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If only we could all be saints
Devotional Thought of the Day:
19 So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead—killed by the Law itself—in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on his cross, 20 so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me. 21 I refuse to reject the grace of God. But if a person is put right with God through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing! Galatians 2:19-21 (TEV)
401 ”To be nailed to the Cross!” This aspiration kept coming again and again, as a new light, to the mind and heart and lips of a certain soul. “To be nailed to the Cross?”, he asked himself. “How hard it is!” And yet he knew full well the way he had to go: agere contra—self denial. This is why he earnestly implored, “Help me, Lord!”
“I am my own worst enemy!” It is all too true!
It is why St. Josemaria’s “certain soul” would aspire to be nailed to the cross. It is why we need to be nailed to the cross, to see our broken lives stop entering into one vicious encounter with sin after another.
If only it were as simple as the Apostle Paul indicates, this sacrifice of our self, this denial of that within us that craves its own way, that demands to be nurtured. How incredible life would be, how simple and easy, how full of joy, if we could only lay down all self-interest. If Christ would so dominate our lives, if His desires were our desires, if His ability to love drove us to love the unlovable if we could make reconciling people to the Father our mission, as it was His.
If only we were all saints, for didn’t they find imitating Christ easy?
Of course, they didn’t. Of course, they struggled and had to learn self-denial the hard way, Although now that I think of it, it is not the hard way, it is the only way.
Paul tells us it is only possible by trusting in God, depending upon Him. St Josemaria indicates it happens as we implore Jesus to help us, to come to our aid. Without His involvement, self-denial is contrary to our reflex action. It will take a miracle to override our narcissistic nature, our desire to ourselves first, and automatic response of self-defense.
This is faith too, to be bold enough to ask God for the mercy that helps us rely on Him. It requires faith to depend on Jesus to temper our nature, and He will. That is the promise of our baptism! The promise that there we were crucified with Christ, united with His death.
This is His grace, His rescuing us from our brokenness, our wretchedness. This is what Love looks like, as Jesus rescues us from ourselves, and transforms us into saints.
Let us pray we depend on it more and more. AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 1558-1562). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
An Interesting Look at the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharistic.
Devotional Thought for our seemingly broken days:
15 I am speaking as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 10:15-16 (NAB)
4 We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. 5 For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. Romans 6:4-5 (NAB)
The Lord could say that his Body was “given” only because he had in fact given it; he could present his Blood in the new chalice as shed for many only because he really had shed it. This Body is not the ever-dead corpse of a dead man, nor is the Blood the life-element rendered lifeless. No, sacrifice has become gift, for the Body given in love and the Blood given in love have entered, through the Resurrection, into the eternity of love, which is stronger than death. Without the Cross and Resurrection, Christian worship is null and void, and a theology of liturgy that omitted any reference to them would really just be talking about an empty game.
As much as I appreciate the Lord’s Supper, as much as I’ve meditated on it and studied it, I’ve never thought about it as I read the blue quote above. I have read the great book by Pope Benedict, (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) several times, in fact, I’ve used it as a supplemental text when I teach on the liturgy. And yet, I’ve never considered the point that is offered above.
That not only do we share, participate, fellowship, become partners with Christ’s body during the celebration of the Eucharist (Communion/Lord’s Supper) we are also because He is risen, a partner in the resurrection, drawn into His resurrected life, and into the “eternity of love.”
This is a mind-blowing thing to me, and be patient with me while I process it.
As someone formally trained in non-denominational theology, and then in Lutheran theology, I tend to think of the Lord’s Supper given His death, His offering of His body as the hilasterion, the sacrifice of blood that covers and cleanses us from our sin. I know well the implications of that and am in awe to think of it.
When I lead people to the altar, with the cross overhanging it, when we commune together in front of the New Testament version of the mercy seat (Lev. 6:14) my thoughts are almost always on the love of God poured out on the cross. There we meditate on the Body was broken, and the Blood was shed. By no means am I saying that this is still not true!
There is something there, in these words of Pope Benedict, that I have witnessed so many times at the altar, the incredible, glorious mystery that happens as people come and are joined again to the death of Jesus, and that is that they come alive in that moment. You can see their bodies change, as they enter into this blessed moment, this feast, ( I want to use the old word “repast” ) as the brokenness is shorn away from them, as the wait is lifted. As they are revived in their spirit, it shows physically.
