Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord

Co-Workers in theVineyard of the Lord: Words and Images of Lay Ecclesial Ministers

An Exhibit Guide

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Welcome to the Word and Image Exhibit A special thank you to the‌ Pastoral Excellence Network A program of Lilly Endowment, Inc. and

Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary for the opportunity to make this exhibit possible

Ministerial Leaders whose work is in this exhibit, for taking a chance to explore their stories and taking a risk in sharing them with the rest of us

Hosts for this Exhibit for the hospitality extended in providing space for this exhibit and the days of reflection

Project Assistants Bailey Walter, Curator Cody Maynus, Project Assistant

Please visit our website for more information on this project: www.csbsju.edu/sot/wordandimage

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About the Exhibit Over the last ten years, Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary hosted national symposiums on Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord published by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishop's (USCCB) in 2005. Those events took to heart the bishops’ invitation to advance the national will towards the certification and authorization of lay ecclesial ministers. Theologians, researchers, canon lawyers, pastoral ministers, bishops, diocesan staff, and representatives from the USCCB itself engaged in the exhilarating work of thinking together about what it would take to in fact foster a deep sense of being co-workers in service to a common mission. There are currently about 39,000 lay ecclesial ministers whose roles and voices enrich what the Church can accomplish for the glory of God and renewal of the world.

The tenth year anniversary of the publication of Co-Workers provided the occasion for the School of Theology to explore both the achievements and remaining challenges of Co-Workers since its promulgation. We also wanted to celebrate the service of people whose lives are the focus of Co-Workers - lay ecclesial ministers.

One of our goals for this anniversary celebration was to expand beyond a theoretical and pastoral examination of lay ecclesial ministry by tapping into its creative dimension. Art is a unique language for expressing the movement of God in our lives, and it privileges the experiential wisdom that co-workers gain in the daily commitment to work together in the vineyard.

In August, 2015 twelve lay ecclesial ministers and one pastor gathered in Collegeville to participate in a week-long retreat shaped by word and image. They brought with them richly diverse experiences of ministry and different generational perspectives.

Each day found its anchor in visio divina on one of the illuminations in The Saint John’s Bible. With that grounding, participants set out to create individual collages that sought to capture how the Word gave them fresh insight into their ministry experience.

Working under the direction of an expert guide, they used the collage as a medium for showing how ministry formed them and gave them insight into their vocational call.

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As they built their images, they listened to their souls to find words to describe poetically the testimony the collages conveyed visually. From the outside it looked simple—pictures, scissors and glue. And yet a deep knowing of self and journey emerged as Word and Image came creatively together. These soul collages and their poems are filled with creative intuition, hope, discerning spirit, lament, and vocational joy.

The retreat was a unique response to Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. The images participants created and the words they found construct a theology that examines the vocation and practice of lay ecclesial ministers. It is a theology from "below"-- with a distinct emphasis on the organic and dynamic deepening of vocation that infuses with energy the careful analysis of a church document.

The Word and Image exhibit is a welcome reminder that as each minister interprets their experience, they contribute to a larger process of understanding within the Church. The contributions of this small group of pastoral ministers remind us of the power of mystery to help us glimpse what might be possible for the church. The collages and the poems they have evoked are a visible form of Benedictine hospitality welcoming viewers into symbols and words that shape the experience of this sampling of lay ecclesial ministry.

With this booklet, enter into this Word and Image exhibit with the same contemplative spirit that the ministerial leaders did in August, 2015. Open your own seeing and knowing as you contemplate the images and read the related poems. Be open to where you might be led as you consider what it means to be co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord.

