Last Friday I drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to St. Lambert Parish where I gave two talks on Family Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On Friday night I told what I like to call "The True Love Story." It's the story of the love of God revealed in the Sacred and Pierced Heart of His Son. We often think of devotion to the Sacred Heart as something that we do, but the reality is that it begins with God. It begins in the Heart of God, the Communion of Persons that is the Most Holy Trinity. God in His very nature is Love, a loving Communion. The mysterious nature of love is to share. Though God was complete in this Trinitarian love, God wanted to love beyond Himself. Sacred Heart devotion really begins with God's devoted love for His human creatures whom He created for union with Himself. Sacred Heart devotion is really God's devotion and our response to it.
When humanity rejected God's marriage proposal and decided to seek a future outside of God's loving plan, God did not give up on us. The Son of God came to overcome the sin that broke the relationship for which we were created. From His Heart pierced on the cross gushed forth the water and the blood that overcame sin and united us to God. Through the sacramental life flowing from His side--water representing Baptism and blood representing the Eucharist--we are joined to the Body of Christ, to God.
Jesus ascended to heaven but has continued to appear from time to time to reveal His love in special ways. He gave all and He has appeared periodically to remind humanity of that fact and to invite our response. The natural desire when one knows he or she is loved is to want to return love for love. Jesus loved completely, not partially, and when we really appreciate that fact it is natural to want to love completely in return.
This is the meaning of consecration, about which I talked on Saturday morning. Through Baptism we are already consecrated to God, anointed with sacred chrism and set apart as sacred and holy persons, members of Christ's own Body. Individual or family consecration to the Sacred Heart is, in a way, a renewal of that initial consecration.
Where did the practice of family consecration come from? A letter of St. Margaret Mary, to whom Jesus appeared and revealed His Heart all on fire with love for humanity, has these words:
"No one who has a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart will ever lose his soul. Since all blessings come from our Lord, they will be lavished especially on those places where an image of the Sacred Heart is displayed to win him love and honour. In this way, he will mend broken homes, help and safeguard families in time of need."
Contained in those words are two of what are known as the Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Almost 200 years after St. Margaret Mary an Ohio businessman named Philip Kemper went through her letters and pulled out twelve promises which he had printed on cards and distributed. They became very popular. Promise 2 for those who are devoted to the Heart of Jesus states: "I will give peace in their families." Promise 9 states: "I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated." From these two Promises came the inspiration to consecrate one's family to the Sacred Heart and to "enthrone" an image of the Sacred Heart in a central place in the home.
Family consecration really took off through the efforts of one man, Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SSCC, the son of a Peruvian mother and a British father. He was born in 1875, ordained in 1898, and helped found the Catholic University in Valparaiso, Chile in 1905. A year later an earthquake destroyed the university and Fr. Mateo's health broke under the strain of the loss of his hard work. He went to Europe to recuperate and made a promise at Paray-le-Moniel: if his health returned he would devote the rest of his life to promoting the consecration of families to the Sacred Heart. His request was answered almost immediately and he fulfilled his promise, working for family consecration until his death in 1960.
As he began this work, though, he wanted to make sure that he had the Church's approval. He asked Pope Pius X, who was later canonized, if he could promote family consecration. The pope is quoted as saying to him: "No, no, my son. I do not permit you, I command you, do you understand? I order you to give your life for this work of salvation. It is a wonderful work; consecrate your entire life to it."
Family consecration is not magic. The ceremony of enthroning Jesus as the Head and Heart, the King and Center of one's family is not enough. Just as a marriage is more than the wedding ceremony, so family consecration is more than the enthronement ceremony. It must be lived. How?
First, it is important to prepare for the actual ceremony. The family should discuss the meaning of its consecration and be in agreement. They might go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation before the ceremony as a way of making this new beginning. They could meet, discuss, and decide upon a particular image of the Sacred Heart and the location for its placement.
Then, with the enthronement, the family declares its intention to live with Jesus as its King. He is no longer simply a guest in the house but the Lord of the household. Is there anything unworthy of Him in the house? Is there anything that is incompatible with His reign?
This consecration should be renewed from time to time, perhaps on special feast days like the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and the Feast of Christ the King, or on the First Friday of each month. Each member of the family, before leaving the house and upon returning, can acknowledge the Kingship of Jesus by pausing in front of the picture or statue and offering a prayer. The "Our Father" is a perfect prayer for it is the prayer Jesus taught and in it we ask Jesus to reign: "Thy Kingdom come!" The Morning Offering can be prayed together in front of the image. When arguments break out between spouses, among the children, between parents and children, the family members should go in front of the image and pray. After prayer, under the image, the difficulties can be discussed in a way that seeks a solution in light of that Heart which is "meek and humble."
Pope Benedict XV wrote to Fr. Mateo in 1915 and also encouraged him:
"You do well, then, dear son, while taking up the cause of human society, to arouse and propagate above all things a Christian spirit in the home by setting up in each family the reign of the love of Jesus Christ. And in doing this you are but obeying our Divine Lord Jesus who promised to shower His blessings upon the homes wherein an image of His Heart should be exposed and devoutly honored."
Showing posts with label Talks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Talks. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Our Interconnectedness
Lent is off to a busy start. On Ash Wednesday I gave a talk to the Mother's Guild at my Alma Mater, Marquette University High School, and this past weekend I began a mission at St. Dominic's Church in nearby Brookfield, Wisconsin. On Sunday I also squeezed into the afternoon two talks on the subject of "Reparation" at the annual Lenten Afternoon of Recollection for the local chapter of Catholics United for the Faith. One good thing about giving talks like these is that it gives me material to share on this blog.
On the First Sunday of Lent we always have the story of Jesus' temptations in the desert. This year the first reading that accompanied that Gospel was the story of the first temptation in Genesis 3. The second reading from Romans 5 was the perfect accompaniment to both these readings. But there is something in all this that I used to protest against when I was young. Why did I have to suffer for the sin of Adam and Eve? Why did I have to suffer the consequences or effects of their sin? Why is there Original Sin? I could see why we call that first sin of our ancestral parents the "Original Sin," but why did I have to inherit it? St. Paul wrote that "by the transgression of the one, the many died," and that "by the transgression of the one, death came to reign through that one." It just didn't seem fair that "through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners."
I've come to see that lurking behind this question is sin--the sin of individualism. The fact of the matter is that there is no individual sin. What I do affects everyone else. It's false to justify sin by saying, "Well, I'm only hurting myself."
How is it that my sin affects others? First, humanity, according to Genesis, was made in the image and likeness of God. God is a Trinity of Persons, a Communion of Love and therefore Love Itself. We are not individuals isolated from one another but persons created for communion. To say that what I do only affects or hurts me is to deny who I am and who I am called to be.
Another way of looking at this is to think of the solidarity of the human family. God is the Creator and Father of this family. We are related to one another as children of the One Father. What one person does in this family affects the life of the family, for good or for ill.
Finally, as Christians we have been baptized into the Body of Christ. We are now not isolated individuals but interconnected parts. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12, describing the Body of Christ that we are: "If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy" (verse 26). We know from experience how one cell in the physical body can harm and destroy the entire body. A cancer cell is one that has gone wild, that no longer serves the good of the body but grows and spreads. All it takes is one cell. In terms of the spiritual body that we are, this is even more the case. We are each cells in the Body of Christ and when one cell insists on its "will" rather than the good of the whole, rather than the will of the Head, the Body becomes sick.
So, while it doesn't seem fair that the one sin of our ancestral parents should be passed on to every generation, it's the reality of how things work in the interconnectedness of the human family made in the image and likeness of God, the Blessed Trinity.
But this is less than half the story, for the interconnectedness works the other way as well. Good cells affect the health of the entire Body. Jesus, as the Head of the Body, who came to repair the damage of the Original Sin, has done something that affects every human. In the Second Reading from Sunday's Mass, St. Paul writes: "But the gift is not like the transgression. For it by the transgression of the one, the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many. And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned."
Lent is a time for each of us, individual cells in the Body of Christ, to grow in our union with our Head, Jesus. It's a time to make sure that the flow of Life from the Vine to the branches (see John 15) is clear and strong.
On the First Sunday of Lent we always have the story of Jesus' temptations in the desert. This year the first reading that accompanied that Gospel was the story of the first temptation in Genesis 3. The second reading from Romans 5 was the perfect accompaniment to both these readings. But there is something in all this that I used to protest against when I was young. Why did I have to suffer for the sin of Adam and Eve? Why did I have to suffer the consequences or effects of their sin? Why is there Original Sin? I could see why we call that first sin of our ancestral parents the "Original Sin," but why did I have to inherit it? St. Paul wrote that "by the transgression of the one, the many died," and that "by the transgression of the one, death came to reign through that one." It just didn't seem fair that "through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners."
I've come to see that lurking behind this question is sin--the sin of individualism. The fact of the matter is that there is no individual sin. What I do affects everyone else. It's false to justify sin by saying, "Well, I'm only hurting myself."
How is it that my sin affects others? First, humanity, according to Genesis, was made in the image and likeness of God. God is a Trinity of Persons, a Communion of Love and therefore Love Itself. We are not individuals isolated from one another but persons created for communion. To say that what I do only affects or hurts me is to deny who I am and who I am called to be.
Another way of looking at this is to think of the solidarity of the human family. God is the Creator and Father of this family. We are related to one another as children of the One Father. What one person does in this family affects the life of the family, for good or for ill.
Finally, as Christians we have been baptized into the Body of Christ. We are now not isolated individuals but interconnected parts. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12, describing the Body of Christ that we are: "If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy" (verse 26). We know from experience how one cell in the physical body can harm and destroy the entire body. A cancer cell is one that has gone wild, that no longer serves the good of the body but grows and spreads. All it takes is one cell. In terms of the spiritual body that we are, this is even more the case. We are each cells in the Body of Christ and when one cell insists on its "will" rather than the good of the whole, rather than the will of the Head, the Body becomes sick.
