The glory of God is in our everyday life!

 

Most of my reflections focus on the “prophetic” books of the Old Testament or the Gospels and Letters in the New Testament.  But today a line from Psalm 19 leapt out at me - “The heavens proclaim the glory of God.” (Psalm 19:2)

I see the glory all around me; in the sunrises and sunsets, in the colors of the fall foliage as it changes on the trees, and even in the fierce wind that blew all day long today!   I see the glory in God’s creatures that I encounter on my walks—the birds in the air, the squirrels in the trees and the dogs that bark at me to warn their owners of the nearby intruder.

And the glory continues in all the relationships I have – with family, with friends, with neighbors, and the list goes on.  What glory is shining and reflected in each one!  I sometimes sit at Sunday Mass in church and reflect on my “spiritual family members” in that community – the priests and deacons, the Eucharistic ministers, my fellow parishioners—and marvel at all the gifts they have and share, praying that I have something just as valuable to give.  And I do this reflection knowing that there are probably obstacles and challenges they have had to meet in their lives.  

The glory of God is present in my wife and daughters—in the way they put up with me and my selfish ego at times.  I see the glory of God in the uniqueness of each of our grandchildren.  We were able to spend the weekend with them and I marveled at each of their unique gifts.  For Lily, age 12, I marveled at her loving, caring, and nurturing cheerful attitude as she was playing with her younger cousins.  For Josephine, age 5, the glory of listening to her spouting off colors in both English and Spanish, which she is learning through immersion in kindergarten.  The glory was shining in Paloma, age 3 (almost) as she was simply full of energy and curiosity.  The Glory of God is manifested quite visually in these wonderful grandchildren.

Yes, indeed; “The heavens proclaim the glory of God.”

The sign of Jonah

 

Often when we go through life, navigating through the ups and downs we all experience, we can easily find ourselves looking for signs from God about what we should do about this or that.  It’s a trait we’ve apparently had forever; Jesus had performed many mighty works in the midst of the Israelites and Gentiles.  He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and He cast out demons, just as Scripture foretold that He would (Isaiah 35:5).  It seems that no matter how many of these miracles they witnessed, the Scribes and Pharisees always demanded one more sign if they were to believe.  For the record, Jesus never performed signs and wonders to prove anything.  They always were directed towards saving people.  Jesus’ generation had witnessed numerous signs.  To demand more signs beyond what they had already seen was simply a sign of unbelief – worse, an attitude that refuses to believe.  Jesus pointed to this attitude of unbelief as evil.  God will give the sign, but on God’s terms and time, not theirs – and not ours (Luke 11:29-32).

The sign of Jonah for the Ninevites was that Jonah was from God, that he was the prophet’s reappearance from the stomach tomb of a great fish after three days (Jonah 2). The sign for the Israelites would soon be that Jonah-like, Jesus would be raised from the tomb on the third day.

Just as rejecting Jonah’s message would have brought God’s judgment on Nineveh, so will rejecting Jesus invite His judgment on Israel.

It’s all too easy for us to fall into this same attitude with our faith.  Sure, private revelations and apparitions may seem exciting.  They capture our imagination.  But ultimately, where is it that God that invites us to find God?  It’s in the day-to-day ordinary, even the hidden, where God challenges us to live by faith, and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

The real signs of wonder abide within the pages of Scripture, the revealed Word of God, within the accumulated wisdom of Sacred Tradition.  And, most of all, through ordinary bread and wine – and if we have the eyes of faith to see, the Body and Blood of Christ (John 6).  That alone is one whale of a miracle (pardon the pun).

Self-assessment

 

Today I read a familiar and wonderful short story in Mark’s Gospel that’s filled with lots of tensions and emotions.  It begins with a young man approaching Jesus and asking Him the important question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus seems to rebuke the man a couple of times, yet he ignores the rebukes and continues to ask his burning question.  Saying that he’s been faithful to the commandments all his life; what more must he do to be complete?  This is clearly a good person who awaits further instructions from Jesus (Mark 10:17-30).

Jesus responds out of love for him and offers the challenge: “Go sell what you have and give it to the poor . . . then come follow me.”  At this point the man backs off: “His face fell and he went away sad because he had many possessions”.

Jesus was asking the young man to be His disciple.  Sadly, he said no to Jesus’ offer.  He chose holding on to his possessions over following Jesus.  The issue for him was that he couldn’t part from his possessions, which were extensive.  I wonder what happened to him afterwards: did he rethink his position and turn to Jesus?  Did he continue to trust and covet his riches?  We’ll never know since this is the only time we hear about him in his encounter with Jesus.  The call to be a disciple is a profound decision to follow Jesus.  How might this man have stacked up against the twelve that Jesus called to be disciples?  I’d like to think he would have been equal to the challenge of discipleship.

