Reflections

[reen12]

Hymning the Creator of all. A respite.

quote: reen12

"…when human beings decide to be the “chefs” and take
what God has revealed and try to whip up apple dumplings.
We’re right back in the garden - with our first parents -
reaching out for a fruit that God has told us not to eat.

And when this is done, humility is forfeit. We no longer have
both feet on the humus of God’s creation. Instead, theological
“head-trips” are the order of the day, as we try to go beyond
the beautiful and sustaining imagery given to us by the
Master of the Universe Himself.

When the sure and the certain cause upset - to peace of heart and soul and mind,
I think of the choir of angels, hymning the Creator of all.
I find rest in their song.

video.aol.com/video-detail/didnt-my-lord-deliver-daniel/1838276486

Listen to this, at 1:49 into this work, and know that God delivers.



Don’t worry, Daniel. “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”
And some were made poor because God was taken from them, by the sure and the certain and the strong.

Yet will He ever deliver.

reen12

 

[ncjohn]

And some were made poor because God was taken from them, by the sure and the certain and the strong.

And this may be the ultimate in presumption: to be so certain that one is “right” with God that one can declare someone else to be “wrong” and unloved by God.

Yet the world seems to be filled with people who have yet to learn the meaning of the words “What I desire is mercy, not sacrifice”, as it always has been.

And so, many are made to feel unworthy and unloved by the God who loves them infinitely, so that the “righteous” (at least in their own minds) can feel superior. It appears the the “spiritual abortionists” have no problem with crushing one’s eternal life out of what they proclaim to be “love”.

“Do not fear those who can destroy the body but not the soul; fear rather the one who can destroy body and soul.”

 

[Joysong]

Hi John and Reen,

Yesterday in the midst of a controversy re God’s mercy, this was delivered to my inbox. You know how God always comes on time! I think it applies perfectly. (I edited some portions for brevity. )

Things Revealed to the Little Ones

Gospel Commentary 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

ROME, JULY 4, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
I will limit my remarks to the first element, the prayer, because it contains a revelation of extraordinary importance: “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you kept these things hidden from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to the little ones. Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure.”

Christ’s and Paul’s words shed a singular light on today’s world. It is a situation that is repeated. The wise and the intelligent keep their distance from faith, they often look with pity upon the crowds of believers who pray, who believe in miracles, who crowd around Padre Pio. Not all scholars do this, certainly, and perhaps not even the majority of them, but undoubtedly the most influential ones do, the ones who have the most powerful microphones, the group with the access to the major media.

Many of them are honest and intelligent persons and their position is more the fruit of education, environment and life experience, than of resistance to truth. So, I am not judging individuals. I know some such persons and I hold them in great esteem. But this should not stop us from pointing to the heart of the problem. The closure to every revelation from above, and thus to faith, is not caused by intelligence but by pride, a special pride that refuses all dependence and claims an absolute autonomy.

So long as the person is seeking, he is the one who is the protagonist, he is the one who sets down the rules of the game. But once truth is found, it is truth that takes the throne and the seeker must bow before truth and this requires – when it is a matter of transcendent truth – the “sacrifice of the intellect.”

Jesus’ statements in John’s Gospel – “I am the truth”; “No one comes to the Father but through me”; “Come to me all you who labor and have heavy burdens and I will give you rest” – are provocations to our contemporary culture. But these are invitations not reproofs and they are also addressed to those who are tired of seeking and finding nothing, to those who have gone through life knocking up against the rock of mystery.

The psychologist C.G. Jung says that all patients of a certain age to came to him suffered from something that could be called an “absence of humility” and could not be healed until they acquired an attitude of respect in the face of a reality greater than them, that is, an attitude of humility.

 

[FCEGM]

Hi John and Reen,

Yesterday in the midst of a controversy re God’s mercy, this was delivered to my inbox. You know how God always comes on time! I think it applies perfectly. (I edited some portions for brevity. )

Thank you, Carole, for posting this lovely and important reflection by Fr. Cantalamessa.

