Tuesday Reflection: May 13, 2008

YOU, TOO, ARE GOD'S BELOVED

We continue the journey through the NT Letter of James. The Wikipedia entry on James, while not particularly noteworthy as food for prayer, does offer some historical insight into who the writer(s) of the letter may have been.

In today's first liturgical reading there is the invitation to consider two realities: temptation and desires. Again we should recall that James is trying to teach the Christian Jewish community in Jerusalem the message Jesus had taught his apostles and disciples.

Who among us does not feel the attack of temptation? Who does not have to deal with desires that are not good for us ... and there is more than moral issues we have to confront today? There are many temptation and desires that populate our days, each day in fact. James' writing encourages his audience to preserve in temptation. Whoever is strong enough to resist is blessed, whoever is "proven" will wear "the crown of life."

James is direct. Temptation does not come from God: "he tempts no one." We cannot blame our failure on God's failure to help us. The truth of the matter is that temptation is the product of our own desires' needs to be fulfilled. Sometimes the desires "conceive and bring forth sin." God would have us be "a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" rather than damage us with sin and the death of our souls.

Fr. Henri Nouwen often stressed that our vocation is to be the "Beloved" of our God. Once we accept that particular vocation for ourselves, once we truly believe that we are the Beloved of God, "We are are faced with the call to become who we are." That is what some philosophers and theologians name the terminus ad quem: the goal of our spiritual journey. So, we overcome the desires, the temptations when we try to become God's Beloved --- when we open ourselves to letting our awareness of God's love for us become a part of all we do, of all we say, and of all we think. And this is no easy task! Fr. Nouwen believed that "the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity or power, but self-rejection."

James' teaching is to bring his audience to know the love of God, to understand Nouwen's "sacred voice that calls us the Beloved." This is his firstfruits that he invites his audience to become. It is the invitation that is ours today and every day. Know you are the Beloved of God!

Monday Reflection: May 12, 2008

The Letter of James: one of the written witnesses to the faith and life of the early Church will be the verses of the liturgy's first reading for the next two weeks. A point of history is in order. The person who composed the letter, albeit attributed to "James," is not the apostle James. The writer James identifies himself in the first sentence: "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is it. The letter is a didactic presentation to the Jewish people everywhere from the apparent spiritual leader of the Jewish Christian community living in Jerusalem.

From the outset James encourages and exhorts: seek wisdom, persevere and be strong in faith. Clearly servant James wishes to instill a genuine foundation in the hearts and minds of his audience. Can we not see in James' beginning words how he hopes the Christian community will live in the love of God? Surely he wants God's people to live in the love of God. There is a wonderful quote attributed to Simone Weil in the May Magnificat for today's reflection.

"It is not by the way a man talks about God, but by the way he talks about things of the world that best shows whether his soul has passed through the fire of the love of God."

Is this not an excellent insight for modern society to chew on! Perhaps a question might be: Is this not the attachment we have to God and the graces we have from the Holy Spirit that enables us to see with wisdom the ways that "things of the world" can detach us from truly understanding our God?

Perhaps we can recall an insight that was so strong in the final years of the life of Fr. Henri Nouwen. In seven words he speaks volumes to contemporary people seeking to know themselves, their God and to live in wisdom: the heart is more important than the mind.

St. Bernard, famous abbot, wrote that "There are three ways for wisdom or prudence to abound for you: if you confess your sins, if you give thanks and praise, and if your speech is edifying." Therein lies the challenge for us today!

Pentecost Day: May 11, 2008

God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of his love.

The Ascension command of Jesus to go, teach and baptize was a moment when he conferred the power of giving new life in God. These words are from St. Irenaeus, a second century writer.

He reminds his writers and hearers who were on various journeys of life that God "had promised through the (words) of the prophets that ... he would pour out his Spirit" upon them. Furthermore, he taught that "when the Son of God became Son of Man, the Spirit also descended upon him, becoming accustomed in this way to dwelling with the human race, to living in men (and women) and to inhabiting God's creation .... The Spirit accomplished the Father's will in men (and women) who had grown old in sin, and gave them new life in Christ."

