Taste and See!

 When my daughter was very young, she refused to taste cheesecake, despite the fact that the rest of us were enjoying it greatly.  The very name put her off; surely something called "cheesecake" could not measure up to our testimony.  I think she suspected we might be trying to trick her into tasting something awful.  One day she decided to try the tiniest bite.  Until this day she is an afficiando.

I think many of us approach God in the same manner -- at an arm's distance.  We have heard from other people, including Jesus Christ, about the goodness of God, but we prefer to keep our knowledge of Him in our heads rather than to venture a "taste" of Him personally:

When the great masters of the Christian way speak of knowing God, they do not use the term in its distanced, analytical sense; they use it in the biblical sense, implying knowledge by way of personal intimacy.  This is why St. Bernard of Clairvaux, for one, insists that initiates in the spiritual life know God not simply through books and lectures but through experience, the way one friend knows another. That knowledge is what the Holy Spirit facilitates  (Bishop Robert Barron).

 Bishop Barron often compares God to a helicopter pilot hovering over our lives, searching for a landing place to enter.  Again, though, we tend to keep Him "up there," away from the daily affairs which we prefer to manage on our own, and with our own resources, limited though they be. If we but clear a space for Him, asking the Holy Spirit to guide both our prayer and our daily activity, we might be very surprised to learn that we actually love "cheesecake."

In the past few months, I have been placing all of my daily activities and concerns before the Lord each morning, inviting Him to "guide my feet into the way of peace."  I have always loved that prayer because I think of myself as the Lord described the Ninevites: not knowing their left hands from their right (Book of Jonah).  When I ask the Lord to "guide my feet," I am acknowledging that I don't (and won't) always figure things out very well in my head.  That is, I don't always need to know ahead of time the best plan for my day.  I am relying not on my own knowledge, but on His:  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

Here's the thing -- by "acknowledging" Him at the beginning of the day, I find myself listening less to the voice in my head (often confused and muddled) and more to the Spirit within.  I find myself leaning on Him to direct my activities --- and surprise, surprise!  Without my so-called "planning" and "scheduling," my days seem to flow easily, with tasks getting done smoothly, even those I had not planned to do.  Instead of feeling burdened by my work, I find myself energized in doing it.  In his book The Three Ordinary Voices of God,  Matthew Kelly says, Mental vitality leads to physical, emotional, and spiritual vitality. Everything in our lives begins as a thought.

One Sunday, I was working on a project at my desk.  But I had a headache that I was trying to ignore in order to finish what I was working on.  I paused for a moment and asked the Holy Spirit for direction.  Suddenly and without planning, I put the project aside and walked outside into my garden.  It was a beautiful day, and while walking around gazing at the plants, I realized that Sunday was the day I usually watered those plants under the overhang --- those that get no rain.  So I watered the plants and continued to enjoy the clear skies and soft breeze.  By the time I got back inside, my headache was gone and my 'burden' relieved.  I realized that Sunday was not the day to worry about finishing my project after all, and had I persisted in my own plans, the plants would not have gotten watered.

Day by day, I am experiencing that the Holy Spirit's plans for my life far outweigh my own in goodness and simplicity.  This is a rather simple way of "tasting" and "seeing" the Goodness of the Lord.  If  you try it, I think you'll like it!

The Way of Life; the Way of Death

 Prior to the entrance of the Israelites into the Promised Land, Joshua stressed to them two ways: the way of life and the way of death -- and he gave them an ultimatum:  Choose Life or choose Death!

By the middle of the second century A.D, the Church had developed a kind of catechism for neophytes -- those seeking baptism into the Way.  The catechism was called the Didache, and it stressed again (like Joshua advising those seeking life in the Promised Land) that there are two ways of life -- the way of Life and the way of Death.  Some scholars believe that the Didache might have indicated the basic way of life for those seeking to enter the church.

Recently, I came across another first century document that echoes both Joshua's teaching and the Didache -- the Epistle of Barnabas.  Barnabas (mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a companion to Paul on his journeys) died in 61 AD, according to legend.  Modern scholars maintain that he did not write this epistle, which early Christians attributed to Barnabas.  Nevertheless, the Epistle echoes much of very early Christian writing, describing the "two ways."

There are two ways of doctrine and authority, one of light, and the other of darkness. But these two ways differ greatly. For over one are stationed the light-bringing angels of God, but the angels of Satan are over the other.

This, then, is the way of light: Love God who created you. Glorify God who redeemed you from death. Be simple in heart and rich in spirit. Hate doing anything displeasing to God. Do not exalt yourself, but be of lowly mind. Do not forsake the commandments of the Lord. Love your neighbor more than your own soul. Do not slay the child by procuring an abortion, nor destroy it after it is born. Receive your trials as good things. Do not hesitate to give without complaint. Confess your sins. This is the way of light.

But the way of darkness is crooked and cursed, for it is the way of eternal death with punishment. In this way are the things that destroy the soul: idolatry, overconfidence, the arrogance of power, hypocrisy, doubleheartedness,adultry, rape, haughtiness, transgressions, deceit, malice, avarice, and absence of any fear of God. Also in this way are those who persecute the good, those who hate truth, those who do not attend to the widow and the orphan, those who do not pity the needy, those who murder children, those who oppress the afflicted and are in every respect transgressors.

Put this way, the choice is pretty clear -- choose life or choose death!  Maybe we should require all children and those adults coming into the church to memorize the Epistle of Barnabas! 

 

He shall be Peace! (Micah 5)

 If you want to get warm, you must stand by the fire; if you want to be wet, you must get into the water.  If you want joy, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them.  They are not the sort of prizes which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone.  They are a great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality.   (C. S. Lewis: Mere Christianity)

"He shall save His people from their sins" is the usual formulation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the word "sin" does not convey much to our minds.  We fail to associate that word with the primeval darkness and chaos --- the world before the creative word of God: Light! Be!

In the Hebrew scriptures, the initial darkness was called tohu vavohu,  "wild and waste," "the chasm," or "void,"  chaos.  That is a better description of where sin leaves us --- in darkness, in confusion, in separation from goodness and peace and joy.  But God sent His eternal Light into the darkness and gradually pushed back the chaos.  

In his great hymn of praise at the birth of John the Baptist, Zachariah says, Because of the loving-kindness of our God, wherewith the Orient from on high has visited us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1).

