On a breezy autumn day, the sun shimmers across the water and the clouds steadily make their way from one side of the sky to the other. The trees, they stand their ground, their leaves have yet to fall. I guess it’s not their time.
Yet, ripples on the pond and clouds up in the sky, both quietly passing by. Always in time. Always in time.
The wind, it moves the clouds and water all around, and yes, even those leaves clinging to trees. Always in time. Always in time.
Some willing more than others. Taking direction, or making a stand. Always in time. Always in time.
Likewise, the Spirit in its stirring, its moving of hearts and souls, here and there along the way. Always in time. Always in time.
Always in Time… May your mercy, Lord, be upon us; as we put our hope in you. – Psalm 33:22
It’s said that the owl’s wisdom lies in its waiting, watching, and listening. In its patient, persistent process, its senses are fine-tuned, making it easier to recognize and distinguish between and among things. The owl’s very own nature leads and nurtures the animal, teaching it to tap more deeply into what it genuinely needs to survive and thrive.
This in-born nature that helps the owl to be at its best, also resides within all living things. And when tuned into, exercised, and held onto, it helps all living things to operate at their best, most authentic self. For human beings especially, the task at hand is to sort through and root out all that interferes with this natural, God-given ability.
In the Book of Wisdom, King Solomon shares:
“I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me” – Wisdom 7:7.
While this is a great example of “ask and you shall receive,” it is also an example of the gift of humility. Oftentimes, it is humility that opens the door to wisdom. King Solomon humbled himself, he “prayed” and “pleaded” for wisdom, a gift that no amount of money in the world could buy. Throughout the Bible, and throughout history, there is no wisdom, without humility. For it is a gift that can only be received at the time and place where an open, willing, and humble heart meets the humility of God—unconditional love.
So how does one move toward this place? For starters, perhaps by praying for the grace to become more aware. Kahlil Gibran wrote, “Wisdom stands at the turn in the road and calls upon us publicly, but we consider it false and despise its adherents.”
Thinking about current day events, where do you see wisdom? In what places do you meet unconditional love… truth and peace together?
Looking back to history, Psalm 90 begins:
“A prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our refuge through all generations. Before the mountains were born, the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God” (verses 1-2).
Wisdom draws Moses’ heart to give voice to God’s faithfulness, and seek God’s help, “Teach us to count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart,” (verse 12), mercy, “Make us glad as many days as you humbled us, for as many years as we have seen trouble,” (verse 15), and grace, “May the favor of the Lord our God be ours. Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!” (verse 17).
When you reflect on the work of your hands, what aspects of God (loving, patient, gentle, kind, honest, peaceful, faithful, life-giving, etc.) resonate in them? When you look at the world around you and the things in which you choose to participate, which ones bring you closer to the image of God, Love, in which you were created? In what ways do you feel inspired by the humility and generative nature of God, for whom all things are possible?
If You don’t build it, we labor in vain, Without Your Spirit, we stand with no strength. I know my life is passing away, but the works of Your hands are what will remain. Let the favor of the Lord rest upon us…
O Lord, establish the work of our hands! O Lord, establish the work of our hands!
Teach us to number the length of our days, Pour out Your power, we’ll pour out Your praise. Teach us to run, to finish the race, for only what’s done in love will remain. Let the favor of the Lord rest upon us…
O Lord, establish the work of our hands! O Lord, establish the work of our hands!
Al – le – lu – ia, al – le – luia, al – le – luia Al – le – lu – ia, al – le – luia, al – le – luia
In the First Letter of John, chapter 4, verse 12, it is written:
No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. – 1 John 4:12
While it may be true that no one has ever seen God, Love and the goodness of God can be experienced daily, in any number of ways and through an unlimited number of people, places, and things. Think about a situation that recently brought peace, joy, laughter, gratitude, etc. into your heart. In what direction did you feel motivated as a result?
Think about who and what you love, in both the past and now. In what ways do you feel inspired as you reflect on this?
Tomorrow, October 4, is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. He was born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone and is perhaps most widely known for the Prayer of Saint Francis (and inspirational song) – “Make me a channel of your peace/Where there is hatred, let me bring your love…” as well as for being a lover of animals and the inspiration behind the practice of the blessing of animals.
Being born into a wealthy family, St. Francis’ life began in financial and material security. However, rather than a life focused on increasing or holding onto the guarantees that would come with money (status, power, and influence), he chose a journey far more challenging, but one that would lead toward the riches and rewards of a spiritual life—peace.
St. Francis wrote, “It was easy to love God in all that was beautiful. The lessons of deeper knowledge, though, instructed me to embrace God in all things.”
As you imagine embracing God (Love) in all things, what situations come to mind? Where are the places that are easy to carry and exude the love of God that resides within you? Where are the places that present a challenge, causing the light of God within you to diminish, and love to be held back or rebuked?
In the Gospel according to Mark, it is written:
And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. – Mark 10:13-16
Jesus’s example is one of embracing the moment, and all that it holds, with love despite the responses, reactions, or expectations of his disciples and others. With Jesus, everyone is invited… there is room in his heart for everyone.