So, while it doesn't seem fair that the one sin of our ancestral parents should be passed on to every generation, it's the reality of how things work in the interconnectedness of the human family made in the image and likeness of God, the Blessed Trinity.
But this is less than half the story, for the interconnectedness works the other way as well. Good cells affect the health of the entire Body. Jesus, as the Head of the Body, who came to repair the damage of the Original Sin, has done something that affects every human. In the Second Reading from Sunday's Mass, St. Paul writes: "But the gift is not like the transgression. For it by the transgression of the one, the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many. And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned."
Lent is a time for each of us, individual cells in the Body of Christ, to grow in our union with our Head, Jesus. It's a time to make sure that the flow of Life from the Vine to the branches (see John 15) is clear and strong.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Pasta and Prayer
Gratitude. That's what's most on my mind this morning. I am very grateful.
It was a full weekend. I gave a retreat based on the "Spiritual Exercises" to 69 men at the Jesuit Retreat House ("Demontreville") in Lake Elmo, MN, a suburb of St. Paul. The retreat went very well. I had good individual conferences with many of the men and a good number of them enrolled in the Apostleship of Prayer at the end of the retreat.
Yesterday, Monday, was also a full day. Much of the afternoon was spent in final plans and preparations for our first-ever event which we called "Pasta and Prayer." The Cathedral of St. Paul kindly hosted us. I celebrated the parish's 5:15 Mass, concelebrating with Fr. Johnson, the pastor, and his associate, Fr. Myer, and Fr. Phil Hurley, the Apostleship of Prayer Director of Youth and Young Adults. At 6:00 we began a simple but delicious meal of rigatoni, sausage and peppers, salad, and brownies. At 6:45 we began the "Prayer" part of our program in which I gave a talk called "The Power of Praying for Others" and Fr. Hurley gave a talk called "Making Prayer Real in Daily Life." By means of these talks we were able to speak to many of our friends about the power we have praying together in the Apostleship of Prayer and we were able to make many new friends.
I'm particularly grateful because of the turn-out. We needed a minimum of 40 for the catered food and a week ago we had only about 30 signed up. We decided to go forward and plan on lots of left-overs, and we prayed. In the end we had 95 people show up. Happily we were able to get word to the caterer and there was plenty of food. The food for the soul was also well-received. And I learned another lesson in letting go and trusting.
Yesterday morning I also had the opportunity to meet for a half hour with Mother Rose of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Prioress of the Carmelite Monastery on property located next to the Jesuit Retreat House. I had not seen Mother Rose in a few years. The 12 Carmelite nuns at this particular Carmel are my prayer "back-up." I send them my schedule and they support me and the ministry of the Apostleship of Prayer with their prayers. I'm convinced that the success of this first "Pasta and Prayer" and the other blessings that the Apostleship of Prayer has received in the past few years are in no small measure due to the prayers of these good Carmelite Sisters and many other people.
Truly there is a power in prayer, especially when we pray together. And that is definitely something that leads to a lot of gratitude.
It was a full weekend. I gave a retreat based on the "Spiritual Exercises" to 69 men at the Jesuit Retreat House ("Demontreville") in Lake Elmo, MN, a suburb of St. Paul. The retreat went very well. I had good individual conferences with many of the men and a good number of them enrolled in the Apostleship of Prayer at the end of the retreat.
Yesterday, Monday, was also a full day. Much of the afternoon was spent in final plans and preparations for our first-ever event which we called "Pasta and Prayer." The Cathedral of St. Paul kindly hosted us. I celebrated the parish's 5:15 Mass, concelebrating with Fr. Johnson, the pastor, and his associate, Fr. Myer, and Fr. Phil Hurley, the Apostleship of Prayer Director of Youth and Young Adults. At 6:00 we began a simple but delicious meal of rigatoni, sausage and peppers, salad, and brownies. At 6:45 we began the "Prayer" part of our program in which I gave a talk called "The Power of Praying for Others" and Fr. Hurley gave a talk called "Making Prayer Real in Daily Life." By means of these talks we were able to speak to many of our friends about the power we have praying together in the Apostleship of Prayer and we were able to make many new friends.
I'm particularly grateful because of the turn-out. We needed a minimum of 40 for the catered food and a week ago we had only about 30 signed up. We decided to go forward and plan on lots of left-overs, and we prayed. In the end we had 95 people show up. Happily we were able to get word to the caterer and there was plenty of food. The food for the soul was also well-received. And I learned another lesson in letting go and trusting.
Yesterday morning I also had the opportunity to meet for a half hour with Mother Rose of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Prioress of the Carmelite Monastery on property located next to the Jesuit Retreat House. I had not seen Mother Rose in a few years. The 12 Carmelite nuns at this particular Carmel are my prayer "back-up." I send them my schedule and they support me and the ministry of the Apostleship of Prayer with their prayers. I'm convinced that the success of this first "Pasta and Prayer" and the other blessings that the Apostleship of Prayer has received in the past few years are in no small measure due to the prayers of these good Carmelite Sisters and many other people.
Truly there is a power in prayer, especially when we pray together. And that is definitely something that leads to a lot of gratitude.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving
On Monday I spoke at the annual Thanksgiving Breakfast sponsored by the West Allis Community Improvement Foundation. It's an event that raises money for food pantries in the area and the theme is "Thanks and Giving." Here is the gist of what I said.
Think back on the first words that a child learns. Usually it's "Ma-Ma" or "Ma," "Da" or "Da-Da." They are words that show the recognition of a loving care-giver, protector, and provider. Jesus taught us to recognize God in the same way, calling upon God as "our Father" or "Abba."
What are the next words that a child learns? Most kids, thinking only of themselves, grab for things. Parents ask them, "What do you say?" And they respond, "Please." Jesus also taught us to ask for what we need as God's humble and trusting children. God knows what we need, but we ask because in asking we show our love and our trust. We say "Please" to God.
And the next important word that a child learns? It often happens that after the child receives that for which he or she politely asked, the parents again ask, "What do you say?" And the child responds, "Thank you."
Thus we come together today to say "Thank You" to God our Father.
While the legend of the beginning of Thanksgiving Day takes us back to the 1600's and the Pilgrims of Massachusetts, the first officially proclaimed Thanksgiving Day was in 1777, in the middle of our nation's War of Independence. General George Washington and the Colonial Army had won the Battle of Saratoga and the Continental Congress proclaimed a day on which to give thanks. Here is part of that proclamation:
"FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, ... It is therefore recommended to the, legislative and executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts...."
Later, in 1889, President George Washington proclaimed another Thanksgiving Day with these words:
"Now therefore do I recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us."
However, it wasn't until 1863, in the middle of perhaps the greatest crisis the United States has faced--its Civil War of state against state, citizen against citizen--that President Abraham Lincoln declared a Thanksgiving Day that has been celebrated annually ever since. It's amazing to think that in the midst of such difficult times, Lincoln would focus on gratitude. He wrote in part:
"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God."
Then, after acknowledging as well the "civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity," Lincoln continued to enumerate the many blessings the nation had received, including the fact that other nations had not used the Civil War as an excuse to exploit our weakness and attack us. He went on:
"No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.... It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
After proclaiming this Day of Thanksgiving, Lincoln went on to acknowledge the sins of the nation that led to the Civil War, to ask that his fellow citizens look after those in need, and to pray for peace:
"And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union."
After learning "Please" and "Thank you," a child must often learn another word. The child's tendency, having received something, is to hold on to it and say "Mine!" Parents step in at this point to say "Now share some with your brothers and sisters."
Jesus taught the same. He taught that our one, Heavenly Father's sun shines on the just and the unjust and His rain showers upon all His children. We come together not only to give thanks but to give, to share of the bounty we have. This is the community spirit that makes a great city.
Our world tends toward a selfish and greedy individualism, insisting "Mine!" Jesus shows us that true happiness is found in giving. Ultimately all that we have and all that we are--all our talents that have enabled us to achieve and acquire anything--is a gift. Without having first received the gift of life from God through our parents, we would be nothing, we would have nothing. Thus, recognizing that all is a gift, we share all, we return all to God.
General George Washington and the Continental Congress in 1777 said this as well. After declaring the first Thanksgiving Day they said:
"That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor...."
"Consecrate." The word means to dedicate or to set aside for a holy purpose. This is what the Apostleship of Prayer recommends that people do every day by making an offering of their day to God. After acknowledging that every day with all its minutes and hours is a gift from God, we say "Thank You" and share the gift by consecrating or offering our day to God. We share our day with God and the people God places in our lives each day. This is the meaning of St. Paul's words in his Letter to the Romans, Chapter 12, verse 1: "Offer your bodies, [your selves], as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God your spiritual worship."
This is what our nation was founded upon. This is what we need to keep alive. This is what you are doing. Thank you!
Think back on the first words that a child learns. Usually it's "Ma-Ma" or "Ma," "Da" or "Da-Da." They are words that show the recognition of a loving care-giver, protector, and provider. Jesus taught us to recognize God in the same way, calling upon God as "our Father" or "Abba."
What are the next words that a child learns? Most kids, thinking only of themselves, grab for things. Parents ask them, "What do you say?" And they respond, "Please." Jesus also taught us to ask for what we need as God's humble and trusting children. God knows what we need, but we ask because in asking we show our love and our trust. We say "Please" to God.
And the next important word that a child learns? It often happens that after the child receives that for which he or she politely asked, the parents again ask, "What do you say?" And the child responds, "Thank you."
Thus we come together today to say "Thank You" to God our Father.
While the legend of the beginning of Thanksgiving Day takes us back to the 1600's and the Pilgrims of Massachusetts, the first officially proclaimed Thanksgiving Day was in 1777, in the middle of our nation's War of Independence. General George Washington and the Colonial Army had won the Battle of Saratoga and the Continental Congress proclaimed a day on which to give thanks. Here is part of that proclamation:
"FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, ... It is therefore recommended to the, legislative and executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts...."
