Welcome Home

Today’s gospel reading of what is usually referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of my favorites. Since this parable is also about the forgiveness of the father towards his wayward son, I prefer the title of The Forgiving Father.

When we focus on the son and his transgressions, our tendency is to look inward at our own transgressions. There is nothing wrong with a good inward look but not if we lose sight of the love and forgiveness of the father.

There is none among us who has not sinned, some more than others. At some point we realize that our sinful ways are not working and yearn to return home to the safety and love of our heavenly family. When we do, God is waiting with His hand held out to you. All you must do is reach out and grab hold and know that you are home.

For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.(Psalm 103:11,12)

Picture by Liz Lemon Swindle

Available from Arttown.com

Transformation

Today’s reading in Deuteronomy is a powerful reminder of our Lenten journey. We begin Lent with a good idea of what we want to accomplish. We have list upon list of all the things we are going to do to help us grow in holiness. Usually about this time, we come to the realization that we may have chosen to do more than we can handle.

Yet in today’s reading, we see what God has promised us. He is making an agreement with us and telling us we are to be a people peculiarly His own. He tells us to keep His commandments so He may raise us high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations. We are to be people sacred to the Lord.

God doesn’t tell us to read a certain amount of scripture each day or abstain from eating chocolate. He simply tells us to keep His commandments. The two great commandments are; love God and love our neighbor.

Reading scripture and giving up chocolate and all the other pious practices are good things to do. Far too often, however, the fundamentals of our Christian faith are ignored while we fret about what we didn’t manage to do in any given day. We become frustrated and sometimes even angry, not only with ourselves, but with others.

Past a certain point, there is nothing we can do to affect change in our lives. Inner transformation is a gift from God, originating from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Frustration, anger, and sadness block the goodness and grace of God.

As an alcoholic, I was taught how dangerous and destructive anger and resentment can be. Although others may entertain such emotions, they are deadly for an alcoholic. I believe they are deadly for everyone.

Psalm 119 – Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.

Called by God

In just a few weeks, the participants in this year’s RCIA classes at our parish will celebrate the Rite of Election. Our Bishop will be here and the Catechumens will sign the Book of the Elect signifying their next step in the journey to becoming a Catholic.

Every Monday night since last Easter, these fine people have spent Monday evenings with our pastor and a team of teachers. I am aware that not all RCIA programs are created equally. As I surf the web, it becomes apparent that many, if not most, RCIA programs place most of the emphasis on feelings, and very little on what I like to call the “nuts and bolts” of Catholicism.

At our church, we believe that a person who actually signs up for RCIA has at least a passing knowledge of what a Christian is, and is not clueless when it comes to how a Christian should live. That being the case, we move rapidly past that period loosely referred to as the “inquiry.” They are given a Catechism and the process becomes twofold - a conversion of heart, and a conversion of the intellect.

Through attendance at Mass and through prayer, having been taught some methods of discernment, their hearts are opened to the mysteries of God and His saving grace. This is the “feeling” part of becoming a Catholic. Feelings are not bad things to have but they are subject to change. If someone were to base their entire conversion experience on feelings, there would not be a lot for them to grab hold of when the first “dark night of the soul” rolled around.

It is the “nuts and bolts” that keep us moving forward when feelings have taken a mid-winter vacation. It is the authority, given by God, to the Catholic Church that allows her (the Church) to say, “I’m sorry if your feelings are not up to par today. That is why I gave you guidelines and rules. You see, I appealed to your intellect in order to win your heart.”

This year, as in years past, when our Catechumens take the next step at the Rite of Election, they will know intellectually why they are signing that book. And they will feel the words of scripture proclaimed that day from John 17;

Lifting up His eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in Your name that you have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are one.”

“As you sent Me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate Myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth”.

Awesome and Amazing

What most captured my attention while watching the New Year’s Eve festivities on TV was the number of times I heard the word amazing. According to Miley Cyrus, the crowds were “amazing”, the weather was “amazing”, indeed, the whole night was just “amazing.” I wondered what happened to “awesome” as the catchword of the day. Not to worry, someone else threw out “awesome” as well as “amazing”.

Since I am convinced that our use of language guides our thinking, I thought how odd that these words, previously used to describe God, were now used to describe purely secular things and events.

Popular worship songs continually refer to our Awesome God in direct reference to many Bible passages, with one of our most enduring gospel songs being Amazing Grace, of course. So how did a rather neutral slang expression such as “cool” come to be replaced by two words that, more often than not, previously were used to refer to God? Could this be another clear indication of our society replacing God with the things they think we should really be worshipping?

If our shoes and dresses are awesome and a crowd of people gathered for a secular event is amazing, then what words do we have to describe God? We still have the old standbys such as “all knowing”, “all-powerful”, “holy”, and “righteous”. Except most of those words have also been usurped. Oprah and her ilk tell us we can “know” and “have the power.” And “righteous” has been a slang term used to describe an “ok” person for quite some time.

Those of us who believe in an all-powerful and all knowing God also know we have no words to adequately describe the indescribable. Yet, because we are mere mortals, it is through our language that we must attempt to convey to others the greatness of God. George Orwell knew this when he wrote “1984.” Change the language and you change society. The emptiness of the secular world is mirrored in the language they use and they clearly have no use for God.

God Calling

In previous posts, we have talked together about the different ways God makes His presence known to us. Some of the ways God has “called” us is through scripture, our conscience, divine inspiration, and the created world.

Through faith filled prayer, we have begun to discern how God may want for us to live our lives. Our current 12 days of Christmas is an excellent time for us to explore some other ways to allow God to draw us closer to Him.

Spiritual journaling is a practice some people find very helpful. Many of our greatest Catholic saints and mystics kept journals. It is a wonderful way to “reflect on paper” not only about the good times, but also the bad times. Journaling helps us slow down our thoughts and give them order. If we become tired or distracted in the middle of our prayers, writing them down can help bring a bit of order to our disorder.

As part of the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (SEEL), we kept a spiritual journal. Sometimes I drew pictures or wrote in a bit of Scripture I found to be of particular help. Over time, I discovered I was able to look back and see the times God was working in my life even when I thought He had deserted me.

How you journal is up to you. There is no right or wrong way to record your thoughts. Any book you are comfortable with will work. Some may prefer something grand like a leather bound book, while others will prefer a Snoopy notebook from the five and dime. This is your journey so embark on it however you please.

So why the picture of the pen? That pen was my Mom’s most prized possession. My Mom died 26 years ago and the pen was missing for many years. I located it quite by accident many years after her death. I’ve used it for years now to write in my spiritual journal, but recently it became apparent that some major repair work had to be done.

I sent it off to Main Street Pens, and to the able ministrations of Ron Zorn and his lovely wife Robyn. I received it back just days before Christmas, and it was like a new pen. If you are a lover of fountain pens, please keep Ron in mind for your pen repairs. He also has some beautiful pens for sale – I’m already lusting after some of them.

Something to Ponder

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their conversation it turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups -porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate.