outWORD by Matte Downey

Image from Catholic Reporter Gregory Boyle and some friends from Homeboy Industries This past weekend, I went to a chalet for the weekend. Together with 17 other people. It was our semi-regular church retreat during which we cooked meals together, washed dishes together, sang songs together, participated in morning and evening prayer together, played outside together, went on a hike together, and just hung out. We also spent some time talking and thinking about what we are trying to build as a faith community and what that looks like. Basically, it comes down to three ideas found at the heart of one of the models of church found in scripture. The model is the family, and the three ideas are belong, believe, and become. Children are born into a family and they immediately belong. Whether they are grumpy babies or happy babies or sick babies, they belong. Before they do anything to contribute to the family, they belong. As they grow up, they learn what it means to be part of a fa...

Image from Flickr I like to go for walks in my neighbourhood. Getting outside and engaging in some exercise is a nice change from my desk, but walking through the park and along the pond does more than get my blood and limbs moving; it also invigorates my spirit and my mind. When I am a bit depleted, tired, confused, discouraged, or fearful, going for a walk is really good medicine. Because looking at the birds, the grass, the flowers, the kids playing in the park, the trees, and the sky lifts me out of my self-absorption and places things in perspective. The feast of beauty available to my senses outside my front door invites my small and fearful heart to be still, to take it all in, to swell with gratitude and wonder and playfulness. Beauty is something which attracts us, which causes us delight, and captures our attention. When one stands before a great work of art, the concern is not first about what sort of paint the artist used or the exact measurements of the canvas. One s...

Image from Inc.com Finish the following phrase: I need patience when.... Your answers might include things like parenting, standing in line, performing some detailed task, losing weight, or going through a hard time. Patience is the ability to wait, to continue doing something despite difficulties, to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed, to tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. To illustrate the concept of patience, let me tell you two stories. Here is the first, a mom's story: "Getting ready and out the door is a chore, as any mom of littles will tell you. No matter how much extra time you allot yourself, it's never enough. It seems those last 10 minutes before leaving are pure and utter chaos. It never fails. Somebody poops right as I step out the door. ... Oops, I forgot to water the dog. It's enough to drive someone mad—at least if that someone is me. "I like to think I am a good mother. But I know for a f...

House in Charlottetown, PEI This past month, I had the privilege of setting foot in parts of Canada that I have never been to before. I traveled to Prince Edward Island for a Vineyard gathering and got to spend some time wandering the streets of Charlottetown, strolling along the scenic boardwalk, and eating the best ice cream in the nation (that's what it said right on the store window). As I walked around the quaint city, I had a faint sense of not belonging, of being a stranger. It was a bit odd because I don't usually feel that way, even in foreign places, so I decided to look into the idea of "belonging." Be-long : be (an intensifier) + longen (old English, "to go"). Basically, "belong" means to go along with, to properly relate to. In our common usage, the word denotes acceptance (of a person) or possession (of a thing). However, the original meaning of the word is much more active than our contemporary, more passive usage. Instead of h...