Later, in 1889, President George Washington proclaimed another Thanksgiving Day with these words:
"Now therefore do I recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us."
However, it wasn't until 1863, in the middle of perhaps the greatest crisis the United States has faced--its Civil War of state against state, citizen against citizen--that President Abraham Lincoln declared a Thanksgiving Day that has been celebrated annually ever since. It's amazing to think that in the midst of such difficult times, Lincoln would focus on gratitude. He wrote in part:
"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God."
Then, after acknowledging as well the "civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity," Lincoln continued to enumerate the many blessings the nation had received, including the fact that other nations had not used the Civil War as an excuse to exploit our weakness and attack us. He went on:
"No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.... It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
After proclaiming this Day of Thanksgiving, Lincoln went on to acknowledge the sins of the nation that led to the Civil War, to ask that his fellow citizens look after those in need, and to pray for peace:
"And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union."
After learning "Please" and "Thank you," a child must often learn another word. The child's tendency, having received something, is to hold on to it and say "Mine!" Parents step in at this point to say "Now share some with your brothers and sisters."
Jesus taught the same. He taught that our one, Heavenly Father's sun shines on the just and the unjust and His rain showers upon all His children. We come together not only to give thanks but to give, to share of the bounty we have. This is the community spirit that makes a great city.
Our world tends toward a selfish and greedy individualism, insisting "Mine!" Jesus shows us that true happiness is found in giving. Ultimately all that we have and all that we are--all our talents that have enabled us to achieve and acquire anything--is a gift. Without having first received the gift of life from God through our parents, we would be nothing, we would have nothing. Thus, recognizing that all is a gift, we share all, we return all to God.
General George Washington and the Continental Congress in 1777 said this as well. After declaring the first Thanksgiving Day they said:
"That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor...."
"Consecrate." The word means to dedicate or to set aside for a holy purpose. This is what the Apostleship of Prayer recommends that people do every day by making an offering of their day to God. After acknowledging that every day with all its minutes and hours is a gift from God, we say "Thank You" and share the gift by consecrating or offering our day to God. We share our day with God and the people God places in our lives each day. This is the meaning of St. Paul's words in his Letter to the Romans, Chapter 12, verse 1: "Offer your bodies, [your selves], as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God your spiritual worship."
This is what our nation was founded upon. This is what we need to keep alive. This is what you are doing. Thank you!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The Examen
I'm going to try to piece this post together from my faulty memory. I like to tell people that I have a steel-trap mind, shaped like a sieve. Last Sunday I gave a talk at St. Catherine Laboure Parish in Glenview, IL, a suburb of Chicago. The talk was part of a monthly series on the topic of discernment, and my talk was on finding God in the details of the day. Unfortunately, I misplaced my folder with notes and materials for my talk, and friends are now joining me in prayers to St. Anthony to find it for me.
From 1984 to 1988 I was the vocation director for the Jesuits of the Wisconsin Province, a seven state area in the upper Midwest. You could call it the "W Province" because it stretches from Wisconsin in the east to Wyoming in the west. As vocation director I helped people discern their vocations. In some cases that led to men applying to and being accepted into the Jesuits. In other cases, just as much "success stories," I helped young men discern that God was calling them to other vocations, including marriage. In fact, a couple years ago at a parish in Minnesota, I met a woman who told her two daughters that I was responsible for their birth! I had helped her husband discern that God was calling him to marriage and in following that call he was given a wonderful wife and beautiful daughters. One of the things I highly recommended to people discerning their vocations was the practice of the Daily Examen or what we at the Apostleship of Prayer like to call the Evening Review.
The idea is this: we don't discern in a vacuum. In order to make a major decision, in order to discern God's will in regard to a vocation, it's important to develop the habit of looking for signs of God's presence and activity every day. This helps us to have a discerning heart, one that is tuned into God's wavelength and better able to see the directions that God is giving us every day.
But before we can do this, it's important to become more familiar with how God operates. We have a record of that, a record of God's activity in the lives of individuals and nations. It's the Bible. Thus, to develop a discerning heart it's important to spend a little time every day prayerfully reading the Bible. In this way we will become familiar with the ways that God works. By trying to enter into the mind and heart of Jesus in the Gospels--what He was thinking and feeling, how He acted--we can receive direction for our own thoughts, feelings, and actions.
When we look at Jesus in the Gospels, especially in the Gospel of Luke, which will be the focus for the Sunday Gospels in the coming year, we see that Jesus often spent time alone at night in prayer. I think that part of that prayer involved looking back on His day and seeing how God the Father was present, walking with Him and speaking to Him. Just look at the parables that Jesus told. They were drawn from every day events. He drew lessons from watching a farmer sowing seed in the field and seeing it fall on different types of soil. He saw the Kingdom of God in a woman baking bread and using a little yeast to make a large amount of dough rise. He saw the Provident care of His Heavenly Father in the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. He heard the news of the day--a tower falling on some laborers and killing them--and used this experience to teach. Yes, Jesus certainly must have gone over the events and people of His day, finding in them the presence and love and direction of His Father and ours.
From this basis, then, we can commit ourselves to reading the Bible of our lives. God didn't stop speaking to us when the last page of Scripture was written and the books of the Bible were officially approved. The God who spoke throughout history, whose activities and words are recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, and who spoke definitively through His Word made flesh, His only-begotten Son, continues to speak to us through the events and people of our lives. Sometimes the word He speaks is an affirming word. Sometimes it's challenging. Either way, we won't hear it unless we take some time each day to listen, to look back on the events of the day in order to discern what God was trying to tell us through them.
So the first thing to do, in the words of a commercial, is to "just do it!" Schedule time every day for a review of the day. St. Ignatius Loyola felt this was so important to the members of the order he founded, the Jesuits, that he told them that apart from the Eucharist and the required prayers of the ordained, this is the one devotion or prayer that they ought never omit. Through the daily examen they would be able to seek and find God in all things.
There is no magic in when the examen is to be done. I find that in the evening I am often too tired or too distracted to do it and so I make it part of my morning prayer. With a cup of coffee at my side I look back on the previous day and I write. I find writing helps me to focus. Others may find taking a walk after supper and reflecting on the day helps them to not not only exercise the body but also the spirit. At the Apostleship of Prayer we have an Evening Review CD that people pop into their car on their way home from work and this leads them through a prayerful review of their day.
Is this the Examination of Conscience? I've heard that the word that we translate as "conscience" has various meanings in other languages. Strictly speaking, an examination of conscience focuses on our weakness and sins, what we've done wrong, what we are sorry for. We make such an examination when we prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But this examination or examen is broader and so it has been called the "Awareness Examen" or the "Examen of Consciousness." Fr. George Aschenbrenner, S.J., in a 1972 article, popularized this approach. A condensed version of that article can be found on a web site that's sponsored by Loyola Press.
There is also no magic in how the examen is to be done. Different individuals and groups offer different approaches or steps. The following is one five step method:
1. Spend a moment slowing down and being aware that you are in God's presence. St. Paul, quoting a Greek poet, said that in God we live and move and have our being. God is always present to us, but we are not always present to God. We are often distracted and so we begin our brief period of prayer pausing to reflect on God's presence.
2. Spend a brief period of time in thanksgiving. What are you thankful for at this very moment? This prayer of gratitude puts you in a positive frame of mind that allows you to be more open to God's presence in your day. It "primes the pump" for your review.
3. Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to see yourself as God sees you. Most people tend to see the glass as half empty rather than half full. If I tell someone nine very positive things about him or herself and one negative or critical thing, that person will tend to go away thinking only about the one negative thing. You need the Holy Spirit to have perspective, to see yourself with honesty and also with love, unlike the one whom Scripture calls "the Accuser" who loves to disturb you by leading you to focus only on what is negative.
4. Review your day. Imagine you are watching a video of your day, seated on a couch with Jesus. Some parts you may fast-forward through, but other parts you will pause at in order to savor or reflect upon: what was God telling you through that event or person? How did you feel? What do those feelings tell you? Was God affirming you or challenging you through that moment of your day? You may want to fast-forward through some parts but Jesus may want you to pause so that with the help of the Holy Spirit at that moment He can teach and guide you. This part is the core of the examen.
5. Have a heart-to-Heart talk with Jesus. What comes to your mind as you finish your review? How do you feel and what do you want to say to Jesus? Are you sorry for anything? Are you grateful? Are there any signs in your day that point in a specific direction for the major decision you are making? You might write those down and keep an ongoing record of them to share with a spiritual or vocation director. Finish your prayer with a resolution or act of faith, hope, or love, committing yourself to following the Lord as best you can in the next day that God is giving you.
At the Apostleship of Prayer we encourage people to not only make an offering of their day with a Morning Offering, but, when the day is over, to review the offering that one has made. Doing this will help you to be more sensitive to God's presence and direction in your daily life. It will make you more aware of the many opportunities to renew your offering during the day and to seek God's will in the events of your life.
From 1984 to 1988 I was the vocation director for the Jesuits of the Wisconsin Province, a seven state area in the upper Midwest. You could call it the "W Province" because it stretches from Wisconsin in the east to Wyoming in the west. As vocation director I helped people discern their vocations. In some cases that led to men applying to and being accepted into the Jesuits. In other cases, just as much "success stories," I helped young men discern that God was calling them to other vocations, including marriage. In fact, a couple years ago at a parish in Minnesota, I met a woman who told her two daughters that I was responsible for their birth! I had helped her husband discern that God was calling him to marriage and in following that call he was given a wonderful wife and beautiful daughters. One of the things I highly recommended to people discerning their vocations was the practice of the Daily Examen or what we at the Apostleship of Prayer like to call the Evening Review.
The idea is this: we don't discern in a vacuum. In order to make a major decision, in order to discern God's will in regard to a vocation, it's important to develop the habit of looking for signs of God's presence and activity every day. This helps us to have a discerning heart, one that is tuned into God's wavelength and better able to see the directions that God is giving us every day.