We’re all called to be followers of Jesus, to serve at His side—in a word, to be disciples.  We, too, need to assess what it is we need to “sell” so that we can more faithfully be with Christ.  What is it that might hinder us from responding to Jesus’ call?  What might we do about it?

We can put ourselves in the shoes of the rich young man asked to follow the Lord.  We too come to the encounter with Jesus as good persons looking to add spiritual depth in using our God-given talents.    Are we perfect?  I’ll admit that I’m not!  But the twelve Jesus called to be followers during His public ministry were hardly perfect themselves.  As they journeyed with Jesus on the plains and hills of Galilee and in the streets of Jerusalem we find one who totally sold out on Jesus for a wad of silver Matthew 26:14-16), another who denied that he even knew Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75), and a pair of brothers who seemed interested only in their being on the right and left hand of Jesus in the kingdom (Mark 10: 35 – 45).

If the story of the rich young man was to be written by a modern screenwriter, it might also be called “Following Jesus: the ups and downs of being a disciple”; or “Here is the beginning of a long journey down the road with Jesus”; or “Following Jesus: a call to love as He loved”.   To be a disciple means everyday faithfulness, not success as perfection and the pursuit of perfection implies.  We’re called to trust the good God.

“Only God is good,” Jesus says in the beginning of His dialogue with the man:  to be a disciple, then, is to set one’s eyes on God and not on possessions (which can also mean one’s gifts and accomplishments).  The man was sad because he valued his possessions over the call of Jesus.  With God’s help we can and will be disciples.

Blessed

 

I’ve always said that I feel blessed.  Life has had its ups and downs—to be sure—but in the grand scheme of God’s creation, I truly feel that I’m “blessed”. 

“While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.”  He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” (Luke 11:27-28).

The first step to a blessed life is hearing the Word of God.  To “hear” implies that we do much more than become familiar with the Gospels.  Hearing means we’re not only aware of all that our Lord has revealed, but it also means that we’ve truly internalized it, understanding all that our Lord requires of us.

We all are able to hear God's word, but we don't always truly hear for a number of reasons.  Some of us expect that God will come to us in a roar of power, simply because He can, and so when He doesn't, we don't hear what He says.  Some of us don't pay attention or listen very carefully, and so we start talking about how we’re going to keep (or how great a job we do of keeping) God's word before He finishes talking to us; before we really know what He’s saying.  Some of us are talking so loudly about ourselves and what is important to us that we can't possibly hear what God, or anyone else for that matter, is saying.  Some of us don't even care to try to listen.

The thing about hearing God's word is that it isn't rocket science.  It isn't head challenging.  God will talk with us so we can understand.  Hearing God's word is heart challenging.  It requires heart-felt effort.  We have to slow down.  We have to calm ourselves.  We have to open ourselves so we can hear with our hearts, not with our ears or heads.  It’s hard to slow down, to ignore the busy-ness of our lives.  But the fact that you’re taking time to read this little reflection, and that I’m taking time to write it, is a small sense of slowness, of listening, of hearing God's word.

I sometimes get frustrated that I don't (seem to) have time every day to pray and reflect the way I want to.  But then I remind myself that God doesn't just talk with me when I’m prepared to listen, He talks with me and tells me His word every day, in so many ways.  I hear His calming word when I’m tempted to get angry with the person who cuts me off in traffic.  I hear Him speak with joy in His creation when I bask in the warmth of my wife's smile.  I hear Him loudly lament about tiny babies who are crushed from life moments before their birth, and I hear Him softly call to me from the depths of my own self-created despair when I unwittingly turn my back on Him.

And Jesus reminds us that the blessings are not just for those that hear, but for those who keep the word.  We keep it by practicing what we hear, by renewing ourselves, by living the Word.  This is such a personal call, a personal message.  I can tell you what I believe, and how I think this word affects my life, and how I keep it (or as happens to us all, how I have failed to keep it so many times in my life).  But only you can hear God's word for you, and only you can keep God's word for you.

For those of us who struggle in any way with both hearing and observing the voice of God, maybe we should recommit ourselves to a time of humble and wholehearted discovery.  We can tell our Lord that we’re sorry for not being attentive to Him and set ourselves on a mission to seek and find Him.  We can reject the confusion and anxiety of life, reject the many other voices of “wisdom” within our world, and listen for His gentle but clear voice.  He is always speaking.  He is always calling us.  He is always present. May we open the eyes of our souls and give Him our full attention.  And when we sense Him speaking to us, respond with the utmost generosity and obedience.  Doing so will result in discovering what it means to be truly blessed by our Lord.

