SOLACE: Soul + Grief
This podcast is sponsored by SOULPLUSGRACE serving the San José area, offering grief support and grief journeying with spirituality. I hope to help you travel through grief with God at your side.
"I am a trained Spiritual Director for those who seek to complete the 19th Annotation of St. Igantius’ spiritual exercises OR seek spiritual direction while grieving. I have also worked as a hospital/cemetery chaplain and grief doula. I believe all paths lead to God and that all traditions are due respect and honour. I take my sacred inspiration from all of my patients and companions–past, present and future; the Dalai Lama, James Tissot, St. John of the Cross, the Buddha, Saint Teresa of Ávila, and, of course, Íñigo who became known as St. Ignatius. I utilize art, poetry, music, aromatherapy, yoga, lectio divina, prayer and meditation in my self-work and work with others. I believe in creating a sacred space for listening; even in the most incongruous of surroundings."
BACKGROUND
- Jesuit Retreat Center, Los Altos, CA -- Pierre Favre Program, 3 year training to give the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius
- Centro de Espiritualidad de Loyola, Spain -- The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola -- 30 Day Silent Retreat/
- Center for Loss & Life Transition – Comprehensive Bereavement Skills Training (30 hrs) Ft. Collins, CO
- California State University Institute for Palliative Care--Palliative Care Chaplaincy Specialty Cert. (90 hrs)
- Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City, CA -- Clinical Pastoral Education
- 19th Annotation with Fumiaki Tosu, San Jose, CA, Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
- Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA M.A. – Pastoral Ministries
CONTACT ME: candeelucas@soulplusgrace.com with questions to be answered in future episodes.
SOLACE: Soul + Grief
Advent's Light: Navigating Grief and Joy
Join us to illuminate the complex weave of grief and hope during the Advent season. This time traditionally filled with joy and anticipation can be difficult for those mourning a loss. Advent, marked by a sense of waiting, mirrors the journey of grief—a process of waiting for healing and light to break through the sorrow.
Examine the paradox of celebrating during a season that amplifies the gap between the world's brokenness and the promise of renewal. We are reminded how community and spiritual traditions, like lighting the candles of the Advent wreath, can help nurture hope and courage, reminding us of the unyielding light that shines in the darkness. By embracing both sorrow and joy, we can find strength in the support of those around us, much like Mary and Elizabeth in their shared anticipation. Acknowledge the weight of grief while pointing towards the enduring promise of hope and light.
SPIRITUAL DIRECTION WHILE GRIEVING IS AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE
You can reach us at: candeelucas@soulplusgrace.com to arrange personal spiritual direction.
Music and sound effects today by: via Pixabay.
We welcome you to Solace: Soul Plus Grief. I'm glad you're here. I'm Candy Lucas, a Jesuit trained Catholic chaplain and spiritual director, and I've been involved with a bereavement ministry since 2009. We know that loss can make profound changes in people's lives. We understand how difficult it is to travel this path of grief and how important and monumental the loss of a loved one can be. So we created this podcast to help you walk with God as you grieve your losses, understand what's happening in your heart and soul as you grieve, to be available in the best way we can to accompany you on this journey. You're always welcome in this circle of healing, love and support.
Candee:While Advent is traditionally a time for looking forward in anticipation, those of us on a grief journey may not always feel in sync with the season. And yet both are a season of waiting one for the realization of Jesus Christ and the other for a path of grief to widen and lessen and brighten. Father David Barnes tells us that we begin Advent not by walking, running, leaping or climbing, but, like the two men in the gospel, we begin by acknowledging our paralysis. We can do nothing without Jesus. This is not just a good place to begin, it is the only place to begin. It is Advent. Liturgically speaking, it's a time to talk about joyful, expectant waiting. The only problem is we really don't want to, because in order to contemplate the waiting, we have to slow down, and when we slow down, the griefs and losses of the year might catch up to us. This is one of the paradoxes of Advent that at the time of year when we celebrate the greatest gift God has given us, the very celebration can highlight the vast distance between the promises fulfilled by Christ's coming and the promises that will only be accomplished when he is realized again the renewal of the world and the putting of all things right.
Candee:Waiting and cultivating hope in the space between these two moments is hard. It can be hard. The last few years have shown us that not all waiting feels hopeful and expectant. More and more, the struggles in life are seemingly permanent and life-altering. Where is the expectation in serious, long-term illness and death? Where is there joy in the failing health of parents?
Candee:Our cultural narrative says Christmas is a time to forget troubles and create perfect, magical moments. But is that what God is calling us to do? I think he invites us to line our griefs right up next to his, like the very real things that they are. I think he invites us to line our griefs right up next to his, like the very real things that they are, the very real things they are, and then wait for him anyway, in the hope and belief that God is working even in those things, and that's harder than pretending they don't exist. So how do you balance grief and joy?
Candee:At Christmas, Henry Nouwen wrote an essay about Advent that reminds us every year that in the Christian life we never wait alone. Writing about the biblical account of Mary's visit to Elizabeth after the angel announced to Mary that she would bear God's son, Nouwen writes that the reason these two women were able to see what God was doing and rejoice was because they had created space for each other to wait. They affirmed for each other that something was happening that was worth waiting for. The whole meaning of the Christian community lies in offering a space in which we wait for that which we have already seen. Christian community is a place where we can keep the flame alive among us and take it seriously so that it can grow and become stronger in us. In this way, we can live with courage, trusting there is spiritual power in us, a spark in us to live in this world without being seduced constantly by despair, by despair, lostness and darkness.
Candee:Every year, we can find something of that affirmation in our tradition of lighting the candles of the Advent wreath. The Advent wreath, the candles of prophecy, Bethlehem, shepherds, angels and Christ's birth remind us that we are on a journey together. We do need light along the way, and God will provide us. God will provide it. Most of all, I love what we say when the candle is lit --- the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Thanks be to God. Whether we're ready for it or not, Advent is here. We need to hear what it has to say to us. If you need that too, we can remind each other that the light shines in the darkness and, no matter how it seems, the darkness has not overcome it. Thanks be to God and Amen. That concludes another episode. A new one drops every Friday. Please join us on Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple. Thank you for joining us. Spiritual Direction is always available. See my contact email in the show notes. This is Candee Lucas, your host, chaplain and spiritual director. Go with God. Namaste, vaya con Dios.