This is the missing key, the idea that not only are we given the gift of His death for us, but the gift of His resurrection, the gift of life in the resurrected Christ!
This is something that we don’t understand, if we only think of the Lord’s Supper as in sharing in His death (though it does certainly proclaim it so strongly ) We don’t see it if we only see our sharing in the dead, lifeless corpse. But our souls get it, as this feast is one of incredible joy, one of peace that shatters the chaos of life.
This feast, which is a foretaste of the feast to come is just like baptism, a joining with Christ’s death, and with the hope, the promise, the reality of our resurrection, because He is risen.
You have been united with His death, and sin has been dealt with, but in His giving you His body and blood, He also gives you life!
Hear again the blessing that is given, as people stand and kneel form the altar…and know it is for you. ( It might make even more sense now!)
Now, may the precious Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ strengthen your faith, your confidence in the God’s work in your life; and until we are all before God throne, dwelling in His glory, may you know you dwell, kept secure in His peace!
Ratzinger, Joseph. The Spirit of the Liturgy. Trans. John Saward. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000. Print.
The Great Scandal, the incredible gift we can give God!
Devotional thought for our seemingly broken days:
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him Matthew 21:21-32
God’s patience calls forth in us the courage to return to him, no matter how many
mistakes and sins there may be in our life.
The Christian existence, therefore, includes this as well: that we, out of the distress of our own darkness, like the man Job, dare to speak to God. It also means that we do not think we could present to God only half of our existence and must spare him all the rest because it might grieve him. No—to him in particular we may and must carry the total burden of our existence in complete honesty.
If someone did a translation of the quote from the Bible in red above today, we would have to replace tax collectors and prostitutes with some other terms. Simply put, those jobs aren’t as demeaned and distasteful as they once were. They aren’t considered evil, so who do we choose? Whose very identity and actions not only are scandalous, but disgusting?
What if it was those men who were accused of sexual harassment? What if it were those in the media than manipulated with false news? What if it were the out-of-control politicians that we all want to hold up to ridicule, as if that would change their attitudes and behaviors. What if it were those who had committed atrocities with guns, or bombs?
The scandal of the Church being the church is that every sinner, even these are welcome in its midst. That we will care for such, that we won’t just try to rehabilitate them, we will work to reconcile them to God, and even to those they have hurt.
Jesus words to those who thought they were righteous, that they were holier than the rest of the sinners is that these disgusting, sickening, evil people are more likely to trust and depend on God, and therefore come to repentance than we are.
They did in John the Baptist’s day they still do. And it is what we need to do, desperately need to do.
Unless we realize our brokenness, damaged by our own sin, and by original sin which left us helpless against temptation, unless we realize our sin is as scandalous as those mentioned above, how can we return to Him? How can we out of the distress of realizing our own inadequacies cry out for mercy to God? How can we, in Benedict’s words, give more than our “good stuff”, and hand over to Him, the offering of our sin and shame. he has been waiting patiently to deal with that crap in our life, and to offer it to Him may be the greatest sacrifice we have
Yes Lord, here it is, my life, broken by sin, crushed by temptation, ridiculed by guilt and shame. Here it is, Lord Jesus, create something with it…
This is our prayer in advent, that like Isaiah we would cry for God to rip open the heavens and do what He longs to do, because He loves us and calls us to be His own
It is a costly gift, this gift of our brokenness. It will truly take courage to give Him, it will truly take faith and trust,
It will be worth it… when we see what God creates…
Pope Francis. A Year with Pope Francis: Daily Reflections from His Writings. Ed. Alberto Rossa. New York; Mahwah, NJ; Toronto, ON: Paulist Press; Novalis, 2013. Print.
Ratzinger, Joseph. Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year. Ed. Irene Grassl. Trans. Mary Frances McCarthy and Lothar Krauth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992. Print.
A simple goal for today…
Devotional Thought for our seemingly shattered days:
. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:23-24 (NLT)
237 Never lose heart, for Our Lord is always ready to give you the necessary grace for the new conversion you need, for that ascent in the supernatural field.
We approach that time of year, that is either full of excitement (and perhaps greed and envy) or is full of despair and grief.
Either way, these holidays can break our hearts, as what should be a time of grace, where love and peace are so clearly shown, are instead a place where we lose heart.
It is so easy to do, to allow what is going on to crush our hearts. As some of it should….for grief is a very valid, very painful emotion.
