tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26682207231701108162024-03-25T10:37:52.029+00:00The COLW Pilgrim BlogOn the way to the Holy HouseUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-67777967478242240672024-03-25T10:32:00.006+00:002024-03-25T10:37:19.522+00:00Jealousy's path<p><span face="-webkit-standard, serif">Today’s gospel (12:1-11) is a reminder to us of one
of those uncomfortable truths we do not like to face: if you simply do what the
Lord requires of you, and especially if you do something simply for the Lord,
you will suffer hostility, even though you do not deserve it. This happens
twice in the course of today’s gospel. When you enter the service of God, prepare
yourself for tribulation (Sirach 2: 1). Yet the source of this hostility may be more complex than it at first appears.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""-webkit-standard",serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-themecolor: text1;">Mary brings ointment to the feet of Jesus and the
smell of it fills the whole house. Jesus instantly provides a commentary on the
ultimate meaning of her act: “She had to keep this scent for the day of my
burial.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""-webkit-standard",serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-themecolor: text1;">What surges through this passage, however, is Judas’s
hostility to Mary. It was not his only vice. St John reveals here that Judas
was light-fingered and his care for the poor was simulated: jealousy induces
not only hostility but also deceit. What Judas sees in the ointment is lost
revenues: he is the cynic who knows the price of everything and the value of
nothing. That his remarks are a hostile attack on Mary, however, can be seen in
Jesus’ reply: “Leave her alone.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
actions have deprived Judas of a glorious opportunity. Who knows how this man
who wandered the roads with Jesus was spending his ill-gotten gains?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""-webkit-standard",serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-themecolor: text1;">Yet, jealousy is the root of a compound problem:
jealousy is greed multiplied by a competitor’s success. And lest we feel a
little smug that we would never be as base as Judas, let us recall that
jealousy about wealth has a least a certain understandable tangibility about
it. Lovely money!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""-webkit-standard",serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-themecolor: text1;">The subtler (spiritual, perhaps?) forms of jealousy
– jealousy of the praise of the powerful for a perceived competitor, for
example, or of the apparent status the powerful might inexplicably give someone
of our own rank – are much less vulgar and much more insidious. Such jealousy
also blinds and deceives its sufferers; the slights it perceives multiply by
the dozen before our objective selves have even noticed. And jealousy’s promise is
always the same: <i>‘you will be as gods’</i> … if only you can have what your
competitor has apparently attained. The happiness of the jealous person is
always around the corner, always just out of reach ... and the competitor must be
trampled (physically or psychologically) in its pursuit.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""-webkit-standard",serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-themecolor: text1;">The second object of hostility is today's gospel is Lazarus,
and in some ways the hostility directed towards him brings out the more spiritual
side of jealousy: the chief priests wanted to kill Jesus because ‘many of the
Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus’. It was not the money they
wanted; it was His power and influence over the people. The currency of their
influence was on the wane. Jesus’ star was rising, and Lazarus was a symbol of
it since his resurrection was so public and so dramatic. After all, he had been
dead for four days and the decay of his body could already be smelt by those
near the grave – hard to believe in our days of sanitised death, but a familiar
enough odour in poorer cultures or in disaster areas.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""-webkit-standard",serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-themecolor: text1;">What is so dramatic is that this sin of jealousy, with
its lowlands of common greed and competition, continues to ascend to attain
finally the uplands of a refined but demonic covetousness. The chief priests - the
men charged with the holiest tasks of the Jewish religion and men no doubt
perceived as models of piety and religion – were driven on by
murderous intent. Their religion was not of the one true God they had
sworn to serve, but of the one, true self they were committed not to abandon. If
their hands reeked of the blood of their holy sacrifices, what did their souls reek
of?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""-webkit-standard",serif" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-themecolor: text1;">If anyone thinks they can stand, let them take heed
lest they fall (1 Cor 10:12). By our hostilities and our deceits, our secret
idols will be laid bare. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-78052392396722490642024-03-20T18:24:00.000+00:002024-03-20T18:24:49.096+00:00Lent Series: Self-awareness and St. Teresa of Avila, Part 6<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Growth in self-awareness involves tackling how we respond to every situation. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ec8fc724-7fff-5ca6-8b4d-8be1469904f9"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">If we learn about unconscious motivations for things and why we respond to situations and people in certain ways, we see the causes of ‘blocks’ or confusion. With God’s help, we move forward on the contemplative journey. We learn what to take responsibility for, confess and seek healing for, letting go of burdens that are not our responsibility. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Through prayer, God can reveal the cause of frustration or anger, the failing or past hurt and help us unravel the unconscious parts that fear exposure, shame or pain. This leads, with further prayer and healing, to freedom. St. Teresa says this stage is necessary on the path to wholeness, healing and union with God.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">There is a risk of scruples, in some personality types, or as a result of some wounds. Excessive introversion, over sensitivity to perceived sin, or not accepting forgiveness, can be damaging and painful to live with. Teresa was aware of this issue. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our openness to learn from God (docibilitas) is essential, to trust what His Word and His Church teaches is true, even if it doesn’t always ‘feel’ true. Only by learning trust, acknowledging the dignity and value of ourselves and each soul before God, are we able to stand before Him in truth. Only true self-awareness allows this kind of peace and flourishing to develop.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Modern depth psychology lines up with this approach. St. Teresa was ahead of her time in understanding the human psyche (which she called the soul). The necessary work this takes can be done through Spiritual Direction. However, deeper issues or psychological imbalances are better helped through psychotherapy. The benefits in working through such issues can be remarkable. No-one needs to be afraid or ashamed of such a journey.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The first step in self-awareness is to enter into the 'room' of self-awareness Teresa describes in <i>The Interior Castle</i>, through prayer and humility, facing the truth about ourselves, which we may find hard. Our Spiritual Director can help us see ourselves in truth, looking beyond the blind spots, to say with Paul, 'I don't understand why I act as I do.. I keep doing the bad things I hate….' </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We must seek God’s help, through prayer and those around us, reaching out of our comfort zone. We need learn to be open to God, ourselves and our Spiritual Director - as one of Teresa’s prerequisites for self-awareness - though trust can be hard for a wounded soul. St. Teresa suggests that we will be unable to express our natural gifts if we don't acknowledge the riches we have been given, even if they seem mundane.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We need to develop the practice of being present to God, becoming present also to our unconscious. The inward journey also calls for a step outside ourselves. She must ask God to shine in our dark corners to uncover us to ourselves, in ways we may never have experienced. This work might resemble that of an archeologist uncovering a treasure slowly and gently, without doing damage to the treasure. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It might take a while to see ourselves in God’s light and learn who we are in His eyes, due to the many messages of our culture presenting us with so many false messages. Through her writing Teresa learned to open up about herself, share her experience, expose her spiritual and psychological weaknesses and see her flaws. We need to learn to do this, with the help of our Spiritual Director. We will also grow in self- knowledge by meditating on the words of Jesus and reading Teresa’s words.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Unless willing to begin the inward journey, seeking the ‘inner light’ of God’s action within us, this path of true healing won’t begin. Only when we open up to God in our true ‘interior’, recognising that we can do nothing without His help, seeking His healing through facing our shadows and allowing Him to penetrate our dark corners, will we begin to heal.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We need to develop detachment, letting go on every level in order to be free. In our consumer society, we need to learn that this goes deeper than detachment from things. As the spiritual life deepens, we detach from what holds us back from deeper communion with God and others. We face our limitations, where we had been blind before, especially where we lack love and close ourselves off. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once the prayer journey begins in earnest, distractions and difficulties will come into view, even our unconscious areas we have hitherto been unaware of and the realisation of hidden motives, unknown aspects of our character and mysterious obstacles can be frightening. Fears or distorted self image can block or damage growth in self-awareness. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Modern depth-psychology agrees that self-awareness is important for healing and gaining a clear insight into hidden parts of the soul and psyche that need acknowledgement, acceptance and challenge, within the self, others and before God. Learning about hidden motivations are helpful on the spiritual journey, difficult. Insights from psychological reading can help, however, we may need professional psychological help for more complex issues. Nevertheless, Teresa expects that growth in the spiritual life will lead to psychological healing too.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The benefits coming from this new self-appreciation are great as God reveals us to ourselves. From a modern world of exterior and interior noise never imagined by Teresa, once we have learned prayerful silence and meditating on scripture, guided by our Spiritual Director, we begin to value supernatural riches and see the harmfulness of sinful inclinations alongside hidden wounds. Searching ourselves with the light of God in our soul helps free us from fears. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Our Spiritual Director knows there is always the risk of self-deception, and a need to discern the light of God from false light. She will encourage us, return us to the Gospels and prayer to continue the ‘inner work’ of listening to the Father’s forming action as more of ourselves is revealed, leading us to the truth of who we are before Him. This journey to self-awareness is always ongoing. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Growth in self-awareness will also lead to growth in virtue expressed in love and good works for others, which Teresa considered an important fruit of spiritual growth. Gradually, through God’s loving action and inner light, we will notice increased love for others, growth in virtue and openness to God. Opening ourselves to receive love as well as giving love too.</span></p><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-78866113707774735102024-03-18T08:49:00.002+00:002024-03-20T10:39:31.530+00:00The virtue of forgiving and the vice of forgetting (who we are)<p>Today's gospel (John 8: 1-11) sees Jesus perform one of His
iconic acts of forgiveness. The woman who was brought to Him has been caught in
adultery. The law is clear: she must be stoned to death. And yet Jesus blocks
this process, inviting only those without sin to cast the first stones. In the
end, everyone goes away, and Jesus tells the woman that He too does not condemn
her but to go and sin no more.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are several points that we could reflect on in this
gospel. The first is to observe the difference between Jesus’ act of largess
and what passes today for tolerance. Today's tolerance wishes to buffer the
conscience against all discomfort. But that is not what Jesus does. He does not
hesitate to call sin “sin”. Notice that He makes no excuses for the woman to
the crowd who are mobbed about her. He does not, for example, suggest that
perhaps she was committing adultery because her own marriage was so deeply
