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…)
Prayer Problems
Prayer is as essential to our spiritual life as breathing is to our physical life. It is getting in touch with God, our Creator, and communicating with him. This deepens our relationship with God. We wouldn’t want to arrive at the pearly gates of heaven and have God say to us, “And who are you?” Many of us who know the value of prayer also know that it may be plagued with difficulties. As one woman bemoaned, “I would pray more if I knew how to do it.” Let’s investigate some of the complaints about prayer and possible solutions.
1. “I don’t have time to pray.” In today’s crazy society, this may truly be the #1 problem. We have so many demands on us that the day disappears before we know it and we haven’t given a thought to God. That’s unfortunate because it’s God who has given us those twenty-four hours. The least we can do is thank him for it! A friend of mine observed that we always find time to do the things we really want to do. (like watch a football game or “Downton Abbey”) Some people solve the problem of finding time for prayer by rising a little early and devoting those first minutes to God. A university student confided to me that if he doesn’t pray first thing in the morning, he feels as though his day was wasted. Another idea for wresting time for prayer from our jam-packed days is to make use of downtime for prayer. We can say, “Jesus, I love you” or “God, help Bob get through his surgery successfully” while we are standing in line in a store, waiting for something to download, or being “on hold” on the phone. We can also pray as we drive, walk, run, or exercise.
By the way, someone who doesn’t carve out time for prayer might rationalize, “My work is my prayer.” That’s like a husband reasoning that because he works to support his family he doesn’t have to talk to his wife!
2. “My prayer is filled with distractions.” Talk about multitasking. I can find that I close my Prayer of Christians book and don’t remember a word I said to God, but I know the outline for my next book! Distractions are like pesky mosquitoes. They are unavoidable. There’s a story about a man who was offered a horse if he could say the Our Father without a distraction. The man began, “Our Father, who art in heaven” and then asked, “Do I get the saddle too?” Sometimes distractions can be a blessing, a way that God is telling us something. Also we might be able to work our distractions into our prayer. For example, if we start to think about the latest murder in the news, we can offer a prayer for those who are mourning.
3. “I fall asleep when I pray.” St. Teresa of Avila tells us not to worry about this. She asks, “Does a Father love a child less when the child is sleeping in his arms?” Finding a better time to pray might help, as well as a cup of coffee. When I was in the novitiate, VERY early in the morning we meditated and prayed together in chapel for forty-five minutes before Mass. Coffee, called Lauds coffee, left over from the previous day was available. It kept many a sister from falling off her pew.
4. “I’m bored by prayer.” Change the way you pray. There are as many varieties of prayer as there are cereals in the supermarket, to name a few, guided meditation, prayers written by saints, the rosary, mantras, and lectio divina. Just this week a Sister said that she prays the rosary addressing Mary by a different title for each decade. She said this brought her closer to Our Lady. Now that is creative prayer.
5. “God doesn’t answer my prayers anyway. (He must not like me.)” To hear God, we need to be quiet and listen. Then we will be aware of God speaking in our heart and putting thoughts in our heads. What if God doesn’t answer our requests? Well, sometimes God responds, “No,” or “I’ve got a better idea,” or “Wait awhile,” or (according to Jimmy Carter), “Are you kidding?”
6. “When I pray nothing happens. I don’t feel anything, nor do I hear God speak.” You are in good company. What is called “dryness” in prayer has been experienced by the saints. The test of prayer is whether or not you are a better person.
If you are unhappy with your prayer, take heart. It’s said that most people pray more and better than they think they do!
What is your favorite time and place to pray?
Can You Imagine?
As a child, I had a record that played the song, “Mr. I. Magination.” I believe the first line continued, “the man with the magic reputation.” Our imagination truly is magical. We thank God for our gifts of sight, hearing, and—especially after a scrumptious meal—taste, but how many of us thank for the gift of imagination? Recently I heard a homily in which the priest pointed out that imagination is a power of our soul that we share with God. After all, God first imagined the world and us—conceived it in his mind—before he brought it into being! Our imagination helps us to create too. Author Jules Verne imagined things like lunar modules, diving bells, and tasers before they became realities. As Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” No doubt Michelangelo, Monet, and Van Gogh first visualized their masterpieces in their mind’s eye.
We imagine how we would like a room decorated, how we will plant a garden, and cook a meal before we actually do it. With our imagination we solve problems and daydream. Writers draw on imagination to come up with a fascinating story, and readers use imagination to visualize that story. For example, when we hear or see the word “red,” immediately that color appears in our mind’s eye. Likewise, at the words “Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony,” our imagination lets us hear “Da-da-da-Dum” even when we are not listening to an orchestra. (more…)
