The glory of God is revealed in a human being who is living as God intended that person to live. When we become who God has always meant us to be, we do the will of God. When we become who God created us to be, through our actions then we praise God, for the glory of God is made manifest in us.
Showing posts with label glory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glory. Show all posts
Friday, December 29, 2017
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Recognize Afflicting Blessings
If we are wise, we can recognize the blessings in our afflictions. If we truly are grateful to God, we thank Him for the adversity we face as well as the comfort we receive. As we embrace those who are different from us, we are positioning ourselves to learn from them. If we have faith in God, we welcome all God sends us. If we have faith, we are saved.
We are reminded of these truths in today's Gospel reading for Thanksgiving Day. There we hear that
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you."*
These lepers may have anticipated that the apparent misfortune of their leprosy would provide the vehicle through which God would be glorified in them. In their anguish, they cried out to Jesus to have pity on them. Jesus, full of compassion and love for others, cured them. The returning man recognized that God had had mercy on him, so he went back to Jesus, giving the glory and praise and honor due to God. When we are suffering from what would usually be viewed as a malady, we can thank God for the apparently ill fortune which has befallen us, if we consider that our dilemma provides an avenue through which God can be glorified. In our pain, we can capitalize on the excellent opportunity to earnestly call out to God to deliver us from what afflicts us. God likes to hear us offer up ardent prayers to Him. God hears and responds to fervent prayers. Then when God saves us from what torments us, all the glory is due to God. We can thank God not only for being delivered from agony, but also, realizing that trials supply opportunities for God to be glorified, we can also thank God for tribulations.
At times we are well instructed in thanking and praising and glorifying God by those who are different from us. The one leper who returned to thank God was a Samaritan. Normally Jews did not associate with Samaritans.** The foreigner demonstrated well the need to give thanks to God. If we dismiss those who are unlike us, we run the risk of refusing to learn from them. People dissimilar to us may have much important to teach us.
The Samaritan, the excluded one, was saved by his faith. Although he was a social outcast, he had the gift of faith from God. Through that faith, he was saved.
When we have faith, we welcome the apparent misfortune God sends us as well as the comfort He gives to us. Having faith, and being cured, we thank God not only for the relief but also for the affliction. With faith, we welcome into our hearts people who are not like us, aware that they can teach us since we are open to what they have to say. Being so receptive through our faith, we are saved. Amen.
* Luke 17:11-19
** John 4:9
We are reminded of these truths in today's Gospel reading for Thanksgiving Day. There we hear that
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you."*
These lepers may have anticipated that the apparent misfortune of their leprosy would provide the vehicle through which God would be glorified in them. In their anguish, they cried out to Jesus to have pity on them. Jesus, full of compassion and love for others, cured them. The returning man recognized that God had had mercy on him, so he went back to Jesus, giving the glory and praise and honor due to God. When we are suffering from what would usually be viewed as a malady, we can thank God for the apparently ill fortune which has befallen us, if we consider that our dilemma provides an avenue through which God can be glorified. In our pain, we can capitalize on the excellent opportunity to earnestly call out to God to deliver us from what afflicts us. God likes to hear us offer up ardent prayers to Him. God hears and responds to fervent prayers. Then when God saves us from what torments us, all the glory is due to God. We can thank God not only for being delivered from agony, but also, realizing that trials supply opportunities for God to be glorified, we can also thank God for tribulations.
At times we are well instructed in thanking and praising and glorifying God by those who are different from us. The one leper who returned to thank God was a Samaritan. Normally Jews did not associate with Samaritans.** The foreigner demonstrated well the need to give thanks to God. If we dismiss those who are unlike us, we run the risk of refusing to learn from them. People dissimilar to us may have much important to teach us.
The Samaritan, the excluded one, was saved by his faith. Although he was a social outcast, he had the gift of faith from God. Through that faith, he was saved.
When we have faith, we welcome the apparent misfortune God sends us as well as the comfort He gives to us. Having faith, and being cured, we thank God not only for the relief but also for the affliction. With faith, we welcome into our hearts people who are not like us, aware that they can teach us since we are open to what they have to say. Being so receptive through our faith, we are saved. Amen.
* Luke 17:11-19
** John 4:9
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Have Some Faith
Do we wonder why God has not worked wonders in our lives? When we question God so, do we consider how little we trust God?
The more faith we have in God, the more God will amaze us. Jesus explained to us that if we had faith merely the size of a mustard seed, that faith could move a mountain.*
If we have just a little bit of faith, we will see God working wonders in our lives. If we trust God, we will not be wondering how God is working in our lives, for we will see the truth of His glory being manifested right in front of us.
* Matthew 17:20; Mark 11:23
The more faith we have in God, the more God will amaze us. Jesus explained to us that if we had faith merely the size of a mustard seed, that faith could move a mountain.*
If we have just a little bit of faith, we will see God working wonders in our lives. If we trust God, we will not be wondering how God is working in our lives, for we will see the truth of His glory being manifested right in front of us.
* Matthew 17:20; Mark 11:23
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Accept The Invitation
Suffering is an invitation to prayer. When God allows us to suffer, God invites us to pray.
If we are agonized, we are poised to present our petitions earnestly to God. In anguish, we pray with deep feeling, and thus effectively, when we beg God to help us.
O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me.*
When we are tormented, we pray fervently to God. How we pray matters.
We also show what we most value in what we request from God. In the midst of excruciating discomfort, we can do more than merely implore God to stop the pain. We can choose to ask God to give us the grace and the strength to bear the trials we are undergoing.
In beseeching God to grant us the grace and the strength to endure our tribulations, we are asking God that he let us be vehicles for Him to be glorified. When we seek from Him the composure we need to bear our suffering, we wish it to be that we weather our storms only by His grace. Then all glory and honor and praise is due to God, as it always has been, as it is, and as it ever shall be, to God, to ever has been, is, and ever shall be. Amen.
* Psalm 40:14; Psalm 70:2
If we are agonized, we are poised to present our petitions earnestly to God. In anguish, we pray with deep feeling, and thus effectively, when we beg God to help us.
O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me.*
When we are tormented, we pray fervently to God. How we pray matters.
We also show what we most value in what we request from God. In the midst of excruciating discomfort, we can do more than merely implore God to stop the pain. We can choose to ask God to give us the grace and the strength to bear the trials we are undergoing.
In beseeching God to grant us the grace and the strength to endure our tribulations, we are asking God that he let us be vehicles for Him to be glorified. When we seek from Him the composure we need to bear our suffering, we wish it to be that we weather our storms only by His grace. Then all glory and honor and praise is due to God, as it always has been, as it is, and as it ever shall be, to God, to ever has been, is, and ever shall be. Amen.
* Psalm 40:14; Psalm 70:2
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Give Him Honor
Who do we think we are? What do we think we know? What do we think we owe? To whom do we think we owe it?
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus speaks to us about what we owe and to whom we owe it. In those verses we hear
The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,
for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."*
When asked whether people had to pay taxes or not, Jesus asked for a coin. He asked and was told that the emperor was shown on the coin. Jesus then instructed us that we should give to the government what belongs to the government, and to God what belongs to God.
In expounding upon Scripture, it has been written that we are to give to earthly rulers what is due to them, as long as it does not controvert what is due to God.** With similar reasoning, some people conclude that they do not have to pay taxes, claiming that they need not pay taxes to a government which then uses taxpayers' money to fund warmaking. The logic goes that since war is all too often unjust, citizens are not obligated to pay taxes to support unjust wars.
However, Jesus did not teach us to pay taxes unless the government is waging an unjust war. When he offered his reply on this question of whether we must pay taxes, the Roman empire was conquering and subduing many persons. Jesus could have said that taxes should be paid, but not to the Romans since they were subjecting so many people to their forced imperial expansion. However, he did not say so. Despite the warmaking of the Roman empire, Jesus taught people to give to Caesar what was Caesar's.