unhappy, and that in this adultery she was actually clinging to an authentic expression
of love. He does not forgive her on the basis that her sin was slight, or that
rightly seen, she was really following the light. She was in the wrong. What
she needed was not an excuse but a grace. In fact, she could not receive such a
grace except from the hands of a Saviour who was intent on rescuing her. But
notice finally that He sends her away with the duty to embrace her
responsibilities. If she has been forgiven, she too must now change her path,
put aside everything wayward, and turn back to the path that leads to God. So
must we all, after sin and repentance. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps the second thing to observe is the risk we run of
being that mob. Naturally, we do not want to behave like this towards people
whose lives are unfaithful to the path of Christ. But more than that, there is
perhaps the risk in us that we behave like this mob towards Jesus. This mob,
after all, is not driven by outrage over the breaking of the law. Rather, this
mob is instigated by those who are the rivals of Jesus. If the scribes and Pharisees
are zealous for the law, they are perhaps even more zealous about their own
status, and Jesus is a rival to this status. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So how do we rival with Jesus? Perhaps we do this when we
are disappointed by our failure to be perfect. If we try again to be good after
sin and repentance, that is no less then Jesus asks us to do: go and sin no
more. If we then sin again, the appropriate response is contrition and
repentance. But perfectionism teaches us to expect more of ourselves and,
therefore, to be disappointed by our failures. Perfectionism, in other words, teaches
us to focus ourselves and, thereby, rival with Christ. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The danger for most of the people reading this blog (and
writing it!) is not that they, like the woman in this gospel, might fall into
marital infidelity (although let’s not rule out the risk entirely!). The danger
is that along the path of discipleship, we all might focus on ourselves and thereby forget who we really are: souls called to the friendship of Christ.<o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-52713903611932383692024-03-15T15:26:00.002+00:002024-03-15T17:39:37.448+00:00Lent Series: Self-Awareness and St. Teresa of Avila, Part 5<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The necessity of self-awareness for spiritual growth</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-838b5f43-7fff-b261-6d3a-2c7bb481fc9e"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Did St. Teresa’s pre-requisites for growth in the spiritual life require self-awareness? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Through her writing, Teresa lists elements she considered for holiness, all underpinned by increased self- knowledge. </span></p><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">We should be living according to God’s will, calling for knowledge of self, to recognise and respond to the forming action of the Father in and through life, to avoid just following our own ideas. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Growth in virtue must take place right now in serving God and receiving His favours. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">We need to know ourselves, being honest if we put off our efforts for a more convenient time and being aware of our motivations. Are we really giving God our all? Self-giving is necessary for growth. How easy it is to deceive ourselves.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">God's purifying action in us is also needed to grow in union with God’s own purity. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">We need self-awareness to honestly face our defects, which will become clearer the closer we come to God. Being aware of our nature, failings and sins, we will learn to see ourselves in truth. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Penance is also needed. Self-knowledge, of our own capacities and will, are needed if penances are to bear fruit.</span></p></li></ul><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">God will only allow us to grow closer to Himself, in holiness, when we are ready, respecting our free will. Readiness cannot be contrived, we need to open ourselves to God. Openness, says Teresa, comes with courage and generosity. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The journey through 'the mansions of the Castle' is not linear; it is possible to regress as well as progress. As we become more aware of difficulties, sin, temptations and struggles leading us off the road, we will gradually find it easier to keep our eyes fixed ahead. Nevertheless, we will need to have learned about ourselves first, and know our own weaknesses.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Growth in virtue deepens prayer. There is no pretending virtue, we need to put the work in and ask for grace to grow in the virtues we need. Only when aware of our shortfall in virtue will we succeed in identifying the right areas to work on to really grow in virtue. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Teresa prescribes determination as the best way to growth because the journey is hard work. We need to set out fully resolved, ready for trials, troubles, assaults and failings on the way. These will come from within as well as the difficulties life brings. If we are aware of our weaknesses and shadows we will be equipped to bring determination along.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Self-knowledge runs as a theme through Teresa’s prerequisites for growth in the spiritual life, and is necessary at every stage. If we have a clear picture of ourselves we will see ourselves as God sees us and better understand His vision for us. This brings healing in our relating to Him, seeing Him walk with us through life, once we see Who is the true source and that every experience is His initiative. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When we understand ourselves, possessing all the qualities Teresa required, we will understand how we relate to God and others in our lives, seeing ourselves in the truth of who we are.</span></p><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-66593093877758971062024-03-11T09:04:00.001+00:002024-03-11T09:04:14.191+00:00Praying for the moon<p>Today's gospel (John 4:43-54) is an object lesson in the uses of prayer. A court official at Cana had a son dangerously ill at Capernaum. He asks for Jesus' help and receives news of his son's recovery even before he has arrived home. He and his family believed the gospel! He asked for the moon and he got it. Job done... Or is it?</p><p>No doubt on that day there were other households in Capernaum who saw no such relief from the miserable burden of the loss of a child. None of them came to ask Jesus for his help, as far as we know. Nobody who asks Jesus' help in the gospel meets refusal. And yet they too surely lifted up their voices to heaven for the recovery of their children. Why was the prayer of this court official heard and yet not all the prayers of parents for their sick children are heard? </p><p><br /></p><p>Why, in fact, pray? God is perfect and cannot change. We cannot conceive of His transcendence over creation. This is why some people become fatalistic. Everything that happens is kismet - destiny. No prayer is possible from this position. </p><p>So, again, why pray? We are talking here about the prayer of petition. We can offer prayers of adoration and thanksgiving, not to mention contrition, but all these are about what we owe to God; not what He does for us. Do our prayers of petition risk making God into a sugar daddy?</p><p>St Augustine's answer to these conundrums is simple: as we approach the living eternal God, source of all, we pray for what God has determined from eternity that we should obtain by freely asking. And here is the wonder. When our court official approached Jesus, Jesus had already thought of him first. He offered him this meeting from eternity, and the court official made a hundred decisions that day that might have risked his not encountering Jesus. And yet at some point, he put aside his business and his work worries; he turned from the lunchtime entertainment in Cana's taverna; and he went in search of the man that everyone was talking about. But God had sought him first. Jesus did not respond to his prayer as a pure response; He inspired the prayer in the man who cooperated with that grace.</p><p>So, what about the times our prayers are not answered? Are those prayers useless? Is God being mean by saying no or not yet? Those prayers do not change God, says C. S. Lewis; they change us. Job's prayers did not save his household and his possessions. They took him rather to a much more exalted place of utter dependence on the God who would share His very goodness and happiness with us. When God does not answer our prayers as we wish, it is because there is something much more valuable that we need to focus on. </p><p>Magic tries to manipulate the world to our will. We have to be very careful not to think that prayer is meant to do the same thing. Of course we must ask for our daily bread and our necessities, but in the end God's greatest gift is always himself. </p><p>The unanswered prayer is not a slap from heaven, even when it feels like it. It is a call to go beyond and come deeper into the mystery of a God who longs to give us His Almighty Heart.</p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-4203881368391068982024-03-06T15:53:00.001+00:002024-03-06T15:53:46.805+00:00Lent Series: Self-awareness and St. Teresa of Avila, Part 4<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Interiority over time</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9cbde5b3-7fff-8129-0310-9cdbc2e52347"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We can move forward in our understanding of ‘self-awareness’ according to St. Teresa by relating it to the concept of ‘interiority’. The ancient instruction, ‘Know Thyself’ is a well known maxim. When Teresa wrote about the ‘soul’, she included the ‘psyche’ of today. Spiritual self-awareness and psychological self-awareness were two sides of the same coin and spiritual growth can coincide with deeper psychological healing and maturity.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Reading through the classical lens of Teresa, her Confessors and Spiritual Directors, we hear the influence of St. Augustine’s notion of the ‘self’ sounding loudly. Augustine grew up studying Plato, who linked the classical notion of ‘psyche’ with the divine. St. Paul focused instead on ‘spirit’, whereas St. Augustine, joined the two together. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Augustine’s autobiographical writing may be a precursor for Teresa’s own Life; possibly the original example of spiritual journaling in order to grow in self-awareness - both ‘soul’ and ‘psyche’, becoming humble and ultimately reaching God who was ‘always within’. Augustine developed the theme of interiority, emphasising the inner-self, focused on bringing out what lies within the soul while experiencing spiritual healing and awakening on a psychological level. The soul in the Interior Castle goes on a similar journey of self-awareness and awakening to spiritual and emotional maturity.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The ‘interiority’ of Augustine is important for self-awareness. In the Carmelite tradition, confirming Augustine, the presence of God exists in the exterior, physical world and equally in our own silent, invisible, interior world of our soul or ‘psyche’. Augustine shows us a technique of finding God within whereby the soul looks to her own experiences, considers the world around, becoming conscious of herself by ‘reliving’ her ‘experience’ through self-examination, and learning ‘the way the world is for itself and on itself as the agent of experience’. The sixteenth century saw a rise in interest in St. Augustine and Teresa’s Confessors must have known this. Hidden inner life and developing interiority were Teresa’s focus, following Augustine’s instruction: ‘Do not go outward; return within yourself. In the inward man dwells truth’. Teresa knew the ‘light’ of God, shining in her soul, which ‘always leaves greater light that we may understand the little that we are’. The favoured route to self-awareness for Teresa was this light of God. She followed a long tradition back to Plato’s ‘inner light’ and Augustine’s encouragement to find God within. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Augustine and Teresa agreed they wouldn’t find the truth in their souls per se, only in the light of God, seeing themselves as God saw them, using His lens. This takes us back to St. Paul’s approach to self-awareness ast he begged the Romans, Corinthians and Philippians to have the ‘mind of Christ’. In the Interior Castle, Teresa has met God in her soul and wants her nuns to meet Him too. She guides them within, as Augustine suggests, on the royal road to union. This is the way to transcendence; the soul is led upwards, out of herself to God, going within.</span></p><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-30432365545892733402024-03-04T08:28:00.005+00:002024-03-05T07:46:11.848+00:00Sweet conceit<p>Today's gospel (Luke 4: 24-30) should be sobering for us.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We read in this gospel of an attempt that was made on Jesus’
life. Until the moment of His passion, this is the only event in which His life
is threatened during his adulthood. But this happens in His own hometown. And not only is His life
threatened, but the townspeople lead him towards a cliff to throw Him down it.
