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.