Can suffering make sense?

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

It was the last straw for me. I read about a horrible case of a little child who had suffered for many years of abuse and neglect and who died shortly after he was discovered by the police. I raged at God: “How could you allow this to happen?! Where is your love and mercy for a little child?! How can you tolerate such evil in the world without doing anything to stop it?!” Perhaps you’ve asked similar questions in the past, or had similar reason to get angry and frustrated with the God we’re supposed to love, and Who, we’re told, overflows with unconditional love.

I thought about this for a few days, and slowly some insights came to me which calmed my disillusionment and anger. For what it is worth, I share these thoughts with you today.

The first thought is rather simple, and depends on faith in the afterlife, the resurrection of the dead and the justice of God. Somehow, some way, He will make up for this child’s sufferings which ended with his death. I prayed for the child and I hope to see him some day seated in heaven high beyond my own place (if I should make it there myself). I prayed above all that justice will be done, and that the child’s sufferings will somehow be used for good in the world.

The second thought depends on how we think of God and how we consider God. If our image of God is some white-bearded old potentate who sits upon a throne and dispenses justice, retribution and blessings at will, a God to be feared more than loved, a God who, as the cartoons sometimes put it, shoots down thunderbolts from the sky directed at innocent and defenseless people, then the rage rightfully remains and the concepts of justice, mercy and unconditional love are obliterated.

However, I’ve been learning through my own reading and prayer to consider God as the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in eternal relationship with each other and surrender to each other, with the energy flowing between the three of them the energy of Love. Suffering is included in this notion of the Trinity because, after all, the Son is often referred to as the “Lamb of God,” and the Spirit is sent to console Him during the difficult and painful times of His earthly existence (as for example, at the time of the temptation in the desert). In love, the persons of the Trinity surrender to each other, share everything with each other and also invite us to be part of that relationship, a relationship within which they share our suffering and transform it into the energy of Love. The abused child is welcomed into that relationship somehow, and one can barely imagine what may have taken place during his years of neglect and suffering.

Within this Trinitarian relationship all suffering has its place and all suffering is transformed, including your suffering and mine. If you are currently suffering, claim your relationship within the Trinity and see if it becomes a source of comfort and hope to you. If you have suffered in the past and your suffering has now come to an end, consider how you were cared for during your time of trial even though you were probably unaware of it at the time.

This idea may be difficult to grasp, and I am not sure I have been able to explain it adequately. If you would like to do more reading about this, then I strong recommend you get yourself a copy of The Divine Dance, by Fr. Richard Rohr and experience it for yourself.

God bless you!

HELP ME!!!!!!

Monday, February 27, 2017

At Vigils this morning we were praying Psalm 18 and the following lines caught my attention:

The waves of death rose about me;

the torrents of destruction assailed me;

the snares of the grave entangled me;

the traps of death confronted me.

In my anguish I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came to his ears.

What follows is a description of God coming to save the troubled person. In concludes with:

He brought me forth into freedom,

he saved me because he loved me.

As I prayed these lines this morning I realized that I am not oppressed or threatened at the present time. Nonetheless, I could remember a time when I was in dire straits and these words truly express what I was going through. “Help me, O Lord. Get me out of this trial” I wrote again and again in my journal. And then the Lord answered my prayer and help came from an unexpected source, and my deliverance was near at hand. I was indeed brought forth into freedom by my God who heard my prayer and who came to help me out of what I regard as the most difficult time in my life.

But like I said, I am not in such a situation right now. And so I prayed the lines of the psalm for some unknown person who may indeed be begging for deliverance and freedom. And I thought of the millions of people in our troubled world right now, all the refugees and migrants, all those threatened by war and terrorism and natural disasters, and realize that this psalm is incredibly real for all the suffering brothers and sisters in our country and in the world right now.

A little later this morning, I received a phone call from someone who is going through a very difficult time himself at the moment, someone who was calling me for both solace and encouragement and perhaps a word that could sustain him in his struggle. And so I quotes the lines of this psalm to him, along with many other verses throughout the psalter that have a similar message; lines such as Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to my neck; I have sunk into the mud of the deep and there is no foothold.

I was able to offer help out of my own personal experience and out of my daily encounter with the Psalms as well as my lived experience of suffering. I recalled a passage from 2 Corinthians:

Praised be God, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from him. (2 Co 1:3-4)

Never forget, my friends, that God uses everything you have ever undergone for some good purpose.

God bless you!

For someone who died away from the church

Friday, February 24, 2017

Special reflection:

Note: Many times we are faced with the death or relatives or friends who were baptized Catholic but whose life choices led them away from the Church of their youth, often to ways of living that the Church teaches to be sinful. This homily was written for such an occasion. It gave comfort to the elderly parents of a man who died young, far removed from the faith in which he was raised. It is offered to those who may find themselves in the same circumstances and who are searching for a ray of hope to guide them through the dark days of mourning and questioning. We shall refer to this man, who died at the age of 39, as “George.”