Zachariah's words are a better description of "sin."  They convey what sin actually does when we separate ourselves from the "the great fountain of energy and beauty spurting up at the very center of reality," in the words of C.S. Lewis.  Sin causes us to 'sit in darkness and the shadow of death," a death and darkness which gradually envelopes not only the one who sins, but all those around him.  We do not perceive that our world is gradually growing more dim and more chaotic until we find ourselves unable to escape from the prison we ourselves have created.  

Jeus, save me! When we see the Light of the World approaching, we recognize the chaos into which we have fallen, and we call to the One Who has overcome death.  "He shall be Peace" says Micah the prophet.  He will save us from the primordial darkness, fear, and chaos:  Those who were sitting in darkness have seen a great light!  Merry Christmas!

My Apologies!

 Today I discovered for the first time, all the comments people have made on these blogs over the years.  For some reason, I have never before seen them.  

I don't usually go back to a previous blog before writing a new one, so it has not occured to me to look at previous blogs for comments.  And now I have discovered some of the most beautiful, thoughtful, and insightful comments --- to which I have never replied.

My sincere regrets and apologies to those who took the time to reply.  In the future, I will check for comments!

What Are We Waiting For?

When I was a child, I could not understand Advent. If Christ had already come into the world, why were we pretending to yearn for His coming again?   Even as an adult, it took years for me to see what Advent was all about:  We are waiting for the birth of Christ, our Savior, in our own hearts.

We are waiting for His light to overcome our personal darkness; we are waiting for that joy which never goes away; we are waiting for the peace that the world cannot give us.  Jesus said to the woman at the well, "If you knew who was speaking with you, you would ask, and He would give the spring of water that wells up to eternal life."  I have written previously about Is. 12:  With joy, you will draw water from the well of salvation.

That's what we are waiting for -- the water that means we will never thirst again, the water that satisfies our deepest thirst, the water poured out in us by the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.  The power of Jesus' Resurrection means that we are born again, no longer from Adam's race, but from the Spirit of God.  And the Gift of God to us is joy, peace, light, and love.  This is what we are waiting to be born in us.

Jesus tells us to ask the Father for the Gift of the Spirit (see Matt. 7 and Luke 11).  And St. Paul give us a clue about how to receive the Gift:  Have no anxiety at all, but in everything give thanks, making your requests known to God.  Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil.4).

One time I was experiencing a great deal of anxiety about something in my life.  As I got out of the car on my way to teach class, I said, "O God, what am I going to do?"  Immediately the answer came to me:  THANK ME!    Still very downhearted, I said, "Okay.  I praise you for....."   And again, the Spirit of God spoke in my heart, "No.  THANK ME!"   Suddenly I understood that we praise someone for who they are or what they are:  "You are so kind;  You look lovely today.  You are so smart...clever....beautiful, etc."   

But we thank someone for very specific gifts or kindness given to us:  "Thank you for the fruitcake; thank you for stopping to fix my flat tire;  thank you for visiting me."  

In my sudden understanding, I began to search around for very specific things for which I could thank God, and as I looked up, I saw a gorgeous blue sky with white clouds that brought a smile to my face.  "Thank you for this beautiful day!" I said.  And then as I walked across campus, I found more and more things for which I could thank God.  By the time I got to class, I was a much more joyful person than the one who had gotten out of my car a few moments previously.

Thank You, Jesus, for the Gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, Who teaches us these things and Who brings us out of darkness into Your Marvelous Light!

The Work of Our Hands

 In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

We tend to think that God is too busy or too concerned with important things, like world affairs, to pay much attention to our little affairs, our daily work, or pressing concerns.  But actually, God has entered into a marriage covenant with us, meaning that He has taken up all the concerns of our lives.  If it's important to us, it's important to God.

Teresa of Avila, the great mystic, once wrote: Christ has no body now but mine.  He prays in me, works in me, looks through my eyes, speaks through my words, works through my hands, walks with my feet, and loves with me here.

If Teresa is right, and I think she is, then what we do on a daily basis is of great importance to God, for it is through us that He will redeem a fallen world.  The implications might seem that we should all be "out there" doing something important, like missionary work, for example.  However, the "other" Teresa -- Therese of Liseux---gave us the example of what she called "The Little Way:" doing small things with great love.

"Redeeming the world" means cleaning up the mess that all of us tend to leave in our wake: Mothers taking care of babies; wives and husbands supporting one another in daily struggles; teachers dealing with over-active and distracted/distracting students; priests hearing confessions; doctors healing broken bodies and wounded hearts; social workers bringing order into chaotic homes; janitors polishing up what dirty shoes and thoughtless souls leave behind.

Even cleaning up the kitchen 'saves the world" from chaos, if we think about it.  And those of us not engaged in saving the world are in the process of destroying it.  So if you tend to think that what you do is not important to God, I have a suggestion: Before your day begins, try laying out your plans before the Lord, in His sight.  I kind of like the prayer of Solomon here:  And now, O Lord, You have made thy servant king instead of David my father. And I am but a child, and know not how to go out and come in....give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart...to discern between good and evil (3 Kings 3).

Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants but friends....I have chosen you to bear fruit that will remain."

I have found that when I begin my day by asking the Lord to direct my work, I seem to be more efficient and accomplish much more than when I try to figure it out by myself.  Somehow, strange as it may seem, God actually seems to care about our daily tasks, as well as the peace of mind with which we do them!

Implications of the Resurrection

 Again, reading and reflecting from Pope Benedict XVI's book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection:

In the last blog, I mentioned three things Jesus did during the 40 days between the Resurrection and the Ascension.  He appeared to them; He spoke with them; He sat at table with them --- and they came to recognize Him through fellowship with His Spirit.

The Greek word used by Luke (synalizomenos) translated in modern editions as "sitting at table with them" is very significant.  Literally translated, it means "eating salt with them."  During the time of the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, salt was such a precious commodity that often Roman soldiers were often paid with salt rations -- the origin of our word "salary."  Salt was a guarantee of durability, a remedy against putrefaction, against the corruption that pertains to the nature of death,  Eating means holding death at bay -- a way of preserving life.  Salt preserved food, especially meat and fish, and to share salt with someone was a sign of friendship.

In the Old Testament, the shared meal of bread and salt, or of salt alone, served to establish lasting covenants (cf. Num.18:19; 2 Chron. 13:5).  The "eating of salt" by Jesus after the Resurrection is a covenant event, a sign of new and everlasting life and friendship with God established by Jesus in the New Covenant of the Last Supper.  What we call Heaven is nothing less than communion with God and with one another through our participation in the Body of Christ.  Jesus had said, "Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another."  Jesus is drawing the disciples into a new covenant-fellowship with him, and with God, and with one another.  Today, that table fellowship with the risen Lord and with one another continues through the Eucharist.

