A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

For parents who, despite faults and failings, brought me into this world, nurtured me, and taught me the value of hard work, I thank you O God.

For the love of brothers and sisters, who are always there for me, with a love that feeds my soul, I say thanks.

For the blessing of true friends, who support, encourage, and mirror my own spirit, I give thanks.

For the gifts that make me unique, and for the opportunity to exercise these gifts, I am grateful.

For a country that allows me to speak my mind, to pursue my dreams, and to choose my career, I say thank you.

For spiritual blessings that make me appreciate my earthly possessions without depending on them, I give thanks.

For the gifts of mind and soul, that help me see my blessings, share my blessings, and proclaim God's goodness, I offer praise.

For you O God are Divine, above every created thing, yet You are content to live within each soul. You are the reason I give thanks, for you are the source of all blessings. To you be praise, honor, and glory. Forever.

(And thanks for the turkey.)

Amen

I was blind, but did not know it

Ever feel you are on a journey but are not sure where you are going?

Then you feel like Isaiah. We read in 42:16: I will bring forth the blind by a road unknown to them and make  them walk in paths they did not know; I will light the shadows before them."

I know that once I thought I could see. And now I realize, I've been blind. When I thought I could see, I made my plans, prepared my road map, set forth on my journey. But it did not bring me to the destination I expected.

It was not until I realized I was blind that I let myself be guided more by the spirit of God. I accepted that I didn't know, and so I surrendered more, and planned less. I went inside to reflect instead of focusing on what I should do.

Being blind turns the world upside down. For we need to plan and work toward and accomplish. But sometimes, we need to sit with a situation and ponder.

As we look forward to Thanksgiving and all that it means to us an Americans, let us take time to stop and reflect. Let us be aware of our blindness, as an individual and as a nation. Let this knowledge be our Thanksgiving grace.

For you cannot receive that which you think you don't need. And if you and I realize our blindness, then we shall ask for light. And God will make the light shine on the shadows before us. And we shall walk on new paths we do not know.

When God breaks the rules

I'd like to offer just a short thought today.

Richard Rohr writes in The Naked Now:

"Good theology always protects God's total freedom, and does not demand that God follow our rules. Jesus does this explicitly in John's Gospel several times: 'The spirit blows where it wills. You can hear and see it by its effects, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes" (3:8).

What does this mean? It means that the rules we make are not the rules that God follows. In fact, every time God forgives or shows mercy, God breaks the rules of justice and accountability. God steps outside our concepts of what should be.

This is what we call grace. In our world, we want a tit-for-tat universe. God does not follow this concept. The spirit of God flows where it wills, including letting the sun shine on the wicked as well as the righteous (though I doubt very much any of us are righteous), lets the rain come down on the just and the unjust. In fact, God's generosity is scandalously because it can be found even in the failure of sin. Simply put, there is no place left where God cannot be found!

So if God breaks the rules, what does that tell me? That the spirit of God flows where it wills. And who am I to judge that grace?

When prayer is not enough

One of the most interesting words in scripture are the words of Jesus disciples, "Lord, teach us how to pray" (Lk 11:1). Why were the disciples asking that? They had the whole Jewish cycle of prayer, they had the law, they had the customs of their day; they had the Sabbath day prayer, the Feasts, the Vigils. And yet, when they saw Jesus pray, it was different, he was different, and they wanted to know why.

I think that is a good question to ask. Because no matter how many books there are on prayer, no matter how well we manage to pray, there will be times when we will realize, that is not enough. Isn't that what prompted the disciples? With all their formulas and feasts, did they not recognize that Jesus offered something deeper?

I think Jesus waits for us to ask that question. I think it comes when our disillusionment has been dealt with and we are becoming individuals with a different understanding. I think no individual can teach us true prayer. I think we learn it only when the question comes straight from the depths of our hearts, and we realize we need  to understand beyond the prayer we once knew.

I hope you ask that question today. I hope I do as well.

A word of encouragement

This is sent to you. You know who you are. These words are for you because you need to hear them. I believe they are from the Spirit of God within the heart:

Hi there. I love you. You are so brave and courageous, taking life by the horns and going with the flow. Yes, I know it is hard. So much unknown. So much poverty and not having. You have gone forward without having to be supported. You have not settling for any relationship that might lead to slavery. You have remained true to your commitment to truth by not compromising with yourself. Not an easy job.

And so, I want to encourage you to continue moving forward. You do not know what lies ahead. But you do not fear it either. You go forward with a prayer and with hope. You trust God to take care. And when God seems far, you continue on in the dark, knowing God will act in time. Maybe not in your time, but in God's time.

So, know I believe in you, with your querkyness and your hesitation. You don't want to be where you are right now. You'd like to be doing what you love. But in time, you will. You just have to keep up the good work, to carry on, to believe when the going gets tough. Not that that will change things. But things will change, because you are something else. You know it more than anyone else. You have greatness in you, and it will come forth. Yes it will!