But before we can do this, it's important to become more familiar with how God operates. We have a record of that, a record of God's activity in the lives of individuals and nations. It's the Bible. Thus, to develop a discerning heart it's important to spend a little time every day prayerfully reading the Bible. In this way we will become familiar with the ways that God works. By trying to enter into the mind and heart of Jesus in the Gospels--what He was thinking and feeling, how He acted--we can receive direction for our own thoughts, feelings, and actions.
When we look at Jesus in the Gospels, especially in the Gospel of Luke, which will be the focus for the Sunday Gospels in the coming year, we see that Jesus often spent time alone at night in prayer. I think that part of that prayer involved looking back on His day and seeing how God the Father was present, walking with Him and speaking to Him. Just look at the parables that Jesus told. They were drawn from every day events. He drew lessons from watching a farmer sowing seed in the field and seeing it fall on different types of soil. He saw the Kingdom of God in a woman baking bread and using a little yeast to make a large amount of dough rise. He saw the Provident care of His Heavenly Father in the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. He heard the news of the day--a tower falling on some laborers and killing them--and used this experience to teach. Yes, Jesus certainly must have gone over the events and people of His day, finding in them the presence and love and direction of His Father and ours.
From this basis, then, we can commit ourselves to reading the Bible of our lives. God didn't stop speaking to us when the last page of Scripture was written and the books of the Bible were officially approved. The God who spoke throughout history, whose activities and words are recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, and who spoke definitively through His Word made flesh, His only-begotten Son, continues to speak to us through the events and people of our lives. Sometimes the word He speaks is an affirming word. Sometimes it's challenging. Either way, we won't hear it unless we take some time each day to listen, to look back on the events of the day in order to discern what God was trying to tell us through them.
So the first thing to do, in the words of a commercial, is to "just do it!" Schedule time every day for a review of the day. St. Ignatius Loyola felt this was so important to the members of the order he founded, the Jesuits, that he told them that apart from the Eucharist and the required prayers of the ordained, this is the one devotion or prayer that they ought never omit. Through the daily examen they would be able to seek and find God in all things.
There is no magic in when the examen is to be done. I find that in the evening I am often too tired or too distracted to do it and so I make it part of my morning prayer. With a cup of coffee at my side I look back on the previous day and I write. I find writing helps me to focus. Others may find taking a walk after supper and reflecting on the day helps them to not not only exercise the body but also the spirit. At the Apostleship of Prayer we have an Evening Review CD that people pop into their car on their way home from work and this leads them through a prayerful review of their day.
Is this the Examination of Conscience? I've heard that the word that we translate as "conscience" has various meanings in other languages. Strictly speaking, an examination of conscience focuses on our weakness and sins, what we've done wrong, what we are sorry for. We make such an examination when we prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But this examination or examen is broader and so it has been called the "Awareness Examen" or the "Examen of Consciousness." Fr. George Aschenbrenner, S.J., in a 1972 article, popularized this approach. A condensed version of that article can be found on a web site that's sponsored by Loyola Press.
There is also no magic in how the examen is to be done. Different individuals and groups offer different approaches or steps. The following is one five step method:
1. Spend a moment slowing down and being aware that you are in God's presence. St. Paul, quoting a Greek poet, said that in God we live and move and have our being. God is always present to us, but we are not always present to God. We are often distracted and so we begin our brief period of prayer pausing to reflect on God's presence.
2. Spend a brief period of time in thanksgiving. What are you thankful for at this very moment? This prayer of gratitude puts you in a positive frame of mind that allows you to be more open to God's presence in your day. It "primes the pump" for your review.
3. Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to see yourself as God sees you. Most people tend to see the glass as half empty rather than half full. If I tell someone nine very positive things about him or herself and one negative or critical thing, that person will tend to go away thinking only about the one negative thing. You need the Holy Spirit to have perspective, to see yourself with honesty and also with love, unlike the one whom Scripture calls "the Accuser" who loves to disturb you by leading you to focus only on what is negative.
4. Review your day. Imagine you are watching a video of your day, seated on a couch with Jesus. Some parts you may fast-forward through, but other parts you will pause at in order to savor or reflect upon: what was God telling you through that event or person? How did you feel? What do those feelings tell you? Was God affirming you or challenging you through that moment of your day? You may want to fast-forward through some parts but Jesus may want you to pause so that with the help of the Holy Spirit at that moment He can teach and guide you. This part is the core of the examen.
5. Have a heart-to-Heart talk with Jesus. What comes to your mind as you finish your review? How do you feel and what do you want to say to Jesus? Are you sorry for anything? Are you grateful? Are there any signs in your day that point in a specific direction for the major decision you are making? You might write those down and keep an ongoing record of them to share with a spiritual or vocation director. Finish your prayer with a resolution or act of faith, hope, or love, committing yourself to following the Lord as best you can in the next day that God is giving you.
At the Apostleship of Prayer we encourage people to not only make an offering of their day with a Morning Offering, but, when the day is over, to review the offering that one has made. Doing this will help you to be more sensitive to God's presence and direction in your daily life. It will make you more aware of the many opportunities to renew your offering during the day and to seek God's will in the events of your life.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Glorious Mysteries
The special Relevant Radio two day retreat continues today and this afternoon I was on the "On Call" show with Wendy Wiese, talking about the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary.
The Rosary was Pope John Paul II's favorite prayer. He said so in his Apostolic Letter, "On the Most Holy Rosary," where he also quoted Pope Paul VI who said: "without contemplation, the Rosary is a soul without a body." Thus, in order for the Rosary to be alive, to breathe life into our prayer lives, we need to reflect on the Mysteries. Such reflection can involve reading a Scripture passage for each Mystery, visualizing the scene described, and applying the Mystery to one's life. Looking at the Glorious Mysteries as a whole, Pope John Paul II said that they help people to "rediscover the reasons for their own faith." They are Mysteries of hope and joy.
The First Glorious Mystery is The Resurrection. According to St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15, the Resurrection of Jesus is central to the Christian faith. If we don't believe in the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus then we are the sorriest of people. Our Christian faith is in vain. Though the Gospel scenes of the Jesus' appearances after His Resurrection are very confusing, one thing is very clear: Jesus comes to console and strengthen people. The apostles, except for John, had abandoned Jesus in His hour of need and were cowering behind locked doors. When Jesus appeared, they were afraid. Was He a ghost? Was He there to condemn them? The first words out of Jesus' mouth were, "Peace be with you."
Do you need peace? Do you need hope? Do you need the Lord's consolation as you struggle with loss and grief. Invite Jesus into the tomb of your heart. He has power over death and He can be with you in your grief to give you hope. Because He died and rose, we too will rise. We were not created to be angels, bodiless spirits, but human beings, body and soul. When death separates our bodies and souls, we know that we continue in existence and that one day, as the Creed we recite at Mass on Sunday says, we will experience a resurrection like that of Jesus. As Jesus' body and soul came together and His body was glorified, so will ours.
The Second Glorious Mystery is The Ascension. For this Mystery we turn to the Acts of the Apostles 1: 8-11. After the Resurrection, Jesus returned to the right hand of His Father in heaven. He who is fully divine and fully human, now sits with the Father in glory. Human nature is in glory where God intended it to be from the beginning. Jesus, as St. Paul taught, is the Head and we are members of His Body. The Head is now in heaven. Where the Head has gone the Body will follow.
And so we keep our sights set on our ultimate destination. But this doesn't distract us from the business of life on earth. We are on a journey and like any journey it's important for us to know our destination so that we can follow the best route to get there. Jesus has blazed a trail for us and shown us the way to arrive at our heavenly destination. As we keep our goal in mind, we also watch our steps on earth to make sure that we are on track and headed in the right direction.
The Third Glorious Mystery is The Descent of the Holy Spirit. From Ascension Thursday until Pentecost Sunday was nine days. During that interval Mary and the Apostles gathered in the Upper Room where the Last Supper was held and they prayed for the Holy Spirit to be given to them. This was the first novena or nine days of prayer in history. Though Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit who overshadowed her at the Annunciation, and though the Holy Spirit had been active in the work of creation and the life of Israel--inspiring prophets and anointing kings--Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit in a new and wonderful way. He even said at the Last Supper that it was better for Him to go so that He could send the Holy Spirit from the Father. With Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes not only to guide people through an external influence. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to dwell within people. Now we have not only a destination and a map, but an internal guide to lead us to heaven.
Christians receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism. The presence and power of the Spirit are further confirmed and further enhanced in the Sacrament of Confirmation. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said, and the Spirit dwells within us. God is not far away but very near. As near as our own breath. And just as our breath gives us life, so does the Breath of God, the Holy Spirit, give us spiritual and eternal life.
The Fourth Glorious Mystery is The Assumption of Mary. Though we do not have this event in the Gospels, it is a dogma of the Catholic Church. This Mystery follows upon the preceding three. Jesus has power over life and death. He has risen and ascended and has sent the Holy Spirit to make us Temples. Mary was the purest of Temples because she was preserved from all sin from the very moment of her conception. Her body was a tabernacle in which Jesus was conceived and in which He developed for nine months. Since He has the power, doesn't it make sense that Jesus would preserve His Mother's sinless body from one of the effects of sin, bodily corruption and decay after death?
This Mystery reinforces our hope. Mary's Assumption body and soul into heaven is another example of what God intends for all of us--that we shall be body and soul in heaven one day. This Mystery also challenges us to be sinless in our bodies and to use our bodies to give glory to God as Mary did.
The Fifth Glorious Mystery is The Coronation of Mary. Again, we don't have this in the Gospels, but it makes sense that Christ the King would crown His Mother as Queen when she arrived in heaven. She is the Mother of the King, our Queen Mother. She is Queen of heaven and earth. She reigns with Jesus and so is a powerful intercessor for us. As our Queen Mother we turn to her in need and we also offer ourselves in her service.
