The way to heaven is opened for us.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

We continue with the fifth verse:

O Come, O Key of David, come,

and open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to you,

O [Israel].

The conception of Mary in the womb of her mother Elizabeth is the definitive moment in salvation history when the Key does, indeed, open for us the way to heaven. Grace has totally conquered sin. Concupiscence is wiped out, along with all the various unhealthy ways we have of coping when we perceive that our basic needs for security, control and esteem are not being met. Addiction cannot take hold. The supernatural enemies of the human soul are bound and cast into hell at the conception of this one, spotless, completely pure and holy girl who is meant to become the Mother of God and the Mother of us all.

We, of course, suffer from the ravages of original sin, concupiscence, and unhealthy coping mechanisms, not the least of which are major and minor addictions which do lead us along the path to misery.

When we need to make choices about our present, we can look to the Blessed Mother and ask the way we should go. We must always be aware that to some extent, we are “flying blindly” as we make our ways through life. We don’t always know which is the way that leads to God; are are sometimes tragically ignorant that there is a path that leads to misery while our senses and deluded minds are convincing us that it is that  path that is the right way to go.

Consider, if you will, the definitiveness of this verse: one way is opened—not only opened, but “opened wide.” Another way is closed. Would that were true for us now. Unfortunately it is not. What this verse offers us is an incredible promise of what Christ comes to bring to us. Let’s seize the promise and live in the hopeful space that our deliverance is near at hand. Often, we will experience it here and now in our lives. Other times, it may be just a bit beyond our reach . . . for now. But let us hope.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

We are not Wisdom

We continue today with the second verse of the Advent hymn:

O Come, O Wisdom, from on high,

Who orders all thins mightily:

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O [Israel].

We are not Wisdom. Sometimes we may be a little wise, and hopefully, as we make our way through the spiritual life we grow bit by bit towards wisdom, but we are still not Wisdom. Let’s take a look at what the book of Wisdom has to say about Wisdom itself (or herself, since Wisdom is personified as female in the ancient writings):

For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique,

manifold, subtle, agile,

clear, unsullied, certain,

not baneful, loving the good, keen

unhampered, beneficent, kindly,

firm, secure, tranquil,

all-powerful, all-seeing,

and pervading all spirits,

though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle. (Wisdom 7-22)

If you have the time, I encourage you to read the entire seventh chapter of the Book of Wisdom.

And so, looking at the list, it is easy to understand that we are not Wisdom. (And, by the way, in the New Testament it is Jesus who is called wisdom. (1 Cor 1:24)

And since we are not Wisdom, many of the things we think and the attitudes and opinions we have may not necessarily be wise and true, no matter how much we cling to them or are addicted to them. And that is why we need to pray for the gift of Wisdom and the order and understanding it brings, while at the same time we need to pray for the humility and openness to realize that God’s Wisdom might require us to move in different directions than we are currently moving.

Once again, it comes down to the basic tenet of the 12-Steps: we are powerless, and falsely opinionated (12Steppers call this “stinking thinking” and as soon as we admit that we are ready to fall into the arms of a completely merciful, compassionate and wise Savior.

Our thoughts are not necessarily true, and our opinions are not facts, as much as we’d like to think they are. As one writer put it, “If you’re going to continue thinking the way you’re thinking, you’re just going to end up right where you are now.”

One final suggestion: be particularly careful of those most cherished and passionately held opinions of yours. They may prevent you from experiencing God’s visitation. 

Jesus comes to touch the weakest part

Reviewing yesterday’s hymn verse:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

and ransom captive [Israel]

that mourns in lonely exile here

until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O [Israel}

Verse One of the Advent hymn (see yesterday’s reflection) makes us aware of the existential pain that permeates our lives. We are exiled from our true selves; we are held captive by things that keep us from a fuller experience of God; we mourn what we have lost as well as what we cannot manage to achieve on our own; our exile is lonely and marked by profound yearning for the coming of the One who can save us from our condition.

What I didn’t mention yesterday is that the condition described in the first verse of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is actually the same condition as that described in the first of the 12-Steps of A.A. and other addiction programs. In the first step, we acknowledge that our lives are “unmanageable” and that we are “powerless” to do anything about it on our own. 

Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr and retired Cistercian Abbot Thomas Keating, among many others, have pointed out that the 12-Step program of recovery is so powerful and effective that everyone should have the experience of working the steps and that everyone is addicted to something that renders life unmanageable and powerless. It needn’t be a major addiction at issue. How about that temper, or that thin skin that causes you so much pain? How about your tendency to judge others by appearances, or your bigotry, or your need to see yourself as better than others? How about . . . . . ? A gentle but ruthlessly honest review of your own life situation can and will help you identify your own particular issue, the one that holds you captive, the one that you have been powerless to defeat. Jesus Christ comes to meet you at exactly that place.

May you be open to the grace he comes to bring.

As I make my way through the verses of my favorite Advent hymn, I intend to relate it to the 12-Steps where possible. I suspect that a deep prayerful study of the verses of the ancient hymn will produce real change, growth and grace in all of our lives. Please come with me as I make my way through this journey.

Finding true peace and happiness

finishing Paragraph 27 of the Catechism:

“. . . only in God will he find the truth and happiness that he never stops searching for.”

I remember a quote from somewhere about a man who worked to climb to ladder of success only to find that when he reached the top he discovered that the ladder had been put up against the wrong wall.

We all do that at times. Don’t take my word for it: check out your life. Have there been times when you have been in pursuit of something that you thought would make you happy, only to discover that once you got what is was your happiness was either short-lived or even nonexistent? The same thing is true for peace. How many times, how may remedies do we try that are designed to give us peace of mind, only to discover that the peace we sought so desperately eluded us?

Only in God. That’s the answer in all its simplicity and in all its complexity. Only In God.

Cistercian monk Fr.Thomas Keating teaches that we have a number of “instinctual needs” that we are continually searching for: “survival and security, affection and esteem and approval, and power and control.” How do we try to get these things? How often are we thwarted in our quest? How many false solutions do we seek?

What is the remedy: Well, when we are searching for God, we discover that we have an “enormous capacity” for “growth, love, freedom, peace, service of others, and reaching out to those in need.” Those are the things that bring us what we have been searching for all along! And how do we learn to devote our lives to those things? Well, back to paragraph 27.

By the way, Fr. Keating also points out that when we push these things aside and search for false remedies, we often get ourselves into a great deal of trouble. This is how obsessions develop, or even addictions. Again, there is a remedy: back to paragraph 27.

Have a nice day.

Advance notice: I will be away next week and will not have access to a computer. I intend to post (with God’s help) tomorrow and Sunday. The next reflection after that will be on October 9. Please keep me in your prayers. Thank you.