Elsewhere in Scripture we hear that we are to pay taxes. Today in his sermon here at the hermitage, Father Cyprian reminded us that Saint Paul tells us, "Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due."*** When taxes are due, we are to pay them. We are to give the honor and respect to our leaders which is due to them as our earthly leaders. We are to worship God since He is Our Heavenly Father, and we are to give Him the glory, praise, honor and adoration which is His due.
Scripture tells us to pay the taxes we owe. Jesus Himself directs us to give our earthly rulers what is due to them. If we decide not to pay taxes, we turn away from Scripture. We all have to decide whether or not to listen to Jesus.
God tells us what we are called to do. God has already chosen who we are. Yet some people try to decide that they are someone other than who God made them to be. Some people were born men but decide they want to be women. God had already chosen their gender. Some decisions have already been made for us. If we try to ignore who God made us to be, we ignore the truth. If we try to be people other than who God created us to be, we are living lies. We all have to decide how we will relate to the truth.
In deciding how we will relate to the truth, we either accept God or reject Him. If we embrace who God made us to be, we welcome the truth into our hearts. The truth is that God made us; He is our Creator. We owe Him the respect due to Him as our Creator by respecting the choices He made for us when He knit us together in the womb.**** We pay him the respect and honor due to Him when we acknowledge our proper place before Him, that we are nothing without Him, that without Him we can do nothing.***** To God be all glory, praise and honor, now and forevermore. Amen.
* Matthew 22:15-21
** Jerusalem Bible, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. (New York, 1990), p. 1646, note "d" to Matthew 22:21
*** Romans 13:7
**** Psalm 139:13
***** John 15:5
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus speaks to us about what we owe and to whom we owe it. In those verses we hear
The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,
for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."*
When asked whether people had to pay taxes or not, Jesus asked for a coin. He asked and was told that the emperor was shown on the coin. Jesus then instructed us that we should give to the government what belongs to the government, and to God what belongs to God.
In expounding upon Scripture, it has been written that we are to give to earthly rulers what is due to them, as long as it does not controvert what is due to God.** With similar reasoning, some people conclude that they do not have to pay taxes, claiming that they need not pay taxes to a government which then uses taxpayers' money to fund warmaking. The logic goes that since war is all too often unjust, citizens are not obligated to pay taxes to support unjust wars.
However, Jesus did not teach us to pay taxes unless the government is waging an unjust war. When he offered his reply on this question of whether we must pay taxes, the Roman empire was conquering and subduing many persons. Jesus could have said that taxes should be paid, but not to the Romans since they were subjecting so many people to their forced imperial expansion. However, he did not say so. Despite the warmaking of the Roman empire, Jesus taught people to give to Caesar what was Caesar's.
Elsewhere in Scripture we hear that we are to pay taxes. Today in his sermon here at the hermitage, Father Cyprian reminded us that Saint Paul tells us, "Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due."*** When taxes are due, we are to pay them. We are to give the honor and respect to our leaders which is due to them as our earthly leaders. We are to worship God since He is Our Heavenly Father, and we are to give Him the glory, praise, honor and adoration which is His due.
Scripture tells us to pay the taxes we owe. Jesus Himself directs us to give our earthly rulers what is due to them. If we decide not to pay taxes, we turn away from Scripture. We all have to decide whether or not to listen to Jesus.
God tells us what we are called to do. God has already chosen who we are. Yet some people try to decide that they are someone other than who God made them to be. Some people were born men but decide they want to be women. God had already chosen their gender. Some decisions have already been made for us. If we try to ignore who God made us to be, we ignore the truth. If we try to be people other than who God created us to be, we are living lies. We all have to decide how we will relate to the truth.
In deciding how we will relate to the truth, we either accept God or reject Him. If we embrace who God made us to be, we welcome the truth into our hearts. The truth is that God made us; He is our Creator. We owe Him the respect due to Him as our Creator by respecting the choices He made for us when He knit us together in the womb.**** We pay him the respect and honor due to Him when we acknowledge our proper place before Him, that we are nothing without Him, that without Him we can do nothing.***** To God be all glory, praise and honor, now and forevermore. Amen.
* Matthew 22:15-21
** Jerusalem Bible, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. (New York, 1990), p. 1646, note "d" to Matthew 22:21
*** Romans 13:7
**** Psalm 139:13
***** John 15:5
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Little Becomes Much
We can be convinced that we do nothing of any significance. It might seem that all of the evidence shows that we are having no effect on another particular person.
We see so little. So much there is we do not see.
What we do is little, yet it can matter so much. It might seem to matter little, but out of just a little can come so much.
What we do might matter little to us. Yet it might matter a great deal to someone else.
I am not speaking merely in theoretical terms here. I have seen this truth demonstrated right in front of my very eyes.
I am thinking of a generous person I know named Amy. Amy likes to make desserts for people. Recently Amy made a pie for someone who was turning 43, who said no one had ever made her a dessert for her birthday.
We can think that we are doing something routine and normal and ordinary and therefore that what we are doing does not matter much. However, we might find out that what we have done is much more special than we had thought, and gives much more love to a person than she has previously received. In the little presents we give, we might be extending much more kindness, with much more of a nurturing and caring effect than we realize.
Unlike people who do not see that little acts of love can have great effects on others, Amy recognizes that every dessert she makes is an opportunity to love her neighbor as herself,* just as Jesus taught us to do. She bakes treats for people since she seeks to love others. She seizes little chances to serve her neighbor.
When we perform little acts of kindness for our neighbor, we follow the little way of Saint Therese of Lisieux, whose feast day we celebrate today. Saint Therese sought to get to Heaven by making herself little, by making little sacrifices, by showing her love for others in a thousand little ways.
As people choose to be content with doing little, in the end they might find that actually God is doing much through them. If people give their assent to being humbled, to becoming less than they have been, they can come to find God doing great things through them.
When much is accomplished through those who are little, God receives the glory due to Him, since He is performing the great works. Through the little, God is glorified.
When God is glorified, praised, and adored, we find the greatness for which we were made. If you wish to become great, become little.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
We see so little. So much there is we do not see.
What we do is little, yet it can matter so much. It might seem to matter little, but out of just a little can come so much.
What we do might matter little to us. Yet it might matter a great deal to someone else.
I am not speaking merely in theoretical terms here. I have seen this truth demonstrated right in front of my very eyes.
I am thinking of a generous person I know named Amy. Amy likes to make desserts for people. Recently Amy made a pie for someone who was turning 43, who said no one had ever made her a dessert for her birthday.
We can think that we are doing something routine and normal and ordinary and therefore that what we are doing does not matter much. However, we might find out that what we have done is much more special than we had thought, and gives much more love to a person than she has previously received. In the little presents we give, we might be extending much more kindness, with much more of a nurturing and caring effect than we realize.
Unlike people who do not see that little acts of love can have great effects on others, Amy recognizes that every dessert she makes is an opportunity to love her neighbor as herself,* just as Jesus taught us to do. She bakes treats for people since she seeks to love others. She seizes little chances to serve her neighbor.
When we perform little acts of kindness for our neighbor, we follow the little way of Saint Therese of Lisieux, whose feast day we celebrate today. Saint Therese sought to get to Heaven by making herself little, by making little sacrifices, by showing her love for others in a thousand little ways.
As people choose to be content with doing little, in the end they might find that actually God is doing much through them. If people give their assent to being humbled, to becoming less than they have been, they can come to find God doing great things through them.
When much is accomplished through those who are little, God receives the glory due to Him, since He is performing the great works. Through the little, God is glorified.
