Getting more value out of life

Thursday, September 28, 2017

(The first reading for today’s Mass)  The prophet Haggai delivers a message that we can also take to heart:

Now thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways! You have sown much but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; you have drunk, but have not been exhilarated; have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed; and whoever earned wages earned them for a bag with holes in it. (Haggai 1:7-8)

How little satisfaction we often derive from the stuff of life is we do not learn to stop and savor the good things we are given with gratitude in our hearts! Until we live united with God’s plan for us we go through the motions with our senses numb and our toil fruitless----that is until the great and awesome moment comes when our eyes are opened and we realize that God has something planned for us that will bring us more joy and satisfaction than we can even imagine before the time of our conversion.

Haggai’s words bring a few images to mind: the glutton who no longer tastes or enjoys what he consumes (consider how often people at a meal will discuss other meals they have eaten and fail to savor what is on their plates before them.) The drunkard who sinks into a mire of depressive, miserable and angry thoughts; the fashionista whose fetish for the latest styles no longer simply dresses for comfort; the consumerist who “spends his wages for what fails to satisfy” (Isaiah 55:2)

Might I suggest that we consider those times when we simply skim the surface of life and fail to live reflectively, devoutly and deeply? Haggai spoke to the people of Israel because God was calling them to rebuild the temple—a work which would bring Him glory and also bring meaning into their lives. Perhaps Haggai’s message might prompt us to make some changes in our lives in accord with what we discern that God may be calling us to?

God bless you!

Look at your face

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

From yesterday’s Gospel. Jesus said, “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” (Luke 8:16)

In a spiritual sense, we’ve been given so much light in our lives and in our hearts as we draw close to Jesus in our prayer and our worship, in our reading and study of the Gospels, in the psalms we pray and the candles we light, in the freedoms that we enjoy and the ongoing work of grace that continually helps us to know and to understand things we could only dream of in the past.

There are so many people in the world who suffer from a lack of light. People who have to toil in the dark, prisoners, people whose horizons are darkened through pain and anguish or by sin, people living under oppressive and violent governments, those who are blind (either physically or metaphorically), victims of abuse and neglect of all kinds, and all those who suffer in body, mind or spirit.

How can we give away the light that we have? There’s one thing about light: it isn’t weakened if it is shared; it can’t be diminished by giving it away. Think of the beginning of the Nicene Creed: God from God, light from light . . .

Can people receive light from us? Are there things we can do and ways we can act that share light? Can people see light when they read the words we have written or listen to the music we are making, or simply by looking at our faces? Stand in front of a mirror and look closely at your face: what does your usual face at rest look like? Is it frowning and dark? Is your smile a source of light that you can give away? . . . . . things to think about.

I was moved by a few words I read in a meditation by Steven Taylor (The Calm Center): “try to illuminate the darkness that still fills the lives of others.”

Whom do you need to pray for today, tonight, tomorrow?

Pause

Monday, September 25, 2017

Invariably, the topic for my daily reflection is given to me. I do the work of preparation which includes prayer and spiritual reading; I write in my journal (which I strongly recommend); I ask for guidance; I watch and wait. Sometimes it comes very quickly. Sometimes it takes longer, which is why some of my reflections are posted later in the day. Often it comes from unexpected sources. Thank you, Lord.

For today’s reflection I offer you something that I saw posted on Facebook. I hope you find it as helpful as I do.

Practice the pause. When in doubt, pause. When angry, pause. When tired, pause. When stressed, pause. And when you pause, pray.

Have a nice day! God bless you!

Cry from the heart

I always love it when I get a sign that “someone up there” is looking out for me. Case in point: this morning I went to the monastic library to select a volume from the Fathers of the Church series for my spiritual reading. I was looking especially for a book of homilies on  the psalms. I found a volume of St. Jerome’s homilies and decided I would give it a try. I brought it down to my room and when I opened the book I found a hidden bookmark which was a reproduction of one of my favorite paintings, in fact, one that hangs on the wall of my office. God-incidence! So I guess the book is meant for me.

Today I found a quotation from St. Jerome that helped shed light on many psalms: “The word ‘cry’ in Scripture does not refer to the cry of the voice, but to the cry of the heart.”

This teaching can help us find more personal connections to the psalm texts. Consider these verses from Psalm 55:

As for me, I will cry to God,

and the Lord will save me.

