*****
“You did not recognize the time of your visitation…”
Have you ever noticed throughout many of the stories in Scripture how it was after God had performed signs and wonders that people recognized that God had been in their midst? While hindsight it better than having no sight at all, there are certain limitations that come with recognizing how God has been active in one’s life only after further reflection. This pattern gets played out time and time again in numerous accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. People frequently did not recognize what Jesus had done for them – or who Jesus had been with them – until after the fact.
It’s safe to say that this occurrence is a common human experience. In a scene from the movie Field of Dreams (1989), Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham (played by Burt Lancaster) observes:
“You know, we just don't recognize life's most significant moments while they're happening. Back then I thought, ‘Well, there'll be other days.’ I didn't realize that that was the only day.”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed:
“Blind men do not see a prince who is present among them, and therefore they do not show him the respect they owe him until only after being informed oh his presence. However, because they do not actually see him, they easily forget his presence, and having forgotten it, they still more easily lose the respect and reverence owed to him.” (IDL, Part Two, Chapter 2, p. 84)
The aim of the Spiritual Directory – the goal of the Direction of Intention – is to help us to acquire foresight when it comes to recognizing the activity and presence of God in our lives. Through our efforts to anticipate the variety of ways in which God may choose to reveal himself, may we recognize God’s divine activity and presence as it occurs in each and every present moment – whether significant or insignificant – and not only after the fact.
And so, be on the lookout for how God may visit you today!
*****
“My house shall be a house of prayer…”
This quote from today’s Gospel goes much deeper than talking about a building. This quote has little or nothing to do with why we should be quiet in church. From a Salesian point of view, this quote goes to the heart of what it means to be human.
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“God is not only in the place where you are, but God is also present in a most particular manner in your heart and in the very center of your spirit. He enlivens and animates it by his divine presence, for he is there as the heart of your heart and the spirit of your spirit. Just as the soul is diffused throughout the entire body and is therefore present in every part of the body but resides in a special manner in the heart, so also God is present in all things but always resides in a special manner in our spirit.” (IDL, Part II, Chapter 2, p. 85)
God dwells in a very particular way within the heart – within the spirit and soul – of each and every one of us. Using the words from the New Roman Missal, notwithstanding that we may be unworthy to have God enter ‘under our roof,’ God is very much alive and at work in the very core of our being, enlivening us and animating us to meet the demands, challenges and invitations that come our way each and every day.
Each us, then, is a house of prayer. Each of us is a manifestation and expression of the God in whose image and likeness we are created. And insofar as prayer is a dialogue, our fundamental vocation is to be engaged in conversation with God as we try our level best to bring out the best in our little corners of the world.
How can we be that house of God today in the lives of one another?
*****
“You have answered well.”
“Born on January 13, 1891 in Guadalupe, Mexico, Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez was, from an early age, both remarkably spiritual and equally mischievousness, frequently exasperating his family with humor and practical jokes. Miguel was particularly close to his older sister and after she entered a cloistered convent, he eventually recognized his own vocation to the priesthood. Although he was popular with the senoritas and had prospects of a lucrative career managing his father's thriving business concerns, Miguel the Jesuit novitiate in El Llano, Michoacan in 1911.
“He studied in Mexico until 1914, when tsunami of anti-Catholicism swept through Mexico, forcing the novitiate to disband. Miguel and his brother seminarians trekked through Texas and New Mexico before arriving at the Jesuit house in Los Gatos, California. In 1915, Miguel was sent to a seminary in Spain; in 1924, he went to Belgium where he was ordained a priest in 1925. Miguel suffered from a severe stomach problem and after three operations, when his health did not improve, his superiors, in 1926, allowed him to return to Mexico despite the grave religious persecution in that country.”
“Back in his native land, churches were closed, and priests went into hiding. Miguel spent the rest of his life in an attempt to sturdy and strengthen Mexican Catholics. In addition to fulfilling their spiritual needs, he also carried out works of mercy by trying to meet the temporal needs of the poor in Mexico City. To protect his real identity, he used a number of disguises while carrying out his clandestine ministry. He would arrive in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighborhoods to procure money food and other resources for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessman with a fresh flower on his lapel. Falsely accused in the attempted assassination of a former Mexican president, Miguel became a hunted man. Betrayed to the police by an informer, he was sentenced to death without the benefit of any legal process. On the day of his execution (which the Mexican president personally ordered to have photographed and filmed), Fr. Pro forgave his executioners, prayed, refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, ‘Viva Cristo Rey.’” (http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=86)
Miguel Pro not only answered well to God’s invitation for him to help his fellow citizens who were most in need, but he also answered courageously!
How might we imitate his example just this day in our attempts to answer God’s call in our own lives by serving the needs of others?
*****
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
St. Francis de Sales tells us in the Introduction to the Devout Life:
“Consider the eternal love that God has borne you. Before our Lord Jesus Christ as man suffered on the Cross for you, His Divine Majesty by His Sovereign Goodness already foresaw your existence and loved you exceedingly.” (Introduction, Part V, Chapter 14)
Tempted as he was by the voices around him to use his kingly power for his own relief or benefit, Jesus spent his last moments –– his few remaining breaths –– for the good of others. It was with love that he promised paradise to the Good Thief who spoke words of humility and contrition.
