A 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."

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

C S Lewis

Satan:  “I will cause anxiety, fear and panic. I will shut down business, schools, places of worship, and sports events. I will cause economic turmoil.”

Jesus:  “I will bring together neighbors, restore the family unit, I will bring dinner back to the kitchen table. I will help people slow down their lives and appreciate what really matters. I will teach my children to rely on me and not the world. I will teach my children to trust me and not their money and material resources.”

Written by C. S. Lewis, 1942

Presence

"Where shall I look for enlightenment?"

"Here?"

"When will it happen?"

"It is happening right now."

"Then why don't I experience it?"

"Because you do not look."

"What shall I look for?"

"Nothing. Just look."

"At what?"

"Anything your eyes light upon."

"Must I look in a special kind of way."

"No. The ordinary way will do."

"But, don't I always look in the ordinary way?"

"No."

"Why ever not?"

"Because to look you must be here. You are mostly somewhere else."

Fr Anthony de Mello, SJ​

Temptation

“Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life.” 
James 1:12

The old word for addiction was temptation. 
“My temptation is quiet.” (William Butler Yeats)

“I can resist everything except temptation.” (Oscar Wilde) 

“Lead us not into temptation.” (Jesus)

5th Sunday of Lent

Right now, we are living through dark and troubled times.  Our lives have been turned upside down.  Things we have taken for granted have been stripped away.  Nothing is “normal.”  Some  people are calling the coronavirus an invisible enemy and have likened our reaction to the virus as warfare.  As in all wars, there is collateral damage.  Thousands of people have lost their jobs.  Their fears and anxieties are not about toilet paper, rather they are worried about how they will feed and support their children, keep a roof over their heads and protect themselves and their families from harm.

In the midst of the turmoil we are living, our Church calls our   attention to the story of the Death and Raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45.  St. John’s story about the raising of Lazarus unfolds like a Greek drama.  The characters are Jesus, Thomas, Martha, Mary, and, of course, Lazarus who is silent.  And there are two choruses:  the disciples and the Jews.  However, unlike Greek drama this is not the story of a tragic fall.  This story is about death and life, transformation, the glory of God and resurrection.  It also is a story about great, overwhelming, unceasing love; God’s love of Jesus and God’s love for us.

St. John tells us that “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:5).  He became “perturbed” and deeply troubled when he saw Mary weeping and he wept when he saw Lazarus’ tomb.  He raised Lazarus from the dead out of love.  But he also performed this miracle to demonstrate to the disciples, his followers, Martha, and Mary and all the people around them the Glory of God.  He told his disciples before they journeyed to Bethany “this illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4).  And just as with the Samaritan woman at the well and the man blind from birth, this miracle caused “many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done” (John 11:45) to believe in him.

For the disciples and many others, belief came as they witnessed the miracle of Lazarus or they experienced the miracle of sight, or of healing.  For us, belief in the Resurrection is an act of absolute faith.  It transcends time, history, and the limitations of our physical world and our physical selves.  It is the great mystery of    Christianity.  As we complete the final days of Lent and prepare ourselves to enter into Holy Week, let us join with Martha, Mary, Lazarus, and the entire communion of saints declaring “Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (John 11:27).  And, please join together in prayer for all our families, our community, our State, our Country, and our World that we can feel the loving presence of Christ in our lives and believe in the comfort of the Resurrection.

God of life,
you want us to live and to be happy.
Your Son Jesus assures us:
"I am the resurrection and the life."
Do not let your life die in us.
Draw us out of our graves
of sin and mediocrity and fears.
Let life triumph in us
even in our uncertainties and trials
and make our hope contagious for others.
You have destined us for life without end
through the firstborn from the dead,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

What Goes Around Comes Around

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her?  He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold.  He knew how she felt.  It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, “I'm here to help you, ma'am.  Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm?  By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough.

Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire.  But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him.  She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through.  She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk.  The lady asked how much she owed him.  Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.  Bryan never thought twice about being paid.  This was not a job to him.  This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past.  He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off.  It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe.  She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home.  It was a dingy looking restaurant.  Outside were two old gas pumps.  The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.  The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair.  She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase.  The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude.  The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger.

Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill.  The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door.  She was gone by the time the waitress came back.  The waitress wondered where the lady could be.  Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don't owe me anything.  I have been there too.  Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you.  If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.”

