goodness Archives - Shepherd of Faith

The Earth is FULL of the goodness of the Lord. Psalm 33. I heard this Psalm during the liturgy a few weeks ago and it spoke to me. I heard it proclaimed and something inside me said “Indeed, it IS!”

How easy it is to become jaded when we hear the news. It’s so easy to become focused on the glass half empty instead of half full. Remember Chicken Little – THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING?! Have you become that person?

No doubt evil exists in the world, no doubt there’s such thing as spiritual warfare – in the world and in our own heads. However, there is no doubt that Christ, the all powerful good, is the victor! What does this mean for us? That there is so much more good in the world than there is evil. There is so much more to be grateful for than despairing. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians we hear that God’s weakness is stronger than humanity’s strength! Amen!

Let’s focus on the good! Let’s continue to pray. Prayer is powerful, prayer works, prayer makes us hopeful and prayer brings peace. I recently heard a beautiful, uplifting song on my way to Church that expresses a similar sentiment. It’s called Joy – by For King and Country. Listen here.

When you begin to fall prey to the negativity of the world or your own circumstances, remember to choose JOY because the Earth is FULL of the goodness of the Lord!

the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord

Gratitude!

My last two posts have been about contemplation and its effect on our lives. In true majestic fashion, the Spirit continues to guide me and provide food for thought. First my own thoughts, then a meditation from Richard Rohr and then came this – an email with Joan Chittister’s weekly e-newsletter Vision and Viewpoint. The topic? You guessed it – contemplation!

Life’s essential goodness

We so often think that those who refuse under any conditions to deny the essential goodness of life are mad. Look at the suffering. Look at the evil. Be real, we say. We are so often inclined to think that those who continue to see life where life seems to be empty and futile are, at best, foolish. Be sensible, we say. But we may be the ones who are mad. The truth is that contemplation, the ability to see behind the obvious to the soul of life, is the ultimate sanity. The contemplative sees life as it really is under all the struggle and pain: imbued with God, glowing with eternity, full of energy, and so overflowing with good that evil never totally triumphs.

Contemplation keeps the inner eye focused on Goodness. The desert monastics put it this way: As he was dying, Abba Benjamin taught his disciples his last lesson. “Do this,” he said, “and you will be saved: Rejoice always, pray constantly, and in all circumstance give thanks.”

In the end, joy, praise and gratitude live in the hearts of those who live in God. It is not the joy of fools. The contemplative knows evil when it rears its head. It is not the praise of the ingratiating. The contemplative knows struggle when difficulties come. It is not the gratitude of the obtuse. The contemplative recognizes the difference between chaff and grain. The contemplative knows that grain is for bread, but the contemplative also knows that chaff is for heat. The contemplative realizes that everything in life has for its purpose the kindling of the God-life within us. And so the contemplative goes on with joy and resounds with praise and lives in gratitude. Always.

—from Illuminated Life by Joan Chittister (Orbis)