He also reminded us that St. Luke taught "that the Spirit came down on the disciples at Pentecost ... with power to open the gates of all nations and to make known to them the new covenant." In his writings he uses the image of water to describe the Holy Spirit. Without water dough fails to become bread; without water trees produce no fruit.

These past five days you have read some of the insights from the earliest writings about the Holy Spirit. Hopefully these words have helped you renew in your hearts a stronger awareness of the power, the dynamism that God has given in the gift of the Spirit.

Perhaps the challenges we confront in our lives, in our society, in our world are a sign to us that we need to renew the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God does not fail in continuing the gifts of the Holy Spirit for us. As many of the early writers commented: the gift of the Spirit is an unending gift to those who are open to receiving it. On this Pentecost Day might we not ask ourselves about our own devotion, our own reliance upon the Holy Spirit in our day-to-day encounters with the world around us.

Friday Reflection: May 9, 2008

Another "great" of our early Church to address the "mission" of the Holy Spirit is St. Cyril of Alexandria (Egypt). The brief "life" is worth the reading time! He is well known in patristic circles for opposing Nestorius who claimed that Mary could not be the mother of Jesus because he was divine and not human. A commonly used "title" of Mary, theotokos, meaning God-bearer, could not be attributed to her. Cyril also wrote a treatise on the Holy Spirit.

He taught that after the earthly life of Jesus was completed, there remained a challenge for humankind: "To become sharers in the divine nature of the Word" was a goal to be achieved. Transformation -- putting off the old and putting on the new -- into a life that pleased the Father was possible "only by sharing in the life of the Holy Spirit.

Cyril believed it was "fitting" that only after Jesus had departed that the Holy Spirit could descend upon those who believed in Jesus. After his Ascension, he would be united to his followers through the Holy Spirit. Jesus would continue "to dwell in our hearts through faith." Jesus, related to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives, would strengthen us to be able to pray "Abba, Father." This gift of the Spirit was to be the power that enabled us "to grow in holiness" and to have strength to be invincible when challenges by sin and other kinds of enemies.

Cyril writes that the Old and New Testaments present examples "that the Spirit changes those in whom he come to dwell. His presence in our lives transforms us "to live a completely new kind of life." Cyril cites the transformation of Saul into the ardent follower of Jesus, Paul. This new man should be a living proof to us "that the Spirit changes those in whom he come to dwell and alters the whole pattern of their lives.... With the spirit within them it is quite natural for .... cowards to become men of great courage." Cyril suggests that this happened to the disciples of Jesus. The gift of this power could, as Jesus said, only take place if he returned to heave, God's "time appointed for the descent of the Holy Spirit."

For us today in our daily challenges to live our faith and to give the Good News of our redemption to others, it is the gift of the Holy Spirit and our regular prayer to him and our willingness to accept him into our lives that we have one of the tools needed to help sanctify our world and the work that we seek to accomplish. No doubt, being born again in the Holy Spirit can be frightening. When we pray, "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful," we are without doubt inviting God through the Holy Spirit to transform us.

Send forth your Spirit, light of radiant joy,

to take possession of our hearts.

Photo: Logo of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Belmont, MI.

Thursday Reflection: May 8, 2008

The Vatican II Council Father produced a dogmatic constitution, Lumen Gentium. In this document we can learn how the modern Church views the mission of the Holy Spirit in #4 and #12.

How did the Father and Jesus determine to sanctify the Church once Jesus had fulfilled the divine plan entrusted to him? How would those who walked with Jesus and those who learned about the Father and Jesus from that first community of believers continue to have a way to them? The answer? Through the "spirit of life, the fountain of water welling up to give eternal life. Through him the Father gives life to men ... dead because of sin, until he raises up their mortal bodies."

The Spirit is within us both in our Church and our hearts. It is the power, the work of the Spirit to advance the Church "into all truth and gives it unity in communion and in service." It is this road to the truth that our Church builds its unity because of the unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This in mind the Council Fathers state clearly and boldly "The whole company of the faithful, who have an anointing by the Holy Spirit, cannot err in faith." The faithful show this "distinctive characteristic ... in the supernatural instinct of faith (Latin sensus fidei) of the whole people when, from the bishops to the most ordinary lay person among the faithful, they display a universal agreement on matters of faith and morals." This is one of the most significant statements of the Council. The final clause seems to put forward a genuine challenge from the Holy Spirit to a monolithic, authoritative Council.

