“[W]hen you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you” (Lk 14:13-14).

The words of Jesus today give us the key to loving unconditionally. We are to resist the temptation of doing, so that we can receive thanks or praise. The only motive is to reach out to the needs of those in our midst for its own sake. We embrace our dignity as human beings when we recognize the inherent dignity of another and serve them without hesitation, without holding anything back.

This is the root of what we mean when we say that we are believers in the God of Jesus Christ. This God is a divine community of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father gives all that he is to the Son perfectly, infinitely, holding nothing back. The Son receives all that he has been given perfectly, infinitely and returns, in like fashion, what he has received to the Father. The infinite Love shared between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit.

Through the Son of God becoming incarnate, becoming one with us in our humanity and returning to the Father at his Ascension, we now participate in that same divine love given and received between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We do not give of our time, our talent, and our treasure, because we will be given in return – more time, more talent, more treasure. We give, we love, because we have already been loved into existence by a loving God.

The very fact that we exist, that we have life, is a gift. What it means to be human is to be able to look into the eye of every person we meet and see in them our brother and sister. With each smile, each embrace, each listening ear, and each act of walking with another, we reaffirm to each other that we exist, that we have dignity, having been created in the image and likeness of God who is Love.

Jesus, open our hearts and minds to the wonderful gift of participating in the love given and received between you and the Father. In this way, may we too experience the Holy Spirit, that we may have the courage to mirror your unconditional communion of love here on earth with those we meet today.

Photo: Jesus on the grounds of Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center

Link for today’s Mass readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110617.cfm

I have been working since I was twelve years old. My first job was as a paperboy. I delivered newspapers in our neighborhood. When I was fourteen I worked the summer on a farm cultivating and picking shade tobacco. Through high school, I worked at McDonalds and then through college, I worked second shift as a nurse’s aide at a nursing home.

The gift of these opportunities was more than making money, it was an opportunity that God provided for me to draw me out of myself and provide me with the ability to serve the needs of others. This was especially true working in the nursing home. Caring for my elders was pretty demanding work, especially in my last few years working there because we were consistently short of help. During that time I had been punched, peed and pooped on, and you haven’t lived until you have had the privilege of taking someone’s dentures out of their mouth that wants them to stay in.

Yet, I would not trade those five years for anything. Through my time there, I learned the deeper meaning of love, agape, that is unconditional love. What St Thomas Aquinas calls, willing the good of the other. The residents and my colleagues drew me out of my own self-centered state of looking at the world. In those years I became more alive, more human.

This is what our job as Christian is to be. Pope Francis in his August 2, 2017 weekly general audience addressed this point when he said, “Baptism is the reason for our hope, and it should inspire us to give off our light even in the most mundane or difficult moments throughout daily life.”

Pope Francis in the same address also said, “What a grace when a Christian truly becomes a Christ-bearer in the world.” Mary is known by the Greek title of Theotokos. This means God bearer. Mary bore Jesus, the incarnate Son of God into the world. We are to be God bearers as well. This is our ultimate calling, this is what we have been created for, this is to be our purpose in life.

How are we to bear Christ to one another? One way is revealed in today’s Gospel “The greatest among you must be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23:11-12).

Being a Christ bearer starts with developing a relationship with God. We need to be humble before God. This is not a false humility where we walk around saying we are nothing. What this does mean is acknowledging that God is God and we are not. This means surrendering our ego to the Lord of all creation. God will give us that which we need to bring Christ to the world. St Mother Teresa of Calcutta gives us the perfect image; we are to be a pencil in God’s hand. He moves us through the Holy Spirit and we write his love song.

“For as long as I shall live I will testify to love. I’ll be a witness in the silences, words are not enough. With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above. For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love.” – Chorus from “Testify to Love.”

To be a Christ bearer means we need to be loving, to be humble. Being a Christ bearer also means that we are to be gentle and kind with one another. St Paul shows how he ministered in this way with the Thessalonians: “We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us.”

We are to have the humility to serve one another with kindness, with gentleness. We are called to accompany, to walk with one another. To be there for one another in our needs and struggles. The more we give, sharing of our time, talent, and treasure, emptying ourselves, the more God fills us up. Once we are filled with the love and mercy of God, we are ready to go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

Bearing God to the world is not easy. We live in a fallen world of darkness and sin in which many prefer to remain in the darkness. Sin has not destroyed us, it has only wounded us. This is why we need to resist imposing our faith, instead we need to be inviting, modeling our life with the joy of the Gospel.  We are called to minister, to be a healing salve to others, to assist in bearing one another’s burdens.

