Spirituality Matters 2019: November 14th - November 20th
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“The Kingdom of God is among you…”
In today’s Gospel we hear: “Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, ‘The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ The Kingdom of God is among you.”
Jesus seems to be saying that the Kingdom of God isn’t about finding one a thing, place or location. In the context of the Gospel, the Kingdom of God is a person - in this case, the person of Jesus Christ.
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed:
“God is in all things and in all places. There is no place or thing in this world in which God is not truly present. Just as wherever birds fly, they always encounter the air, so also wherever we go or wherever we are we find God present.”He continued:
“God is not only in the place where you are but also in a most particular manner in your heart – in the very center of your spirit. Just as the soul is diffused throughout the entire body but resides in a special manner in the heart, so, too, God is present in all things but always resides in a special manner in our spirit.” (IDL, Part Two, Chapter 2, pp. 84-85)
So, where would you expect to find the Kingdom of God today? Try looking for it in the Body of Christ - look for it within yourself and look for it within others.
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“From the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author is seen.”
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“I ask you to imagine on the one hand an artist engaged in painting a picture of our Savior’s birth. No doubt he will give the picture thousands of touches with his brush and take not only days but weeks and months to complete it with various persons and other objects that he wishes to portray in it. On the other hand, let us look at a print maker. After he has placed a sheet of paper on the plate with the same mystery of the Incarnation engraved upon it, he gives it only a single stroke of the press, and in this one stroke he will complete the entire task. In an instant the printer will draw off a picture representing in a beautiful engraving all that has been imaged as described in sacred history. Although the printer has created it in but one single movement, his work likewise contains many great persons and various other objects, each one clearly distinct in order, rank, place distance and proportion. If one were not acquainted with the secret of the work, he or she would be greatly astonished to see so many varied effects from a single act.”“In the same way, nature like a painter multiplies and diversifies its acts accordingly as it has various works in hand: it takes a long time to complete its great effects. But God, like a printer, has given existence to all the different creatures - which have been are, or ever shall be – from one powerful stroke of his all-powerful will. From his idea, as from a well-cut plate, he draws his marvelous distinction of persons and other things that succeed one another in seasons, ages and times, each one in its order as they were destined to be.” (TLG, Book II, Chapter 2, Chapter 9, pp. 105-106)
What can we say about God based upon what we see in the greatness and beauty of creation? (1) Variety is the spice of life, and (2) all things bright and beautiful take time.
How might we take some time just this day to consider the greatness and beauty of creation, to say nothing of the greatness and beauty of the God who created it?
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“Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says…”
And what did the unjust judge say? Essentially, he said this: “I will do justice to this woman just to get her off my back.”
Have you every done something good simply to get someone else to stop bugging you? Have you ever done the right thing just to get someone else to go away? Have you ever done the just thing just to get someone else to shut up?
Let’s face it. Isn’t it true that sometimes we do the right thing for a less-than-admirable motive?
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“Let us purify all our intentions as best we can. Since we can diffuse throughout all various acts to sacred motive of divine love, why should we not do so? On all occasions we will reject every kind of vicious motive, such as vainglory and self-interest, and consider all the good motives we can have for undertaking the act before us so as to choose the motive of holy love - which is the most excellent of all – and to flood it over all other motives, steeping them in the greatest motive of all....” (TLG, Book XI, Book 14, p. 237)
One might ask, “So, am I supposed to wait until my motives are totally pure before I attempt to do something right?” Lord knows that if that were the case, then the world would really be out of luck! In a perfect world we would always do what is good, righteous and just for only good, righteous and just reasons. But insofar as this is an imperfect world, we should not cease our attempts to do what is good for goodness sake; rather, we should acknowledge the need to purify our intentions even as we struggle to live our lives with other people in a reasonable, just and equitable manner.
May God give us the courage we need just this day to not only do the right thing but also to do the right thing for the right reason!
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“For you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.”
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalm 111: 10) However, as the Psalmist reminds us, this fear of the Lord (which is directly equated with the acquisition of wisdom) is merely the beginning - it must lead to “following God’s precepts,” i.e., it must lead to action.
In other words, fear of the Lord’s name must lead to doing the Lord’s work!
As we hear in today’s second reading, St. Paul certainly knew this: “You know how you ought to imitate us. We did not live lives of disorder…rather, we worked day and night, laboring to the point of exhaustion…indeed, anyone who would not work should not eat.”
This fear of the Lord – this fear of God’s name – is not meant to paralyze us. No, it is clearly meant to motivate us, to get us moving, to get us working – individually and collectively – in pursuing the precepts of the Lord and of building up the Kingdom of God. Put another way, fear of the Lord should not make us passive, but rather, proactive.