It is the "instinct of faith" that is enlivened by the Spirit of truth. It is this Spirit of truth that demands openness and genuine humility especially from those charged with the "protection" of our faith. With this instinct the people of God "hold indefectibly to the faith once delivered to the saints penetrate it more deeply by means of right judgment, and apply it more perfectly in their lives. They do all this under the guidance of the sacred teaching office [understand here of the Church]: by faithful obedience to it they receive, not the word of men but in truth the word of God."

These words make clear the serious obligation we have to hear, to know where the Spirit leads the Church, leads the faithful. These words proclaim boldly the obligation all members of the Church -- from the first of the bishops, the Pope, to any other members of the Church -- to be open to the movements of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit speaks and leads those ordained as well as those who make up the faithful body of believers. What a challenge to any pride or sinfulness that prevents an open heart and mind to the movements of the Spirit within us.

Wednesday Reflection: May 7, 2008 -- St Basil the Great

St Basil the Great -- Treatise On the Holy Spirit

In this 4th century reflection, one of the Cappadocian saints (Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil's brother Gregory of Nyssa) at one point focuses the readers attention on the various titles ascribed to the Holy Spirit. He believes that a prayerful consideration of these titles should move the soul. Important titles are "the Spirit of God," "the steadfast Spirit," "the guiding Spirit." These titles affirm that the Spirit is "supreme" Being. However, Basil makes clear "his principal and most personal title is the Holy Spirit." It is to the Holy Spirit that we turn for the graces that will lead us to holiness. In reality the Holy Spirit is present for all of us but as Basil sees it "acting in each [person] according to the measure of his faith."

Yesterday on this blog you read to John's portrayal of water as a concrete reality to paint for us some clarity as to what the Holy Spirit is for us. Basil uses sunshine as a means for us to understand the marvelous gift given to us. Sunshine is the gift that "permeates all the atmosphere, spreading over land and sea, and yet is enjoyed by each person as though it were for him alone...." We, all of us, share the fullness of the graces of the Holy Spirit as if they alone were for each person in their totality. Basil makes an interesting point not to be overlooked. The gifts of the Spirit are only limited by our own nature. The Spirit's gifts are in abundance.

Returning to the light of sunshine, Basil reminds us when sunlight falls on "clear, transparent substances," they "shine with a new radiance." Basil writes that when we who open our souls to the Holy Spirit, we achieve a genuine spirituality. We become, furthermore, "a source of grace for others."

What does Basil see in the grace gifts of the Holy Spirit? "... foreknowledge of the future, understanding of the mysteries of faith, insight into the hidden meaning of Scripture and other special gifts."

Basil also gives a powerful thought for us to reflect on: "... we acquire a likeness to God, indeed we attain what is beyond our most sublime aspirations -- we become God." His words ... not mine. Perhaps frightening, perhaps beyond belief at times but nevertheless what we can become!

Tomorrow: the reflection of the Council Fathers at Vatican II in the council dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium.

Tuesday Reflection: May 6, 2008 -- Pentecost Is Coming

The reflections for the remainder of this week will be focused upon the upcoming feast of Pentecost.

The living water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of living water, welling up into eternal life. (Jn 4: 7-14)

Did you ever wonder why Jesus would refer to the grace of the Holy Spirit as water? So often we hear or see references to this unique and singular gift of God as a bird or a flame.

Have you ever thought about this: everything we use and we ourselves are dependent upon water? Remember that plants and animals trace there origins to water. From the heavens we feel rain come down upon us. But there is a very interesting insight: the water that falls from the heavens is always the same. Sometimes it is a teeming rain. Other times it is a drizzle. Other times it is part of a hurricane or a tornado. Yet this sameness, this water that falls upon us is able to bring about results that are so very different. St. Cyril of Jerusalem http:an early Church Father reminded us that this water, that doesn't change, produces many different effects. He cited such things as the palm tree and grapes on a vine. Consider what happens to our world economy when there is a drought in produce yielding areas of the world. Water adapts itself to the needs of the creation upon which it falls.

