Spirituality Matters: March 31st - April 6th
*****
“The death and passion of our Lord is the sweetest and the most compelling motive that can animate our hearts in this mortal life…The children of the cross glory in this, their wondrous paradox which many do not understand: out of death, which devours all things, has come the food of our consolation. Out of death, strong above all things, has issued the all-sweet honey of our love.” (Treatise on the Love of God, Book 12, Chapter 13)
This paradox, indeed, is the central mystery of our faith. Jesus, allowing himself to be consumed with passion and swallowed by death, has conquered death once and for all with the passion, that is, the power of righteousness leading to eternal life.
Christ’s pathway of passion, death and resurrection was personal and unique. It had been fashioned by the Father from all eternity. Jesus was faithful to God’s vision for him. Jesus embraced his vocation as the humble, gentle Messiah. Jesus suffered the pain of death and experienced the power of rising again.
From all eternity God also has fashioned a personal path for each of us. Each of us has a unique role to play in the Father’s never-ending revelation of divine life, love, justice, peace and reconciliation. Still, the way to resurrection is the way of the cross – the way of giving up, of letting go, of surrendering all things, thoughts, attitudes and actions that prevent us from embodying the passion of Christ - the passion for all that is righteous and true.
Francis de Sales offers this image in Book 9 of his Treatise on the Love of God:
“God commanded the prophet Isaiah to strip himself completely naked. The prophet did this, and went about and preached in this way for three whole days (or, as some say, for three whole years). Then, when the time set for him by God had passed, he put his clothes back on again. So, too, we must strip ourselves of all affections, little and great, and make a frequent examination of our heart to see if it is truly ready to divest itself of all its garments, as Isaiah did. Then, at the proper time we must take up again the affections suitable to the service of charity, so that we may die naked on the cross with our divine Savior and afterwards rise again with him as new people.”
Be certain of one thing - the daily dying to self that is part of living a passionate life is not about dying, stripping and letting go for its own sake. The goal is that we be purified to live more faithful and effective lives of divine passion. God does not desire that we die to self out of self-deprecation. No, God desires that we die to self in order that, ironically, we may become more of the person God calls us to be.
“Love is as strong as death to enable us to forsake all things”, wrote St. Francis de Sales. “It is as magnificent as the resurrection to adorn us with glory and honor”.
This glory and honor is not just reserved for heaven. To the extent that we die a little each day and experience the fidelity of God’s love in the midst of all adversity, trials, struggles and “letting go” - something of these gifts can be ours even here on earth.
*****
“Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed…”
There is no doubt that there were some folks who - after listening to Peter preach about Jesus the Nazorean on the day of Pentecost - might have asked themselves the question: “What, is he crazy?”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“As soon as worldly people see that you wish to follow a devout life they aim a thousand darts of mockery and even detraction at you. The most malicious of them will slander your conversion as hypocrisy, bigotry, and trickery. They will say that the world has turned against you and being rebuffed by it you have turned to God. Your friends will raise a host of objections which they consider very prudent and charitable. They will tell you that you will become depressed, lose your reputation in the world, be unbearable, and grow old before your time, and that your affairs at home will suffer.” (IDL, Part IV, Chapter 1, p. 235)
When we attempt to proclaim – be it in words or deeds – the power and presence of the Risen Jesus in our lives, we shouldn’t be shocked if some folks think we are crazy. For that matter, there may be some days when we also begin to wonder if we aren’t crazy too! Recall the words of St. Francis de Sales who ends this first chapter from Part IV of his Introduction to the Devout Life with this exhortation:
“All this is mere foolish, empty babbling. These people aren’t interested in your health or welfare. ‘If you were of the world, the world would love what is its own but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you,’ says the Savior. We are crucified to the world and the world must be crucified to us. The world holds us to be fools; let us hold the world to be mad.”
If people think you’re crazy, then let it be for all the right reasons – most importantly, due to the effects of the love of the Risen Lord in your life!
*****
"Why are you weeping?”
In a letter written to Marie Bourgeois Brulart (of Dijon, wife of Nicolas Brulart who became president of the parliament of Burgundy in 1602), Francis de Sales wrote:
“Mary Magdalene is looking for Our Lord and it is Him she holds; she is asking for Him, and it is Him she asks. She could not see Him as she would have wished to see Him; that is why she is not content to see Him in this form and searches so as to find Him in some other guise. She wanted to see Him in robes of glory and not in the lowly clothes of a gardener; but all the same, in the end she knew it was Jesus when he called her by name.”