One imagines this place to be the scene of countless childhood games for the youth
of the area, for children are always drawn towards danger. And now, it is set
to become the place of a brutal and murderous assault. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What is most concerning here is that the people laying hands
on Him are those who have known Him for the longest time. It is His neighbours
and perhaps even some former friends who are suddenly filled with this violent
compulsion against Christ. How skin-deep the appearances can be! Those who have
known Him best have the dubious distinction of being those who have threatened
Him most. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The lesson for us is simple: we should beware of familiarity
with Christ. Familiarity breeds contempt. Easy acquaintanceship is a trap. We
are called to something much deeper and much more alive. We are called to a
friendship which would defy the madness of crowds and the bullying self-justifications
of a mob who find their reassurance in the fact that everyone shares their inclinations
and their outrage. What has Jesus told them that makes them so mad if not that
they must not stand on their privileges? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Every one of us, and especially the most powerful, should
give serious thought to the dangerous seductions that our supposedly sweet but
secretly self-congratulatory intentions give way to. What defenders of the
honour of the prophets must these violent neighbours of Christ believed
themselves to be! How much steadier and more sensible was their view when
compared to that of this young upstart Jesus! How much more respectable were
they than a man who had broken every rule of good sense and respectability by
tipping over the tables of money changers in the temple! <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like them, we should beware of sweet conceit.<o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-54965493112895907982024-03-01T08:43:00.000+00:002024-03-01T08:43:00.244+00:00On being salt and light<p>Today's gospel (Matthew 5: 13-16) sees Jesus deliver a
teaching that is all about the self-awareness of the disciple. Jesus addresses
his disciples with two metaphors: you are the salt of the earth and you are the light
of the world. The stakes of self-awareness enter into the equation when He
invites the disciples to reflect on whether they are faithful to these
challenges of discipleship.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In both cases, it is a matter of balance. On the one hand
the salt must not be tasteless. Salt induces the sense of taste precisely by
stimulating the sensitivity of taste buds. If food is not excessively salted, what
we taste is the food that is enhanced, not the salt. In the case of the disciples,
what is interesting is that Jesus calls them the salt <i>of the earth</i>. God
made the earth and everything in it: every joyous thing - from the scent of a
delicate flower to the pleasures of marital union - is His gift. But sin alienates
as from every good thing, and it is only within the framework of our
relationship with Almighty God that we can rediscover the truth of things, even
of ourselves. In this sense, discipleship must itself be a journey of
incarnation in which divine grace reshapes the fabric of the world and the
fabric of our lives in His image. When the Holy Spirit moves the Gift of Knowledge in us, we
read deeply into things the imprint of the finger of God. Beyond the physical
appearances lie the mysteries of the love that conceived and created everything
around us. Perhaps, if we are faithful, others too will discern that mystery
through what they see in us: in that sense, we can be the salt that awakens
them to the mystery just waiting for them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But I said above that this is a matter of balance, and
perhaps this is better seen in the second metaphor of the gospel: you are the
light of the world. On Ash Wednesday, we heard Jesus tell us to hide ourselves away
when we pray and do penance. Here in this gospel, we hear Him command the
opposite: let our light shine before men. Yet, just as salt must be balanced,
so too must light. We must not hide away unnecessarily; even Jesus chose
his moments to speak and fled the crowds. Not to hide our light is a matter of just being who we
are. While it commands integrity, it also requires discretion. Jesus’ command
is to be the light of the world, but there is a difference between being the
light of the world and trying to shine that light directly into someone’s eyes!
This differs according to context and individual. Some people are ready to look
for the light; yet others are so accustomed to darkness that a rude
illumination is as likely - if not more likely - to provoke them to screw their
eyes up tight, rather than opening them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If being the salt of the earth requires the Gift of Knowledge,
being the light of the world requires the movements of the Gift of Counsel. We
cannot use these gifts of our own accord. All we can do is beg the Holy Spirit
to move them in us; all we can do is try to remove every obstacle in us to
their movement, readying ourselves to be docile instrument in the hands of
the Master. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Then, both we and those for whom we aspire to be both salt and light
may be able one day to give praise together to our Father in heaven. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-74272720718287501272024-02-28T07:48:00.000+00:002024-02-28T07:48:03.529+00:00Lent Series: Self-awareness and St. Teresa of Avila, Part 3<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">How did St. Teresa explain the journey to self-awareness? </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-41a128d0-7fff-03da-b514-0881f4aafbce"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">St. Teresa of Avila uses images of the soul as a caterpillar, butterfly or the hard working bee to help explain developing spiritual self-awareness and the part God plays in that growth. Teresa found symbols helpful in undrstanding this relationship. We can develop our own symbols and images, helping us grasp and vocalise the hidden parts of our shadow and God’s action therein. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">When our prayer is wordless, or we find our sentiments are inexpressible, a symbol or image can help focus and bring out what needs further work and consideration. God is working slowly in us, bringing about transformation through this ‘purgation’ or purification, leading to greater union with Himself, through increased self-awareness. Dreams can operate similarly, also providing symbols. Carl Jung said symbols helped to express unconscious mystical ideas as yet unknown to our conscious mind. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Teresa doesn’t consider inner work as specifically psychological, for her it is all part of profound prayer. She believed imagination and understanding to be all one. Teresa believed the mind can find peace and healing by prayerfully working through the various issues arising, leading to increased understanding of where we are at with God, in humility, and therefore closer union with Him. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We don't need to worry if our thoughts and imagination are upset or confused by what comes up in prayer, in images and symbols or dreams. Even if our mind is in turmoil, interiorly, if our will and understanding are fixed on God, who can help being at peace?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As well as the "reptiles and lizards" of unresolved issues lurking at the door of the castle, we face our “snakes and vipers”, as Teresa calls our sinful tendencies, left in our souls due to original sin. This aspect of inner work and truthful acknowledgement is essentual for self-awareness. We know we’re not alone, that we sin and we have sinful tendencies, through the wounds picked up along the way through life experience, habits and individual brokenness. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Through Confession we can work hard to fight our root sin and our tendencies to repeat the same sins, (by prayerfuly asking God to help us work on developing their opposite virtues). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Being sorry for our sins, Teresa’s says, and once free of past sins, we will grow in understanding of our dignity as beloved of God, made in His image. Teresa says we must be grateful for the graces received and aware we always have capacity for more progress and greater holiness. When God’s light reveals our true worth to us, we will avoid pride and be grateful for all the graces received, hoping to merit them and continue making progress.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Self-knowledge in the spiritual journey is a developing, humble awareness of our situation in the concrete. We begin to see ourselves, ‘warts and all’, in the light of God’s love, mercy and acceptance, in reality. Over time we will begin to develop a ‘God’s-eye-view’ on our situation - for good or ill. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">He reaches out in friendship, helping us know ourselves, unashamed and unafraid. Seeing our situation through His eyes, increasing self-awareness, we learn to accept God’s mercy and move forward in our prayer journey. God does this so we will see ourselves clearly. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Teresa points out another advantage: our understanding and will become ennobled and prepared for every good. so we will grow in virtue and love for others, the signs of a healthy spiritual life! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Union with God is the goal and end-point of our journey; this is the best preparation for future graces and the many blessings He wishes to bestow.</span></p><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-91883190876077317232024-02-27T08:11:00.000+00:002024-02-27T08:11:53.252+00:00Asking too much and too little<p>Today's blog goes from the sublime to the ridiculous. Happily, clowns are closer to God than clever people. This was originally published on 25 July 2023. </p><p><br /></p><p>***********</p><p>Today's gospel (Matthew 20: 17-28) is one of those gospels that give us a strong personal flavour of the characters involved, and perhaps of the assumptions they were accustomed to make around Jesus. </p><p>Why didn't James and John get their father to approach Jesus to ask Him for the two top jobs in his kingdom? If Israel is such a patriarchy, what on earth is going on here? It says something intriguing about the nuances in the system, or perhaps about her closeness to Jesus, that their mother, not their father, approaches Jesus with this request. If the reason for their father not making the request is that he does not approve of Jesus, it is all the more wonder that both his children and his wife are so closely aligned with Him. Perhaps this complexity should warn us also not to judge things simplistically by their appearances. Israeli women were powerful; just powerful in a different way to their menfolk. Their children were Jews by the maternal line. </p><p>So much for the assumptions of the time. This gospel tells us something also about the assumptions we are capable of making when we pray. </p><p>On the one hand, the mother of James and John is asking too much. How is it remotely possible to ask too much of our infinitely bountiful God? We ask too much when we imagine that our riches are His riches, or that our idea of generosity is His. 