Category: Advent (Page 15 of 20)

Faithful is the one who calls you!

December 18, 2017 / MSFriend / 0 Comments

Gaudete Sunday!

The one who calls you is faithful and He will also accomplish it! This Gaudete Sunday we hear the words of St. Paul to the Thessalonians:

“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything, retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil. May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. THE ONE WHO CALLS YOU IS FAITHFUL, AND HE WILL ACCOMPLISH IT! Brothers, pray for us too!”

When I heard these words being proclaimed yesterday evening, tears welled up in my eyes because I thought: “There’s still hope for me.” Lord knows I try very hard to be as holy as I can in all aspects of my life. However, no matter how hard I try I often fall short. There are things that I think, say and do on a daily basis that are so far removed from what Jesus taught and did. There’s the judgment, the anger, the laziness, the sharp tongue, the ego, the selfishness. I guess you can say the harder I try, the fiercer the storm of temptations. The worse part of it all is they often win. So what am I to do?

Paul’s words to the Thessalonians gave me a clue and coincides with what I read and discussed with my prayer group this week. In his book, Into the Silent Land, Martin Baird, talks about our wounds – one of which is temptation. Would you believe he talks about the “benefit” of temptation? The general idea of this section in the book is that God is closest to us in our wounds. Therefore, we should not run away or dismiss our temptations, failures and wounds.

Richard Rohr, in his most recent book, Just This, discusses the very idea of God being closest to us in our wounds. He writes:

“There can be no infilling unless we have made room for it. Emptying out must precede all filling up, and in equal measure. God as Trinity revealed this as the very shape of God and all things created in this image continue the same movement. In other words, vulnerability and power are in an eternal exchange. They produce and need one another.

In the human sphere, vulnerability shows itself as wound, grief, or desire. These are the primary ways that we make room for the Divine Infilling that is always ready and waiting to move into any open and inviting space. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, God waits for any spiritual vacuum and rushes to enter it. God never comes uninvited, unneeded, or undesired. Even Mary’s “yes” seems to have been necessary.

When we gradually learn to live the pattern of the Trinity, we see that God is both All Mighty and All Vulnerable, in equal measure. This alone allows us to deal with the full human situation – and know that God is not watching suffering, or even just allowing it, but is somehow actually a part of it!”

Let me get back to the benefits of temptation. How exactly do our temptations benefit us? Truly an “aha” moment for me and something I’m looking forward to practicing.

You see…….it’s in our human nature to think, think, think! It’s the incessant chatter in our minds that everyone is talking about these days. It’s thinking without ceasing and it’s often automatic. We are usually operating on autopilot and it’s the autopilot that offers the opportunity for us to give in to temptation. However, if we start to become aware of our thoughts and temptations we can begin to work on overcoming them instead of giving in to them. We can do this by approaching every waking moment as we do our practice of contemplation.

Everything I read about the practice of contemplation advises one to sit in silence without allowing thoughts to distract the practice. They recommend adopting a prayer word. The prayer word allows one to let go of thoughts and remain focused on God. The prayer word can be as short as one word, like God, Jesus or love and as long as Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner. This is a centuries old practice that has worked for many contemplatives. Not only can it work for our own practice of sitting, but Martin Laird suggests we adapt it to our daily life. In THIS way we pray without ceasing as Paul suggests in his letter. Wow! Our temptations “benefit” us by leading us to pray without ceasing! Amazing!

That’s just what Jesus did in the desert. He was tempted several times by the devil. However, He didn’t make conversation with the devil, He didn’t entertain the shenanigans and he didn’t give in to the temptation. What DID Jesus do? He recited Scripture! It was His defense and it was how he overcame the temptation. That’s what we can do as well. The minute you become aware of a temptation to judge, to become angry, jealous, etc. recite your prayer word.

Whenever your ego gets the best of you and you’re tempted to respond to someone in a way that’s not Christ like, think of your prayer word. It might also help to think about this before you speak: is what I’m about to say kind, true or necessary? (I didn’t come up with this myself, I heard or read it somewhere). This is how we can pray without ceasing – by turning our unceasing thoughts (which are usually temptations) into prayer! Amen!

