Author: Sistertech

Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153)

Today Sistertech remembers Bernie of Clairvaux. Most people think of him as the guy who set up a monastery in Clairvaux, France in 1115 and preaching in support for the Second Crusade. (That last task wasn’t entirely Bernie’s own idea.)

What I like about Bernie is his intense devotion to The One In Charge. Sistertech thinks this comes through smashingly in the lyrics Bernie wrote.

Jesus, the very thought of thee
with sweetness fills the breast;
but sweeter far thy face to see,
and in thy presence rest.

No voice can sing, no heart can frame,
nor can the memory find,
a sweeter sound than Jesus’ Name,
the Savior of mankind.

O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek,
to those who fall, how kind thou art:
how good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah, this
nor tongue nor pen can show;
the love of Jesus, what it is,
none but who love him know.

Jesus, our only joy be thou,
as thou our prize wilt be;
in thee be all our glory now,
and through eternity.

Samuel Johnson (d. 1772)

I only mention Samuel’s feast day today because some of Sistertech’s best friends are philosophers. I realize that it is rather “edgy” of me, but one does not always have control of one’s heart. Some of you agree, I’m sure, with BP — no, not that “BP”:

The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.

Now, Samuel is not high on the list of Sistertech’s “go to philosophers”. But one has to admire his spunk, at least on the polemical side. He never has struck me, however, as a “stand up guy”.  I mean, really. The guy is deathly afraid of small pox. Flees his post. Surprise. His wife…, well you read it and then tell me:

He remained in Stratford until 1754, when the vestrymen of the Anglican Trinity Church in New York City considered him the logical choice to serve as after the first president of King’s College. Though reluctant to leave his family in Connecticut, Johnson ultimately took up the post, assisting in behind-the-scenes maneuverings to ensure the college would be explicitly Anglican, rather than nonsectarian. In the early years of the institution, Johnson was the sole instructor, primarily teaching classics and philosophy. Owing to his fear of smallpox, Johnson was frequently absent from the city, and increasingly shared his teaching responsibilities. When his wife died of smallpox, Johnson began to seek a means to leave his post. In 1763 he returned to his ministry at Stratford, where he died.

But let us not cast the first stone, shall we? Let us remember that Samuel, as with at least some philosopher are part of that peculiar breed of thinker. I suppose Peter might have had them in mind when he wrote the following:

But you are a chosen race, a royal philosophy club, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of The One In Charge who called you out of darkness into the marvelous light.

Can work and prayer conflict?

Dear Sistertech:

I did something new for my vacation this year. I attended a women’s retreat sponsored by my church. It was such a great experience! The group study of The Document, prayer, the time to write in my journal, sip tea, and think about my relationship with The One In Charge! It was so renewing! Now I’m back at work sitting in front of my computer all day. I enjoyed my job before, but now I feel what I’m doing isn’t important in the grand scheme of things. When I’m working on a PowerPoint presentation I feel I should be praying instead. Then when I start to think about The One In Charge I feel guilty that I’m not putting that time and energy into getting my Inbox to zero. What can I do to stop feeling so conflicted?

Sincerely,
Torn in Toledo

Dear Torn,

The key is to integrate your spirituality into your work, not separate them one from the other. How to do this? Use The Book of Uncommon Prayer! It will help you remember that The One In Charge is with you always. Keep a copy next to you. Have one there when you wake up and when you go to sleep, when you boot up your computer at work and when you take a break for lunch. And when you feel that pull towards prayer, pray about that which is in front of you whether it is the car ahead of you, the email you are reading, the cashier at the cafe, or the background template you are choosing for the presentation. You will soon discover there is a seamless spiritual connection that exists between work and prayer. It is all about not making separations between them.

Sistertech and the other team members of the Spirituality While Alive Taskforce (SWAT) are always here to help. Email Tom the Intern if we can provide you with a new prayer for a specific situation.

Yours faithfully,
Sistertech

Feast of St. Mary the Virgin

St. Mary has a special place in Sistertech’s heart. What a role model! Talk about being a servant! And humble? No competition. The folks in the Lectionary Department get “two wings up” on today’s readings. I suppose it really isn’t fair. Humans struggle so with their Mother’s Day cards. We’ve got The Document in its entirety to choose from. Psalm 34 in particular sounds just like something Mary would say:

[1] I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

[2] My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.

[3] Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!

[4] I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.

[5] Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.

[6] This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.

[7] The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

[8] Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

[9] Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!

[10] The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

[11] Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

[12] What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?

[13] Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.

[14] Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

[15] The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.

[16] The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

[17] When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.

[18] The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.

[19] Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

[20] He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.

[21] Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

[22] The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

When is it time to end a mixed marriage?

Dear Sistertech:

You probably don’t get a lot of letters like this from men. I hope you can help me.