                We Catholics are funny creatures at times. We hold to what we believe to be “the true faith” and yet we are particularly solicitous towards those who share our faith in Christ yet are separated from us because of doctrinal differences or historical circumstances.

                We believe with all our hearts and souls that the true road to salvation and the most powerful means of grace to bring us that salvation are the Sacraments of the Church, particularly Baptism, Penance and Eucharist--and yet when someone dear to us has died separated from those wellsprings of grace, we pray more earnestly than ever for the salvation of his soul. We pray and beg that God’s mercy will extend beyond the grave and that there is still a chance that  the power of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross will “cleanse him, forgive his sins and raise him up to eternal joy in God’s presence,” as we pray in the Post-Communion prayer near the end of the Funeral Mass.

                We believe that presumption is a sin--and so we never presume that we--or any individual soul-is going to be rushed right into heaven at the moment of death--it is important to realize that when Mother Theresa died the Church prayed the same funeral prayers that we will pray today for George-- and therefore we are loathe to assume that even the most notorious sinner will be spared the fate of hell, even when this person has spent a lifetime living a life that appears to be outside the embrace of God. Notice I said appears to be - - for none of can ever truly know the state of a person’s soul, and because Our Lord has taught us most insistently that we are never to judge, never: “The measure with which you measure,” He said, “will be measured back to you.” And so we have been taught not to judge but to hope. We always hope that the wideness of God’s mercy is greater than the scope of anyone’s sins and weaknesses and failings, and we hope that that wideness will be applied to us as well at the moment of our own deaths.

                One might wonder why we bother living Catholic lives in this world if we admit that God’s mercy is not limited to the means of salvation that are ours as Catholics. The answer to the paradox is found within us: We live Catholic lives because our faith is a gift from God to us, and because we have come to realize that by living our faith we find a greater measure of inner peace in this life, an inner peace which nothing, absolutely nothing else can give to us. We know this from experience. Many of us within the Church, including some of the greatest saints in the Church’s history, lived a great number of years searching for that peace outside the faith, and we were never able to find it. Many of us have returned after years of separation from what is sometimes called the “joy of our youth”--in fact, George spoke those very same words when an altar boy at this church: “I will go unto the altar of God, the God who gives joy to my youth.” Ask those who returned; invariably they will tell you that the peace, and the joy of their rediscovered faith is dearer to them than it was before they had left to go searching on their own.

                Some people aren’t given enough time to make this journey home before their earthly life runs its course: this happens particularly when one has died an untimely and unexpected death. But even then, we pray and hope that it is not too late. We take great consolation in something Jesus once said--that “these disciples re God’s gift to me--and no one shall ever snatch them out of my hand. We remember George as an altar server: and we pray that no one can, or will, snatch him out of the Lord’s hand.

                We Catholics are often scoffed at, even by other Christians, because of our doctrine of Purgatory--and yet at times like this we find that the reality of Purgatory is a source of great comfort and hope. The die wasn’t cast for all eternity the night that George died. There is still time for the most important work of his eternal life to be done. We pray that through the merits of the sacrifice of  Christ on the Cross--which extend to every person who has ever made it to heaven, whether they knew Christ or not--we pray that through this sacrifice, George’s journey will be completed, that he will be purified of all sin--just as we hope to be--and that, through some process of transformation and purification known only to God, that George will be brought home, totally cleansed and purified, and that he will rest in peace and one day enter the Kingdom of Heaven to await the final return of all who loved him here on earth, and all who grieve his death here today.

And so now, as we offer the Body and Blood of Christ for the forgiveness of George’s sins, let each of us ask God to help us do what it is that we must do, what our consciences urge us to do, so that one day we too may join him in heaven where there will be no sorrow, no sickness, no death nor wailing or mourning, and where Christ will be the perpetual light that shines upon us forever. Amen.

"Cutting off" our hand

Thursday, February 23, 2017

“Delay not your conversion to the Lord.” (Sirach 5:8)

Stern readings at Mass today. Sirach 5 lists a number of things which, in the long run, are useless when it comes to our righteousness before the Lord:

--wealth

--strength and power

--presumption

--overconfidence in the Lord’s forgiveness

Despite all we have spoken about and reflected upon during the Year of Mercy just past, we cannot keep sinning, presuming that we are already forgiven. God is merciful, yet at the same time He is just. We believe that mercy triumphs over justice, and Jesus demonstrated that many times during His earthly ministry, but that doesn’t mean we can simply presume that we will get away with anything and everything. Sirach makes that clear:

. . . mercy and anger alike are with him;

   upon the wicked alights his wrath. (5:7)

And in today’s Gospel (Mark 9:41-50) Jesus, with radical imagery, advises us to eliminate from our lives anything that causes us to sin. Some of us will remember the old Act of Contrition, in which we pledge to “avoid the near occasion of sin.” As Lent approaches, we do well to put those words into action in our lives. Jesus tells us to pluck out our eye or cut off our hand, and we hope that He is simply using extreme images that can be taken as metaphors. But the message is firm: eliminate what causes us to sin.

