Conference Spiritual Reflection - September 13/21 - by Deacon Steve

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The following reflection is taken from  “The Lessons of St. Francis: How to bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life” by John Michael Talbot.

Francis (of Assisi) found his inspiration in the life of Jesus, whose love for us led him to become one of us by being born into the human race instead of remaining in heaven, aloof from us and all our problems.

Most Christians celebrate the Incarnation of Christ as human, around Christmas time and ignore it for the rest of the year. But for Francis, the Incarnation served as a minute by minute reminder to be deeply involved in the world, loving people at close range instead of from inside the strong, stony walls of a monastery.

Francis understood that the dichotomy between solitude and service is a false one, because everyone needs both. If we don’t spend time alone with God, we become spiritually weak, and our work in the world carries little of lasting value. On the other hand, if we spend all of our time with God and never venture out into the world, we may become spiritually isolated and self-contained. We may be full of wonderful wisdom and divine power, but if we don’t share it with others, who benefits? Certainly not other people, and often, not even ourselves.

Here’s how saints down through the ages have explained it: Contemplation and prayer are like an oasis in a dry desert. Through prayer we store up a huge reservoir of water. Our service is the conduit for delivering the water. But once our reservoir is depleted, we need to return to our oasis so we don’t wind up stranded in the desert without water. This is a picture of the life-giving balance between prayer and service.

Talbot, John Michael, “The Lessons of St. Francis: How to bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life”, p. 188 – 189, New York, Penguin Group, 1997.

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Who is Jesus, and what does it mean to follow him?

A priest friend sent me this reflection on this Sunday's readings (24th Sunday) by Christina Zaker, Director of Field Education at the Catholic Theological Union. Most homilies that I have heard on these readings over the years focus largely on the Gospel, "Who do you say that I am?" What I like about this particular reflection is how it uses the the first two readings to help us answer the challenging question of Jesus not just with our heads and hearts but with our lives.

Timothy Schmalz: When I was Hungry

Who is Jesus, and what does it mean to follow him?

Reading 1: Isaiah: 50: 5-9
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm: 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
Reading 2: James 2: 14-18
Gospel: Mark: 8:27-35

Today’s readings focus our attention on the very heart of Mark’s Gospel: Who is this man Jesus, and what does it mean to follow him? The question “Who do you say that I am?” that Jesus poses to Peter and his disciples is one we all must answer with our lives. How do we understand this person Jesus and his ministry, and how does this understanding shape the way we live our lives in response?

The first and second readings offer clues to what it means to follow him. In the second reading, the letter of James, we are implored to back up our faith with good works. If our faith only lives on our lips but is not reflected on and lived out in the work that we do or the way we build relationships with others, then our faith “is dead.”

The first reading points to the possibility of persecution for our faith. A living faith makes us have “ears that can hear” our God. When our actions reflect our hearing, we might suffer as a result. To have the courage to act authentically on our faith, means to disrupt the norms and challenge the status quo; to lean into discomfort for the sake of others. It is not always easy to live out our faith. However, Isaiah reminds us to set our “face like flint” and not sway from the path of our God. We will not be shamed if our heart is following God.

With these readings today, we are faced not only with the question Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” but also the reality that to know him and follow his footsteps means being willing to follow him in his suffering on the cross. It is this reality that makes Peter scoff. He believes in Jesus as the Messiah, but he is not yet willing to accept that the path leads through persecution and suffering. In turn, Jesus’ rebuke of Peter is startling, but one we should each note. We may think we know Jesus, but we need to truly reflect on the times in our own lives where our apathy or fear have held us back from the work to be done. When our comfortable lives have led us to hesitate, to think “Do I really want to get that involved in dismantling racism or anti-Semitism when it doesn’t really affect me?” or “Do I want to change my habits to act for climate change when I’d rather just do my thing?…”  When we hesitate to act, thinking we don’t really need to live our faith that way, those are the times we need to hear Jesus’ rebuke and reorient to his way.

Being a people of faith...

Read the rest of Christina Zaker's reflection following this link.
https://learn.ctu.edu/twenty-fourth-sunday-of-ordinary-time-2/

St Ignatius of Loyola - homeless

 

Image credit: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-56364339

On seeing that today, July 31st, is the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola, I decided to read a bit about him. Like many people, my first resort is Google which led me to that source of all knowledge, Encyclopaedia Britannica which told me that Ignatius was born in Spain, one of 13 children in a noble, relatively wealthy family. He became a knight until a cannonball took him within a whisker of death, smashed his legs - and his dreams of fame on the battlefield.

After nearly dying... "In February 1522 Ignatius bade farewell to his family and went to Montserrat, a place of pilgrimage in northeastern Spain. He spent three days in confessing the sins of his whole life, hung his sword and dagger near the statue of the Virgin Mary as symbols of his abandoned ambitions, and, clothed in sackcloth, spent the night of March 24 in prayer."

Now here is where it became really interesting for me. Read on with Britannica...

"The next day he went to Manresa, a town 48 km from Barcelona, to pass the decisive months of his career, from March 25, 1522, to mid-February 1523. He lived as a beggar, ate and drank sparingly, scourged himself, and for a time neither combed nor trimmed his hair and did not cut his nails. Daily he attended mass and spent seven hours in prayer, often in a cave outside Manresa."

Think about how Ignatius would be labelled today if he tried being a homeless beggar who neither combed nor trimmed his hair, and did not cut his nails. Mental health and addiction stereotypes spring to my fertile imagination. Anyway, he went on to found the organization we know today as "The Society of Jesus" or simply, "The Jesuits". 

St Ignatius of Loyola was declared patron of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922. He is also considered by some a patron of soldiers but, can he be more fittingly considered a patron of homeless people?