Marcus Borg has written a widely helpful book about the need for Christians to retrieve the correct understanding of Jesus, which, he claims. would be a much more appealing picture of Jesus. He titled the book Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time. I think the same can be said about the need many Christians feel to retrieve their mystical tradition: they need to become mystics again for the first time. Karl Rahner, one of the most respected Catholic theologians of the past century, recognized this need in a statement that has been repeated broadly:“In the future Christians will be mystics, or they will not be anything.”
    When Buddha refused to talk about God in order to make way for the experience of Enlightment, he was making the same point, but even more forcefully, that Rahner was getting at in his insistence that Christians must be mystics: “God” must be an experience before “God” can be a word. Unless God is an experience, whatever words we might use for the Divine will be without content, like road signs pointing nowhere, like lightbulbs without electricity. Buddha would warn Christians, and I believe Rahner would second the warning: if you want to use words for God, make sure that these words are preceded by, or at least coming out of, an experience that is your own. And it will be the kind of experience that, in some way, will touch you deeply, perhaps stop you in your tracks, fill you with wonder and gratitude, and it will be an experince for which you realize there are no adequate words. Rahner listed all kinds of ways in which such experiences can take place in everyday life - falling in love, hoping when there is no hope, being overwhelmed by nature, deep moments of prayer or meditation Often, or usually, such experiences happen before there is any talk or explicit consciousness of “God.” They happen, and some such word as “God” or “Mystery” or “Presenceu” - or “Silence” seems appropriate.
From: Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian by Paul F. Knitter

April, 2010

Dear Friends,

I have been reflecting recently on the “experience” of God. Whenever I have a new person for spiritual direction, one of the questions I ask is, “What is your experience of God?” Without exception, the response begins with, “I think.....” Then I say, “This is not about what you think. How do you experience God?” Usually, there is silence.

I chose the excerpt from Paul Knitter's book because we are gradually, or not so gradually, slipping into a society of words, a “head” society. More and more, the “heart” is being overshadowed. Recently, I attended the International Association of Spiritual Directors held in San Francisco. Gathered were 600 men and women from many parts of the world. The speakers were excellent, The workshops were excellent. A woman who is a Buddhist led us in short “meditations.” My disappointment was that the topic of silence and silent meditation was almost entirely overlooked. What a powerful experience it would have been for 600 of us to sit in silent prayer for 20 minutes. “The language of God is silence.” So you might ask yourself,“How do I experience God?” “God” is the energy and light woven into everything.

Many people these days have become disillusioned with organized religion - for a variety of reasons. In his book, Knitter writes that if God is not an experience for us, all the rules and regulations of organized religion become meaningless.

So as you walk through the summer months, you might ask yourself as you drift asleep each evening, “How did I experience God today?” I think you will be surprised.

Our new Board of Directors has been very dedicated to the work of the future of Hesed. This work has taken much time and effort We are grateful.

I also want to thank all of you that are keeping Hesed alive with your financial support. Our donations are down, but we seem to be surviving. If you have any available funds that you don't know what to do with, Hesed would be glad to receive them. (tax deductible)

Much love, and blessings

Barbara Hazzard, OSB
Director of the “Hesed Orchestra”

THE FUTURE OF HESED, FROM OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Look at me-
I'm walking through a door
My life is changing and it's just perfect now
No more doors for me
they're too hard to get through
Im staying here where it's safe-
No, child,
Those doors are a part of you
You can't ignore them
'Cause their there
You've got to go through them
Who knows what you'll find
You've got to meet their trial
If you don't, you won't be what you should become
There are always gonna be doors and you
Can't stop 'em from comin'
You've got to ge through them to grow
It's called change
Look at the wildflower; it changes all the time
always blossoming or closing up, sprouting or withering
You're scared to go through those doors
Into the unknowing, “into change”
You don't know what's going to happen
You don't know what change is going to bring
Listen to me
Go through those doors with hope
Go through those doors knowing change is the future
and you're part of it
You don't know what change is, that's why
your're scared
Change is the sun blooming over the horiaon
Scattering rays of hope to a new day
Change is a baby lamb meeting the world for its first time
Change is growing from a your child to an adult
Change is beautiful; you will learn to love it
  Mary Katherine Lidle from Open The Door by Joyce Rupp

Dear members and friends of Hesed Community,
Though quiet, change is afoot at Hesed Community. Your Board is busy putting in place what is needed as we undergo transition.

The first work we have done is to get our own act together. We have adapted Robert's Rules of Order to the Rule of Saint Benedict. Our process for making decisions is orderly, clear, official, contemplative, and Benedictine. At the heart of our adaptation, rather than debate, we listen and take counsel before acting. As our Chief Financial Officer, Drago Sbragia-Zoricic remarked of this process, “If only our business and political meetings worked this way, the world would be a better place.” Over the next year, we will occasionally meet in closed session as we discuss personnel matters or continue the work of gelling as a Board. Most of our meetings will be regular and open. We invite you to join us to listen and observe a regular Board Meeting to see how we are doing.

We are making preparations to fill two vacant Board seats, one of which will be a Family Brother and Sister Liaison; the other, will be the Oblate Coordinator. For each position, a process is being put in place that will encourage constituent discernment and participation in selection. In this way, we hope to strengthen our ability as a community to discern and select as we look toward future leadership.

We have put in place two standing committees:The Customs Committee is responsible for “recording existing governance structures, community customs, and related practices and proposing creation of structures, customs, and practices necessary to create a coherent and interrelated whole.” Toward this end, we are in the process of preparing a Book of Customs, and as we proceed, we will be contacting you who lead in various ways in our community as we put this Book together.

The Finance Committee is responsible for quarterly reports and annual budget preparation. We are a bit behind schedule this year and will be mapping out a new timeline for next year, but I am proud to announce that for the first time in recent memory, the budget for Hesed Community has been prepared by the Finance Committee and will be approved by the Board.

Additionally, a Stewardship Working Group and a Grants Working Group, under the aegis of the Finance Committee, are looking at ways to fill gaps in our budget and encourage long-term fiscal stability. Board members will be calling personally each member of Hesed this summer to listen and take counsel as well as to discuss with you emerging transition preparations and stewardship needs.

Peace, Christopher Evans, President
Paula Sbragia-Zoric, Secretary
Drago Sbragia-Zoricic, Chief Financial Officer
Adele Hanson, Member-at-Large
Marilou Salcedo, Member-at Large
Sr. Barbara Hazzard, ex officio