Barbara Sutton Victor Klimoski Project Directors March 2016

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Contributors Kelley Dawson is a Master of Divinity student at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where she is engaged in a ministry of grief support….. pp. 8-10 Brian Kapp is the Director of Music at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Duluth, Minnesota. ….. pp. 11-13 Christine Pinto is the Director of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry at Jesus Our Living Water Catholic Area Faith Community in Willmar, Minnesota. ….. pp. 14-16 Taylor Baar is a Former Jesuit Volunteer serving in retreat ministry with Inspirio Youth Ministries in Nashotah, Wisconsin. ….. pp. 17-19 Paulina Hwang is a Liturgical Minister at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois. ….. pp. 20-22 Timone Davis teaches at the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. ….. pp. 23-25 Mammas H. Mammas serves as the director of the New Evangelization office at Our Lady Of Victory Parish in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.….. pp. 26 Edward Montgomery, O.F.S. is a Youth Minister in the Diocese of Grand Island and a Pastoral Minister at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Kimball, Nebraska. ….. pp. 27-29 Garrick Comeaux is the Director of Worship at the Church of Saint Therese of Deephaven in Minnetonka, Minnesota .….. pp. 30-32

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Kathryn Walczyk works at Spiritual Middle Ground and independently with spiritual communities and the institutional Catholic Church for spiritual growth opportunities and advocacy in Green Bay, Wisconsin.….. pp. 33-35 John Di Bacco, Jr. is the Pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Star City, West Virginia. ….. pp. 36-38 Christina Ronzio is the Director of Liturgy for the Diocese of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. ….. pp. 39-41 John Michael Reyes is a Campus Minister at Santa Clara University in California.….. pp. 42-44 Barbara Sutton is the Director of Field Education and Ministerial Formation at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, MN and is the director of this project.….. pp. 45-47 Victor Klimoski is the retired Director of Lifelong Learning at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary and was is the co-director of this project.….. pp. 48-50

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Kelley Dawson

Preferring Love I am the one who answers yes.

I am the little one huddled to her mother's chest.

I am open, wondering, delightfully bewildered.

I bid, I bend, I am formed by the potter.

I want to make your heart tender, to remove misplaced desires for outcomes, grand expectations and sweeping, radical attention and replaced with listening.

I ask that you behold.

I ask that you change.

I ask that you prefer love over a program.

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Kelley Dawson

Communio I am the one who gathers, the one who seeks to "be around."

I am the one straining to remember that you are a mystery and not an interruption or a problem.

I am the one who stops by, who feeds you crusty, homemade bread and hearty stew out of deep, round bowls and capable spoons.

I am the one who does your dishes barefoot in your kitchen.

I am the one who insists you spend the night and makes you coffee in the morning.

I am the one who will slip in the back door to clean and fold your laundry when you're sick, busy or grieving.

What I give you is companionship, a hearth, a cross bearer.

I want you to fuel me with the sacraments, the sacrifice of the One who first loved.

I want you to embrace those you resist and make a place at the table for the betrayed, lonely and hungry.

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Kelley Dawson

Peaks and Valleys I am the one who wants to climb.

I am the one who makes excuses not to.

I am the one whose heart is full of desire to climb, but whose feet either remain planted or turn in the opposite direction toward the things that cloud my vision, until all at once, the peak disappears into the clouds.

I am the one who knows the peak is within, the summit of the heart, the residence of the One who knows me.

I am the one who is small, the one whose inside is larger than all the world outside.

I am the one whose endless mystery is known by the One who is Mystery.

I am the simple porter, the young Carmelite, the crippled southern writer waiting for you at the top.

I give you the promise of greatness, simply by being the Creator's creature.

I give you back the valley, made more clear, vibrant, and seen as it really is, not as years of excuses and distraction have made it look.

I ask that you strap on your boots at last.

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Brian Kapp

There Is Life I am the one who is lost.

I am the one who struggles to see the life left behind me.

The desolation of the dark spreads from past into future as I slouch under the weight of memory.

And yet refreshment flows over my feet toward jaded surfaces, offering promised relief, urging me ever so gently,

“Turn around.

There is life.�

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Brian Kapp

Learn I am the one who removes the walls that no longer protect you.

