Arise Lord

Arise, Lord, let men not prevail! 

I have just finished reading Brave New World, in which a couple of quotes, for some reason, brought to mind Jesus and the Canaanite woman.  Then I came across a poem by T.S. Eliot, and I found myself trying to ponder them all at once; I was groping for a connection between them.  Does anyone else have problems like this?   It is really unsettling, and, from my point of view, distracting.  Why couldn't I calm my mind down? Even my prayer time was cluttered with these thoughts, and it was difficult to persist.  I could not escape these distractions through prayer, they intensified.  Clearly, I was making too much of these things.  I was not able to let them go even for the Lord during prayer.  And He was silent.

Later, when I was busy picking up my house while listening to Mumford and Sons I found that my distractions were following me.  I picked up one of my husbands Popular Science magazines, and while Mumford and while  Awake My Soul was playing in the background, I read that someone, somewhere is working on a face recognition feature for our TVs.  Imagine!!  As soon as your TV recognizes your face it will suggest shows that it knows you like.  No more channel surfing to give you a clue that the TV may be a distraction from things of higher importance.  TV will instantly soothe over all unsettled feelings, and all of your more transcendent “distractions” will fade away.  My "distractions" seemed to be coalescing into something more, and it occurred to me that maybe they were not distractions.  Maybe they were a prayer rising in my heart.

"Awake my soul!  You were made to meet your maker" 

In Aldous Huxley’s book Brave New World  the Resident Controller of the Western World explains to young students why they are so lucky to be living in the modern world:

“Stability,” said the controller, “stability.  No civilization without social stability.  No social stability without individual stability.”

The tradeoff for this stability is love.  How it is accomplished is by eliminating families, and by the conditioning of all peoples, beginning at their test-tube conceptions, to be happy only in the certain castes they have been predestined to. Solitude, which can awaken a soul to a yearning for love, is eliminated thru constant socialization, through passionless promiscuity and, when the human soul overcomes even these distractions, there are side-effect free drugs to quell the stirrings of transcendent desire. They are etherized to deep feelings, good or bad, through the instant gratification of all their conditioned desires.
 

“Feeling lurks in that interval of time between desire and its consummation.”

“Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is tormented by a demon.”  But he did not say a word in answer to her. " 

Right after I read this I re-read the T. S. Eliot poem: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.  No wonder the powers-that-be in a Brave New World feel that they must eliminate the interval between desire and its consummation!   Only in the solitude of that interval can the beautiful yearning of the poet, and the lover, be discerned. In this time the desire grows, and the impulse to satisfy it becomes more desperate.  In the pain of that yearning one can realize that he has been living life etherized on a table, or that he has measured out his life in coffee spoons.  One can begin to discern what he truly desires.
 
Yet, it is a dangerous interval. The pain can provoke rage and despair, addiction and hatred -- instability.  It is worse for us in our post-Christian culture, which gives us so little strength for persevering in virtue, because it gives us so little to believe in.  As we progress in our (seemingly) orderly and safe society, we will need to provide a means to distract individuals from these intervals.  As Prufrock ends, you feel he has given up; to afraid of his own desires to push through the angst, the fear, and the impotency of a culture that loves very little.

“I have measured out my life in coffee spoons."

Ah, but if one perseveres in discernment this interval of solitude can also pierce one’s soul with the awareness that he belongs to Someone who is beyond the vanities of this world, and you have an irreplaceable identity in Him!  The depth or our pain has its fulfillment not in numbing distractions, but in a joy that at present you cannot contain.

Arise Lord, let not the voices of men prevail.

Here again is a dangerous moment, because sometimes when I cry out to God, He is slow to respond. And I have been conditioned to instant gratification! I sometimes feel that I am being ignored.  Like the Canaanite woman in Matthew’s Gospel, sometimes the Lord allows an interval between the professed desire and its consummation:

And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is tormented by a demon.”  But he did not say a word in answer to her.  His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.”  He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  But the woman came and did him homage, saying, Lord, help me.”  He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”  She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”  Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done as you wish.”  Matthew 15:  22-28

But the woman, because of the great love she has for her daughter, perseveres.  She does not refuse to recognize the faults she brings with her, but lays them at His feet as well.  In the interval of time between the plea of the woman for her daughter and Jesus’ final words Jesus has drawn from her tremendous courage, trust and love.  She may have come only for healing of her daughter, but she surely left with a passionate desire for Him.  Her humble faith in Him brings the light of Christ to the dark recesses in her soul and she receives His love and healing in greater abundance, and so does her daughter.   When I hear Jesus say “O Woman”  I hear more than just a pat on the back  or a way-to-go affirmation.  I hear Jesus pouring out his great love for her, because she is now able to receive so much more of it! He has lifted her up in dignity and in her identity by allowing the interval of solitude to increase and refine her desire. What might have happened if she listened to the voices of the men around her?  What might have happened if she never experienced those moments of fear, anger, humiliation?