It shouldn't be so strange to think of Mary as sharing in Christ's royal dignity. We too, through Baptism, share in His royal dignity. In the anointing with sacred chrism at Baptism, we hear that as Jesus was anointed to be a priest, prophet, and king, so are we. We begin to share in this royal dignity and it will reach its fulfillment in heaven when we will share in the glory of Jesus and His Mother Mary. But again we are challenged. In the Our Father we pray that Jesus will reign over us, asking "Thy Kingdom come." Mary surrendered her life to the service of the Kingdom and now she shares fully in the glory. We too must surrender and let Jesus and Mary reign over us so that one day we will share in their glory.
The Rosary was Pope John Paul II's favorite prayer. He said so in his Apostolic Letter, "On the Most Holy Rosary," where he also quoted Pope Paul VI who said: "without contemplation, the Rosary is a soul without a body." Thus, in order for the Rosary to be alive, to breathe life into our prayer lives, we need to reflect on the Mysteries. Such reflection can involve reading a Scripture passage for each Mystery, visualizing the scene described, and applying the Mystery to one's life. Looking at the Glorious Mysteries as a whole, Pope John Paul II said that they help people to "rediscover the reasons for their own faith." They are Mysteries of hope and joy.
The First Glorious Mystery is The Resurrection. According to St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15, the Resurrection of Jesus is central to the Christian faith. If we don't believe in the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus then we are the sorriest of people. Our Christian faith is in vain. Though the Gospel scenes of the Jesus' appearances after His Resurrection are very confusing, one thing is very clear: Jesus comes to console and strengthen people. The apostles, except for John, had abandoned Jesus in His hour of need and were cowering behind locked doors. When Jesus appeared, they were afraid. Was He a ghost? Was He there to condemn them? The first words out of Jesus' mouth were, "Peace be with you."
Do you need peace? Do you need hope? Do you need the Lord's consolation as you struggle with loss and grief. Invite Jesus into the tomb of your heart. He has power over death and He can be with you in your grief to give you hope. Because He died and rose, we too will rise. We were not created to be angels, bodiless spirits, but human beings, body and soul. When death separates our bodies and souls, we know that we continue in existence and that one day, as the Creed we recite at Mass on Sunday says, we will experience a resurrection like that of Jesus. As Jesus' body and soul came together and His body was glorified, so will ours.
The Second Glorious Mystery is The Ascension. For this Mystery we turn to the Acts of the Apostles 1: 8-11. After the Resurrection, Jesus returned to the right hand of His Father in heaven. He who is fully divine and fully human, now sits with the Father in glory. Human nature is in glory where God intended it to be from the beginning. Jesus, as St. Paul taught, is the Head and we are members of His Body. The Head is now in heaven. Where the Head has gone the Body will follow.
And so we keep our sights set on our ultimate destination. But this doesn't distract us from the business of life on earth. We are on a journey and like any journey it's important for us to know our destination so that we can follow the best route to get there. Jesus has blazed a trail for us and shown us the way to arrive at our heavenly destination. As we keep our goal in mind, we also watch our steps on earth to make sure that we are on track and headed in the right direction.
The Third Glorious Mystery is The Descent of the Holy Spirit. From Ascension Thursday until Pentecost Sunday was nine days. During that interval Mary and the Apostles gathered in the Upper Room where the Last Supper was held and they prayed for the Holy Spirit to be given to them. This was the first novena or nine days of prayer in history. Though Mary is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit who overshadowed her at the Annunciation, and though the Holy Spirit had been active in the work of creation and the life of Israel--inspiring prophets and anointing kings--Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit in a new and wonderful way. He even said at the Last Supper that it was better for Him to go so that He could send the Holy Spirit from the Father. With Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes not only to guide people through an external influence. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to dwell within people. Now we have not only a destination and a map, but an internal guide to lead us to heaven.
Christians receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism. The presence and power of the Spirit are further confirmed and further enhanced in the Sacrament of Confirmation. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said, and the Spirit dwells within us. God is not far away but very near. As near as our own breath. And just as our breath gives us life, so does the Breath of God, the Holy Spirit, give us spiritual and eternal life.
The Fourth Glorious Mystery is The Assumption of Mary. Though we do not have this event in the Gospels, it is a dogma of the Catholic Church. This Mystery follows upon the preceding three. Jesus has power over life and death. He has risen and ascended and has sent the Holy Spirit to make us Temples. Mary was the purest of Temples because she was preserved from all sin from the very moment of her conception. Her body was a tabernacle in which Jesus was conceived and in which He developed for nine months. Since He has the power, doesn't it make sense that Jesus would preserve His Mother's sinless body from one of the effects of sin, bodily corruption and decay after death?
This Mystery reinforces our hope. Mary's Assumption body and soul into heaven is another example of what God intends for all of us--that we shall be body and soul in heaven one day. This Mystery also challenges us to be sinless in our bodies and to use our bodies to give glory to God as Mary did.
The Fifth Glorious Mystery is The Coronation of Mary. Again, we don't have this in the Gospels, but it makes sense that Christ the King would crown His Mother as Queen when she arrived in heaven. She is the Mother of the King, our Queen Mother. She is Queen of heaven and earth. She reigns with Jesus and so is a powerful intercessor for us. As our Queen Mother we turn to her in need and we also offer ourselves in her service.
It shouldn't be so strange to think of Mary as sharing in Christ's royal dignity. We too, through Baptism, share in His royal dignity. In the anointing with sacred chrism at Baptism, we hear that as Jesus was anointed to be a priest, prophet, and king, so are we. We begin to share in this royal dignity and it will reach its fulfillment in heaven when we will share in the glory of Jesus and His Mother Mary. But again we are challenged. In the Our Father we pray that Jesus will reign over us, asking "Thy Kingdom come." Mary surrendered her life to the service of the Kingdom and now she shares fully in the glory. We too must surrender and let Jesus and Mary reign over us so that one day we will share in their glory.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Luminous Mysteries
Relevant Radio is doing a special Marian retreat today and tomorrow. Today I was on "The Morning Air Show" talking about the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.
For centuries people have added mysteries to the Rosary's traditional three sets. The Joyful Mysteries end with Jesus at the age of twelve in the Temple and the Sorrowful Mysteries begin with Jesus' Agony in the Garden after the Last Supper. People have filled in the public life of Jesus with reflections on His Parables or Miracles. In his 2002 Apostolic Letter "On the Most Holy Rosary," Pope John Paul II proposed the addition of the "Mysteries of Light" or the "Luminous Mysteries." Why? In #19 of his Letter, the Holy Father wrote: "This addition of these new mysteries ... is meant to give it [the Rosary] fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary's place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ, ocean of joy and of light, of suffering and of glory."
It is good to consider the meditations that compose the Rosary as "mysteries." They invite us to approach the events of Jesus' life with a humble and open heart, the only way to truly approach a mystery. We don't try to "figure out" the mystery. We try to open ourselves up, in prayer, to what God wants to reveal to us about Himself through the mystery.
The First Luminous Mystery is The Baptism of the Lord. Each of the four Gospels speaks of this event in Jesus' life when He went to the Jordan River and John the Baptist baptized Him. At first John resisted. He was baptizing people as part of a purification ceremony in which people declared their desire to change, to let go of sin. But Jesus is the Sinless One, the completely innocent Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. Why does Jesus submit Himself to this purification rite? He tells John that it is "to fulfill all righteousness." Jesus became human and entered into our sinful world. He took upon Himself the sins of the world. In entering into the darkness of the water, Jesus prefigures what He will do on the Cross. In the words of 2 Corinthians 5: 21, God "made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him."
What happened at Jesus' Baptism happened to each of us at our Baptism. The heavens opened and the Holy Spirit came upon each of us, making us Temples. At Baptism we were filled with Sanctifying Grace; we were made holy as God is holy because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. And the Father declared to us, as He declared to Jesus: "You are my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." At our Baptism the Father claimed us as His own beloved children, sons and daughters, pleasing in His sight.
The Second Luminous Mystery is The Wedding Feast at Cana. This comes to us from John's Gospel, Chapter 2 where we read that Jesus and His Mother and His disciples were all invited to a wedding feast. Some people have the idea that if you are holy, you aren't any fun. Jesus shows us that He, the All-Holy Son of God, enjoys a party. He enjoys good wine. He enjoys the legitimate pleasures of life. No doubt this miracle of turning water into abundant and good wine led to the many invitations to the parties with sinners and tax collectors that are so common in the Gospels.
At first Jesus seems to be reluctant to help. After His Mother Mary tells Him that the wine has run out, Jesus says: "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." In John's Gospel the "hour" of Jesus is the time of His suffering, death, and resurrection. By performing this, the first sign of His divine power, Jesus will begin the journey that will lead to the Cross.
Mary tells the servers: "Do whatever he tells you." This is always Mary's role. She points us to Jesus and tells us to obey Him. This is what the servers do and the miracle occurs. Ordinary water is transformed into extraordinary wine. We can apply this to ourselves as well. It's the spirituality of the Apostleship of Prayer. Every day we offer the moments of our day to God. They are very ordinary moments of prayer and work, joy and sorrow. But when joined to the perfect offering of Jesus on Calvary and in the Mass, they become extraordinary. Like the water turned to wine, our lives are transformed.
The Third Luminous Mystery is The Proclamation of the Kingdom. At the beginning of Mark's Gospel, Chapter 1, verse 15, we read: "Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 'This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'" Jesus comes proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God and calling for repentance so that sins may be forgiven. When he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict XVI said that the message of Fatima is right in line with this message of Jesus.
In the history of Israel there came a time when the people tired of having judges and prophets lead them. They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted to have a king. God said that the people weren't rejecting the judges and prophets but Him. This has been the sad history of humanity: the rejection of God and His lordship. Rather than following the Law which was designed to bring peace and harmony, humans have tended to declare themselves to be kings and lords of their lives. We have rejected God's Law and become laws unto ourselves.