Through the Resurrection, a new dimension of life emerges, a new dimension of human existence.  Jesus, complete with His Body, now belongs totally to the sphere of the divine and eternal.  Christ's transformed body is the place where men enter into communion with God and with one another, creating for all of us a new space of being.

The Resurrection is not simply another historical event such as the birth or the crucifixion of Jesus.  It is something new -- the self-revelation and verbal communication of the risen Christ.  At the Last Supper, Jude asked, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?"  (Why do you reveal yourself only to a small flock of disciples instead of to everyone?)

The implication of the Resurrection is that we now also have friendship with God and communion with one another through Christ.  It is daily, ongoing, and accessible.  God is present to us; we are present to one another.  We have already begun to live eternal life.  This fellowship is available to all, without exception, if they will only receive it.  The world depends on our testimony that God is with us in the Risen Jesus!

An Inner Recognition

 I have been reading and re-reading Pope Benedict XVI's book on Jesus of Nazareth (Part 2: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection).  And I have to say that his observations take my breath away in parts.  In the following pages, I would like to share some of his thoughts, along with my own commentary.

In writing about the appearances of Jesus after His resurrection, Pope Benedict observes a pattern of recognition and non-recognition.  In all of his appearances, the disciples do not recognize Him at first.  He is not simply a man who has come back from death in the same condition as before --- as did, for example, Lazarus.

In His appearance to Mary Magdalen, she has a conversation with him, thinking him to be the gardener.  It is not until He speaks her name that she recognizes Jesus, "Rabbi!"  The recognition is not based on physical appearance, but on an inner reality and relationship --- You are the One I seek!  

At the Lake of Gennesaret, "Just as the day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know it was Jesus."   It is only after He has instructed them to set out again, and they did so, that John suddenly recognized Jesus and said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"  Even after Jesus invites them to eat the fish He has cooked, still none of the disciples dared to ask Him, "Who are you?  They knew it was the Lord" (John 21:12).  

They don't know Him any longer by physical appearance, but rather by the relationship and His action in their lives.   They know from within.  There is a different manner of existence here, after the Resurrection.  God is present in our lives, and we recognize/ don't recognize Him at the same time.  The Holy Spirit manifests His Presence to us, and yet, we dare not ask, "Who are You?" even though we have an inner recognition.  

After the Resurrection, we have a new form of encounter with the Risen Jesus. He now lives anew in the dimension of the living God, who is Present to us in a new way.  He is not a ghost; He comes from the realm of pure life, from God.  He sits at table with with his disciples as before, with thanks and praise and breaking of bread (as in the story of Emmaus).  As as their inner vision is opened, they recognize Him.  And then He vanishes.

During the 40 days following his resurrection, Jesus appears to His disciples; He speaks to them: and He sits at table with them.  Appearing, speaking, sharing meals; these were His ways of proving to them that He was still alive.

Because of the resurrection, Jesus is present to us in a new way.  We no longer recognize Him by appearance, but rather by fellowship with Him, based on an inner recognition.  He is with us; He attends to us; He still speaks to us and shares a meal with us during the Mass.  If we do not recognize Him in our presence, it's probably time to seek more wisdom from the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to  make Jesus recognizable to us in our daily lives.

Don't Just Read It......

 There are certain events, small in themselves, that make such a difference in our lives that they can be said to alter everything afterwards.  One of those "small" events happened to me shortly after I had begun to read the Bible for the first time ever.  I happened to read an article wherein the writer mentioned that she drew a small flower in the margin of her Bible whenever a verse especially moved her, or next to something she wanted to remember.  

At the time, I was reading the Living Bible, a very readable translation, and her idea appealed to me.  I still remember (since 1977) the verse I selected for my very first drawing:  Isaiah 12:3 -- With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.  I just loved that verse; to me it held a promise and a hope.  I knew it was true from that moment!   Imagine my delight as I worked my way through the entire Bible finding correlative statements relating to the images of water and blessing.  Later, when I began to study the Bible (as opposed to simple reading it), I discovered that the Hebrew words for "spring of water" and for "blessing" sounded alike. [berakah/ berekah].

And then....and then....when I got to the encounter of Jesus with the woman at the well (John 4), and read the words, The water I will give you will be a spring of living water.....all the previous references to water and blessing rushed into my understanding as well.

We cannot just "read" the Bible as a textbook; one way or another, it has to become our own book.  It has to become a living and powerful word for us.  My flower images went away quickly, as I realized what my pages would look like with all those drawings in the margins.  However, I did start underlining verses that I wanted to remember --- and eventually, I made marginal notes about people I was praying for and for whom I was applying those promises.  Those dates and notes are now precious to me.

In the past, we talked about family bibles handed down from one generation to the next.  I think a real family bible is one where names are entered and prayers are recorded, so to speak.  "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."  If the Word does not take on our flesh, and if our flesh does not take on the Word of God, all our reading is in vain!

What's Your Story?

 I will bless you....and you will be a blessing!

When God called Abraham from the land of Ur among the Chaldees (modern day Iraq), His words to Abraham were, "I will bless you ... and you will be a blessing" (among all the families of the earth).

God's purposes have not changed.  His one purpose in calling any one of us is the same as it was for Abraham:  I will bless you... and you will be a blessing.....on the earth, to your family, to those who know you, to your people, to your country, to your students, your patients, your co-workers......

And how does He do that?  First, He calls us, like Abraham,  away from "the empty way of life handed down to us by our forefathers" (1 Peter 1:18).  He calls us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).  In other words, no matter how fine a family we have, no matter how wonderful our education and training, we are not by nature fine and wonderful people.  We are still infected and affected by the natural world around us with its pagan culture and attitudes.  We must be born again of water and the Spirit in order to even "see" the kingdom of God. (Jesus' words to Nicodemus, a fine and upstanding man of distinction in Israel.)

Many people believe that the whole purpose of going to church is to make us "good people," and the logic that flows from that belief is that "I can be a good person without going to church" (and by implication, "I am a good person already; I don't need to go to church.")   But let's assume for a moment that Abraham was already a good person when God called him; I'm sure he was.  His goodness had no bearing on the case.  Jesus himself said, "I came to call sinners, not the rightous."