To all of you who find this rings true, I support and encourage you!

Risk making a mistake

The parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30), when each person is giving a sum of money, and the lord of the house goes off on a journey. When the lord returns, he asks each of the persons with money to return it. The first two have invested, and so return it with interest. The third has buried it to keep it safe, and returns only that.

I've often wondered what hidden meaning I should get from this parable. I've heard many sermons that focus on the investing part, and that God expects us to make good use of our gifts, and will only give us more if we have prospered. A God who is watching and counting. But I was delighted when I heard a sermon that explained the parable in a way that spoke to my heart.

"God is less concerned about our mistakes than we are," the priest said. He explained the parable as a story about a willingness to take risks. Anyone who invests knows exactly what he is talking about.

The first two people spoken of in Matthew's parable were willing to risk. The story isn't that their investment produced more, but that they took a chance. They dared to try. The third person in the story would not. He was afraid of making a mistake.

As I think about it, I find that I have, in my past, feared too much to make mistakes. I saw God as one who keeps score, who wants us to choose wisely and rightly, one easily disappointed. Yes, my God was one who watched and counted.

But that is not the real God; that is only my own inner fear of God. As I've taken chances, made mistakes, gone forward, I've come to a better understanding. Mistakes do not keep me from going forward in my spiritual life; fear to make them does.

I often find myself thinking of the words of Paul in Cor. 2:2, that it has not even entered into our hearts what God has prepared for those who love him. I think of the qualities that make a good friend. A friend is not one who watches and counts my mistakes. A good friend believes in me more than I believe in myself. A person I want to be with. I remind myself, God is that and more.

That is my image of God. And that is the why mistakes mean little to the one who is Divine. Effort, intention, and attempts, these are the things that matter.

Sitting or crying out

Do you think in terms of Sirach 34:16, The Lord is a shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun, a guard against stumbling, a help against falling? I have always wondered about individuals for whom life goes forward without a hitch. People who can quote this verse because for them, the Lord has always sheltered them from harm, guarded them from stumbling, and kept them from falling.

I think most of us identify better with the blind man in Luke 18:35-43, who sat along side of the road not even able to watch life pass him by.  When he heard a commotion one sunny afternoon, he asked what was going on and was told Jesus was there. Hearing this, he sprang into action, calling out, "Son of David, have pity on me!" Those around him tried to shut him up. I suppose they were the ones for whom life had been straightforward, who had never needed to cry out, for whom the Lord was a shelter, a shade, a guard and help. But he would not keep quiet. And his reward was healing.

Come to think of it, I am not sure if there really are people for whom life is easy. I wonder if instead, there are those who cry out when they feel the need for help, and those who prefer to sit quietly by, not willing to appear vulnerable. For crying out does imply being needy, and that can be hard to admit. Yet, everything we read in scripture, both old and new, says that God listens when we cry out: my plans for you are peace and not disaster; when you call to me, I will listen to you (Jer. 29:14). Perhaps our destiny in life is not revealed until we cry out. Perhaps healing comes only with a willingness to be vulnerable.

The power to know deep down

Wisdom. The power to know deep down what is most important. We read from the Book of Wisdom: In Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain...loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly, firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing...For Wisdom...is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty, therefore nothing that is sullied enters into her. For she is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness.

We do not hear much about wisdom. Instead, other qualities are sought, like studiousness, success, and leadership. And what exactly is wisdom anyway? According the the reading above, it is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness.

For wisdom to benefit anyone, it must first benefit me. How easy it is to bring God to others, to mirror the image of goodness in ways others can identify with, and yet feel empty inside myself. How strange that I can be a vessel of God to another, while still searching for that Divine Being. How unique that I can give someone an answer in my simple speech, while I do not know answers for myself.

This is simply how God works. Wisdom begins and grows through a life lived above the superficial cares of life. I can be wise for others. The real challenge is, can I be wise for myself?

When I have lost faith

I think many of us go through a rough period when we question what we believe in and wonder what it all means and do we even still believe. It is a time when we lose faith.

But what is losing faith? I think for many, it does not mean an abandonment of all that I believe in. It is losing what once had meaning for me, and finding a different way of making meaning. It means crossing the scriptural desert by questioning and finding out some of the things I thought were necessary, were solid, were rock bottom, simply are not.

I like to think of the disciples. They followed Jesus because they full expected him to return Israel to its former glory. This is how they understood the Messiah. And they found out, as Jesus died on the cross, that they were wrong.

Imagine that loss of faith! And yet, it was necessary for them to lose it because they needed to understand differently.

So do we. We need to be challenged in our understanding, like the disciples of Jesus, and a little confused at times. It helps us clarify right thinking from fantasy, and solid ground from imagination.