The finger of God

“For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.  If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out?” (Luke 11:15-26)

There are several times the gospels have some sort of criticism of Jesus’ healing and driving demons out of possessed people.  In Chapter 11 of Luke’s gospel, it’s not the usual suspects, the scribes and Pharisees, that Jesus is responding to but rather to the crowd who witnessed the event.  Some in the crowd said it was by Beelzebul that Jesus healed the man: others said it was to test Him, to ask for a sign from heaven.  Jesus countered by challenging them to answer His question: “If Satan is divided against himself how will his kingdom stand?”

The crowd then heard Jesus describe the two Kingdoms in the event: the Kingdom of God versus the kingdom of Satan.  “Whoever is not with me is against me ….”  (Luke 11:23)

With these words, Jesus invites those who follow Him to do so completely and without compromise.  Our act of contrition in the Sacrament of Reconciliation states that we “firmly resolve, with the help of God’s grace, to confess our sins, to do penance and to amend our life.”  This is the theme, really, of Luke’s gospel: that we wholeheartedly follow Him as His disciples.

For those who seek a sign from heaven, the Old Testament is clear, and reiterated by Jesus to Satan, himself: “You shall not put the LORD, your God, to the test” (Deuteronomy 6:16; Luke 4:1-12; Matthew 4:1-7).

How does the exorcism healing story in Luke’s gospel apply to my life?  Certainly I shouldn’t “test God”; to presume that I have questionable and valid issues about how God is working with me.  God is God and I am not!  There is too often a sinful attitude of presumption when I don’t trust God and over value my own judgment in how God works with me.  I need to have that attitude that God is loving and working for me but in ways at times too mysterious for me to understand.

And for those who question from where Jesus gets His power and authority to heal others and rid them of the devils that inhibit them, we should trust in the Lord, have faith in Him even if we don’t understand.  We should not judge others rashly for what they’re doing as if they do it for selfish reasons.  We should acknowledge “the finger of God” which is in the good works of others and not be so judgmental.

In this gospel story we see Jesus teaching us to see the difference between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil.  We need to take up our cross and follow Him – completely. 

The perfect prayer

 

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1)

What a great prayer for us to pray also, “Lord, teach us to pray…”  Jesus’ response to this disciple was to present him with the “Our Father” prayer: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

Saint Teresa of Ávila gave this advice while praying the Lord’s Prayer: “Much more is accomplished by a single word of the Our Father said, now and then, from our heart, than by the whole prayer repeated many times in haste and without attention.”  And Saint Thérèse of Lisieux said that the “Our Father” prayer was one of the prayers she prayed when she felt so spiritually barren that she couldn’t summon up a single worthwhile thought.

During the Mass, the priest invites the people of God to pray the “Our Father;” he says, in part, that this prayer is one that “…we dare to say.”  I find this to be an interesting statement which especially reveals the childlike boldness we’re called to have as we pray this prayer sincerely from the heart.  It’s exceptionally bold to call God our “Father.”

Since many of us are very familiar with this ideal prayer taught to us by our Lord Himself, there’s a temptation to pray this prayer in a somewhat rote way.  We can easily fail to say it from the depths of our hearts, making each word our own, offered with the utmost confidence to our loving Father in Heaven.

I daresay many of us say the Lord’s Prayer out of habit, failing to fully comprehend and mean the words we pray, probably because for most Christians, it’s one of the first prayers that everyone learns from a young age.  We should use it as the foundation of all of our prayer, taking each word of that prayer and praying it slowly, intentionally and with love.

After the initial address to the Father, the prayer itself is comprised of seven petitions.  There are three “thy-petitions” (thy name, thy kingdom, thy will) followed by four “us-petitions” (give us, forgive us, lead us not, and deliver us).  In order to better understand the Lord’s prayer, it’s important to briefly examine each petition.

 “Our Father, who art in heaven…”  When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He didn’t teach them to pray “My Father”, but rather “Our Father.”  This reminds us that we’re God’s sons and daughters together in Christ, not as isolated individuals.  It’s only as the body of Christ that we can pray to God as Father.  When we call God “Father,” it’s a reminder for us to live as children in relation with God.  In teaching us to call God “Father,” Jesus also tells us that we have the privilege to call God by the same name he used in his intimate relationship with the Father.

 “Hallowed be thy name…”  In the first petition, we’re asking that God’s name would be “hallowed” or sanctified.  Objectively speaking, God’s name is already holy, but the prayer is asking that God make His name holy to all people through His works and deeds. (Ezekiel 36:22-27)

“Thy kingdome come…”  The second petition has a twofold meaning.  First, we’re praying for the coming of the Kingdom of God here and now in our everyday lives.  At the same time, we’re also praying for Christ’s glorious return at the end of time and the final coming of the Reign of God.

“Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…”  The third petition asks God that our will be conformed to His divine will.  When Jesus was praying to the Father in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-68), He also used the words “thy will be done.”   When we pray “thy will be done” we commit ourselves to following Jesus by taking up our cross.