'Too much' is a measure of the things of this world - created things - for one can never have too much of God. The request made to Jesus assumes that the glory of His kingdom is like the glory of a human kingdom, i.e. that it translates into power, renown and influence. </p><p>Like the apostles, we ask too much when we fixate on what we believe we need, while failing to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. For if we sought those things first, our own understanding of what to ask for would be transformed. We would see that God does not want us to <i>have things</i> like a sugar daddy would, but simply - unfathomably - to have Him. In which condition we lay our hands on the earth and revel in its delights only insofar as they reflect the One we love and what He calls us to be. Everything then can be held literally in prayer because everything draws the praise of His glory from our hearts. In this sense, the tragedy of this ill-advised request by the mother of James and John is what it tells us about their failure to see things as Jesus saw them.</p><p>And yet at the same time, because they do not have the measure of all things, i.e. God's measure, they ask <i>too little</i> of what they really need: His love and friendship. Let me illustrate my point with a little imagination ...</p><p><br /></p><p>***</p><p>The same gospel scene unfolds afresh but somewhat differently. Rather than asking their own mother to approach Jesus, James and John have had the solid notion that the quickest route to glory in Jesus' kingdom is to ask His mother Mary to negotiate for them. The conversation goes like this.</p><p>James and John speak discreetly to Mary: W<i>e were thinking of asking Jesus something ... well...(</i>they look at each other and back at Mary) ... <i>you know... </i></p><p>Mary smiles at them: <i>Oh yes, what were you thinking of asking him? </i></p><p>Suddenly, some distance away there is a rude eruption of laughter among the other apostles. James and John look around at Peter (who has just told another fisherman's joke and is braying like a donkey).</p><p>They look back at Mary, raise their eyebrows, and rolls their eyes. </p><p>Surely, their meaning is obvious... to them at least...</p><p>Mary (smiling again): <i>Oh, I see</i>. <i>Well, I will do my best.</i></p><p>Mary sidles over to where Jesus is sitting slightly apart, tired after a long day but now resting. His face lights up as she approaches and offers him a cup of water.</p><p>Mary: <i>It's James and John</i> ... (Jesus, who knows what she is going to say, begins to grin widely). </p><p>Mary continues: <i>They wanted me to ask about their position in your kingdom, but ... well ... Let me put it like this. Can you just help them to say 'yes' to the Father every moment of their lives? Can you just ask them to say 'thank you' to the Father every moment of their lives?</i></p><p>Jesus: <i>Like you, mother?</i></p><p>Mary smiles: <i>I'm very fond of them. Do I ask too much?</i></p><p>Jesus looks into the distance: <i>It is the only thing that is not too much. But then anything else would be too little.</i> </p><p>Mary: <i>I'm not sure they'll understand</i>.</p><p>Jesus (looking back at Mary): <i>They will one day</i>.</p><p>Mary returns to James and John who look hopefully at her. </p><p>James and John: <i>So, what did he say?</i></p><p>Mary replies (looking over at Jesus): <i>He said anything else would be too little</i>. </p><p>James and John look at each other excitedly and return to making plans ... for a future that will be beyond anything they asked for or ever imagined.</p><p><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15.84px;" /></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-68157642917503362072024-02-26T07:28:00.005+00:002024-02-26T08:37:54.713+00:00On being good<p>Today's gospel (Luke 6:36-38) might seem on the one hand to
offer us an opportunity to do something nice in the modern sense of that word. Be
compassionate. Do not judge. Do not condemn. Who could object to such commands
as these?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The challenge is of course somewhat different depending on
who we are. As people of faith, we are called to believe in the mysteries of
God and in the wisdom of the teachings of Jesus, things the modern world might find not so nice. But this is why judging can be
so difficult to avoid. We feel like we owe it to the profession of our faith to
cast judgement. We feel that we cannot be true to our principles if we do not
condemn. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These instincts are in fact good (owing something to our profession of faith and being true to our principles) but they lead us to the wrong conclusions because they are not sufficient. First, we cannot live them truly without humility, and
humility requires us to acknowledge that there may be circumstances we are not
aware of, especially in matters that do not fall under our responsibility. Second,
we must distinguish between judgement and judgement. The kind of judgement that
Jesus is talking about here is the one that weighs up the soul of another
person and pronounces sentence as it were, arrogating to itself a function that belongs to God, the keeper of consciences. But that is not the only kind of
judgement. Jesus’ command most certainly does not require us to stick our head
in the ground, to pretend that evil is good, or that someone cannot have done evil just because they happen to hold a certain role or office. We now know too much about the evil consequences of such "non-judgementalism". Nor does Jesus' command mean we should refrain from lamenting the effects of actions that are wicked in themselves (like gossip), even if their author did them inadvertently. Not judging does not preclude the
possibility that we have to speak the truth about things. Prudence may require
that we hold back but not love. Love requires us to go on; to contend with the evil done, even while refraining from condemning the evil doer. Ultimately we might
recall this piece of wisdom: we are called to be like the saints - tough on
principles but easy on people; not like the devil - easy on principles but hard
on people. Too often, we are tempted to be easy on principles and on people. But that is a religion for nice people with nice feelings; not for the likes of those who aspire to follow a Saviour who overturns the tables of money lenders and calls Pharisees whitened sepulchres!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In a way this brings us to the second part of the
gospel. In the first sentence Jesus had required us to be as compassionate as
our Father is. This point of comparison underpins all the more the command that
Jesus now delivers: to <i>give</i> and to give freely in full measure like our Father in heaven who is goodness itself. When the medieval
scholastic theologians discussed the meaning of goodness, they observed that it
is in the nature of goodness to share itself. Goodness does not hold back. Goodness
pours itself forth. Goodness aspires to be diffused all around. Perhaps the last element of this goodness is that it must not count the cost:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>My candle burns at both ends,<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>It will not last the night,<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends,<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>It gives a lovely light. </i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Edna Saint Vincent's words were not meant to be a commentary
on the gospel, but they very much are. </p><p class="MsoNormal">How we want our goodness and our giving to be acknowledged, and it will be - but by God! We should not demand our own wages from others. We should not let our right hand know what our left hand is doing. When we do, we turn ourselves into employees who offer their services only in return for something. We should give not to the point of exhaustion (or resentment), but to the measure of joy. For it is in giving that we receive, as St Francis says. The good are simple and open handed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The paradox here is that when we aspire to such goodness <i>and</i>
practise it, then it is God who judges us benignly, and not only judges us but
rewards us. Indeed, He rewards us with himself principally because to share
oneself in such away is to be like Him. </p><p class="MsoNormal">We cannot do any of this without his grace. Yet, as He tells St Paul: my grace is sufficient for you. We only need ask Him for the living waters - for them to flow freely through us and onto others.</p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-78563627466333973462024-02-21T15:34:00.002+00:002024-02-21T15:34:41.327+00:00Lent Series: Self-Awareness and St. Teresa of Avila, Part 2 <p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What can hinder us in developing the humility sufficient for growth in self-awareness?</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3e9852e6-7fff-ff56-ce47-cf6e4ca03aa5"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We need to be aware that the devil can present a false image of our situation: false humility and a false sense of our ‘state of soul’. This could present as pride - not acknowledging sin</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">or an inflation of our sense of sin, scruples, mistaking woundedness for sin or lack of self</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">worth. A victim position or self-abasement, are never true humility and could also be temptations.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Teresa possibly discovered the practice of the Ignatian daily ‘Examen’ through her various</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ignatian confessors. The examen as a regular practice is really beneficial for us as we journey towards self knowledge. Looking at how we define and consider ourselves when examining our life in solitude and the narrative we give of ourselves to others helps bring light. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Teresa didn’t suggest prolonged examens or unhealthy introspection as that could turn us in on ourselves. This training or ‘ascesis’ will reveal to us the truth of our soul, bringing an increase of humility, self-awareness and greater knowledge of God. On the path to holiness there is healing that only God can do, through His grace, and other healing He will bring about if we co-operate. Teresa encourages us to choose to do our part to receive God's sanctifying grace and healing. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In becoming more aware of ourselves, we move from intellectual, ‘head knowledge’ to ‘heart</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">knowledge’, becoming aware of our origin and nature and our conscious and unconscious</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">motivations. We also begin to know ourselves deeper from the point of view of prayer,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">beginning to see ourselves as God sees us and thereby beginning to grow in union with Him.