When God is glorified, praised, and adored, we find the greatness for which we were made. If you wish to become great, become little.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Joyfully Thank Always
This morning a friend of ours came here to the Catholic Worker House. Here I'll call him "Stan." Stan is homeless and suffers from various ailments. He moves very slowly; it seems like one might be overstating his degree of mobility if one were to say that he hobbles along. On his legs and his fingers, his skin has become scaly and is peeling off in large flakes. This morning, it was clear that his sores had broken open and were bleeding.
Despite his misfortune, at one point this morning, Stan proclaimed, "The Lord is good." Stan could lament his medical condition, but instead he chooses to give glory to God. In the midst of his discomfort, Stan praises and adores and glorifies God for His great goodness.
Amidst suffering, just as during times of ease and comfort, we are to give thanks to God. Knowing that God is good, we are to be joyful always, pray constantly, and for all things give thanks.*
I am reminded and am told that we must do so by the suffering homeless man who shows up at my doorstep. Jesus, in the impoverished individuals** in front of us, comes to us to continue to teach us how to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength.***
As we open our hearts to the poor persons who are before us, we open our hearts to God. When we truly see the impoverished man in front of us, we recognize Jesus here with us.**** As we welcome the homeless person here with us into our hearts, we welcome Jesus into our hearts.
As we welcome God into our hearts, we see that God is infinitely good. When we realize that the Lord is good, we give thanks always. We never stop expressing gratitude to God once we see that God infinitely loves us.
When we recognize that God is love,***** we welcome the truth that God loves us always. Aware that God loves us infinitely, we rejoice at all times. Ever joyful, we give thanks for all things. Amen.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
** Matthew 25:40,45
*** Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
**** Matthew 28:20
***** 1 John 4:8,16
Despite his misfortune, at one point this morning, Stan proclaimed, "The Lord is good." Stan could lament his medical condition, but instead he chooses to give glory to God. In the midst of his discomfort, Stan praises and adores and glorifies God for His great goodness.
Amidst suffering, just as during times of ease and comfort, we are to give thanks to God. Knowing that God is good, we are to be joyful always, pray constantly, and for all things give thanks.*
I am reminded and am told that we must do so by the suffering homeless man who shows up at my doorstep. Jesus, in the impoverished individuals** in front of us, comes to us to continue to teach us how to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength.***
As we open our hearts to the poor persons who are before us, we open our hearts to God. When we truly see the impoverished man in front of us, we recognize Jesus here with us.**** As we welcome the homeless person here with us into our hearts, we welcome Jesus into our hearts.
As we welcome God into our hearts, we see that God is infinitely good. When we realize that the Lord is good, we give thanks always. We never stop expressing gratitude to God once we see that God infinitely loves us.
When we recognize that God is love,***** we welcome the truth that God loves us always. Aware that God loves us infinitely, we rejoice at all times. Ever joyful, we give thanks for all things. Amen.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
** Matthew 25:40,45
*** Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
**** Matthew 28:20
***** 1 John 4:8,16
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Always Joyfully Thanking
Today in front of the Catholic Worker House arrived a homeless woman who here I'll call "Janice." She was moving slowly. She noted how her hair was so knotted that she couldn't run her fingers through it. Janice was wearing dirty clothes.
Janice told my fellow Catholic Worker Susan and me of how she has been mistreated. She has been beaten; she has been falsely accused of speaking with profanity; at times she has returned to the cart she uses only to find some of her items missing.
Janice began crying as she spoke to me, under the stress she feels over her plight. Yet she was quick to add that she knows that God loves her. Aware that God loves her, steadfastly affirming and proclaiming this truth even in the face of being abused, she is set to give thanks to God always for all things.* When we keep in mind that God loves us, we are joyful always,** no matter what happens.
If we realize that God's love is infinite and thus is immeasurably more immense than how we love, we begin to see reality. If we accurately perceive who we are, that we are nothing without the help of God, and who God is, that He always has been, is and ever shall be, we are humbled. If we allow ourselves to be humbled, we open our hearts to the grace of God, for God gives grace to the humble.***
By the grace of God, we become empowered to weather whatever storm befalls us. Aware that God loves us and works all to our good if we love Him,**** we rejoice that God is always seeking our good.
As we realize that God wishes the best for us since God is love,***** we can come to give thanks to God for all things. As we become more conscious of the vastness of God's love, we become more joyful, becoming joyful always.
With the love of God, being grateful and joyful always, we view all that happens in a new light. We come to view occasions of suffering not as misfortune, but as opportunities to draw closer to God if we capitalize on such gifts as chances to more deeply thank God.
So often we angrily discard such invitations from God to enter into deeper, more profound communion with Him. Yet today I was instructed in this challenging endeavor by Janice, who is homeless. Jesus told us that we find Him in those who are the least among us.****** Jesus comes to us in those who are poor and downtrodden. He still comes to us, trying to keep instructing us.
Often we find Jesus' teachings too much to bear. If we try alone to carry the load of what He asks of us, we will find it to be too heavy. For humans some things are impossible, but nothing is impossible for God.******* With the help of Jesus, the yoke becomes easy and the burden light.******** If we turn to Jesus, and remain in Him,********* through His presence we will be thankful for all things and will be always joyful.
If we pay attention to the poor person in front of us, we are paying heed to Jesus. We can find Jesus right in front of us, instructing us. We have opportunities to learn about suffering from the homeless person before us. From her we can learn how to give thanks to God when we encounter hardships and to be joyful in the midst of adversity.
From a homeless woman who has let herself be humbled, we can learn valuable lessons on how to become much more than we have been: those who become humble receive the grace of God, and with this transformative power they endure formidable storms, glorifying God through the strength they receive from Him. Thus it is to the glory of God that those who humble themselves are raised up.**********
Let us open our eyes to those before us, open our hearts to our neighbor, and thus open our hearts to the love of God. As we open our hearts to love, joy abounds in our souls. Amen.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:18
** 1 Thessalonians 5:16
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** Romans 8:28
***** 1 John 4:8,16
****** Matthew 25:40,45
******* Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37
******** Matthew 11:30
********* John 15:4,6,7,9,10
********** Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
Janice told my fellow Catholic Worker Susan and me of how she has been mistreated. She has been beaten; she has been falsely accused of speaking with profanity; at times she has returned to the cart she uses only to find some of her items missing.
Janice began crying as she spoke to me, under the stress she feels over her plight. Yet she was quick to add that she knows that God loves her. Aware that God loves her, steadfastly affirming and proclaiming this truth even in the face of being abused, she is set to give thanks to God always for all things.* When we keep in mind that God loves us, we are joyful always,** no matter what happens.
If we realize that God's love is infinite and thus is immeasurably more immense than how we love, we begin to see reality. If we accurately perceive who we are, that we are nothing without the help of God, and who God is, that He always has been, is and ever shall be, we are humbled. If we allow ourselves to be humbled, we open our hearts to the grace of God, for God gives grace to the humble.***
By the grace of God, we become empowered to weather whatever storm befalls us. Aware that God loves us and works all to our good if we love Him,**** we rejoice that God is always seeking our good.
As we realize that God wishes the best for us since God is love,***** we can come to give thanks to God for all things. As we become more conscious of the vastness of God's love, we become more joyful, becoming joyful always.
With the love of God, being grateful and joyful always, we view all that happens in a new light. We come to view occasions of suffering not as misfortune, but as opportunities to draw closer to God if we capitalize on such gifts as chances to more deeply thank God.
So often we angrily discard such invitations from God to enter into deeper, more profound communion with Him. Yet today I was instructed in this challenging endeavor by Janice, who is homeless. Jesus told us that we find Him in those who are the least among us.****** Jesus comes to us in those who are poor and downtrodden. He still comes to us, trying to keep instructing us.
Often we find Jesus' teachings too much to bear. If we try alone to carry the load of what He asks of us, we will find it to be too heavy. For humans some things are impossible, but nothing is impossible for God.******* With the help of Jesus, the yoke becomes easy and the burden light.******** If we turn to Jesus, and remain in Him,********* through His presence we will be thankful for all things and will be always joyful.
