Being Honest

If you have a solid spiritual life, you realize that nothing really disconnects you from others. Then it is a matter of courage to be yourself and to be honest about who you are. This means:

• To admit the hard things about yourself

• To be clear about hard things others must hear

• To not mislead anyone

• To not live a secret life

• To abandon false fronts and false pride

• To be clear about your intent

• To tell the truth

• To not hide from difficult moments

• To give up being “nice” all the time

• To state your needs and wants without shame

• To not cover or lie for anyone

The truth does, in fact, make you free.

Pat Carnes Ph.D. “The Betrayal Bond”

Be Here Now

Thomas Merton entered the monastery in Kentucky when he was 27 years old. He was accidentally electrocuted in Bangkok 27 years later on December 10, 1968, at the age of 54. Merton reacquainted Christianity with its contemplative roots. His writings inspired many, including myself, to return to le point vierge, “the virgin point” of pure poverty and nothingness in God’s presence, which can only be found in the now.

Be Here Now

If you watch your mind, you will see you live most of your life in the past or in the future, both of which Jesus warns us against. That’s just the way the mind works. If you are to experience the ever-present and ever-coming Christ, the one place you have to be is the one place you are usually not: NOW HERE or “nowhere.” Everything that happens to you happens right now; if you can’t be present right now, nothing new is ever going to happen to you. You will not experience your experiences; they will not go to any depth in your soul. You really won’t grow unless you’re willing to live right here, right now—to be present.

How do you be present? Jesus describes it rather profoundly: “You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, with your whole mind, and with your whole strength” (Luke 10:27). Whenever all of these parts are working together at the same time you are present. He finishes by saying “Do this and life is yours!” (10:28). I like to say that prayer happens whenever all of you is present—body, mind, soul, spirit, emotions—all together. That’s hard work. This is the core and constant meaning of all spiritual practice, no matter what religion: how to be here now! Then you will know what you need to know to go forward.

Usually we have to be shocked into it, I’m sorry to say. Great love does it. When you are deeply in love—with anything—you tend to be present to the Now. Someone has said, “To be a saint is to have loved many things”—many things—the tree, the dog, the sky, the flowers, even the color of someone’s clothing. You see, when you love, you love, and love extends to everything all the time and everywhere. When you love, you’re much more likely to be present. What this moment offers is the grace of God.

Approval

We can secure other people's approval, if we do right and try hard; but our own is worth a hundred of it.  ~Mark Twain

There was once a young girl who thought that if only she tried a little harder, she could please her parents; if only she were prettier, her friends would like her better. She tried constantly to gain their approval. Sometimes they said they liked her, and sometimes they didn't.

Then one night an angel came to her in a dream and told her, "You are fine just the way you are. You don't have to change. I want you to start noticing your own beauty and loving yourself exactly the way you are."

Doing what the angel suggested - giving love and approval to herself - wasn't easy, but she found that when she did it she felt a peace that was not dependent on what others thought. She thanked her angel for caring enough to come and give her such wise advice.

What are some things I like about myself?

Matter of Focus

My friend Marge had an experience aboard a plane bound for Cleveland, waiting for takeoff. As she settled into her seat, Marge noticed a strange phenomenon. On one side of the airplane a sunset suffused the entire sky with glorious color. But out of the window next to her seat, all Marge could see was a dark and threatening sky, with no sign of the sunset.

As the plane's engines began to roar, a gentle Voice spoke within her. "You have noticed the windows," He murmured beneath the roar and thrust of the takeoff. "Your life, too, will contain some happy, beautiful times, but also some dark shadows. Here's a lesson I want to teach you to save you much heartache and allow you to "abide in Me" with continual peace and joy. You see, it doesn't matter which window you look through; this plane is still going to Cleveland.

So it is in your life. You have a choice. You can dwell on the gloomy picture. Or you can focus on the bright things and leave the dark, ominous situations to Me. I alone can handle them anyway. And the final destination is not influenced by what you see or feel along the way. Learn this, act on it and you will be released, able to experience the "peace that passes understanding."

~ Catherine Marshall in "Touching the Heart of God"​

5th Sunday of Easter

There is an interesting tension in today’s readings that I don’t think I have ever paid much attention to before. Today’s Gospel from John 15:1–8 and the 2nd reading from 1 John 3:18–24 are about our relationship with Jesus. In the Gospel Jesus tells his disciples and us, “Remain in me, as I remain in you.” And he explains why this commandment is important. If we don’t stay connected to Jesus like branches on a vine, we cannot bear fruit. In the 2nd reading we hear a similar line, “Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.” The commandments referred to in John’s letter are we should believe in the name of Jesus Christ and we should love one another.

The tension is in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles 9:26–31. This is the story about Paul’s introduction to the disciples in Jerusalem. It didn’t go down very well. After his astounding conversion and baptism and after some death threats, Paul journeyed to Jerusalem to join the disciples. They didn’t want him. The disciples were afraid and they couldn’t believe that this man who breathed “murderous threats” against them was now a disciple of Jesus. Fortunately Barnabas befriended Paul and through his witness to Paul’s conversion the disciples finally accepted him into their circle. But then Paul got into trouble with the Hellenists who tried to kill him so the disciples bundled him off to Tarsus. It was only after getting Paul out of Jerusalem that “The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.”

What is interesting is that Paul’s problems with the disciples and the Hellenists didn’t stop him from bearing fruit. Paul’s branch was pruned and his ministry thrived, not in Judea, Galilee or Samaria but in the far reaches of Asia Minor. None of Paul’s experiences diminished his deep and abiding belief in Jesus. Jesus told the disciples, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches.” He didn’t say branch. Jesus’ vine has many branches and they are all different. Paul’s branch was not the branch of the disciples in Jerusalem but they were connected to the same vine. We are connected to the same vine as well. And so we can pray:

Our living and loving God,

you have made yourself very close and dear to us

in your Son Jesus Christ.

Through him we can live your life,

rich and generous and reaching out to others,

for Christ lives in us and we can live in him.

Let your Son bring all together in him,

that all become branches on the same vine

and that the new wine of justice and love

fill all this earth with joy and peace.

We ask this through him whose sap of life flows in us,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Golf Balls and Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large, empty mayonnaise jar and started to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,'“ said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping faucet. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. “I'm glad you asked”. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Final Blessing

A young, brand-new priest deeply committed to his calling was asked by the local funeral director to hold a graveside burial service at a small local cemetery for someone with no family or friends. The priest started for the cemetery early, but got lost on the way, and eventually arrived at what he was sure was the location for the burial a good half-hour late.

The freshly-turned dirt was the final clue that his late arrival had cost him his chance at his first funeral. He saw a backhoe and its crew, but the hearse was nowhere in sight, and the workmen were eating lunch.

The diligent young priest went to the open grave and found the vault lid already in place.

Taking out his funeral book, he read the service. Feeling guilty because of his tardiness, he preached an impassioned and lengthy service, sending the deceased to the great beyond in style.

As he was returning to his car, he overheard one of the workmen say: “I've been putting in septic tanks for 20 years and I ain't never seen anything like that.”