I am the one revealing water and light.

I am the one showing you the deep roots of color running through life.

I give you hope for joy tomorrow, the promise of refreshment and peace, the richness of beauty

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Brian Kapp

An Open Door I am the one who grasps creation all around, savoring its color, its sonorous melodies,

forever changed by possibility of tangible happiness, needing only to be welcomed with open arms.

Overwhelmed with joy, pain concedes; peace and contentment flourish. “The joy you seek resides around you.

You need only walk through and receive.�

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Christine Pinto The Mentor I am the one who taught you what it is to be loved.

I taught you the freedom of raucous laughter, the playfulness of God. I am the one who was with you until you no longer needed me.

Whose footsteps you followed, until you no longer needed a path, but could make your own.

I am the one who lead by example.

Who modeled what it means to be a disciple, a fool for the Lord a servant leader.

I gave you wings to fly, and then I departed from you before you suspected I would so you couldn’t cling to me.

I am the one who stretched you like a rubber band who snapped you when you needed it, who held you close when you were falling apart, who moved you with the pull of the Spirit.

I loved you with reckless abandon.

I taught you to dance to your own music.

I was Christ for you.

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Christine Pinto

Gold Tested in Fire I want you to know you cannot break me.

I may bend, but now my curves are kissed with light and I am a reflection of God more brilliant than I could have imagined.

I am the one who is broken.

My voice stomped out, I was stripped bare.

I am the one who was called to change the world.

But you snuffed out my light, consumed my soul.

I am gold tested in fire.

I crawled into a hole deep within my heart.

To hide, to bury myself in the ruins.

But now I am reborn.

A seed devoured, digested, expelled sent back into the world to bring forth new life.

I can no longer hide.

In spite of the pain you caused, I have new strength.

Because of you, New gifts emerge.

I am healed.

Made stronger than before, I am transformed.

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Christine Pinto

Sight I am the one who is different, weird, frightened.

I am caught in the act.

I am chosen.

I am my own person I do not look like you.

I am the one who is uniquely created for mission, should I choose to accept.

I am the one on display, but while you are looking at me, I am looking at you and my eyes are bigger.

I see you.

This is my gift to you: I see you.

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Taylor Baar

Transition I am the one who is in transition, staring at radically different futures, struggling to discern which calls my name.

I am the one trying to see through my heart’s swirling.

What I give you is a way to name your anxiety.

My gift is a reminder of your many blessings.

I give you as well the gift of failure.

Do not be afraid to start again.

This is part of life.

Each path holds promise, teaches, shapes and refines you.

Each path helps you become the person you were meant to be.

It is time to start moving.

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Taylor Baar

Abundance I am the one who gives you more than you could want.

I ask you only to take what you need.

Share the rest.

My gift to you is knowledge when to make room for new growth.

My gift is abundant blessing found in relationships with others.

Encounter them generously, leave them room to grow, to change, to be themselves.

Allow them the space to surprise you.

I give you life that is wild and free.

Embrace the chaos, marvel at creation.

I give you structure and support.

Let them push beyond what is present.

I want you to remember that both wild freedom and structure are necessary for creation, giving birth to new possibilities.

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Taylor Baar Wanderer I am the one who is called to wander, the one who continues the journey even when I do not know where the path leads.

I trudge, climb, and sometimes crawl in an effort to just keep going.

I am the solitary pilgrim wandering in the wilderness.

I am the one who chose this journey.

It is mine to walk and mine alone.

Still, I never journey by myself.

I give you the gift of my company.

Lean on me when you think you cannot continue.

I want you to remember how important is the journey.

Do not trivialize it.

Do not allow doubt or fear to discourage you.

Keep moving, one step at a time, with the companion who is leading you out of the wilderness.

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Paulina Hwang

Joyful Worker I am the one who is a joyful coworker, cheerful in the Vineyard of the Lord.