Jesus calls for a conversion from this rebellious attitude. In every "Our Father" that we pray, we accept the kingship of Jesus Christ. We pray that His Kingdom may come, that He may reign over us, that God's will may be done in our lives.
The Fourth Luminous Mystery is The Transfiguration. Three of the Gospels tell how Jesus once took His closest disciples--Peter, James, and John--and went up a mountain where Moses and the Prophet Elijah appeared and Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. The glory of Jesus' divinity shines forth through Him and the Father's voice echoes the words spoken at the Baptism: "This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." This is what Mary told the servers to do at Cana. This is what the Father tells us to do. This is what it means to accept the kingship of Jesus.
This moment of glory was given to the disciples to prepare them for the trial that would come when Jesus would be arrested, spat upon, forced to carry a cross and then nailed to it. But at this moment the disciples don't understand. Peter, it seems, wants to hold on to the glory by building tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.
In our lives we often want to hold on to the moments of glory--the consolations and joys of prayer. God knows us so well and doesn't allow us to become attached to those feelings. He hides them and we enter into darkness and a desert. This is the normal rhythm of the spiritual life: consolation succeeded by desolation succeeded by consolation. In times of desolation, St. Ignatius Loyola taught, God is purifying us and our desires, challenging us: are you seeking the consolations of God or the God of consolations? We are given consolations, little tastes of glory, to strengthen us for the trials that are part of life. They are a little foretaste of our own future glory. They are appetizers of the heavenly banquet.
The Fifth Luminous Mystery is The Institution of the Eucharist. All four Gospels give us an account of the Last Supper that Jesus had with His disciples before going to Gethsemane where He underwent His Agony in the Garden. Pope Benedict has a wonderful reflection on what happened at the Last Supper. It's the Homily he gave at the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne, Germany. The Holy Father says that there, at the Last Supper, the "hour" of Jesus arrives. He anticipates what He is going to do the next day on the Cross on Calvary, when He will transform hatred into love, and death into life. He anticipates this change at the Last Supper. As the Holy Father said: "This first fundamental transformation of violence into love, of death into life, brings other changes in its wake. Bread and wine become his Body and Blood."
It is in the Eucharist that we receive a true taste of heaven. At the Eucharist we are given the very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus who unites Himself to our flesh so that the two may become one. This is what we were made for--union with God. It begins here on earth most particularly in the Holy Eucharist. This is the greatest gift Jesus could have given us--Himself to always be with us and to be one with us.
For centuries people have added mysteries to the Rosary's traditional three sets. The Joyful Mysteries end with Jesus at the age of twelve in the Temple and the Sorrowful Mysteries begin with Jesus' Agony in the Garden after the Last Supper. People have filled in the public life of Jesus with reflections on His Parables or Miracles. In his 2002 Apostolic Letter "On the Most Holy Rosary," Pope John Paul II proposed the addition of the "Mysteries of Light" or the "Luminous Mysteries." Why? In #19 of his Letter, the Holy Father wrote: "This addition of these new mysteries ... is meant to give it [the Rosary] fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary's place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ, ocean of joy and of light, of suffering and of glory."
It is good to consider the meditations that compose the Rosary as "mysteries." They invite us to approach the events of Jesus' life with a humble and open heart, the only way to truly approach a mystery. We don't try to "figure out" the mystery. We try to open ourselves up, in prayer, to what God wants to reveal to us about Himself through the mystery.
The First Luminous Mystery is The Baptism of the Lord. Each of the four Gospels speaks of this event in Jesus' life when He went to the Jordan River and John the Baptist baptized Him. At first John resisted. He was baptizing people as part of a purification ceremony in which people declared their desire to change, to let go of sin. But Jesus is the Sinless One, the completely innocent Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. Why does Jesus submit Himself to this purification rite? He tells John that it is "to fulfill all righteousness." Jesus became human and entered into our sinful world. He took upon Himself the sins of the world. In entering into the darkness of the water, Jesus prefigures what He will do on the Cross. In the words of 2 Corinthians 5: 21, God "made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him."
What happened at Jesus' Baptism happened to each of us at our Baptism. The heavens opened and the Holy Spirit came upon each of us, making us Temples. At Baptism we were filled with Sanctifying Grace; we were made holy as God is holy because of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. And the Father declared to us, as He declared to Jesus: "You are my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." At our Baptism the Father claimed us as His own beloved children, sons and daughters, pleasing in His sight.
The Second Luminous Mystery is The Wedding Feast at Cana. This comes to us from John's Gospel, Chapter 2 where we read that Jesus and His Mother and His disciples were all invited to a wedding feast. Some people have the idea that if you are holy, you aren't any fun. Jesus shows us that He, the All-Holy Son of God, enjoys a party. He enjoys good wine. He enjoys the legitimate pleasures of life. No doubt this miracle of turning water into abundant and good wine led to the many invitations to the parties with sinners and tax collectors that are so common in the Gospels.
At first Jesus seems to be reluctant to help. After His Mother Mary tells Him that the wine has run out, Jesus says: "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come." In John's Gospel the "hour" of Jesus is the time of His suffering, death, and resurrection. By performing this, the first sign of His divine power, Jesus will begin the journey that will lead to the Cross.
Mary tells the servers: "Do whatever he tells you." This is always Mary's role. She points us to Jesus and tells us to obey Him. This is what the servers do and the miracle occurs. Ordinary water is transformed into extraordinary wine. We can apply this to ourselves as well. It's the spirituality of the Apostleship of Prayer. Every day we offer the moments of our day to God. They are very ordinary moments of prayer and work, joy and sorrow. But when joined to the perfect offering of Jesus on Calvary and in the Mass, they become extraordinary. Like the water turned to wine, our lives are transformed.
The Third Luminous Mystery is The Proclamation of the Kingdom. At the beginning of Mark's Gospel, Chapter 1, verse 15, we read: "Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: 'This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.'" Jesus comes proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God and calling for repentance so that sins may be forgiven. When he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict XVI said that the message of Fatima is right in line with this message of Jesus.
In the history of Israel there came a time when the people tired of having judges and prophets lead them. They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted to have a king. God said that the people weren't rejecting the judges and prophets but Him. This has been the sad history of humanity: the rejection of God and His lordship. Rather than following the Law which was designed to bring peace and harmony, humans have tended to declare themselves to be kings and lords of their lives. We have rejected God's Law and become laws unto ourselves.
Jesus calls for a conversion from this rebellious attitude. In every "Our Father" that we pray, we accept the kingship of Jesus Christ. We pray that His Kingdom may come, that He may reign over us, that God's will may be done in our lives.
The Fourth Luminous Mystery is The Transfiguration. Three of the Gospels tell how Jesus once took His closest disciples--Peter, James, and John--and went up a mountain where Moses and the Prophet Elijah appeared and Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. The glory of Jesus' divinity shines forth through Him and the Father's voice echoes the words spoken at the Baptism: "This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." This is what Mary told the servers to do at Cana. This is what the Father tells us to do. This is what it means to accept the kingship of Jesus.
This moment of glory was given to the disciples to prepare them for the trial that would come when Jesus would be arrested, spat upon, forced to carry a cross and then nailed to it. But at this moment the disciples don't understand. Peter, it seems, wants to hold on to the glory by building tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.
In our lives we often want to hold on to the moments of glory--the consolations and joys of prayer. God knows us so well and doesn't allow us to become attached to those feelings. He hides them and we enter into darkness and a desert. This is the normal rhythm of the spiritual life: consolation succeeded by desolation succeeded by consolation. In times of desolation, St. Ignatius Loyola taught, God is purifying us and our desires, challenging us: are you seeking the consolations of God or the God of consolations? We are given consolations, little tastes of glory, to strengthen us for the trials that are part of life. They are a little foretaste of our own future glory. They are appetizers of the heavenly banquet.
The Fifth Luminous Mystery is The Institution of the Eucharist. All four Gospels give us an account of the Last Supper that Jesus had with His disciples before going to Gethsemane where He underwent His Agony in the Garden. Pope Benedict has a wonderful reflection on what happened at the Last Supper. It's the Homily he gave at the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne, Germany. The Holy Father says that there, at the Last Supper, the "hour" of Jesus arrives. He anticipates what He is going to do the next day on the Cross on Calvary, when He will transform hatred into love, and death into life. He anticipates this change at the Last Supper. As the Holy Father said: "This first fundamental transformation of violence into love, of death into life, brings other changes in its wake. Bread and wine become his Body and Blood."
It is in the Eucharist that we receive a true taste of heaven. At the Eucharist we are given the very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus who unites Himself to our flesh so that the two may become one. This is what we were made for--union with God. It begins here on earth most particularly in the Holy Eucharist. This is the greatest gift Jesus could have given us--Himself to always be with us and to be one with us.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Prayer and Social Justice
Yesterday I gave a talk at Marquette University's Faber Center for Ignatian Spirituality. It was entitled "Working for Social Justice: The Unity of Prayer and Action" and here is what I said:
A few years ago I participated in a conference in Denver that brought together Jesuits and their co-workers who labor in the field of social ministries. A number were surprised that I was there. What was the director of the Apostleship of Prayer doing at a conference on social justice? Isn't the Apostleship of Prayer concerned with the Sacred Heart of Jesus? A few of the workshops were about spirituality and prayer, and a theme during the small group sharing was the need for a strong spiritual life for people in social ministries. Without one there is a tendency to burn-out and discouragement.
Isn't that word "discouragement" interesting? It comes from the word "cor" or "heart" and it basically means to lose heart. Clearly a strong prayer life is necessary so that we don't lose heart, but I think it's important to go deeper. I want to talk about three aspects or movements of prayer and with each one we will go deeper.
First, I want to talk about intercessory prayer, a powerful force. Unfortunately, our culture tends to emphasize action over prayer. When problems arise we tend to work harder rather than to pray harder, and then, when our work doesn't accomplish what we hoped for, we pray as a last resort.