On this feast of the Kingship of Christ, the Church presents us with two images: David, the shepherd-warrior, anointed by his people to be their king and Jesus, the only true king, rejected by the people, crucified and ridiculed. In David the kingship of Israel was established so that from it could come the Redeemer of all peoples. But how did Jesus live out his call to be king? According to St. Francis de Sales it was by “the perfect abandonment into the hands of the heavenly Father and this perfect indifference in whatever is his divine will.” (St. Francis de Sales Sermons for Lent, Good Friday, 1622)
To Jesus, being king meant being one with his Father. He lived in perfect union with God. As Paul tells us in the letter to the Colossians, “He is the image of the invisible God.” To Jesus, being king meant giving all for others. He gave his all to each person at every moment. We see this in his words to the repentant criminal on the Cross: Jesus spoke only of mercy and acceptance.
We are called to do the same. As Christians our first care must be union with our God: “Lord, it is good for me to be with you, whether you be upon the Cross or in your glory.” (Introduction, Part IV, Chapter XIII) St. Francis de Sales tells us in the Treatise on the Love of God: “Mount Calvary is the mount of lovers.” (Book XII, Chapter XIII) After the example of our King, we must speak words of mercy and acceptance. Like Jesus, we are not called to condemn or reject but only to love.
St. Leonie Aviat lived the humble, self-giving life portrayed in today’s Scriptures. She recognized and experienced the meaning of authentic royalty, of royal power: spending one’s life with God for others. As a young founder of a religious community, the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, Mother Aviat pledged to “forget myself entirely” and to “work for the happiness of others.” The call to follow Christ resounded in her every word and act, as she worked to give people here on earth a foretaste of the paradise that Christ promises to all those who remember him.
Perhaps that’s the point. What better way to ask God to remember us when he comes into his kingdom than by reminding ourselves of the presence of God in each day, hour and moment here and now? What better way to join Christ in paradise than by remembering to reach out to others here on earth?
*****
“She has offered her whole livelihood…”
In a conference to the Sisters of the Visitation, Francis de Sales observed:
“The esteem in which humility holds all good gifts, namely, faith hope and charity, is the foundation of generosity of spirit. Take notice that the first gifts of which we spoke belong to the exercise of humility and the others to generosity. Humility believes that it can do nothing, considering its poverty and weakness as far as depends on ourselves. On the contrary, generosity makes us say with St. Paul, ‘I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.’ Humility makes us distrust ourselves, whereas generosity makes us trust in God. You see, then that humility and generosity are so closely joined and united to one another that they are and never can be separated.” (Conferences, “On Generosity” pp. 75-76)
We see this humility and generosity on display in today’s Gospel. Whereas some wealthy people who contributed to the temple treasury were relying more on themselves for their welfare (they made sure that they had plenty for themselves in reserve) before giving to others, the poor widow – we are told – gave to the treasury without squirreling something away for herself first, suggesting that she was relying more on God for her welfare. The wealthy contributed with conditions; the widow contributed without conditions.
Today, whether we have a lot or a little, what steps can we take to store up riches less for ourselves and more for others?
*****
“When you hear of wars and insurrections do not be terrified…”
In this age of 24-7 news cycles, one could be forgiven for being “terrified” from time to time. After all, we never seem to get a break. Whether around the corner or around the world, we are constantly exposed to a never-ending dose of unsettling news reports: stories of violence, accounts of revenge and descriptions of disasters. One could make the argument that you would have to be crazy to be unconcerned or unaffected by reports of economic, social, political and/or military turmoil!
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed:
“With the single exception of sin, anxiety is the greatest evil than can happen to a soul. Just as sedition and internal disorders bring total ruin to a state and leave it helpless to resist a foreign invader, so also if our hearts are inwardly troubled and disturbed they lose both the strength necessary to maintain the virtues they had acquired and the means to resist the temptations of the enemy. He then uses his utmost to fish – as they say – in troubled waters.” (IDL, Part IV, Chapter 11, pp. 251-252)
Francis de Sales believed that people should be informed. We should be aware – and where applicable, concerned – about the things that are happening around us. More importantly, however, is the need to know what is happening inside of us. We need to know the state of our mind and heart. After all, sometimes the effects of the “wars and insurrections” that may surround us are nothing in comparison with the “wars and insurrections” that rage within us!
Trouble is a part of life. Don’t make it worse by allowing it to trouble you on the inside to the point where you can’t manage it on the outside - for your own sake, as well as for the sake of those who depend on you.
*****
“Give glory and eternal praise to him...”
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“The soul that takes great pleasure in God’s goodness…desires that His name be always more and more blessed, exalted, praised, honored and adored. In this praise due to God the soul begins with its own heart...The soul imitates the great Psalmist who considered the marvels of God’s goodness, and then on the altar of his heart immolated a mystic victim: the utterances of his voice in hymns of psalms of admiration and blessings.” (Living Jesus, p. 286)
When’s the last time you gave “glory and eternal praise” to God for everything that God does in your life and in the lives of others? How can you bless, exalt, praise, honor and adore God for his goodness today?
Not just in words, but also in deeds!