Paraphrasing Pope Francis, we need to remember that as Christ Bearers we don’t believe in darkness, but in the light of day; we don’t succumb to the night, but wait for the dawn; we are not defeated by death, but long to rise again; we are not bowed down by evil, because we trust in the infinite power of good.

Let us take courage.

Be not afraid.

Let us bear the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness in our corner of the world, in our realm of our influence this day. As long as we shall live, let us testify to love.

Photo: Early morning at Cardinal Newman High School

“Testify To Love” Avalon CCLI# 2572844 Copyright (c) 1996,1998 Universal Music Corp.

Pope Francis. General Audience. August 2, 2017:

https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2017/documents/papa-francesco_20170802_udienza-generale.html

Link for today’s readings for the Mass:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110517.cfm

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:11).

With these words, Jesus ends his parable about people jockeying for seats of honor, when in fact that is the place of the host to determine the seating. Jesus also addressed this same issue with the Apostles when James and John requested to sit, one on his right and the other on his left when he would come in his glory (cf. Mark 10:35-45). True humility is submitting ourselves to the will of God and acting as he directs such that he is given the glory and not us.

A memory of mine from third grade has been coming back to me recently. It was the feeling one day of someone watching me in the classroom, not classmates or the teacher. I do not believe I was paranoid, nor do I now. What I think the experience was about was me starting to be aware of me from the outside of myself, kind of looking in at myself as I perceived others as seeing me.

Maybe this was the awakening of my ego. I am no psychiatrist, this is all speculation on my part, but I feel as if that memory and today’s Gospel reading has converged. How often throughout my life have I made decisions seeking others’ approval, but just as often, I chose my actions regarding perceived opinions on my part, not actual decisions requested of me directly. These perceived opinions were much more subtle in nature, but also could multiply so to be debilitating at times when I sought to make a decision.

What I am coming to realize, is that it is more important to align myself to God’s will for my life. This does not mean that I am turning my back on family, friends, and colleagues, but in point of fact, by coming to a better understanding of God’s will, I am more authentic in my interactions with others instead of operating from a posture of appeasement, which is more disingenuous. In so doing, I am better able to be present to others for their needs and not my own.

What may have been going on with those at dinner seeking the closer seats to the host, what impelled James and John to want to sit at Jesus’ right and left when he came into his glory, was that they were seeking honor, prestige, glory, acceptance to feed their egos, their false senses of self. What Jesus is teaching us is to align our energy and seeking God’s will and we will find the fulfillment and joy that we seek. This is the transformation we saw happen in Peter. He protected himself at the cost of denying Jesus three times but forgiven by the mercy of Jesus he gave himself in love to serve him and his Church to his death.

May we seek freedom from indecision, mental distractions, and temptations that we entertain to build up our own ego. Let us pray instead for a clearer mind, heart, and spirit that can discern clearly the will of God, and the courage and confidence to act upon his leading without hesitation. May we surrender our ego to God, as Mother Teresa is known for saying, to become a simple pencil in God’s hand. Instead of seeking honor, recognition, and praise, let our intention rather be to follow God’s leading and to serve others unconditionally, willing their good. In dying to our ego-self,, may we go forward today living for Jesus. In our baptism we have been crucified with Christ, so it is no longer we who live, but Christ in us (cf. Galatians 2:20).

Photo: Statue of St Peter in our rosary garden at St Peter Catholic Church.

Link for today’s Mass reading:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110417.cfm

“Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” But they were unable to answer his question (Lk 14:5-6).

Jesus was again dealing with the issue to heal or not to heal on the Sabbath. Jesus was dining at the home of a leading Pharisee. While there, Jesus noticed a person suffering from dropsy. This English word is derived from the Greek word hydrōpikos which refers to the swelling caused by the retention of fluid, or edema (cf. Johnson, 223). If you have ever experienced swelling of the joints it can be uncomfortable at best and extremely painful or debilitating at worst, especially if one’s livelihood is dependent on hard labor.