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day.  That night when she got home from work  and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written.  How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it.  With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.  She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”

Source Unknown

Prayer in the Time of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Legend of the Dogwood Tree

When Christ was on earth,
The dogwood grew to a
Towering size with lovely hue.
Its branches were strong and interwoven.
And for Christ's cross
Its timbers were chosen.
Being distressed at the use of this wood,
Christ made a promise
Which still holds good:

"Not ever again shall the dogwood grow
To be large enough for such a tree,
And so slender and twisted
It shall always be with cross-shaped Blossoms for all to see.
The petals shall have bloodstains
Marked in brown and in the
Blossom's center a thorny crown.
All who see it will think of Me,
Nailed to a cross from the dogwood tree.
Protected and cherished this tree shall be
A reflection to all of my agony."

-Author Unknown

Healing Prayer

Lord,

Make me and instrument of your healing.

When I am weak and in pain, help me to rest,
When I am anxious, help me to wait,
When I am fearful, help me to trust,
When I am lonely, help me to love,
When I feel apart from You, help me to know you are near.

Healing God, grant me not so much to demand everything from myself, as to let others help me.
Nor to expect others to cure me, as to do my own part toward getting better.
Grant me not so much to seek escape, as to face myself and learn the depths of Your love.
For it is in being uncertain and not in control, that we find true faith.
It is in knowing the limits of mind and body, that we find wholeness of spirit,
And in passing through death, that we find life that lasts forever.

And God Said

4th Sunday of Lent

Early this morning as I scanned the Sunday Morning Briefing of the New York Times (March 15, 2020), I came across an article entitled “Italians Find ‘a Moment of Joy in This Moment of Anxiety’.” The summary under the title was “Under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, song breaks out from rooftops, balconies and windows.” In this article, Jason Horowitz described how on Friday, March 13 the people of Italy joined together to sing, play musical instruments and “clang pots,” to declare their solidarity and on Saturday, March 14 to thank their health professionals “on the medical front lines fighting the spread” of the virus outbreak. The article included videos from across Italy of people singing, clanging their pots and playing their instruments with gusto. Although the streets of Italy are empty, the people are there, quarantined in their homes, sharing joy and hope and spreading light during very dark times. The images of all these people singing gave me a tremendous sense of hopefulness.

Right now, our whole world is going through very dark times. And we in the USA are not exempt. Our lives are disrupted. Our televisions are filled with scenes of panic and fear as people scramble to gather the goods they believe they’ll need to survive COVID-19. There are people preying on these fears by price gouging scarce resources. People fear that our healthcare system will be overwhelmed. And people fear they or their family members will get sick and possibly die.

The people presented to us in today’s scripture readings were also going through dark and difficult times. Samuel feared for his life as he sought a new king for Israel, Paul was in prison and the Jews were attempting to trap and kill Jesus. Yet, overcoming their fears and the obstacles put in their way, Samuel, Paul and Jesus each managed to fulfill their earthly mission. Their faith in the Lord gave them the strength and courage to forge ahead. So, Samuel did find David and anoint him King of Israel. While incarcerated Paul wrote four epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And Jesus continued his ministry of preaching, teaching and healing.

At the beginning of the 5th Chapter of Ephesians Paul implores us to “be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us….” He continues by reminding us that we “were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth (Eph 5:1, 8). In today’s gospel, John 9:1-41, Jesus told the disciples and he tells us, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (9:5). Today Jesus is a very real presence in our world. And those of us who follow Jesus are challenged to be "the light of [our] world" (Matt. 5:14).

Sisters and brothers, there is light in our world. In the midst of all the fear that surrounds us, there are people who genuinely care about us and our well being and are trying their best to help. All our first responders are still on the job. All our healthcare professionals are still on the job. Our elected officials are still on the job. The people who run our supermarkets are still on the job. All the priests in the Archdiocese of Atlanta are still on the job. And while many people are working from home, they are still on the job. Teachers are working, IT people are working, plumbers are working, electricians are working. And we are working on being “imitators of God,” living “in love as Christ loved us” and spreading the light of Christ within our families, our neighborhood, our city, our state, our nation and our world.

Father of light,

you close the eyes of those who think they see

because they rely only on their own insights;

and you let your Son open the eyes

of those eager for your light.