 

[fhansen]

Hi John and Reen,

Yesterday in the midst of a controversy re God’s mercy, this was delivered to my inbox. You know how God always comes on time! I think it applies perfectly. (I edited some portions for brevity. )

I’ll echo FCEGM and thank you for that, Joysong. It seems we don’t hear this often enough from the “higher ups” or the clergy but Father Cantalamessa’s message really gets at the heart of the gospel and the way to the heart of God.

 

[reen12]

Reflection: Daniel’s friends are delivered.

As Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refused to bow down to a
golden statue - and who were thrown, forthwith, into the firey furnace -



they put their trust in the God of Israel, to deliver them from the flames, and He did…

If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, may He save us! But even if He will not, know, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the golden statue which you set up." [Daniel 3]

All three - who were friends of Daniel, accepted the fact that God might choose not to deliver them, yet they trusted Him still.

“…even though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…” [Job 13]

The king, Nebuchadnezzar, thought that the light given off was from the flames.
Instead, it was the light of the glory of God - in His will to protect and deliver.

reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: Idols

There are many kinds of lions running about, I find,
both secular and religious. And not a few idol makers.
An idol is anything that keeps one from seeing another as a real person.
“Shaking the dust from their sandals,” the sure and the certain retreat into the familiar…
to ritual and devotion - where their comfort zone is - thinking that they are justified, in so doing.

“They strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel whole.”

That’s the thing about Jesus - Who is held to be God/Son of God.
Jesus never failed to see another as an individual - made in the image and likeness of God. Each, to Him, is of infinite worth, and cherished by Him.

“Look at Him! He dines with tax collectors and sinners.”

You bet He did.

Blessedly, the lambs who are hectored by the sure and the certain and the strong, can hide out with the Good Shepherd in His pasture.
Sandal dust settles, long before it can reach the noses of His lambs.



reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: The Good Samaritan

What has been… will be again,
what has been done… will be done again -
there is nothing new under the sun. [Ecclesiastes 1]

The dispiriting reality, I find, is that the failings of one’s youth simply
gather strength, over the decades - becoming near caricature. More dug in.
God is very patient.
What can grow, beautifully, as the decades roll by, is compassion and empathy.
Hard experience makes for both - with the grace of God.
What can make one human being bitter, and harsh in judgement,
makes another quick to note like suffering, in another.

I sometimes wonder if Christ chose a Samaritan - as the hero of
The Good Samaritan - because a Samaritan had gotten used to
being kicked around [at least verbally] by those of the true faith,
and therefore he stopped, to relieve the suffering of another, who
had also been kicked around, literally.



Two members of the true faith, of the time, had passed by, already - fearing that they
would be made ritually ‘unclean’ - if the poor man had died?
Hurrying to get to prayer on time?

A ritual bath [a *mikvah] was required of those who became ritually unclean,
in having had contact with one who is deceased.
Once again, Jesus is sending the message that ‘ritual cleanliness’ is not the goal.
Purity of heart, not ritual purity. Compassion, for one in need, is His will.

So when we’re ritually kicking the dust from our sandals, it better not be in the face
of the one in need, for whatever reason.
“But Jesus, didn’t I do what You said? Didn’t I kick the dust from my sandals?”
Whose face did you kick it in?

It’s hard to really see another - and their injuries, what with all that dust swirling about.

The Pharisees saw this and said to His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
[did this make Jesus ritually unclean - dining with those who were not likely to have had a mind toward ritual purities?]
He heard this and said…
“Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

And I ask God to forgive me, for the times when I have turned away, shaking the dust from my own sandals, mostly in feeling that another is too far gone- in terms of deleterious behavioral patterns, to be reached out to. Who am I to judge so?

reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: Psalm 13

How long, O Lord, will You utterly forget me?
How long will You hide Thy face from me?
How long shall I harbor sorrow in my soul,
grief in my heart day after day?

Surely these words may speak to those who endure
severe clinical depression. Weighted down, bent over, in pain.
All the universe seems to exist for no other purpose than
to add to one’s sense of utter meaninglessness,
as the vastness of the heavens sing a descant to
a song of unending emptiness.

