Bright lights

We all have a light within us and this light is a gift from God. The lights within us are wonderful and unique, and it’s our job to let these lights within us shine for others to see. Our lights can be anything from having compassion or the gift of humor or even just having the ability to be a good friend and listener to others in need. The lights within us shouldn’t be covered or placed “under a bushel basket” (Mk 4:21-25); instead we should let these gifts that God gave us shine so brightly that all those we come in contact with feel the worth of our love and the love of God.

Think of the Word of God as light.  Just by hearing God’s Word we have a light within us.  We’ve all heard that we are loved and saved by Jesus and we are called to spread this message to everyone we meet, especially those who are stuck in a dark time. We need to be the light in their lives giving them the courage and strength to let their own lights shine bright. Even though we may be faced with dark times and obstacles we need to make sure that our lights are still shining brightly.  Jesus’ words turn the darkness to light and fill our lives and the world with light and hope.  We cannot just take God’s love and mercy for granted; we need to make sure that we are spreading His love to everyone. Today, let us be challenged to let our lights shine and help all those we encounter find their light.

Doin' the One-eighty

Last week I wrote about choices.  Sometimes we make them after a lot of prayer and thought and other times they are thrust upon us.  I’m thinking about the conversion of Saul, and his ensuing encounter with Ananias.

Everyone remembers Saul.  He passionately hates Christians. He even has permission to round them up to kill them. In fact, he's on his way to Damascus to do exactly that, when Jesus Himself appears to Saul in a flash of light so bright it literally blinds him.  He tells Saul, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Saul tries to see, but fades to black, thinking, "Uh oh."  Talk about drama!

But Jesus isn’t done yet.  He appears to Ananias and tells him to go see Saul. Ananias, being a Christian who values his life, is pretty leery of this idea. Then Jesus tells him that Saul (of all people!) is His "chosen instrument" to spread the good news! Ananias must have thought, "Huh? Saul?!" I’m sure he questioned whether or not he heard Jesus correctly.  Anyway, to his credit, Ananias obeys.

Because both men do as Jesus instructed, Saul regains his sight and does a complete 180! He is baptized, goes from Saul to Paul, and goes from Number One Christian Opponent to Number One Christian Proponent.  

This just shows us that, with the Lord, we can expect the occasional huge surprise. His astounding ways are so much bigger than ours! Even when we don't understand what He's doing and naturally hesitate to obey Him, we can trust in His directives and go forward without fear. When we do, the Lord and His Spirit will do the rest.

The unforgivable sin

Who among us has not shown contempt for the Holy Spirit?  Oh, we didn’t think of it as contempt, but we didn’t do as we were called, nudged, or pushed.  Have you ever sensed that the Spirit wanted you to love someone you found unlovable?  Or felt the Spirit nudging you to go a direction that wasn’t the one you wanted to take?  What did you do?  And, me?  I wish I could claim otherwise but…

Does that mean that you and I are beyond forgiveness?  Is that what Jesus is saying in Mark 3:22-30?  I think not.  So, what sets our “contempt” apart from that of the Pharisees’ behavior?   As I reflect on this gospel, I think contempt or irreverence becomes blasphemy when it is deliberate and public slander.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit—we are not “merely” disregarding the Holy Spirit, we are publicly and knowingly reviling the Holy Spirit, as when the Pharisees defined Jesus’ behavior as Satanic.

Whew!  That was close…but wait, before you go…let me leave you with a question that keeps popping into my head.  While we may not knowingly revile the Holy Spirit, do you and I always recognize the Holy Spirit among us?  Can I hear the Spirit when He speaks to me in the voice of my enemy?  Or, do I only “hear” evil?  Can I feel the Spirit when He comes in the eyes of the homeless man I see every day when I drive to work?   Or, do I only feel contempt?  Hmmm…no, maybe not blasphemy…but certainly not worthy of one who knows the good news?   I wonder….

Almighty Father, direct every thought and every effort that we make in our daily lives. May we draw ever so closely to You, that we may never give You offense. Amen

You've got questions? He's got answers!