I’ll give you a personal example about how things are going in my own life. Ever since the Inauguration of President Trump in the USA, I have been obsessively checking the news and news sources on the Internet, trying to keep track of what is going on in our government. Many Americans have been doing the same during what so many of us see as trying times. But I tried a little experiment: for a few days now, I’ve stopped following what’s been going on, mainly because I realized that my stress and anxiety levels have gone up along with frustration and anger and lack of patience. And so I cut it out, greatly limiting my contact with the news each day. I have experienced an immediate result. And so I find myself less prone to sins of thought and action, since my lack of patience obviously affects those who have to live with me.

Hopefully, you can find some personal ways to cut off what needs to be eliminated from your own life. Don’t forget to ask for help in this endeavor, for the Lord will readily answer such prayers.

God bless you!

The "hope verses"

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Today we resume our reflection on Sirach 2 which we began yesterday.

There are a few lines in this chapter that I consider to be the hope verses which follow the discussion of trials, adversity, “crushing humiliation” and the like. These verses are so special to me that I once wrote a song based on them which we still sing from time to time at the Abbey. Here are the verses (Sirach 2:7-9). I am attempting to post a picture of the music on this page as well. Please note that it is copywrited ©1983, Bede Camera and Saint Anselm Abbey.

You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy,

   turn not away lest you fall.

You who fear the Lord, trust him,

   and your reward will not be lost.

You who fear the Lord, hope for good things,

   for lasting joy and mercy.

Time and time again in our lives we are faced with situations and experiences that are so daunting or even frightening that we can find great consolation, encouragement and hope in these verses. I encourage you to memorize them.

Notice that the verses demand a certain response from us. They exhort us to be patient (wait for his mercy), to trust even when things are going wrong that there is a reward waiting for us at the end of our ordeal, and finally to hope for what we may not be experiencing at the moment we pray these lines: lasting joy and mercy.

These are the things that await us when we can turn to the Lord at a moment when we might not even feel He is present or that He is acting in our lives. And in such situations we can turn to the Lord Who has endured far worse trials than we can every undergo, to the point where He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” but then rediscovered his capacity to hope and to trust: “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Don’t give up.

God bless you.

Your suffering has a purpose

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

I remember when I made my first visit to a monastery and was seeking guidance from the Prior. One of the first things he told me to do was to go and memorize chapter 2 of the Book of Sirach. I took his advice and it bore fruit. This chapter has been a faithful support throughout the years of my monastic life, and I have turned to it again and again in good times as well as in times of trial and difficulty. And it turns out that this chapter is often read on the Feast of Saint Benedict and on the occasions of monastic professions, so it is a chapter which is dear to monks and nuns. It also happens to be the first reading for today’s Mass.

The chapter is brutally honest and doesn’t beat around the bush:

                When you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials.  (*I’m using an older translation from the New American Bible because that is the one I hold in my heart. I don’t care for the translation being used at Mass today; I feel it is too wordy and tends to weaken the power of the message.)

It provides good and solid advice for those undergoing those trials:

                Be steadfast, undisturbed in times of adversity.

It tells us to “toughen up,” surrendering to the moment no matter what it brings, and reminds us that there is a purpose in our suffering:

                Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient;

                For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation.

And after all this, it reminds us that, to borrow the words of a song, we never walk alone.

                Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him.

It reminds us to remember what the Lord has done in the past:

Study the generations long past and understand;

has anyone hoped in the Lord and been disappointed?

Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken?

Has anyone called upon him and been rebuffed?

This last passage underscores for us just how important it is that we become aware of the stories and characters of salvation history so that we can grow in the virtue of hope.

More about this wonderful chapter tomorrow.

God bless you!

Help my unbelief

Monday, February 20, 2017

Jesus said to him: ”Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:23-24)

I remember one instance in my life where I was very anxious about something and I prayed with great fervor for the situation to be resolved in a particular way that very day. Let me add to this that the outcome I had prayed for was highly unlikely, considering the circumstances.

I reproached myself for being so very explicit about how God was to work things out, but then this beautiful line from the Gospel came to mind: Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief and it gave me the courage to pray as I was praying.

Within the next hour, the situation was resolved exactly the way I had asked for. Thanks be to God.