 “Give us this day, our daily bread…”  In the fourth petition, “give us” expresses our trust in our heavenly Father.  “Our daily bread” refers to our earthly nourishment that’s necessary to physically sustain us throughout the day and the Bread of Life (the Word of God and the Body of Christ) that spiritually nourishes us.  As Catholics, we’re privileged to receive the “Bread of Life” daily in the Mass.

 “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…”  In the fifth petition, we beg for God’s mercy for the times that we’ve fallen short of loving God and loving our neighbor.  We acknowledge that the Father’s mercy and forgiveness is able to penetrate our hearts to the extent that we’re able to forgive our enemies.

 “Lead us not into temptation…”  Some people wonder why we would ask God not to lead us into temptation.  The letter of St. James, however, clearly says that God doesn’t tempt us with evil (James 1:13).  So, in this petition, we’re asking that God doesn’t allow us to take the path that leads to sin.  We’re praying to avoid the near occasion of sin.

 “But deliver us from evil…”  Closely tied to the previous prayer, in this final petition, we’re asking God to protect us from evil.  The Catechism teaches that the “evil” in this petition is not an abstract evil, but actually “refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God” (CCC 2851).  While we acknowledge the reality of the devil, we place our trust in Christ and His definitive victory over evil on the cross.

What a great prayer!

Keep at it

“How come I end up doing all the work around here?”  “Nobody seems to care that I put in so much time on this!”  “Try to be unselfish and people walk all over you!”  “Why bother to be good” “It’s the bad people that are having all the fun!”  These are whines that have been aged to perfection.

If this feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is about anything, it’s about trusting persistence in prayer, not whining because we haven’t yet gotten what we want.  

Jesus says, “And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:5-13) 

I remember praying for, and getting my job with Thrifty Drug Stores back in 1980.  I was elated!  I was going to be working for a company that had a proven track record with great benefits and the opportunity for rapid advancement.  

After 13 years though, the company was undergoing some organizational changes, and it was rumored that it wouldn’t be long before they folded.  I prayed that it wouldn’t happen, but I also prayed for a couple of other things:  Sundays off (to attend Mass, because my current job title required that I work every Sunday, so I wasn’t able to fulfill my obligation), and that I could be transferred somewhere closer to my mom (because my location and hours were such that I hardly saw her, despite living less than a half-hour away).

After 6 months or so of praying persistently, Thrifty phased my job out of existence and let me go in 1993.  I was feeling pretty let down, and wondered why God had not answered my prayers.  

Less than two weeks later, I applied for, and was offered my job at U-Haul.  The location I was assigned to was across the street from where my mother lived, and I was promised Sundays off!  I was with U-Haul for 25 years, with frequent promotions allowing me more than just Sundays for worshipping God, and I retired in 2018 from a job I loved and thanked God for every day!

Keep asking.  Keep seeking. Keep knocking.  It’s not just about persistence, but persistence with a good friend who can be counted on.  God is a better parent to us than we are to our own children.

When we find ourselves whining, it may be helpful to ask what is so awful about living in service of our God and one another.  What is so distasteful about acting justly, loving tenderly, and walking humbly with our God?  What’s happened to our value system that the material pleasures of those who seem far from God are more attractive than walking with Jesus at our side?

Through the prophet Malachi, God spoke similar words.  “To those of you who trust I say: ‘You are mine’.  I will make the sun of justice shine on you with its healing rays.”  (Malachi 3:13-20).  These are words of love and consolation for those who pray (and even lament) with persistence.

Only one thing is necessary

 

My family and my closest friends know that I’m somewhat of a crossword puzzle junkie.  I complete the puzzles in the newspaper every day (in ink), and I always have one or two puzzle books or magazines on hand if I get too bored.  I often find some of the clues (or the answers) timely in relation to my daily scripture readings.  For instance, one of the clues in the first puzzle I did today was “Sackcloth partner.”  I chuckled at the Holy Spirit’s sense of timing, as the answer to the clue was in the Book of Jonah that I read this morning (Jonah 3:1-10).

After He cleared up Jonah’s “hesitancy” to do what he had told Jonah to do, the Lord took it once more from the start.  After his futile attempt to run away and after his rescue by God from the belly of the whale, Jonah heard the Lord say again, “Go preach repentance in Nineveh!”   And off he went.

We’re told that it should have taken three days just to cover the territory, so big was Nineveh.  But after a single day of work on Jonah’s part, the entire city (an “enormously large city”) repented in sackcloth and ashes (my crossword puzzle answer)!  It had nothing at all to do with Jonah’s effective preaching; the extraordinary conversion of that great mass of people had nothing to do with zeal on the part of Jonah.  The Lord wanted the city of Nineveh to convert from their sins and the Lord brought it about, despite a reluctant mouthpiece.  It was the power of the message, and not the messenger that brought about success.