If we pay attention to the poor person in front of us, we are paying heed to Jesus. We can find Jesus right in front of us, instructing us. We have opportunities to learn about suffering from the homeless person before us. From her we can learn how to give thanks to God when we encounter hardships and to be joyful in the midst of adversity.
From a homeless woman who has let herself be humbled, we can learn valuable lessons on how to become much more than we have been: those who become humble receive the grace of God, and with this transformative power they endure formidable storms, glorifying God through the strength they receive from Him. Thus it is to the glory of God that those who humble themselves are raised up.**********
Let us open our eyes to those before us, open our hearts to our neighbor, and thus open our hearts to the love of God. As we open our hearts to love, joy abounds in our souls. Amen.
* 1 Thessalonians 5:18
** 1 Thessalonians 5:16
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** Romans 8:28
***** 1 John 4:8,16
****** Matthew 25:40,45
******* Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37
******** Matthew 11:30
********* John 15:4,6,7,9,10
********** Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Waste Not Tears
We are all faced over and over with the decision of whether or not we will love. We all choose our relationship with pain. We all decide whether we embrace suffering or reject it. In what we accept or deny, we determine whether or not we love.
We can cry out of hopeless desperation, feeling frantic, and convinced that all is lost. Or we can profoundly weep out of great love for others.
We can let tears fall from our eyes without realizing their value. Or we can weep offering our tears as prayers to God.
All we send out from our being echoes out into the universe. As a tear falls from your eye, if you offer it as a humble prayer to God, when it drops into the liquid lake of spiritual solidarity we share, you can implicitly offer that tear to help others. Your tearful prayers are effective when they are offered as the basis of humble and earnest prayer. When such humble, ardent tears of yours hit the liquid lake of spiritual community we share, these tears send out ripples of love across that surface. Thus through such tears you can seek to strengthen your spiritual brothers and sisters.
I am not merely speaking in theoretical terms here. Ever since earlier this week, when a dear homeless friend who I'll once again here call "Sally" shared with me how she views tears as liquid prayers, her statement of spiritual insight has been echoing in my soul. Like a drop of water that falls into a pond and causes ripples outward, so her tender spiritual musing, coming into contact with my ears, has been echoing in my soul.
Despite the struggle, Sally has chosen not to let her agonizing experiences dominate how she responds to life. As I have mentioned in prior blog posts, Sally has endured domestic violence. Despite having been hit hard many times by multiple men, Sally refuses to be enslaved by the pain she has felt. Instead she offers up her tears to God. Interwoven with her sensitivity and fragility, she also displays a courageous and admirable tenacity, and so she sends out a strong message of faith, hope and love, that pain can be the basis of a beautiful transformation of one's spirit.
Knowing, then, that we can consent to our suffering being transformed into the joy that emerges out of service of others, we can come to experience a radical alteration of how we feel pain, see pain, and respond to pain. Aware that God works all for the good of those who love Him,* we come to realize that even anguish can lead to joy, if we seize upon such opportunities to petition God. Thus in all we experience we can be joyous,** if all we do is for the praise, glory and honor of God.
Conscious that all we experience presents us chances to glorify God by assenting to call upon Him so He may show us His great love always, we come to give thanks always for all things.*** As we come to express such gratitude at all times, God comes to give us a deep, abiding and enduring peace, as, feeling His love, Jesus comes to abide in us, and we in Him.****
Let us embrace every opportunity we have, then, including in the midst of our tears, to pray constantly,***** give thanks for all things always, and thus love God and love our neighbor. Thus we come to live a life of love. Amen.
* Romans 8:28
** 1 Thessalonians 5:16
*** 1 Thessalonians 5:18
**** John 15:4-7,9-10
***** 1 Thessalonians 5:17
We can cry out of hopeless desperation, feeling frantic, and convinced that all is lost. Or we can profoundly weep out of great love for others.
We can let tears fall from our eyes without realizing their value. Or we can weep offering our tears as prayers to God.
All we send out from our being echoes out into the universe. As a tear falls from your eye, if you offer it as a humble prayer to God, when it drops into the liquid lake of spiritual solidarity we share, you can implicitly offer that tear to help others. Your tearful prayers are effective when they are offered as the basis of humble and earnest prayer. When such humble, ardent tears of yours hit the liquid lake of spiritual community we share, these tears send out ripples of love across that surface. Thus through such tears you can seek to strengthen your spiritual brothers and sisters.
I am not merely speaking in theoretical terms here. Ever since earlier this week, when a dear homeless friend who I'll once again here call "Sally" shared with me how she views tears as liquid prayers, her statement of spiritual insight has been echoing in my soul. Like a drop of water that falls into a pond and causes ripples outward, so her tender spiritual musing, coming into contact with my ears, has been echoing in my soul.
Despite the struggle, Sally has chosen not to let her agonizing experiences dominate how she responds to life. As I have mentioned in prior blog posts, Sally has endured domestic violence. Despite having been hit hard many times by multiple men, Sally refuses to be enslaved by the pain she has felt. Instead she offers up her tears to God. Interwoven with her sensitivity and fragility, she also displays a courageous and admirable tenacity, and so she sends out a strong message of faith, hope and love, that pain can be the basis of a beautiful transformation of one's spirit.
Knowing, then, that we can consent to our suffering being transformed into the joy that emerges out of service of others, we can come to experience a radical alteration of how we feel pain, see pain, and respond to pain. Aware that God works all for the good of those who love Him,* we come to realize that even anguish can lead to joy, if we seize upon such opportunities to petition God. Thus in all we experience we can be joyous,** if all we do is for the praise, glory and honor of God.
Conscious that all we experience presents us chances to glorify God by assenting to call upon Him so He may show us His great love always, we come to give thanks always for all things.*** As we come to express such gratitude at all times, God comes to give us a deep, abiding and enduring peace, as, feeling His love, Jesus comes to abide in us, and we in Him.****
Let us embrace every opportunity we have, then, including in the midst of our tears, to pray constantly,***** give thanks for all things always, and thus love God and love our neighbor. Thus we come to live a life of love. Amen.
* Romans 8:28
** 1 Thessalonians 5:16
*** 1 Thessalonians 5:18
**** John 15:4-7,9-10
***** 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
Proclaiming Our Dependence
Today is a day when people especially think of, give thanks for, and celebrate their independence. Here in the United States on this particular day, we celebrate the independence of our nation. We commemorate how we declared our independence from the British.
It is often said, and quite rightly, that we must remain vigilant to preserve our democracy and the freedom that comes with it. Some people especially crave power, and oppress others in order to keep it. When people abuse power by using it to mistreat others, we witness a misuse of freedom.
When we make choices which cause us to become enslaved to anything, we misuse our freedom. Unfortunately we can decide to use our freedom to become slaves to many things. We become slaves to possessions, to money, to power and to prestige. We can even become slaves to food and drink if we do not remain in right relation to it. If we become gluttons with food and drink, we have become slaves to our own desires for excessive amounts of food and drink. When we allow our desires to rule us, we have lost our freedom.
If we become addicts, we have become enslaved to our desires. If we have become addicted to drugs or gambling or sex or anything else, we are no longer free. As addicts, our desires rule us.
I am not only speaking about others. I am speaking about myself and about others. I am addicted to sugar. I do not lightly say that I am an addict. If I go too long without sugar, my perceptions become severely skewed. My outlook on life becomes dismal.
Such is the state of an addict. For one who is addicted, being deprived is being tortured.
Some would respond to such circumstances by demanding how God could let people devolve into such a state. They ask how and why God could let this happen to people.