Arise, Lord, let men not prevail!

In case you may be wondering what Mumford and Sons song I was listening to:

Awake my soul.  For you were made to meet your maker. 

Push through the temptation to let the voices of men distract you from the solitude that reveals the depth of your need, and the intensity of your desire for God.

 

It seemed to sum it all up for me.
Peace and grace,
Heidi

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You are the Light of the World

In Tuesday's gospel for the 10th week of ordinary time, we hear Jesus say some familiar words.


          Jesus said to His disciples: You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:13-16)


I used to think that I had a pretty good grasp on what Jesus was saying, until two other pieces of Scripture came to mind. In John 8:12, Jesus says to the Pharisees, 
           
            "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

And, in Genesis 1:3-4, when God said:

             "Let there be light, and there was light. God saw how good the light was."

God the Father created light. Jesus said He was the light of the world, and tells his disciples (and me), that I must be as He is. I find this to be quite a challenge I'm faced with, living like Jesus.

When I read Genesis, I believe that light means life. At the beginning, God, by willing light into being, created every possible and potential form of life that has ever existed, or will ever exist. And science tells me that light is necessary for human beings and for most living things, because through the wonder of photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to create oxygen, an element we cannot live without. And while sunlight gives life to our physical bodies, there is another Light which brings life, a  light that transforms us into something more than just one of a million or so other life forms.

 When Jesus tells me that He is the light of the world, He also tells me that those who see Him see the Father (John 10:30). So I need to look at Jesus, and ask myself, "What is His light showing me? What does He want me to see?" I realize that I must look at what Jesus taught, and how he lived in order to understand. I learn that to reflect God's image and likeness is  to be compassionate, to love my neighbors and even my enemies. It is to bring healing when I can, to be generous without counting the cost, and to live a life in humble service to others. And I find that Jesus is the Light that brings Life, eternal life. And by the light of His life, I discover that God is love, and love is joy.

This is what Jesus tells us is fundamental to God's nature. And Jesus exemplified this life of complete and unconditional self-giving. I am offered a life transformed through love by Love Incarnate. His light empowers me, through the Holy Spirit, to transcend my everyday life and enables me to share in His divine nature.

It is my life that must shine before others. Jesus has called me to be a "life-giver", to be the light that pierces the darkness of hate, greed, isolation and indifference. I must be Jesus, radiantly alive and loving, and filled with gratitude for His Light within.


             

   

  

HELPLESSNESS and HOPE

HELPLESSNESS and HOPE

(Reflection on the readings for June 9, 2013,

the 10^th Sunday, Ordinary Time “C”)

- Deacon Paul Rooney

 There is a lot of grieving going on today.  It includes those who have lost sons and daughters in a war in some far-off land.  It can spring from terminal illnesses that seem to pop up out of nowhere, and strike down a member of our family.  Another particular cause for heart grief is when a family member strays from the fullness of truth that is found in the Catholic Church.  No matter what form they take, these things tend to leave us feeling helpless and depressed.

Shared helplessness is certainly a common bond among those grieving either their own loss, or the loss sustained by someone else.  I could not help but think to myself, where is Elijah (1^st Reading: 1 Kgs 17:17-24), or where is Jesus (Gospel: Luke 7:11-17), both who brought back the dead in our readings today.  We all want certainties in life; we dislike painful and heartbreaking surprises.

All we know for sure is that we can’t blame God for the bad news.  In the midst of disaster, it is possible for all of us, still in shock, to overlook or forget another reality: Jesus is indeed always present.  We read about his endless compassion in our gospel.  Now we see his disciples continuing his mission of compassion, as they serve and help the grieving survivors in Oklahoma (and other locations) in every way they can.  Pity and compassion know of no denominational lines; instead, they come from a heart filled with Jesus’ own love.

It is only Jesus who can bring meaning out of chaos.  Jesus has power over death.  While we cannot imitate such power, we can imitate his compassion!  Each one of us knows all too well the tragedies that follow or flow from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, drought, pestilence, and other things we call “natural” disasters.  When circumstances seem to confront us with hopelessness, our faith is put to the test.  We do the only thing our faith calls us to do: we cling to the one who promises eternal life, because we know that somehow all things turn to the good, because God is working in all things (Rom. 8:28).

Why do we know this?  Because the Father sent his only Son to live among us and teach us.   He suffered, and he died for us.  He understands suffering and dying.  He has been there, done that...  Now he wants us to trust him, to accept and endure with faith and hope whatever comes our way in life.  There are many books written on the topic of abandonment to divine providence (one even has that title); but that is the secret we need to bring into the light.  We are God’s kids, children of God, sons and daughters of our Father.  We need to trust in Him, and abandon ourselves into our Father’s hands, imitating our brother Jesus.