And what does He call us TO?  To friendship with Himself.  "I will bless you!"  "Enter into the joy of your master."  First, as in the life of Jesus on earth, He calls us into table fellowship, friendship, with Himself.  Saint or sinner, He wants to break bread with us, to listen to us, to hear our secrets and to reveal to us His secrets...the secrets of the kingdom of God.  

First, friendship (John 15:15), blessing, peace, His own joy and His own relationship with the Father (read John 14, 15, 16, 17).   So far from "being a good person."  So far......

And because we are His friends, and because we have entered into His own life with the Father and the Holy Spirit, we become like He is.... a blessing to those who know us.  A blessing on the earth.  No longer at strife with our families, with those around us, but a blessing to our earth.  So many "good people" still dread holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas because of the drama surrounding family gatherings and the conflict from old wounds.  One man recently reflected on his "family apostolate."  That is, God had blessed him to minister in his church, but first to minister to his six children and his 13 grandchildren.  He was focused on being a blessing to his family first, and then to others.

If we find God anyplace, we find Him in our own stories.  Where has He been in our lives?  Where have we experienced His call "out of darkness into His marvelous light"?  How has He led us into a land flowing with milk and honey? How has He blessed us....and made us a blessing to others?

The Gift

 For years, I thought of the rosary as a long, boring, repetitive prayer.  I had difficulty concentrating on the mysteries, and I would often forget the words, if you can imagine that.  Part of the problem is that I've always been a little contemplative, and I tend to lose words altogether in times of prayer.  

About a year ago, however, a friend was having a medical problem which concerned me greatly.  Not really knowing how to pray for her at that time, I asked Mary to teach me to pray the rosary.  And I went to Bishop Barron's website where he prays the rosary.  What I began to discover at that time was that when I was praying intensely for someone -- interceding -- I had no trouble at all saying the rosary.  My mind was not wandering at all because I was so focused on the needs of another person.

During the past year, I have discovered all the ways the Rosary "works," if you will.  It indeed serves as a gateway to contemplative prayer if you don't resist it, thinking you still need to be saying the words.  It is a wonderful tool for intercession for the needs of others.  Instead of worrying and fretting, we can pray with Mary for help, bringing those we love to the Presence of God.

This morning, I awoke around 3 am with a wide variety of concerns -- so many that I could not focus on even one at a time.  They all seemed to be rushing at me simultaneously:  the illness of a close friend, financial problems of a family member, concern over one of my children, the responsibilities of a church program, etc.  With all of these pressures vying for my attention, it wasn't even possible to make a list of the things I need to do.

I reached over for my rosary, which I keep in the bed with me, and began to pray.  During the first decade, I thought about my friend's illness.  During the second, I concentrated on my child, and continued with that thought throughout the rest of the rosary.  By the end of the "long, repetitive prayer," a plan began to unfold in my mind about something I could do to help.  I finished the rosary in peace, knowing that I was not helpless in the face of all the uncertainties of my life at present.  I felt a sense of calm and peace-- even of mission.

Finally, I have begun to realize Mary's gift to us in a crazy-making world.  It's not that she needs the repetition of 10 "Hail Marys" to hear our prayer; it's that we need to calm down and focus instead of allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed with panic.  The Oriental religions use chants and breathing for the same purpose.  Mary's gift is not centered on ourselves, but on God's Gift to us in Jesus Christ.  He has not left us orphans, to figure out life for ourselves. He is with us to help us in every circumstance.  We just need to turn to Him -- and sometimes, when we are overwhelmed, it's hard to feel that we have been able to do that.  The Rosary helps us to relax -- even to fall asleep, as many people have discovered.

Isaiah 26: 3 says, "Thou will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is stayed on Thee."

I have discovered the truth of that verse through the Gift of the Rosary!

Drawing Near: A Spirituality of Presence

I was sitting in my office one morning many years ago, attending to the tasks of the day, not really thinking about God at all, when He suddenly invaded my conscious mind:  "Who are your favorite characters in Scripture?" He asked.  I knew it was Him.  He commanded my whole attention.  Without thinking about it at all, I blurted out, "Enoch, Deborah, Abraham."  

Now, here's the thing:  if anyone else had asked that same question, I would have had to dither and deliberate a long time, and even then, I'm not sure I would have been satisfied with my answer.  There's a lot to consider, after all. But somehow that day, the answer seemed to be pre-programed in my mind.  It was as if I knew without knowing that I knew.  

And immediately came the response:  Walk with Me; Sit with Me; Stand with Me.

It knocked my socks off!  It was a holy moment; at my desk on an ordinary day, I wanted to worship the God whose presence filled the room.  Maybe I did; I don't recall.  I knew that I could not have made this up, even had I been thinking about it a long time.

The implications --- for Enoch and Deborah --- were immediately clear to me.  For Abraham, I wasn't so sure.  I had to think about that one.  Scripture says about Enoch: Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God took him away (Genesis 5).  That's all we know about Enoch, but it is enough.

Deborah, on the other hand has a history (Judges 4) but for now, the important passage is this one: Deborah [a prophetess] was leading Israel at this time.  She held court under the Palm of Deborah...and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided.  So Deborah sat under a tree and dispensed wisdom.  I tend to draw close to Deborah because from childhood, my favorite place has been either in or under a tree.  I grew up surrounded by trees and still today, gravitate to their shade and wisdom.

Now, I was familiar with Abraham, but wasn't sure at that moment how the phrase "Stand with Me" would apply to that story.  That night, I started re-reading the story of Abraham (Gen. 12-25).  When I got to Chapter 18, the words  Abraham remained standing before the Lord (v. 22) seemed to leap off the page.  This phrase introduces Abraham's plea before God to spare Sodom if ten good men could be found there.

Walk with Me; Sit with Me; Stand with Me.  In one instant, The Lord Himself had drawn near to me and given me a spirituality of Presence -- of drawing near to Him.

God's Delight

 My plants give me so much pleasure -- just by being themselves.  I don't ask the nadina to produce the deep rich blue of the black-and-blue salvia, and yet I can sit and gaze at the combination of both side by side in the garden.  All they ask of me is that I situate them in the right place and provide enough water for their needs.

This morning I spent about 20 minutes setting up the sprinkler to make sure that the water reached the right plants.  And then I came inside to start my daily meditation.  Imagine my delight when I read Psalm 65:

You visit the earth, give it water; you fill it with riches.

God's ever-flowing river brims over to prepare the grain. 

And thus it  is you who prepare it: you drench its furrows;

You level it, soften it with showers; you bless its growth.