Jesus again showed his keen awareness and compassion, yet, why does Jesus keep healing on the Sabbath? He knows it gets under the skin of the Pharisees, why doesn’t he just heal the day before or after the Sabbath? Jesus, in the line of the prophetic tradition, utilized these confrontations regarding Sabbath observance as teachable moments to make a point. Jesus wanted to help the Pharisees and others observing these interactions understand what it meant to know and follow the will of God. Ultimately, what Jesus proposed through his consistent healing on the Sabbath was that the dignity of the person is to be the barometer in guiding whether we are following the will of God or not. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus stated that the Sabbath was made for people, and not people for the Sabbath (cf. Mark 2:27).

Jesus was not questioning the Sabbath, he was boring down on the core issue. The real debate was not about whether to heal or not, but what had been debated often in Jewish circles was how to define work. It was doing work that was to be avoided on the Sabbath. The further inference Jesus was making was that respecting the dignity of the person ought to be the starting point about making any decision, policy, or observed practice.

May we take time to reflect over the course of the past twenty-four hours. How did we treat those we interacted with in person, online, in traffic and those we are watching on the television? What we think about another directly or indirectly does make a difference in their and our welfare. If we find that we have been thinking, speaking, acting, or looking, in any way that has been less than kind, encouraging, or empowering, may we seek God’s forgiveness. May we also pray for the grace to begin each day with a firmer intent to think, speak, act, and look at another with the primary intent of willing their good.

May we also pray for those who lead us, secularly as well as religiously. May each policy that is formulated; how we deal with the unborn, health care, aboriginal rights, law enforcement, capital punishment, immigration reform, racism, interfaith or no faith, sexual orientation, end of life issues, scientific advancement, military decisions regarding war and peace, begin with the dignity of the person. Building a culture of life starts person to person, but doesn’t just stop there. We also need to stand up when the dignity of our brothers and sisters are not respected. May we be inspired by Jesus to be aware of the needs of another, be moved with compassion to want to help another, and the courage to embrace and walk with another.

Photo: I’m drumming with Albert White Hat, Sr. (November 18, 1938 – June 13, 2013) and neighbors at the Lakota Summer Institute, Rosebud Reservation, SD. I believe in the summer of 1990. I feel blessed having had the opportunity to learn from and spend time with Albert that summer. He taught me a lot about respecting the dignity of the person.

Link for today’s Mass readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110317.cfm

Johnson, Luke T. 2007. “The Gospel of Luke”. In vol. 3, Sacra Pagina Series, edited by Daniel J. Harrington. Minnesota, Liturgical Press, 1991.

“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day” (Jn 6:40).

This is what we believe, this is our hope, that we who see Jesus and believe in him shall have eternal life. This is God’s will, this is what he created us for, to be in communion with him and one another in this life and the next. A word of assurance that I often lean on is from the book of Wisdom: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us utter destruction. But they are in peace” (Wisdom 3:1-3).

The miracle of Jesus raising the daughter of the official embodies these verses from Wisdom. As Jesus entered the home of the official many were “making a commotion” and Jesus dismissed them stating: “Go away! the girl is not dead but sleeping.” He was ridiculed by the crowd but paid them no heed, went to the girl, took her hand, “and the little girl arose” (cf. Mt 9:18-26).

Jesus’ assurance that the will of his Father was that all would be saved and experiences like the raising of the official’s daughter were seeds of hope that he planted in those who followed him. They witnessed  his actions and words, and not only kept these experiences in their hearts, but shared their stories. This is the gift of the Gospels. That we are able to enter these same encounters with Jesus to experience again and again that the kingdom of God is at hand.

Today, All Souls Day, we celebrate those who are victorious in Christ. Those souls who are now at peace with him. Though we may or may not encounter them again in this life, they see us. Let us pray for them and ask them to pray for us. May we open our hearts, souls, and minds to Jesus so that we too, like those who have gone before us, may believe and have eternal life. Share this Good News!

Photo: Remembering my maternal grandparents

Link for today’s Mass readings

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110217.cfm

In lower Manhattan yesterday, a man drove a truck into a biker’s lane and then hit a school bus. As of this writing, eight people were killed and eleven were injured. Our Gospel reading today from Matthew presents Jesus sharing the Beatitudes from his Sermon on the Mount. The second Beatitude is: “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Mt 5:4).