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">By mansion six of The Interior Castle, as we open increasingly to awareness of God’s</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">grandeur, our littleness, our self-awareness gradually increases.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Soon we will become aware of our “shadow”, what Teresa refers to as “snakes and lizards”,the unconscious place where we may have buried painful experiences, wounds, and even things we are afraid to acknowledge. These lurk outside the door of the castle of our soul. Over time, growing in trust and humility, we will need to work through these elements of our shadow through patient prayer and abandonment to God’s loving mercy. The help of spiritual accompaniment is also important here.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Growing awareness of the ‘reptiles’ shouldn’t lead us to false humility or abasement before God or others, nor self-aggrandizing. Instead, Teresa speaks of God’s grandeur. In the life of prayer, a leap of faith is needed from being awed by God’s grandeur to trusting in growing friendship with Jesus. He will help us to be truly humble and know ourselves better.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Whereas today we consider this growth in self-awareness to be psychological work, Teresa instructs her sisters to bring it to prayer and ask God for interior light to see into the dark corners of shadow. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To Teresa it doesn’t appear unusual to appeal to God for help to reach even the unconscious parts of the mind. For her, His light can reach such hidden depths, the “interior world close at hand”. </span></p><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-44864569702647126582024-02-19T08:54:00.004+00:002024-02-19T10:40:35.114+00:00Horror, horror, horror<p> Today's gospel (Matthew 25: 31-46) is a challenging one for
us and for many of our contemporaries. We see the events of the last judgement
unfold in three acts.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the first act, Jesus describes the return of the Son
of Man. He will come in glory, i.e. nobody will be able to deny that this is
the Christ, the anointed one of God. He will take his seat on the throne of
glory, i.e. He will sit as a judge who has power to liberate and to punish, for
justice may require both. He will face all of humanity, the people of all
nations, not just his followers and not just the Chosen People. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And finally in this scene, He will separate men from each other, “as the shepherd separates sheep from goats”. We can
almost guess what is coming next for we know that sheep and lambs are images of those whom Jesus loves and who return that love. For many years, theologians
have insisted on the unity of the human race. Yet that unity cannot be
understood without taking into account the implications of this passage which
narrates the final moments in the history of all humanity. The unity that makes
every single one of us part of that human race is itself meant to serve the union
that joins creation to its Creator. To separate the sheep from the goats, i.e., to separate the saved and the damned, is not to destroy the unity of the human
race, but rather to make public the actions of those you have destroyed it. It
is not our inheritance that defines us but what we do with it that makes us who
we are supposed to be. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then comes the second act. The king invites the sheep to
come and receive the heritage that His Father has prepared for them since the
beginning of time. And the judge then goes on to announce why it is that the
sheep will receive this inheritance. In this well-known passage, Jesus singles
out the corporal works of mercy that manifest the love that rules the hearts of
the Blessed and makes them most like God. The implications of this passage are
alarming. When Jesus told the disciples at the Last Supper to “love one another
as I have loved you”, He might almost have said, “Love one another, for the way
in which you love each other will be the way in which you love me”. It is a thought
that invites us to drive from our hearts every movement of hostility and
coldness, even towards those who have hurt us. This is a blessing that only the
grace of Jesus can work in us. We must not imagine that love of neighbour
exhausts our duty to God, for Jesus confirmed that the greatest commandment has
two requirements: love of neighbour of course, but also love of God. Yet these two are in some ways intertwined. As Saint John
argues in one of his letters, “How can you love the God you do not see if you
do not love the brother that you do see?” (I quote the words approximately, but
it is 1 John 4: 20!). The worst sin as we know is not against neighbour but
against God, for it is the sin against the Holy Spirit. As to what is required of any
individual in this moment of the last judgement, we can cite
also the words of Jesus elsewhere: to whom much is given, much will be expected
(Luke 12: 48). God will judge not only according to His law but according to
the gifts that He gave to every individual. Now, there is a sobering thought.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And, so we come to the final act of the last judgement when
the effects of the separation that Jesus spoke of at the beginning become
apparent in their fullest sense. And we hear words that are now so deeply
unfashionable that some might even believe Jesus could not have said them: “Go
away from me with your curse upon you to the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels.” The Sacred Heart, the Divine Mercy Incarnate, the gentle
Jesus of countless children's carols - this Jesus who came to heal the contrite
is also the Judge who pronounces the most terrible of sentences. Our one
consolation here is that we know this Judge will make no mistakes. He knows
everything: every thought,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>every word, every
act of love and every act of rebellion of which we are the author. We do not
often think of Him in this powerful position, but it should be a reminder to us
that when we ask for mercy, we cannot trade in it cheaply. When we ask for His
mercy, it must be to reconcile ourselves with Him; not to soothe the disappointment
of our self-love which is wounded by our failure to follow Him. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As we dwell on these three scenes, we cannot go forward
without acknowledging the horror of eternal suffering. It is quite common these
days to dally with theories about whether hell is empty. Even a lot of high-placed
clergy are prone to this kind of wishful thinking. This blog is not a place of controversy to
address that issue but let us at least observe the following. Nobody should
even consider such a question who has not conceived in their hearts a horror
for sin equal to their horror for the idea of eternal damnation: horror for sin
because it separates us from God, because it disfigures His image in us, and because
it alienates us from everything that He calls us to. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May every reader hear the words that are spoken to the sheep.
But let us not forget: there will be sheep and there will be goats. Jesus Himself says it. Mercy itself makes
no sense without justice.<o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-26034659123523717892024-02-14T09:20:00.001+00:002024-02-15T15:47:03.090+00:00Lent Series: Self-awareness and St. Teresa of Avila, Part 1<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">St. Teresa of Avila wrote about spiritual self-awareness in her book, The Interior Castle'. She believed self-awareness was a vital ingredient for growth in the spiritual life and the journey to union with God. She said Self-knowledge is important in helping open up to the love of God, able to see ourselves as God sees us, open to being teachable and willing to surrender to the forming action of God in our life, all through learning who we are and ‘Whose’ we are.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-0c259bf1-7fff-1c90-3076-3440b4c5807c"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What did Teresa mean by self-awareness? How did she propose to obtain it? The journey begins in the ‘room of self-knowledge’, a necessary place of humility and simple appraisal of our soul before God. This is the essential place to begin this journey of prayer. It is the only way to a deeper spiritual life. Staying in this 'room', pondering God’s word, learning He is waiting there for us, will lead to greater self knowledge, awareness of our need for God and our dependence upon Him. We will see more clearly how Jesus humbled Himself for us and reflect on our lack of humility. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Teresa said true humility is central to growth in self-knowledge on the journey to the truth of the soul and union with God, even though this might cause discomfort. Humility lays us bare to the truth, of how small and limited we are, and the infinity of Who God is and of our distance from Him, the gap between us. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Once we have learned enough of ourselves to see this huge gap, we are standing in the truth</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">of the situation and true humility will result. This journey can be traced from her first lines in the Interior Castle all the way through to the seventh mansion, where the soul is ready for union with God. This work must never be abandoned.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Lack of humility often goes unnoticed as we are blind to our motivations and attitudes. We can fail to see ourselves truthfully, to admit our pride and see our reality before the reality God sees. True humility should become a daily habit. Teresa insists on knowledge of the grandeur of God and work for self-awareness to please God, going hand in hand to help increase humility. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Teresa said humility is essential to self-awareness, seeing ourselves more clearly, knowing ourselves better and growing in compassion for others at the same time. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">We will often need to return through the 'rooms' of self-awareness throughout the journey of prayer. As we will see next time, Teresa followed St. Augustine’s thought that only in forgetting self and looking within would we find God.</span></p><div><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-61025900460533655672024-02-13T08:01:00.004+00:002024-02-13T08:01:45.455+00:00Keep it safe, keep it secret<p>Frequently in the gospel of Saint Mark that we are reading
day by day, Jesus tells someone He has cured (or the family of someone He has
raised from the dead) not to tell anyone about it. What is the meaning of this
mysterious desire of Jesus who has, after all, come to be a light to the Gentiles?