Blessings,

Deacon Paul

Are You Still Hungry?

Are You Still Hungry? 

A Reflection on Luke 9:11b-17

By: Larry T 

Homilists love the miracle of the multiplication of loaves because various sermons can be preached from it. First Jesus heals, then he nourishes. It speaks to Jesus’ compassion for the people. To some it means that God will always provide sustenance for His people. The five loaves and two fish add up to seven – the perfect number. The twelve wicker baskets might signify the twelve tribes of Israel. What meaning could the collection of the left over fragments have? This miracle also prefigures the institution of the Holy Eucharist. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke we read, “They ate and were satisfied.” In John’s gospel it’s, “When they had had their fill.” Jesus provided the meal, and once the people feasted on it, they were satisfied. This is the only miracle that Jesus performed to appear in all four gospels.

¹¹ The crowds, meanwhile, learned of this and followed him. He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured.
¹² As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”
¹³ He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.” They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.”
¹⁴ Now the men there numbered about five thousand. Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of (about) fifty.”
¹⁵ They did so and made them all sit down.
¹⁶ Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.
- Lk 9:11-17 (N.A.B.) 

¹⁸ Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”

¹⁹ and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.

²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over — twelve wicker baskets full.²¹ Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
- Mt 14:18-21 (N.A.B.) 

⁴¹ Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to (his) disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all.

⁴² They all ate and were satisfied.

⁴³ And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish.

⁴⁴ Those who ate (of the loaves) were five thousand men.
- Mk 6:41-44 (N.A.B.) 

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.

¹¹ Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.

¹² When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”

¹³ So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
- Jn 6:10-13 (N.A.B.)  

The people consumed the miraculous meal that Jesus provided for them and they were satisfied and fulfilled. This event reminds me of my friend of Arliss, a resident of Happy Hollow Manor, an independent living facility. How old is she? I don’t know, but if your name is Arliss, you could be eighty or ninety something. She has decorated the white walls of her nicely furnished one-bedroom apartment with framed photographs of her late husband, children, grand-children, and great grand-children. Pictures aren’t just pictures, they are memories, and memories are a great comfort to her, something that she cherishes. One oak framed picture is of her children taken against the background of the farm. She has told us that when she looks at it, she can close her eyes and sometimes almost hear the livestock, and smell freshly cut hay. 

My wife and I are Extraordinary Ministers of the Holy Eucharist. On the first Sunday of the month we take Holy Communion to the residents of Happy Hollow Manor. Sunday is the most important day of the week to Arliss. She always gets, as her husband used to put it, dolled up. Her wavy silver hair is always impeccably combed, her make-up is just so, and she usually accessorizes a nice print dress with her grandmother’s Victorian cameo gold brooch. She never fails to answer our door knock promptly and each time greets us with a wide smile. We always tell her how nice she looks. Following a bit of small talk, usually about the weather, and the prayer one of us will gently place the consecrated host on the palm of her farm-hardened outstretched hand. She will reverently consume it. Her face will radiate peace and joy. After a few minutes her eyes will open, “Pat and Larry thank you, thank you so much for bringing Jesus to me! Have a blessed day!” 

“Arliss, it’s a privilege to bring Holy Communion to you.” we respond. 

Since Arliss receives the Eucharist with the proper disposition, with reverence, gratitude, and humility, she is at once spiritually satisfied, nourished and strengthened. She doesn’t just endure a weekly obligation; she doesn’t patiently tolerate an interruption of her day; she doesn’t participate in a mindless act of repetition wanting to be somewhere else - reception of Holy Communion is the highpoint of her week. 

Even though Adam and Eve’s descendants (all of humanity) are in born in disunion with God, we have a powerful inborn longing to be in union with Him. This, often misinterpreted, nagging ache can’t be stilled with an eight-bedroom mansion, or a two-carat diamond ring, or the riches of Warren Buffett because the need to be in union with God is in the very center of our souls. 

Arliss radiates the inner peace, joy, and serenity that emanates from the Holy Eucharist because it enables her to approach unity with God. Every time we take Holy Communion to Happy Hollow Manor, Arliss teaches me the same lesson. A good start for us might be to try to recapture the reverence and wonder of our first Holy Communion.

Holy Trinity Sunday

 By:  Judy Morss

Last Sunday Was Pentecost Sunday and we celebrated the gift of the Holy Spirit given to the Church. "The Holy Spirit, which is the person in God that most resembles an element or an environment, penetrates and impregnates all created realities in order to communicate incorruptibility to them, to strengthen that which is weak in them, to impregnate them with the incorruptible life of God." (Cardinal Jean Danielou).

