along with 11 others from my school and 40 others from Tennessee, New Jersey and Washington D.C. would become a “family,” and Nazareth Farm, our “home”. We worked on many different homes and visited many different people in the area. As part of our service, we learned to put up ceilings, gutters, siding and floors. At “home” we cooked, cleaned and welcomed our workers back home.
Nazareth Farm was a home of complete simplicity that included no electronics – no cell phones, no iPods, not even a watch – none of the things that made me feel at “home”. Not having all of these electronic distractions allowed me the time I needed to focus on what really mattered in life. We were all there, together, to form one family – coming from all different walks of life, with very different backgrounds, we lived together and worked to help others one step at a time.
Through this experience, I have learned that I am a lover, a helper and a friend. I am someone who can make a difference in the world - and will do just that - one day at a time. I am me and through my experiences, I know I can make a difference in this world by showing everyone that small actions make a huge impact.
- Rosa Maria
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Material Simplicity
Simplicity of Life
"There is a form of material poverty which is blessed.
“Ah, yes; we were poor, but happy.”
Saint Francis fell in love with it.
In its more striking forms, it may look like a spare and bare existence. But this is not a material deprivation which dehumanizes. It humanizes us.
Simplicity of life is concerned with our relationship to things. But the heart of its meaning is the relatedness of persons. It is positive and blessed because it is grounded in the right order of valuing persons over objects.
Things are good. They are better and best when they are for persons, personal existence, personal celebration.
Life is for people: hence, simplicity.
We travel light enough so that the goods of the earth may be enjoyed and celebrated by all, so that they may bring the glory to God. We travel light enough so that we ourselves may be for persons, rather than expend our lives collecting, maintaining and replacing objects.
In simplicity, we are empowered to see the destitute, to share of our abundance, to ease the dehumanizing poverty that cries out to us. It enables us to give freely, to be more equitable. It frees us to engage the injustices of the world which are often the source of personal degradation. It makes us less fearful to put our security at risk.
In simplicity, we are given time to enter the grace of our human poverty. If we do not surround and suffocate ourselves with things, by which we manage and control our lives, we are far less likely to believe in the illusion that we have no need of God. We would less likely pretend that we are “self-made” men and women. Simplicity, as a liberation from the chains of consumerism, is also a call to prayer, wherein we encounter our spiritual poverty before God and discover the joy of recognizing ourselves as loved and forgiven creatures. Simplicity, moreover, gives us time for each other, for relationships and intimacy and friendship. A simple change in our style of working, consuming, or spending time with television profoundly affects our availability for persons.
Simplicity is as related to love as it is to justice.
It is freedom from compulsive addictions and entrenched escape mechanisms.
It is liberty to see ourselves anew and to disengage from the comforts that blind us to the face of the poor.
It unfetters us, that we might play and savor the moment, that we might give thanks and sing appreciation.
It can unlock us, finally, that we might do bold things, that we might more fully be men and women, not for things, but for others."
- John Kavanaugh, S.J
This week challenge yourself to simplify your life. What excess do you have and why do you hold on to it? What keeps us from interacting with those in our families? Our neighbors? Our friends? Our God? Do we create a life in which we are in full control or is their a need for God in our lives?
-Welcome Home
Nazareth Farm
"There is a form of material poverty which is blessed.
“Ah, yes; we were poor, but happy.”
Saint Francis fell in love with it.
In its more striking forms, it may look like a spare and bare existence. But this is not a material deprivation which dehumanizes. It humanizes us.
Simplicity of life is concerned with our relationship to things. But the heart of its meaning is the relatedness of persons. It is positive and blessed because it is grounded in the right order of valuing persons over objects.
Things are good. They are better and best when they are for persons, personal existence, personal celebration.
Life is for people: hence, simplicity.
We travel light enough so that the goods of the earth may be enjoyed and celebrated by all, so that they may bring the glory to God. We travel light enough so that we ourselves may be for persons, rather than expend our lives collecting, maintaining and replacing objects.
In simplicity, we are empowered to see the destitute, to share of our abundance, to ease the dehumanizing poverty that cries out to us. It enables us to give freely, to be more equitable. It frees us to engage the injustices of the world which are often the source of personal degradation. It makes us less fearful to put our security at risk.
In simplicity, we are given time to enter the grace of our human poverty. If we do not surround and suffocate ourselves with things, by which we manage and control our lives, we are far less likely to believe in the illusion that we have no need of God. We would less likely pretend that we are “self-made” men and women. Simplicity, as a liberation from the chains of consumerism, is also a call to prayer, wherein we encounter our spiritual poverty before God and discover the joy of recognizing ourselves as loved and forgiven creatures. Simplicity, moreover, gives us time for each other, for relationships and intimacy and friendship. A simple change in our style of working, consuming, or spending time with television profoundly affects our availability for persons.
Simplicity is as related to love as it is to justice.
It is freedom from compulsive addictions and entrenched escape mechanisms.
It is liberty to see ourselves anew and to disengage from the comforts that blind us to the face of the poor.
It unfetters us, that we might play and savor the moment, that we might give thanks and sing appreciation.
It can unlock us, finally, that we might do bold things, that we might more fully be men and women, not for things, but for others."
- John Kavanaugh, S.J
This week challenge yourself to simplify your life. What excess do you have and why do you hold on to it? What keeps us from interacting with those in our families? Our neighbors? Our friends? Our God? Do we create a life in which we are in full control or is their a need for God in our lives?
-Welcome Home
Nazareth Farm
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Reflection from a Volunteer
From my week at Nazareth Farm, I can truly say that I can see beauty in every person, every situation, and every environment. I saw beauty in Prayer, Simplicity, Community and Service; the four cornerstones of Nazareth Farm and in my life. Prayer life at Nazareth Farm was absolutely beautiful. As a community we invited God to join us throughout the day. I prayed when I was up on the ladders (I was deathly afraid of heights before Nazareth Farms) I would ask him to hold me. “God just hold me, I trust you!” I would say, and not once did I fall or think of my fear. And now I’m not afraid of heights!
Simplicity was another cornerstone of Nazareth Farm. As a community the staff member asked us to show our natural beauty the way God created us. (Never in my life have I felt so beautiful). And they asked us to conserve everything from water to food. We were also not allowed cell phones or IPods so we could hear God calling and the birds singing. What a relief to step back from our busy lives and just hear God speaking. What a rush. God was speaking to me through all the service that I was doing; his work. Helping people who needed help was His work. And all the people we helped you could see God’s joy in their eyes. And with every swing of the hammer it was me saying, “I LOVE YOU!” I was doing this for my Father’s children, my brothers and sisters. We did this service through community. Every person we helped was in God’s community and at Nazareth Farm we became a community. All the people at Nazareth Farm became my family. They didn’t judge me. They saw me how God sees me as a wonderful gift to this earth. How awesome. What a journey. Anyone that has not gone to Nazareth Farm should go to experience the love and happiness. I will continue to spread the word of God through the four cornerstones and hope that YOU will join me.
God bless,
Colleen Linn
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