Posts Tagged ‘Christian Science’
Eucharist prayer for a Catholic and Christian Scientist
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in Podcast on July 4th, 2009
Episode 24 is a conversation with Michele Moon, a Roman Catholic, and Shirley Paulson, a Christian Scientist, about their mutual love of the Christian Eucharist prayer.
Anyone who knows anything about Roman Catholicism and Christian Science knows that we celebrate the Eucharist in entirely different ways, but Michele and I were interested in discovering its profound meaning in both of our lives.
For Michele, the celebration of the Eucharist is an awakening to the presence of “kairos,” or the meaning of life’s moments filled with God’s presence. For Shirley, the celebration (which takes place without ritual) is a pricking of the heart, reminding us of God’s healing love. Our mutual enthusiasm for this sacred prayer is that it calls us to ministry. The cross, for instance, is more than a symbolic reminder of Jesus’ crucifixion. When we think deeply about it, we’re impelled to “take up our own cross,” as Jesus asked of his disciples. We notice others in need, and we confront our own obstacles that would keep us from binding up the broken hearted and seeking healing for others.
What a rich experience it is to share our mutual love of this prayer. We’d like to multiply our exploration on this topic and hear what Eucharist means to you. Would you jot down your own thoughts or life experiences with it? We’re convinced this is a topic that provides lots of space for learning from each other. Submit your comments just below the show notes on the website, SpiritualityandChristianity.com.
References from the show
S+C | Mother’s Day without Mothers
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in Podcast on May 6th, 2009
Episode 22 is a conversation with Judy Valente (see episode 9) and Shirley Paulson about how they love and honor their mothers on Mother’s Day, when they’re no longer with them.
My mother passed away just a few weeks before Mother’s Day this year, and Judy’s mother passed on suddenly a few years ago. Our different faith backgrounds — in Christian Science and Roman Catholicism — have given strength, love, and spiritual insights to the meaning of our mothers’ lives.
While it’s never a good time to say goodbye to those we love so much, we both found that our own spiritual depth has given us more profound ways of living the blessings of our mothers. Judy’s poem (read on the podcast) is a beautiful tribute to her mother’s affection for the Madonna, and I find my tribute to my mother in my every day actions.
Loving our mothers has also helped our spiritual journeys progress. We have discovered that it’s easier to understand life beyond corporeality, and that the meaning of life is greater as we transcend the limitations of our bodies.
We’d love to have you join the conversation. Please post your comments on the Spirituality and Christianity.com website. And if you haven’t subscribed to these podcasts yet, there’s an easy “Subscribe to S+C Podcast” link on the right side of the website page. Thanks!
S+C | Intimately close to God
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in Podcast on February 7th, 2009
Episode #17 is a conversation with John Bunce, a spiritually motivated Roman Catholic, who has experienced what he calls intimacy with God.
That kind of close encounter with God can seem both scary and profoundly satisfying, and it certainly never leaves us where it found us. 
We discussed two basic ways of finding that kind of intimacy with God. One is through love, and the other is from listening, which is of course a form of listening. We both recognize the way some people tend to balk at this type of spiritual experience, so we talk about why we don’t believe these objections are necessary. John’s experience with the writings of St. Theresa of Avila and of Thomas Merton, and my experience with the writings of Mary Baker Eddy give us rich background for the mutual exploration of our subject.
Our stories cover John’s 4-day experience at the monastery at Gethsemane, in Kentucky and one of my aha! moments that lead to physical healing. These types of experience may be relatively brief, but they are fundamentally transforming, Interestingly, we both found that our private, intimate experience with God always ends up enlarging our heart for humanity. Rather than indulging selfishness with privileges from God, we concur that intimacy with God is the foundation for more commitment to comforting and helping others.
Here are links to some of the subjects and events we talked about.
S+C | Why be a Christian dissident?
Posted by: Shirley Paulson in Podcast on August 6th, 2008
Episode #13 is a conversation about the challenges of living the conscience that disagrees with the official policies of the Church you love so much.
Barbara is a Roman Catholic who has been faithful to the calling she has felt since she was a young child, to be in the priesthood. While she was young, she hoped the Church would change its policies regarding women in the priesthood, but that hasn’t happened.
I have been raised in a church (Christian Science) founded by a woman, so I have lived with the assumption of equality between men and women in the Church. And yet, I relate to Barbara’s struggle, because Mary Baker Eddy, the woman who founded my denomination, struggled with opposition to the Christian church authority on other topics that were established around the time of the first Church Councils in the fourth century.
Even though the mainstream Christian Church still opposes what Barbara and I find true in our Christian lives, we agree it’s necessary to hold our ground. We both see a need to inspire Christians to return to earlier Church practices that both liberate women and support spiritual healing. Our motives are to be closer to God and to serve others, and we have no interest in opposition for the sake of argument. Barbara is preparing to become a hospital chaplain; and I’m in the healing ministry using prayer and Bible study.
We’d love to welcome your thoughts on the subject. Have you experienced a heart-felt disagreement with the Church you love? If you have, how are you praying about it? How are you being guided to deal with it? Be sure to leave your comments here at the end of the show notes on Spirituality and Christianity.
Here are some links related to our discussion: