*****
“Give your servant an understanding heart…”
Of all the things that Solomon could have asked of God, he asked for “an understanding heart” that he might distinguish between right and wrong. We are told that God was indeed pleased with such a wise and insightful request. God grants Solomon his request, a gift that would serve Solomon well as the wisest of all the kings of Israel.
An understanding heart seems to be one of the greatest hallmarks of all the saints of God. Holy men and women of every age and culture often display (among other things) a keen ability to understand the things in life that really matter.
St. Francis de Sales was no exception to this trend. In a letter to St. Jane de Chantal, Francis wrote:
“O that I might receive and use the gift of understanding as I ought, so as to get a clearer and deeper insight into the holy mysteries of our faith! For this intelligence has a marvelous power to subject the will to God's service; our understanding is committed to God and plunged in God, recognizing God as wonderfully and perfectly good. As the mind ceases to think anything else good in comparison with God's goodness, so, too, the will can no longer desire or love any goodness in comparison with God's goodness, even as when our eyes look deep into the sun we can no longer see any other light. But because we can only show our love in this world by doing good (because our love must act in some way), we need counsel so as to see what we ought to do to put this love which presses us into practice, for it is heavenly love itself which urges us on to do good. The Holy Spirit gives us the gift of understanding so we may find out how to do good, which good to choose and in what way to express our love in action.” (Selected Letters, pp. 281 - 282)
From a practical point of view, the gift of wisdom (and the ability to discern how best to accomplish the good) gets played out in the selection and practice of virtue. Francis de Sales wrote:
“Charity never enters a heart without lodging both itself and its train of all the other virtues which it exercises and disciplines as a captain does his soldiers. It does not put them to work all at once, not at all times and in all places…A great fault of many who undertake the exercise of some particular virtue is thinking they must practice it in every situation. In practicing the virtues we should use the ones best suited to the circumstances at hand rather than the ones that we like…Among the virtues that we practice we should prefer the ones that are more excellent to the ones that are more obvious.” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III)
An understanding heart knows what it means to be truly divine. An understanding heart knows what it means to be truly human. An understanding heart knows how to do what is right and good, knows what good or right thing to do in a particular situation and knows how to express love in action.
Such understanding is a gift from our home in heaven. Such understanding is truly a treasure for our homes here on earth.
Why would you desire anything else?
*****
“You have forgotten God who gave you birth…”
Early in his career one of actor/comedian Steve Martin’s more popular lines when confronted for failing to do something incredibly important that others expected of him was to casually – almost dismissively - say: “I forgot”. It might have been an effective joke for Steve Martin’s routine, but for most of us, forgetting is no laughing matter.
Think about it. Consider some of the most awkward moments in our relationships with others, especially those we love the most. Odds are that we didn’t intentionally forget an anniversary; chances are we didn’t deliberately forget to meet someone for a long-standing dinner engagement; it’s not as if we chose to blow-off that all-important recital, game or graduation on purpose; it’s probably a sure bet that we didn’t plan to forget to pick someone up at the airport. Cases like these - and countless others - remind us of how embarrassing, mortifying or painful it is to have to say “I forgot” to someone who was counting on us, and especially, when that “someone” who was counting on us is God!
It’s safe to say that most days we don’t go out of our way to offend God. More often than not such experiences are probably “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” moments which cause us to forget about the God who created us, who redeemed us, who inspires and strengthens us and who – above all – loves us. The problem is that when we forget God, we also tend to forget who we are – we forget who others are – and we think, feel and act in ways that subsequently embarrass, mortify and/or harm ourselves and others.
Perhaps that’s why St. Francis de Sales places such importance on the practice of the Direction of Intention, that is, continually reminding ourselves of the presence of God!
Throughout the course of this day – just this day – frequently remind yourself of the God who gave you birth. Remind yourself of the presence of the God who loves and who enlivens you. Remind yourself that you are created in God’s image and likeness; remind yourself that other people whom you will encounter are likewise created in God’s image and likeness.
And don’t forget: remember to think, feel and act accordingly!
*****
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field…”
There is something of both wheat and weeds inside each and every one of us. Careful examination of the interior gardens of our thoughts, feelings and attitudes reveals things which promote life; likewise, in those same gardens we can identify things that compete with life.
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 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 that 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 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. We must be patient at the sight of these faults and learn from the humiliation which they bring about. Unless you do this, your imperfections – of which you are acutely conscious – will disturb you even more and thus grow stronger, for nothing is more favorable to the growth of these ‘weeds’ than our anxiety and over eagerness to rid ourselves of them.” (Letters of Spiritual Direction, pp. 161-162)
In each of us we find a mixture of both wheat and weeds. In each of us we find a mixed bag of both good and bad. Essentially, the Salesian tradition challenges us to deal with this reality in three ways:
· First, detest the weeds within us.
· Second, don’t dwell on those weeds within us.
· Third, focus on – and nourish – the wheat within us.
These thoughts should pretty much explain the parable of the weeds – and for that matter the wheat.
Don’t you think?
*****
“You are anxious and worried about many things.”
We are all-too familiar with this image from the Gospel according to Luke. All-too familiar because it is all-too-easy to see in this Gospel a putdown of action and activity as compared with prayer and contemplation.
We need to revisit this interpretation. We need to understand how this Gospel speaks about Martha and Mary. More importantly, we need to consider how this Gospel speaks to us.
Notice that Jesus does not criticize Martha for being busy about the details of hospitality. Rather, Jesus criticizes the fact that Martha is allowing her activity and expectations to make her anxious. Likewise, Mary is not exalted due to her inactivity, but rather because she is not burdened with anxiety. In short, Martha is upset and flustered, while Mary is calm and centered.