Another word for blessed is happy. How are we to feel blessed, or happy? How do the families and friends of those who died feel blessed? We seem to hear of mass killings through violent acts on a weekly basis. From a theological point of reference, one response is that Jesus is speaking from the perspective of the eschatological event, his second coming at the end of time, and that we can rely on the hope that for all those who sleep in Christ will rise with him on the last day.

I do not dispute that claim, but I also believe that Jesus was also speaking about our day to day experiences as well. Jesus said, as is recorded in Mark 1:15: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.” Jesus, was the kingdom at hand, just an outstretched arm away. The key to this beatitude is that those who mourn will be blessed, will be happy. Meaning, we are blessed if we enter into the grief and the suffering of the loss and not run away from the agony and pain that threatens to overwhelm us. Also, Jesus’ invitation to embrace the pain is offered, because by entering into our pain and suffering we come to encounter Jesus on the cross with his arms wide open ready to embrace us in our agony, ache, and loss.

By experiencing the sorrow, to be able to mourn, we are in a better position to heal. If we ask God the why of such atrocities we may not receive a sufficient answer and I have yet heard anyone offer one. What I do believe is that his Son, who suffered the agony, loss, pain, and hurt as we did, understands what we are feeling. He is present with us and will guide us through to healing when we turn to him. As we free ourself through embracing the pain, not only are we able to come to a place of healing, we are also better able to experience the wonder of encountering our loved ones we believe lost, but come to the awareness that he or she is now found, risen with Christ. There have been many who have experienced consolation from a loved one’s after death encounter.

Today, we celebrate the gift of this promise of the Resurrection, the gift of the Communion of Saints on this All Saints Day. Those who have gone before us, those who from their heavenly home cheer us on, encourage us, intercede for us, have also welcomed those who have left our present dimension and entered a new plane of existence with God. Let us not be afraid to mourn, to shed a tear, to let loose the depth of our sorrow; for through the grace, mercy, and love of God the Father, we will be comforted.

Jesus suffered death, but that death did not have the last word. He conquered death and death no longer has any power over us. Yes, we mourn the loss of those we hold close to our heart, yet we also rejoice in their new life in Christ. St Paul of the Cross taught: “The world lives unmindful of the sufferings of Jesus which are the miracle of miracles of the love of God. We must arouse the world from its slumber.” When faced with the growing darkness of acts of violence and hatred, we must not give in to complacency, cynicism, or hatred, but instead like many first responders, be the hands and feet of Jesus so to rise up and love all the more.

Let us pray for the repose of the souls for those who died and Manhattan yesterday, those recovering from injuries and the trauma, as well as those who mourn.

Source for quote from St Paul of the Cross:

https://passionist.org/st-paul-of-the-cross-passionist-founder/

Photo:

Crucifix at the front entrance of Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center

Link for today’s Mass Readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110117.cfm

In today’s Gospel from Luke 13:18-21, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and yeast. Each of these elements are not only small but tiny. As an embryo within the shell, the seed is planted in the earth, provided with nourishment, and continues to germinate, develop and grow into a large bush. Yeast, a single-cell organism, is the catalyst for assisting dough to rise, strengthen, and ferment, thus providing a more appealing and tasty bread.

Jesus offered these simple examples from everyday agrarian life that his listeners definitely understood from experience. If we have planted seeds or made our own homemade bread, we could be in a better position to relate to these two small parables as well. Jesus himself worked in small ways, person to person, contact to contact, through personally inviting others to: follow, be healed, be exorcised, and/or be taught. Jesus’ interaction was not abstract theory but happened on the concrete, one to one level of breaking bread together, walking along the road together, sharing stories, healing with his touch, and he still does so today. The smallest, genuine act of kindness or love can seem insignificant to the onlooker, but what happens unseen, can show dramatic results over time.

There is a story that expresses this point called, “A Simple Gesture” from the collection Chicken Soup for the Soul. The short tale describes how one day a boy named Mark was walking home from school and came upon another boy who had tripped and dropped all of his books, two sweaters, his bat, glove and tape recorder. Mark offered to help carry some of the load of the other boy, who, as they walked home, found out was named Bill. They talked about common interests and when they approached Bill’s home, Bill invited Mark in for a Coke and to watch some T.V. They spent the afternoon together, then interacted on occasion for the rest of their middle school and into their high school years.

