Something to ponder as you wander down the department store aisles this weekend

"Gray Thursday".  "Black Friday".  "Small Business Saturday".  "Cyber Monday".  Thank God 'they'--those that seem to control the minds and pocketbooks of weak-willed and mindless shoppers--haven't renamed the "Lord's Day."  Hopefully, 'they' will remember to keep holy the Sabbath as a day of rest and praise to God. 

Don't get me wrong, this is the favorite time of the year for most people.  For the most part,  I love the holidays—the time from just before Thanksgiving to a few days after New Year’s. I love it when family all comes together and the world seems a little bit brighter and more peaceful. Right now, we are one month from Christmas and the “rush” has begun. But a reading from Revelation is a great way to stop and reflect on what this holiday season really means and what a great and glorious God is our God.

In verse 8 it says, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.’” God is everything: the beginning and the end, the creator of all the earth. God’s promise that He always “is” is such a powerful thing.  It’s hard for us to comprehend eternity and the fact that God has always been and that He always will be. I am constantly amazed at His love and presence from a God who is so big, to me, a person who often feels so small.

So, today, think of that. Think of God’s constant love and His never-ending strength and power. Think of how blessed you are because of Him and all He has done for you. Spend a few moments ignoring the “rush” and just be silent and enjoy this season. After all, the reason for this whole season is to be thankful and to remember when God, the infinite and powerful Almighty, humbled Himself and became a man to reach out to us. Will you take time out to accept His greeting?    

Developing talents (with the support of a loving family)

As Thanksgiving Day approaches, it’s good to remember that the talents or abilities that we possess are given to us by God. He does not want us to have a false humility about what He has given us and not develop and use them. We are expected to acknowledge these gifts and work to develop them to the fullest.

God does not give us our talents and abilities just for our own purposes of accumulating personal wealth or gaining admiration for our talent. God gives us these gifts to be developed and utilized for the good of His kingdom here on earth. We all can do this in our interactions with others that recognize the other as a unique person made in God’s image. We can do this by sharing of our monetary wealth with those in need. We can do it by sharing our knowledge through teaching or writing. We can do it by creating and sharing pieces of art, dance or song. We can do it by caring for the ill or conducting business in a fair and ethical manner. We can do it by caring for the physical resources of this earth entrusted to us.

Since my mom will be moving South in a few weeks to live with my sister-in-law, this may be the last chance to celebrate the holiday with her.  With Marilyn in agreement, we decided that she and the girls and Lily will carry on tradition by celebrating the day at the family cabin in the mountains with her mother and siblings, while I have elected to spend the day with my mom reflecting on the gifts and blessings God has bestowed on me. 

 My plan was to order one of those ‘prepared Thanksgiving dinners’ that grocery stores and delis sell to people like me who are, shall we say, less than adept in the culinary arts. (By the way, this is not humility—just a fact!) This is indicative of my usual culinary talent:

Evidently, Marilyn and Alicia have more confidence in my abilities than I do, because when I told them of my plan they went to the grocery store and got me the ‘fixins’ for a real Thanksgiving Day meal that even I should be able to prepare. There was a pre-seasoned turkey drumstick and breast that I only need to pop into the oven for about an hour and twenty minutes.   They also got me some stove-top stuffing mix, peas with pearl onions and some yams.  I’ll boil some potatoes that Mom has and mash those, and we’ll make some biscuits (OK, I’ll use one of those ‘poppin fresh’ doohickeys and the microwave—but the thought is there!).  A little packaged gravy mix and we have Thanksgiving dinner for two!  And I figure that if I feel a little overwhelmed while in the kitchen all I have to remember is that I have a world-class cook in the room with me!  In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think it will be fun to attempt this feat with just Mom to witness and share in my success at using the talents and resources that God has given me.  The upside is that if it’s not a success, I think I can trust Mom to tell me it is anyway (lol).

 

As I said, we are expected to acknowledge the gifts and talents we have been given by God and work to develop them to the fullest. I'm going to embrace this opportunity to learn a new talent (how to cook) and use it to be of service to Mom on the day that we set aside specifically to give thanks to God for everything we have and everything we are.

As long as it is done for the good of God’s kingdom, it is the rightful use of our talents and resources and our reward will be great. We will be like the elders of John’s dream in Revelations, saying:

"Worthy are you, Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
because of your will they came to be and were created."

We are not alone

Thursday is my birthday.  I have to work out of town over 150 miles from my family; happy birthday to me.  It’s not all bad, though.  I am extremely grateful to God for the friends He has put in my life that just also happen to be the people I work with.  It may sound trite, but I truly feel like they are my 2^nd family.  And, Marilyn is making reservations for a birthday dinner with the kids on Saturday when I get home—someplace fancy and out of our price range, probably.  Just kidding—I don’t care where we go as long as Marilyn and the girls are there to share it with me and pay for it!  Man!  The quips just keep coming!  Where do they come from?  I’m here all week—try the veal!

You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m in a pretty good mood this evening, despite my minor loneliness on the eve of my birthday.  I got something accomplished today, finished early, and I get to relax and meditate on the Scriptures tonight, in joyful anticipation of going to an early “birthday Mass” tomorrow morning. 

