Today’s first reading, Is 11: 1-10, opens with the statement
that “[o]n that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his
roots a bud shall blossom.” Ordinarily
when we see a stump in nature we think of a dead tree. We do not expect
anything to grow out of it. What I ask
you and me, has “died” within us and is now like a dead stump yielding no new
life? Has a relationship gone dead, so to speak, because of lack of contact or because
of a past offense or because of selfishness, jealousy or anger that has gripped
our soul? Has my faith and trust in the Lord and in my loved ones or self
become dormant, as a tree stump?
Ever seen new life growing from a tree stump or from a
potted plant you thought dead? The same can happen with virtue within you and
me. That which seems dead can come back to life with a little TLC (loving
tender care). My patience, faith, hope and love—if seeming to have died or
withered—can grow again with the right conditions, namely, taking time to “exercise”
them. Wilting relationships can become
strong if I take time to nurture them.
Practices that energized my spiritual life will be strengthened if I
take the time to engage in such activities as spiritual reading, meditating
upon the Scriptures, participating in Sacred Liturgy (the Mass) and sacraments,
taking time for personal prayer, sitting
in God’s presence looking at God with love and letting God lovingly gaze upon
me; praising God as I seek God in the
solitude of my heart, in the beauty of nature, in the refreshing love of a
friend (if you are married, in the love of a spouse or a child; enjoying one
another ‘s presence with no expectations, delighting in each other).
What do you or I need to do to bring forth life from that “stump”
or from that “potted plant” we thought was dead within us?
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