“You see, it is Our Lord in His gardener’s clothes that you meet every day in one place and another when quite ordinary occasions come your way. You would like Him to offer you different and more distinguished ones, but the ones that appear the best are not necessarily in fact the best. Do you believe that He is calling you by name? Before you see Him in His glory, He wants to plant many flowers in your garden; they may be small and humble, but they are the kind that please Him. That is why He comes to you clothed in this way. May our hearts be forever united to His and our will to His good pleasure! Be of good cheer and let nothing dismay you.”(Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 136)
Sometimes, the reason that we experience sadness and grief in our lives is not because we can’t find the Risen Jesus, but rather, because the Risen Jesus doesn’t always present himself to us in ways that we prefer or expect. As Mary Magdalene herself discovered, we can never predict the situations or circumstances in which Jesus will call us by name.
Regardless of how Jesus may appear to us today, will we recognize His voice should he call us – however unexpectedly – by name? In the meantime, “be of good cheer and let nothing dismay you”.
Alleluia!
*****
“The disciples recounted how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread…”
“Breaking bread” - we see it in the practice of sharing food; we see it in the practice of sharing drink; we see it in the practice of sharing a meal. These events are quite simple, but it is in the context of such a common, ordinary, and everyday human experience that the Risen Christ chooses to reveal himself.
Of course, the experience of “breaking bread” isn’t limited to sharing physical food and drink. It speaks of relationship, intimacy, welcoming another, being home with another and sharing who we are with others and allowing them to share who they are with us.
In today’s Gospel we need to realize that the two unnamed disciples were communicating with Jesus – were in communion with Him – hours before they actually sat at table with Him. And that “breaking bread” – that communication and communion – brings with it illumination and awareness. As Francis de Sales himself observed: “After the disciples at Emmaus communicated, ‘their eyes were opened’”. (On the Preacher and Preaching, p. 26)
In the space of any given week how many times do we ‘break bread” with others? How often do we stop to think how the Risen Christ may be trying to reveal something of the person He is – and who we are – in the context of these common, ordinary and everyday human experiences in extraordinary ways?
How might our eyes need to be opened today by the experience of communication and communion?
*****
“The disciples recounted how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread…”
“Breaking bread” - we see it in the practice of sharing food; we see it in the practice of sharing drink; we see it in the practice of sharing a meal. These events are quite simple, but it is in the context of such a common, ordinary, and everyday human experience that the Risen Christ chooses to reveal himself.
Of course, the experience of “breaking bread” isn’t limited to sharing physical food and drink. It speaks of relationship, intimacy, welcoming another, being home with another and sharing who we are with others and allowing them to share who they are with us.
In today’s Gospel we need to realize that the two unnamed disciples were communicating with Jesus – were in communion with Him – hours before they actually sat at table with Him. And that “breaking bread” – that communication and communion – brings with it illumination and awareness. As Francis de Sales himself observed: “After the disciples at Emmaus communicated, ‘their eyes were opened’”. (On the Preacher and Preaching, p. 26)
In the space of any given week how many times do we ‘break bread” with others? How often do we stop to think how the Risen Christ may be trying to reveal something of the person He is – and who we are – in the context of these common, ordinary and everyday human experiences in extraordinary ways?
How might our eyes need to be opened today by the experience of communication and communion?
*****
“He showed them his hands and his feet.”
Following Jesus' crucifixion, the apostles were afraid. Their fear was quite understandable - perhaps even prudent - when you consider the real possibility that they would suffer the same death as Jesus, if they were identified as his followers.
Jesus breaks into their lives in the midst of their fears. He attempts to calm their fears. He challenges them to be at peace by showing them his hands and his feet. Given the horrible wounds visible in both places, one might say that this is quite a strange way to dispel others’ anxiety and grief!
Despite the power and glory of the resurrection, Jesus still bore the legacy of pain, disappointment, rejection, humiliation, suffering and death on his body. Herein lay the promise and the hope that Jesus offered: pain, suffering and loss - despite the scars that they leave - need not be the last word for those who believe in the love of God.