For all of his reluctance, in the end Jonah did exactly what God told him to do: he preached God’s message, not his own.  Though we might prefer a more willing spirit as our example, Jonah provided all that was necessary for a successful mission in God’s sight: he did what God asked.

Another story that emphasizes this point is the well-known story of Martha and Mary, when Jesus visited them and their brother Lazarus at their home in Bethany (Luke 10:38-42).

“Only one thing is necessary....”

Some say the two sisters, Martha and Mary, symbolize two essential aspects of the Church: prayer and service.  Martha, busy about many things welcomed Jesus with her hands, and prepared for the meal.  Mary, like a rabbinic disciple, sat at Jesus’ feet and welcomed Him with a listening heart.  Both were doing “the one thing necessary,” listening to the word of God, but in separate ways.  Service without love won’t do.  Prayer without action will be deficient.  Holding these in balance can be a challenge for all of us.

Martha, distracted from the role of welcoming Jesus with her hands through service, wanted to pull Mary away from listening at the feet of Jesus.  She mirrors the tension between the two sons in the parable of the Prodigal Son: one dutiful in the tasks at hand, the other receiving the extravagant love and attention of the father (Luke 15:11–32).  It also helps us to realize that this episode in the Gospel of Luke, which focuses on the “one thing necessary” and choosing “the better part,” follows the story of the Good Samaritan, a pre-eminent example of the word of God in action (Luke 10:25-37).

I think that one of the most important questions we can ask at the start of each day is: “Lord, what do you want?  What do you want me to say, to do, today?  Jonah’s tale reminds us that God has some very definite wants and desires! 

“Blessed are they who have heard the word, embrace it with a generous heart, and bear fruit” (Luke 8:11-15).

What we are to do

Today, after I finally got a chance to sit and pray with the Bible, I reflected on Jonah (Jonah 1:1-11) and the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37); probably two of the greatest stories of compassion ever told.  In Jonah we see the unreserved compassion of God and the Good Samaritan illustrates the potential of human compassion.

I only read the beginning of Jonah’s story today.  He was a very reluctant prophet.  He decided he could just run away from the task the Lord asked of him.  He would prefer to die rather than go to Nineveh and he told the sailors to throw him off the ship into the stormy sea.  We might be able to sympathize with him if we consider that Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire and a great enemy of Israel.  We could understand Jonah’s fear of going to the city, but later on in the story we’ll find out it’s not out of fear that Jonah fled, rather he didn’t want to warn the Ninevites of their impending doom because he was worried that they would repent and God would spare them.  He was actually wishing, wanting and waiting for their destruction!

I think a lot of people in our own time feel the same way!  Look at our sayings like, “Let them stew in their own juice.” Or “He/she made his/her bed now let him/her lie in it.”  Or “They deserve everything they get.”  Those usually aren’t said with a sense of well-being for the individuals we’re speaking of.  They usually indicate a lack of compassion for the individuals at best and more often an actual desire that they’ll receive their retribution, which borders on revenge.

Jesus’ story of the “Good” Samaritan is an oxymoron to Jesus’ audience who harbored centuries of animosities against Samaritans.  The Samaritan isn’t a gentile, he’s bound by the same Torah as the Priest and the Levite and therefore the same law of love of neighbor (Leviticus 19:18).  Since he is traveling in Judea though, it’s less likely the injured man is his countryman or kinsman, so even the Torah wouldn’t require that he help this man, but he is “moved with compassion”.  In spite of the cost of time, effort, money, and personal danger, he freely demonstrates unconditional love to the one in need, mimicking the kind of love God offers to us.

It’s also important to look at the setting of this parable. Jesus told this dramatic story in response to questions put forward by a “scholar of the law”.  The lawyer first asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus had him answer his own question and he gives us the well-known combination of love God (Deuteronomy 6:5) and love your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18).  It’s through a love of God that the believer is to approach people.  This then has profound implications for the how, why, and who of the love for the neighbor.  And so the lawyer asked his second question “Who is my neighbor?” After Jesus completed His story, He once again had the lawyer answer his own question.  Since the lawyer couldn’t bring himself to name the hero as a “Samaritan,” he simply said “the one who treated him with mercy.”  However, it’s obvious from the lawyer’s questions that he didn’t want to live by mercy.  He didn’t even know what it is.  He actually lived by something quite different from mercy, by his own intention and ability to present himself as a “righteous man before God.”

I sometimes wonder how like this lawyer we are in our smugness and our self-righteousness, especially in regards to our treatment of immigrants, or those who disagree with an individual’s choice of whether to vaccinate or not.  How many times do we “test” God’s mercy for us?  How rarely do we extend that same extravagant mercy to others?  And certainly NOT to our enemy!  When asked to be“merciful as God is merciful” (Luke 6:36), we run away from the task as Jonah did.  We bemoan the task as impossible, and indeed it is a high standard, but it’s what we are to do “to inherit eternal life.” 