Now imagine the situations that are easy for you to embrace with love and those that are not, as both belonging to the kingdom of God. What is that like?
Continuing to reflect on these situations, what is most important to you, and how or where does that fit in with your faith as you strive to live by it? Share your thoughts and feelings on this with Jesus. What invitation might Jesus be extending to you?
Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self. – St. Francis of Assisi
In the last chapter of the Book of Joshua (Jos 24), Joshua, who succeeded Moses, is nearing death when he gathers the tribes of Israel and speaks the words of the Lord. First, the Lord helps the people to remember the truth of their journey together and God’s presence throughout. Then, the ageless choice, just as poignant today as back in Joshua’s times and prior, is offered: “…choose today whom you will serve…” (Jos 24:15).
Oftentimes the way of society tends toward reaching heights higher than, obtaining more than, and being waited upon or served as if elevated in position. And in that striving and the push to achieve, there are all sorts of temptations moving in and out, and throughout, trying to slide into place without notice, shifting motivation away from what might truly be good. Then, there is also the voice of reason—Truth, seeking balance, calling for heart and soul to live and breathe in all that drives the choices being made, actions being taken, and the spirit in which they are carried out.
So how does one proceed with so many competing interests? More simply, slowing down with prayerful moments that lead to the choosing in each, and every, day.
This past Wednesday was the feast day of Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, S.J. He was born in 1901 and lived in Chile, becoming a Jesuit priest who served the poor and worked for social justice until his death in 1952. The following prayer is his prayer. It seeks integrity, hope, and faith in God and reminds one of Truth—all things are possible with God.
Prayer of St. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, S.J.
Lord, help me to speak the truth in front of the strong and not say lies to gain the applause of the weak.
If you give me fortune, don’t take happiness away from me. If you give me strength, don’t take reason away from me. If you give me success, don’t take humility away from me. If you give me humility, don’t take dignity away from me.
Help me always see the other side of the medal. Do not let me blame others of treason for not thinking like me. Teach me to love people as myself and to judge myself as others.
Do not let me fall into pride if I triumph nor in despair if I fail. Rather, remind me that failure is the experience which precedes triumph.
Teach me that forgiving is the grandest for the strong and that revenge is the primitive sign of the weak.
If you take away my fortune, leave me with hope. If you take away success, leave me with the strength to triumph from the defeat.
If I fail people, give me the courage to ask pardon. If the people fail me, give me the courage to forgive. Lord, if I forget You, don’t forget me.
With the starting point blanketed in fog, one couldn’t help but wonder whether it would be worthwhile to venture out any further on this day. Yet, despite the limited visibility we carried on, coming across pockets that offered clearer vision—spots and places once hidden, where we could pause and gather our bearings. And as for the silence encompassing the mist all around, while at first eerie, with time becoming rather comforting, inspiring a sense of adventure and greater insight as we moved along the contours, crossed plateaus, and entered the ups and downs of our terrain.
Always a spot to rest, or safely step, provided when needed most.
Always a way around, over, or simply through, provided when needed most.
Always at the right time, in the right place, and in the right way, provided when needed most.
Interesting how most needs are met, in trusting, while moving toward, and searching for, what is truly needed.
He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” – Luke 11:28
Depending upon one’s experiences, certain words can bring to mind a particular image or situation. Hearing or seeing the word, “murmur,” many people might think of the human heart and the condition of a heart murmur, speaking in a low volume as in under one’s breath, or perhaps a hushed conversation between a number of people within a larger setting. Interestingly, in any of these cases, the murmur, or anything else that may be transpiring, can be of no significance, or the opposite. And, as always, the only way to know more certainly is by tuning in more closely.
While searching to discover what’s going on may seem pretty basic or obvious, human nature often leads us toward conjecture, murmuring amongst ourselves rather than seeking the source directly and looking for the answers or understanding there.
In the Gospel according to John, chapter 6, verses 41-51, the people are in disbelief, and maybe confused about Jesus’s statement that he is the bread of life that has come down to earth from heaven. Filled with questions, and likely doubt, with a limited knowledge of who Jesus really is, they are quietly speaking amongst themselves. They are looking for answers from each other, even though none of them understand what was said or what Jesus meant by it. What might this passage, and what follows from it, look like if instead of asking each other, the people asked Jesus directly about his statements, and took careful notice of his response together with his actions?
Moving forward to the way that Jesus responds to the hushed voices going on around him, regarding him, it is as if Jesus is simply saying, “Stop,” to the gossip and speculation. He does not enter into the grumbling. He does not succumb to it, and the questions the people were asking each other instead of engaging directly with Jesus, go unanswered, while Jesus continues to focus on Truth, and giving voice to it. After all, the fact of the matter is that more often than not, it really is as simple as continually asking Jesus for help in seeing something for what it is, saying, “Stop,” to nonsense, understanding and embracing what is of genuine importance, and listening, so as to recognize when and how to be moved.
