Laughing at our Anxieties

 "I should like you to be free of anxieties." 1 Cor 7:32

Several years ago I led a retreat for about fifty Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, a well know community in New York. Some of the sisters live independently, some are in assisted living and others are in nursing care. Naturally, some of the sisters have more anxieties than others. Those wondering whether they will soon need nursing care suffer a lot with the prospect of losing even more independence and freedom, but there is one symbol here that we all had a good laugh about.

The doors between buildings and those that open to common rooms like the dining room are automatic. Step on the mat and the doors open magically. On the second day of the retreat, I mused aloud that the pearly gates would be surely automatic doors for women like them who had been so faithful to the Gospel. Perhaps that is the vision Paul had for his communities when he told them he wanted them to be free of anxiety!

Today, no matter your anxieties, put yourself in God's hands.

Does your faith help you with your anxieties?

Confronting Sin

 "David grew very angry with that man and said to him: 'As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death! He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this and has had no pity.' Then Nathan said to David: 'You are the man!'" 2 Sam 12:1

What must it have been like for Nathan to confront David about his lust and greed? Unable to control his desire for another man's wife, David sleeps with Bethsheba and then to cover his sin puts Bathsheba's husband and his friend, Uriah, in harms way. The vulgarity of David's action is overwhelming and Nathan, as God's prophet, must address it.

Cleverly concocting a story about a rich man, with lots of cattle and sheep, who takes the only sheep of a poor peasant to feed a visitor, Nathan asks David's opinion about the rich man. Enraged, David says the rich man should be killed. Only then does Nathan tell David that he is the rich man. Trapped by his own words, David acknowledges his sin.

What to do and how to respond to evil is a struggle everyone faces from time to time. A column in in the Wall Street Journal several years ago (Pope Francis and Jane Fonda) compared the generosity and challenge of Pope Francis to the awful record of Jane Fonda's Foundation which had not made any gifts for five years. While not suggesting that Jane Fonda was evil, the column confronts all of us, and especially the wealthy, who fail to open their eyes to the needs of the world and respond generously. Sins like David's and our own need a Nathan to challenge us to do justice with compassion.

Today, share something you have without counting the cost.

How difficult is it for you to confront social sin in yourself and others?

Saints Timothy and Titus

 "I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy." 2 Tim 1:4

St Paul's affection and love for Timothy is one of the few instances in the New Testament that allow us to experience the passion present in the first disciples. Paul reminds Timothy that his mother and grandmother were filled with faith and that he can rely on them as examples for his own faith growth

Seeing old friends, especially those who strive to live an integrated faith, is always a joy. While some may have abandoned the practice of the faith, many others have deepened their commitment by daily prayer, reading and reflection, and in all of this, they fill us with joy and hope.

Joy is an important virtue. When people encounter believers whose joy is transparent and authentic, they cannot not be impressed and attracted to the One who gives us joy and proclaims through us the freedom of the sons and daughters of God.

Today, seek out an old friend and share your faith and joy.

Who or what brings you joy and hope?

The Conversion of St Paul

 "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Acts 22:7

The drama of St Paul's conversion is compelling. Travelling to Damascus, determined to capture and persecute more followers of the "way", the gospel of Jesus, Paul is startled by a great light and, unsure of what is happening, falls to the ground. His companions see the light but don't hear the voice of Jesus. Only Paul hears the Lord's question, and frightened, asks what he should do. Jesus' response is cryptic but clear. Paul is to go to Damascus but his mission has been changed. No longer will he persecute Christians, he will join them.

If only faith was this clear for us. Our conversion, which is ongoing but often happens in hidden ways, is essential to our Christian life, but most of us have to read the signs of  times in the light of the Gospel to know the path we should take. While this might sound difficult, and is surely not as dramatic as Paul's conversion, it is easier if we have a spiritual companion and pray regularly. The freedom to speak with another about our own inner journey and our place in the world guides us, through prayer, to make good, thought through and felt through decisions that foster our ongoing conversion.

Today, speak with a soul friend and pray quietly for ten minutes.

What do you need to do to be open to God's ongoing call?

St Francis de Sales

 "In whatever situations we happen to be, we can and we must aspire to the life of perfection." Introduction to the Devout Life

Lawyer, bishop, and writer, St. Francis de Sales remains an important figure in the spirituality of the Christian West because of his personal commitment, despite a quick temper, to gentleness, understanding and compassion.

Modern readers might quibble with Francis' metaphors and style in the Introduction to the Devout Life, but it is difficult to overestimate his importance. Convinced that every person had a vocation with limitations and gifts, he wrote eloquently and convincingly about how everyone, Popes and lay people alike, could practice devotion and grow closer to God.

It is sometimes unfortunate that when our church reminds us to pray for vocations, we focus almost completely on vocations to the priesthood and religious life. While these vocations are important, unless we celebrate marriage as the sacrament to which most people are called, we risk undermining the foundation upon which the church is built.(1) Francis de Sales would never have made this mistake.

Today, be grateful for your vocation.

What married person do you most admire for their holiness?

We are All God's Children

 "Who are my mother and my brothers?" Lk 3:33

We are the family of Jesus. It is that simple and that clear. It is also important. While some might be unnerved when Jesus stretches his followers to think of anyone who listens to and tries to live God's word as his family, it is not a rejection of his own family.

Jesus loved his mother and family deeply. That he wanted everyone listening to him with an open heart to see themselves as his brothers and sisters did not diminish his respect for and love of his immediate family, but was a way to break down the artificial and unnecessary barriers between and among people.

Jesus' love for all people is a lesson for us. We are called to love everyone as He did. We are not free to reject anyone for reasons of race, religion, culture or ethnicity. While it is obvious that there are some people who will be more difficult to love than others, if we want to call ourselves Christians, we must put aside every prejudice to love as Jesus did.

Today, love someone to whom you are not attracted.

What kind of people are most difficult for you to love?

The Protection of the Unborn

 “The Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price,  he goes and sells all that he has and buys it." Mt 13:46

Often great thinkers and saints come along at a time in church history when there is division, even chaos, and rage. St Francis of Assisi changed his society not by being upwardly mobile, but by choosing to live as a poor person among the poorest of the poor in Assisi. Thomas Becket famously said: "I am ready to die for my Lord, that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty and peace. But in the name of Almighty God, I forbid you to hurt my people whether clerk or lay." And Mother Teresa of Calcutta saw a million people dying on the streets of Calcutta and decided to respond to them with love when no one else wanted to see them. All of them were pearls of great price.

Our task today seems very similar. Sometimes the Catholic church is known more for what it condemns than what it promotes, a comprehensive concern for the human family. While some in the press challenge the church’s condemnation of abortion as limiting a woman's legitimate freedom, the bishops remind us that we must have an “option for the poor and vulnerable," especially unborn children as well as promote workers rights, provide health care for all and welcome refugees fleeing violence and political oppression if we are going to have an authentically formed Catholic conscience. 

Today, practice virtue and justice.

What do you think it means to be a faith filled citizen in the United States today?