Today, we celebrate the Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. At the age of 14, on Christmas Eve in 1886, Thérèse had a conversion that transformed her life. From then on, her powerful energy and sensitive spirit were turned toward love, instead of keeping herself happy. At age 15, she entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux to give her whole life to God. She took the religious name Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. We know her better as “The Little Flower.” Living a life of humility, simplicity, and prayer, she was gifted with great intimacy with God. Through sickness and dark nights of doubt and fear, she remained faithful to God, rooted in His merciful love. After a long struggle with tuberculosis, she died on September 30, 1897, at the age of 24. Her last words were the story of her life: “My God, I love You!” Read More
On the Inside; On the Outside
A Parable on Modern Life (adapted from The Song of the Bird by Anthony de Mello S.J.)
The animals met in assembly and began to complain that humans were always taking things away from them. “They take my milk,” said the cow. “They take my eggs,” said the hen. “They take my flesh for bacon,” said the hog. “They hunt me for my oil,” said the whale. The snail was the last to speak. “I have something they would certainly take away from me if they could. Something they want more than anything else. I have time.”
You have all the time in the world if you would give it to yourself. What’s stopping you? What obstacles are preventing you from living in the present? What activities are taking up your time? Are these activities truly necessary? Are these activities life-giving or life-taking?
We constantly find ourselves searching to find more time to do the things that we think we should be doing. Perhaps we need to start thinking about how we can better spend our time doing the things that God wants us to do. Spend some time today in prayer and ask God to enlighten your mind in order to make better use of your time and to discover those things that are truly important in life. You’ll be amazed of how this changes your perspective of modern life.
“If you want to have the time of your life, change how you use the time in your life.” ~ Tim Fargo
Back when our three sons were younger, we used to go camping on our family vacations. And I can recall that some of the best trips we ever had were when we camped in the mountains. There’s something about the fresh mountain air and the fabulous views that really make you feel awake and alive.
I remember one summer night when we were sitting around the campfire. I was lying on the ground looking up at the night sky. I had never seen so many stars in my entire life. As far as the eye could see, I saw what appeared to be millions upon millions of stars twinkling brightly. As I was gazing upward, I found myself opening my eyes as wide as possible so that I could see as much of the sky at once. I just didn’t want to miss any part of that magnificent light show. Even after a long day and mile-upon-mile of hiking trails, sleep was the last thing on my mind.
“Stay awake!” Jesus says. “For you don’t know on which day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24: 42-51)We need to be attentive and constantly alert so that we can see God in the world. This can’t be just a casual observance, but something that needs to be integrated into our very being. It can be so easy to be lulled to sleep by the familiar, the comfortable, and the mundane. It can be so easy to fall into auto-pilot mode and do what we always do; to walk around like zombies following our daily rituals and patterns, completely missing what’s right in front of our face. But today and every day, we are called to be alert and to find those things that challenge us and make us feel alive in our faith. For when we are not awake, we are not fully alive.
Let us always make a conscious effort to see the light of God that is right in front of us, all around us, and within us. And let us strive to keep our eyes wide open so that we can witness the immeasurable love that God has for each one of us. Believe me – that in itself is worth staying awake for.
A friend of mine called last week. She asked, “How are you?” It’s a common question, one we ask and are asked every day. You and I both know the standard answers and I gave them. I said, “Fine. I’m doing well. Things are really busy right now. I’m good.” She laughed and said, “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
I suspect I’m not the only one who’s had this type of conversation. Most of us have these kinds of conversations several times each day. We offer the usual answers. We might be fine and busy, getting our work done, meeting deadlines, fulfilling obligations, volunteering our time, and loving and caring for our families, but there is a huge difference between living life and having life within us. Read More
Sabbath Place Hermitage
This past weekend, I went away on retreat to a place called Christ in the Wilderness (http://citwretreat.com) outside of Stockton, Illinois. I typically try to go away for at least four days, but with the way my calendar was this year, I could only manage a weekend. I didn’t set my spiritual expectations too high due to the short two-day retreat. (It usually takes two-days just to wind down from the stresses of life before I can solely focus on my relationship with God.) But this time, it was different.
Being completely isolated in a secluded wilderness hermitage immediately placed me in God’s presence. I was surrounded by nature, birds, animals, and God’s love for me, and an immediate peacefulness enveloped me. Read More
Recently, when praying the Liturgy of the Hours, I read a verse from the Book of Job that suddenly reminded me of something that I was taught in one of my classes during diaconate formation. The verse was:
Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall go back again.
I remember the teacher telling us that when we die, we will stand naked before the Lord – bearing everything about us. We come into this world with nothing, and we leave this world with nothing. It doesn’t matter how much or how little we possessed while on this earth. It is all about what we’ve done with our time here. Everything we do remains a part of us. It is like our skin is an invisible tattoo displaying everything we’ve done during our earthly lives.
Therefore, when we stand before the Lord naked, are we to be ashamed? Will we stand before our Savior with our hands covering our body parts, embarrassed for who we are?
Perhaps today is the day when we truly look at ourselves and see who we really are. Perhaps today is the day when we decide to begin anew. We need to live our lives in the way that God desired – not to walk around thinking that we’re better than others; but to live a life of humility, love, and service. We are to live a life where we love everyone, serve those in need, and do whatever is necessary in order to make a difference in the lives of others. Maybe then we can stand naked before our God, fully transparent, unafraid, and comfortable in our own skin.
Do you ever feel like the bucket of your life has a hole in it that leaks faster than you can fill it? No matter what you do, how hard you work, where you go, what you try, you just can’t fill it up. Work, play, friends, and family all leave you feeling empty, restless, and searching. You can’t seem to get enough. The outflow is greater than the inflow. You are left drained of life: tired and weak, frustrated and hopeless, angry and resentful, sorrowful and grieving, fearful that you will never have the life you want. If you know what that is like, perhaps you can relate to the hemorrhaging woman in today’s gospel (Mark 5:21-43). Read More
What kind of foundation are we building on? In today’s gospel (Matthew 7:21-29), Jesus wasn’t talking about building an actual house, but about building a life – a life that is meaningful – a life worth living. We could certainly apply this teaching to marriages and families too.
When we’re building a life, we want it to be a life that we can look back on at the end of it without any regrets. When we’re building a family, we want that family to be stable, strong, and full of joy and love. If we want to build a life or a household that will last, that will stand, that will make a difference; we first need to understand what Jesus means when he talks about storms. Read More
We all are busy people. There is always something going on, somewhere to go or something to do. Between work, school, family commitments, sports, hobbies, leisure, etc., we barely have time to breathe. Our calendars fill up more quickly than a rain barrel in a thunderstorm. Let’s face it: we are insanely busy! And yet today, Jesus tells us that there are two additional things that we have to find time to do:
- Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
Ah, Spring! That glorious season when the sun warms, temperatures steadily increase, trees begin to come alive again, birds sing their happy songs, the grass begins to regain it’s color, and a menagerie of ground vegetation emerges and blossoms from the shadows of winter. Ah, Spring! How lovely it is to have you back with us. But along with all of these joyful experiences of this season, a frightful and disturbing life form develops… Read More