I am the one who lifts up the heavyhearted, encourages and supports the weakened and hesitant.

I am the one who relinquishes all worldly things for heaven.

My gift for you is eternal joy of freedom and peace.

I want you to remember: “the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure in the field.

When you find it, go and sell all your possessions to buy it.�

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Paulina Hwang

Empowered Spirit As birds fly in flocks, so do we, as a flock, journey into the Vineyard of the Lord, spirits fully empowered, full of grace.

Along the way, some will trod ahead, some will fall behind, some will sway left and right.

The compassionate reach out to pull them back in, the indifferent turn their heads.

In the end, with God’s amazing grace, all reach the finish line here on earth, and in God’s own different time, all march onward to home in heaven, as St. Paul finished his race, long and hard and triumphant.

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Paulina Hwang

Messenger of Peace I am the one who is a messenger of peace.

I am the one who brings Christ to the infirm, comfort and consolation to mourners, a listening ear to the contrite and repentant.

I am the one who prayed with them before surgery or as they prepared for their final days.

I am the one who prayed to ease their burden.

I am the one who rejoiced with mothers over wondrous newborn babies.

My gift for you is a compassionate heart – pure, simple and beautiful.

I want you to remember: “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” and “how beautiful are the feet of them who bring glad tidings and a gospel of peace.”

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Timone Davis

New Wine I am new wine.

Given transformation companionship security.

I am new wine…the best of it, for my life now.

I want acceptance, appreciation and spontaneity.

Remember: it’s all good even as obstacles present themselves.

It’s all good.

In the fog, some things are concealed to allow for spontaneity.

Some things are covered needing transformation.

I am task driven, finding comfort in the doing of tasks, but tasks can get in the way of spontaneity which allows me to be FREE.

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Timone Davis Bread I am the one who is the bread I eat.

Nourished by this life force, I can withstand the onslaught and glories of life.

I can live simply and extravagantly, allowing the butters of life to be spread across me.

I am the bread I eat: Christ in the WORD Christ in the Eucharist Christ in the created food.

I have been given access to life and its transforming power.

May I not scatter it like crumbs rendered useless.

I am life for others.

Nurturing them to wholeness.

I must be careful not to gorge myself on the bread or cover it with things that disguise its true nature.

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Timone Davis

Healing: Mind Body Spirit-Soul When I began to suffer greatly with rheumatoid arthritis, I asked God to heal me. I asked for a miracle.

God said yes, but‌ I would need to participate in the miracle by changing the foods I ate returning to exercise increase time fore rest.

I said NO! I wanted an old-fashioned biblical miracle that involved Jesus’ spit or picking up my mat.

My NO led to increased illness.

Now? I am the one who is healing: mind, body and spirit-soul.

I am healing YES. I am reminded to be present to my cleaning tasks so that God can be heard.

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Mammas H. Mammas I am the one who stands firm on God’s providential protection, who acts crazy but knows I have His protection, who jumps and dances for the Lord, confident that He is pleased with me.

I am one grounded in the vineyard of the Lord who sustains me.

I am the one who is joyful, content in God’s presence in my life, who dances for God crazily, who wants to make God laugh.

I am the one who wants to serve others.

I am the one who is anointed to minister to others.

I am the one who follows my God, who knows I have a place in the Lord’s house.

I am the one in the midst of adversity who knows my mission.

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Edward Montgomery

Pilgrims Together I am the one who knows you walk in darkness; I make that pilgrimage often and will fall into step with you, be with you and listen closely when you can bring yourself to speak.

I am the one who sees what you carry in silence.

I need you to walk with me until “I am” is transfigured into “we are.”

When you are ready, lend me enough courage and hope to leave you in peace for I must go back.

And there is one more thing: if you are able, make these words your own, then give them away.

I will gift you with time, with however much remains.

I will be with you in the darkness because we are pilgrims together.

I need you to know that brokenness and sanctification can be synonyms.