I love these few words from the Gospel and the translation that makes it so clean and almost symmetrical: I believe, help my unbelief. I’ve encountered other translations that attempt to paraphrase the man’s words such as, I do believe, help my lack of trust, but the paraphrase is weak. In attempting to describe “unbelief” (which is an exact translation of the Greek word used here), the paraphrase actually limits it to one particular state of mind. “Unbelief” can mean so many other things besides.

Examples:

                I believe but I think I might be asking for too much.

                I believe but I hesitate in my prayer.

                I believe but I have some doubts about the matter.

                I believe but “would you really do this for me?”

                I believe but I feel guilty about what I am asking.

                I believe but when I pray for world peace it just looks so impossible to happen in my lifetime.

                I believe but I don’t really deserve to have my prayer answered.

                I believe but . . . . .  (Perhaps you can add your own examples to the list.)

The truth of the matter, however, is that the Lord has told us to “ask, seek, knock.” He has also told us that if we had the faith the size of a mustard seed, we could “say to this sycamore, ‘Be uprooted and transplanted into the sea, and it would obey you.” (Luke 17:6)

How small our faith must be. “Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief.”

Above all, however, believe that God loves us unconditionally and wants you to make it to heaven, and He continually wishes to pour graces upon us, graces that we ask for and graces that our feeble minds can scarcely comprehend. So pray boldly. Pray constantly. And above all, pray for an increase of faith.

God bless you!

Losing my life

Friday, February 17, 2017

From the Gospel passage for today:

Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. (Mark 8:35)

Two propositions in this verse, and two brief reflections:

Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it: There are things in our life that we hang on to that lead not to an increase and flourishing of the spiritual life and our journey to God, but which influence us to move in the other direction. It’s hard to let go of these things. Sometimes, in fact, it’s even difficult for us to recognize them for what they are and so we need to ask for guidance and wisdom; it is also a good idea to consult a mentor or spiritual director to help us see what we, in our covetousness, cannot see. Do you want to grow closer to Christ and the life He offers? Well then, let go of . . .

Secondly, whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.

I would like to reflect on the practice of meditation (or contemplation) and see how it can help us develop and enhance our ability to let go. When we try to meditate by focusing on our breathing and resting in the presence of the Lord, a vast parade passes by. In the parade are our thoughts both sublime and trivial, our doubts, our fears, our regrets, our plans for what we’re going to do after the meditation, the issues and concerns of the day, the people we love or the people we have trouble dealing with, etc., etc., etc. Meditation doesn’t result in us losing all of these things, but rather it helps us develop the ability to let them pass by as part of the parade. We choose not to follow them and let them take us where they want us to go. It’s difficult at first, and some days are a lot more difficult than others.

But again I emphasize the fact that we are not going to find these things disappearing from our lives, but we will find that we develop the ability to “lose” them, to set them aside and to re-focus our attention on the Lord and on the breath of life that He breathes into us. (That’s right: just take a deep breath and enjoy a contemplative moment).

A simple example: The other day, I was disappointed about something very trivial, but the feeling of disappointment was quite strong. With a few breaths, I was able to allow that disappointment to pass by and I returned to a state of equanimity, thank the Lord. And I recalled how it was years in the past, when I could let a disappointment grab hold of me and affect my mood for the rest of the day! So by letting go of the disappointment and allowing it to pass (in other words, by losing my life,) I gained my life back, a life which set me free to express my gratitude and to go about my day free from a preoccupation that would have cost me so much.

Has this ever happened to you?

God bless you! Have a nice weekend.

We don't think like God

Thursday, February 16, 2017

(Note: I apologize for missing a reflection yesterday.)

In today’s Gospel passage, Peter makes a great affirmation of faith when Jesus asks, “who do you say that I am?” Peter’s answer: You are the Christ. But a short time later, Peter has a hard time being told that Jesus would be rejected, and killed, and rise on the third day, and he rebukes the Lord. Jesus makes his well-known reply: “Get behind me, Satan!” And He makes this rebuke: You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (See Mark 8:27-33)

I am reminded of this passage from the Letter to the Romans:

How deep are the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How inscrutable his judgments, how unsearchable his ways! For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (Romans 11:33-34)

When Jesus predicted His death, it didn’t make any sense to Peter and so he resisted and rebuked the Lord for saying such a thing. And so I ask you, how many times has something happened in your own life that simply didn’t make sense, and if you tried to tell yourself that it was God’s will (and it was, actually), you simply couldn’t make the pieces fit together or be able to surrender to the circumstances? This happens to all of us, doesn’t it? And so we need to be reminded, again and again, that we simply cannot figure out what the Lord is thinking. He doesn’t always give us that insight or wisdom. How often has a child asked you a question and you’ve tried to answer, “You can’t understand this now, but when you grow up, it will begin to make sense.” An answer like that is hard to accept, and yet, like it or not, it is true. And so there are things in our life which we cannot figure out yet and we will not be able to grasp for a long time to come. I don’t know about you, but I have a few questions on my mind which I have had to accept will not be answered for me until I am on the other side of the grave, hopefully resting in the Lord—and yet by that time the questions might no longer matter. That’s the way it is with us human beings.