So do not be afraid of losing faith. Despite the fear of that night, remember psalm 23: I will not fear the dark valley, for you are there with me at my side. With your rod and your staff, that give me courage.

A prayer on Election Day

Lord:

Let me vote my convictions, not my pride.

Let my vote my values, and not feel pressured to vote appearance.

Let me take this right seriously, and vote with responsibility.

I pray for your guidance, for I believe that you do guide us in choices, and we can make a difference.

Let me not follow pressure from family or friends, but follow my  heart.

And let me accept the winner as the one I should respect even if I do not agree.

Amen

The way I follow should be my own

I have all too often heard that following Jesus is hard. We read in scripture that the way is narrow, few are those who find it (Mt 7:14).  Many are called, few are chosen (Mt 24:14). Such lines make it seem that living for God has to be difficult, next to impossible, and lonely. And yet, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Catherine of Siena once wrote that “the way to heaven is broad,” and that “all the way to heaven is heaven.” I’ve always been impressed with the contradiction of St. Catherine’s statement and St Matthew’s gospel passages.

So how do we interpret this narrow way promoted by Matthew? I’ve come to believe that the narrow way spoken of in the gospel points to the way destined for each individual. I see it saying that the path destined for me is not one traveled by anyone else, and I am meant to blaze it myself. Following that way is difficult, because it requires learning discernment and overcoming my fear of making a mistake. It means taking chances, having courage to be responsible for my choices, having the ability to say I’m wrong, turn around, and try again.

To follow the “narrow way” is to follow that path set out for me alone, the one God intended that my feet, and only my feet trod, the one that leads to my destiny. It requires blazing my way through areas no one else has gone before. It requires letting God be my beacon, over everyone else.

That doesn’t mean I should discount another’s inspiration and admirable conduct. Nor does it mean I must make a religion that suits my own fancies and discount all others. It simply means that however much I’m influenced by someone else and their journey, my journey requires a particular faithfulness to God’s plan for me. And few there are those who have the courage to believe and follow such an individualized path.

The way is narrow and few are those who follow it. Because we have a herd instinct, and would rather find a way well trodden and wide. But if we believe in destiny, than we must also believe that no two individuals have the same exact call. As it says in Isaiah 43:1: For I have called you by name, you are mine. In God's eyes, each on of us has a name, and each one has her own path to follow.

We are holy

In Ezekiel 47: 8-9, we read about the trickle of water that flowed out of the temple of God and which became a veritable river, giving life to every sort of living creature that can multiply. The reading goes on to say:

Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine (12).

Perhaps this reading doesn't mean much to us. But when we tie this reading to Paul's letter to the Corinthians 3:16, we can find the significance.  That letter says Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

You and I are that temple. And the river that flows from that temple is the influence that comes from our own good lives, from our earnest efforts, from our spiritual well being.  We are the ones who can give life and even healing.

Psalm 42 says, My soul is thirsting for the living God. That thirst, our prayers, the effort we make to be conscious of the presence of Divinity within us, it does not remain sterile. It contains power, and that power overflows to others. It is an awesome concept, a wondrous dignity, and an immense responsibility.

Let us always remember the words attributed to Paul that says, For the temple of God, which you are, is holy (Cor 3:17).

Yes. You and I. We are holy.

The need of a good friend

I tend to look for people who mirror my values, and who accept me as I am. And many times I hope that it will stay that way. But if I am sincere about my progress, my journey, or my mission in life, than I should expect something different. I should expect that things will not stay that way, but will change. And a good friend will help me in that.

Funny how I accept that in nature, change is a sign of growth. No one complains when the seed they planted becomes a flower, or when the garden bears fruit, or the tree becomes ripe with apples or pears or cherries or oranges. It is nature's way of continuing life. It is expected and even hoped for..

Our spiritual life needs the same, and we find it in a good friend or companion. I should expect a true friend, one who is healthy for me, to be the one whose honesty and trust enable me to accept the changes that I must make in life. A good friend will have the courage to criticize me as well, as a way to urge me forward. I will accept constructive criticism because I, too, will express honest opinions. Such a relationship helps nurture the strongest roots.

When I enter into a friendship, I should nurture a healthy exchange of ideas. I should also welcome the way it can change me.

A prayer for Light

We begin each class with a prayer. Last evening, the classmate who lead the prayer reminded us that now is a time when it gets darker. Now is the time when the media concentrates on dark themes, dark movies, dark news. She decided to share a payer for light, and old prayer well known and cherished.

I've decided to share it too. It is the prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the heart of your faithful, and kindle in our hearts the fire of Divine Love.

Send forth your spirit and we shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

O God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit, instructed the hearts of your faithful, grant that same Holy Spirit to us, so that we may be truly wise, and enjoy the consolation of your presence.

Amen

Let us share this prayer, so that light may overcome the darkness.