Three weeks prior to their graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill shared that the reason he had been carrying all of that stuff home that day was because he didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else to clean up. He had saved some of his mother’s sleeping pills and had planned to commit suicide. Bill shared that, after their original encounter and afternoon together, he realized if he had killed himself that day he would have missed more opportunities to talk and laugh. Bill finished the conversation by saying, “So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life” (Canfield and Hansen, 35-36).

Personal encounter was how Jesus helped others to realize that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Mark, in committing a random act of kindness for Bill, showed how this can still be true today. Like a modern day Good Samaritan parable, “A Simple Gesture”, helps us to see that when we are aware of opportunities to help and act upon them no matter how small, with genuine care, we can have a dramatic affect on another’s life. The opposite is also true. When we do not reach out or stand up for another, we can have a dramatic affect on another’s life.

Many people have a lot on their plate, we may not be aware of even half of what others are going through. That is why we need to be attentive to the move of the Spirit in our lives. When we are encouraged to be present to others in their time of need, may we summon the courage to will the good of the other. In doing so, we become like the mustard seed, or the yeast, in another’s life. We may affect the positive germination that though may be hidden over time, and what may appear to be miniscule or mundane in the moment, may in fact be life changing and transforming.

Photo: Planning prayer with my classmate and brother Pete at husband/wife retreat during formation at Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center.

Canfield, Jack and Hansen, Mark Victor. Chicken Soup for the Soul. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, 1993.

Link for the Mass Readings of the Day:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/103117.cfm

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God (Lk 13:1013).

In reading this Gospel passage, we see again the compassion and mercy of Jesus. He was aware and saw the need of the crippled woman, called her to himself, she came, and through his words and laying on of hands the woman was healed. He did so without hesitation, knowing that since he was healing on the sabbath this would bring further scrutiny and criticism. Yet, Jesus did not think of himself, he thought of the woman in need and made himself present to her.

Jesus provides for us a model of service. Jesus was aware of her need. The first step in building a culture of life is to respect the dignity of each person we encounter and to be aware of their need. It is much easier to not be aware or to operate from a position of they brought the issue on themselves. We can react with impatience because we really would rather not be bothered with another’s issues.

The next step is invitation. Once Jesus becomes aware of the woman, he invites her to come to him. Jesus did not impose his will, even to will the woman’s good and bring her healing. He instead invited her to come. We need to respect another’s option to say no to help and allow them to come on their own. Though there are times, such as those who are dealing with an addiction, when there may be a need for more direct intervention.

Let us resist being stumbling blocks to others in need of the healing presence of Jesus. We may or may not have the gift of healing, but we are all capable of accepting another where there are and as they are, we can will their good, and we can be a healing, understanding, and supportive presence to another in need. We can be a means of healing as were the four men who brought their crippled friend to Jesus through a roof (see Mark 2:1-12 and Matthew Matthew 9:1-8). We can bring the love and mercy of Christ to others. When there is awareness, invitation, acceptance of invitation, then there can be healing.

Link to the Mass readings for today:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/103017.cfm

Photo: from freebibleimages.org

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” (Mt 22:37-40).

The scholar of the law who asked Jesus to share with him which commandment of the law is the greatest was a common question among Jews for they had 613 laws! Following these laws was how one showed their faithfulness to God. Yet, the practicality of learning and practicing all 613 presented quite a challenge. How do we do with just following the Ten Commandments today? Could we even recite the Ten? Often then there was a discussion as to which were the most important and which were those of lesser rank.

The scholar brought Jesus into this debate. Jesus’ response, that we call today the Great Commandment, was a masterful synthesis of the Torah, the Law, or the Teachings. He drew from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 which was the beginning of the Shema, the prayer that Jews offered each morning and each evening while facing the Temple that stated: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Jesus then added to it Leviticus 19:18: “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

As we witness time and again with Jesus, he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (cf. Mt 5:17). Jesus sought to help people to come to know his Father who he knew so intimately, who he loved so fully, and he sought to make that way easier not harder. Though the Great Commandment sounds simple enough, and it is, it demands our whole self, our full commitment to be contemplatives in action. We are called to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind. That means all of us, physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. We are to recognize that God is actively engaged in all of what we do and who we are in every aspect of our self-identity and integrity. Our lives will be richer and more fulfilled once we embrace, once we open ourselves up to this reality, and resist the temptation to compartmentalize our time with God. Saying we are only with God on Sunday while in the sanctuary of the Church but leaving him there in the tabernacle is not loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind.  Stepping into the parking lot becomes like a time warp in which we go back into secular apparent reality, where in the first instant of encounter with our neighbor cutting us off with their car, our hand gesture is most likely not a blessing in the form of the sign of the cross.

