Mindful of the Invisible Ones Who Serve
A few weeks ago, some 400 of us Sisters met at a hotel to plan our future. On the last day, one of the hotel workers commented, “We liked having you because to you we weren’t invisible.” How often we take those who serve us for granted and even overlook them. (Maybe you are one of the “invisible” ones.) So, I’m thinking, what if we put on glasses that enable us to see these special people and acknowledge their presence by saying a word or two, especially a thank you. Yes, we leave a tip for the person who cleans our hotel room, but how much more meaningful if we personally delivered our thanks, looking the person straight in the eye. Who are some of the other people who make our lives smooth and help us in ways that we are scarcely aware of? (more…)
Where’s God When You Can’t Pray?
Lately I’ve been writing books on prayer, in particular about praying on empty. Maybe you can identify with this: During your prayer you keep checking the time and the minute hand seems barely to have moved. You understand why St. Teresa of Avila shook her hourglass as she prayed, attempting to speed up the time. Instead of enjoying time with your Lord, you are restless and your mind is full of distractions. You don’t sense God’s presence, and he certainly isn’t speaking to you. It’s as though you are talking to yourself. Periods of dryness in prayer are frustrating and confusing. You might think that God no longer loves you or maybe you did something to displease God or, worse yet, maybe God doesn’t exist! (more…)
Your Life as a Gift to Give as Gift
This week I gave a retreat for a school faculty whose theme for the year was “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (2 Corinthians 12:7). St. Paul goes on to list gifts given by the Spirit such as uttering wisdom, healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues. We spent the morning reflecting on our gifts. I thought you’d like to share in some of the ideas from the retreat. The main thread was “What you are is God’s gift to you, but what you become is your gift to God.”
We began by a guided meditation on being alive as a gift from God: How out of millions of possibilities God called us into being. So now we are living. We are breathing. Our hearts are pumping. Blood is coursing through our bodies. Thousands of neurons are shooting off in our brains. We are alive at this time, in this pace, with these people. We are alive because God loves us. If God would stop thinking about us, the chair we sit in would be empty. We have all the powers of a human body.We have all the powers of a human soul: to think, to imagine, to create, to love—because we are alive. Our lives, your life, all that you are and all that you will be, is sheer gift.
We usually know what our special gifts are, such as a flair for art, music, teaching. Sometimes we are not aware of the special gifts the Holy Spirit has brought us. Being generous, cheerful, compassionate, patient, and hardworking are also gifts. These are not as flamboyant as speaking in tongues or healing, but they contribute to making the world a better place.
All have different gifts. These complement one another like the ingredients in a recipe. The other day I made honey, raisin, oatmeal cookies. They didn’t bake. That evening when I opened the microwave, I found the melted butter I forgot to add. All gifts are needed to build church. All work for the common good.
We must not waste our gifts but pour them out. Remember the parable Jesus told about the talents (which meant coins then but to us also providentially means special skills). Two servants doubled the amount their master entrusted to them, but the servant who received only one talent buried it instead of using it. He was severely punished. This is like the saying “Better to wear out than to rust out.
We can use all of our gifts to glorify God. As Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta urged, “Make your life something beautiful for God.” And Pope Francis said, “Live life as a gift, to give to others, not as a treasure to be kept for ourselves.”
But what if we think we don’t have any gifts, or not many? Are you familiar with the parable of the cracked pot? A man in China took two pots hanging from a pole over his shoulders to fetch water. One pot was cracked, and by the time the man got home, half of the water in it had leaked out. One day the pot said, “Master, I’m sorry. I never bring you a full pot of water.” The man replied, “Look behind you.” All along the side of the path where the pot had spilled water, flowers grew. A quotation attributed to St. John Vianney is “If Samson slew hundreds of Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, imagine what God can do with a complete ass.”
We might open others’ gifts for them. Encourage them to try new things. Someone asked me to write a school song. I did and became a writer of school songs for four schools. My eighth grade teacher had me write compositions and mail them to her during the summer.
God helps us use our gifts by sending us the Holy Spirit, a gift who is known as a counselor, friend, someone who walks by our side. The best gift from God is Jesus. He revealed the Father to us and died and rose so we would again have the chance to live eternally happy. And Jesus gave us the gift of the Eucharist, a way that he is still with us. At each Mass we can offer ourselves to the Father as a gift. That is what the presentation of gifts symbolizes.
The retreat included one of my favorite reflections: “The Tandem”:
At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized his picture when I saw it, but I didn’t really know him. But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike—a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal. I don’t know just when it was he suggested we change places, but life has not been the same since I took the back seat to Jesus, my Lord. Christ makes life exciting. When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring and predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points.
But when he took the lead, he knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places and at breakneck speeds; it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, he said, “Pedal!” I was worried and was anxious and asked, “Where are you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into adventure. And when I’d say, “I’m scared,” he’d lean back and touch my hand.
He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me their gifts to take on my journey, our journey, my Lord’s and mine. And we were off again. He said, “Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight.” So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.
I did not trust him at first in control of my life. I thought he’d wreck it, but he knows bike secrets, how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jump to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages. And I’m learning to be still and pedal in the strangest places, and I’m beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus. And when I’m sure I just can’t do any more, he just smiles and says, “Pedal.” (Author unknown)
What do you like about being alive?
When has someone brought forth one of your gifts?
Let Them Help You. Jesus did.
This will be a short post because during my week retreat, the projects have piled up! A recent experience gave me an idea for this post. At lunch I was with someone who was struggling to open her ice cream bar. She pulled and pulled on the paper and even used her napkin to get a better grasp. I stretched out my strong “piano hands” to help, but she wanted to do it herself. Eventually she was successful. Why do we often refuse help? I too am guilty of this. I say things like, “No, thank you” and “I can carry it myself.” (And then sometimes I suffer the consequences!) Our stubbornness in doing things by ourselves could be because we are Americans, known for independence. I can think of two cases where people were in dire straits but either too proud or too ashamed to ask for help. So they were miserable. (more…)
The Divine Office: Prayer for ALL Christians
The Divine Office is part of the liturgy, the official public prayer of the Church, just like the Mass and the sacraments. Like all liturgy, it is the sacred work of the people. Other names for the Divine Office are the Liturgy of the Hours and the Prayer of Christians. Although priests are obliged to pray it (the breviary), and many men and women religious pray it, the Divine Office is intended to be the prayer of all Christians. One year I offered to teach parishioners at my parish how to pray the Divine Office, and our pastor provided them with the prayer books. Most of the people who learned this way of praying continue to do so. In fact, one man whom I taught prayed the Office on a plane during a pilgrimage. When he finished, a woman he didn’t know asked to borrow his book because she forgot hers. Not long after, I attended their wedding and took partial credit for their happiness! (more…)