Have I made the right decision?  What do I do now?  What about those others, whose lives may also be affected by my decision?  Is this God’s plan for me at this point in my life?  How do I know?  I’ve made some tough decisions in my life (some right and some wrong), and these are the questions I’ve asked, even if I made the decision after many, many hours of prayer and feeling confident that it was the right one.

As I grow older (not necessarily wiser), I’m inclined to just take my concerns to our Blessed Mother through the recitation of her rosary and ask her to intercede for me to her Son.  She hasn’t ever let me down.  Praying the rosary and meditating on the life of Christ is the surest way to remind us that our troubles and worries and doubts are nowhere near what our Savior went through to take away our sins.

Who needs answers, when you know someone who knows Someone who has them?  After all, it’s not what you know, but Who you know!  And it helps to remember that He Who Knows All loves us regardless of the choices we make.

I haven't been paying attention!

I haven’t been writing much lately.  At first, I thought it was because I was sicker than the proverbial dog.  Then I thought it was because I’ve been opening the center in the morning and closing it at night, working 15 to 16 hours a day. 

Today, the thought crossed my mind a couple of times that I wasn’t writing because I haven’t been able to “meet” with Jesus on a regular basis through daily Mass or frequent visits to the adoration chapel.  But that can’t be it—the Gospel of Mark brought that home to me when I read it this evening.  I have been seeing Jesus.  I just haven’t recognized Him! 

He was that woman who was having trouble paying for all of the groceries she needed—not wanted—and I failed to step up and help her pay for them.  He was that man that I went out of my way to avoid simply because he was holding a sign that said “HOMELESS FAMILY OF FOUR NEEDS GROCERIES OR MONEY”.   He was in that small child I was irritated with simply because he wouldn’t stop crying due to the fact that he was obviously undernourished.  And my ignorance of the presence of my Lord goes on, and on and on. 

If the evil spirits could do it, why can’t I? They saw Him and recognized Him for who He is. (Mark 3:7-12) But do we do as much? Do we see Christ where He is now? That's the difficult question. Where is Jesus?

One of my favorite games with Lily is when she sits on my lap, right in front of me.  I will put my hands over my eyes, or cover them with a book or newspaper and ask in a playful voice, “Wheeeerrrrrre’s Lillllly??” over and over again.  Then I’ll make a big production of removing the obstruction to my vision and say, “Oh!  There she is!”,  then we’ll both start giggling.  It’s obvious we both know where she is, but it’s a great joy to look one another in the eye and know the love we share.  So I ask again-- “Where is Jesus?”

Jesus lives, here and now. He is often right in front of us, as obvious as the daylight.  He is among us in the form of our brothers and sisters. Indeed, He told us as much. ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40) This is what we must bear in mind as we pass through each day. All of those people we meet and see, and most especially those we make an effort not to see - those who, if we saw them, would make us uncomfortable or call us to an action we do not choose at this time - all of those people are Jesus for us, if we only let them be.

And there is another way in which we can look at each of the people around us and say, "You are the Son of God."  Indeed, we are all sons and daughters of God. Jesus is our brother and He is indeed the only begotten Son of God, but we all share in sonship, in spirit.

So, remember as you go through your day - each person you meet, and each person you greet - that person is, for you, for that time, Jesus. Do unto that person what you would do for Jesus.  I know I’ll try harder from now on.  Maybe He’ll say to me, “Oh!  Here I am!” and we’ll both start giggling over the joy of our closeness.