There are some other tendencies that go against intercessory prayer and they arise from a lack of faith. I've often heard people say something like this: "What's the point of praying? God knows everything. God knows what we need and God is all-powerful. My prayers don't do anything and are really superfluous given that God knows everything anyway. I'm not informing God of anything He doesn't already know when I pray for others." Another tendency is to think of God as stingy. Like the unjust judge in the Gospel, God answers our prayers only after receiving so many of them that He's tired of hearing from us. He has a certain quota of prayers that He needs to get before He will act. This is not the God in whom we believe and to whom we pray.
God is all-knowing and all-powerful. He loves and respects His creation. He shares His work with us. According to Genesis, God created the world and then invited humanity to be stewards of creation. God invites us to share in His enterprise of caring for the good creation He made. Like a loving parent who really doesn't need the help of the children to bake a cake or plane a piece of wood, God invites us to share in His work because doing so is a sign of love and respect.
Moreover, God did not create human beings to be robots programmed to do the right thing. God created us to be free, like God Himself, and that means we have a choice whether or not to join in God's work. The history of the human race shows that the predominant choice has been to refuse to accept our responsibility to care for creation as God had planned for us.
Because God is Love and respects our freedom, God does not force us. God knows what we need but God wants us to freely choose and ask for what we need. A great example of this is in the Gospel where Jesus heals a blind man named Bartimaeus who has been crying out "Son of David, have pity on me?" What does Jesus do? He first asks: "What do you want me to do for you?" Doesn't it seem like a no-brainer? Here's a blind man crying out for help and Jesus, able to read human hearts, asks him what he wants! Jesus respects him too much to assume what he wants. He wants the man to be in touch with his desires and to ask. In this way Jesus shows him the utmost respect and reverence.
The same is true for us. Through intercessory prayer we first get in touch with our desires. We give thought to the movements and desires of our heart and then we put them into words. In doing this we show our humility and our dependence upon God who, like a loving parent, loves to be asked for help.
Then, when we pray, we become the co-laborers that God created us to be. We become instruments for God's grace to enter the world. It is as though our prayers open up channels for God's grace to enter the world. It's not that God is stingy and waits for so many people to pray before choosing to act. God respects our freedom and invites us to work with Him. The more of us who pray for a particular intention, the more God's grace can enter into the situation for which we are praying.
Prayer is indeed powerful, but it's also a mystery. What about "unanswered prayers?" Some people complain: "I pray and pray and God doesn't hear me." No. God hears and answers every prayer, but sometimes the answer is not what we want. God sees the bigger picture. God respects every person. We may pray for the conversion of another, but God will never take people's freedom away or force them to choose a path they do not choose themselves.
Intercessory prayer calls us to humility and faith. It challenges us to go deeper, which brings us to the next movement or element of prayer: it changes the one praying.
My second point is that prayer challenges us to be consistent. We cannot pray and then act in a way that contradicts our prayers. For example, we can't pray, as we do periodically with the Holy Father's monthly intentions, for humanity to care for the environment, and then make choices that disrespect and abuse creation. Our prayers lead us to examine ourselves. If we pray with honesty and integrity, then our behaviors and actions should match our prayers.
Our prayer will also lead us to learn more about the people and issues for which we are praying. It will lead us to action.
But prayer takes us deeper yet. Prayer transforms us. It's not enough to know; we need the power to act on our knowledge.
Anyone who has read the Bible knows that God wants justice and peace for His people. The Law of Moses addresses the needs of orphans and widows, strangers and aliens. The words of the Prophets address social injustice and inequality. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke of forgiveness and love, even of our enemies. We know these things. But we do not carry them out. We don't have the power to carry them out.
There are two places in the Book of Ezekiel (Chapters 11 and 36) where God, through the Prophet, makes a big promise. God promises to take from us our stony, hard hearts and give us natural, human hearts. Where was this prophecy ever fulfilled? Only in Jesus. Jesus gives us that new heart, His own Sacred Heart.
In his encyclical "Veritatis Splendor," Pope John Paul II relates the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what good he needed to do to attain eternal life. Jesus told him that he knew what he needed to do: follow the commandments. But the rich man says that he has done this and asks what more needed to be done. Jesus told him to follow Him. It's not enough to know what we need to do. For centuries humans have known this. We need the power to act on what we know. Pope John Paul II points out that the ethic of Jesus is an impossible one, humanly impossible, that is. Only with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, only with a new heart, can humans do what is right.
St. Paul also makes this clear in his Letter to the Romans, Chapter 7. Remember: this is Paul after his conversion, after he met Jesus face-to-face on the road to Damascus and experienced a radical change. Even after that profound conversion, Paul wrote about his struggle, saying that the things he wanted to do, he didn't do, and the things he didn't want to do, he did. Who, he asks, will save him from this situation of helplessness? Thanks be to God, he says, he and we have a Savior--Jesus Christ.
Jesus comes to us in Word and Sacrament at the Eucharist to transform us. He give us a new heart, His own Heart, in Holy Communion. He speaks to us through the Word which is proclaimed. It's a Word that is living and effective, as Hebrews Chapter 4 says. Through prayer with the Gospels we can enter more deeply into the mind and heart of Jesus and be transformed.
Let's for a moment access our own interiors. Let's get in touch with some of the movements of our own hearts.
What brings you sorrow? What brings a lump to your throat and tears to your eyes? What situations or people lead you to say, "My heart goes out to them?" If you feel this way sometimes, how much more does Jesus? An actor named Bruce Marchiano once played the role of Jesus in a movie of the Gospel of Matthew. A good actor, as we know, can't approach a scene and think: "Now what would Jesus do here? How would Jesus play this scene?" The actor must become the character he is playing. And so it was for Marchiano. But at the last moment, before the first scene, a crowd scene, was about to be filmed, he was desperate. He still didn't feel that after all his prayer and study he had entered into the mind and heart of Jesus, that he had become the character he was about to play. He still didn't have Jesus' point of view, how everything would have looked through Jesus' eyes. And so he prayed a simple prayer: "Lord, show me what it all looks like through your eyes."
He writes about what happened next in a book entitled "In the Footsteps of Jesus." God answered his prayer and he describes what happened this way: "it was as if the wind got knocked out of me; I couldn't breathe, and my heart just broke. It broke on a level I never knew existed, and I just started shaking, and weeping. For the first time in my life, I understood what the word 'compassion' means when it comes to Jesus Christ. I understand that it isn't just a feeling sorry for people; it's a heartbreak so intense, so deep it's like your gut is getting ripped open. It is a heartbreak that screams in utter agony for the needless, pointless pain of people...."
Jesus felt deep sorrow. Through our prayerful reading of the Gospels, entering into Jesus' thoughts and feelings, we will be better able to see others as Jesus sees them.
A second interior movement: anger. What makes you angry, so angry that you get flushed and begin to shake?
Jesus felt anger like this. All four Gospels relate a scene in the Temple when Jesus became so angry he turned over tables and drove people and animals out of the Temple. He was upset not only because God's house of prayer had been turned into a marketplace, but because of the injustice that was being done there. The money-changers took foreign currency, stamped with the image of the Emperor and "unclean," and changed it for coins that were "clean" and could be used to pay the Temple tax. But, commentators tell us, they were doing so at an unfair exchange rate so that people, who only wanted to worship God, were being cheated in the name of religion. Similarly with the animals for sacrifice that people were trying to buy. They were being charged an exorbitant fee for them and people were getting rich from religion. To this situation, Jesus reacted with anger.
You see, anger is the appropriate response to injustice. There are things in the world that ought to make us angry, and that anger should motivate us to right the wrongs. But we always do this as Jesus did. We don't destroy the evil-doers. We don't treat them as somehow less than human, as objects to be disposed of rather than brothers and sisters of our one Heavenly Father. We may confront them with tough words, as Jesus did, but we never hate them. In the end, we are willing to die for them as Jesus did, wanting their conversion and salvation, and praying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
A third interior movement: joy. What brings you joy? We're not talking about pleasure, but that deep interior happiness or satisfaction that we call joy.
Jesus felt great joy and it often had to do with the conversion of sinners. He experienced deep joy when sinners asked for mercy and He could forgive them. He felt joy when he saw humans treating one another as God wanted them to act. In our lives, we want to share this joy of Jesus. We want, in our prayer and our actions, to be instruments of God's reconciling love in the world so that we may give to Jesus once again the greatest joy He had when He walked this earth. We are His Body and he told His apostles after He rose from the dead: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
But to be sent by Jesus to continue His work of calling people to conversion and reconciling them, we need to be transformed ourselves. We need to go deeper in our spiritual lives. It's not simply a matter of having the resources to avoid burn-out or discouragement. It's not only about being people of integrity whose prayers and actions are consistent. It's not enough to be channels for God's powerful grace to enter the world. We need to be united to Jesus who said that He is the Vine and we are the branches and that apart from Him we can do nothing. We will only be able to treat others justly, with respect and love, if we are united to Him.
Years ago a musical group called "The Police," with their lead singer "Sting," sang a song "Spirits in the Material World." It had the following line: "There is no political solution." It's true. If we don't go deeper, if our hearts aren't transformed, all the political changes in the world won't change a thing because injustice finds its beginning in the human heart.
That's why I want to conclude with a little addition to the saying of Pope Paul VI that has often appeared on posters and bumper stickers. He said: "If you want peace, work for justice." I would add to this: "And if you want justice, pray!"
A few years ago I participated in a conference in Denver that brought together Jesuits and their co-workers who labor in the field of social ministries. A number were surprised that I was there. What was the director of the Apostleship of Prayer doing at a conference on social justice? Isn't the Apostleship of Prayer concerned with the Sacred Heart of Jesus? A few of the workshops were about spirituality and prayer, and a theme during the small group sharing was the need for a strong spiritual life for people in social ministries. Without one there is a tendency to burn-out and discouragement.
