Spirituality Matters: June 6th - June 12th

*****
(June 6, 2021: Body and Blood of Christ)
*****

“He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.’”

During the Easter season there is a gradual but purposeful shifting of attention away from the physical, corporeal presence of Jesus in the midst of His apostles and disciples toward His Real Presence in the community that bears His name - Christian. In the Gospels of Easter, Jesus' resurrected, glorified body was frequently not immediately recognized by those who knew Him. In fact, Mary Magdalene thought He was the gardener. Jesus ate cooked fish with his disciples on the lake shore as if to underscore his physical reality - human beings eat and ghosts do not. Doubting Thomas put his hands and fingers into the physical holes left by the nails and the spear, and yet Jesus came into that room without coming through the door! As if to conclude this process of refocusing, this shifting of our attention, eventually the physical body of Jesus “was lifted up, and a cloud took Him from their sight”.

Today, on this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, we return to the Upper Room for the Last Supper and we rightly focus on the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus in His Sacred Body and in His Precious Blood. Our Church has a long and hallowed tradition for awesome reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. This tradition is right and fitting. But always, in addition, the Eucharistic Presence must be related to how we are transformed in ourselves as we assimilate the Body and Blood of Christ into our bodies and into our lives. We believe that we become more and more like Jesus Whom we receive in Holy Communion. We believe that Jesus indwells in our community of faith. Jesus is just as present in our “gathering of two or three in His Name” as He is in the Word of God or in the Sacred Host and Precious Blood. Each presence is a different mode of presence, but each is really and truly the Presence of the Lord Jesus.

And so, we ought to esteem in ourselves those qualities that make us unique and which allow us to contribute uniquely to enfleshing the Body of Christ amid our brothers and sisters - especially those most in need. Saint Francis de Sales often reminds us to be ourselves: “Don't long to be other than who you are, but desire to be thoroughly who you are. Believe me, this is the most important and least understood point in the spiritual life. Be who you are and be that well.”

This advice is not meant to encourage complacency about our faults; rather, it is to affirm our inestimable value in God's eyes and to encourage us to develop our unique talents and gifts for the building up of God's kingdom and the betterment of the lives of those we touch. For some around us, we will be the medium, the ‘matter’ through which they see the face of Jesus. Ours will be the hands that reach out to help, but those we serve will see the hands of Jesus. We will in a real sense become the Body and Blood of Christ and we will “lend ourselves” to Christ for Him to work through us - His Body and Blood.

*****
(June 7, 2021: Monday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time)
***** “Blessed are...” How might we experience a blessing in our lives? How might we be a blessing in the lives of others? Some strategies for achieving both might include:

• not clinging to what we have but share it willingly with others.

• being willing to experience the kind of sorrow that leads to compassionate action.

• being humble and gentle enough to see everything as gift.

• making righteousness and justice a priority in our lives.

• a willingness to be generous, especially by acts of forgiveness and reconciliation.

• having hearts that are guileless, open, honest and frank.

• trying to bring others together rather than drive them apart.

• being able to do what is right in the face of misunderstanding, resistance and even hostility.

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:

“To sum up, most holy dilection is a virtue, a gift, a fruit and a beatitude. As a virtue, it makes us obedient to the exterior inspirations that God give us by his commandments and counsels, in fulfillment of which we practice all the virtues. Hence, love is the virtue of all virtues. As gift, dilection makes us docile and amenable to God’s interior inspirations. These are God’s secret commandments and counsels as it were, and in their fulfillment the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are employed. Hence dilection is the gift of gifts. As a fruit in our practice of the devout life, it gives us great relish and pleasure, which are experienced in the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is the fruit of fruits. As beatitude, it enables us to accept the fronts, calumny, reviling and insults the world heaps upon us as the greatest favors and a unique honor. It also leads us to forsake, renounce, and reject all other glory except that which comes from the Beloved Crucified.”(TLG, Book XI, Chapter 19, pp. 252-253)

