How are things changing within you?

Be transformed by the renewal of your mind. (Romans 12:2)

Consider this: Over the past several months, has there been a change in your way of thinking? Thinking about your faith or the various aspects of your faith, or perhaps a slight adjustment in the way you look at the world and about your own life?

If you are a praying person, if you read the scriptures or other holy books, if you have remained open to the Lord working on your mind much like a potter works with a block of clay, then the renewal is taking place. And I assure you that the renewal will continue to take place as long as you are open to receiving what the Lord is trying to teach you, often without words, in your experience and in your prayer and in the way you live your life and live in relationship with other persons.

As for me, I take great delight when I discover myself acting in ways that I probably would not have acted in the past. I take great delight when I don’t pay any more attention to the gut reactions I have to things, but rather am able to hold them up to the light of what I have been studying or receiving in prayer. How about you?

Six months ago I would have approached this particular issue and tension in this way; now, however, I have discovered that it is possible to toss away my original way of acting and put on a new way of thinking which has led to a peaceful and profitable resolution to the tension which was “running the show” in me for a while. And that is what I think Paul means when he talks about the “renewal” of our minds.

In addition to that, I am discovering that much of what the world esteems as valuable is nothing other than an idol made of sand, and that things I once thought were interesting now seem vapid and empty. Again, renewal of the mind.

Can you relate to any of these things? Today in quiet time, I invite you to consider your own situation and make note of the changes that have been taking place. The Lord loves you and continues to work with you (and me) bit by bit, step by step, as we discover a new outlook on life and on the issues and desires in our lives.

God bless you.

Moving out of your comfort zone

Comments on the first verse of the hymn I posted yesterday (found at the end of this reflection):

Here’s the text of the first verse:

From shallow waters call us, Lord, from safety near the shore,

And bid us launch upon the depths where faith is tested more.

Let not past failures hope destroy nor caution paralyze,

But help us follow where you lead and wait for Love’s surprise.

Line 1: We have a natural tendency to stay within our “comfort zones,” those places where we find what is familiar and known to us, those routines and relationships that make up a regular part of our lives. And some of us get to remain there for a good chunk of time. But that is not always the way things stay when we open ourselves to the Lord’s action and grace in our lives. Just look at the story of the call of Simon (Peter) and James and John (Luke 5:1-11), and how their encounter with the Lord changed their entire lives. The Gospel reports it so simply: They left everything and followed him. The Scriptures are well populated with people who have had some sort of God-initiated life-changing encounters. Consider Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, David, all the apostles, the woman at the well and also people whose lives were changed because of a deep moment of forgiveness (the woman caught in adultery), or an experience of healing.

   Notice also that this line actually ASKS the Lord to initiate such a process in our own lives. As they say, be careful of what you ask for.

Line 2: Have you had such a life-changing event in your life? If you look carefully, you might discover just how much your life has been changed by some sort of event, or call, or yearning, or creative dream, or perhaps even the inspiration and strength to break free from a particular habit or condition of sin. And what happens when you make this move is that your faith, indeed, is tested, and as a result of that, your faith grows deeper as you discover that this change you are making is not something you are doing on your own, but that God is with you every step of the way.

Line 3: Our internal critic (or is it from the devil) tries to keep us back. “You’re not good enough,” it says, or “After all your sins, how could you possibly thing that God would want you for something like that,” or any other sort of distraction or detraction designed to prevent you from making the move or the change. Many attempts at creativity are often discouraged by critics around us. I like this quote to answer that situation: “Those who say it cannot be done shouldn’t interrupt the people doing it.” God is telling us: “Don’t play it safe. Don’t let your past sins discourage you. I have forgiven you and I want you to come with me to something I have prepared for you.”

Line 4: The most important word in this line is “surprise.” If you heed the call, whatever it may be, you will be surprised at what will happen. Guarantee. And note also, that the surprise comes from love. You are being called; you are being helped; your faith is growing stronger; and you will be surprised by the God-who-is-love who cares for you and who will send you everything you need as you continue on your journey.

God bless you.

The hymn:

From shallow waters call us, Lord, from safety near the shore,

And bid us launch upon the depths where faith is tested more.

Let not past failures hope destroy nor caution paralyze,

But help us follow where you lead and wait for Love’s surprise.

We cannot fish the ocean’s depths with nets shrunk small by fear.

We need the gift of greater faith when we your summons hear.

And, if we plead unworthiness from what your call demands,

Then may we trust you’ll cleanse and calm our soiled, unsteady hands.

We dare to launch on unknown seas and cast our nets abroad,

For you have bid us grasp by faith the promises of God.

O Christ, you crossed the same wide seas you send us now to sail;

Be present when we reach the depths with strength that does not fail!

For neither fear nor scorn nor death could turn you back to land.

You knew no storms could carry you beyond your Father’s hand.

Your cross seemed but a fragile craft upon an angry sea,

Till Easter dawn brought light and peace through Love that sets us free!

Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr. 1973-2007. © 2006, GIA Publications, Inc.

All rights reserved. Used with permission.

For permission for congregational copies or digital projection,

call onelicense.net at 1-800-663-1501

A "Love Prayer"

Yesterday we considered the “love passage” from 1 Corinthians 13 which was read at Sunday Mass. I’d like to revisit that passage again and make it into a prayer which might be used by anyone seeking growth and gradual evolution towards becoming a truly loving person. For what it is worth, here goes:

                Lord God, grant me the grace to become more patient, kinder, less jealous but able to rejoice in the good things that others have. Help me to be humble: less pompous, less inflated. Forgive and correct my rudeness by making me more sensitive to others’ feelings. Help me to put others’ needs before me own and to curb my selfishness in all things. Give me a calm and accepting spirit, not prone to fits of temper.