Even as we grieve, either for the loss of a good friend, or the state of the world, we need to have a goal that gives us hope, a goal that would be the light of the tunnel, that would leave us in the experience of peace.
The apostle Paul describes it as the renewal, as the Holy Spirit transforms our thoughts and attitudes, to find the righteousness and holiness that comes only through God’s work, as He draws us into His presence.
St Josemaria describes it as a conversion of the heart. As someone with a genetic heart challenge, this concept has slightly different meaning. Whether it is a seemingly simple problem like A-fib, or something more deadly like V-Tac, conversion is a process where the heart rhythm is shocked from its irregularity, from its broken pattern, into a normal and healthy pattern.
In the medical field, this is often done with a defibrillator, as the body is given a powerful electrical shock which overrides the heart rhythm, which will cause it to start again, normal and strong.
The word of God and the Sacraments do this spiritually, as our encounter with God overwhelms our broken rhythm of life. They overwhelm the rhythm, they stop us in the midst of our out of balance life and remind us of God’s presence, His love, His mercy, That He is here, and if our life is in rhythm with Him, we become more and more aware of His presence.
Living life in rhythm with God won’t stop the tears, living life in rhythm with God won’t immediately fix all wrong in our lives and in the world, But it will awaken us to see the work God is doing, that we are set apart to Him, that we are forgiven, that He is healing our brokenness. Living out of rhythm with God blinds us to this grace. blinds us as well to His comforting presence, which so many of us need right now. But as
So I pray for you, whatever it is that has you out of rhythm, whether it is you own sin, or the weight of the sin of the world, whatever the brokenness, whatever the grief, that God would”convert: you, giving you the gift of transforming the rhythm of your life, and simultaneously, draw you into the glorious peace that occurs when we know we are in His presence. (and please pray the same for me)
AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 1006-1008). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
New Year’s resolutions, Mondays, and our Spiritual Struggle
Devotional Thought for our Monday!
22 So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. 23 Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, 24 and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy. Ephesians 4:22-24 (TEV)
163 You shouldn’t be so easy on yourself! Don’t wait until the New Year to make your resolutions. Every day is a good day to make good decisions. Hodie, nunc!—Today, now! It tends to be the poor defeatist types who leave it until the New Year before beginning afresh… And even then, they never really begin.
Yesterday, some 60 friends and I knelt at the altar at Concordia, and celebrated the mercy of God. We celebrated by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, broken and spilled for us, to cover our sin, to remind us of the glorious life God gives us, where we walk with Jesus.
It was glorious, it was incredible, this sharing of God’s love, of realizing God’s desire to make us His has been fulfilled at the cross, and we celebrated it, together! What an incredible, overwhelming experience, as we were there, together, and realized the love of God!
Yet today is Monday, and what we used to call the “tyranny of the urgent” has found its way to dominate my life. Too many critical things to do, competing with daily tasks, deadlines, and meetings to finish planning. While balancing out the people who need help.
It is as if yesterday’s moment of bliss happened a long time ago, not just yesterday.
It feels so distant, so much not part of who I am, today.
And if I have trouble remembering – reliving those moments – how can I easily connect to my baptism? And if I struggle to connect to either, my connection to Christ and to the cross where I was united to Him fades into the distant past as well.
It would seem like those moments fade like our New Years’ resolutions, with a lot of great intent, and little impact and little change if anything. To use Paul’s thought, we struggle to get rid of the old desires, the old self.
And what difference would it make; make these resolutions real as Paul advises? How would it change the tyranny of the urgent, how would it change my Monday?
The Psalmist tells us how to make this new beginning happen. With words, words we know so, so well.
Be still, and know I am God…. God Almighty is with you, the God of Jacob is your refuge.
As He was when we knelt at the altar, He hasn’t left, He hasn’t stopped loving us, He hasn’t stopped being our God….. rely on that, for He promised. He is with you, right now at your desk, or while you sip your coffee and wonder how to escape. He is there in the midst of this broken world. He is there with you.
Knowing that, makes every moment new, it makes every moment a communion, a fellowship with God who loves us.
Amen!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 768-772). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Of all people, SHE was the one? Amazing!
Devotional Thought for our days:
9 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.”
13 So she called the LORD who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen e the One who sees me?” 14 That is why she named the spring, “A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” It is located between Kadesh and Bered. Genesis 16:9, 13-14
140 Live your Christian life with naturalness! Let me stress this: make Christ known through your behaviour, just as an ordinary mirror reproduces an image without distorting it or turning it into a caricature. If, like the mirror, you are normal, you will reflect Christ’s life, and show it to others.
