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May 2026 |
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Stories Seldom Heard
322nd Edition – May 2026 Welcome to Stories Seldom Heard. The following is a selection of the Second Letter of Peter (1:19-21). We possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Know this first of all: no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; rather, human beings, moved by the Holy Spirit, spoke under the influence of God.
This reading is especially powerful during the Easter season, when we recall the baptismal liturgies. As water is poured over those being baptized, we hear again that through baptism we are called to be priest, prophet, and king. Each of these gifts of the Spirit carries both grace and responsibility. Each calls for deep listening to the Spirit. The Synod on Synodality has likewise emphasized our need to listen—to one another and to the Spirit who dwells within us and within our communities. The gift of listening does not stand alone. Deep listening requires silence. One of the early mystics, John of the Cross, reminds us that “silence is God’s first language.” Thomas Merton also underscores the importance of silence, noting that it helps us discover what lies hidden within our hearts, where we “unexpectedly meet the unthinkable One who is in our very blood.” If we wish to speak a prophetic word, we need silence so that our inner spiritual ear may become attentive — “like a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” Each of us has likely developed a personal path to prayer. Some listen to music beforehand; others walk in a garden or through the woods. Poetry, for me, slows me down, draws my attention to my surroundings, and deepens my awareness of the mysteries of life and death—helping me see how my environment shapes and informs my prayer. One morning, after reading Peter’s letter on prophecy and the importance of listening to the Spirit, I sat on a bluff overlooking Monterey Bay. Suddenly, I was startled by a pod of playful dolphins, spouting and arching out of the water as they traveled north in search of food. Behind them, just above the “dark-knit glare” of the waves, stretched a long, slender line of pelicans. The natural world never ceases to amaze me or reveal the magnificence and mystery of God. In that moment, I recalled an image from Mary Oliver’s poem “Bone.” While walking along the beach, Oliver discovers the remains of a pilot whale and wonders whether its ear bone might reveal something about prayer and the soul. She observes that this pink, scooped-out bone “lasts the longest in any of us, man or whale.” For her, it is not an image of death. It is not bleached or decaying in the sun; rather, it appears almost alive—still attuned to the rhythms of the sea. In its own way, it becomes a prophet from the deep, reminding us that the Spirit of God cannot be silenced, even after what may seem like “hundreds of years of death.” At the heart of the Christian vocation is the call to be both poet and prophet—joined like “two sisters in the house of hearing.” Both listen attentively, observe the world around them, and awaken the imagination of those who hear them. Both help us re-envision life so that our world may reflect God’s compassion, mercy and justice. The Second Letter of Peter urges us to claim both the gift and responsibility of prophecy. It reminds us that we do not live uncalled lives; through baptism, we are drawn into the prophetic tradition of Christ. Like poets, prophets stir memory and offer glimpses of a world not yet fully realized. Peter’s message suggests that we, too, possess something like the ear bone of the pilot whale—a capacity to listen deeply. This “ear” enables us to hear both the love and the urgency of the ancient prophets while also attuning ourselves to the voices of our present world. It connects past and present—God’s enduring love with the ongoing rhythms of life. Oliver’s poem reminds us that creation itself teaches us how to listen and invites our souls into deeper awareness. If we listen well, all creation has something to say about the Holy One who is ever present. Peter reminds us that we are human beings formed and moved by the Holy Spirit—through prayer, study, attentiveness to our environment, and serious social analysis. We are guided by the Spirit, who emboldens our words and actions according to the law of love: love of God and neighbor. His words resonate today because, like the early Christians, we find ourselves amid change and uncertainty. Ours can feel like a time of “dark-knit glare,” obscuring clear vision. What once seemed firm now feels unstable, like sand shifting beneath our feet. Values we assumed were secure appear to be fracturing and we rightly grieve these losses. There is room for sadness, tears, and fear of the unknown. Yet Peter’s words come as a passionate invitation to trust the prophetic Spirit within us, guiding us through uncertain waters. He calls us, like the prophets and poets before us, “to seek language that is passionate, dangerous, and imaginative enough to make available the passion, danger, and freedom of God” (1). He urges us to listen deeply to our tradition and to trust in the Spirit’s presence as we, like Mary Oliver, continue trying “to figure out what the soul is” and how to hear the many ways the Spirit speaks to us.
“Bone” by Mary Oliver Footnotes: 1. Walter Brueggemann, Hopeful Imagination: Prophetic Voices in Exile (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), 24. 2. Mary Oliver, “Bone,” in New and Selected Poems, Volume Two (Boston: Beacon Press, 2007), 72. Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Mary Ellen Green and Maria Hetherton who have helped in editing this article. Also, special thanks to Bob McGrath who conscientiously mails SSH to you each month. Without Bob’s generosity this service would not be possible. Bob utilizes Constant Contact for mailing. If you wish to change your email address please send your new email address to Bob at robert.mcgrath@mgrc.com. Thank you. If you would like to support this ministry, please send a donation to Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, and Mail it to Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P., 40 Locust Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901. Thank you. "Stories Seldom Heard" is a monthly article written by Sister Patricia Bruno, O.P. Sister is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael, California. This service is offered to the Christian Community to enrich one's personal and spiritual life. The articles can be used for individual or group reflection. If you would like "Stories Seldom Heard" sent to a friend, please send a note to Sister Patricia at brunoop2017@gmail.com. Special thanks to Mary Ellen Green and Maria Hetherton who have helped in editing this article. Also, special thanks to Bob McGrath who conscientiously mails SSH to you each month. Without Bob’s generosity this service would not be possible. Bob utilizes Constant Contact for mailing. If you wish to change your email address please send your new email address to Bob at robert.mcgrath@mgrc.com. Thank you. "Stories Seldom Heard" is a monthly article written by Sister Patricia Bruno, OP. Sister is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael, California. This service is offered to the Christian Community to enrich one's personal and spiritual life. The articles can be used for individual or group reflection. If you would like "Stories Seldom Heard" sent to a friend, please send a note to Sister Patricia at brunoop2017@gmail.com. If you would like to support this ministry, please send a donation to Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, c/o Sister Patricia Bruno, OP, 40 Locust Avenue, San Rafael, CA 94901. Thank you.
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