I turn now to the book of Wisdom, speaking about the Wisdom of God (which is often thought to be the Holy Spirit, or perhaps even the Second Person of the Trinity, and which is often personified as a woman):

Now with you is Wisdom, who knows your works and was present when you made the world; who understands what is pleasing in your eyes and what is conformable with your commands.

Send her forth from your holy heavens and from your glorious throne dispatch her that she may be with me and work with me, and that I may know what is your pleasure. (Wis 9:9-10)

Notice that there is a plea in this passage that God send Wisdom to us, that we may begin to make sense of things, and particularly to know what is God’s will for us at any given moment and in any time of decision or choice. A good prayer to keep in mind. “Lord, may your wisdom be with me.”

God bless you!

Seeing, hearing and remembering

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

In today’s Gospel passage, the Lord rebukes the disciples:

Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?  And do you not remember? (Mark 8_17-18)

I will use this rebuke as the basis for an examination of conscience. Perhaps there will be some things that you can use yourself.

--Yes, my heart has been hardened. I can remember times before I had fully embraced the Lord when I was grossly insensitive to so many things, when I was ignorant of things which eventually served to open and soften my heart. I must pray to the Lord the words of Psalm 25: “Do not remember the sins of my youth.”

--I find that as I get older, and perhaps because of the practice of contemplation, I am able to see things which I couldn’t see before: particularly the pain that other people carry around with them. Because of the process of ongoing conversion, where once I was prone to judge, now I am more apt to gaze upon another with empathic understanding. The process isn’t complete yet; sometimes I still fail to open my eyes. And on the other hand, I discover that I am becoming, bit by bit, more able to be “blown away” by the extraordinary amount of beauty there is in the world around me. I can take delight in, and savor things which I have previously taken for granted. Forgive me, Lord, my lack of gratitude and my lack of compassion.

--Can I, do I really hear what there is around me? The hidden signals in another’s voice?  Am I oblivious to the important messages contained in the readings I hear proclaimed throughout the day and at Mass? Am I able to hear beneath the words what another is trying to convey? No, sometimes I am so quick to put my own filters on what another is saying and I can not understand what another is meaning. Please heal my deafness, Lord, and forgive those times when I have put my hands over my ears lest I hear what would challenge, correct, or enlighten me.

--How forgetful I am! Time and time again I am faced with a new dilemma or trial or vexing problem and I forget all the times the Lord has come to my aid, has untangled knots, has offered solutions and strength and forbearance in my life. And yet again, I tend to grow fearful and to doubt that the Lord will not be with me this time, in this event, with this obstacle or challenge. Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief!

That’s it for today. God bless you!

Give it over

Monday, February 13, 2017

A man spoke with me about a dilemma he was in, a dilemma of his own making. (Isn’t it true that we are often the authors of our own misery?) He had done something wrong at work and then lied to his boss about it. His conscience was urging him to clear things up with his boss, but he was uncomfortable (“terrified” was the word he used) about doing so. He was determined to become ruthlessly honest about the situation but didn’t know how he would proceed or what he would say or how he would overcome his fear.

I told him to pray about it and then to stop worrying about it. “If you pray about it,” I said, “then you are giving it over to God and God will help you handle the situation. At the right moment you will find the right thing to say, and then you have done what it is you set out do to.”

Notice that I had nothing to say about the consequences of his confession. The consequences are out of our control, and yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were to discover that his confession would lead to something good. It’s been my experience that God tends to work that way in the long run.

How about you?

God bless you!

The breath of God

Friday, February 10, 2017

“It is the breath of God that you breathe—and you are unaware of it.”  Theophilus of Antioch (Second Century)

Take a breath. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow, how shallow or deep. Realize that the breath you take is what keep you alive. The day will come when you will breathe your last breath, and then you will cross the threshold between this life and the next.

That breath sustains you, and when God made man, He breathed on him the breath of life. He continues to breathe in us. Oh, that we might be conscious of God’s activity in our lives with every breath that we take! But keep in mind that anywhere, anytime, anyhow, you can simply close your eyes and breathe and be in instant contact with the God Who made you and in Whom you have your being. This could be an especially important habit to develop during these days of greater stress in our world. Take a breath, or rather, receive the gift of breath that God gives you, and you can have a 15-second retreat any time you want it.

There is a wonderful old hymn called “Breathe on me, Breath of God” that is sometimes sung on occasions where the attention is on the Holy Spirit---for example, during confirmations. Here is the text:

O breathe on me, O breath of God,

Fill me with life anew,

That I may love the things you love,

And do what you would do.