God told her to go back where she was being mistreated.
I struggle to wrap my mind around what God was doing. Who is this God who would send a poor slave back to her owner, to undergo more mistreatment? To send her back to where she was told to commit adultery, to conceive a baby by a man who would never love her, who would later (see chapter 21) abandon her and her son.
Why did God send her back? Why would he not just take care fo them then and there?
Another question needs ot be asked though, one that we really need to ponder.
Why was she the one who got to see God face to face? Why did she have the great assurance that God would even listen to her prayers? Look at the name of the place, see Hagar’s faith.
The One who sees me….
There are times where wonder why God would bother with me. There are other times where I wonder why He would place me where he does so often, dealing with people who are in more trauma than I comprehend.
That’s when Hagar’s faith, this lady who was overlooked, taken for granted, given the worst work ( the idea of having to be involved with the 85-year-old spouse of her mistress must have been a bit traumatic) and not cared for, yet God came to her. God was met her face to face and ensured Her of His presence in her life and in her sons.
As He is in ours. He sees us… you and I.
Assured of that, I can live life, praying that my life is that mirror, that people looking at me see God. And then, I can find some peace… in awe of the glory of God that surrounds us. For He sees us.
Amazing love, how can it be?
I don’t know how… but I sure need it, and it is surely there.
AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 690-693). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
A Different Life, one of the Sabbath
Devotional Thought for our Days:
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)
102 Peace, and the joy which comes with it, cannot be given by the world. Men are forever “making peace” and forever getting entangled in wars. This is because they have forgotten the advice to struggle inside themselves and to go to God for help. Then He will conquer, and we will obtain peace for ourselves and for—our own homes, for society and for the world. If we do things in this way, you and I will have joy, because it is the possession of those who conquer.And with the grace of God—who never loses battles—we will be able to count ourselves conquerors as long as we are humble.
I am looking out the window of a timeshare, at a schooner being driven by the wind. From a distance, it looks peaceful, calm, the stuff that makes a beautiful portrait or painting.
I am here, on a two day “sabbatical” of sorts, to plan for our Advent services, to find quiet, to get away and rest. A good friend lent me some of his timeshare points to do this, for which I am grateful. And so time away, to pray, to think, to meditate on the incarnation, to have, in a real way, a Sabbath rest.
But like the schooner in the distance, what may appear to be a peaceful time isn’t. The master watches the sales, the quartermaster/pilot is considering the terrain, listening for directions, the sailors working hard to ensure all goes well. And I am tempted to do the same. To think through all the problems and challenges I am escaping from for a brief moment. To think of the chores and the work that will await my return. It is too tempting for my mind to return there, while my body is here.
Dear St. Josemaria is correct, we try to “make peace” but only cause more riots, more violence, more sin. Rather than go to God, who has supplied our peace, we try to create it on our own. We try to even manipulate the silence when we encounter it.
Scripture calls us to something different, a life that is peaceful because God has conquered us internally first, To know and rejoice that He rules over our hearts, that He has come there, even in the dark recesses where our lives truly aren’t peace-filled, but hectic. Those places that we struggle to control, or having crashed our ships on the rocks, struggle to keep afloat.
There is something different that happens when we can relax in His presence. We can allow Him to be the master of our life. We can take a moment to enjoy the Spirit breathing life into us, providing the power and guidance. We can trust God to do all that is necessary, as He moves us from one place to another. as he reconciles our life to His.
It is then we find peace, even in the midst of storms and waves that would threaten us. For it is not a human peace we have made, it is His peace, a peace which will pass all understanding, but in which we shall live, Amen!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 568-575). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
What Causes People to Do Evil? Some defect? Some Dysfunction?
Dawn at Concordia
Devotional thought for our days:’
9 Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. 13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.” 14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 15 It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.” Mark 7:9-15 (NLT)
9 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself. 10 Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. James 3:9-10 NCV
79 I will not stop repeating until it is deeply engraved in your soul: Piety, piety, piety! For if you lack charity it will be for want of interior life, not for any defect of character.
As I have talked to people since the Las Vegas shooting, as I have read articles, posts and tweets about it, one question is asked over and over. It is the same question that was asked after the Sandy Hook or Florida shootings, or the bombing in Oklahoma City, or even 9/11.
Why?