St. Francis de Sales wrote:
“We must often recall that our Lord has saved us by his suffering and endurance and that we must work out our salvation by sufferings and afflictions, enduring with all possible forbearance the injuries, denial and discomforts we meet.” (Introduction to the Devout Life, Pt III, Chap 3)
All of us have experienced pain and suffering. All of us bear the wounds of failure, betrayal, deception, disappointment and loss. Our hearts, our minds, our memories - our souls - have the scars to prove it. Out of fear of being hurt further, like the apostles, we sometimes lock ourselves away in some small emotional or spiritual corner of the world, living in fear of what other pain or disappointments may come our way. We withdraw from life. In effect, we die with no hope of resurrection.
Jesus shows us that while we, too, have been wounded by life, the scars of pain, rejection, misunderstanding and mishap do not need to have the last word. We may, indeed, be permanently affected by things both unfortunate and unfair, but these need not rob us of the power and promise of recovery, of renewal - of resurrection - unless we allow ourselves to be defeated by the nails of negativity, by the lance of loss.
The scars of our humanity are a part of our past and a part of our present. They need not, however, determine the course of our future. Let's keep things in perspective. St. Francis de Sales remind us:
"Look often on Christ, crucified, naked, blasphemed, slandered, forsaken, and overwhelmed by every kind of weariness, sorrow and labor."
Jesus not only survived but he also thrived! His faith, his passion, his resilience and his love, indeed, had the last word in his life.
Today, won't you let his words have the same effect in your life?
*****
“Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples...”
Are you familiar with the term “one-hit wonder”?
“A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single. Because one-hit wonders are often popular for only a brief time, their hits often have nostalgic value and are featured on era-centric compilations and soundtracks to period films. One-hit wonders are normal in any era of pop music but are most common during reigns of entire genres that do not last for more than a few years.” (Wikipedia)
When it comes to post-Resurrection appearances, Jesus was no one-hit wonder. Between the time of his Resurrection and his Ascension, Scripture records at least ten distinct appearances. Jesus spoke, ate and drank (even cooked) with and embraced a wide swathe of people during these appearances – some small and intimate, others large and profoundly public.
Today’s Gospel account from John recounts a small, more intimate appearance that Jesus makes to seven people. We are told that this was the “third time” Jesus was revealed to his disciples. Peter and the others go fishing but their efforts leave them empty-handed. Suddenly Jesus (initially unrecognized) appears and calls to them from the shore, directing them to cast their nets in a different place. Overwhelmed with the number of fish that they subsequently catch, Peter apparently is struck by the sense of déjà vue – he becomes eerily conscious of the almost-identical circumstances associated with his very first encounter with Jesus three years before. From that moment on, there is no question in his mind that “it is the Lord”.
Our Catholic-Christian tradition contains countless accounts of how the Risen Jesus continues to reveal himself unexpectedly in the lives of ordinary people in ordinary circumstances. Put another way, when it comes to post-Resurrection appearances, the hits keep coming.
Today, how might the Risen Jesus reveal himself to you? Will you recognize Him?
*****
“Observing the boldness of Peter and John…ordinary men.”
Many of us have been brought up to believe that boldness is something that we should eschew. This fact may be especially true for those who have been addressed at some point in their lives as a “bold, brazen article”! Such a description is certainly not an accolade that folks would normally seek!
Peter and John were bold: so bold as to identify themselves as the “companions of Jesus”, so bold as to proclaiming in Jesus “the resurrection of the dead”, and so bold as to heal a crippled man in the name of Jesus. Even after being detained, interrogated and ordered by the Sanhedrin to stop speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus – or else – Peter and John told them flat out that they would continue to speak about what they “had seen and heard” with vim and vigor, apparently without much – if any – care or concern about their own health, wealth or welfare.
There can be no doubt that the Pharisees, Scribes and Elders might have considered Peter and John to be – in their own way – bold, brazen articles! No surprise here, if you consider that these same Pharisees, Scribes and Elders had formed the same opinion of Jesus.
It’s probably safe to say that on most days we preach and practice the Gospel in measured, discrete and considerate ways. We’re not trying to make waves and we’re not trying to draw crowds. In fact, we might actually be trying our level best to “stay under the radar”. But there are times in our lives when it is both fitting – and perhaps, even imperative – that we proclaim and preach the Gospel in ways that other people might consider bold, perhaps even brazen!
In those moments, do we – ordinary men and women that we are – have the courage to identify ourselves as the “companions of Jesus”?