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Edward Montgomery Puzzling the Mystery I am the one who doubts and wonders.

I see the quenched wick instead of the possible light.

I notice the chain instead of the broken link.

I glance at the bottom of the hourglass and miss the sand at the top.

I give you the gift of uncertain humility.

I need hope to re-light the candle.

I want to know the chain will remain unmended and that I can go gently.

You need to know that you are free to choose what you carry.

You must come to understand that your questions are more important than my answers.

And finally this: realize that doubt can be a positive thing.

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Edward Montgomery

Walking In Humility I am the one who instructs myself in joy and am often in need of remediation, because I am the student who struggles.

I am the seeker who loses his compass.

I give the gift of penance in motion.

Pack joy in your pack until it is overflowing.

Pull your bootstraps tight, go until you know that joy and sorrow walk together.

They meet at the trailhead of the journey.

Walk until you understand that the wisdom you need is the wisdom of humility.

One more thing: when you come home, we will rest together.

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Garrick Comeaux The Blue I am the one who stands on a bridge.

I am the one who observes the stars in the blue night above and takes part in the world that is good.

I feel the rushing water below and immerse myself into the ways of good.

I swim into the blue water below, into the undercurrents of how things are done.

I swim deep into the blue.

From a bridge I ask how a good world changes, how people are changed but remain the same?

From a bridge, I gaze into the blue of heaven and earth as I cross over to dry land.

Eat, taste, and see; breathe, smell and hear.

And a road rises up in the midst of a vineyard, I remember the good world of blue.

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Garrick Comeaux

The Road I am the one who works undercover on the road through a vineyard, moves gracefully and gently into the season provided.

Till the soil with joy, plant with hope and expectation.

Remember the blue above and below as you care for the vineyard.

Prune with great skill and wisdom.

Dress appropriately at all times.

Tall rubber boots will companion you in good weather and bad.

Rest in the shade when the sun heats up.

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Garrick Comeaux

Things Invisible I am the one who sees and hears the invisible.

Columns, walls, and vaults reach high to the stars in the blue above where love for things invisible is born and nurtured.

Resound with great art that love and reveal the mystery to your mind’s eye.

Invite voices to join the unseen, render them audible to the ear.

Welcome them to craft a new song and send it echoing high above.

Dance with the spirit revealed in sound, as earth is again joined to heaven.

Listen and see.

Teach love of things invisible.

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Kathryn Walczyk

Afraid I am the little one who followed Jesus like you taught me.

I am the little one who was silenced by the Father and who hid beneath the covers.

I am the little one now lifted from darkness to be seen in clear daylight.

I give you vulnerability innocence tantrums persistence perception forgiveness.

I want you to know: walking through the fire, you’ll reach the quiet river.

Don’t be afraid.

We can go there together.

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Kathryn Walczyk Unity I am the woman who rests in the middle.

I am the woman who knows the extremes.

I am the woman who struggles to put it all together: The shame dignity confusion clarity betrayal trust fear love.

Love.

I want you to know purity remains within you, despite violation to your Body.

You are a Holy Human desired for your Goodness desired for your Beauty desired for your Wisdom united in One Body.

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Kathryn Walczyk

Desire I am the one who longs for a church that is lush and growing.

I am the one who longs for a church that desires all people.

Storytellers Intellectuals Organizers Chaos-creators I give you a vision of a church without ceilings, r e a c h i n g, stretching toward the Light.

I want you to remember a God without boundaries, without limitations, drawing you closer with all you encounter.

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John Di Bacco

Autumn Pilgrim I am a pilgrim in the autumn of my life, my journey sustained by faith and heritage.

I am the one who learned Eucharist at the family table, how to live hospitality, community, welcome.

I am the one taught to have a servant's heart, to be a priest who offers people the best foods knowing he cannot make them eat.

Remember always where you came from and this will ground you.

The autumn of life makes me more accepting, eager to cultivate the gifts of others, help them see where they are and where we can be.