Feeling better, learning new things

Finally!  I’m feeling much better today!  Thank God!  I know it’s because of the prayers said on my behalf (and the TLC I received from Marilyn and Alicia, who are blessings in my life!)  So I’m able to spend a little time today trying to get back in the swing of things and trying also to create a halfway decent blog entry.  I hope I succeeded. =================================================================================   

Although He speaks in other places of continuity with and fulfillment of what has come before, Jesus announces the “newness” that He brings, making use of two images.  The practice of fasting has no place at a wedding, Jesus points out, clearly announcing that He is the Bridegroom, the Messiah who inaugurates the “new times.”  As if to underscore His point, Jesus likewise points out the foolishness of an old wine skin put to use with new wine—it just won’t work!  The new wine likewise announces the “new times.” (Mark 2:18-22)

Having left behind the Christmas season only a week ago, we might ask ourselves today whether we have also left behind the “newness of life” experienced in those days.  Jesus, born into our world, continues to pursue us with a divine passion, even greater than that of the most loving bridegroom.  And, thanks to the gift of baptism, the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5, 5).  Are we allowing ourselves to be pursued by Love, or have we reverted once again to living life on our own terms?  Are we drinking the new wine of the Holy Spirit, experiencing the “sober intoxication” of that divine gift, or are we “running on our own steam” once again?

All this “newness” which Jesus proclaims today precludes any “business as usual,” and invites us to step fully into a new time, living in a new way as we march through a new year.

Browsing through the Book of Samuel today, it struck me that we can learn a great lesson from King Saul. Saul disobeyed God by taking the spoils from the Amalekites, an act which God had forbidden. Then, to justify his actions, he tells the prophet Samuel that he intended to use the prime sheep and oxen taken from the Amalekites as a burnt offering to God. Samuel quickly points out to him that God does not want sacrifices, but rather complete obedience to His word. (1 Samuel 15:16-23)

The same is true for us - we are to always obey His word. Put another way, it’s never right to do a wrong thing, no matter how good one's intentions. Or, we can say it is always right to do the right thing, regardless of any outcomes we may face. This is the wish of our God: to obey His word which is always perfectly right in any circumstance.

Speaking of “newness” and “lessons learned”, I learned something new yesterday.  I consider myself pretty good at trivia—I always win those types of games and I’m pretty adept at crossword puzzles and games, so I was surprised I had never heard the phrase “the Silver Rule” before!  When I asked Mom this morning if she had ever heard of it (after all, I got my passion for word games and trivia from her), she replied that she knew of the “Golden Rule”, but not the “Silver Rule.”  So we both learned something new!  Pretty good for a woman in her 90’s and her son pushing 60! 

Basically, the “Silver Rule” is “Don’t do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.”  Jesus put a “positive spin” on it when He said, "Do unto others as you would have them do to you." (Matthew 7:12).  Our Lord’s approach exhorts positive action to love one another, whereas the “Silver Rule” promotes no action at all, unless it is wanted.  So I love you whether you want me to or not (Lol), because that’s what our Lord commanded me to do.   

Tempus fugit

Has it really been a whole week since I last wrote?  Wow.  I truly had no idea!  I got caught in the clutches of my chronic bronchitis with its attending coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath that made it difficult to work (which I had to), much less think!  When I got home this past Sunday, Marilyn and Alicia fixed me up with some breathing treatments (thanks to Lily's breathing machine when she was really congested last year), some heavy-duty cough syrup and a "z-pac" of antibiotics that GPat happened to be hanging onto from one of her recent ailments.
I'm still not 100%, but I am well enough to at least take a deep breath now and then without coughing!  Thank God for the women in my life.  And I'm not talking only about Marilyn, Alicia, and Lily.  I'm talking about Sarah.  I'm talking about Mom.  And GPat (Marilyn's mom).  And my sisters-in-law, who have been there recently for Mom and me.  And of course, I'm talking about OUR Mother, Mary, the Mother of God.  She's put in more than a couple of good words to her Son for me lately. 

Thanks to all of you, ladies!  I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all of you!  Well, I can BEGIN, I just can't finish!

I'll try to begin putting up meditations again tomorrow night and get back on schedule.  Thanks for your patience with me.

Walk the walk

Love is manifested in service. Our faith calls us to love each other as Jesus loved us. In his letter, John reminds us that Jesus loved us so much, he laid down his life for us (1 Jn 3:11-21). So too we must be willing to lay our lives down for others.