If we can turn on a dime so quickly, have we really worshipped at all? Are we living our lives more as Pope Francis calls, “defeated Christians”? Are we just going through the motions of our faith, showing up but our heart, soul, and mind aren’t fully engaged? Pope Francis shares that “the one who confesses the faith well, the whole faith, has the ability to worship, to worship God” (Francis, 292).

We become Christians, contemplatives in action when we give our all as did St Francis who would often pray this simple prayer “My God and my all”. He gave himself in love, all of who he was to God. He encountered the God of Jesus Christ who is Love, received his loving embrace, and went forth to share that love with others. This is called the Greatest Commandment not one of the Greatest Commandments, because loving God and neighbor is one and the same act.

May we embrace the gift of who God is for us, not just as the one who created us and went away to do whatever God does, that is deism, but the God who is unconditional love, the one who is present with us always, in all the practical and mundane we do, and in everyone we meet. Through this embrace of God and his love and going out from ourselves to will the good of the other, the better we will be able to heal from our wounds of prejudice, bigotry, selfishness, pride, greed, lust, fear, and anxiety.

Our very life is a blessing, a gift, to be thankful to God for and to share and bless others with. May each word we speak, each action we take, each facial gesture we express be one of encouragement, of support, of empowerment, of love. We can approach our life one day at a time making a commitment to love God and neighbor a little bit better today than yesterday. To aid us in our trust and conviction, let us pray often the prayer of St Francis, “My God and my all”.

Link for today’s Mass readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102917.cfm

Pope Francis. Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday. NY: Image, 2015

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God (Lk 6-12).

Jesus spent the whole night in prayer to God. When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray he taught them what we call the Our Father or Lord’s Prayer. What is prayer? All of us as human beings seek meaning and to belong. We desire security and stability, as well as direction and adventure. We want to be accepted, to love and to be loved: to be in relationship. These are very primary yearnings that can operate consciously or unconsciously. The key is to be aware of our needs and desires, and resist the temptations of filling and appeasing our wants such that we aspire to achieve apparent goods, that ultimately leave us unsatisfied and more important ignoring what will truly fulfill us: developing a relationship with God through prayer.

If you want to pray, you have already begun. The desire in and of itself to pray is prayer. The danger of reading about prayer in learning to pray, is that we think we are praying, but only imagining we are doing so because as we turn each page, complete each chapter, we feel as if we are accomplishing something. Peter Kreeft wrote: “It is tempting to remain in the comfortable theater of the imagination instead of the real world, to fall in love with the idea of becoming a saint and loving God and neighbor instead of doing the actual work, because the idea makes no demands on you” (Prayer for Beginners, 12).

There are a myriad of ways to pray and each practice will match each of our unique personalities. The key to prayer is to make a commitment to a time and a place to pray each day. Start with five minutes and build to ten. Depending on the discipline of prayer you practice, your schedule, you may go to twenty minutes or spend the night in prayer! The amount of time is not important. What is important is the commitment to pray each day. Over the past few days I have been sharing a prayer practice that helps with becoming aware of God in our everyday lives. This is called the Examen. I will post the five steps of the Examen tonight or tomorrow if you would like to experience it.

A good way to approach prayer is as did St John Damascene who wrote: “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of the good things from God” or similarly, St Therese of Lisieux who wrote, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy” (CCC, 2559). Both acclamations are good starting points. As we pray our goal is that our life is conformed to Jesus, we encounter and build a relationship, such that our experience of prayer matches St Augustine’s: “True, whole prayer is nothing but love” (Foster, 1).

As we pray, may we experience and participate in the Trinitarian communion of love. We are all beginners at prayer. It is the healthiest attitude to have. Let us begin to pray today.

Photo: Small Chapel at Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center, a great place to pray!

Link for today’s Mass readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102817.cfm

Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church: Revised in Accordance with the Official Latin Text Promulgated by Pope John Paul II. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997.

Foster, Richard J. Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. NY: HarperCollins, 1992.

Kreeft, Peter. Prayer for Beginners. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000.