You crown the year with your bounty, and abundance flows in your pathways.

The pastures of the desert overflow, and the hills are girded with joy,

The meadows are clothed with flocks, and the valleys are decked with wheat.

They shout for joy, and even sing!

The Creator has not left us alone -- He still gazes at his handiwork and takes delight in what He has made.  He does not ask that we be different from what we are, or produce what is not part of our nature.  He delights in the differences and the contrasts -- and He still provides what we need to thrive.

The land of Israel from the beginning, as it is today, is dependent on Providence for water.  Water comes down from the mountains in the north, but it flows only through the Jordan River, a small stream that often runs dry.  That is why Jacob, after securing the birthright from his brother, also needed the blessing from his father.  In Hebrew, the words for blessing (berakah) and for pools of water (berekah) are almost identical.  The earth without God's blessing dries up and produces nothing.

And we too -- spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally -- are totally dependent on God's "ever-flowing river."  Psalm 65 says, "abundance flows in your pathways."  God's delight, much like my own and that of every gardener and farmer, is to provide water so that HIs creation shouts for joy, and even sings!  

The Holy Spirit is the water of God's abundance, and it is His joy to provide it to all who seek.  Look at Matt. 7 and Luke 11.  Jesus urges us to ask, seek, and knock for the abundance we want and need.  Like every good gardener, God's delight is that we flourish where He has planted us!

Words of Wisdom

 Reading the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori this morning, I thought that I would like to make a hundred copies and distribute them to everyone I know:

Never forget the sweet presence of God, as do the majority of people.

Talk to God as often as you can, for he never tires of listening to you as do the great ones of this earth.  If you truly love God, you will never lack for things to say to him.  Tell him everything that happens to you; tell him about all your concerns just as you would to the dearest friend.  Don't treat him as if he were a self-impressed prince who only deigns to speak to the great --- about great things. It delights our God to come down to our level and he is thrilled to hear from us about all our concerns, no matter how small they may appear to us. 

 He loves us so much and takes as good care of you as if you were his only care in the world.  God is so devoted to your interests; it as as if Providence existed only to aid you; omnipotence only to help you; the divine mercy and goodness only to sympathize with you, to do you good, to win your confidence by the delicacy of his affection. 

Open your inner world to God with perfect freedom and pray that he guide you to do his holy will perfectly.  Let your every desire and plan be directed only to the discovery good  of God's good pleasure and to give joy to the divine heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; ask him to make all your paths straight and to grant success to all your endeavors and plans.

How Would We Have Known?

 If Jesus had not come in the flesh, if He had not been here to say, "Come, Matthew;" "Come, Zacchaeus;" "Come, Mary (Magdalene)" --- today, I will have dinner at your house--- if we had not seen it with our own eyes, if we had not heard it for ourselves, how would we know that God accepts sinners?  

Not only "accepts" but invites us to sit at His own table, in fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?  Not in stiff formality, but in singing, laughing, dancing -- as at a wedding.  And He is willing to eat at our table, poor as it is.

And those who had obeyed the law from birth, the good ones, the "true Israelites" -- what about them?  They, too, would eventually realize that they were loved even when they became corrupt. 

 Like Peter.

He told us in the Old Testament that our sins would be washed white as snow.  But, still, it was hard to forgive ourselves, much less to assume that we would be forgiven and accepted as sons and daughters of God Himself.  But then came the parable of the Prodigal Son.  And it was revealed that He had been looking out the window the whole time we were gone.  And that when He saw us returning, He left home and came running to meet us before we had a chance to apologize.

How would we have known unless we had seen it for ourselves?  

Discernment of Spirits

 One of the most valuable tools I have picked up along the way is that of spiritual discernment.  St. Ignatius of Loyola taught this practice as one of his spiritual exercises.  When he was incapacitated because of his war wounds, he noticed that when he read the adventure stories he loved, those of war and romance, his spirit was left restless and agitated.  However, when he read the lives of Christ and of the saints, his spirit was rested and peaceful.  So he taught his followers to pay attention to the effect that different activities had on their spirits.

This morning, I had a good lesson in spiritual discernment.  I sat down to pray, but first decided to check my messages and email --- probably not the best practice.  I have not been on Facebook for a very long time, for a good reason.  But my email this morning told me that I was missing a message from a friend I had not seen or heard from in a while.  I clicked on her FB page to catch up with her, and then, of course, found myself checking on other people I know.  (That's the reason I avoid FB altogether -- it's a huge time-waster.)

At first, I did not realize the effect of my FB scrolling on my spirit.  But as I finally picked up my morning prayer page, I felt my spirit returning to the peace and calm that prayer usually brings.  The transition was so notable that it made me reflect on where I had been before prayer entered my soul --- and I felt the agitation and unrest left behind by social media.

In a world where we pay attention to everything except the state of our souls, it is no wonder that there is so much dissension, hostility, "cancel culture," and animosity.  We are not peaceful within, and therefore, we cannot live at peace with other people.

St. Ignatius recommends that each evening, we reflect on the moments of the day when we felt God was present and acting -- those moments of joy, of peace, of being at-one with ourselves and others.  Further, he recommends that we thank God for those moments, allowing them to lead us into fellowship/friendship with God.  We can also reflect on the not-so-good moments of the day and on the things that caused a rupture in our souls.  These things, too, can become sources of prayer -- and of knowing ourselves. 

There is a reason the Greek philosopher said, "Know thyself...."  The gift of discerning how people and events affect us can lead us straight into the arms of God.

Invasion!

 Bishop Robert Barron has said that God is like a helicopter pilot, hovering over our lives, looking for a place to land.  

Father John Riccardo has described God's action in our lives as an "Invasion," comparable to the landing on the Normandy beaches during WWII.  

We often think of man searching for God, but the truth is that God has been searching for us from the beginning.  As in the Book of Exodus, He has seen our captivity; He has heard our cries, and He has sent Someone to rescue us.

When Brittany Griner was taken into captivity by Russia last year -- by her own fault, she admits -- the USA did not rest until our country had re-claimed its own citizen.  Unfortunately, the Pharoah of Russia has been resistant and too strong against USA pressure to release other American prisoners.  When Brittany Griner, who at one time used her fame to protest against America, thinks of "home" now, she thinks of freedom, peace, joy, and rest --- and she speaks of the USA with tears of gratitude.

All of us have been held captive to and by Satan and the "kingdom of this world."  We have all served a god other than the Creator of heaven and earth, with the result that we have lost a sense of the "home" for which we were made -- a place of peace, a place of joy, freedom, and rest.  