Let Jesus, the light of the world,

heal us and give us faith and understanding.

Let Jesus restore our sight

that we may see the way

that leads to you,

and at the end of our road

we may see you, our God forever .

Amen.

Feast of St. Joseph

“Anything done out of love is important, however small it might appear.  God has come to us, even though we are miserable creatures, and he has told us that he loves us: ‘My delight is to be among the sons of men.’  Our Lord tells us that everything is valuable - those actions which from a human point of view we regard as extraordinary and those which seem unimportant.  Nothing is wasted.  No man is worthless to God.  All of us are called to share the kingdom of heaven - each with his own vocation: in his home, his work, his civic duties and the exercise of his rights.

“St Joseph's life is a good example of this: it was simple, ordinary and normal, made up of years of the same work, of days - just one day after another - which were monotonous from a human point of view.  I have often thought about this, meditating on St Joseph's life; it is one of the reasons for having a special devotion to him.”

St. Josemaria Escriva

Self-Definition

I do not define myself by how many roadblocks have appeared in my path. 

I define myself by the courage I’ve found to forge new roads.
I do not define myself by how many disappointments I’ve faced.
I define myself by the forgiveness and the faith I have found to begin again.
I do not define myself by how long a relationship lasted.
I define myself by how much I have loved, and been willing to love again.
I do not define myself by how many times I have been knocked down.
I define myself by how many times I have struggled to my feet.
I am not my pain.
I am not my past.
I am that which has emerged from the fire

Feast Day of St. Patrick

Patrick’s Loricum or Breastplate has the famous Celtic prayer, centered on Christ:

Christ be with me, Christ surround me,
Christ be in my speaking, Christ be in my thinking,
Christ be in my sleeping, Christ be in my waking,
Christ be in my watching, Christ be in my hoping,
Christ be in my life, Christ be on my lips,
Christ be in my soul, Christ be in my heart,
Christ be in my sufficing, Christ be in my slumber,
Christ be in my ever-living soul,
Christ be my eternity.

Patrick prayed for the Irish people on the mountain in Mayo which bears his name (Cruach Padraig).  Here’s a prayer for you on his feast day.

May you recognize in your life the presence,

power and light of Christ in your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone,

for He is always with you;

that your soul, in its brightness,

connects you with the Lord and with the rhythm of the universe.

May you always realize that the shape of your personality is unique,

that you have a special destiny behind the facade of your ordinary daily life.

May you be able to see yourself with the same delight and expectation

with which God sees you in every moment.

And may the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and the rain fall soft upon your fields.

And, until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand

St Patrick

Lockdown

Lockdown

by Brother Richard Hendrick

Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.

This beautiful poem was written by Brother Richard Hendrick – a Capuchin Franciscan living in Ireland.

A Hermit's Prayer

I Pray…

That I may depend on You and myself;
That You, Jesus and Your Spirit will fill my emptiness;
That I will ask You for help;
That You will give me a sense of well being;
That You will fill my loneliness;
That I will yearn only for You;
That Your Blessed Sacrament will give me dignity;
That I will solve my own problems with Your guidance;
That I will face myself;
That I will face the responsibilities of life;
That I will face my commitments;
That I will face life's tensions one day at a time;
That I will face myself;
That I will find my security in Your mercy;
That I will know that I am not alone, that You are with me as You said;
That I will turn myself over to Your care and protection;
That I will be available to myself;
That I will recognize my delusions and other's illusions;
That I will intimate with myself;
That I will ask for faith;
That I will know You are with me;
That will know that You will make up for my inadequacies;
That I will understand that I am worth your Son's life;
That I will know I am in Your arms and You will never let me go!

~ Sr. Emmanuel Bryant

Failure

Failure doesn't mean - "You are a failure,"

It means - You have not succeeded yet.

Failure doesn't mean - "You accomplished nothing,"
It means - You have learned something.

Failure doesn't mean - "You have been a fool,"
It means - You had a lot of faith.

Failure doesn't mean - "You don't have it,"
It means - You were willing to try.

Failure doesn't mean - "You are inferior,"
It means - You are not perfect.

Failure doesn't mean - "You've wasted your life,"

It means - You have a reason to start afresh.

Failure doesn't mean - "You should give up,"
It means - "You must try harder.

Failure doesn't mean - "You'll never make it,"
It means - It will take a little longer.