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Where, but in the Psalms, can one go - to be understood?
Who can compass such pain?
Who will speak for me, as did the psalmist?
Job understood. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”

reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: A true heart

I really like the Good Samaritan, as Jesus described him.
Here was a man with both feet on the ground, after he
got off his donkey. He was not willing to just go by,
averting his gaze from one who was suffering and in need.

**and people continued
to just walk by. He lay there, in the street. It was in the news a short time ago.]

The Good Samaritan was not only compassionate,
he was wise and just. As soon as he got the injured man to an inn,
he asked the innkeeper to care for the man, who had been attacked by robbers.
The Samaritan left money for this care - promising to stop by, on his trip back,
to see if additional funds were due, and, no doubt, to see how the injured man was faring.

I think of the Samaritan as a businessman, on a business trip,
earning a living for his family. He was wise, in that he continued
his business trip, and just - because he would ask the innkeeper
if there were additional expenses that needed to be covered.
Unlike Simon of Cyrene, who was dragged to the task of
helping Jesus, the good Samaritan acted immediately,
from a fine heart.

“Who is my neighbor?”
Neighbor = one who is nigh ‘near’]



reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: Mercy

Tetsugen spent years and years - collecting funds to have the sutras
published, translated into the Japanese language. [The sutras are
revered scriptures, in parts of the Eastern world, which contain the
teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.]

Just as he had collected sufficient funds, which had taken many, many years, the Uji River overflowed it’s banks, bringing much suffering. Tetsugen took the monies, that were to be devoted to printing the sutras, and bought food for those who were starving, because of this flooding.

Once again, Tetsugen went about the work of collecting funds and, after years of continual work, raising these funds, illness broke out in the country, and, once again, Tetsugen used these funds to aid those who were suffering.

At long last, Tetsugen had collected sufficient monies, and the sutras were printed, with wood blocks, in the language of the people.

Those who knew of his travail - and why it took so many decades to accomplish his purpose - speak of ‘three sets’ of sutras, holding that the first two ‘sets’ were even more to be treasured.

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Tetsugen knew not of Christ. Yet when he came before Him,
did not Tetsugen hear the words “Come, beloved, enter into the
joy of My kingdom. When you relieved the suffering of others,
you did so unto Me.”

reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: Mercy

Tetsugen spent years and years - collecting funds to have the sutras
published, translated into the Japanese language. [The sutras are
revered scriptures, in parts of the Eastern world, which contain the
teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.]

Just as he had collected sufficient funds, the Uji River overflowed it’s banks,
bringing much suffering.
Tetsugen took the monies, that were to be devoted to printing the sutras,
and bought food for those who were starving, because of the flooding.

Tetsugen returned to collecting donations, and, after years of continual work,
raising these funds, illness broke out in the country, and, once again,
Tetsugen used the money to aid those who were suffering.

Tetsugen dutifully turned back to the work of collecting funds, and at long last - after decades,
Tetsugen had collected sufficient monies - and the sutras were printed, by wood blocks,
in the language of the people.

All those who knew of his travail - and why it took so many decades
to accomplish his purpose, speak of ‘three sets’ of sutras -
holding that the first two ‘sets’ were even more treasured by the people.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

Tetsugen knew not of Christ. Yet when he came before Him, did not Tetsugen hear the words
“Come, beloved, enter into the joy of My kingdom. You knew Me not - yet when you relieved the suffering of others, you did so unto Me.”

reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: Detachment

There is an ancedote, well known to those who have
an interest in Zen. It has, as well, I think, application
to the Christian life, because it has to do with detachment,
and the interior discipline required to achieve same.

Two monks, an elder and a disciple, were
walking along a road. The rains had been heavy,
and their path was a sea of mud.
Looking ahead, they saw a young woman, distressed,
looking at the road that she wished to cross. The elder monk
increased his step, and was soon standing beside her.
“May I help?” he asked, bowing deeply.
The woman nodded, gratefully, and the elder monk
picked her up and carried her across the road.

Later, when the two monks had continued some way,
the younger monk appeared agitated. When he was
asked what was troubling him, the younger monk blurted out:
“Master, it is written and it is held, that monks are to
have nothing to do with women. Yet you carried that
woman across the road.”