If Jesus is here to share revelation with us, then surely, He should be giving
these people the very opposite instruction. Could it be that these words were
said with a wink and a smile, as if both He and His listeners knew very well
that such miracles could never be concealed?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to some authorities, Jesus’ intention is something
quite different. Jesus wants those who benefit from his miracles not to turn
them into a huge spectacle but rather to reflect deeply on the meaning that
such interventions have in their lives. Let us imagine for a moment that we
were the recipient of such a miraculous cure. The very first question we would
ask ourselves is not how many people can we tell but rather: what does this
miracle mean for me and for God's purposes for my life? The restoration of good
health, or indeed of life, is not an absolute end in itself. Jesus is not
simply the minister of well-being. These cures and these resurrections point
beyond the natural order towards the supernatural and eternal vocation to which their
beneficiaries and we are called. Just as our personal vocation (the particular
form of holiness which God calls us to) precedes and accompanies our vocation
to a state in life (married or religious life, priesthood or single life), so it would seem that sounding the deepest meaning of the
miracles of Jesus precedes the noisy, gossipy festivity that they always seem to have unleashed.
If we are simply overcome by the performance, we are in danger of missing the
reality. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The message here is not so much to be secret. The message
rather is: go out into the deep. Do not stay in the shallows: dare to plunge into the very
depths of truth. The surface appearance will always be there and almost any
fool can see it. God's invitation is to cast ourselves into the abyss of His
mysteries. <o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-50165852329240002512024-02-05T09:57:00.002+00:002024-02-06T08:00:40.788+00:00Touching the hem of His garment<p>Today’s gospel (Mark 6: 53-56) is very short and very
simple, as are its implications for us. Where are we in these simple scenes that
reveal a growing mass of people following Jesus and bringing the sick to him to
be healed? We are perhaps there in three ways in this gospel.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sometimes we are like those who bring the sick to Jesus. The
older we get, the longer becomes our list of prayer intentions for
others. We know more people who die, who are sick or who clearly need the balm
of Jesus’ grace. We should bring them to Him in their droves; batter the door
of His heart for their good. And include all those we have failed or led into
sin ourselves. Whenever we failed in our vocation, we let down someone other than
God, for then we missed the role Providence had assigned to us in their
lives. Let us bring them to Him in all their need.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sometimes we are also like the ones who are brought to Jesus.
We may be barely conscious. We may feel like every move makes our wounds ache
and our inner being revolt. But His is the healing touch. Here we are reminded
of the sorrow that tinges the edges of the Presentation that we celebrated on
Friday. The sword of sorrow is there for us all, and that is where our path
often leads. We are disciples of a Lord who is only waiting to be lifted up on
the cross to draw the world to Himself. If we are conformed to Him, there will
be a share in that suffering.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And sometimes, I wonder finally if we are like the crowd who milled
in Jesus’ sight, a mass of sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9: 36). For
leadership in our time seems to fail in so many places. Our politicians make unspeakable
laws and embrace unspeakable compromises, while for the last two decades our spiritual leaders have been beset by sexual
scandal. Let our consolation be that Jesus looks upon us in this chaos with His
deepest compassion. For those who love God all things work together unto good,
says St Paul (even sin, adds St Augustine). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>And all those who touched Him were cured</i>, the gospel
concludes. Well, we know what to do then, or we know what we need to aspire to.<o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-67269337431260367252024-02-02T09:31:00.004+00:002024-02-06T07:58:50.723+00:00Joy and suffering at Candlemas<p> Today’s gospel (Luke 2: 22-40) is full of fulfilled longing
and pathos yet to come. Like any moment in our own lives, there is a sense of
something having been accomplished, and of a road ahead that contains both
light and darkness.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The longing fulfilled in tangibly the longing of Simeon, but
he stands in a way for the longing of all the prophets and fathers of old, the
people of Israel awaiting their Saviour whose day has dawned with the birth of
Jesus. Jesus is even named as ‘Israel’s comforting’ because whatever the
consolations of the Old Law, there is beneath it an enduring anguish of waiting
for the wisdom of God to be fulfilled. Most beautifully, Simeon also recognises
that the comfort of Israel is not just for Israel but is a light to enlighten
the gentiles whose pagan anguish and darkness exceeds the anguish of the Jews.
The traditional Catholic ritual this day involved a procession of candles (to
symbolise the light of Christ, in anticipation of the Easter light), as the
choir would sing with the sweetest melody, <i>Lumen ad revelationem gentium</i>
– a light for the revelation of the gentiles. Simeon’s joy that day is our joy
now: he had encountered the longed-for Christ, and his joy was complete. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yet there is pathos – suffering – still to come in this
scene. The light has arrived, yet His dawning is but the beginning of a journey
which will, as Simeon warns, drive a sword through the heart of his Mother. Such
suffering is inseparable from the joy. Love is the cause of joy, but it is also
the reason for suffering for we suffer on account of what we love. Mary’s
heart, as Simeon says, is in some senses a source of revelation from which we
learn how those who love Jesus look upon His suffering. In other words, if with
Simeon and Mary we have the joy of the presence of the Lord, a joy renewed in
his Resurrection, we will inevitably face our own anguish too, for our Saviour
does not come initially as a victorious conqueror but builds His kingdom on the foundation
of Calvary, a place of execution. Joseph too shares in this suffering and joy
as the silent witness of these mysteries. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We wish each other joy this feast of Candlemas. We should
wish each other <i>faithfulness</i> too, the faithfulness of Simeon. But if we
love the Lord, as we say we do, that faithfulness will cost us suffering before
the final victory. Mary’s immaculate heart is not some pious symbol. It is a
hallmark planted by the consuming love of God upon the frail flesh of our Mother
in Christ. <o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-68851420585307286372024-01-29T09:06:00.000+00:002024-01-29T09:06:07.064+00:00Our souls as the battleground<p>Today's gospel (Mark 5: 1-20) is one of the most touching
and bewildering in all of St Mark’s life of our Lord. It is most touching, on the
one hand, because Jesus delivers a man who is in utter torment from a large
number of demons. It is most bewildering because it is not really clear why
Jesus should send these demons into a local herd of pigs who then destroy
themselves by running off a cliff.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our hearts must go out to the man possessed in this incident.
He is tortured by the demons who have possessed him. Demonic
possession is a real, not a symbolic, spiritual event, and it requires a real
ministry of exorcists to manage it even today. But this man’s misery is not only spiritual
or psychological. In addition to his internal torment, he lives in a cemetery, howls
his pain day and night to whoever will hear him, and even gashes himself with
stones. This last action may in fact be an attempt at self-therapy, but self-therapy
of this kind is itself a torture and cruel burden. If we read these events at a
spiritual level, however, this possessed man could stand for any soul who becomes
seduced by passions or appetites within, only to find that such passions and
appetites themselves become torturers who exact full payment. Perhaps these
appetites are for bodily or sensuous pleasures or, for the more pious, perhaps these appetites are
for spiritual satisfactions: certainties, signs of approval from God, self-validation
and things of this sort. These too can torture no less than sensuous passions
to which one has become enslaved. Religious idealism is not a sign of integrity
but a dangerous disguise of inner disorder. Who can free us from the body of
this death? We know the answer And it is not ourselves.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What is more bewildering in this gospel is the fact that
Jesus drove out the demons from this man's soul and allowed them to enter the
herd of swine which then plunged themselves over the edge of a cliff. The
effect of this event was so great that the people of the town begged Jesus to
leave the area. Indeed, the gospel tells us that the people of the town were
afraid at what had happened. The Fathers of the Church commenting on this scene
offer various interpretations of its meaning. Perhaps the most persuasive,
however, is the Jesus is showing the townspeople, and by extension anyone who
hears about this event, about the terrible, destructive power that demons can
wield. The only “solace” the townspeople had offered to the man possessed was
to attempt to put him in chains which he broke in his fury. But this will not
do. We cannot protect ourselves from evil by pretending it does not exist or by building imaginary safe spaces for our modern souls. We
cannot guard against the gates of hell by minimising the risks.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Especially in our own day, the ambient culture is so enamoured
of individual choice that we do not like to think upon the consequences of
those who give themselves to evil actions. The story of the men set free of the
legion of demons should be a lesson for us that ignorance is no protection, and
that we are called to conversion because our souls are a battleground of the
Kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-56874029934710193112024-01-22T07:53:00.002+00:002024-01-22T07:53:45.686+00:00The devil and our vocation<p>In today's gospel (Mark 3:22-30), Jesus crosses swords, as He so often does, with the scribes, but his argument is subtle. The principle
on which it depends is that no Kingdom divided against itself can stand. Jesus applies
this principle to demonstrate that He cannot be in league with the devil.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The strength of this argument, however, was probably more
apparent to the onlookers that heard it. How could anyone think that Jesus was
an agent of Beelzebub if they had witnessed the ways in which He had cured the
sick, healed the leper, restored hope to the hopeless, and shown mercy to those
on the brink of despair? The very fact that the scribes raised the question
says more about them and the state of their souls than it does about Him. This
is yet again an example of something which today is unfashionable to say. Although
we must not judge people’s intentions, the reality is that some people do act in
bad faith with bad intentions, and all the while are quite happy to lord it
over others. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This, by the way, seems to be the subtext of Jesus’ final remark
about those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. Once someone has decided
that God is wicked, that God is the source of evil rather than the source of
all good, how will that person ever turn again? In the case of the scribes,
they were witnesses to some of the most remarkable interventions that God had
made in history, and yet here they were speculating about whether Jesus was
really of the devil. Sinners can only be saved by God Himself, so how can
they be saved if they have said God is in fact the source of evil? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In truth, however, the kingdom of the devil, such as it is, cannot
but be divided against itself. Even if it is united by the desire to pull down
every effort to build God's Kingdom, it is shattered with the division that
comes from the ego-centred choices that separate every fallen Angel and every
fallen soul from its Creator. Those choices are wrong not just because they are oriented towards the ego and not God; they are wrong also because they are an assault on the place that God wishes to assign us in the symphony of His goodness. The diabolical is literally that which is ‘thrown
across’ - something violently at odds with the path it is meant to be on. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The failure to recognise and pursue our vocation is not just
a missed opportunity. It is literally an initiation to the diabolical path that
contradicts our eternal call.<o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-23052854619029842772024-01-15T08:59:00.008+00:002024-01-15T08:59:55.694+00:00Going out with tears, coming home with gladness.<p> In today's gospel (Mark 2:18-22), Jesus shares with us a
paradox that shapes the life of every believer who is committed to following Him.