Just as important as praying without ceasing is our thirst for something more. We must never grow complacent or comfortable in our prayer life. There is something to be said about routine but with routine comes the danger of distraction. If you’re comfortable with your prayer life, if it’s grown to be a routine that you rarely even notice, then maybe it’s time for a change. Do you feel like you know enough about the faith that there’s nothing else to learn? Are you so closed-minded that you believe there’s nothing more to learn from others? Don’t be fooled. Paul tells us: test everything, retain what is good and more importantly do not quench the Spirit!

We are all on a journey toward holiness. Too often on the journey we become disappointed with ourselves because it seems like we take one step forward and two steps back. The reality is we are called to be “perfectly holy.” St. Paul tells us that the one who calls us is faithful and He will accomplish it. As impossible as it may seem, we WILL be perfectly holy one day. Our wounds and failures are going to help get us there. Thanks be to God!

O Wisdom of our God most high, guiding creation with power and love, come to teach us the path of knowledge! God bless you!

God’s Word will come to us

December 6, 2017 / MSFriend / 0 Comments

Matthew 15:29-37

God’s Word will come to us. This was the topic of the second reading in the Office of Readings today, from a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot.

We know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible. In the first coming he was seen on earth, dwelling among men; he himself testifies that they saw him and hated him. In the final coming all flesh will see the salvation of our God, and they will look on him whom they pierced. The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming he comes in spirit and power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and majesty.

Because this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last. In the first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he is our rest and consolation.

In case someone should think that what we say about this middle coming is sheer invention, listen to what our Lord himself says: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him. There is another passage of Scripture which reads: He who fears God will do good, but something further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God’s word. Where is God’s word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.

Keep God’s word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will delight in its richness. Remember to eat your bread, or your heart will wither away. Fill your soul with richness and strength.

If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you. The Son with the Father will come to you. The great Prophet who will build the new Jerusalem will come, the one who makes all things new. This coming will fulfill what is written: As we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly man. Just as Adam’s sin spread through all mankind and took hold of all, so Christ, who created and redeemed all, will glorify all, once he takes possession of all.

As I worked through today’s Gospel (Matthew 15:29-37) during lectio divina, the connection between these two readings became apparent. There is no doubt in my mind that the Gospel of the loaves and fishes serves to remind us of the great miracle worker Jesus is. Today, for me, it also serves to explain and validate the words of St. Bernard. Let me explain.

Christians believe that the Messiah has already come once and eagerly await His second coming. St. Bernard, however, tells us that there are three comings. The third is invisible and it’s happening now! What does that mean? Well, it was explained beautifully in the homily this past weekend. The priest discussed how, and I’m paraphrasing, Jesus is the Word made flesh – He came in the past over 2000 years ago, He will come again in glory sometime in the future, and He comes to us NOW in the present. All we have to do is open our hearts and allow Him to enter. He comes to us now in many ways. The priest explained that one of the ways He comes to us is in the Eucharist. Hence, the Eucharist is food for our journey.

I think we can all agree that Jesus also comes to us in the Scriptures, the word of God. The Scriptures are another very important component of our faith. St. Bernard tells us to keep God’s word in our hearts. Specifically he says: Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will delight in its richness. Furthermore, I believe it was St. Jerome who said, ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. So, how can we keep God’s word in our hearts? The answer is quite simple: by reading and pondering Scripture and by keeping His commandments. Consequently, our whole way of life will be focused on the Word, capital W!

Part of today’s Gospel reads as follows: Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.” The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves,and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.

Jesus takes pity on his followers. He wants them to be nourished but how will He do it? He does it by breaking the bread and sharing everything He has with them. Notice the similarity of the words in this Gospel to the words of the Gospel of the Last Supper. There’s our reference to the Eucharist again. He gives them food for their journey – their present journey and the journey that is life. He does the same for us!

The imagery in St. Bernard’s words are absolutely beautiful. He presents the third coming as “a road on which we travel from the first coming to the second.” The third coming is our present journey! As such, we should embrace the journey and not the destination. Jesus comes to us on the journey. Better yet, He is WITH US on the journey. Hallelujah! If we hold on to that image, NOTHING in this life can take us off course and absolutely nothing will make us lose our focus. That’s the beauty of the present moment – don’t move past it!

Also, notice the reference in this Gospel to abundance. When Christ is at the center there is always ENOUGH. He is enough, we are enough and He provides enough! Thanks be to God!