Living Simply

  "The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song....Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water." Is 35, 1,6

The prophecy of Isaiah is wonderfully visual.  Reminding us that all creation "lives" in God, the prophet invites us to think of the desert drinking water gratefully and the mountains singing for joy.  God's love, Isaiah suggests, is so immediate and so full that one can taste it, smell it, hear and touch it. Working hard to help his sisters and brothers in exile not lose hope, Isaiah reminds them to focus on the simplest of God's gifts, their own senses, as a pathway to renewed life in the Spirit.

What would it be like as we prepare for Christmas, to take one minute each day to pause and picture the person for whom you are buying something happy, content, and faith filled.  It is not a difficult exercise, but I have no doubt that if we gave members of our family an inexpensive gift and a brief note telling them how we prayed for them each day during Advent, they would treasure the note much more than the gift.

Today, think simple.  Live simply.

Who has taught you the virtue of living simply so that all might simply live?

St Lucy

 "When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him." Mt 21 31-32

Today's Gospel is a difficult one for me.  Perhaps like some of you, when I get involved in a heated argument, it often becomes more important for me to be right than in relationship.  I have struggled with this my entire life and it is not difficult for me to see myself among the Pharisees trying to convince everyone, without regard for the truth or what is happening right in front of me,  that Jesus is a charlatan.  That thousands are listening to John the Baptist announce that he is not the Christ and convincing even prostitutes and tax collectors that his message is from God,  suggest that prostitutes and tax collectors are poor witnesses and will do anything to feather their own nests. Failing to even consider the humility and honesty of John, especially when he points to Christ as "the one who is to come," (Lk 7:18-19) they risk their salvation for the sake of their fragile power.

The feast of St. Lucy only increases my discomfort.  After Lucy rejects a proposal of marriage, the fellow she spurns "accuses" her of believing in the Christ, and even though she realizes the danger, Lucy acknowledges that indeed she is a Christian. When she refuses to recant her belief, she is martyred.  We know little else about her life, but the early church held her up, even including her name in the first Eucharistic prayer, because of her simple, direct an unwavering faith.  What a challenge she is to us.

Today, pray with St John that Christ will increase as you decrease.

Which of your faults get in the way of growing in faith?

Our Lady of Guadalupe

 "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." Rev 19a

One of the great lessons of Advent and in the lives of the saints is that God comes to the humble.  St. Juan Diego described himself to Our Lady of Guadalupe as, "a nobody, .. small rope, a tiny ladder, the tail end, a leaf."  How he wondered would a bishop believe that Mary sent him to request that a church be built in her honor?  After all, by his own account, he was merely a subsistence farmer, a nobody.

Hearing Juan Diego's anxiety and fear, Mary assured him that if he took the flowers she gave him which were growing on the top of hill in frozen soil, the bishop would listen to her through him.  Indeed, when he brought the flowers to the bishop as proof of his own integrity and Mary's promise, the cloak with which he was carrying the flowers had an image of the woman who appeared to him. Startled, the bishop's skepticism melted away, and he ordered that a church be built in Mary's honor and gave Juan Diego permission to receive the Eucharist three times a week. A singular privilege at that time, receiving the Eucharist was a burden as well. The nearest church was a fifteen mile walk from his home!

Today, ask God for the faith to see yourself as God sees you.

Do you have a favorite Marian feast?

Take my Yoke Upon You

  "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of hear." Mt 11:29

Thinking of Jesus as meek is counter intuitive. Because the Lord never seems afraid of the leaders of his day, we don't think of him as submissive to anyone or anything except his Father. At the same time, obedience and the submissiveness it implies is the key to the Gospel. Acknowledging and accepting our total dependence on God frees us not to worry or fret about success, but to trust that God will have God's way in the world.

When Jesus encourages us to take the yoke of his obedience upon our shoulders, he is assuring us that we will never be alone. Like a pair of oxen, Jesus and each of us, will work together to bear the weight of every burden and pull the wagon of God's message to the world. 

Today, help someone who seems heavy burdened to accept their yoke.

When have you felt most burdened by life, but supported by your faith?

Overcoming Weariness

  "The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny."

Weariness afflicts us all from time to time. An adult child can't find a job or worse, a path of peace to walk. A marriage has become drudgery or a friend seems always to be needy, and no matter how often we try to stay positive, our energy seeps away and life becomes an unending series of tasks to complete, not an adventure. We smile thinly when friends ask how we are, but the best part of the day is getting in bed and going to sleep. Some of our struggles come to everyone, but others seem never ending and we wonder where God is in all that is happening within and around us.

How good it is to hear Isaiah tells us that God never grows weary and is always ready to walk with us even when the road seems endless. We can be sure that God will always be as faithful to us as he was to the Jews of old. While we might grow weary and seek solace in places and people that offer only temporary relief, God will not abandon us, and Jesus' coming among us is the proof.

Today, take a few moments to remember how faithful God has been to you in "exile."

What circumstances in life make you most tired and doubtful?

Jesus is the One

  "The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease." Jn 3 29-30

What was it that John saw? What did the Spirit look like? Most of us have been in the presence of people with political or religious power. We know what that feels like, but Jesus was an itinerant preacher and minor prophet. Surely, John was talking about something more than the power we invest in hierarchies when he said of Jesus, "He must increase, I must decrease."

In order to see, we must look long and hard at ourselves, others and the world. This takes practice and discernment. We cannot expect to see what it is that God is doing within and among us unless we take time to gaze upon God and God's works everyday. Some call this prayer or contemplation but naming it is not as important as doing it. Finding time in our busy schedules to stop, listen, and allow the Spirit of God to guide us is essential to anyone who wants to live the Gospel.

Today, slow down and let the Lord look at you as you are.

What most keeps you from developing a daily prayer life?

Humility

   "Among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Mt 11:11

Authentic humility, as demonstrated by John the Baptist, demands that Christians see themselves as part of something much greater than their accomplishments. This message, like so many others that John offers us, is counter intuitive. While most people bow to humility as a value, few wear the clothes of humility, especially in the United States. 

While wealth and power are by products of a successful life in the United States, this is not the goal of those who profess to live a Gospel life. Gospel success is measured, not in what it produces, but in the seeds of hope that it plants. Never far from the realization that all life is a gift, and all worldly success is temporary, Christians believe that our "success" is an integrated and other centered life, and this is no easy task.

Today, don't say something you are thinking. Listen first to others.

Have you had an experience of humility that changed your life? 

Immaulate Conception

  "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Lk 1:27

Whenever I get a glimpse of authentic, uncluttered love I am always moved. I remember watching the Special Olympics a few years ago when one young man stumbled running around the track and two of his competitors stopped to help him before continuing their own quest for a medal.  Their action was so natural and so pure that I knew they were challenging everyone watching to reexamine their priorities. Mary, the mother of Jesus, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, does the same thing. Being without sin frees Mary to be for us and for the whole world. Unfettered by sin, she responds freely to anyone who ask.

Think for instance about those times when you experience a deep freedom.  Nothing clutters your mind or your heart. You can listen without searching for an answer. You can respond without having to be right. You can give of yourself totally to another not because there is a reward for doing so, but simply because it is the right thing to do.  When we experience this kind of freedom, we begin to appreciate the great gift of Mary, Mother of the Church. What a gift Mary is in this regard, and what a gift we can be when we put aside our selfishness and self centeredness in order to live for others in the name of Mary' son Jesus.

Today, ask for the gift of thinking of others first.

Who is the most generous, other centered person you know?