I have been hurt many times, and carry resentments in my heart: heal these and help me to let go of what has happened, to forgive where necessary and to take my attention away from the past and into the present moment. Make me sensitive to the wrongdoing around me and give me the desire to pray for those who are lost in a web of sin. Help me to rejoice always with what is true, especially when it challenges me to change my way of thinking or acting. Help me to bear whatever may develop in my life, strengthen my faith, and my hope, and help me to bear nobly the crosses that are part of my life. I ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

We are not love, but we can evolve

A close reading of the “love chapter” in 1 Corinthians 13 reveals to us our own personal inadequacy. And that’s a good thing, even if it makes us squirm a bit. Whenever or wherever we become aware of our own shortcomings we are receiving an invitation to let the grace and mercy of God enter into our lives in a new way. For this reason, it’s good to use the passage as an examination of conscience.

Love is patient. Love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The passage can also be a guide for right conduct, especially at times when we are tempted to act in a way that is not loving, and also during times of tension, stress or conflict. Look to the passage. Pray, “Lord God, You are Love. Lord Jesus Christ, You are Love incarnate.” Lord, I am not always a vessel filled with love. I fall short. I forget what You have taught me. I have a tendency to be not-Love in my thoughts, words and actions. Help me, Lord. Have mercy on me. Help me to live Your word in all aspects of my life. Lord, You are Love; I am not. Please grant me your grace, that I may grow towards what is lacking in me. Lord, help me to love. Amen.”

In His great love and mercy, the Lord uses many means to shed light upon areas of our lives that need forgiveness, healing, and guidance. One of these means is the Scriptures. Seek out the passages that challenge you; don’t run from them or put them aside. Let them convict you, and then let them show you a new way of being. But most especially, in all times and at all instances, know that God’s patience is greater than what we can imagine. Love is patient. May that love be with you now and always.

The light comes gently

From the 6^th verse of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel:

                O come, O Dayspring from on high,

                And cheer us by your drawing nigh.

Think of the coming of the dawn. Consider how slowly it rises, and how gentle is its first light.

And then, consider the coming of the Savior of the World into the world: not as a mighty king, but as a little child, poor and homeless. Gradually, over the course of years, that child will grow into a man, into the God-man ready to teach and to heal, to suffer, die and to rise again. To be “a light in the darkness,” to quote the prologue in St. John’s Gospel.

These things come slowly.

Conversion, enlightenment, awakening: most often, these come slowly as well. Slow, gradual but inevitable.

I like to think of it in this way:

We are in a room that is completely dark. And we strike a match and light a single candle. At first, there is just a tiny, flickering light, but then the light slowly spreads and begins to fill the room with a soft gentle light. The light is there with us, but the room is still somewhat dark. Light and darkness exist together in the beginning. And then, if we use that tiny light to light other candles and spread them throughout the room, then the darkness recedes while there is only the light left.

This is the process of conversion, of enlightenment, of awakening or of anything else you might like to call it.

Sometimes Christ comes into our lives as a blast from heaven knocking us off our horse, as happened to Saint Paul. But for most of us, most of the time, the light begins as a dayspring, or as a single candle in a darkened room.

As you pray for the coming of Christ into your life this year, pray also that you might be able to see the gentle light as it begins its process within your heart and your mind and your soul.

Blessed Advent to you.

Personal peace

The time came when Jesus wept over Jerusalem, knowing that its fate was going to be annihilation and total destruction. He lamented, and he said something that I’d like to leave with you for today’s reflection:

“If this day you only knew what makes for peace.”

He was speaking of the people’s refusal to turn to him and to believe in him and the things he had taught them. And, of course, that is a good place for us to start as well. Do we believe that Jesus is the One who brings true peace? Do we believe it deeply enough? Do we believe it so much that it has an effect on the way we think and on our behavior as well? Or do we reserve certain aspects of our lives as separate from what we say we believe? Do we withhold? Do we prevaricate? Are we sometimes of two minds and two faces?

These are difficult questions, and, just like everything else that is difficult, we can only find the answers by turning to the Lord and asking him to help us see what we have not yet been able to see.

Do we have the energy or the courage to do that? In each and every aspect of our lives? Or do we have to say “not yet, Lord,” “give me more time.”?

Or let’s make it a bit easier, especially if you are one of those who consider yourself a beginner in the spiritual life. (After all, these reflections are meant for you, not for the experts.) Anyway, for you, I offer just a few questions to guide you on your search for the peace that Jesus brings:

·         Is there something you are ignoring or not being honest about?

·         Is there some good you could be doing that you are not doing (sins of omission)?

·         Where in your life is there no peace? Have you asked Jesus to touch it?

·         Is there anything going on in your life that you would rather God not notice?

·         If Jesus said to you today, “What do you want me to do for you?” how would you answer.

God bless you.

Reflection for Friday-Saturday, October 30 - 31

The fierce-faced preacher took his place in the pulpit. The people braced themselves, thinking that they’d be subjected to a strong dose of “fire and brimstone.”

But the preacher surprised them. He didn’t speak of condemnation, or judgment, or hell. He spoke about heaven. He spoke about something so good and true and beautiful that it made those people begin to want heaven, to want it so badly that they became aware of just how far from heaven their lives really were, and they became aware of just how much was going on in their lives which would make heaven impossible for them to bear.

That week, long lines formed at the confessional. Miracles were taking place: people who had settled into complacency, people who had not taken an honest and sincere look at their lives, were moved to confess, to speak about things which they had been shrugging off for literally a life-time before that day.