O breathe on me, O breath of God,

Until my heart is pure;

Until my will is one with yours,

To do and to endure.

O breathe on me, O breath of God,

My will to yours incline,

Until this selfish part of me

Glows with your fire divine.

O breathe on me, O breath of God,

So shall I never die,

But live with you the perfect life

Of your eternity.

Text: Edwin Hatch, 1835-1889

God bless you! Have a wonderful weekend.

Inclusion

Thursday, February 09, 2017

Two weeks ago I wrote about inclusion and cited an example which is retold in today’s Gospel Passage: the healing of the Syro-Phonecian woman’s daughter. Because of that, I am going to re-post the reflection I wrote about that with just a few changes and additions. And as I reread the reflection, I also realize that it has a lot to say about the current political situation in the United States, so that makes it all the more pertinent.  Here goes:

“’Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’”

There is a dualist tendency in religion to exclude. If you are over 60, think of all the terrible things we Catholic children were told about Protestants. I can actually remember praying for my Lutheran grandmother when I was about 12 years old from a prayer book. The prayer asked God to send her a terrible tragedy so that she would come to her senses and return to the True Faith! And we continue to exclude even in our own times. Certain groups, people who don’t believe like we do, people who don’t behave like we do, people who don’t believe in Jesus, people who don’t believe in God, Islamic peoples, etc., etc., etc., ad naus. And there are many texts in Scriptures that exhibit a dualist tendency as well. Consider the Jews and the Samaritans, for example, or even some statements in the letters of Paul that declare who is or isn’t fit for the Kingdom of God.

But there is also an evolution in the Scriptures, as well as an evolution in Jesus Christ Himself. Recall how at first he refused to heal the daughter of the Syro-Phonecian woman, but then, because of her persistence and her faith, changed His mind and redefined His mission which He had previously said was only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

And here, near the very beginning of Mark’s Gospel, we see Jesus extending the boundaries of His family to include the people who were listening to him. His only qualification: those who do the will of God. And we must be careful here not to assume that we know who it is who is doing God’s will. God often works through people who do not belong to our group, our faith, our orientation, our lifestyle, our practices, our notion of God. My goodness, God even works through atheists! I’m thinking of a composer who wrote many of the most beloved hymns of Christianity who declared himself to be an athieist, and yet he wrote more beautifully about the Christian faith than many believers could even attempt. Was he or wasn’t he doing will of God? Would Jesus include him as part of His family? Be careful how you answer. The best answer of all is not to answer, but simply to hold the mystery in your heart, just as it is so important for us to do with every single individual we encounter. Just as Jesus said never to judge, I would suggest that we must never make assumptions about anyone. As I said yesterday, we never know what burdens another individual is carrying, or what pain is part of that individual’s history.

As you read today’s Gospel (Mark 7:24-30) keep this drive to inclusion in mind and you will see it occurring in stories and passages that you may never have seen in that light before.

And if you continue to pray “Enlarge my heart” as I suggested yesterday, then keep in mind those you would have a tendency to exclude and ask the Lord to help you change your mind about them as well.

God bless you!

The evil within

Wednesday, February 08, 2017

In the Gospel passage for today’s Mass, Our Lord speaks about things “which come from within” that defile us. (See Mark 7:14-23). His list is extensive: “evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance and folly.” That’s quite a list and can provide us with the basis for a good and rigorous examination of conscience.

But I have some questions:

·         How self-aware are we?

·         Are we courageous enough to face what is inside of us and be honest about it?

·         Have we allowed things to fester within us without being challenged?

·         Are we so distracted by identifying the “evils” of others that we cannot focus our attention on ourselves?

I’ll give you a personal example:

Yesterday I saw someone who set off a very strong negative reaction within me. To be honest, I’d have to say that this person filled me with disgust. And I judged. And I became an expert about the faults I perceived about this person—none of which, to be honest, were necessarily true. To borrow a phrase from 12-step groups, I “took the other person’s inventory.”

But then I was giving the grace to stop walking down that path. And I took the time to examine not the other person, but rather, my own reaction to that person. “Why?” I asked. “Why was it so difficult for me to look at this other person as a beloved child of God?” “What are my prejudices? “Why do I react so strongly to certain traits this person exhibits?” And the self-questioning continued.

I concluded that my heart isn’t yet big enough to make room for that type of person, that my sense of kindness was sorely lacking, and that even though sometimes I think of myself as loving, there are definite barriers to my loving as Jesus loves.

And so, in my meditation last night, I lost myself within the heart of Jesus and used a simple phrase as the mantra for my meditation: “Enlarge my heart, O Lord.” And this is important: I wasn’t expecting an immediate change to take place within me. I knew that I was taking the first step in what would be a slow and gradual process of conversion and healing within me. Of course, it was always possible that God, who is all-powerful, could zap me with an immediate change of heart, but my experience has been that these things take time, and that I will continuously need to use that prayer: Enlarge my heart, O Lord.