Failure doesn't mean - "God has abandoned you,"
It means - God has a better way for you.

R Whitby

The Knots Prayer

Smoke Signal

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, and soon there was nothing left. The worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. "God, how could you do this to me?" he cried.

Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain, and suffering.

Remember this the next time your "hut" seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

Courage

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.
- Raymond Linquist

Coeur is the French word for "heart." When we act with courage, we act from our hearts, not our heads alone. We boldly do what feels right.

We may be scared if we're going against the grain, but we have confidence and faith supporting our actions.

Being courageous does not require going into battle, We do not have to be saving someone's life. It takes a lot of courage just to be honest with ourselves and others, to decide to change behaviors, and to leave destructive relationships.

Today I will pray for courage.

Listen

Most of us are better talkers than listeners. When someone is talking we often aren't listening; we're thinking of what we're going to say in reply. Or maybe we have nothing to say in reply, but we just aren't interested in what is being said. Our eyes glaze over. It is the highest compliment to give someone our full attention. So it is with God.

We give God our deepest respect by listening attentively. And when we still our mind and truly listen, we are apt to get surprising results. We may not hear a thing. But if we devote ample time to God, in silence, we become open to a more peaceful, productive day. And we may see something on a billboard, or pick up something in the lyrics of a song. That supplies an unexpected solution for a problem. Then we'll know we've heard.

Today I will take time to give God my full attention.

My Creator,

My Creator, 

You are before me … and behind me.
You are above me … and beneath me.
You are to my right … and to my left.
You all around me … and You fill me with Your Presence.

I surrender myself to You today.
Lead me where You want me to go.
Show me what You want me to see.
Let me meet whom You want me to meet.
Give me the words You want me to speak.
Strengthen me to do what You want me to do.
Please grant me the Gift of Peace today.
Help me to love You, to love others,
and to experience Your Love and Your Grace this day.

2nd Sunday of Lent

Every year on the second Sunday of Lent, our Gospel recounts the story of the Transfiguration.  Jesus takes Peter, James and John up on a mountain where he is "transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light" (Matthew 17:2).  Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appear and have a conversation with Jesus.  Then a bright cloud materializes casting a shadow over them.  From the cloud, Jesus and the disciples hear a voice saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" (Matt. 17:5).   In the midst of this mysterious, luminous splendor, Peter, anxious to prolong the experience offers to make three tents for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.  But his offer is unrealistic because Jesus could not stay on the mountain.

Most Christians I know yearn for transforming mountaintop experiences.  Like Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John we long to see God face to face.  We want to hear God's voice.  We want to be near Jesus and experience the serenity of His presence.  And like Peter, we want the experience to last forever.  Sadly, for most of us, mountaintop experiences are fleeting.  They are glorious moments that seem to evaporate as we descend the mountain.  Just as Moses, Elijah and Jesus could not stay on the mountaintop forever; neither can we.  Jesus' mission was not to sit on the mountain like a wise sage imparting wisdom to those who climbed up to see him.  Jesus had to come down to live among, teach and heal the people who ultimately would crucify him.  That is how he secured our salvation.

In his Message for Lent 2020, Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, reminds us that, “It is good to contemplate more deeply the pascal mystery through which God’s mercy has been bestowed upon us.  Indeed, the experience of mercy is only possible in a ‘face to face’ relationship with the crucified and risen Lord… in a heartfelt dialogue between friends.  That is why prayer is so important in Lent.  Even more than a duty, prayer is an expression of our need to respond to God’s love which always precedes and sustains us…. Prayer can take any number of different forms, but what truly matters in God’s eyes is that it penetrates deep within us and chips away at our hardness of heart, in order to convert us ever more fully to God and his will.” 

It is important for us to go to the mountaintop, to stop, to pray, to seek God's face and to hear God's voice.  However, we must remember that mountaintop experiences are not an end.  We go to the mountain seeking our own transfiguration so that we can return to our daily lives and be a transforming presence to others.  We go to the mountaintop to draw strength from God so that we can accompany Jesus and all our suffering sisters and brothers on the Way of the Cross. 

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
it is wonderful for us to be here
in the presence of your beloved Son.
Let his radiant face give us light and peace.
May the light of his transfigured face
shine on all of us and give us courage,
that we too may become lights to one another,
until we may enter your everlasting light.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Amen