And what is the meaning for us? The Holy Spirit, "whose nature is always the same, simple and individual" provides graces for each of us as he desires regardless of who we are or what we are. The Holy Spirit never changes. He is always the God of the Trinity that showers blessings and graces upon us. Nevertheless his gifts are "many and marvelous" as Cyril wrote.

The graces that come down upon us enabled me to work through my vocation as a priest. For others, like some of you, the graces help you to live your married life vocation. Others among us have become spiritual gurus because of the same Holy Spirit although the graces given to another person may be different in the resulting work of God. Why are some people drawn to working with the poor while others feel drawn to be teachers? Why are some called to be healers while other feel that grace of monastic mysticism?

Some of us the Spirit has made teachers, others parents, others, single persons, others artists, other athletes and so on. This is the "vocation" that is instilled in our hearts and minds by the graces of the Holy Spirit. His action is grace in our lives but it is the same grace but somewhat different for each of us who is so very different from the next person.

Cyril reminds us that the Holy Spirit is a gentle grace from God the Father. He is not a heavy weight put upon us. The impact of the Holy Spirit comes to us either directly or through the impact of another person already gifted by the Spirit's graces.

When we walk out of a theatre in the middle of a bright sunny day, the sunshine makes its impact felt. We can see clearly again. Perhaps if we ever took the time to realize what we see coming from darkness into light, we might realize how we see more clearly than before. So it is with the Holy Spirit. Many times his graces open our eyes to discern as we have never dreamed of seeing before. When we allow the Holy Spirit to gift us with his graces, our world becomes very different.

As we move forward to that great feast of Pentecost, take some time to realize the gift of the Holy Spirit ... especially when it is likened to water.

The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one in a singular way for the good of all.

1 Corinthians 12: 6-7, 27

ASCENSION DAY, May 4, 2008

In the Ascension Day gospel there is a sentence we might consider. Obviously in one of his post-Resurrection appearances, Jesus ordered his eleven apostles to a mountain top in Galilee. When they arrived there, Jesus was present to them again. As Matthew the Evangelist wrote, "When they saw him" on the mountain, "they worshiped, but they doubted" (28:16).

Might we not ascribe the sentiment of one of those present to ourselves in our world today? Even those who faithfully worship God can be brought to recognize that often they forget or fail to accept a core belief of our faith: our lives rest in God's hands. Too often we do not fully assent to the reality that we have nothing to fear because God is always with us.

A friend, Jesuit Father Andy Alexander, in true Jesuit inquisitiveness, puts a challenge before his readers: (1) "list the ways I show signs of living the joy and hope of the resurrection." Think about that for a moment. How many ways come to mind? ..... Now that you have struggled with the little quiz let me give you the second part: (2) "now list the ways I show that I am upset, disturbed, impatient, frustrated, angry at the people, situations circumstances around me." Again think about that ... but we have only a few minutes ... because I am sure that list would be much longer.

If you were like me listing my responses in my mind, you probably realized that the smallest of things can create a different me more easily and quickly than the joy and hope offered to us by Jesus through his Resurrection!

So what is the lesson for us? The freedom of the Resurrection, indeed the liberation spelled out for us in the life of Jesus and the gospel may be liberally given to us but for us to fully enjoy or partake of his message his promise to be with us at all times, evening following his Ascension, takes an amazing grace. No matter how devoted or devotional we might be, our world, our culture, our previous sinfulness work together to impede the graces that should capture our hearts and give us the drive to live with a realization that the gospel of Jesus is an immense treasure house for us.

Again considering Fr. Alexander's insights , his guiding us into a few moments of self-awareness, we should not feel ashamed or guilty if one of our lists was much longer than the other. This reflection should help us just as Jesus' appearance to the two Emmaus-bound disciples after his death. They were promised a new power, a new dynamism, if they returned to Jerusalem. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you" and then he promised them "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem."