So tell yourself: where and how do you need to be converted? Where do you need a larger heart? What is it within you that prevents you from being the type of person that you think Jesus wants you to be? Or, to use scriptural language, one might say, “What is the evil within me that defiles me?”

God bless you!

God wants your heart

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

From the Gospel for Tuesday of the 5^th Week in Ordinary Time

“How well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me;

In vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines human precepts.” (Mark 7:6-7, citing Isaiah 29:13)

What matters the most is neither the mind nor the lips, but the heart. Remember the image I quoted yesterday how “God is a beggar sitting at the gate, patiently begging for love.” Remember also the ancient Jewish commandment which Jesus cites as the greatest of all the commandments: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:4f, cited by Jesus in Mark 12:30). And finally, recall the question Jesus asked Peter three times, after the betrayal and after His resurrection: Do you love me? (John 21:15-17)

It is not academic theology that matters, nor perfectionalistic ritualism, nor obsession with the parish’s economy, nor the ability to come up with keen insights into Vatican politics, nor the most exquisite liturgical choirs, nor tribunals nor the refined distinctions of moral theology. All or some of these things might be good in themselves, but they all carry within themselves an innate danger; that is, the danger of getting obsessive over these things and making them out to be God rather than God Himself who is, again, begging for our love.

That is why it is also so important for us to “get out of our heads” when we go to pray; that is why contemplative prayer and meditation is so important: times when we can lay these things aside and simply be alone in a room resting in the presence of Jesus Christ, “like a lover in the arms of the Beloved” (to borrow a phrase from Fr. Richard Rohr).  Rest in Him. Stay in Him. Remain in Him. He will supply you with what you need when you go about all of the other stuff, but always remember that the “other stuff” is precisely that: other stuff. It’s not the cake nor the icing on the cake, nor even the cake fork.

And if you are not sure how to pray contemplatively, ask Him to guide you. He will. Because He has given you free will, and He wants you to freely give your will over to Him. Seek these things first, and all other things will be given you besides.

God bless you!

God yearns for you

Monday, February 06, 2017

One of the gifts God has given to us is the gift of free will. Without it, we would be programmed robots with no choice but to love and obey the Lord in all things.

Sometimes, free will might seem to be not a gift, but a burden. Our lives are a struggle to attain that unity with God that would exist if we did not have free will. However, because we have free will, we are free to depart from God and even to give ourselves over to the realm of darkness. But yet, even to those who are most lost, God continually waits for the time when they might come back to him, like the prodigal father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. While the son was approaching his father’s house, the father was already waiting at the gate for his return.

One of the most poignant statements about this patience and yearning of the Lord is something I read by Olivier Clément in the book I have been writing about lately:

God remains in history the beggar who waits at each person’s gate with infinite patience, begging for love. (p. 56)

And Origen (185-254) states in his commentary on the Psalms that “Christ will be in agony to the very end of the world; he will suffer until all humanity has entered the Kingdom.”

You might discern from this statement that Origen believed in “universal salvation;” that is, that ultimately all souls will return to God and find salvation. It is important to note, however, that the Church condemned this teaching of his time and emphatically does not teach “universal salvation” as a doctrine. In our own time, students and teachers of the mystical tradition are once again expressing a strong hope and desire and prayer for universal salvation, and this has surfaced especially during the recent Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Many people, however, are much better at hoping for condemnation that for salvation. I was distressed today to read on-line that a man who was imprisoned for beating his infant son to death was finally brutally murdered by his roommate. There were many comments to this story, all of which applauded the murder of the child-killer. Our own emotional response to the original crime might also lead us to feel the same way—and yet, however, God is the ultimate judge, not any of us, and based on my own studies and prayer and writings, I would tend to say that a Christian needs to refrain from rushing to judgment no matter what the situation, and that over the past several decades the Church has moved to a stronger stance against capital punishment.

Finally, consider this passage from 1 Corinthians 15:

for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (1 Co 15: 22-25)

Peace has been prepared for you

Friday, February 03, 2017

Last week I wrote about a lovely passage from a late 2^nd Century work, The Odes of Solomon, a collection of 42 Odes mostly in praise of the Savior. Perhaps you remember the line I quoted: He is mercy to me.