The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Behold God beholding you… and smiling. – Anthony de Mello, SJ
Pausing to take a deep breath and take in a beautiful day, as I survey my surroundings, I take joy in a ladybug who comes into view, also exploring. Interested, I move closer to get a better view. There it is. Moving along, wings closed, orange with spots of black, yellow head, eyes, antennae, and legs; many parts, one body.
As I watch, I am amused by its way—steady… patient… gentle, but also driven—purposeful. Different, yet underneath it all, the same. A reminder to remember, everyone… everything, is heading somewhere, here and now, and eventually, as well as ultimately.
In the Gospel acclamation for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor” (Lk 4:18). If you had to re-write this sentence, applying it to yourself, what is it that the Lord has anointed or wants to anoint you for?
Moving on to the Gospel according to Mark, in chapter 6, verses 1-6, we read about Jesus essentially being shut out in his hometown area. It appears he is seen through a very narrow lens and because of this he is not welcome, encouraged, or accepted for who he truly is in the present. There is a lack of openness to the value he brings to the table, and he is limited in what he can accomplish.
It is important to remember that Jesus’s inability to be effective has nothing to do with Jesus. It is the result of the closed-minded, closed-hearted resistance he meets. A meaningful encounter cannot happen in the conditions that exist, and so, he must move on.
Perhaps one of the things Jesus is asking us in this passage is to examine the conditions that exist within our own hearts and minds. If, for example, we had to take our words and actions throughout the course of the day and insert them, one by one, at the end of the phrase, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to,” how would they fit in with Christianity?
In praying with this passage, as you hold dear the desire to honor the Lord whose Spirit is upon you, and who not only anoints you, but also delights in you, what invitation(s) is awaiting?
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. – Mark 6:1-6
Have you ever had the experience of trying to purchase a one-quarter section of watermelon at a grocery store or market, only to have it ring up as a whole watermelon? Despite its popularity, the one-quarter section is, to this day, not found in the “look up” section of the check-out screens, at least not where I am. It is as if the scanner gods will not have the purchase of anything less than an entire watermelon.
While this may seem trivial, it appears that people were becoming more unhappy and customer service was becoming overrun. Over time it became clear that the system wasn’t working, and a change(s) was necessary. The issue was legitimate and needed to be addressed, so some stores posted notices advising customers of the code to enter or added stickers with bar codes to the plastic wrap on the quartered sections of watermelon. Finally, steps were taken to try to ensure customers were not being overcharged and hindered as they tried to pay for their groceries and continue with their day.
So, what does this have to do with faith? Well, in chapter 5, verses 14-17 of the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, St. Paul starts by talking about being driven by the love of Christ. This was the same person, Paul of Tarsus, who was once driven by the love of rules and laws, thinking he was serving God by persecuting early Christians because their way was different. Imagine, Paul of Tarsus could have kept doing things his way instead of answering the call to conversion, embracing the Way—Jesus, and eventually becoming St. Paul.
Thank God he was open to change!
Brothers and sisters: once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. – 2 Cor 5:14-17
In a few weeks, my oldest child will be turning the page toward a new chapter in his life, as he graduates. So many years have passed and so much has transpired since his birth, yet it’s still hard to believe that this milestone is already here. As I think about the journey as a parent, I recall moments of feeling joy and pride as well as moments of feeling fear and uncertainty. What an awesome responsibility… what an awesome privilege. But then, isn’t that what love is all about? Being present, holding on, lifting up, letting go, and along the way, being drawn toward the balance that lies between?
In the Gospel according to John, Jesus says:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.” (15:9)
How do we do that?
We remain in love, by choosing to live in Love. When we choose to be present to each other and creation, we are also choosing to be present to God, and God’s love for us. This is the source of joy, and it can only be complete when it is shared and flowing freely among us. So often though, things get in the way, distracting us, and pulling us apart from each other, as well as from God.
When we remain in God’s love though, we can see things for what they are more readily, and withhold the judgment that seeks to lead us against one another rather than bring us together. What an awesome responsibility… what an awesome privilege. But then, isn’t that what love is all about? Being present, holding on, lifting up, letting go, and along the way, being drawn toward the balance that lies between?
Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” — Rumi
They started out a neatly organized bouquet of tulips, bulbs closed and standing upright in a vase, but with time, each came into its own. Still tulips though, and called by name, no matter the style or type of display. Some still upright. Some bending, turning, twisting, as if being called toward something else altogether, but again, all still called by name—side by side—together.
More than humane… a compelling lesson for humanity. Nothing new… it is as it has always been. In opening up, reaching out, and stretching toward another… letting go of “other,” change is made. What is true and meaningful, is more than comprehension. When the peace within one’s heart, reaches out, it permeates from soul to soul, and only then, is it about becoming.
Just as he said to the disciples who met him on the road to Emmaus, Jesus says to us, “You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:48). As followers of Jesus, what did they do with that?
Fast forward to today… As disciples of Jesus, what do we do with all to which we have become witnesses? How do we stand with both the crucified and risen Jesus?
When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
HopeThatFloats 
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