God does not wish anyone to stray from him. Yet God gives us our free will. Sometimes people make decisions which harm themselves. Yet even in the midst of such debilitating situations in which there seems to be no hope, we can use our freedom for our own good. When we feel trapped, we can use our freedom to declare our independence from what enslaves us, by confidently proclaiming that we will steadfastly rely on God. If we utilize our freedom to proclaim our dependence on God, God will free us from being held in chains.
Thus in such situations of suffering, there is a profound opportunity, if we choose to open our hearts to it. When we are faced with challenges which we cannot overcome on our own, we are to pray to God to deliver us from evil.* If we tell God, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, that on our own we cannot surmount the obstacles we encounter, then God will come to our aid. When we let go of our egos, then we make the room for God to work in our souls, then we welcome God into our hearts. Once we admit that we must have God's help, then we can begin to love Him with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength.**
When we pray in such a way, we pray with true humility. If you truly pray, you have humility. To the humble, God gives grace.*** With the help of God's grace, we can conquer what for us alone would be impossible. As Jesus reminded us, everything is possible for God.****
And so, with all credit for our success going to God, God truly is glorified. When we admit that all glory, praise and honor is due to God, then God delivers us from evil and brings us into true life. Amen.
* Matthew 6:13
** Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** Matthew 19:26; Luke 18:27
It is often said, and quite rightly, that we must remain vigilant to preserve our democracy and the freedom that comes with it. Some people especially crave power, and oppress others in order to keep it. When people abuse power by using it to mistreat others, we witness a misuse of freedom.
When we make choices which cause us to become enslaved to anything, we misuse our freedom. Unfortunately we can decide to use our freedom to become slaves to many things. We become slaves to possessions, to money, to power and to prestige. We can even become slaves to food and drink if we do not remain in right relation to it. If we become gluttons with food and drink, we have become slaves to our own desires for excessive amounts of food and drink. When we allow our desires to rule us, we have lost our freedom.
If we become addicts, we have become enslaved to our desires. If we have become addicted to drugs or gambling or sex or anything else, we are no longer free. As addicts, our desires rule us.
I am not only speaking about others. I am speaking about myself and about others. I am addicted to sugar. I do not lightly say that I am an addict. If I go too long without sugar, my perceptions become severely skewed. My outlook on life becomes dismal.
Such is the state of an addict. For one who is addicted, being deprived is being tortured.
Some would respond to such circumstances by demanding how God could let people devolve into such a state. They ask how and why God could let this happen to people.
God does not wish anyone to stray from him. Yet God gives us our free will. Sometimes people make decisions which harm themselves. Yet even in the midst of such debilitating situations in which there seems to be no hope, we can use our freedom for our own good. When we feel trapped, we can use our freedom to declare our independence from what enslaves us, by confidently proclaiming that we will steadfastly rely on God. If we utilize our freedom to proclaim our dependence on God, God will free us from being held in chains.
Thus in such situations of suffering, there is a profound opportunity, if we choose to open our hearts to it. When we are faced with challenges which we cannot overcome on our own, we are to pray to God to deliver us from evil.* If we tell God, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, that on our own we cannot surmount the obstacles we encounter, then God will come to our aid. When we let go of our egos, then we make the room for God to work in our souls, then we welcome God into our hearts. Once we admit that we must have God's help, then we can begin to love Him with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength.**
When we pray in such a way, we pray with true humility. If you truly pray, you have humility. To the humble, God gives grace.*** With the help of God's grace, we can conquer what for us alone would be impossible. As Jesus reminded us, everything is possible for God.****
And so, with all credit for our success going to God, God truly is glorified. When we admit that all glory, praise and honor is due to God, then God delivers us from evil and brings us into true life. Amen.
* Matthew 6:13
** Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 10:12; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** Matthew 19:26; Luke 18:27
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Plainly Loving Language
When we speak with someone, there is much left unsaid. And yet we do not want to have regrets. We want to express what is in our hearts that is longing to be released.
If we but listen, we can hear the love of God that is knocking at the door of our hearts. If we have let that love into our hearts,* that love in us is meant to be let out. God calls us to love our neighbor** through our actions, and to speak plainly the language of love with our neighbor, whether they are rich or poor, whether they are luxuriously living in a mansion, or are huddled and shivering in sleeping bags and tents in the bushes.
I have been trying to demonstrate to the homeless folks I love here in Redwood City that there is a deeper meaning to interactions they have with people who help them. Recently I have told certain homeless friends of mine that when they receive food from people who aim to help them, it is not just about food. Really, I have said to them, I have been trying to tell you that I love you.
We wish to show you that you are worthy of respect. You are receiving this love God is giving you through me because God loves you.
And so when I have spoken so directly to my homeless friends who I so cherish, I feel as if I could say to them, that the time has come when I am no longer communicating with you in figures of speech, much like what Jesus said to His disciples just before His passion and death.*** It seems as if I could tell these dear homeless brothers and sisters of mine that now I am no longer just speaking with you through the metaphors of my actions. Now I am speaking with you plainly.**** Finally I am talking with you in the plain language of love.
Throughout much of His public ministry, Jesus spoke in parables and figures of speech. Then on Maundy Thursday, He sat down with His disciples for the Last Supper, just before He was handed over to be condemned to death.***** In that meal that night with His disciples, they saw a prefiguring of His sacrifice on the Cross. While His disciples sat down to a meal of bread and wine, they received much more than food and drink; in the Eucharist, we receive nourishment of love from Jesus. Having shown us on the night of the Last Supper how we are to celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus was about to die on Cross, and do what He had just said He was about to do. He was showing them the greatest love one can have for one's friends, as He laid down His life for His friends.******
When we try to show the greatest love we can have for our neighbor, when we die to ourselves, we live for our neighbor. When we forget who we are, who society thinks we are supposed to be, when we disregard the message from society that we are to shun our brothers and sisters who are outcasts, then we can die to the disordered desires and hurtful ideas and selfish tendencies we have, so we can embrace our needy neighbor, and thus live for our neighbor.
Once Jesus had spoken plainly to His disciples, just before He was handed over to be crucified, He told them that He did not have much more to say to them.******* He had spoken The Truth honestly and openly with them, and thus there was not much else for Him to say.
In telling these treasured homeless friends of mine that in trying to care for them, I am truly trying to tell them that I deeply love them, I have spoken plainly to them. I have said what I really have to say to these homeless friends I so love. And so I don't have much else to say.
And so in a certain sense, I would be content if this were to be last blog entry I were ever to write. Since this is the core of the message I feel that God brought me into the world to declare to my brothers and my sisters, I feel I have been embracing the vocation of love to which God has been calling me.
For were I left to my own devices, I would be hesitant to say both that I am an unprofitable servant, and that I have only done my duty. If I had not been instructed otherwise, I would lament that I am an unprofitable servant, and that I am not even sure that I can say that I have even done my duty. However, since Jesus directed us to say in the end, "We are unprofitable servants; we have only done what we were obliged to do,"******** then I do proclaim those words. Knowing that I have done what God has called me to do, to declare the truth to my homeless brothers and sisters, that they deserve respect and are clothed in dignity, since they are loved by God and by me, I rest secure in the loving promise that God, in His great mercy, will forgive me to the extent I have failed in performing this duty.
And so, whether it is today, tomorrow, or fifty or more years from now, secure in the knowledge that I am called to lovingly embrace my homeless brothers and sisters, and that God, in His immense mercy will forgive me insofar as I fail in my best efforts to overwhelmingly love them, I joyfully proclaim that I am going home to the Father.********* When I finally get back home, my dear brothers and sisters, please do not grieve for me, for it will be the most glorious day I have ever seen. For my tiny, paltry, measly efforts to love will be overwhelmed by the unbelievably warm tender glow of the infinite love of God. And thanks to His magnificent mercy, I shall bask in the glory of His infinite love for all eternity. Amen.