In short, how do we become Beatitudes of God? The answer - by our attempts every day to be a source of blessing in the lives of others. *****
(June 8, 2021: Tuesday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time)
***** “As God is faithful, our word to you is not ‘yes’ and ‘no’”. As human beings striving to live a devout life, we are aware of the power of both inspiration and temptation. In broad strokes, inspiration is that energy that motivates us to say ‘yes’ to the power and promise of God’s love in our lives. By contrast, temptation is a different kind of energy that attempts to persuade us to say ‘no’ to the power and promise of God’s love in our lives. Inspiration paves the way to fidelity; temptation paves the way to infidelity. In Part IV of his Introduction to the Devout Life Francis de Sales devotes fifteen chapters in which he encourages souls struggling with temptation. In chapter 10 (“How to Strengthen our Heart against Temptation”), he counseled:

“If you find that you are inclined to the passion of vanity, reflect upon the passing nature of human life. Think of the dismay that vain deeds will raise in your conscience on the day of your death, of how unworthy they are of a generous heart, how they are nothing more than the toys and games of little children, and so on. Perform as many works of humility as possible, even though they may be done very reluctantly. By this means you accustom yourself to humility and wear down vanity. So that when temptation comes you will be less inclined to consent and have greater strength to resist it.” (IDL, Part IV, Chapter 10, p. 128)

Francis de Sales applies the same approach in dealing with two other temptations: avarice and fond love. In the case of the former, he recommends that we speak clearly against it and give alms generously while performing acts of charity. In the case of the latter – fond love – he recommends that we speak often in praise of purity and simplicity of heart, avoiding all affectations and flirtations, careful to make our deeds conform to our words. He concludes: “In short, in time of peace, that is, when not bothered by temptations to a sin to which you are prone, perform many acts of the contrary virtue. If occasions to do so do not present themselves seek them out. By such means you will strengthen your heart against future temptations.” Temptations are a fact of life; however, inspirations are a fact of life as well! Through the grace of God and the encouragement of others, let us do our level best just this day to say ‘no’ to temptation and ‘yes’ to inspiration. *****
(June 9, 2021: Ephraim, Deacon and Doctor of the Church)
***** “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets...” Throughout the Gospels Jesus was repeatedly criticized by the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes for not “doing it by the book”. That is, he was accused of abolishing the Law and the prophets by not living by the letter of the Law. In today’s Gospel Jesus responds to that charge by saying not only does He have no intention of abolishing the Law, but also, he plans to go one step further – to fulfill the Law. And how does Jesus fulfill the Law and the Prophets? He does so by being himself, that is, by performing the works of God in accordance with the will of God, and not by the whims of man – a life described by St. Paul as a life lived in “the Spirit”. In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote: 1. “The Holy Spirit dwells in us if we are living members of Jesus Christ, who said to his disciples, ‘He who abides in me, and I in him bears much fruit.’ This is because one who abides in him partakes of his divine Spirit, who is the midst of a person’s heart as a living fountain springs up and flashes its waters into everlasting life...Thus, like a little grain of mustard seed, our works are in no way comparable in greatness to the tree of glory they produce. Still, they have the vigor and virtue to produce it because they proceed from the Holy Spirit. By a wondrous infusion of his grace into our hearts he makes our works become his and yet at the same time they remain our own, since we are members of a head of which he is the Spirit…” (TLG, Book XI, Chapter 7, pp. 211-212) So, it turns out that the reason that Jesus did not abolish the Law – even the smallest parts of it – is that he embodied the Law, that is, the Law of the Spirit which supersedes (“fulfills”) the letter of the Law. While we, the followers of Jesus, may need to know how to do it “by the book”, the life of Jesus clearly suggests that there is something much more important than the letter of the law and that something is the law of the Spirit, which leads to life. Today, how can we do our part in fulfilling Jesus’ law of love through our love for one another? *****
(June 10, 2021: Thursday, Tenth Week in Ordinary Time)
***** “Go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift…” There is no question that Jesus raises the bar in today’s Gospel. Essentially, he says: Do not even think about offering something to God without first offering the opportunity to be reconciled with another. However, Jesus is not exactly blazing a trail with this admonition. After all, in the Book of the Prophet Hosea we read, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” (6:6) Indeed, Jesus references this quote four chapters later in Matthew’s Gospel when He states: “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners’”. (9: 9-13) The single biggest obstacle to our complying with Jesus’ command is making the mistake of waiting for the “right” time or the “perfect” moment to be reconciled with another person. The longer we wait, the more difficult it may be to muster the strength to give/grant forgiveness. Likewise, the longer we wait the more time our injuries have to fester or deepen, making it even more difficult to “bury the hatchet.” Francis de Sales’ advice when it comes to forgiveness and reconciliation? “Fresh wounds are quickest healed”. There is no better way to avoid remembering you have something against someone else than to not allow much time to pass between the injury and the remedy. As sinners, what better way is there to become righteous than through our commitment to give and grant forgiveness? For those called by Jesus, what better offering could we possibly make to God than to be reconciled with one another as quickly – and as deeply - as possible? *****
(June 11, 2021: The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus)
*****