Not too long ago, we celebrated light coming into the world, God loving us so much that he took on the flesh of a tiny infant. God came to us, not in a roaring fire or a rushing wind, but a whisper. As the Christmas season closes, let’s remember, it doesn’t matter where our walk takes us, as long as we are walking.

A week of pondering

Today is the beginning of the New Year and it is only right and proper that we should begin this and every new year by celebrating the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.

As Mary and her husband Joseph kept care of the infant Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem, it must have seemed an odd situation for the birth of a king - the Son of God. But as bizarre as the setting must have seemed, Mary greatly treasured all these wonderful things and reflected on them in the depths of her heart. (Luke 2: 16-21)

But what's more important is that Mary, even after being told that she had been chosen in the divine plan and was in good favor with God, continued to follow the commands of the Lord and had Jesus circumcised and presented to the Lord just as the law commanded. Mary obediently followed the wishes of God without question.

On this last day of the Christmas Octave, I find myself sorry I didn’t feel much like writing this last week. Fighting a cold and starting up a new location is small potatoes, when I stopped to ponder the previous week and what each day could have brought me spiritually, if I wasn’t thinking so much about myself.  There is a lot about each of the feast days that the Church has wisely placed in this octave. 

1

Of course there is Christmas Day, when the Second Person of the Holy Trinity became fully man!  And for the next 33 years He emptied Himself to our Father in non-compromising obedient fashion, even up to His death on the cross!

2

The second day of the octave is the Feast of St. Stephen the martyr.  We don’t know how soon after the Crucifixion he was stoned to death, but the important thing to remember is that he gave his life to God out of true love to Jesus Christ and obedience to God through Jesus’ teaching.

3

The third day this last week we remembered St. John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  Doesn’t that sound presumptuous and somewhat conceited?  Not if you stop to realize that what John is doing is inviting us to take his place at the events where he says this; (John 13, John 20, John 21 et al).  He wants us to be running alongside Peter towards the empty tomb.  He invites us to place our head upon Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper.  He exhorts us to recognize the man standing on the shore of the lake as the Lord and point this out to Peter as we are fishing after the Resurrection. 

4

On the fourth day after Christmas, through remembering the Holy Innocents, the Church reminds us that though some may not even know or be aware of Christ, God still loves us.  While Stephen is remembered as the first martyr for the new Church, I think it’s worth noting that these very young boys didn’t even know Christ was among them, as Stephen did.  But God found them worthy enough to be sacrificed for His Church to come into existence and He rewarded them by bringing them Home.

5

The fifth day of the octave is set aside for St. Thomas Moore.  Here was the king’s best friend who is elevated to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury solely to fight the Pope on the king’s behalf so the king can commit adultery.  Well, there’s friendship—then there’s obedience to God.  St. Thomas made the better choice, lost his earthly life, but gained eternal happiness.  Not a bad trade.

6

Six days after Christmas we celebrate the Holy Family.  Having a baby in a family is full of new experiences, joys and fears.  I can’t imagine the intensity of those feelings when your child is the Son of God.  How did Mary and Joseph cope?  Oh, yeah!  They were FILLED with the Holy Spirit, and the graces that follow from that!

7

On the seventh day, we celebrate a relatively obscure (compared to the rest of the previous week) saint—St. Sylvester.  But when you consider that he was one of the main authors of the Nicene Creed wherein we state our belief that Jesus Christ is both True God and True Man, he becomes not so obscure.  His obedience to the Church and his faith in Jesus Christ as both human and Divine helped him to persuade the Council at Nicea that the Aryan heresy should not and could not continue.

8

On this, the eighth day after Christmas and the first day of 2012, as we reflect on the life of the Mother of God, let us reflect awhile on our own lives. Do we follow God's wishes without question? Do we rejoice and reflect on even the strange situations in which we find ourselves? If the answer is no, then there is no better time than now to take the steps to get on God's straight path which leads to life everlasting.  God help us all.