Alone time

Just imagine for a minute what a different world it would be if instead of God saying, “It is not good for the man to be alone.   I will make a suitable partner for him”(Genesis 2:18-24), God would have said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make an iPhone for him.”

We probably all chuckle at the absurdity of the idea, but as I sit here tonight at the family cabin with my wife and daughter (all of us silently staring at our smartphone screens at different ‘apps’), I’m thinking maybe that world is closer than we think.

Are we becoming more like Adam before the creation of Eve and “alone” because we have the ubiquitous smartphone constantly in our hand?  How much has the smartphone interfered with the relationships we have with others, especially our spouse or children? Or, to the extreme, has the smartphone superseded the importance of being with our spouse or our other loved ones?

Studies show that we’re spending over 200 minutes per day using our smartphones for something other than a conversation.  If the focus of the research is on teenagers, some report their usage tops 500 minutes per day. 

Is the smartphone also interfering with the frequency and depth of our conversations with God? Instead of finding a quiet spot to sit down, hitting the “pause button” on life and reflecting on what we are doing with our lives and how much or how little God is part of each and every moment of our life, we sit down, grab our phones and check to see who recently updated their Facebook page or Tweeted something we just have to know, or we watch stupid pet tricks on YouTube.  

Perhaps if couples spent more time conversing with each other and listening to what their spouse was concerned about or was feeling, the rate of divorce would not continue to climb. (One has to wonder if one of the reasons young people today are delaying marriage could be tied to the cell phone?)

As part of my daily examination of conscience from now on, I’m going to try and think about how many minutes I had my cellphone in hand, and ask myself how necessary my use of it was.  The next time I go out to eat with my wife or kids or even at the dinner table at home, I’m going to try to remember to not bring my phone to the table.  Instead, I’m going to go all ‘retro’ on my family, engaging them in conversation much like Jesus would engage those around Him in conversation and listen intently to what they have to say.  Likewise, when I have a free moment, instead of trolling the internet for mindless stories, I’ll talk to God about my day, what I did right, who I helped, how I made His world a better place and how I can do better tomorrow.

Don’t let your spouse or children live alone, right next to you in the same home, and don’t let God live alone either.  Talk to them. They are there ready to listen! 

Perfect love

Imagine, in an earthly sense, that each of us had a personal bodyguard to look after us day and night throughout our life. As I imagine it, this evokes two different sentiments.  First, it would most certainly comfort us when there’s imminent danger around.  We would know we’re not alone and that we’d be kept safe from physical harm.  Another thought it calls to mind is that of a loss of personal privacy.  If someone were watching over me day and night, I’d always be aware of their watchful eye. Everything I said and did would be noticed.  For some, this may not always be welcome, because this means they would see all we do, including our sin.  Fear of judgment, the loss of personal privacy and the like may be difficult to accept.

But now imagine that this “bodyguard” is one who offers no judgment, acts with perfect love for us, keeps confidentiality with perfection and cares only for our well-being.  Though it may be hard to imagine that such a person could exist, that person does exist in the person of our guardian angels.

Our guardian angels are real, have a keen and powerful intellect, a will perfectly united with the will of God, and were created for the single purpose of protecting us and leading us into the fulfillment of God’s will. When we sin and stray, our guardian angel’s only concern is to guide us back to God. When we’re fearful or in trouble, our guardian angel’s only care is to protect us and fill us with God’s peace and courage.  And though God could have provided us with all of these graces directly, without the mediation of an angel, He chose to do so through the mediation of our personal guardian angel.  Only in Heaven will we fully understand the profound depth of love, protection, and care given to us by these angelic beings.

Personally, I rejoice that someone knows me so well and loves me with a perfect love. This angel of mine not only loves me perfectly but also has been entrusted with great power from God to protect me and shepherd me to the fulfillment of my life mission. 

It's the little things

Today is the feast day of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, also known as St. Thérèse of Lisieux or St. Thérèse “the little flower.”  We associate St. Thérèse with the spirituality of the ‘little way’ – living out God’s call for us, practicing our love for God in the everyday, mundane, seemingly insignificant, parts of our lives.  At the end of every Mass, we’re told to “go in peace to love and serve the Lord”.  When I think of this directive, what comes to mind immediately is loving my friends and family, using the resources of time, talent, and treasure I have to serve the needs of my community, and to advocate for justice.  What St. Thérèse might invite us in response to this end of Mass instruction might be more challenging.

This raises a couple of questions we might ourselves:  How might we practice love when responding to an annoying email at work?  Can dishwashing (my least favorite chore) be a task done in love?  Can washing our face or brushing our teeth be a time to praise God?