My favorite prayer to the Holy Spirit is simple and yet wondrous.  I pray it often before I begin a meditation or read Scripture. The Holy Spirit illuminates my thoughts and brings me clarity.

"Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the Faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth."

Can't you just see those tongues of fire that rested on each of the apostles?  An outward sign of the infusion of the Holy Spirit into their bodies and souls.  What a beautiful vision that must have been.

This week, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Trinity, we come full circle.  We now know of the completeness of our God.  He is indeed the one, true God and in His unity, there are three persons --- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The Three, indeed are one, and in this oneness we have our strength, our peace, our joy, our fullness as the human beings that God created. 

The Gospel of John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

The Holy Spirit is to be the guide for all the disciples and will tell them what he hears from Jesus who receives from the Father. And so the disciples will be enfolded in a circle of love and knowledge as they are surrounded by the endless love between Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.  We, too, are enfolded in this circle when we draw close to God and accept the beautiful gifts He wishes to give to His beloved children. The warmth and safety within that circle is boundless as is God's love for his faithful ones. May we always remain inside that circle.

Peace and love,

Judy

A Canticle to the Holy Trinity

By:   Sharon Nelsen

The readings for Holy Trinity Sunday ignite a canticle within me:

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***

Blest are You, God the Father, Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God and the Holy Spirit Who have shown us merciful love. (Entrance Antiphon)
You delight in us day by day
Playing Your symphony on the surface of creation,
Delighting in us, Your song;

Dancing with us, Your melody. (Proverbs 8.31)
O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
Who are we that You should be mindful of us?
You have made us little less than the angels,
You have crowned us with glory and honor;
You have given us rule over the works of your hands
You have put all things under our feet. (Psalm 8.5-7)
Thank you for pouring Your Love into our hearts
Through the Holy Spirit that You have given to us. (Romans 5.5)
Thank you for your Spirit of Truth who guides us to all truth.
Thank you, Jesus, that everything the Father has is Yours
And is shared with us, (John 16.15) especially the Spirit
Who cries out within us: Abba, Father. (Communion Antiphon)
Thank You, Dear Father God, our loving, beneficent, merciful and forgiving Creator.
Thank You, Blessed Brother Jesus, for carrying Heaven to Earth;
for birthing us into Your Family now and forever.
Thank You, Powerful Holy Spirit, for nurturing us into intimacy with God and with one another.

Artwork: Wikipedia

Pondering Spiritual Things: A Word That Has A Spiritual Reality

As I was reading the May 20th office of Readings for today, I was really struck by the concluding prayer:

“Grant, we pray, almighty God. that  always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you.”

If you have a heart for spiritual things how do you hear the word “mother”?  Because when I read that Pope Francis told 800 superiors of women’s orders that they should be spiritual mothers, not spinsters I was excited!  When I read the actual quote in the Moynihan Letters,  I was over-the-moon!

Chastity for the Kingdom of Heaven shows how affection has its place in mature freedom and becomes a sign of the future world, to make God’s primacy shine forever.  But please [ make it] a fertile chastity, which generates spiritual children in the Church.  The consecrated are mothers:  they must not be ‘old maids’!

Unfortunately that article was a bit critical of our Holy Father’s use of the words “mothers” and “old maids”.  Moynihan quoted Melinda Henneberger of the Washington Post, a writer who often tries to defend the Church, yet, who felt that the comment was insulting to these women who had given up families to serve the Church.  She felt that it perpetuated a negative:  Seeing women’s roles in the church as exclusively "maternal".

Really??  And this from a women supposedly knowledgeably enough about our faith to defend the Church in print.  Even the author of the article wondered if the phrase was unfortunate because it will be misunderstood and misused.

How else will we fight “careerism” in the Church if we go on allowing a banal culture to narrow spiritual realities to superficial ones? Careerism will be all that is left for individuals to grasp onto in order to form some semblance of identity, inside and outside of the Church, if we allow this to continue.  How will we continue to stand and fight the the dictatorship of relativism  if we are offended by the ontological realities of our identities as male or female made in the image and likeness of God?   We will deserve the transgendered culture that we are getting if we ourselves, as Catholics, give in to the idea that “maternity” or “paternity” are narrow definitions of a material actions or roles and not the core of how we image the Father as male and female; signs of a future world.  A world where our masculinity and femininity are fulfilled, not eliminated!

I for one found the Pope’s words to be thrilling!  Spiritual words to be pondered, and allowed to gestate!  What do the spiritual realities of maternity and paternity suggest to you when you ponder them apart from the narrow confines of our relativistic world?  And how do you think we should communicate them?