Some of his critics question why his disciples do not fast, and Jesus tells
them that as long as the disciples are with the Bridegroom, it is not fitting
that they fast, but that a time for fasting will come. It is probably worth
noting that while penance is a deeply unfashionable not to say enduringly
unpleasant feature of our religion, it is one which comes from the Lord himself.
As he says elsewhere, “Unless you do penance, you will all likewise perish
(Luke 13: 5).”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But let us dwell on the paradox here. We are the disciples
insofar as we dwell with the Bridegroom, and happily we <i>always </i>dwell with the Bridegroom as long as we do not lose Him through mortal sin.
Jesus himself tells us that He and the Father (and, thereby, necessarily the
Spirit also) dwell in the souls of those who love Him. What is eternal life
except to dwell with Him? In this limited sense, we already hold eternal life
in our hands. Our horizons should be different from those of other human beings.
We walk with another compass and guide ourselves by another map. In the final
analysis, a soul living the Christian life is held in God's almighty embrace of
love and returns that embrace to the God who has saved them.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But here comes the paradox. While in one way we are with the
Bridegroom, in another way we are still wayfarers on our journey towards the
wedding. While He dwells in our souls, our attention and our hearts are
constantly surrounded by the things of this world, and being the fallen
creatures we are, our minds and hearts too often seek their happiness there. And
we are fallen creatures! If any man thinks he can stand, let him take heed lest
he fall, says Saint Paul. The good that we wish to do, we do not, while the
evil we would avoid we sometimes do (again St Paul who is not letting us
slackers off the hook!). Actually, the same wisdom about the fallibility of
human nature can be found in the writers of classical antiquity. It was the
poet Ovid who wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>I see and approve the better things,<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>But the worse things I follow. </i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Like all the paradoxes in our religion, we have to hold
these two things together. Rejoice because we dwell with the Bridegroom. Mourn
because we are sinners and we need to do penance, not only to train our wills
in some ascetic sense, but to share in the Bridegroom’s sufferings and so to
help make reparation for our sins - to fill up in our bodies the sufferings wanting to the passion of Christ, as St Paul tells the Colossians.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Those who forget either end of this paradox are in
trouble. If we lose hold of the necessity of living joyfully in tour hearts
with the Bridegroom, we risk becoming a grim burden to ourselves (and others) for nothing
alleviates the heavy atmosphere in which our hearts then live. If we lose hold
of the necessity of penance, we become doe-eyed religious narcissists who
never even think to darken the door of the confessional.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We live in joy but must season our smiles with tears until
we reach our journey's end.<o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-15494223426101804252023-12-29T10:53:00.002+00:002024-01-03T23:12:40.991+00:00Emptying out for greatness<p>Today's gospel (Luke 22: 24-30) is another example of how later episodes in the life of Jesus provide a commentary on earlier ones. The scene is the Last Supper. The disciples argue about who should be considered the greatest. And Jesus offers two lessons; first he points out that the greatest among them will be their servant, as He has made himself their servant; and second, He promises them that they will be exalted in the world to come as the judges of Israel.</p><p>Let us deal with the second of these. The future that Jesus promises the disciples is not our own. Theirs was a particular vocation related to their exalted calling as his principal witnesses; the members of the College of Bishops today are simply the heirs of this august group. What then is our own future, if we are faithful to Him? St Paul tells the Corinthians that eye has not seen nor ear heard what things God has prepared for those who love Him. Yet eternal life is not ultimately about conditions but about persons. Our future, if we are faithful unto the end, is to breathe forth our souls in peace with the God who has loved us from eternity. Hearts can be filled according to the measure that God has called them to. May we all be thus filled.</p><p>What then of the first lesson? In answer to the disciples' shallow one-upmanship, Jesus offers instead His own example of what St Paul again calls 'self emptying'. Jesus did not come to stand on His dignity, even if St John the Baptist says he was not fit to undo Jesus' very sandal. Rather, He lowered Himself in the eyes of the world from the very first moment of His earthly life, conceived in the womb of an obscure daughter of the House of David and born surrounded by animals and their filth. Look around the stable and what do we see? The witnesses of Christian self emptying.</p><p>By tradition, we observe a donkey - the little donkey of the carol - the diminutive cousin of the nobler horse, known especially for its dogged, plodding willingness as a beast of burden. There is no glory here; only the example of a willingness to submit to the crosses that accompany our obscure lives. Yet it is not the lion or the horse who accompany Jesus into Jerusalem but the donkey ... with shouts about his ears and palms beneath his feet.</p><p>Next to the donkey, again by tradition, comes the ox - symbol of the priestly cast and thereby often used as the emblem of St Luke whose gospel opens with the story of Zechariah. Yet what is the ox in the stable menagerie but a humble ruminant, chewing over and over again the extraordinary scenes in which it now figures? No glory here either; the power of the ox is not developed in a gym but comes from its grazing and rumination, as steady and as fixed as the eye of the contemplative who drinks in daily the mysteries of the Beloved.</p><p>But my favourite witness of Christian self-emptying in the stable is the straw of Jesus' crib. The straw - the spikey, bloodless, pele mele straw, incapable of providing comfort by a single strand alone but when bundled up and wrapped in cloth, a more than adequate mattress for the newly born Christ Child. How we can identify with the straw - with our distracted prayers, our resurgent needs and half-baked promises! Easily blown about, too cold, too weak - and yet here gathered together to be the comfort of our Saviour. </p><p>It is as the failing eyesight of the poet John Milton saw: they also serve who only stand and wait.</p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-43699555026039161672023-12-22T08:30:00.006+00:002023-12-22T10:02:25.571+00:00Of rebellion and redemption<p>Today’s gospel (Luke 1: 46-56) needs no introduction to a
COLW audience. It is for many of us a daily prayer. For all those who want to
turn towards God, it is a kind of anthem, a celebration of God’s gracious gaze
upon His servants, of His providential power, and of His enduring faithfulness
to Abraham and his descendants forever.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But there is something else in the Magnificat which is also
tangible: the reality of revolt and the reality of fidelity, the contrast between rebellion and redemption. In this light, two outstanding
temptations beset us every day: the temptation to make peace with our sins, and
the temptation to think God won’t mind them because He is a loving God. But they are lures in a world full of mortal danger.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The only human being who has ever been truly justified in
being at peace with their choices is the Blessed Mother. Conceived without the
stain of sin and constantly attuned to God’s will, Mary’s joy is to exult in
God at every moment of her life, even in her greatest trials. The Magnificat
tells us this. If we do not exult in the same way as Mary, it is because despite
our resolutions and efforts, we are still children of rebellion.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us not think that the <i>proud of heart</i> who are routed by
God in Mary's words are some other class of sinner to which <i>we </i>do not belong, thank heavens. <i>We</i>
are the proud of heart when we refuse God’s rule over our choices. We set
ourselves up as princes to be pulled down from our thrones when we prefer our way to God’s.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">No human felt more justly proud than Peter when Jesus
classed him as the rock of his Church (Matthew 16: 18-19), but within a few
verses we see Jesus denounce Peter as Satan (Matthew 16: 22-23) because he
judged the prospect of Jesus’ suffering from a human and not a divine
perspective. Here Peter enters into rebellion simply by imposing his worldly
judgement on the circumstances of the Passion that Jesus prophesied for the
disciples. Would that Peter had a tenth of the Virgin’s wisdom to understand how
sin had misled humanity and how far the plan of salvation would have to go – to
the very roots of our souls! – to bring us back from the brink.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And here the second temptation becomes germane. If God does
not really mind our revolt, why on earth does He tear the mighty from their
thrones? Why on earth does He feed the starving with good things and send the
rich away empty? Again, we must not see this purely as some kind of social
commentary. Who are the rich if not those who are full of themselves, their own
sufficiency, their own satisfactions and their own plans? Who are the rich if not ourselves when we make our own choices into the treasure we long for? Yet we do not know what is good for us. If God cares about
