Now is the time

TODAY’S READINGS: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.”

In an Advent pastoral letter to his diocese, the 15th-century bishop of Milan and later Saint Charles Borromeo wrote: “Beloved, now is the acceptable time spoken of by the Spirit . . . . This is the time eagerly awaited by the patriarchs and prophets.” Note the saint is using the present tense: “Now is”; “this is.” Advent has a way of reaching into the past and making Christ’s coming a living reality in the present. It also, however, looks ahead. In a time of preparing to celebrate Christ’s first Advent we ready ourselves for his second—as Borromeo said in his letter: “The church asks us to understand that Christ, who came once in the flesh, is prepared to come again. When we remove all obstacles to his presence he will come, at any hour and moment, to dwell spiritually in our hearts.”

I share this with you from a resource I read this morning.   Not sure who composed it but it brought to mind why I love this liturgical season of Advent so much. It is my favorite liturgical season.  I just got back from celebrating the liturgy in my parish, and our pastor talked about the "waiting room" of Advent.  I loved the image and will carry it forward throughout these next four weeks of waiting, trying to stay watchful, alert and vigilant. Waiting is never easy, and sometimes, it is in the midst of waiting that Christ becomes vividly present.  I pray for all those who are waiting, that all our hearts might be blessed with unspeakable joy!  I extend the challenge that I heard this morning at Mass,  go forth and be the presence of Christ throughout these Advent days! I will be looking for you!  Now is the time!

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light." ~Helen Keller

It is that time of year to pause and recall the many ways that God has showered me with blessings.  I have on top of my list the gift of faith, that sustains me through some very empty times and inspires me to hang on with hope. Faith is an anchor which I cling to when I am surrounded by people with great needs.  The numerous people who ask for prayer reminds me that I am not alone in acknowledging the One who heals, directs, consoles, and loves us.  Today, I am grateful for my faith.  In faith, I ask you Creator God to heal and comfort all those in need who may be struggling in any way, especially in our shattered homes, families, country and world.  Through the gift of faith, may we discover your presense, direction and peace.  Allow us, God of Light, to see you through the eyes of faith.

NCYC is here!

Today I am in Indianapolis along with many youth and young adults who have gathered for the National Catholic Youth Conference.  I wish  every young person could have this experience. I am grateful that parishes and youth ministers take the time to gather with their youth to experience this so that they can unpack it gradually.  There is a contagious joy in gathering with others who are excited and know how to enjoy each other and their Catholic faith.  I hope and pray that each participant receive a special blessings and bless others whom they meet.  Christ is counting on you!

MORE ON PFP

There's a lot to think about with Angela's "terrific threesome" of Prayer, Fasting, and Pilgrimage...this time I was thinking about how PERSONAL they all are:

Even imprisonment and death can't prevent the movement of the individual soul to God in prayer. In fasting, I deny food to this body I live in (can you think of anything more personal than food that actually becomes you?) I remember Sister Cheryl Clemons telling us that in Angela's day, all some women had real control over in their lives was what they ate. And as for pilgrimage--well, you certainly can't hire somebody else to take a pilgrimage for you. You have to do the walking and put up with the blisters and mosquitos and hard beds yourself--otherwise it is not a pilgrimage!

All three must be experienced at a deeply personal level, which was where Angela was in her relationship with God--and where her daughters and sons aspire to be!

For all the blessings known and unknown, we give thanks...

This time of year our thoughts turn to blessings.  There is an old prayer I recall, "For all the blessings, known and unknown, remembered and forgotten, we give thee thanks." 

Every day I am showered with blessings, some I recognize, others remain hidden or unspoken. Some blessings I hold on to forever and some I just forget, nevertheless,I am very blessed.  When someone asks me "How are you?"  I need to say,  I AM BLESSED!

It really is the unforgotten blessings and the more than half-forgotten ones that I do well to look back, savor and remember.  They are part of my life experience and they have created  a sacred journey.  Take time to recall how you are blessed and know that we are united in gratitude today!

Frederick Buechner says, " Life itself can be thought of as an alphabet by which God graciously makes known God's  presence, purpose and power among us.  Like the Hebrew alphabet has no vowels, and in that sense the words are always veiled, subtle, cryptic so that it is lef to us to delve their meaning, to fill in the vowels, for ourselves by means of all the faith and imagination we can muster."

I think this is a good analogy.  God speaks to us in such a way, not because God chooses to be obscure but because the meaning of an incarnate word is the meaning it has for the one it is spoken to, the meaning that becomes clear and effective in our lives only when we discover it for ourselves.

It seems it takes hard word to hear the incarnate word, but the discovery of God's voice, presence and and power is worth every ounce of energy and time!

When God speaks it is usually into our personal lives.  Someone we love is diagnosed with cancer. Some unforeseen act of kindness touches the heart.  An act of insensitivity makes the blood run cold.  We fail a friend, or a friend fails us, and we are appalled at the capacity we have for estranging the very people in our lives we need the most.  Or maybe nothing extraordinary happens--just one day following another.  We sleep, we dream, we wake, we work. We remember and we forget.  God is there, speaking to us.

To attempt to express in even the most insightful and theologically sophisticated terms the meaning of what God speaks throught the events of our lives is as precarious as to try to express the meaning of the sound of snow falling, or leaves changing colors or the spectacle of the setting sun. But I choose to believe that God speaks nonetheless, and the reason that God's words are impossible to capture in human language is they are ultimately always incarnate words.  They are words fleshed out in the everydayness no less than in the crises of our lived experience. 

Listen to your life, all moments are key moments.

I am discovering that if you really keep your eyes open and your ears open, if you really pay attention to life, even such a limited and limiting life as the one I am living, you will be opened up onto extraordinary vistas.

Eating supper with a friend, a supper prepared by their own hands.  Trying to accomplish a simple day's task.  Hearing the rain patter against the window.  Watching the maple leaves fall.  Comforting one who is burying her mother at age 92.  Driving a good friend for radiation treatment.  Enjoying a serious conversation about the future of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph.  There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize or not to recognize God's presence.  If I were called upon to state in a few words the essence of everything, it would be something like this.  LISTEN TO YOUR LIFE.  See if for the fathomless mystery that it is.  In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness, touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis ALL MOMENTS ARE KEY MOMENTS, and all life is precious, all life is gift.

ANGELA'S TOOLCHEST

I recently attended an Ursuline gathering at which the speaker spoke of three of St. Angela Merici's primary spiritual "tools:" prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage. I was intrigued with the idea that those three tools actually represent three means of connection--connection to my own true self, to God, and to others.

• Fasting gets the soul and body in conversation with one another, connecting me to my true self, and helps me see the divine in myself.



• Praying puts ME in my place, and in direct contact with God.



• Pilgrimage takes me out of myself, takes me out of my comfort zone, to a place where the Other is at home, and helps me see the divine in others.

Now, I am not one to seek suffering, but meditating on these spiritual tools, I see where they could work for me...perhaps I can use the discipline of Weight Watchers for a holy purpose!