Several people this week—people who usually realize they are blessed with a very good life—have expressed to me feelings of disappointment and despair about their lack of notable achievements or their inability to cope with stressful situations, or just a malaise about the world in general (especially the political realm).  All I could offer “off-the-cuff” as advice was, in retrospect, pretty meager.  I used phrases like, “Join the club”, “Welcome to MY world”, and—in a very lame and not very helpful attempt to cheer them up—“That’s what Rocky Road ice cream is for!”  I’m sorry.  Now that I’ve had time to think about these things (with the help of St. Paul [Philemon 7-20] and the Gospel of Luke [Luke 17:20-25]), here’s my honest answer to all of you: 

All too often, when things seem to be going great, something happens that brings us emotionally and spiritually down to complete emptiness.  At these times we may find ourselves in a place of grave desolation, a place incomparable to anything we have ever experienced before.  We may suffer broken hearts, terrible losses, crushed spirits, or profound loneliness and depression.  We may feel as if our hearts are being ripped apart under the burdens of grief, despair, loss, and regret, and that God has completely abandoned us.  We find ourselves in a downward spiral where everything is working against us and things only seem to be getting worse.  These times we feel as if we may never make it out.

Our prayer life is profoundly affected by this desolation.  We beg God to come into our lives and fix our situation, heal our wounds, give us companionship, bring somebody back, ease the burden of grief and guilt we have to carry, fill the void in our hearts, etc.  For hours on end we may pray like this only to come back to life finding that nothing has changed, that God has done nothing for us, causing us to fall even deeper into despair.  At times like these, we “long to see one of the days of the Son of Man”, for an end to the pain, but there is just no end in sight. 

During these times, though, we must realize that God is more at work in and around us than ever.  As Jesus said in the gospel, “The coming of the kingdom cannot be observed”.  The end of our suffering will come but we may not be able to see it.

Even though we may think we see inaction on God’s part and begin to blame God, we must realize He would never will such a terrible burden of grief on anybody.  Yet we still find ourselves here.  Our temptation is to turn away from God and to abandon our faith just as it seems God has abandoned us.  But we must realize that this desolation we experience is an opportunity to make our faith stronger than ever.  It is so easy to have faith during times we are blessed by God with fortune, but the test of faith comes in times of intense desolation.  If our faith holds strong, even in the wake of debilitating attrition, that desolation will be nothing in comparison to what will await us in eternity.  Through the worst, God often brings the best.  We will find that great joy awaiting us when we keep the faith as Paul does in this letter to Philemon:  “I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed by you, brother.”

Brothers and sisters, there is hope.  Keep faithful and vigilant, even in times of despair, because God loves us infinitely.  We are not alone in our desolation.

 

What are we afraid of?

I am constantly reminded of the awesomeness of our loving Creator as He speaks to us through our Scriptures and traditions.  As I write this entry, we are awaiting the results of our election here in the US.  Regardless of the outcome, Holy Mother Church in her wisdom guided by the Holy Spirit has selected two readings for the day after the elections that have put my mind at rest. 

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?

One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

--Psalm 27

And;

"be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life."

--Phillipians2

It is only in God’s Son, our Lord Jesus that we find true light and real salvation. He is the Word to whom we can turn when we have no words of our own and no light of our own. Jesus is our life when we have no vigor or strength of our own. He alone saves us!

When we feel weak, when we feel lost, we must turn to the Lord Himself. Then, when we are with the Lord, there is nothing to fear.

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

– St. Teresa of Avila

The lap of the Lord

St. Therese of Lisieux has written of the deep inner joy that can be experienced even during times of suffering.   

In You, O Lord, I have found my peace. (Response, Psalm 131)

To be truly at peace is all we need. During times of trial and suffering, if, with the grace of God, we can maintain our inner peace, then the battle is won.  Pride, haughtiness, overreaching for things beyond us: these block our peace, our resting in the Lord.

Humility refers to the utter truth of who we are, who God is, and the nature of our relationship with God. Humility brings stillness to the soul, "like a weaned child on its mother's lap." (Psalm 131)

Like a little child, may we turn from "adult" self-centeredness and find our peace and sustenance in the lap of our Lord.

 

Nothing Lost

One of our great human fears is the fear of losing something or someone, or of being lost ourselves. Children fear when their parents seem far away; parents hold on tight to little hands lest they lose their children in a crowd. We check and double check to make sure we know where the house keys or the car keys are. Don’t lose that credit card or you’ll be in trouble! Keep the GPS handy in case you get lost!

How significant that we describe the death of a family member or close friend as “losing” someone. The ever present absence, the sound of the voice remembered but not really heard, the quirks and habits that were so much a part of everyday life, now gone. There is much that is lost.

On All Souls Day, consolation pours into the lost places of our hearts: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God.” (Wisdom 3:1-9) “I fear no evil for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:1-3a,3b-4, 5-6).  And most poignantly, “And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day.”( John 6:37-40)

In the Lord, nothing, no one is lost. The precious gift of faith, the fruit of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, assures us that in him, all that is good, precious and treasured remains—for eternity. Even for those whose ending left behind “unfinished business,” our faith knows the love of God which strengthens and purifies the good and burnishes away all that gets in the way of perfect love and communion.

We should pray that this communion may be abundant and that through the gift of faith and in the sacramental life, we may be consoled and strengthened until we are fully reunited with those whom we love.