Remember, we all come from the community and move through the community in mutual service.

Therein lies our hope.

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John Di Bacco

Acceptance I am the one who accepts you where you are.

That is my gift to you.

Cooperating with Christ, all are works of art.

Remember to remain open and honest, welcoming others for who they are, what they are and what they bring.

With openness comes vulnerability and the ability to see things differently, from new perspectives.

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John Di Bacco

Hospitality of Gifts I am the one who creates hospitality in the busyness of life so that all feel welcome to the table, welcome to share their gifts with the community.

Remember to be generous with the gifts received, using them for the good of all.

Recognize the gifts of others in building the community.

The Lord may not be finished yet.

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Christina Ronzio

Present!

I am one who is present in this world ...but not at home in it.

I stretch my arms between heaven and earth, ...offering my life as a sacrifice of praise.

I am one who puts myself on the edge, ‌out of a reckless abandon for God, for Gospel truth and justice.

I am one with complete faith and trust in God, ...who rescues me from death, who calls me "beloved daughter".

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Christina Ronzio

Rest I am the Alpha and the Omega.

Before you placed your foot on the path I was there Deep Rooted Peace.

You are my beloved.

Return to me often.

Find rejuvenation.

Rest now.

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Christina Ronzio Dry Hope It is not what I want. I didn't sign up for this.

This can't be the Kingdom's foretaste!

Ahh ... ...but remember …

Blessed are the poor in spirit - I am the one who is invited to be poor in spirit - one called to welcome others as Christ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst - I am a dry and weary desert land, exhausted from trying to build the Kingdom, covered in the dust of brick and mortar crumbling in front of me I am one to whom Jesus says: "Come to the water. Come, eat your fill. Do not let your heart be troubled."

Blessed are those who are persecuted I am the one who is persecuted...yet...

I am the one who is persecutor I am one to whom Jesus says: “Rid yourself of malice and deceit, insincerity, envy and all slander.”

“Be built into a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

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John Michael Reyes Broke It? I am the one who is cracking.

I am improving your image of God, an image moving, ambiguous and dark.

I give you the gift of fragility and shame that has been lightened so that you can walk towards a vision.

In this gift is a dark path ushered through judgmental words uttered, sitting at a table where all couldn't look at you, and where you were exiled from a room.

I give you new insight into the grays of hurt, hidden beauty through dryness and stone, of liturgies, sunrises and scraped knees.

I gift you with the reopening to a holy life.

So climb up.

Your path grows towards a new way of light, a swirl of energy.

Let wounds release hurt, giving renewed life, allowing life to peek in.

I want you to know that your scars are cracks of delight, almost like a smile.

Who says that I am fragile?

I am strong can't you see?

There is renewed life from scarred wounds.

I approach an advent morning emerging.

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John Michael Reyes

Gallivanting I am the one who says, “Hello there!

I am the one who claims, “I did it!”

Courage is my name, humility is my game.

I give you the gift of celebrating your "firsts."

I give you the gift of gazes looking up to you, of those who want to take your hands and climb life with you.

I gift you with admiring the vista, seeing its nearness.

I gift you with the roaring whisper of taking a "long loving look at the real."

I gift you with whimsy to bellow out words your heart isn't yet ready to speak.

I want you to be courageous, move past anger and frustration.

I want you to remember you are part of peoples’ lives and how you can be serendipity for them to look up and revel at the landscape of memory.

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John Michael Reyes Click Clack I am the one who is in suspense.

I am the one who is on an escapade of delight as life is raised to a higher understanding of light and love I am the one who says, "Carry on."

I give you the reminder to breathe, to be alive.

Enjoy the rush of being on fire with winks from God. I give you a surge of amazement.

I want you to let your spirit dance with the taste of one's breath.

I want you to remember that life is moving fast and yet slow, meandering and yet directive.

It depends on your presence.