What defect is there in those who commit such horrors, what kind of evil lurks within them? What dysfunctional part of their nature causes such evil?
And two questions follow those:
“Can we stop this from happening again?”
And the question we are afraid to ask,
“Am I capable of such evil?”
Most of us would believe we aren’t capable of that level of evil, of creating such trauma, such horror. If you asked the Pharisees of Jesus day, they certainly didn’t believe they were capable of such evil; they were too holy. Sure, a little sin here, a little lie there, some unforgiveness and pride, even a smattering of gossip. But real evil?
Nah, not us. We’re the good guys, remember?
If that isn’t our attitude, the contrary position we take, seeing every moment in our lives as proof that we make Hannibal Lector and Hitler look like simpletons when it comes to evil. We believe our character to be broken, our dysfunctionality beyond salvation, our defects to irreparable.
We see the passage from Mark, and we know that there is something within us to cause such horror, we hear James and wonder how we can gossip or lie or brutally treat someone one moment, and sing A Mighty Fortress or say the Lord’s Prayer or the Apostles Creed the next.
Well, sin is pictured several times (including James 5) as an illness, a sickness, a disease that has weakened us. Yes, we are responsible for our thoughts, our words, our actions, but at another level, we are incapable of living life free from the bondage in which sin grips us. It is more than just a defect or dysfunction, this sin that so easily ensnares us.
I think St Josemaria points out the answer, as he mentions our interior life. Our struggle with sin as Christians is because we don’t understand what it means to dwell in the presence of God. It is that interior life, that time that we spend living in Christ, resting in His presence, being transformed by the Holy Spirit that provides the love we need to love others, and to love and adore God.
This isn’t some exercise in finding God, it doesn’t take a pilgrimage around the world, though there are places where realizing He is there is easier, like in a church as they celebrate the Eucharist, or in a gathering of people singing His praises. He is with you on that sleepless night as well, or in the heat of the moment, when you want to respond in anger, or in pain.
The interior life is simply living and recognizing the presence of God, and hearing His voice.
So call out to Him, give Him your burdens, pray that He will help you, confident of His promises too….especially when it is dealing with temptation, or with the ghosts of the past.
The Lord is with you! AMEN!
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 495-498). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The Division Between Sacred and Secular? What if it Didn’t Exist?
The Former St. Francis Church
Devotional Thought for our Days:
31 Well, whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for God’s glory. 32 Live in such a way as to cause no trouble either to Jews or Gentiles or to the church of God. 33 Just do as I do; I try to please everyone in all that I do, not thinking of my own good, but of the good of all, so that they might be saved. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (TEV)
The Benedictine tradition is marked by a spirituality rooted deeply, intentionally in the issues and activities which confront us every day. These include the seemingly endless quotidian chores which fill the greater part of most of our days. Working. Eating. Caring for the sick and providing for the poor. Talking. Reading. Dealing with difficult people, just like ourselves. The Rule emphatically validates the sanctity of these efforts, drawing them up into the same sphere of holy activity as prayer, and meditation on sacred Scripture. Kitchen utensils and garden tools of the monastery are to be treated no differently than the sacred vessels of the altar. Guests are to be welcomed as one would welcome Christ himself. Rather than drawing lines between sacred and profane, or attempting heroic theological gymnastics to keep the high work of spirituality unspotted from the lowly tasks of this world, the Rule unabashedly weds life in Christ to life in the sanctified dust and sweat of our daily-grind existence.
6 Do not be afraid. Do not be alarmed or surprised. Do not allow yourself to be overcome by false prudence. The call to fulfil God’s will—this goes for vocation too—is sudden, as it was for the Apostles: a meeting with Christ and his call is followed… None of them doubted. Meeting Christ and following him was all one.
There are times the people that make up the church today seem to have a split personality. ( Or would it be better to say we are simply two-faced?)
We create one set of rules for behavior with our friends at church, that is our sacred world’ and another set of rules for our behavior in the secular world. And as a result, we don’t bring our religion/relationship with God into the “real” world, and we don’t want to bring before God in prayer our real life.
I am not sure if we think he wouldn’t be interested, or is incapable of understanding it (I mean Jesus “lived” so long ago! How could He possibly understand the fast-paced, media-hyped, techno/cyber crazy world in which we live?
Or maybe we want the disconnect between our sacred and secular worlds for our own benefit. Do we keep this illusion, that it is sacred and secular in order that we can have our sin and our Communion too?