The night before He died, Jesus said, "My peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives it; do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid" (Jn. 14).   "In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart; I have overcome the world" (Jn 16).

The invasion at Normandy meant that hundreds of soldiers would lay down their lives to free France, England, and other European countries from the dominion of an evil oppressor.  God's invasion of our lives means that Jesus would also lay down His life --- and then take up an entirely new life, free from the oppression of Satan.  And that is the life He offers to us -- freedom, "Home," peace, joy, friendship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

When I think of all those still held captive by the systems of this world, those held in slavery to traffickers, oppressors, greed, war, slavery, alcohol, drugs, oppression, depression......I cannot help but cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus! deliver us from evil and give us the life of grace, peace, and joy that only You can give!"

Peter's Denial

 "And he went out and wept bitterly" (Matt. 26).  

I am haunted by my latest sin. It calls to mind all my other betrayals.  And now I know what Peter's denial has to do with me and with the rest of mankind!

All over Europe, wherever I go, there are the destitute.  As I stroll through cities as a casual tourist, I almost stumble over their bodies, and I hear their cries.  One man with Parkinson's disease lay on the street trembling violently, and I passed him by -- as I did with so many others.  

I carry very little cash with me when I travel, as I have learned to use my card for almost everything.  As I travel with my family, whenever any of us have a few coins, we leave them for tips after eating.  So as much as I would want to drop coins into cups, I rarely have any on me when I meet a beggar. At one point in my latest trip, I thought to myself that, were I traveling alone, I would deliberately carry a bag full of coins and distribute them freely.

Once or twice, it happened that I did have a few coins and dropped them into a beggar's cup.  And one time, while the whole family was gathered for lunch at an outdoor table, I sent my brother-in-law after a beggar with some cash.  But the general family agreement was not to respond to those who ask, simply because there are so many of them. 

But there is one denial I cannot forget.  It was a rainy morning and a little chilly.  The whole family was standing outside our hotel waiting for a taxi.  It happened that for a change, I did have a few coins in my pocket when a beggar approached, asking for help.  He gestured to the coffee shop across the street, meaning that he would love a cup of coffee and breakfast. As every member of my family refused him, I thought to myself that, were I alone, I would give him all the coins I had.  But since everyone else said no, I did the same.

And I have been haunted ever since.  I know now Peter's shame in denying Christ.  All the other times I refused to give, I honestly had nothing to give.  This time, it would have been so easy to give.  I had three coins in my pocket amounting to about three Euros, plus change.  I refused him out of human respect.  I did not want my family to think I was a soft touch.  I followed the crowd.  What a stupid reason to refuse a hungry beggar!  I am haunted by Jesus' words in Matthew 25: Whatever you did to the least of my brethren, you did to me.

And he went out and wept bitterly!

More on Faith

 I said yesterday that God wants us to try Him and see ---- Scripture tells us that anyone who comes to God must (1) believe that He exists and (2) that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

In previous days, God spoke to our forefathers -- and they believed what God had spoken:  Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

They told their descendants what God had spoken to them.  Hearing the stories of their ancestors, people dared to believe in the existence of the God of which they had heard, and they dared to believe that He rewards those who seek Him.

God still speaks to us today -- through men and women of faith and experience, but also through the Scriptures, the story of how God has acted in human history.  Even greater, God sent His very Word in flesh for us through His beloved Son, that we might actually hear God speaking to us as He did in the past.

I once asked my neighbor this question:  I know WHAT you believe, but WHY do you believe it?  I had been thinking about how we come to a living faith in God, a faith that is real and personal.  She said that she had never had a conversion experience, as some people have had, but that she had been taught about God all her life.  When she started reading the Scriptures for herself, the Holy Spirit seemed to bring them to life for her -- to make them real.  It is the office or job of the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the Living, spoken Word of God to us-- to make Jesus Christ real for us.

In the beginning, when God began creating the heavens and the earth, the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the waters of chaos.  And God spoke: Light! Be!  Here we have the Speaker, the Word, and the Breath of  God bringing forth a new creation.  

Scripture is not only about what God has done; it is always and ever about what God is DOING.  All of His acts are living and eternal.  He is still speaking His eternal Word; the Word is still active; and the Spirit is still hovering over our chaos.  

It has been said faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes through Jesus Christ, the Word of the Father.  If we want to believe God, we must first know what He has spoken, either through the Scriptures or through a relationship with the Word of God, Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit makes that happen in our lives.  Even now, He is hovering, just waiting to bring about a new creation for us and in us!

Finding Faith

 Faith is not about assent to doctrine.  Faith is turning your life over to God's direction, trusting that His way is better than yours.  

"Come," said God to Abraham, "I will show you a land you could not reach on your own."

Some bad things happened along the way:  Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of all of them, God delivers him.....and no one that trusts in Him shall be desolate (Psalm 34).  Abraham learned faith as God was with him to deliver him out of situations he could not control on his own.

Faith is like a good marriage -- being yoked to Someone who has your back in all circumstances.  Jesus did not promise that life would be without trouble, but He did promise that He would be with us in all circumstances.

When I was younger, I used to wonder how people "got" faith.  I think I had more faith in myself than I did in God at the time.  Looking back now, I think that faith comes simply by trying it out --- taking the first step on the journey, no matter how small.   And watching what happens next.  I think God wants us to try Him on for size, so to speak.  No relationship can grow unless we are willing to try it out.

I remember once when I wanted to go to a conference in Steubenville, but lacked the money I needed.  As I prayed about it, I seemed to hear a direction from the Holy Spirit:  Put one dollar in the panty, and watch me multiply it.  Okay, now this was something I could not do on my own -- find money for the conference and the trip to Steubenville.  I put a dollar in the pantry and laughed every time I opened the door.  I knew then why I had to put it in the pantry.  Several times a day I was reminded that God was in control and that if that dollar was multiplied, it had to be His action, not mine.  

Within a couple of weeks, we received an unexpected refund from the electric company -- the price of a plane ticket plus the cost of the conference, with 10 dollars left over.  I laughed about the extra 10 --- until I arrived in Ohio and discovered that the cost of a taxi to the campus was 10 dollars!

