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Traditions are powerful things. Whether they deal with the making of Grandmother's special casserole for our Thanksgiving meal, with who hosts for Christmas and Easter, with where we go for family vacation, with rituals around the death of a loved one, or with something so simple as who sits where around the dinner table. Traditions are part and parcel of all of our lives. When they are positive ones, traditions can give us a sense of identity, stability and value when our lives are filled with change.
But traditions can be negative too; especially when they become detached from the values they were meant to support and protect. Jesus knew that all too well as today's gospel account suggests. He challenged the Pharisees in their use of the laws regarding ritual purity. Jesus saw them using the traditions to judge others unfairly as being ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the circle of God's mercy and love, as if they - and not God - were the determiners of righteousness and religious worthiness!
God's Word this Sunday certainly challenges us to look at the power of tradition(s) in our lives. If they are positive, then we should continue to make them part of our lives. But if they are negative behaviors or even attitudes - old grudges we just can't forget, old hurts we just can't forgive, old patterns of destructive choosing or thinking that we just can't seem to escape - then, with the grace of God already “planted within us,” we need to do something new to change them.
St. Francis de Sales suggests, when these old negative ‘traditions’ make us less than the child of God we are redeemed to be, that we concentrate on the “present moment.” We are not defined by our past nor can we do anything about it except forgive it. The future is yet to be. But what we do have is the here and now, the present moment and the grace of God in that moment.
It is only in the present moment that we can replace old negative behaviors and attitudes with new, life affirming ones. When we concentrate on accessing the power of God planted within us to make new choices “present moment” to “present moment,” we are well on our way to starting new, positive ‘traditions’ which will sustain us now and mold us for the future, as people who “do justice and live in the presence of the Lord.”
Today, with God's grace, let us start a new tradition of living in the “present moment.” That is a tradition worth keeping over time…for a lifetime!
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The selection from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah that is cited in today’s Gospel lists signs associated with the coming of the Messiah – liberty to captives, sight to the blind and freeing the oppressed.
These signs require a great deal of work!
A week from today we will observe Labor Day in the United States of America. This federal holiday affords us a great opportunity to reflect upon the great work to which each of us is called as American Catholics – to continue the creating, healing and inspiring action of Jesus Christ in the lives of others in ways that fit the state and stage of life in which we find ourselves. Eucharistic Prayer IV in the former Sacramentary put it this way:
“Father, we acknowledge your greatness: all your actions show your wisdom and love. You formed man in your own likeness and set him over the whole world to serve you, his creator, and to rule over all creatures…To the poor he proclaimed the good news of salvation, to prisoners, freedom, and to those in sorrow, joy…And that we might live no longer for ourselves but for him, he sent the Holy Spirit from you, Father, as his first gift to those who believe, to complete his work on earth…”
As we prepare for the coming celebration of Labor Day – which, for so many of us, signifies that it is time to get back to work - how might we do something to help complete Christ’s work on earth in our relationships with one another?
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In the beginning of Part III of his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“Some virtues have almost general use and must not only produce their own acts but also communicate their qualities to the acts of all the other virtues. Occasions do not often present themselves for the exercise of fortitude, magnanimity and great generosity, but meekness, temperance, integrity and humility are virtues that must mark all our actions in life. We must always have on hand a good supply of these general virtues since we can use them almost constantly.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 1)
Today, what virtues might we employ in our attempts to encourage and build up others?
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Near the beginning of Part I of his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“When he created things, God commanded plants to bring forth their fruits, each one according to its kind. In like manner God commands Christians – the living plants of the Church – to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each according to one’s position and vocation. Devotion must be exercised in different ways by the gentleman, the laborer, the servant, the prince, the young girl and the married woman. Not only is this true but the practice of devotion must also be adapted to the strengths, activities and duties of each particular person.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 1)
We are the living plants of the Church. What kind of fruits can we produce in the lives of others in our attempts to help grow the Good News of Jesus Christ in our own little corners of the world today?
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In a letter to Madame de la Flechere, Francis de Sales wrote:
“Don’t be examining yourself to see if what you are doing is a little or much, good or bad, provided that it is not sinful and that – in all good faith – you are trying to do it for God. As much as possible, do well what you have to do, and once it is done, think no more about it but turn your attention to what has to be done next. Walk very simply along the way our Lord shows you and don’t worry. We must hate our faults, but we should do so calmly and peacefully, without fuss or anxiety…” (Letters of Spiritual Direction, p. 161)
To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord – to follow Christ, to “Live + Jesus” – is a daunting task. But what makes it more doable – and enjoyable – is to walk the Lord’s ways calmly and peacefully, without fuss or anxiety.
Godspeed during your walk today!
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The Incarnation is one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith: the Word became flesh – the invisible God become all-so-visible – in the person of Jesus Christ. The other great mystery – in the opinion of Francis de sales – is Creation.
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“Just as God created ‘man in his image and likeness,’ so also he ordained for man a love in the image and likeness of the love due to his divinity. He says: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Why do we love God? ‘The reason we love God is God himself,’ says St. Bernard, as if to say that we love God because he is the most supreme and infinite goodness. Why do we love ourselves in charity? Surely, it is because we are God’s image and likeness. Since all men have this same dignity, we also love them as ourselves, that is, in their character is most holy and living images of the divinity.” (TLG, Book X, Chapter 11, pp. 170-171)
Insofar as we are sons and daughters of God – brothers and sisters of Jesus – temples of the Holy Spirit – we, too, are images of the invisible God. How do we make the invisible God visible?
By – and through – our love for ourselves and one another.
(September 4, 2021: Saturday, Twenty-second Week Ordinary Time)
“God has now reconciled you…”
In a letter to Sr. Anne-Marie Rosset, Assistant and Novice Mistress at Dijon, St. Jane de Chantal wrote:
“God knows the pain I feel in my heart over the misunderstanding that exists in your house. I ask the Lord to take it in hand. In the end, if a reconciliation doesn’t occur, you will have to find a way of sending away the sister who is the cause of it all. No good ever comes from the sisters wanting to control the superior; if they were humble and submissive, all would go well. Indeed, my very dear Sister, the one who governs there has done so very successfully elsewhere, and this ought to keep the sisters in peace. Help them to understand this as far as you can so that there may be humble and cordial submission in the house. Help the sister in question to unite herself to her superior and to be sincerely open with her. Oh, is this the behavior the way to honor the memory of him who so often recommended peace to us and union? What a dangerous temptation! May God, in His goodness, straighten this out! And we shall do what we can – with God’s help – to remedy the situation.” (LSD, p. 247)
Every family – every community – every organization or group – has its share of difficulties and divisions, and as this letter clearly shows, even cloistered, contemplative women have “issues”. But note some of the ingredients that St. Jane identifies as critical in any attempts to bring about resolution and reconciliation. These include:• Being humble
• Being submissive
• Being peaceful/peaceable
• Being understanding
• Being sincere
• Being open
And most important of all:
• Being willing to ask for God’s help
Is there anyone in your life with whom you need to be reconciled? While there are few - if any - guarantees in life, following the suggestions given above might go a long way in helping you to experience the peace and union that Jesus won for us at the price of his own life.
Why wait for tomorrow to pursue a path toward reconciliation with someone else that you could begin today…with God’s help?