Seven years ago I married the most wonderful woman. She’s kind, generous, sexy and smart. We have two fantastic kids (a boy aged 3 and a girl who just turned 6) and the typical assortment of pets. We both work outside the home. Our friends envy us because we’ve managed to balance the demands of career and family better than any of them. The problem is that we have a mixed marriage. Sure, I knew this was an issue, or could become an issue down the road. But when conflicts happened we always found a way to handle them. It’s just that now the arguments are a daily, constant thing. Weekends are nightmares. That’s when our different traditions clash.

She’s tired of my telling her how much better things would be if she joined my tradition. She cannot comprehend my devotion. A few times she screamed at me that I act as though I’m in a cult! Frankly, I have a hard time not looking down on her for her continued participation in something I often think is not only archaic, but just plain sinister. She says her tradition has changed and that it isn’t what it once was. We get into terrible yelling matches.

Now that the kids are getting a bit older the arguments have intensified. Which tradition should we introduce them to? Both? None? Only one? A week on and a week off? We’ve each spoken to people in our respective communities, but so far none of them has offered any helpful solutions.

I’m on the sofa writing this to you on my laptop. My wife is sitting a few inches from me working on her laptop, but we might as well be on different continents.  We loved and still love each other. I hate to think that the next step for us is to end our mixed marriage. What should we do?

Thanks in advance,
Muddled in Muncie

PS: If this matters in your response: I’m the MAC and she’s the PC.

Dear Muddled,

Sistertech is so very glad you wrote to her. You’ve brought to our readers a very serious problem. Few things are worse than when unequally yoked, especially couples and their operating programs. It’s time for a third party intervention. The solution is for you both to switch to Linux. The children, too. Sistertech would also recommend spending some time as a family reading prayers from The Book of Uncommon Prayer, for instance, prayers 3.8 and 4.9. Also read passages from The Document. I’d start with The Beatitudes (Matthew 5), then Matthew 7 and John 1. As always, Sistertech recommends adapting the prayers and passages from The Document as befits your particular situation. If you need a customized prayer, email your request to Tom the Intern.

May your conversions be swift and free from error,
Sistertech

Daemons got you down?

3.8  St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of hackers. Ask The One In Charge to rebuke them, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly ISP, by the power of The One In Charge, thrust into hell _____ (state name of the operating system you despise) and all daemons who prowl about cyberspace seeking the ruin of computer users.
Amen.

From The Book of Uncommon Prayer, p. 57

A Prayer for Internet Connections

4.9  For Internet Connections

Gracious One In Charge, have mercy on your servants. Banish from our homes and offices all unwanted contentions between ourselves and our Internet connections. Let us receive bountiful broadband access so that we may continue to acquire all those online blessings which you have in store for us.
Amen.

From The Book of Uncommon Prayer, p. 71

P-Diddy to the rescue

You wouldn’t think that an angel would suffer from an “ear worm”.  But this pesky tune somehow burrowed in and I could not get rid of it. I had it for what seemed like an eternity. It was really annoying. This little tune cut through all the music of the celestial spheres and the heavenly choirs. Yes. I’m talking big, time tune trouble. One of my clients at HP (more about those poor folks later) suggested that I try something her pastor recommends. Evidently, one is supposed to follow a special protocol: “name it and claim it”. But I knew right away that the protocol could not possibly work. After all, Sistertech’s problem was that she did not know the name of the tune. If I couldn’t name it, how could I claim it?

Tom the Intern was no help. He didn’t recognize the tune at all. Cecilia, or Cee-Cee as I call her, said it sounded like Stevie Wonder’s You Are The Sunshine of My Life. I mean, I love Stevie, but this was not one of his tunes.  So I went to P-Diddy’s studio. No, not that one. David. You know, Psalm Diddy. Or just P-Diddy, for short. He listened and instantly knew the tune.

Oh. What’s the tune? I don’t think The One In Charge would be happy if I inflicted it upon others. As it was, it took P-Diddy an hour to, um, de-worm Sistertech. P-Diddy downloaded some psalms for me. Some of his classic stuff and a new one he’s working on. He set me up in this soundproof booth and turned up the volume. Ah! Ear worm gone. Psalm 40 has taken on a whole new meaning for me:

The One In Charge put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in The One In Charge.

Since it’s morning somewhere

A morning tune from The Book of Uncommon Prayer:

Laptop has started like the first bootup,
Lapwing has spoken like the first Tweet.
Praise for the Tweeting! Praise for the Friending!
Praise for them springing fresh from the Web!

Tweet the day’s new posts straight from
my own blog,
Like the first email of the new day.
Praise for the content Google gives to me
sprung in completeness from news alerts.

Mine is the crowdsource!
Mine is the FriendFeed!
Born of the Usenet of long ago!
Praise with a Fan Page! Praise every morning!
The recreation of media.