Discernment: open to God, learning from God

What does today's Gospel (Luke 10: 21-24) tell us about being open to, learning and understanding god's manner of interacting with us, that is, revealing the Father's will in our lives?  I believe the clue is in the phrase "I praise you. Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and clever and revealing them to the childlike."  One of the key elements of discerning god's plan is giving  God praise.  When we praise another human being for who she/he is, we open our beings to God at work in that person.  When we praise God for who God is, we open ourselves to who God is for us and in that openness God's power touches us.  The passage says of God that He has "hidden these things from the wise and learned."  In terms of deciphering the ways of the good Spirit, God's Holy Spirit revealing God's will to us implies that we need to approach God humbly and with a heart open to learning from God. A not knowing is present  as it is in the mind of a child. So three key aspects of discernment are revealed in this passage: praise of God, humility and openness to learning from God.

"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see"

"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see...and the ears that hear what you hear" (Luke 10: 23,24).  We see and hear with eyes and ears of faith because it is "the gracious will" (Lk. 10: 22) of the Father that we see and hear things the first disciples of Jesus saw and heard!  What a gift from a loving, caring, intimate God!  We see a sunrise and think of the risking Son of Justice. We see a rosebud opening to the sun light and see God opening our beings so as to reveal God's glory to those whose lives we touch.  We peer into the faces of the young and the old and see a reflection of God's radiance.  We grapple with sin in our lives and the hope of redemption swells from within.  We listen to the birds sing and we hear creation praising  their Creator. We listen to the Scriptures being read in each liturgy and hear God speaking to us personally.  "O blessed are the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear. and never heard it" (Lk 10: 23-24).

What will you see today that opens your heart and mind to the Kingdom of God in your midst and that reveals God's presence alive in the things you do and say today?

"My servant is paralyzed"

Notice  in today's Gospel (Mt. 8: 5-11) a centurion in a matter-of-fact manner telling Jesus that his servant is at home paralyzed.  Think for a moment of sharing a major concern with Jesus as you encounter Him throughout the day and believing that Jesus can help you, beyond a doubt, and is as concerned as you are.  Without a formal request, Jesus says to you: "I will help." "I'll be there for you." "I'll do whatever needs to be done to rectify this situation for you." "I will do whatever needs to be done."  That is the kind of person Jesus is: compassionate, understanding, insightful, intuitive, caring, looking for ways to assist you. 

We might also ask ourselves in light of the Scriptures: what in my life is paralyzed, not engaging, not life-giving, not love-generating, not reconciling?  What within me is paralyzing my faith, my hope, my love, my way of being there for others?  And bring all of that to the Lord, honestly sharing our concerns with him concerning our own paralyzing states.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord

This coming Sunday we begin the celebration of Advent!  All of us can hear John the
Baptist’s cry: “Prepare the way for the Lord.”  Each of us faces several questions: what do I need to do to prepare for God’s daily visitations? How have I done that in the past? What has been missing in my preparations in past Advents? What do I want to be different this year? To make that difference, what needs to change in my routine or in my thinking?  In my meditation this morning, the following prayer came to mind:

Lord, open my heart to love you,

open my mind to know you

and open my will to follow you.

With that prayer, I hope that I will put forth serious efforts during this Advent to prepare for the Lord’s coming into my life each day: through the sisters with whom I live, how I interact with them; through the challenges to take care of myself so that I am able to serve others and carry our my ministry with greater love, deeper hope, and stronger faith and thus find God hidden in the mangers of my life.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! As I began my thanksgiving list, the top of the list was my religious community. Seven of us gathered today for a thanksgiving dinner and Vespers. It was a joyous occasion for us. I am also grateful for the gift of my faith, a faith to which Daniel gives witness in today's first reading.  Daniel was thrown into the lion's den because he disobeyed the king's decree that no one in the kingdom was to pray to any god or man except to the king over the next thirty days. Daniel trusted God. God closed the lions' mouths and none of them attacked Daniel the whole night through. In the morning the king released Daniel and had those who came up with the wicked scheme to trap Daniel and guarantee his demise were thrown into the den. They were immediately devoured.  The miracle extended beyond saving Daniel's life.  The king declared a second decree and this one was that everyone one in his kingdom would worship the one true God: "He is the living God, he endures forever, his kingdom will never be destroyed and his empire never come to an end. He saves, sets free, and works signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth; he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions" (Dan 6:28).  From what has God saved you? And for what are you grateful this day?

The writing on the wall

Today’s first reading, Daniel 5: 1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28, tells the story of King Belshazzar who gives a great banquet for thousands of his lords, with whom he drank.  He used the golden and silver vessels used in temple, thus defiling these sacred vessels.  In the midst of this wild party a hand starts writing on the wall. The King calls Daniel to interpret the message.  God is always at work in our lives, calling us back to a life of holiness and integrity.  Satan’s power and deceitful ways will be exposed, as they were by the handwriting on the wall of the banquet room in which the Babylonian King and his friends were partying.  God sees the truth and how far we may have strayed. As with the King, God sends wise men and women into our lives to open our eyes to the truth. This intervention for some may be our justice system, for others a pastor, a minister or a rabbi; for still others a husband or wife, a sibling or friend, a church group or a coworker,  a professor or a counselor, a spiritual writer or the Bible itself, nature, the Eucharist, the sacrament of Reconciliation and so much more.  What opens your eyes? Who interprets the writing on the wall of your life?

Discernment: what does confusion tell me?

"God is not a God of confusion but of peace" (1 Cor 14:33).  If "God is not a God of confusion but of peace, and St. Paul, I believe is correct, then, if I am confused about something, that is not the time to make a decision about that issue. I need to wait upon God to bring clarity and peace. I also need to continue my search for  a) the vocation in life to which God is calling me, b) the person I am called to marry, c) the career in which I will best serve the Lord and humankind or d) concerning the decision with which I am grappling.