Journey Archives - Page 110 of 122

Today is Gaudete Sunday – the third Sunday of Advent. Christmas day is fast approaching! The pink candle, representing joy, is lit on the advent wreath and we focus on the joy we experience as the time for Jesus’ coming draws near.

In my readings for this morning, the words of St. Augustine echoed what I feel as I prepare my reflections to post on this blog. He said: “when I think about what I am going to say, the word or message is already in my heart. When I want to speak to you, I look for a way to share with your heart what is already mine. In my search for a way to let this message reach you, so that the word already in my heart may find place also in yours, I use my voice to speak to you. The sound of my voice brings the meaning of the word to you and then passes away. The word which the sound has brought to you is now in your heart and yet it is still also in mine.” He continues: “The sound of the voice has made itself heard in the service of the word and has gone away, as though it were saying my joy is complete. Let us hold on to the word.”

As you know from the information on my pages, I started this blog because I wanted to share with others the joy I feel in my heart as a result of my deepened relationship with Christ. I wanted to share information that would inspire others to continue working toward deepening their relationship as well. Of all the things I have done in my life, of all the careers and studies, I have to say writing for this blog has kept me busiest and is one of the most difficult tasks I have ever attempted, but the only one I truly enjoy.

Why do I consider this the most difficult? Because I know that the words and thoughts I share are not my own. I cannot and do not depend on my own devices to teach or inspire. I wait for inspiration to come from the Holy Spirit, but in order to receive it, I must be still. Still, not for 5 minutes, not for 1/2 hour but sometimes for hours, sometimes even for days. The messages I share don’t come easy. When they come, I read and re-read and edit and sit contemplating the words further until I am guided to “send it off- the message is clear.” My intention is to post something everyday, but there are days where my daily obligations and responsibilities don’t allow me the time to be as still as I need to be to post a reflection and I don’t want to post just anything. Hence, the day or two of “lull.”

In a day where so many people are turning away from God and dissociating themselves from the Church, the guidepost to God, I think it is important to arm ourselves with knowledge – knowledge of our history as Christians, knowledge of our customs and most importantly, knowledge of our God through the Word. This takes time and patience because not only should we know the information, we should make it our own, either through understanding or relation to personal experience or both. Have you ever had a conversation with a person who seemed to be simply regurgitating information, as opposed to really knowing what they were talking about? I have and the conversation is not at all engaging. The lack of personal knowledge and understanding makes me want to turn away from whatever that person is promoting – be it a product, opinion or religion. How can we expect others to follow our lead or take us seriously if we don’t know what we’re talking about. Shouldn’t we be sitting back and taking stock of our customs, traditions and beliefs and understanding why we believe them or why we are so devoted to them? Not understanding these things is like saying we exhibit a certain personality because “that’s just the way I am.”. Is that really the truth? Isn’t there more to the story, something deeper? We must be clear and we can only be clear if we truly understand.

This is the perfect segue to the words of St. Ambrose. He advises us: “let your words be rivers, clean and limpid (completely clear) so that in your exhortations you may charm the ears of your people……….. let your sermons be full of understanding…… let the meaning of your words shine forth, let understanding blaze out. See that your addresses and expositions do not need to invoke authority of others, but let your words be their own defense. Let no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning.”. In other words, understand fully whatever it is you are going to speak about. Don’t just simply quote and recite, just for the sake of “sounding” like you know what you’re talking about. These words are challenging, aren’t they? To be able to speak words of wisdom that possess depth of meaning requires much reading, much contemplation and obviously much time and little distraction. Are you willing to take the time? If not for the sake of sharing with others then at least for the sake of deepening your relationship with our Lord? In my own experience, the reading and contemplation have produced a peace in my heart that I hope reflects the light of Christ to the world. The peace in my heart has allowed me to receive Christ on a deeper level. Christ is the source of all my JOY! Happy Gaudete Sunday! God bless you!