This truth should be obvious. However, just the opposite message may be (however unintentionally) conveyed when we consider the lives and legacies of the saints who, among other things, clearly feared the name of the Lord:
“When we think of holy men and women throughout the ages, we often recall sculptures, drawings and paintings in which the saints look anything but active. Our most active and energetic saints are sometimes pictured doing nothing more strenuous than holding a lily or gazing piously heavenward. And while these images can be moving and inspiring, and helpful for times of contemplation, if one is searching for models of action and energy, they can hold somewhat less appeal.” (James Martin, SJ in Patrons and Protectors: More Occupations by Michael O’Neill McGrath)
It is in this light that James Martin writes:
“Perhaps the most overlooked fact from Christian history is that Jesus worked. We can easily envision Jesus being instructed by Saint Joseph, the master carpenter. In Joseph’s workshop in Nazareth, Jesus would have learned about the raw materials of his craft...Joseph would have taught his apprentice the right way to drive a nail with a hammer, to drill a clean, deep hole in a plank, to level a ledge or a lintel.” (Ibid)
And who could have feared the name of the Lord – and followed God’s precepts – more clearly and convincingly than Jesus? Gregory Pierce suggests that we need to see, and experience work as “all the effort (paid or unpaid) we exert to make the world a better place, a little closer to the way God would have things.” (Spirituality@Work, page 18)
Work—God’s work—is indeed our lot in life, our reason for being, our purpose for living. As we see in the life of Jesus himself, this work can be tiring, laborious and frustrating. Still, what could be more rewarding than using all our energies to make all our little corners of the world places in which “the sun of justice” can arise in the hearts and minds of our brothers and sisters? Fear of the Lord is, ultimately, an invitation – no, a command – to do the work of the Lord.
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“Lord, please let me see…”
“Rose Philippine Duchesne was the daughter of Pierre-Francois Duchesne, an eminent lawyer, and her mother, Rose Euphrosine Perier, who was a member of the well-known Perier family. She was educated by the sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary; at the age of 19 she (without her family’s approval) subsequently joined the community. Rose witnessed the Visitation’s dispersion in 1792 during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. She attempted to re-establish of the convent of Ste-Marie-d'en-Haut, near Grenoble without success, and in 1804, she accepted the offer of Mother Barat to receive her Visitation community into the Society of the Sacred Heart. In 1815, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne established a Sacred Heart community in Paris.”
“In 1818, Rose Philippine Duchesne sailed for America with several other members of the Society. They arrived in New Orleans and traveled the Louisiana territory via the Mississippi River, ending up in St. Charles, Missouri, near St Louis, where she established the first house of the Society ever built outside of France in a log cabin. By the year 1828, six houses had been added in America including a foundation serving the Potawatomi tribe in a portion of the Louisiana Territory that would eventually become (in 1861) the state of Kansas. In time the Native Americans referred to her as the “Woman Who Prays Always.”
“Inspired by the stories of Belgian Father Pierre De Smet, S.J., Duchesne was determined to expand the Society into the Rocky Mountains, but illness forced her to return to St. Charles, where she spent the last ten years of her life, dying at the age of 83. She was canonized on July 3, 1988 by Pope John Paul II.” (http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=377)
The Lord helped Rose Philippine Duchesne to see that the end of her local Visitation community did not mean the end of her having a purpose in life; in fact, it was a new beginning. As it turned out, her initial misfortune paved the way for a long and fruitful ministry in places and with people that could only have happened if she had a reason to leave Grenoble. No doubt that Rose eventually came to see that in closing one door in her life God subsequently opened a window.
And a big window at that!
Today, when a misfortune, disappointment or setback comes our way, do we – like Rose Philippine Duchesne - have the courage to see them through the eyes of faith?
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“And he came down quickly and received him with joy…”
The story of Jesus and Zacchaeus highlights one aspect of the Salesian notion of devotion: enthusiasm. Jesus only has to tell Zacchaeus once to “come down quickly.” For his part, Zacchaeus came down as quickly as he could!
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“When charity reaches a degree on perfection at which it not only makes us do good but also to do this carefully, frequently and promptly. It is called devotion. Ostriches never fly; hens fly in a clumsy fashion, near the ground and only on occasion; but eagles, doves and swallows fly aloft, swiftly and frequently. Good people who have not as yet attained this devotion by toward God by their good works but do so infrequently, slowly and awkwardly. Devout souls fly to him more frequently, promptly and with lofty flights.” (TLG, Book VIII, Chapter 4, p. 64)
These words certainly describe Zacchaeus to a tee. Here is a man with a great sense of urgency. He literally flew down to Jesus at the invitation to spend time with him. Once he arrived at his home with Jesus, Zacchaeus was just as quick to declare his intention to share his good fortune with those less fortunate than he as well as to make things right with anyone who might have a grievance against him.
How quick will we be this day to respond to Jesus’ invitation to spend time with us? How quick will we be this day to share our good fortune with others? How quick will we be this day to make things right with anyone who might have a grievance against us?
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“To everyone who has, more will be given.”
Everyone who has…what?” Perhaps it’s the courage to take the risks that come with saying “yes” to develop our God-given gifts and talents!
In today’s Gospel two of the three servants took a risk when they invested what their master had entrusted to them. As a result, they were able to make a return on their master’s investment with salutatory results. By contrast, the third servant – afraid that he might lose what his master had entrusted to him – played it safe by simply sitting on what he had received.
With dire results.
Today’s parable illustrates God’s impatience regarding inaction brought about by fear: fear of failure and - perhaps sometimes - even fear of success. From Jesus’ point of view, it is far better to risk everything and lose rather than to never risk at all for fear of losing. After all, as we see so clearly in the life of Jesus, he was not only willing to risk it all out of love for his Father and for us – he actually did. And by risking everything, God raised Jesus from the dead.
Consider what God has entrusted to you. Consider what God has invested in you. Are you going to simply sit on God’s blessings, or are you going to get off your – uh, rear – and do your level best to make a return on God’s investment in you today?
Trust in God – take a risk – and make good use of the gifts that God has given you for your own good, and for the good of others!