According to St. Thérèse, the answer is yes, and up to us to make it so.  Dishwashing is one of my least favorite chores, but if I use that time to offer gratitude for the food that nourished me and pray for all the people who had a hand in that food being a part of my meal then this mundane task becomes prayer and a response to God’s love.  You might be familiar with those annoying emails, but what difference would it make if we took a moment to breathe, to ask for the grace we need in the moment, and to respond to the email with more patience?  I can tell you from experience it makes a noticeable difference!

Years ago, the chore I absolutely hated was mowing the lawn.  We had a dog then, too, so I would have to start by getting out the shovel and cleaning up after him.  I hated stepping in his mess, or worse yet, tracking it into the house.  Then I would trim around the house, and edge the lawn, all of this while the dog would try (unsuccessfully) to play with me.  Every week, it was the same routine—clean up after the dog, trim, and edge.  But for some reason, as soon as I brought the lawn mower out of the garage, my thoughts would often turn to God.  Maybe because I mowed the lawns on Sundays, my only day off.  Or maybe it was because when I was a child my mother taught me to offer my suffering up to God whenever I was doing something I didn’t like to do.  Whatever the reason, I used this time alone to pray my rosary.  It made the task more palatable—even, in a way, more meaningful for me.  Even so, I was ecstatic the day we hired a gardener to take over the chore!

Back when I had to drive hundreds (sometimes thousands) of miles each week for work, that simple task could become very mundane very quickly.  It became the perfect time for prayer.  In fact, sometimes I even tried singing my rosary, just for variety.  I know that God understands that saying the rosary by rote can get to be boring and tedious, so I hoped that He didn’t mind if I “jazzed” it up a little bit now and then.  Again, praying and offering up even my boredom and exhaustion somehow ‘elevated’ my spirit and made my prayers seem more worthwhile, which in turn made my interactions with others more loving when I reached my destination. 

Imagine the people Jesus sent out in the Gospel (Luke 10:13-16).  They were to make way for Jesus and to not only set the place but prepare the people for Jesus’ arrival.  I imagine that they too considered the little ways, along with the big tasks, that they were called to do in a way of living out God’s love.

“Today, may there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. 

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing that you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.”  –St. Thérèse of Lisieux 

Sweeter than honey

 

I may be one of the only people to read passages in the Bible and come away with a theme of the importance of enjoying food!

For example, Nehemiah goes into great detail about an address by Ezra to the people assembled. Following Ezra’s reading of the book of the law of Moses, and the somber, serious mood that created, he tells the people to "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!" (Nehemiah 8:1-12)

The story goes on to say that the people did indeed “eat and drink, to distribute portions, and to celebrate with great joy, for they understood the words that had been expounded to them.”

Psalm 19, which instructs that “the precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart,” also mentions a delicacy, saying that the Lord’s precepts, and the joy they should bring us, are “sweeter than syrup or honey from the comb.”  (Psalms 19:8- 11)

And in the Gospel, Jesus instructs His 72 disciples on many things, equipping them for their ministry and mission of taking the good news out to others.  In one instruction, He says to “eat and drink what is offered to you.” (Luke 10:1-12)

Perhaps God wants to make sure we understand that we have permission to enjoy food and drink, to celebrate with it, to not feel guilty about indulging when there is a good reason.  Dining is of such importance that Jesus even feels it’s necessary to tell His disciples to be polite and enjoy the hospitality that’s offered them.

The key is, however, to use the food and drink as a means to celebrate the truly important things in life, which are God’s love for us, God’s care for us and God’s precepts for our lives.  That’s where the real joy is, as the psalmist says, but, as humans, one way we have of showing that joy is celebrating with our friends, families and neighbors with delicious food and drink.  And that’s a good thing, pleasing to the Lord.

Message received

 

As Marilyn and I near our 47^th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks, I find myself wondering how in the world we’ve been able to not only to maintain, but to grow in love each day.  I think a lot of it is simply because we know each other so well, and we communicate our love for one another often.  We may not always use words, but as in any communication process, it isn’t enough to hear what the other says, but to understand what the person is trying to say.  True, loving communication is based on the couple truly being present to and with one another, open to giving and receiving what and who each other is.

After reading Scriptures celebrating the feast of the Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, I reflected on how we understand angels in our Judeo-Christian tradition.  In the scriptures, angels are seen as attending to God (Daniel 7:9-14; John 1:47-51), protectors and guardians (Revelation 12:7-12), and messengers/communicators between God and humans (Genesis 28; Tobit 3-12; Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 28:5-7).

Though my imagination as a child was more engaged with the idea of angels as guardians and protectors, my adult understanding centers more in angels as messengers/ communicators of God.