I decided to investigate the entire collection of Odes and I found a number of inspiring passages which I will present to you from time to time. Here are a few passages for your reflection today:

You have given us Your fellowship: it was not that You were in need of us but that we are in need of You:

(Ode 4)

I will give thanks unto You, O Lord, because I love You;

O Most High, You will not forsake me, for You are my hope;

Freely I have received Your grace, I shall live thereby . . .    (Ode 5)

As the hand moves over the harp, and the strings speak,

So speaks in my members the Spirit of the Lord, and I speak by his love. (Ode 6)

Open your hearts to the exultation of the Lord:

And let your love be multiplied from the heart and even to the lips,

to bring forth fruit to the Lord, living and holy, and to talk with watchfulness in His light.

Rise up, and stand erect, you who sometime were brought low;

Tell forth you who were in silence, that your mouth has been opened.

You, therefore, that were despised, be henceforth lifted up, because your righteousness has been exalted.

For the right hand of the Lord is with you and He is your helper;

And peace was prepared for you before ever your war existed.  (Ode 8)

Comment on that last line: Throughout our lives we know peace and times of peace, and we suffer from “war” (=chaos, suffering, oppression, subjugation, pain and turmoil) and times of war. What time is it for you, a time of peace or a time of war? The great consolation of our faith is that before we were ever born “a peace was prepared for you,” and that our ultimate destiny is a time of eternal, unending peace. Keep in mind also that even during your times of war there is a peace which awaits you and which can be found in prayer and meditation even while the war is raging around you. Give thanks to God.

The Odes are available on-line in .pdf format. The version I have is only 18 pages and is a translation by Marty Daw. If you’d like you can download the entire collection, or else wait for the snippets I will provide here from time to time.

God bless you! Have a wonderful weekend.

An experience in meditation

Thursday, February 02, 2017

The Feast of the Presentation

This feast is indeed one of my favorites because it was at the Mass for the Feast of the Presentation in 1983, that I finally committed myself to becoming a monk at Saint Anselm Abbey. Therefore I celebrate this feast as an anniversary.

That being said, today I would like to share with you an experience I had last night in meditation. For what it is worth, here goes:

When I began my meditation I found it very difficult to let go of my thoughts about a number of things that have been happening in my country these past two weeks. It was a frustrating experience and at one point I almost stopped trying to meditate. “What’s the use?” I asked myself.

But then I became aware of what was going on inside beneath my thoughts. When I looked there I found a mixture of dark emotions: mainly anger, fear, frustration and a feeling of helplessness: I could do nothing to “solve” or “save” what is going on these days.

Finally, as I prayed the Jesus Prayer (or tried to), I focused not any any thoughts about what’s been going on, but rather simply on the emotions themselves which I identified to myself as a body of pain. And as I focused on that pain it became not must my pain but rather the pain of a majority of Americans at this point in our history. And so I felt the pain and experienced it not only for myself but also for everyone and anyone else who was carrying the same body of pain with them.

Time passed. I simply hung out with the pain and emotion. No thoughts about what was causing the pain, simply the pain itself.

A lot of the pain went away as I continued to meditate. But more importantly, I had ceased running the “tapes” in my head about the concerns I had brought to the meditation. And for a blissful period, I was free of those thoughts and simply rested in the Lord with my pain.

Today I find that as I recall this experience and breathe deeply, once again I can get free of any distressing thoughts about things. A bit of the pain is still there, and that is fine. I remember that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He took to Himself all the pain of the entire human race for all of history, and I realize that he also took my own pain to Himself.

And that makes all the difference.

Perhaps this will help you as well. As always, take what you find helpful and leave the rest aside.

God bless you!

Christ as man; christ as God

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Over the past few days we’ve been reflecting on how Jesus Christ is the connecting link between our human condition and His divine glory. Today I’d like to share with you some eloquent propositions by Saint Gregory Nanzianzan (c. 330-390). Each proposition has two parts; the first speaks of Christ sharing our human condition and the second demonstrates what Christ in His Divinity does for us.

“As a man he was baptized, but as God he washed away our sins.

As a man he was tempted, but as God he triumphed, and he exorts us to be confident ecause he has ‘overcome the world’ (John 6:51)

He was hungry, but he fed thousands and he is ‘the living bread which came down from heaven’ (John 6:51).

He was thirsty, but he cried, ‘If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink,” and he promised that believers should become springs of living water. (John 7:37ff)

He knew weariness, but he is rest for ‘all who labor and are heavy laden’ (Matthew 11:28)

He prays, but he answers prayer.

He weeps, but wipes away tears.

He asks where Lazarus has been laid, for he is man; but he raised him to life, for he is God.

He is sold, dirt cheap, for thirty pieces of silver, but he redeems the world, at great cost, with his own blood.

He was weak and wounded, but he cures all infirmity and all weakness.

He was nailed to the wood and lifted up, but he restores us by the tree of life.

He dies, but he brings to life, and by his own death destroys death.

He is buried, but he rises again.

He descends into hell, but rescues the souls imprisoned there.

Third Theological Oration in The Roots of Christian Mysticism, Clément, p. 43

God bless you!