One reason I had wanted to attend this conference was that my prayer partner was planning to go.  We had the opportunity to request to room together on campus, but after I realized that God was directing my trip, I decided to leave the choice to Him as to my roommate.  As it turned out, the conference planners had expected around 1000 participants, and at the last moment, 3000 people registered.  They had to scramble to find housing for 2000 extra people, so they placed cots in dining halls, recreation rooms, etc. ---- any place they could find.  When I arrived on campus and registered, I received my "room" assignment.  I was to be housed in one of the campus dining halls, where cots were laid out end to end.  Imagine my surprise when I found my cot ---right next to the one assigned to my prayer partner.  We had registered weeks apart for the conference, since I was waiting for God to provide the money well after she had sent in her fee.

That night, as I spend time in the adoration chapel, I felt an inner voice telling me that God had planned for us to be prayer partners from the beginning, and that I could take this arrangement as proof of His direction for my life.

Needless to say, the next time I seemed to receive direction from the Holy Spirit, I did not hesitate to try out the direction and see what happened.  And I have to say, that is how my faith grew little by little.

The Temple

 Destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days....(John 2:19)

And the apostle adds a comment:  By this He meant the temple of his body....

For the Jews, the temple was the center of life -- spiritual, yes, but also political, moral, social, educational.   When Jesus proclaimed, "The kingdom of God is among you," the Jews would have heard four things:  (1)  The 12 tribes would be gathered and re-united; (2) all nations would come to the temple of the Lord and "beat their swords into plowshares" ;  (3) the Temple would be cleansed, and (4) God would at last defeat His enemies.

By this He meant the temple of his body.....  In Jesus Christ, the Temple is restored and remade.  But there is more....St. Paul tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6).  The Complete Jewish Bible puts it this way: Don't you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh who lives inside you, whom you received from God?

The Ruach HaKodesh in Hebrew is the expression of God's breath (Ruach- spirit, breath, wind), the Spirit of holiness, of restoration, of renewal.  In the beginning, the Ruach -- the Spirit, the breath, the wind of God hovered over the chaos and spoke: LIGHT: BE!  And order, light, harmony began to re-fashion the abyss.  

With the Resurrection of Jesus, that Ruach  -- the breath of God -- returned to the earth, hovering over the chaos -- and began to restore harmony, order, and light.  The Temple of the Living God was established in the Person of His Son, and now all nations would stream to Him, beating their weapons into plowshares.  And we too, who are His temples because we have in us His Ruach HaKodesh -- His Spirit, His Breath -- are the sources of His Re-fashioning of the earth.  

Genesis tells us that we are made in His Image and Likeness because He breathed His Breath/Spirit/ Ruach into us.  And St. Paul in Galatians 5 tells us what that image and likeness consists of: The fruits of the Spirit are these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, long-suffering, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  These are the marks of the Spirit/ Breath of God/ Ruach dwelling in His temple.

Our world today is characterized by chaos.  But the Spirit of Jesus is in us to re-make that world, to cleanse it and restore it to the Temple of the Lord.  The Lord once allowed me to see myself (and others, also, of course) as a temple.  The outer courtyard was the courtyard of the Gentiles, who were welcome to enter there to pray to the God/Yahweh of the Jews.  The inner courtyard was for the Jews, the believers in the true God -- the place of acceptable sacrifice and true teaching.  The Holy of Holies was the dwelling place of God.

As we create space for all who enter our lives -- the courtyard of the Gentiles -- we draw them into the Presence of God through the Spirit who dwells in us and through the fruits of His Presence: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, long-suffering, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  When we worship together with those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them, we enter the courtyard of the Jews -- the believers in the One God.  And in the Body of Christ, we enter into the Presence of God -- the Holy of Holies..

From there, the nations will be united and beat their weapons into plowshares, God's enemies will be defeated,  and the earth will once again become a Temple where people will gather in peace and God will dwell among His people.

God's Agenda

 I guess most of us get up each day with some sort of agenda.  Lately, I have been starting a list early in the morning, since I can't seem to remember my priorities as the day unfolds and I grow increasingly tired.  

But slowly I seem to be learning that God also has an agenda for me each day, and the only way I can discern His agenda is to listen as well as to speak in my morning prayer time. And more and more, I am learning to listen peacefully to God's agenda early in the morning.  

One of my favorite prayers is the following;  Holy Spirit, think your thoughts in me until your thoughts become my thoughts.  I am trying to "lean into" the Holy Spirit to direct my daily activities.    Scripture tells us that Jesus rose early in the morning and went off by himself to pray.  In the Gospel of John, He says, "I do nothing on my own, but what I see the Father doing, I also do."  To see what God is doing, it seems that we must really cease for a period from our own agendas and "doing."

Even at the age of 12, Jesus knew He had to be about His Father's work. 

I think God never intended for us to stumble the best we can through life, and then to turn to Him only when our resources are depleted.  God tells Abraham in Genesis 17, "Walk before me and be perfect."  That phrase ("be perfect") puzzled me for years until I read that "perfect" can also mean "complete."  

Aha!  We are not finished products in our own right!  God breathed His Spirit/breath into Adam and Adam became a living being.  It is God's breath/Spirit in us that completes us; without that, we are continually gasping for breath in our lives, so to speak.  And God knows we feel it on a daily basis!

I find that when I quietly listen for God's agenda in my daily life, things seem so much easier and smoother.  Even menu-planning, my weekly and daily nemesis, seems to unfold without my usual hassle. It's not just about preaching the Gospel or serving the poor; God has a plan for the simplest activities of our daily lives.  Proverbs 4 says it best:

the path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter til the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; 
they do not know what makes them stumble.

[It's pretty clear from the Gospels that the words "righteous" and "wicked" do not refer to saints and sinners but rather to those who walk with Jesus and those who choose to walk away from HIm!]  So even we sinners can Walk before me and be perfect! if we are willing to listen.

A Conversation About the Creed

 We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, 
of all that is visible and invisible....

Last night, during a meeting of RCIA, a class for those entering into the Catholic church, we had a video on the opening phrase of the Nicene Creed, formulated in 325 AD.  Catholics pray the Nicene Creed at Mass.  During the following discussion, one of the participants said, "We all believe the same thing; why keep shoving it down our throats again and again?"

I came home after the meeting and reflected long into the night:  is it really important to talk about the Nicene Creed, and if so, why is it important?

Immediately, two conversations came to mind.  The first was from a long-time friend, who said to me one day: "  I don't believe Jesus was divine; I think He just came from generations of a good family, and He was put to death because what He said made people mad."  This friend was raised in a Catholic family and attended Catholic grade school and high school.  So much for all of us believing the same thing!