Today, we might not be visited by an angel as in Mary’s annunciation or the announcement of Jesus’ resurrection, but God continues to communicate with us in special ways.  The question is, how open are we to God’s attempts to speak to us?

The old television series, “Touched By An Angel”, attempted to show God’s presence in the world today through the actions of others.  A search of the web, or any religious bookstores, will turn up lots of angel statues, images, etc. that can remind us of the people who bless us with their loving presence in our lives.

However, it isn’t enough for a message to be sent.  There must be a ‘receiver’, open to the message and ready to attempt to understand and respond in order for the communication to really take place.

For me, making time for reflection and prayer is essential to opening myself to God’s communication/ presence in my life.  It is then that I realize how often I’m touched by God in my life through others…in their care, concern, acts of kindness, words of challenge, and unconditional love.  And – it’s a reminder that I’m called to also be God’s presence – to communicate/make God ‘real’ in my actions and words to others.

Jesus is calling us to move on

 

As Jesus and His disciples entered a Samaritan village on their way to Jerusalem, they weren’t welcomed.  James and John were immediately on the defense and wanted to retaliate!  “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” (Luke 9:51-56)

We’re all so very human and like James and John; we want to even the score when we feel we’ve been wronged, or some injustice has been wrought upon those we love.  We’ve become a people quick to anger and slow to forgive!  Our world is filled with violence and unrest!  It’s become the norm to call for someone’s job, throw the first punch, or—God forbid—pick up a gun which ultimately ends in tragedy.  When did we become a people who favor revenge over reconciliation?!

The first step to peace and reconciliation is to remember that God is with us!  God is love!  God sees all people and creation with the eyes of love and as the love children we are, we’re called to see the love of God in others, especially those we don’t even like! 

“Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” (Zechariah 8:20-23).  God is with us, no matter our nationality, creed or color, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, young or old.  If we truly believe this, then what is stopping us from taking back our neighborhoods, churches, schools, families, cities, towns and country.  It’s way past time to promote reconciliation rather than revenge, to live in love rather than anger.

It’s time to recognize and appreciate the goodness of God found in the beauty of family, friends, nature, moral and just leaders.  Jesus rebuked His disciples and journeyed on to another village.  It’s time for us to do the same.  Let’s begin in small ways, maybe making that phone call to someone we haven’t spoken to in a long time, get reconnected, be willing to say I’m sorry, let’s begin again!  Let’s be willing to sit at the same table with those we totally disagree with the goal of working together to find a common ground.  Let’s move on.

The greatest

 

I have amazing grandchildren.  They surprise me every time I see them – they’re so smart and funny, and they have the sweetest little hearts.  But I often think about how simple their little minds are at this age, not just my grandchildren, but all children.  It makes me realize that, as I grew up, how that innocence and simplicity seems to be a fleeting memory as I reached adulthood.  There’s an innocence to a child’s thoughts and actions; a simplicity that we may have long ago forgotten.

So, when Jesus brings a child to him to sit at his right side, what an honorable place for this little innocent, humble soul (Luke 9:46-50)!  “The least among you is the greatest.”  With a child, there’s no pride-fulness, no vanity or self-aggrandizement.  Their hearts are pure, and we should empty ourselves of all those things that prevent us from having that pure and simply beautiful relationship with Christ.

We should cleanse ourselves of those things that prevent us from having a heart that is pure; to honor our God with our humility and serve Him as Jesus did.

Love is inclusive, not exclusive

 

I found so many contemporary themes and threads that poignantly challenge us in our own day weaving their way through the scripture passages I reflected on today, that I’m not sure where to start. 

First, Eldad and Medad began to prophesy when they weren’t in the tent when the Spirit descended on the other seventy (Numbers 11:25-29).  This really upset some of the people who complained to Moses, “Moses, my lord, stop them.”  But Moses answered, “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow God’s spirit on them all!” I wonder who we would complain about “not being in the tent when the spirit was giving out the gift of prophesy?”

Then in the Book of James (James 5:1-6) we read this: “The wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.”  We profess our faith in Jesus yet mistreat or tolerate the abuse of others and say, “Thanks be to the Lord that we are not like them.” (Luke 18:11)

And from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus chastised His ‘beloved’ favorite disciple, John, who complained that others not of the inner circle were preaching in Jesus’ name.  More of the same…WE are the chosen, not them.  Jesus didn’t go for it (Mark 9:38-48).

We spend so much useless energy these days debating who’s in and who’s out.  Who’s one of us and who’s not, who looks like us and who doesn’t, or who speaks our language or not.  We spend so much useless time demonizing others and not seeing our own insecurities and hurts that we cover over with riches or privilege.  We’re all children of God called to be welcoming and generous with all we encounter.  To be a believer in Jesus and the Gospel is to include not exclude.