* Romans 5:5
** Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
*** John 16:25
**** John 16:29
***** Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20
****** John 15:13
******* John 14:30
******** Luke 17:10
********* John 16:16-17
If we but listen, we can hear the love of God that is knocking at the door of our hearts. If we have let that love into our hearts,* that love in us is meant to be let out. God calls us to love our neighbor** through our actions, and to speak plainly the language of love with our neighbor, whether they are rich or poor, whether they are luxuriously living in a mansion, or are huddled and shivering in sleeping bags and tents in the bushes.
I have been trying to demonstrate to the homeless folks I love here in Redwood City that there is a deeper meaning to interactions they have with people who help them. Recently I have told certain homeless friends of mine that when they receive food from people who aim to help them, it is not just about food. Really, I have said to them, I have been trying to tell you that I love you.
We wish to show you that you are worthy of respect. You are receiving this love God is giving you through me because God loves you.
And so when I have spoken so directly to my homeless friends who I so cherish, I feel as if I could say to them, that the time has come when I am no longer communicating with you in figures of speech, much like what Jesus said to His disciples just before His passion and death.*** It seems as if I could tell these dear homeless brothers and sisters of mine that now I am no longer just speaking with you through the metaphors of my actions. Now I am speaking with you plainly.**** Finally I am talking with you in the plain language of love.
Throughout much of His public ministry, Jesus spoke in parables and figures of speech. Then on Maundy Thursday, He sat down with His disciples for the Last Supper, just before He was handed over to be condemned to death.***** In that meal that night with His disciples, they saw a prefiguring of His sacrifice on the Cross. While His disciples sat down to a meal of bread and wine, they received much more than food and drink; in the Eucharist, we receive nourishment of love from Jesus. Having shown us on the night of the Last Supper how we are to celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus was about to die on Cross, and do what He had just said He was about to do. He was showing them the greatest love one can have for one's friends, as He laid down His life for His friends.******
When we try to show the greatest love we can have for our neighbor, when we die to ourselves, we live for our neighbor. When we forget who we are, who society thinks we are supposed to be, when we disregard the message from society that we are to shun our brothers and sisters who are outcasts, then we can die to the disordered desires and hurtful ideas and selfish tendencies we have, so we can embrace our needy neighbor, and thus live for our neighbor.
Once Jesus had spoken plainly to His disciples, just before He was handed over to be crucified, He told them that He did not have much more to say to them.******* He had spoken The Truth honestly and openly with them, and thus there was not much else for Him to say.
In telling these treasured homeless friends of mine that in trying to care for them, I am truly trying to tell them that I deeply love them, I have spoken plainly to them. I have said what I really have to say to these homeless friends I so love. And so I don't have much else to say.
And so in a certain sense, I would be content if this were to be last blog entry I were ever to write. Since this is the core of the message I feel that God brought me into the world to declare to my brothers and my sisters, I feel I have been embracing the vocation of love to which God has been calling me.
For were I left to my own devices, I would be hesitant to say both that I am an unprofitable servant, and that I have only done my duty. If I had not been instructed otherwise, I would lament that I am an unprofitable servant, and that I am not even sure that I can say that I have even done my duty. However, since Jesus directed us to say in the end, "We are unprofitable servants; we have only done what we were obliged to do,"******** then I do proclaim those words. Knowing that I have done what God has called me to do, to declare the truth to my homeless brothers and sisters, that they deserve respect and are clothed in dignity, since they are loved by God and by me, I rest secure in the loving promise that God, in His great mercy, will forgive me to the extent I have failed in performing this duty.
And so, whether it is today, tomorrow, or fifty or more years from now, secure in the knowledge that I am called to lovingly embrace my homeless brothers and sisters, and that God, in His immense mercy will forgive me insofar as I fail in my best efforts to overwhelmingly love them, I joyfully proclaim that I am going home to the Father.********* When I finally get back home, my dear brothers and sisters, please do not grieve for me, for it will be the most glorious day I have ever seen. For my tiny, paltry, measly efforts to love will be overwhelmed by the unbelievably warm tender glow of the infinite love of God. And thanks to His magnificent mercy, I shall bask in the glory of His infinite love for all eternity. Amen.
* Romans 5:5
** Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
*** John 16:25
**** John 16:29
***** Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20
****** John 15:13
******* John 14:30
******** Luke 17:10
********* John 16:16-17
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Wonders From Humility
God is always extending His hand to us. God will not force us to come to Him. God loves us so much that He gave us our free will to use as we choose.
And so God invites us to become more than we have been. God asks us to assent to His plan, to let ourselves be humbled so that great things may be done through us.
We are reminded that God works in this way as we celebrate today the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today as we remember how our Blessed Mother Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, we recall that God lifts up the lowly and exalts them. We hear of these wonders in today's Gospel, where we are told that
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."
And Mary said:
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever."
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.*
When her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, our Blessed Mother Mary set out to the home of Elizabeth. She went to share with Elizabeth the Good News that Jesus was to be born. She went to minister to Elizabeth in her pregnancy. Our Blessed Mother Mary went to serve Elizabeth. We can emulate our Blessed Mother Mary by serving others.
When our Blessed Mother Mary entered the home of her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaimed, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." We find this declaration of the blessedness of our Blessed Mother Mary and her Son Jesus not only in the Gospel according to Saint Luke. Also while reciting the rosary, Christians proclaim the blessedness of our Lord Jesus and His Mother Mary. We too can join Saint Elizabeth and feel the joy of The Visitation by praying the rosary.
Elizabeth wondered, "How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Elizabeth was honored to be visited by our Blessed Mother Mary, yet she could not fathom how she could be accorded the great privilege of being visited by the mother of the Messiah. We too can wonder how we can be so blessed that our Blessed Mother Mary dotes such great kindness upon us, given our abhorrent sinfulness. We receive such marvelous and magnanimous assistance from our Blessed Mother since she is humble, loving and sweet. She answers our cries because she loves us so very much. Thus we are to cry out to her now, as we are mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. She very much wants us to call out to her, to ask her to intercede with her Son on our behalf.
It truly only begins to describe the tremendous effectiveness of our Blessed Mother's intercession to say that she is a formidable intercessor for us. If people only realized how much sway her prayers have in Heaven, far more people would be seeking her intercession. Full of the knowledge of how our Blessed Mother Mary protects us if we but call out to her, we are full of joy. Similarly, right after our Blessed Mother Mary entered the home of Elizabeth, Elizabeth cried out, "The infant in my womb leapt for joy." In the womb of Elizabeth, Saint John the Baptist was rejoicing at the arrival of our Blessed Mother Mary. In the loving care of our Blessed Mother Mary, we have nothing to fear, so we rejoice.
Elizabeth said to our Blessed Mother Mary, "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." Our Blessed Mother Mary has been so blessed because, during her life here on earth, she was filled with faith. If we too wish to be blessed, we do will well to embrace the gift of faith from God.
Our Blessed Mother Mary then replied, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." Our Blessed Mother Mary strove to live out the greatest commandment, "to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."** First and foremost in the heart of our Blessed Mother Mary was the desire to open her heart to the will of God. God calls us too to open our hearts to His will for us.
Our Blessed Mother Mary told Elizabeth that her spirit rejoiced in God Her Savior. When we know God saves us, we rejoice. When we realize we have nothing to fear, we rejoice.
She knew that God had looked with favor on His lowly servant. Our Blessed Mother Mary was a poor peasant, yet God bestowed immense grace upon her. God gives grace to the humble.***
Well aware of how abundantly God had blessed her, our Blessed Mother Mary confidently announced that all generations would call her blessed. She knew that she would be remembered as a shining, luminous reflection of God's great glory.
All generations call Mary blessed because the Almighty has done great things for her. God has shown His mighty glory through our Blessed Mother Mary.