sin, it is not because He is a rigid rule giver; it is because He knows that we
can never be happy ultimately unless, as St Augustine says, our hearts rest in
Him. But for that, we must come down from our pinnacles of pride and turn to penance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If God were not to cast the mighty from their thrones, if He
were not to mind that we choose ourselves over Him, He would be giving up on
being God. Mary’s Magnificat not only tells us about her own vocation. It tells
us about the kind of God who loves us so much, that He is willing to conquer
every obstacle we place in His way, in all our rebellion against Him, if we
will but let go of our tinsel crowns and seats of power and join our ‘yes’ to
Mary’s ‘yes’. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The Magnificat is a resounding 'yes' to God's reconciliation and 'no' to the revolt that sets us against Him. We cannot say 'yes' to God without in some way saying 'no' to ourselves. There is no Magnificat that does not somehow involve the Cross which leads the way to the uplands of God's peace.<o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-19461091022481554322023-12-19T10:03:00.005+00:002023-12-19T10:12:19.528+00:00Zechariah and Mary in a world of unbeliefToday's gospel (Luke 1: 5-25) relates the story of Zechariah to whom the Angel Gabriel appears as he ministers in the temple. There are two angelic visions in this chapter of Luke: in one, a humble and obscure virgin hears the divine message and speaks her 'yes' that changes history; in the other, a specially chosen priest who offers incense in the temple, hears the divine message, sceptically questions it, and ends up under a curse that leaves him speechless. Who says there is no justice?<div><br /></div><div>How the mighty fall! Minutes before writing this, I was listening to Esther Rantzen on the radio, relating in her warm and friendly tones how, now that she has Stage 4 cancer, she has joined Dignitas and believes fully in the compassionate freedom of being able to end her own life. Rantzen, the social conscience of Britain, voice of the voiceless and champion of the weak, stands now for death. But what has this to do with Zechariah?</div><div><br /></div><div>Everything. Zechariah is a priest, chosen from among men in the things that pertain to God, as St Paul says in the letter to the Hebrews. At the appointed time, he enters the inner sanctuary of the temple and there performs the ceremony of the offering of incense. His is a ministry of mercy and compassion, interceding for the people. Then, while interceding before the divine presence while the people watch on from outside, Zechariah gives way to his scepticism in the face of God. Zechariah, mediator with God and the most privileged of men, stands now for unbelief.</div><div><br /></div><div>But, isn't Zechariah the model of reason and good sense (like Rantzen)? Do not humanity and compassion underpin all his difficulties as he faces his angelic visitor? What after all are his objections?</div><div><br /></div><div><i>'How can I be sure of this?'</i> he says - an admirably humble response, not wishing to trust in himself... <i>'I am an old man and my wife is getting on in years' </i>- which seems to show how very prudent Zechariah really was, knowing his limitations and those of his spouse... Are we sure this is not so? </div><div><br /></div><div>The modern response to what happens next is easy to imagine. How cruel, it would say, does Gabriel then become? Refusing to have mercy on Zechariah's just fear and ignoring Zechariah's humble admission of weakness, Gabriel brings down a punishment like some appallingly cruel Greek deity. How callous is God who places such burdens on Zechariah when he surely cannot carry them? Such, I imagine, is the compassionate commentary.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Zechariah's uncertainty does not bespeak humility; it bespeaks complexity. Zechariah, who is supposed to be worthy of his priesthood, is unfamiliar with the divine, possibly through lack of deep prayer. His response to Gabriel is not a sign that he does not trust himself; it is a sign that he is resistant to seeing things from God's perspective. </div><div><br /></div><div>Likewise, Zechariah's complaint that he and his wife are too old is the age-old human pretext for not doing what God asks of us. We say we cannot, but we are then usually trying to cross the bridge before we come to it. God will send us what we need in the right moment, and not before. </div><div><br /></div><div>Before we enter Christmas, these two poles stretch before us, marking out the tension that rends the world asunder. Zechariah, the mighty priest with a ministry of compassion, who stands before God's presence in the temple, is the model of infidelity and unfaithfulness. Mary in all her obscurity, who runs to her cousin Elizabeth with tales of her joy in God, is the model of constancy and acceptance. Only the priesthood of Jesus - a priesthood he receives thanks to the human nature that comes from Mary's flesh - marries priestly dignity and the perfection of goodness. And its advent in the world is now imminent. </div>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-50563580529874667142023-12-16T09:10:00.001+00:002023-12-16T09:10:34.809+00:00Elijah in a world of information<p>Today's brief gospel (Matthew 17: 10-13) is another of those episodes in which the disciples are invited to think a little deeper than the plainly obvious. </p><p>They are indulging in that favourite pastime of some believers to speculate about future prophesies. It is almost always a mistake. Of course there are literal and historical senses to Scripture, as the Chutch teaches, but when the reader treats the Sacred Scriptures like they are no more than a text in the world of information - as if they were a book of recipes or a set of technical instructions- then the reader is likely to bounce off the surface. </p><p>Proof that the Sacred Scriptures are more than mere information lies in the way Jesus speaks about John the Baptist as Elijah. He leaves it to the disciples to work this out. He does not make it clear for them. On most occasions, Jesus does not practise the pedagogy of OFSTED or follow the principles of the Campaign for Plain English. </p><p>Jesus stoops to pick us up in our sorry state of sin, for we are travellers waylaid on our way to Jericho. But one of the challenges of receiving His mercy is that as He picks us up, we must yield to His mystery; submit not only to the depth of His Truth but also to His way of communicating Himself to us. In this, we are like owls blinking in blinding sunlight, disoriented by the merging of mystery and truth, metaphor and symbol, and by the realities that these things point to. Was John the Baptist Elijah or was Elijah John? Not in any literal sense. But the convergence of these two heroes of faith in Jesus' discourse shows us something of God's mysterious mode of teaching, of inviting us to abandon our prosody and rise to the poetry of the Divine Mysteries. </p><p>People speak these days of love languages, and say that the real lover seeks to understand and communicate in the love language of the other. But God is different. While allowing for our weakness, God's love language is so much deeper and richer than ours because His love is so much richer and deeper than ours. If He stoops a little towards us, it is to make us go further up and further in to the reality that He is. </p><p>It is time to stop speculating and explaining (although these have their moment, of course). In these days before Christmas, it is time to pray for the grace to surrender ourselves to the radiance of His wisdom.</p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2668220723170110816.post-82788180668182229932023-12-11T10:04:00.002+00:002023-12-11T11:59:37.539+00:00Go home!<p> Today’s gospel (Luke 5: 17-26) contains three very simple
commands from Jesus: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home. Jesus is
demonstrating to the Pharisees and scribes that He indeed has the power to
forgive sins. He does this by miraculously demonstrating His power over nature.
But He is not only demonstrating His power. He is also curing a man who has
been so helpless, he needed his friends to carry him about on a stretcher.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As almost always in the gospel, however, the physical ailment
is a sign and symbol of something deeper. The man’s paralysis is the immobility
that comes upon the soul who is immersed in sin, who has lost the ability to
discover and seize its own freedom. The man needs a liberator from his sins,
just as he needs a liberator from his physical paralysis. Without grace – God’s
free intervention – he and we are lost. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But dwell for a moment on the final command: ‘go home’. It
is the simplest of orders, and yet it says so much about the sinful condition.
To sin is to go away from home; from home and from family, notably our Beloved
Father. To be cured of sin through repentance and in the Sacrament of
Confession is to set out on the journey home. Home is not only where the heart
is, but it is where we belong by providence. Every going out is undertaken in
view of a returning home. The world does not, or at least should not, revolve
around the office desk or the factory machine, but around the family dinner
table where grace and gladness meet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are most ourselves when we are set free in the wild adventure of domesticity,
rather than competing for the recognition of employers or the admiration of the
world at large.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Go home. This is Christ’s agenda. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Cheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14482248798568539188noreply@blogger.com0