I’ve heard, as I’m sure you have too, that Mary is the new Eve and Jesus is the new Adam. The idea being that Mary and Jesus came to undo the damage done by Eve and Adam. Leave it to Bishop Robert Barron to bring it to another level of depth. As I was reading his Advent reflection on the Immaculate Conception, he raised a point I had neither heard or thought of before. Speaking of Adam and Eve Bishop Barron says: “God did not block their access to the tree because he wanted to prevent them from having what He had; He blocked access because He wanted to give them gifts.”. The bishop goes on to say “Now let’s turn to Mary. The angel’s greeting to her is important. He says ‘Hail Mary, full of grace.’. Mary is greeted as someone who is able to accept gifts. Eve and Adam grasped; Mary is ready to receive!”. Then the kicker: “the heart of the spiritual life is the conviction that your life is NOT ABOUT YOU…………… the real spiritual life is about allowing oneself to be overwhelmed by the one who loves us, to be carried away by the Spirit.” AMEN! How many of us “get it?” What are you grasping? Are you ready, willing and able to receive? What do we need to change about ourselves in order to be less like Adam and Eve and more like Mary?

Mary realized exactly what Bishop Barron said. She realized that her life was not about her. Because of her realization she was able to receive the gifts God had in store for her. Think about that for a moment – the possibilities when we open ourselves up to receive and leave our egos behind. GOD, the all -powerful, all-knowing, ever-present being, turned to Mary, depended on Mary and in the process gave her all the tools, all the strength she needed to be the mother of His Son. When we think of how Mary stood by Jesus’ side, every step of the way on the road to Calvary, we wonder how she was able to maintain her composure, to remain so graceful. Do we REALLY have to wonder? Why do we feel like we would never be able to do it? Wasn’t Mary human? She had no “special” powers, other than the gifts God equipped her with – He wants to give them to us too and we’re told all we have to do is be open to receive!

Lord knows, for us, being open like Mary is not easy. We like to grasp like Adam and Eve. What is it that we “grasp” at? One of the things I think we all grasp at is routine, familiarity. We get so caught up in our routines that we rarely venture to try something new, do something different. We don’t want to “rock the boat.”. When I think of this in terms of practicing our faith, I am reminded of so many who are trapped in the practice of WHAT they are as opposed to the practice of discerning WHO and WHY they are. What do I mean by this? Well, “what” I am is Catholic but “who” I am is a spiritual being and “why” I am is to know, love and serve God. “What” I am introduced me to the Trinity and provides a community of support and fellowship which is awesome because we all have so much to teach and so much to learn. I realize that my religion, though an integral part of my life, is simply a guidepost leading me to God, it is not the “last stop” on my spiritual journey. It is my responsibility, as a child of God, to take what I get from my religion and delve deeper, seek more in order to fully understand the who and why I am, in order to truly understand the power of the Spirit.

I believe there is something we can all learn from faith traditions outside of our own. It doesn’t mean we are going to convert or stop being obedient to our own, it just means we need to break out of our routine. I’m not even suggesting we subtract from our routine, I’m just saying we should add to it. My point here is this: think outside the box, continue on the journey, don’t get stuck. If you’re Catholic, listen to or read books written by other Christians or spiritual teachers, AS WELL AS, The Catechism and books written by clergy and lay Catholics (sometimes while driving I’ll listen to Joel Osteen or if I stumble upon Joyce Meyer on television I’ll stop to listen, I read books recommended by Oprah on Super Soul Sunday and much more – all this in addition to studying church history, reading the catechism and various books written by clergy). If you’re Protestant or any other religion, do the same. Take what you can – little bits of wisdom here and there and leave the rest! Don’t be closed-minded, stop grasping at routine and familiarity and allow God to work in you in whatever way HE chooses to “gift” it. Remember, the real spiritual life is not about YOU, it’s about being carried away by the Spirit. It’s about making the unfathomable, fathomable! My philosophy: if it’s bringing me closer to God, if it’s strengthening my relationship with the Almighty, then HOW can it be wrong? God bless you!