Having been reminded of what God had done for her, our Blessed Mother Mary proclaimed that Holy is the name of God. She knew that all glory belongs to God, so she proclaimed that His name is holy. We too must keep in mind that all glory is to go to God.
Since she had experienced His great mercy, she explained that He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. When we realize who we are, namely that we are nothing without God, we fear Him, and we beg Him for mercy.
Our Blessed Mother Mary described how God has scattered the proud. She noted that He has cast down the mighty. God opposes the proud.**** To be like our Blessed Mother Mary, we must turn away from the temptation to pride; we must be humble like our Blessed Mother Mary.
Everyone who raises himself up will be humbled. The one who humbles himself will be raised up.*****
Our Blessed Mother Mary experienced Herself how God lifted up the lowly. God exalted her, an impoverished little girl. God gives grace to the humble.
And so our Blessed Mother Mary declared that God had filled the hungry with good things. Some people question why there are poor people in the world. Some ask why there is suffering. The poor are blessed insofar as they are close to God. The more desperate we are, the more we cry out to God with earnest prayer, and thus the more likely God is to grant our prayers. God fills those who are hungry with good things, which provide them the spiritual nourishment they need to survive into true life together with Him.
Often we think that those who are materially rich are blessed. So often those who are materially rich are spiritually impoverished. If we are too comfortable, we do not pray as we should. And thus often the rich are sent away empty, as our Blessed Mother Mary noted. If we are not humble, we are not accorded grace.
And yet if we have humility, if we submit ourselves to the will of God, then God comes to our help. And so our Blessed Mother Mary rejoiced that God had come to the help of His servant Israel. She was grateful that God had remained faithful to His promise of mercy. God is merciful, since He is faithful to His promise. God is faithful, even if we are unfaithful. He cannot be unfaithful, for His Word is truth.******
And so if we but give our consent to be humbled like our Blessed Mother Mary was, God will give us the grace we need to do His will. Opening our hearts to God, God will work wonders through us, just as He worked wonders through our Blessed Mother Mary.
* Luke 1:39-56
** Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
***** Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
****** John 14:6
And so God invites us to become more than we have been. God asks us to assent to His plan, to let ourselves be humbled so that great things may be done through us.
We are reminded that God works in this way as we celebrate today the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today as we remember how our Blessed Mother Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, we recall that God lifts up the lowly and exalts them. We hear of these wonders in today's Gospel, where we are told that
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."
And Mary said:
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever."
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.*
When her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant, our Blessed Mother Mary set out to the home of Elizabeth. She went to share with Elizabeth the Good News that Jesus was to be born. She went to minister to Elizabeth in her pregnancy. Our Blessed Mother Mary went to serve Elizabeth. We can emulate our Blessed Mother Mary by serving others.
When our Blessed Mother Mary entered the home of her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth exclaimed, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." We find this declaration of the blessedness of our Blessed Mother Mary and her Son Jesus not only in the Gospel according to Saint Luke. Also while reciting the rosary, Christians proclaim the blessedness of our Lord Jesus and His Mother Mary. We too can join Saint Elizabeth and feel the joy of The Visitation by praying the rosary.
Elizabeth wondered, "How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Elizabeth was honored to be visited by our Blessed Mother Mary, yet she could not fathom how she could be accorded the great privilege of being visited by the mother of the Messiah. We too can wonder how we can be so blessed that our Blessed Mother Mary dotes such great kindness upon us, given our abhorrent sinfulness. We receive such marvelous and magnanimous assistance from our Blessed Mother since she is humble, loving and sweet. She answers our cries because she loves us so very much. Thus we are to cry out to her now, as we are mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. She very much wants us to call out to her, to ask her to intercede with her Son on our behalf.
It truly only begins to describe the tremendous effectiveness of our Blessed Mother's intercession to say that she is a formidable intercessor for us. If people only realized how much sway her prayers have in Heaven, far more people would be seeking her intercession. Full of the knowledge of how our Blessed Mother Mary protects us if we but call out to her, we are full of joy. Similarly, right after our Blessed Mother Mary entered the home of Elizabeth, Elizabeth cried out, "The infant in my womb leapt for joy." In the womb of Elizabeth, Saint John the Baptist was rejoicing at the arrival of our Blessed Mother Mary. In the loving care of our Blessed Mother Mary, we have nothing to fear, so we rejoice.
Elizabeth said to our Blessed Mother Mary, "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." Our Blessed Mother Mary has been so blessed because, during her life here on earth, she was filled with faith. If we too wish to be blessed, we do will well to embrace the gift of faith from God.
Our Blessed Mother Mary then replied, "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." Our Blessed Mother Mary strove to live out the greatest commandment, "to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."** First and foremost in the heart of our Blessed Mother Mary was the desire to open her heart to the will of God. God calls us too to open our hearts to His will for us.
Our Blessed Mother Mary told Elizabeth that her spirit rejoiced in God Her Savior. When we know God saves us, we rejoice. When we realize we have nothing to fear, we rejoice.
She knew that God had looked with favor on His lowly servant. Our Blessed Mother Mary was a poor peasant, yet God bestowed immense grace upon her. God gives grace to the humble.***
Well aware of how abundantly God had blessed her, our Blessed Mother Mary confidently announced that all generations would call her blessed. She knew that she would be remembered as a shining, luminous reflection of God's great glory.
All generations call Mary blessed because the Almighty has done great things for her. God has shown His mighty glory through our Blessed Mother Mary.
Having been reminded of what God had done for her, our Blessed Mother Mary proclaimed that Holy is the name of God. She knew that all glory belongs to God, so she proclaimed that His name is holy. We too must keep in mind that all glory is to go to God.
Since she had experienced His great mercy, she explained that He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. When we realize who we are, namely that we are nothing without God, we fear Him, and we beg Him for mercy.
Our Blessed Mother Mary described how God has scattered the proud. She noted that He has cast down the mighty. God opposes the proud.**** To be like our Blessed Mother Mary, we must turn away from the temptation to pride; we must be humble like our Blessed Mother Mary.
Everyone who raises himself up will be humbled. The one who humbles himself will be raised up.*****
Our Blessed Mother Mary experienced Herself how God lifted up the lowly. God exalted her, an impoverished little girl. God gives grace to the humble.
And so our Blessed Mother Mary declared that God had filled the hungry with good things. Some people question why there are poor people in the world. Some ask why there is suffering. The poor are blessed insofar as they are close to God. The more desperate we are, the more we cry out to God with earnest prayer, and thus the more likely God is to grant our prayers. God fills those who are hungry with good things, which provide them the spiritual nourishment they need to survive into true life together with Him.
Often we think that those who are materially rich are blessed. So often those who are materially rich are spiritually impoverished. If we are too comfortable, we do not pray as we should. And thus often the rich are sent away empty, as our Blessed Mother Mary noted. If we are not humble, we are not accorded grace.
And yet if we have humility, if we submit ourselves to the will of God, then God comes to our help. And so our Blessed Mother Mary rejoiced that God had come to the help of His servant Israel. She was grateful that God had remained faithful to His promise of mercy. God is merciful, since He is faithful to His promise. God is faithful, even if we are unfaithful. He cannot be unfaithful, for His Word is truth.******
And so if we but give our consent to be humbled like our Blessed Mother Mary was, God will give us the grace we need to do His will. Opening our hearts to God, God will work wonders through us, just as He worked wonders through our Blessed Mother Mary.
* Luke 1:39-56
** Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Deuteronomy 6:5
*** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
**** 1 Peter 5:5; James 4:6
***** Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14
****** John 14:6
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Called To Respect
We are called to respect others the way we would like to be treated. Otherwise, when we fail to respect others, we are telling them that they are not worthy of respect. In time, they come to disrespect themselves, as they slip into a downward spiral in which they get used to abusing themselves. We can think that we have no responsibility for others' actions, but when we fail to build up people, we choose not to lift them up, we keep them down, and we push them even further down.