And that is where we are --- just several days before we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Next weekend we renew the gift of Jesus and the Father to each of us --- a new dynamic thrust to our faith, our lives. My sisters and brothers, the Holy Spirit graces us with power beyond anything we can imagine to live out the Ascension mandate: "go and make disciples of all nations ... teaching them "to observe all I have commended you." And that, folks, is the incredible gift and call we have received from the Father. That is his call to bring us from doubt to praise and the full life of discipleship.

Saturday Reflection: May 3, 2008

Today's gospel reading recounts Philip's asking Jesus "Show us the Father." How often do we ask the same question of Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Most likely more than we imagine. There are often times in each day when we directly life up our hearts and minds to God with a prayer for guidance or thanksgiving. The sunrises, the sunsets or seeing acts of kindness or hearing of noble deeds by another human being --- these are for many moments of lifting the mind and heart to God. These are the moments when we can find an answer to Philip's request.

For a moment let us step aside form Philip and his searching and our searching. Let me recall the written words of a noted French composer, Claude Debussy. Describing the composition process in music, he said "Music is the silence between the notes." What an insight that has helped so many even beyond the music composition world. It is the pause between two notes that makes the musical work of art possible.

Debussy's insight also helps us in our search for God. We have been taught by so many people of as many backgrounds that silence is important if we want to talk with God, if we want to engage him in conversation. Today we live in a world of noise. Surely there is music of every genre. There is tv speaking to us 24/7 if we allow it. There are jet planes roaring above us if we live near an airport. Our city streets are a cacophony of sounds: horns, engines, sirens, screeching brakes. But there are quiet moments, too, on a country road, on the streets in a housing development, in a park. Most libraries offer silence along with the sacred silence of a chapel or a church or a quiet place in our homes. Even in our daily experience of noise there are the moments between the horns, the sirens, the loud music, even the noise of innocent young children playing in a school yard.

So, too, our search for God is found in the quiet, noiseless exercise of meeting God in prayer. Prayer is that treasured moment between the notes of our active days. It is in the moment when we give serious effort to silence, to the space between the notes of noise on the written musical composition of our lives. To discover God today we must work to find the space between the notes --- the moments when sunrises or sunsets let us hear God speak, when the goodness of others let us hear God-talk. Psalm 65:7 helps us to know that God will do his part in our searching to find him in silence. He will speak to us between the noises of our lives. "You still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of the waves, and the tumult of the peoples."

In the spaces between the noises God will speak to us. He will make known what we truly need to hear. This is the power between the notes, the power of silence. What is that power? Simply this: the voice of God!

In the words of today's gospel Jesus conveys a kind of sadness as he is drawing closer to the serious days that are before him. Perhaps there is also the pain of separation that hangs in the future. No doubt there must have been moments when human emotions captured his heart. He loved being with his disciples.

But he turns from sadness to words of comfort, words of support. Again he reminds his disciples that joy, genuine joy, will be theirs. "Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you." What an extraordinary promise! Yet it seems to many to be a challenging promise. Why? Are we not overwhelmed at times by the realities of our world that add confusion to our lives ... the wants and desires that diminish our relationship with the Lord. Do we fully comprehend what Jesus is teaching us?

Praying for the gift of faith, a strong faith, is not easy. Faith demands much from modern humanity. Are we not terribly challenged by the many different types of crises that weigh heavily upon us at this time in our lives: the seemingly unending war, the economic crises that impact most Americans' wallet or purses. Is there not fear in the hearts of men and women who are struggling to raise families? As a priest, I can only imagine what it would mean to be confronting the realities that face a husband or wife trying to make ends meet for their families today. It must be so easy especially for those who had perhaps teased themselves into believing that there was everything to be had for themselves and their families. It was a land of plenty that pulled so many away from their God.

Reflecting upon the word "elitism" that has become so much a part of the current political circus we are watching, perhaps it is a reality many do not wish to acknowledge publicly but crises so often pull those suffering not necessarily to their guns but certainly to their religion, to more regular Church attendance, to more prayer.

There are more people praying today for relief from the impact of the various economic burdens that are theirs, burdens that were not so difficult and frightening just a few years ago. The words of Jesus mentioned above have more significance today.

Perhaps we might consider that many are now confronting the pains of delivery ... delivering us to a new awareness of a challenging life that we must endure for a time.