Let time serve its purpose; don't judge.

Do not take relationships for granted or let time stale them.

Live with an open heart, but with open eyes as well so that life reveals itself to you.

Pay attention: Am I moving?

Am I spinning?

Am I bound?

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Barbara Sutton

I Am Lioness I am the daughter of a lion.

Hear me roar! I am lioness who learned to watch the prey.

I am the daughter of leafy vine, planted by water, fruitful and full of branches nourished by abundant water.

I give you the gift of co-workers, strong branches grown into royal scepters so tall they tour among the clouds.

Hear me roar!

I give you the gift of wisdom, the gift of sap from the vine.

I give you the gift to see deeply into the shadow, into the gold even when you can’t bear to look.

I give you a third eye to see the shadow and wisdom to sense the best of life you have yet to live.

I want from you lion-hearted courage to stare down the princes of Israel.

I want the wide arms of God to stretch out her arms and draw you in to brush the mane from your eyes so that you can see again with fresh eyes, with new eyes.

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Barbara Sutton

I Am Ripening I am the one who is ripening.

I am ripe harvest, juicy and plump with late autumn tones.

I am etched with a lifeline holding and nourishing seeds, always surprised at how little I control, aware of a hand mightier than mine.

I give you meaning I give you a vine...a true vine I give you renewal in the water of new life.

I give you a heart that beats, that loves, that is drawn out by the source.

I need courage to be.

I need courage to fix my gaze on the one who gives life.

I need to make room on the vine.

I need to let new shoots move as they do, without worry or attachment.

I need eyes of faith to bear the sight of new fruit, of new living.

I am ripening.

I am harvesting.

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Barbara Sutton I Am the Church I need to become fertile topsoil so the mystery can take root within.

I need companions who live truthfully.

I am the Church.

I am the one who lives in the vineyard.

I am sacred.

I am secular.

I am a pilgrim.

I am a cluster of grapes ready for harvest.

I need the great eagle with wide wingspan to pluck the native seeds and plant them once more on the mountain top and in the valley.

I need to know that we do bear fruit and are a majestic vine nourished by plentiful water.

I am a bell tower sounding for the neighborhood. for families, for those on the margins.

And for the church.

I am with those who seek to learn the way of the vineyard.

Today we are clothed in green!

I am a messenger of beauty.

I am a disciple of the vineyard, a disciple of shadows, praising the mystery yet to be received.

I invite your soul to rest and renew.

I invite you to see words and images dance together.

I invite you to circles of widening perspective.

I invite you to live like an artist again.

I need space in my heart.

I need to listen to words rising up.

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Victor Klimoski

Last Season I am the one who has traveled the seasons.

I am the one hesitant about this last season and its closed border.

For this journey, I give you eyes to see bounty, to produce fruit even in the season of the fallow.

I wish for you courage to keep moving, faith to stay grounded, and conviction that the Divine Horizon does not fade.

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Victor Klimoski

Kairos I am the one crossing over to a new sense of time.

I am the one attentive more to harvest than the need to plant.

I give you the pleasure of savoring the fruits of your labor.

I give you patience to re-discover time and courage to conquer hurdles you meet.

I wish you the gift of reading signs, relationships to expand your heart, and moments of dazzling surprise.

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Victor Klimoski

The Word I am the one who writes, who strives to leap over the obvious to inspired insights.

I give you love of words and the power of images.

I give you gratitude for what dark times teach.

I give you the blessing of wise companions.

I wish for you a tolerance of tension between times of unknowing and times of brilliant revelation.

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Thank you for visiting our virtual exhibit If you wish to host the exhibit, please contact Barbara Sutton at bsutton@csbsju.edu for more information and visit our website: www.csbsju.edu/sot/wordandimage

Degree Programs Master of Divinity (78cr) | MA in Ministry (36cr) Master of Theological Studies (48cr) MA in Liturgical Music (36cr) | Master of Theology (24cr)

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