Often I think about the people who sift through the garbage and recyclables in the dumpsters in the parking lot outside my window. They usually sort through it around 5:00 a.m. I've imagined that they come at that time because they want to get what they can out of it before the garbage truck comes around 5:30 a.m. to empty the dumpsters.
I've imagined talking with them when they are going through the garbage and the recyclables. I've envisioned saying something to them like, "I'm not going to try to stop you from going through the garbage. You can do so. I'm not disturbed by the sound. I am deeply saddened that human beings care for each other so little that some people are reduced to rifling through garbage. I believe you were meant to be treated with more dignity. We are supposed to treat you with more respect."
Homeless folks have told me and shown me that they collect recyclables to exchange for money. Earlier this week, I asked a homeless woman, who I'll call "Kelly" here, what she was going to buy with the money she was going to get from the recyclables she had. She told me she was going to buy cigarettes.
In addition to nicotine, homeless folks also fall prey to illicit drugs. Kelly has confessed to me that she has taken methamphetamines. Meth is inexpensive, so homeless folks can get it.
Although meth doesn't cost much money, homeless folks pay a high price for it. In using it, people become less than they were meant to be.
When we do not acknowledge the presence of a homeless person, we treat them as less than they actually are. By acting as if homeless people do not exist, we rip them down just like an illicit drug tears them down.
In addition to meth tearing people down, people use it in the first place since they are down. Kelly has identified her low self-esteem as the root of her problems. She admitted to me that she does things which she thinks will make her feel better, but which don't help. She has acknowledged too that she tries to numb herself to prevent herself from feeling what she doesn't want to feel. Kelly does not want to feel the disrespect that has been shown to her. She would rather turn aside from the pain inflicted on her.
We cannot justify ignoring and casting aside those who are homeless or otherwise poor. We cannot in good conscience tell them that they must accept their lot, for in doing so we reject our duty to love them.
In loving homeless persons and showing them respect, we build them up. We help them become more than they have been. By treating homeless persons with dignity, we help them to rise above the suffering they have endured. If any of us refuse to help our neighbor, whether homeless or not, we are ignoring the lessons of love presented to us.
If any of us, whether we are homeless or rich, only try to escape from pain, and never embrace suffering, we are refusing to learn from what life presents to us. Through life's hardships, God seeks to mold us, just as He does by way of life's blessings.
God asks that we agree to become who He created us to be. We are called to become who God made us to be.
We find out who we are as we endure life's challenges. If we reject what we have to learn in what unfolds in our lives, we refuse to accept what God is trying to give to us. If we decide not to seize the chance to love our neighbor, we throw away the gift God is giving us.
Yet God made us to learn and grow through endurance, which is a reflection of love. To become more than we have been, by obediently submitting ourselves to the will of God, we show who we are. By loving our neighbor, we demonstrate who we are.
In the film "Restless Heart," Saint Monica says to her son, Saint Augustine, "Don't forget who you are." As he continued to ignore the call from God to become who he really was, she admonished him to embrace his true identity, where he would find deep joy and happiness.
God made us to be happy and joyous. We find deep joy and happiness when we turn towards God, and submit ourselves to Him, and praise and glorify and adore Him, and love our neighbor. We do not realize this is why God made us. We must not forget who God made us to be.
We are to use what God has given to us to bear much fruit to His glory. We are to use the gifts God has given to us.
Kelly told me that at one point she had been in college. She has told me that she would like to go back to school and get her Bachelor's Degree.
Kelly realizes that she is meant to be more than she has been. She knows that she must respect herself. In loving herself, she can become who God has always meant her to be. In loving each other, we become who God created us to be.
God calls us to respect each other. When we respect others, we invite them to respect themselves too.
We respect and love ourselves. We wish to be respected and loved. Thus we should respect and love others, since we wish to be respected and loved. Seeing that we too would like to be respected and loved, we come to be able to love our neighbor as ourselves,* just as Jesus taught us.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
Often I think about the people who sift through the garbage and recyclables in the dumpsters in the parking lot outside my window. They usually sort through it around 5:00 a.m. I've imagined that they come at that time because they want to get what they can out of it before the garbage truck comes around 5:30 a.m. to empty the dumpsters.
I've imagined talking with them when they are going through the garbage and the recyclables. I've envisioned saying something to them like, "I'm not going to try to stop you from going through the garbage. You can do so. I'm not disturbed by the sound. I am deeply saddened that human beings care for each other so little that some people are reduced to rifling through garbage. I believe you were meant to be treated with more dignity. We are supposed to treat you with more respect."
Homeless folks have told me and shown me that they collect recyclables to exchange for money. Earlier this week, I asked a homeless woman, who I'll call "Kelly" here, what she was going to buy with the money she was going to get from the recyclables she had. She told me she was going to buy cigarettes.
In addition to nicotine, homeless folks also fall prey to illicit drugs. Kelly has confessed to me that she has taken methamphetamines. Meth is inexpensive, so homeless folks can get it.
Although meth doesn't cost much money, homeless folks pay a high price for it. In using it, people become less than they were meant to be.
When we do not acknowledge the presence of a homeless person, we treat them as less than they actually are. By acting as if homeless people do not exist, we rip them down just like an illicit drug tears them down.
In addition to meth tearing people down, people use it in the first place since they are down. Kelly has identified her low self-esteem as the root of her problems. She admitted to me that she does things which she thinks will make her feel better, but which don't help. She has acknowledged too that she tries to numb herself to prevent herself from feeling what she doesn't want to feel. Kelly does not want to feel the disrespect that has been shown to her. She would rather turn aside from the pain inflicted on her.
We cannot justify ignoring and casting aside those who are homeless or otherwise poor. We cannot in good conscience tell them that they must accept their lot, for in doing so we reject our duty to love them.
In loving homeless persons and showing them respect, we build them up. We help them become more than they have been. By treating homeless persons with dignity, we help them to rise above the suffering they have endured. If any of us refuse to help our neighbor, whether homeless or not, we are ignoring the lessons of love presented to us.
If any of us, whether we are homeless or rich, only try to escape from pain, and never embrace suffering, we are refusing to learn from what life presents to us. Through life's hardships, God seeks to mold us, just as He does by way of life's blessings.
God asks that we agree to become who He created us to be. We are called to become who God made us to be.
We find out who we are as we endure life's challenges. If we reject what we have to learn in what unfolds in our lives, we refuse to accept what God is trying to give to us. If we decide not to seize the chance to love our neighbor, we throw away the gift God is giving us.
Yet God made us to learn and grow through endurance, which is a reflection of love. To become more than we have been, by obediently submitting ourselves to the will of God, we show who we are. By loving our neighbor, we demonstrate who we are.
In the film "Restless Heart," Saint Monica says to her son, Saint Augustine, "Don't forget who you are." As he continued to ignore the call from God to become who he really was, she admonished him to embrace his true identity, where he would find deep joy and happiness.
God made us to be happy and joyous. We find deep joy and happiness when we turn towards God, and submit ourselves to Him, and praise and glorify and adore Him, and love our neighbor. We do not realize this is why God made us. We must not forget who God made us to be.
We are to use what God has given to us to bear much fruit to His glory. We are to use the gifts God has given to us.
Kelly told me that at one point she had been in college. She has told me that she would like to go back to school and get her Bachelor's Degree.
Kelly realizes that she is meant to be more than she has been. She knows that she must respect herself. In loving herself, she can become who God has always meant her to be. In loving each other, we become who God created us to be.
God calls us to respect each other. When we respect others, we invite them to respect themselves too.
We respect and love ourselves. We wish to be respected and loved. Thus we should respect and love others, since we wish to be respected and loved. Seeing that we too would like to be respected and loved, we come to be able to love our neighbor as ourselves,* just as Jesus taught us.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
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