Isn't that word "discouragement" interesting? It comes from the word "cor" or "heart" and it basically means to lose heart. Clearly a strong prayer life is necessary so that we don't lose heart, but I think it's important to go deeper. I want to talk about three aspects or movements of prayer and with each one we will go deeper.
First, I want to talk about intercessory prayer, a powerful force. Unfortunately, our culture tends to emphasize action over prayer. When problems arise we tend to work harder rather than to pray harder, and then, when our work doesn't accomplish what we hoped for, we pray as a last resort.
There are some other tendencies that go against intercessory prayer and they arise from a lack of faith. I've often heard people say something like this: "What's the point of praying? God knows everything. God knows what we need and God is all-powerful. My prayers don't do anything and are really superfluous given that God knows everything anyway. I'm not informing God of anything He doesn't already know when I pray for others." Another tendency is to think of God as stingy. Like the unjust judge in the Gospel, God answers our prayers only after receiving so many of them that He's tired of hearing from us. He has a certain quota of prayers that He needs to get before He will act. This is not the God in whom we believe and to whom we pray.
God is all-knowing and all-powerful. He loves and respects His creation. He shares His work with us. According to Genesis, God created the world and then invited humanity to be stewards of creation. God invites us to share in His enterprise of caring for the good creation He made. Like a loving parent who really doesn't need the help of the children to bake a cake or plane a piece of wood, God invites us to share in His work because doing so is a sign of love and respect.
Moreover, God did not create human beings to be robots programmed to do the right thing. God created us to be free, like God Himself, and that means we have a choice whether or not to join in God's work. The history of the human race shows that the predominant choice has been to refuse to accept our responsibility to care for creation as God had planned for us.
Because God is Love and respects our freedom, God does not force us. God knows what we need but God wants us to freely choose and ask for what we need. A great example of this is in the Gospel where Jesus heals a blind man named Bartimaeus who has been crying out "Son of David, have pity on me?" What does Jesus do? He first asks: "What do you want me to do for you?" Doesn't it seem like a no-brainer? Here's a blind man crying out for help and Jesus, able to read human hearts, asks him what he wants! Jesus respects him too much to assume what he wants. He wants the man to be in touch with his desires and to ask. In this way Jesus shows him the utmost respect and reverence.
The same is true for us. Through intercessory prayer we first get in touch with our desires. We give thought to the movements and desires of our heart and then we put them into words. In doing this we show our humility and our dependence upon God who, like a loving parent, loves to be asked for help.
Then, when we pray, we become the co-laborers that God created us to be. We become instruments for God's grace to enter the world. It is as though our prayers open up channels for God's grace to enter the world. It's not that God is stingy and waits for so many people to pray before choosing to act. God respects our freedom and invites us to work with Him. The more of us who pray for a particular intention, the more God's grace can enter into the situation for which we are praying.
Prayer is indeed powerful, but it's also a mystery. What about "unanswered prayers?" Some people complain: "I pray and pray and God doesn't hear me." No. God hears and answers every prayer, but sometimes the answer is not what we want. God sees the bigger picture. God respects every person. We may pray for the conversion of another, but God will never take people's freedom away or force them to choose a path they do not choose themselves.
Intercessory prayer calls us to humility and faith. It challenges us to go deeper, which brings us to the next movement or element of prayer: it changes the one praying.
My second point is that prayer challenges us to be consistent. We cannot pray and then act in a way that contradicts our prayers. For example, we can't pray, as we do periodically with the Holy Father's monthly intentions, for humanity to care for the environment, and then make choices that disrespect and abuse creation. Our prayers lead us to examine ourselves. If we pray with honesty and integrity, then our behaviors and actions should match our prayers.
Our prayer will also lead us to learn more about the people and issues for which we are praying. It will lead us to action.
But prayer takes us deeper yet. Prayer transforms us. It's not enough to know; we need the power to act on our knowledge.
Anyone who has read the Bible knows that God wants justice and peace for His people. The Law of Moses addresses the needs of orphans and widows, strangers and aliens. The words of the Prophets address social injustice and inequality. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke of forgiveness and love, even of our enemies. We know these things. But we do not carry them out. We don't have the power to carry them out.
There are two places in the Book of Ezekiel (Chapters 11 and 36) where God, through the Prophet, makes a big promise. God promises to take from us our stony, hard hearts and give us natural, human hearts. Where was this prophecy ever fulfilled? Only in Jesus. Jesus gives us that new heart, His own Sacred Heart.
In his encyclical "Veritatis Splendor," Pope John Paul II relates the story of the rich young man who asked Jesus what good he needed to do to attain eternal life. Jesus told him that he knew what he needed to do: follow the commandments. But the rich man says that he has done this and asks what more needed to be done. Jesus told him to follow Him. It's not enough to know what we need to do. For centuries humans have known this. We need the power to act on what we know. Pope John Paul II points out that the ethic of Jesus is an impossible one, humanly impossible, that is. Only with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, only with a new heart, can humans do what is right.
St. Paul also makes this clear in his Letter to the Romans, Chapter 7. Remember: this is Paul after his conversion, after he met Jesus face-to-face on the road to Damascus and experienced a radical change. Even after that profound conversion, Paul wrote about his struggle, saying that the things he wanted to do, he didn't do, and the things he didn't want to do, he did. Who, he asks, will save him from this situation of helplessness? Thanks be to God, he says, he and we have a Savior--Jesus Christ.
Jesus comes to us in Word and Sacrament at the Eucharist to transform us. He give us a new heart, His own Heart, in Holy Communion. He speaks to us through the Word which is proclaimed. It's a Word that is living and effective, as Hebrews Chapter 4 says. Through prayer with the Gospels we can enter more deeply into the mind and heart of Jesus and be transformed.
Let's for a moment access our own interiors. Let's get in touch with some of the movements of our own hearts.
What brings you sorrow? What brings a lump to your throat and tears to your eyes? What situations or people lead you to say, "My heart goes out to them?" If you feel this way sometimes, how much more does Jesus? An actor named Bruce Marchiano once played the role of Jesus in a movie of the Gospel of Matthew. A good actor, as we know, can't approach a scene and think: "Now what would Jesus do here? How would Jesus play this scene?" The actor must become the character he is playing. And so it was for Marchiano. But at the last moment, before the first scene, a crowd scene, was about to be filmed, he was desperate. He still didn't feel that after all his prayer and study he had entered into the mind and heart of Jesus, that he had become the character he was about to play. He still didn't have Jesus' point of view, how everything would have looked through Jesus' eyes. And so he prayed a simple prayer: "Lord, show me what it all looks like through your eyes."
He writes about what happened next in a book entitled "In the Footsteps of Jesus." God answered his prayer and he describes what happened this way: "it was as if the wind got knocked out of me; I couldn't breathe, and my heart just broke. It broke on a level I never knew existed, and I just started shaking, and weeping. For the first time in my life, I understood what the word 'compassion' means when it comes to Jesus Christ. I understand that it isn't just a feeling sorry for people; it's a heartbreak so intense, so deep it's like your gut is getting ripped open. It is a heartbreak that screams in utter agony for the needless, pointless pain of people...."
Jesus felt deep sorrow. Through our prayerful reading of the Gospels, entering into Jesus' thoughts and feelings, we will be better able to see others as Jesus sees them.
A second interior movement: anger. What makes you angry, so angry that you get flushed and begin to shake?
Jesus felt anger like this. All four Gospels relate a scene in the Temple when Jesus became so angry he turned over tables and drove people and animals out of the Temple. He was upset not only because God's house of prayer had been turned into a marketplace, but because of the injustice that was being done there. The money-changers took foreign currency, stamped with the image of the Emperor and "unclean," and changed it for coins that were "clean" and could be used to pay the Temple tax. But, commentators tell us, they were doing so at an unfair exchange rate so that people, who only wanted to worship God, were being cheated in the name of religion. Similarly with the animals for sacrifice that people were trying to buy. They were being charged an exorbitant fee for them and people were getting rich from religion. To this situation, Jesus reacted with anger.
You see, anger is the appropriate response to injustice. There are things in the world that ought to make us angry, and that anger should motivate us to right the wrongs. But we always do this as Jesus did. We don't destroy the evil-doers. We don't treat them as somehow less than human, as objects to be disposed of rather than brothers and sisters of our one Heavenly Father. We may confront them with tough words, as Jesus did, but we never hate them. In the end, we are willing to die for them as Jesus did, wanting their conversion and salvation, and praying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
A third interior movement: joy. What brings you joy? We're not talking about pleasure, but that deep interior happiness or satisfaction that we call joy.
Jesus felt great joy and it often had to do with the conversion of sinners. He experienced deep joy when sinners asked for mercy and He could forgive them. He felt joy when he saw humans treating one another as God wanted them to act. In our lives, we want to share this joy of Jesus. We want, in our prayer and our actions, to be instruments of God's reconciling love in the world so that we may give to Jesus once again the greatest joy He had when He walked this earth. We are His Body and he told His apostles after He rose from the dead: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
But to be sent by Jesus to continue His work of calling people to conversion and reconciling them, we need to be transformed ourselves. We need to go deeper in our spiritual lives. It's not simply a matter of having the resources to avoid burn-out or discouragement. It's not only about being people of integrity whose prayers and actions are consistent. It's not enough to be channels for God's powerful grace to enter the world. We need to be united to Jesus who said that He is the Vine and we are the branches and that apart from Him we can do nothing. We will only be able to treat others justly, with respect and love, if we are united to Him.
Years ago a musical group called "The Police," with their lead singer "Sting," sang a song "Spirits in the Material World." It had the following line: "There is no political solution." It's true. If we don't go deeper, if our hearts aren't transformed, all the political changes in the world won't change a thing because injustice finds its beginning in the human heart.
That's why I want to conclude with a little addition to the saying of Pope Paul VI that has often appeared on posters and bumper stickers. He said: "If you want peace, work for justice." I would add to this: "And if you want justice, pray!"
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