Both Martha and Mary bring something to the experience of hospitality. In Martha, we see the importance of tending to detail when welcoming people into our homes. In Mary, we see the importance of welcoming people into our lives, into our hearts, into the core of who we are without allowing the details to overwhelm us. Hospitality, then, isn't a matter of choosing between activity and availability. It is a matter of incorporating – and of integrating – both.
Francis de Sales certainly knew this truth when he described the two great faces of love: the love of complacence and the love of benevolence. Complacence is love that delights in simply being in the presence of the beloved; benevolence is love that delights in expressing this complacence by doing for the beloved.
Doing and being. Being and doing. This is the dance of hospitality. This is the dance of love…a dance that challenges us to be as free as possible from anxious self-absorption, self-preoccupation and self-destruction.
In order to be truly open, to be truly welcoming, to be truly hospitable, there needs to be something of both Martha and Mary in each of us.
*****
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full, they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away.”
What should I hold onto in life? What should I let go of in life? What’s good for me? What’s not good for me? These kinds of questions are the stuff of discernment. John Crossin, OSFS offers for our consideration three aspects of any discernment process, that is, any attempt to determine God’s will.
Mind you, discernment is not an exact science. While we can come to know God’s Will in broad strokes – and sometimes even in the particular – we can’t presume to know it all. And sometimes, we may even get it wrong.
Still, some of the things that can help us to know what to keep and what to give away in life include:
· God’s Signified Will – This is the information we already have at our disposal from the Scriptures, Commandments, Counsels etc. These clearly communicate what God considers to be good, virtuous and life-giving values, attitudes and actions.
· Feedback from Others – We should make good use of the wise counsel of friends, clergy, mentors, counselors and other people whom we trust. True friends will know when to tell us what we want to hear, and when to tell us what we need to hear.
· Flexibility – Francis de Sales observed that while all the saints are recognized for their conformity to God’s will, no two saints followed God’s Will in exactly the same way. We need to remind ourselves that discernment is about what God wants us - not others - to do in any particular situation. Sometimes, this may require us to “think outside of the box” - we need to be open to change.
Today, life being what it is, we may catch all kinds of things in the nets of our lives. Some things are always good for us; other things are always bad for us. However, there may be some things we catch that used to be good but no longer are. On the other hand, there may be other things once considered bad that may now actually be very good.
Decisions, decisions - What do I keep? I keep the things that promote the Kingdom of heaven at the present moment! What do I throw away? I throw away the things that don’t!
*****
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place, in his own house...”
It isn’t an accident that prophetic people are often the most unappreciated by those closest to them. It isn’t by chance that prophetic voices encounter the most resistance from members of their own family, relatives or friends. It isn’t a surprise that prophetic movements are often far easier to export abroad than to practice at home. Recall the saying: “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
Strangers don’t see our foibles. Strangers don’t see our weaknesses. Strangers don’t experience our dark side. But as we know all-too-well, those who know us well do see those things…and much, much more.
We are all disciples of Jesus. We are all commissioned by virtue of our Baptism to preach in word (and especially in deed). So, what are we to do? Preach freely to strangers but remain silent when in the presence of those with whom we labor, live and love? No, that won’t do. When it comes to following Jesus, we know that there’s extra pressure when we are among our own. We realize that there is extra scrutiny in our own (glass!) house. We accept that there is greater expectation (and perhaps more skepticism) in our native place. So, how should would-be prophets deal with this reality?
The answer - make sure that you’re already making your best efforts to put into practice what you are pondering to preach.
Today!
*****
“The priests and the prophets said to the princes and to all the people, ‘This man deserves death…’”
Speaking of prophets being without honor in their native place, consider today’s selection from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. In a classic case of no good deed going unpunished, Jeremiah stirs up a hornet’s nest by being faithful to God’s will for him: to prophesy against his own house and his own city. While protesting his innocence, Jeremiah spends what may be his last breaths trying to convince the people to accept God’s word on its own merits rather than to bargain for his life. Having spoken his peace, Jeremiah decides to let the chips fall where they may.
Fortunately for him, the chips fell both God’s way and Jeremiah’s way!
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed: “We must not be too ardent, precise and demanding in regard to preserving our good name. Men who are overly tender and sensitive on this point are like people who take medicine for slight indispositions. Although they think they are preserving their health, they actually destroy it. In like manner those who try too carefully to maintain their reputation lose it entirely. Generally speaking, to ignore or despise an injury or calumny is a far more effective remedy than resentment, fighting and revenge. Crocodiles harm only those who are afraid of them and detraction hurts only those who are vexed by it. Excessive fear of losing our good name reveals great distrust in its foundation, which is living a good life. Towns that have wooden bridges over great rivers are afraid that they will be swept away by every little rise of water, but those with stone bridges fear only extraordinary floods. In like manner those with souls solidly grounded on virtue usually despise the floods let loose by harmful tongues…” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 27, pp. 195-196)
Jeremiah faced not only the prospect of losing his reputation or credibility for speaking God’s word, but he also faced the possibility of losing his life for speaking God’s word. His response showed remarkable strength of character and purpose - a character that obviously convinced enough people to not only protect his life but also to preserve his reputation. His courage persuaded the people to accept his message as well.
Have you ever faced push-back from others for saying or doing the right thing? While your life may not have been at risk, how might your reputation among others suffered as a result of your decision to stand up for what it right? How did you deal – or are your dealing - with that experience?
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