The second conversation occurred in Jerusalem, in the Garden of Olives, looking across the valley at the Golden Gate and the Temple Mount.  The slope on that side of the valley is crowded with graves of both Jews and Christians who believe that when the Messiah comes (or returns), He will enter Jerusalem through the Golden Gate, and the dead will come out of their tombs to greet Him.  I mentioned that I would like to see the day when all those graves open and the dead arise.  The person to whom I was speaking, a lifelong Catholic, casually remarked, "Oh, I don't believe anything is going to happen to our bodies."  I was shocked into silence, as I thought of all the years this person has been attending Mass and saying the Nicene Creed at every Mass she attended:  I believe in the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting.

If it is indeed true that "we all believe the same thing" (and I am no longer sure that it is), then it is true only in our Western culture.  I recently returned from a trip to Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.  In that part of the world, in every city, the main attractions are the royal palaces, the Buddhist temples, and the Hindu temples --- all of which are filled with representatives of what they call "demons" and "gods."  In Buddhism, there is no mention of God, and Buddha himself is not considered a god, but only "enlightened," having risen to an extraordinary level of purification from the pollution of the world.

The "demons" in the Royal Palace of Bangkok are "mostly good, but maybe a little bad," according to the guide with a smile.  "Sort of the like the Greek gods?" I asked.  "Yes," she said, "they are protective spirits that guard the palace, and you don't want to anger them."  In one of the Vietnamese Hindu  temples, we climbed many, many steps (getting closer to heaven) to observe first of a kind of ziggurat (to get even closer to heaven) and then multiple mini-temples, or small shrines, each of which was dedicated to and housed a different diety.  According to one of our guides, Hinduism has 333 million dieties, so only the important ones have their own shrines.  In each shrine, Buddhist or Hindu, the visitor is required to remove both hat and shoes before entering.

When visiting a Catholic church in Vietnam, we were also required to remove our shoes and hats --- and then it struck me, "O no!  This is just one shrine among many.  To them, this is another temple, and one must show respect to whichever god inhabits the temple."  I finally realized the challenge of St. Francis Xavier and the other missionaries to tried to Christianize the Far East!

And I finally understood why the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church must have a creed, beginning with "I believe in One God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth....."  To say those words in the countries I have visited could be very dangerous indeed!

Is Abraham a Template?

 Today I have more of a question than an answer.  In reflecting on the journey of Abraham, I asked myself if we could take Abraham's experience as a template of God's relationship with mankind.  In other words, does God reveal Himself in each person's life at some point, with an invitation to come out of our present situation to "a land which I will show you"?

I have read that faith is always based on an experience of love.  That is, we trust God and follow Him because we have first experienced in some way His absolute love and providence for us.  When we read the story of Abraham, we see not only the call of God to come out of paganism, but the providence of God in delivering Sarah from the harem of Egypt.  Later, we see the power of God on Abraham's behalf as Abraham sets out to deliver his kinsman Lot from the kings of surrounding cities.

In the New Testament Gospel of John, we see the first disciples encounter Jesus as He "sees" them for who they really are -- in their first encounter with them, He sees into their souls.  When He first meets Peter, He says, "You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas (Rock)."  When Jesus first meets Nathanael, He says, "Here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false."  "How do you know me?" asks Nathanael.  When Jesus replies that He saw Nathanael before Philip called him, Nathanael immediately recognizes who Jesus is:  "You are the Son of God; You are the king of Israel!"

Thomas Merton says that faith is the knowledge of God that is inseparable from an experience of love (The New Man, p. 71).  Abraham knew Who God Is because of God's love and providence for him.  Peter, Nathanael, Matthew, Mary Magdalene, and the other disciples encountered the personal love of God for them in the Person of Jesus.

So my question is this:  Does each person encounter in some way the revelation of God's love in his or her life?  Karl Rahner, the greatest theologian of the 20th century, asserts that we have encountered God in our lives, whether we recognize it or not.  "O yes," Rahner says, "you have encountered Him."  At this point, I need to re-read Karl Rahner for the 21st Century to recall the background and context for his statement, but I am intrigued with the question:  Is Abraham a template?  Does God reveal Himself to each person in some way?  

The Best Christmas Ever

 It's January 1, almost 4 a.m., and I'm sitting in the dark beside the Christmas tree with its deep red ornaments and scarlet ribbon.  Across the room is my creche set, highlighted with soft green lights and scented with handmade candles sent by my daughter.  It looks and smells like Christmas in this room.  Outside the window, the outdoor lights are still visible, the last ones in my neighborhood.  I had planned to leave them lit until January 6, when I take down the crib set, but I may cave in to social pressure before then.  

I had been traveling for a few weeks after Thanksgiving this year, so I missed most of the Christmas hype in stores and in the media this year.  No "Jingle Bells," no advertisements, no last-minute sales.....  Instead, I was traveling through Thailand and Vietnam, seeing all the Buddhist and Indian shrines, watching people come to worship the Buddha or their ancestors, or the 333 million gods of Hinduism.  And I could not help recalling the magnificent prologue to John's Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God....and the Word was God....In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it....The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world....He was in the world and though the world was made by Him, the world did not recognize Him.  Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God.....No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, has made Him known.

I returned home two weeks before Christmas, and since the family had all agreed this year to not exchange presents, all I had to do was to put up the Christmas tree and the crib. I had put up the outdoor lights before I left, but did not activate them until my return.  Our holiday get-together was scheduled for the week after Christmas, so the burden of cooking and house cleaning was postponed until then.  I had ordered a meditation book called Welcoming the Christ Child with Padre Pio before I left, so the two weeks before Christmas was a time of relaxation and reflection for me.

By the time Christmas morning arrived, I was welcoming and rejoicing in the Gift of the Light of the World. I knew the Light had come; I was ready to celebrate it!  That night, the opening statement of the news anchor was, "Goodbye Christmas. Hello, Mardi Gras!"  Wait, What?  I thought we were going to celebrate the birth of Christ here.....the Light of the World!  Kawaanza lasts for a week ---- What about Christmas?  It's Over!  No celebration ---- it's over.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has never understood it.  The light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness instead.

I realized then how out-of-step it is to live the liturgical year.  Our church will be ablaze with Christmas trees, poinsettias, and lights until Jan. 6 --- the celebration of the Light revealed to the nations (Feast of Epiphany --- the three kings).  And I too will keep my lights and candles lit until then, putting them away reluctantly until next year.  

Sometimes I wonder how God feels about sending His Son into the world, and watching the lights go off the next day:  Christmas is over. Next!