Is this a big deal? It is when we think of the mission of the church, to be ambassadors of reconciliation, of bringing everything, of shepherding everything back to Christ. To reveal His active and grace-filled presence to those around us, to the effect that they are saved But if we have disengaged the two worlds, at least in our minds, then we can let them go, each to their own way.
Until the distance is so far we can’t stand on both. Then we become hyper-spiritual and condemn all the physical, or we become even more driven to satisfy our own pleasure, hedonists of the first order.
Some have tried to counter this division – Luther and his talk of vocation comes to mind. The quote from Robert Webber above, citing the work of the Order of St Benedict is another. And undoubtedly this get to the heart of St Josemaria’s Opus Dei – walking in faith in the midst of a broken world.
We need to stop dividing the life we have been given by God!
He walks with us through every part of our day, and we need to rely on Him during every part of our day. It is His mission to save the world and to do it through His people. Whether they work at Subway, or a University, whether they are pastors or stay at home moms. Whether they are 12-or 92. God walks with each of s, everywhere.
Knowing that changes things, it changes them by making them holy, precious, the work of God.
When we cry out, “Lord have mercy on us” it includes all of our lives, all that we do, all that we encounter, and we need to know, He is here, the Lord is with us! Not to judge, but to guide. Not to condemn but to comfort, to give us hope, to draw us into His glory and love.
Sacred? Secular? Hole? Profane? Religious? Worldly?
These divisions aren’t real for us, for rejoice, we dwell in Christ!
Webber, Robert E. The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2006. Print. Ancient-Future Series.
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 252-257). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Transcendence…A Long Forgotten Blessing?
Devotional Thought for our Day:
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave me strength because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. 13 In the past I spoke against Christ and persecuted him and did all kinds of things to hurt him. But God showed me mercy, because I did not know what I was doing. I did not believe. 14 But the grace of our Lord was fully given to me, and with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:12-14
5 Lord, we are glad to find ourselves in your wounded palm. Grasp us tight, squeeze us hard, make us lose all our earthly wretchedness, purify us, set us on fire, make us feel drenched in your Blood. And then, cast us far, far away, hungry for the harvest, to sow the seed more fruitfully each day, for Love of you.
We are in a time of “spiritual myopia and moral shallowness” that try to impose on us as normal the “culture of lowness,” where there is obviously no place for transcendence and hope.
A friend reaches out with a hand that is shaking, another’s bright gray eyes water as her hand to reaches out. Another refuses to look at me, his hand and arm stretched out to desire that which he knows is his, yet knows it shouldn’t be possible. An old man will stand up a moment later, and as he returns to his seat, his hand brushes up against the baptismal font. His hand lingers there, caressing it, in awe of the grace given him at another font, some 90 years before, on another continent, in a time even more turbulent.
I often wonder and even get anxious about a question that arises from such moments, How long does the sense of transcendence last? How long does this blessed moment, this peace, this awareness of the glory and love of God last?
Are the people aware of what I see happening to them, do they realize what they are experiencing?
It is well described by the Apostle Paul, as he talks about the grace completely given to him, this incredible ability to depend on God, assured of His presence, completely aware of His love for us. It is what Josemaria also writes about, as he pictures us, as he wants us to see ourselves, firmly held in the nail shattered palm.
It is such faith, such love that calls us to want to be thrown into this broken world, wanting people to know this grace. Not just out of duty or obligation, not because of the gift that was given to us. The awe that makes us wonder, and then become amazed, as we find ourselves alive, transformed. We need these times, whether life is oppressive, or going easy. Whether we lack any hope or have hope that is found in this world, the kind that is too fleeting and fragile.
This is what the church has meant by transcendence, this time when we are more sure of the presence of God that we are of our own existence.
it is why sacramental time, whether times like Baptism and the Eucharist or time of meditation and prayer are so needed in our day. But when do we take the time?
As a pastor, do I teach about this, model it, encourage it? Isn’t this where I am to shepherd people into, the realization that they dwell in the presence of God, who loves them, cares for them, and will cleanse them and restore them?
As I work on my sermon and worship – and Bible Studies – this needs to remain in my mind…..
and by His grace, it will.
Escriva, Josemaria. The Forge (Kindle Locations 249-252). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Pope Francis. A Year with Pope Francis: Daily Reflections from His Writings. Ed. Alberto Rossa. New York; Mahwah, NJ; Toronto, ON: Paulist Press; Novalis, 2013. Print.