Evening, morning, and at noon,

I will cry and lament,

and he will hear my voice. (Psalm 55:17-18)

Let your heart sing out to the Lord and tell him what you need now, and now, and now.

God bless you! Have a nice weekend.

Jesus doesn't exclude

Thursday, September 21, 2017

The Feast of Saint Matthew

From the Gospel of the day (Matthew 9:9-13):

I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.

Jesus was severely criticized by the “upright” religious leaders of His time. He associated with the types of people that were scorned, despised, judged, excluded and ostracized. Tax collectors, prostitutes, the despised Roman soldiers (consider the centurion whose servant he healed), the downtrodden and outcast, the lepers, the blind, the lame, those possessed by demons, notorious sinners of all stripes. He ate with them, He healed them, He brought them Good News, He comforted them, He drew them to himself, He touched the untouchables, He fed the starving. He looked on them as sheep without a shepherd and His heart reached out to them again and again and again.

There is a tendency in religion to exclude, to judge who is worthy and who is unworthy, to create “black sheep” by imposing codes of conduct which broken humanity is so often incapable of living up to. I once heard a woman tell me that she couldn’t go to Mass anymore because whenever she did, she was disgusted by all the people in “mortal sin” who were going up to receive communion. I asked her when God gave her the ability to look into other people’s souls and to judge. In her obsession to exclude the people around her she ended up excluding herself. But religion is full of people like that. Even priests, bishops and cardinals are so often tempted to exclude as well. And sometimes we can be like that ourselves.

Jesus breaks down those walls and barriers and extends His arms in welcome. You may not agree with me, but I strongly believe that when Jesus extended his arms on the cross it was to welcome into his embrace everyone, even the men who had pounded the nails into his hands and feet, even the terrorist who was hanging on the cross beside him. Jesus does not exclude me in my sinfulness and therefore, if I read the Gospels correctly, I in turn must not exclude anyone else.

Pope Francis, on his first Holy Thursday as pope, went and washed the feet of prisoners, some of whom weren’t even Catholic or weren’t even Christian. Some of them were even female, something which would have been unthinkable just 20 years ago. People whose feet were actually dirty. I remember one time I was invited to have my feet washed, and I made sure, before attending the service, that my feet were very clean. I suspect everyone with me that day had also done the same. But the Holy Father chose not to kneel before the well-washed, but rather to kneel and minister to imprisoned young men and women, many of whom (I suspect) had never even had an encounter with a truly holy man until that day. It pains me so terribly to realize that there are cardinals in the Church these days who scorn and criticize Pope Francis as he extends his arms to welcome the unwelcomed in imitation of his Savior.

If you were alive in Jesus’ time, would you have been able to sit with Jesus at the table in Matthew’s house that day, or would you have stood outside with a scornful look on your face? This, in my humble opinion, is an important question for each of us to ask ourselves.

God bless you!

Don't be like these people!

I’m a bit pressed for time today so this will be brief. I encourage you to read today’s Gospel for yourself: (Luke 7:31-35).

Here is my take on that passage. It seems to me that Jesus upbraids two different types of people.

The first type are those who fail to respond appropriately to whatever the circumstances call for. Quick example: You are joyful, and someone throws a pail of water over you; you are sorrowing and another is completely insensitive to your pain.

The second type are those who tend to find fault in any circumstance, especially when the people are involved are those they dislike. For proof of this, simply follow the trends in current American political discourse, or read the (ugh!) comments posted about almost any subject on Facebook or other websites. Or go back and read the Gospel.

Have a nice day. God bless you!

A Lamentation

A Lamentation

                inspired by a conversation with a struggling soul

I wait for God

to clean my house

for I cannot

do it myself

for reasons

I do not understand

and so

I make excuses

and keep putting off

the work

that my soul needs done,

hoping and pleading

for magic and miracle

to sweep me clean

even as I

bring in

even more dust from the streets.

I sing with the Saint

“Not yet! Not yet!”

and another Saint consoles me:

I do not do the good I want,

but the evil I do not want is what I do. (Rom 7:19)

That wretch is a saint!

It’s okay to be a wretch,

for now,

I conclude,

and look to the One

whose mercy

is so much greater

than my messy house.

Thanks be to God

through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom 7:25)