The elder monk replied:
"I left her back there. Are you still carrying her?

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This is one of my favorite ancedotes, for it teaches so much
in a brief form.

reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: Attitude

Several travelers were waiting for a train,
which was quite a distance from the station,
due to a heavy snow. The travelers, including
an elderly monk, were told that it may be a matter of days,
before the train would arrive.

The travelers were not pleased, and spent
the following three days in misery, grumbling
over their fate. The room was cold, and little food
was to be had. The monk sat quietly in meditation,
and sometimes he would sleep.

By the end of the third day, the wooden floor of
the small station needed sweeping, the travelers
having given no thought to the result of tossing
this and that, where they pleased.

“This place needs sweeping,” said one of the travelers,
in petulant tone.
“I’m not sweeping, the station master should do this,”
said another.
“One of us should do the work, for we cannot ask
an elderly monk to do this. It wouldn’t be right.”

Soon there were hard feeling all around - voices raised
in indignation and accusation. “You should do it, you are stronger.”
“Oh, no - not me,” came the reply.

It took several minutes for the group to note that
the elderly monk had quietly risen, found a broom,
and had begun sweeping.
“You shouldn’t be doing this!” cried the travelers.

The elderly monk smiled at them, kindly,
as he continued to sweep.

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reen12

 

[reen12]

Reflection: Dominus flevit. The Lord wept.

Near the end of His time on earth, Christ sits on a hill,
overlooking Jerusalem, and He weeps. Was He overcome
with exhaustion - feeling overwhelmed, in His human nature,
that still they did not understand? His own followers?
Had they not seen Him cure, had they not noted His mercy?
Did they yet not understand? Could they not see?
“Who follows Me can expect no better than what will
be meted out to his Master. You walk behind Me,
and I hear you in contention, asserting that it will
be you - who sits at My right hand, in glory.
Do you not understand? You, too, will be handed over
to those who seek your very life, because you
follow Me.
Could you not hear Bartimaeus, when he cried out
My name? Did you not see the widow, when she put
all that she had into a small box, in the Temple, so
that others would not know want? Did you not see this?
Why could you not hear one who was blind, begging Me
to notice him, crying out over the voices of the sighted?”
“Did My Father not give you ears to hear and eyes to see?”
“Why are you more blind than was Bartimaeus?”

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets, and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings - but you were not willing. [Luke 13:34]

Dominus flevit.

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We, who live two mellenia forward, may sit and comfort the Lord with our presence.
Since to God, all is an eternal now, we can be with Him on that hill.

Who would not be willing to sit with Jesus - as He wept His exhaustion and a broken heart?

He truly did have a human nature, and nowhere is this seen more clearly, I think,
than on that hill overlooking Jerusalem. We - who live far later than His first followers,
and know what was to come, may sit with Him - knowing the extent of His sacrifice,
and how His heart was harrowed - in His knowing that, after 3 long years, they still did not hear Him, nor did they understand.

reen12

 

[reen12]

Did Christ learn - in His human nature - to actually see people?
To notice each as a soul cherished by His Father? To be acutely aware
of every human being whom He encountered?

Did He learn this from His mother?

“Son, they have no wine.”

It was Mary, who - from across a room - saw the host,
at the wedding reception, in Cana, looking upset and worried.
The mother of Jesus quietly noticed - that the host was speaking to the wine steward.

Did Jesus not learn to see, from His mother?

Was that why He saw the widow putting her small coins -
all that she had - in a little box, in the Temple?
Noise and movement all around Him - He saw her,
in her sacrifice.

…just as His mother - amid the noise and the movement
swirling around her, at the wedding reception, noticed the
host, in his need.

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Mirror of justice,
Seat of Wisdom,
Morning star,
House of gold,
Temple of ivory,
-cause of our joy.

Mary, you who were entrusted with God’s Son, would you not
care for each of us, too - within the beautiful heart that God gave to you,
Mother of His Son.

Refuge of sinners, pray for us.

You are cause of our joy.

reen12