God's Ways Are Not Our Ways

The last week of the life of Jesus clearly illustrates God’s declaration in Isaiah 55:8: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” What were the ways of humans during those fateful days?

• Protecting one’s own power and status through deception and violence (members of the Sanhedrin)

• Betraying an innocent man for money (Judas)

• Abandoning a friend out of fear (Simon Peter)

• Making sport of one condemned to death (Roman soldiers)

• Shaming and taunting a dying man (the crowd that gathered to witness the crucifixion)

On the other hand, the following actions of Jesus show us the mind of Christ:

• Staying true to God’s call to love (continuing to teach and heal despite the danger to himself)

• Teaching the importance of serving others (washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper)

• Rejecting violence (healing the man whose ear had been severed with a sword)

• Forgiving those who perform evil deeds (praying that God will forgive those crucifying him)

• Turning his entire being over to God (“Father, in your hands I commend my spirit”)

The Triduum provides a yearly opportunity to meditate on how we can make Jesus’ ways our ways, trusting that, in spite of the suffering we may experience, the way of love and faithfulness will always lead to new life. May you have a fruitful and blessed Triduum and Easter season!

Wisdom Teachings of the Young

When we want to acquire wisdom, we usually look to people who have lived a good many years, reasoning that experience translates into wisdom. On the other hand, the book of Job teaches us that suffering leads to wisdom, and unfortunately suffering is experienced by people of all ages. The teenagers of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, suffered fear and grief after living through a mass shooting in which 17 of their classmates and teachers died. Therefore, it is reasonable to ask what wisdom we can learn from their response to their suffering. Here are a few of the lessons they have given us:

• Don’t be afraid to stand up to the people who provide and promote the tools of violence, even when they have much more money and political power than you do.  

• Trust that people will listen when you speak the truth of your suffering and support your efforts to prevent others from suffering too.

• Don’t believe that you have to be a certain age before you can change the world.

• Honor those who have died with your silence, your tears, your time, and your talent.

In Hebrews 5:8, St. Paul says of Jesus, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” Through their suffering, the youth of Parkland, Florida, have learned that they must be obedient in working for the manifestation of God’s kingdom of peace. As we meditate on the suffering Christ and the suffering people of our world on Good Friday, may we too muster the energy and the resolve to promote nonviolence and respect for each other through our words and actions.

Making a Choice and Living Deeply

Middle- and upper-class North Americans have many choices about how to live their lives. That would seem to be a great blessing—or is it? Sometimes too many choices can result in anxiety and paralysis. What if we make a choice and something more suitable or appealing comes along, resulting in a missed opportunity? Maybe it would be better to wait a while longer before making a decision….

One reason I waited so long to enter the monastery is that I honestly didn’t know which would lead me closer to God: community life or marriage. I’m not sure I’ll ever know the answer to that question, because trying both paths isn’t an option. However, I finally made an educated guess, because the single life wasn’t giving me the support or challenge I needed.

Although making a commitment reduces one’s options, ironically, it also opens us up to the life that dwells in all things. As Richard Rohr has commented, “Go deep in any one place and we will meet all places where the divine image is present.” That thought is very reassuring. At some point, discerning which way of life is best becomes a distraction from making a choice and living deeply there. Ultimately, encountering the divine image is more important than the method used to achieve the encounter, and making a wholehearted commitment is the pathway to inner peace.

Birthday Meditation

Abraham Joshua Heschel gave me good fodder for meditation on my birthday when he wrote, “Prayer is our humble answer to the inconceivable surprise of living.” I once read an article about the intricacies involved in bringing a child into the world, from timing of ovulation and fertilization to hormone levels of the mother to the uncertainty of implantation of the egg in the uterus to chromosomal abnormalities that can lead to miscarriage. The cascade of events that must happen just so in order for a live birth to occur is truly miraculous. You and I are walking miracles, and birthdays are particularly good times to remember that and rejoice in the gift of life.

Although birthdays are rightly a time of celebration, they also provide cause to reflect on St. Benedict’s instruction in the prologue to his Rule: “Run while you have the light of life, that the darkness of death may not overtake you.” The average life span of women in the United States is now 78.6 years, and although I might well beat the average, the fact remains that I’m one year closer to the end of my life on earth. On my birthday, contemplating all the wonders I have yet to experience and all the wisdom I have yet to attain is a reminder not to get complacent about the life I have been given.

Ultimately, Dag Hammarskjold offers perhaps the best prayer to recite on one’s birthday: “For all that has been, thanks! For all that will be, yes!”

Pick Up Your Mat

The gospel reading from mass on Tuesday (Jn 5:1-16) tells us how Jesus healed a man who was paralyzed. Jesus said to the man, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” I find myself wondering why Jesus told him to take up his mat. If he could now walk, why did he still need the mat? Why not leave it behind for the use of some other stricken person who was languishing by the Bethesda pool with the hope of being healed?

Perhaps this instruction by Jesus was a sign that the act of healing still requires work on our part. We need to integrate life as it was before being healed with life after being healed. Sometimes we have visible scars from our healing, or weakened muscles, or an ability to trust that is still tender. Or perhaps the mat was to be an ever-present sign to remember how life used to be and thus give continual thanks to God. At any rate, by carrying the mat, the man was seen as working and thus breaking the Sabbath law. Apparently, healing—even that provided by Jesus—requires work. Although grace is a cause for rejoicing, it appears that this gift does not release us from the requirement to roll up our work sleeves! 

How to Bless God's Holy Name

Psalm 103 begins with these lines:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all within me, the holy name of God.

Whoa! Wait a minute. All within me bless the holy name of God? Including the pettiness, the impatience, the unfulfilled desires, the jealousy, the discouragement, and the craving for affirmation? Wouldn’t those things tarnish the holy name of God rather than bless it?

Bringing our whole self to God is actually what God wants, because it is a sign of trust. Not trying to hide our flaws from God (as if that would be possible anyway) is a sign of belief that our weaknesses can be transformed through the patience and kindness of the One who loves us. If we wait until we are perfect to offer our lives to God, we will miss a lifetime of companionship and the wholeness that comes from knowing we are loved. It seems the psalmist has it right:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and never forget all God’s benefits.

Feeling God's Presence in Our Bones

Some days I look forward to settling into morning and evening prayers in the choir chapel. On other days prayer just seem tedious, especially when my stomach is clamoring for breakfast or supper or my mind has already jumped to what’s ahead in the day or evening to come.

The following observation by Joan Chittister gave me new perspective on why we pray so often in the monastery: “When we have prayed prayers long enough, all the words drop away and we begin to live in the presence of God. Then prayer is finally real.”

When those words drop away, where do they go? I think they sink into our bones, becoming part of the very structure of our bodies, because it is through our bodies we are aware of the presence of God. Just as we consume calcium to physically strengthen our bones, prayer is a spiritual bone strengthener, allowing us to be more aware of God’s presence in our day-to-day lives. Therefore, it’s important not to miss our daily dose of prayer!