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…”

In a letter (undated) to the Sisters of the Visitation, Jane de Chantal wrote:

“You are, I hope, always striving more earnestly to rid yourself of all that is displeasing to your sovereign spouse and to acquire those virtues which please him. Oh, my dearest sisters, how deeply is this wish engraved in my heart! Show a childlike trust and gentleness toward one another…So courage, dear ones. May all of you together – and each one in particular – work at this and never grow slack. May you all live in harmony with one heart and mind in God…If you imitate Him in all your little trials and make His divine will rule in you, He will fill it with every blessing…I urge you to this once again, for the love of our Savior and by his Precious blood, and with the deep affection of my heart which is all yours in Jesus.” (Wright, Heart Speaks to Heart: The Salesian Tradition, p. 95)

God gives us the courage to accept St. Jane’s exhortation and make it our own! God gives us the grace we need to live in harmony with one heart and mind! God gives us the patience to acquire the virtues that please God and serve others!

May God fill us with every blessing - and help us to be a blessing to each other – as He did so clearly through the Sacred Heart of his Son! May Christ indeed dwell in our hearts through faith!

And, in deeds!

*****
(June 12, 2021: The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
*****

“God has given us the ministry of reconciliation…entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

The notion of ‘reconciliation’ to which St. Paul refers in today’s Second Letter to the Corinthians has to do with the values so clearly demonstrated in the ministry and message of Jesus himself. These values include:

• to cause others to become friendly or peaceable again

• to reconcile hostile persons

• to promote agreement or harmony among others

• to make compatible or consistent

• to restore communion, communication or community

Jesus’ reconciliation was all about ending the enmity between God and the human family, as well as the enmity within the human family. Jesus’ reconciliation was all about making friends out of enemies. Jesus’ reconciliation was all about challenging others to agree upon the things that matter most in life. Jesus’ reconciliation was all about helping people to live in ways consistent with the ways of God. Jesus’ reconciliation was all about creating relationships within which people could experience what it means to be children of God, as well as brothers and sisters in Christ.

What does it look like when we are at our best in trying to imitate this ministry and message of reconciliation in our own lives? Francis de sales wrote:

“This life is a journey to the happy life to come. We must not be angry with one another along the way, but rather we must march on together as a band of brothers and sisters, companions united in meekness, peace and love. I state absolutely and make no exception, do not be angry at all if that is possible.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 8, pp. 146 – 147)

Does this mean that if we do, in fact, find ourselves angry with others from time to time that we are failing at our God-given message and ministry of reconciliation? Not necessarily! The greatest enemy of reconciliation is not the occasional flare up of anger. No, the greatest enemy of reconciliation is if – or when - we choose to remain angry.

Notwithstanding the challenges inherently associated with Jesus’ ministry and message, today, how might we be a source of reconciliation in the name of God in the lives of others?

---