Finding Jesus in Everyone

 

The Bible Study guys this morning talked about anger (Mt 5:22):  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgement.  And then, So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first to be reconciled with your brother , and then come back to offer your gift.

I know I’ve noted before that there is another passage in Matthew commanding you to seek reconciliation if you have something against your brother, so if he has something against you or you have something against him, either way, YOU go to him to be reconciled.  That seems (to me) to be a strong emphasis against anger, and I’ve grown to try to live that command.  I don’t want to be angry or irritated at anyone, and so I try to avoid situations or conversations which will provoke anger or irritation in me, or others.   One of the ways I actively have done this is by tossing my television when it stopped operating a couple of years ago.  I thought there were mostly things shown there which raised irritation in me or would be topics of conversation which would irritate others.  All I hear today of our evil society seems to support that decision, and so I actively avoid thinking/conversing about those (in my mind) wrong things which cause anger.  But then I had another thought this morning, at mass.

The Psalm reading response this morning was an unusual one: “Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget You.”  The words got my attention, since they were not the usual/rote ones. And, perhaps because of the preceding Bible study on anger, I had thoughts of people I forgot, and how important each and every one is.

Of late, I’ve noticed how my brain is not as sharp as it once was.  It is not unusual for someone to greet me and yet I don’t recall their name or how we know each other.  The recent newly ordained priest said that I changed his life, but I couldn’t remember when we met.  And others have said similar things.  Perhaps my staying away from things and people which might anger me has not been a good thing.  As I left church this morning I saw the large banner picture of Jesus on the wall, with the words:  Finding Jesus among us; Seeing the face of Jesus in everyone. I guess that banner also says something more basic:  as long as we are alive in this world, we are changing the lives of people we come in contact with, or they are changing ours --- often in ways we don’t understand, but Jesus does.  In he Gospel at mass Jesus touched the leper, and healed him, exteriorly and internally.  Jesus restored him to the community.

I’ve written of people I influenced, but I had other thoughts this morning.  I recalled long forgotten memories of a friend who changed MY life.  I recalled our late nights at the jazz clubs, and the listening to special entertainers.  Once, (after after listening to Soupy Sales??) we went for a quiet summer’s walk, and as we passed a display window saw a nice rain slicker/coat, and she insisted on buying it for me.  I wore that coat again last week, and even then recalled events of that night.

Things and people I will never forget, but for people to remember us and the love of God we exhibit, we have to go out and meet them, especially the poor, the lonely, the forgotten.

When Things Don't Seem Right

 

I’ve always said intercessory prayers to St. Joseph, but in recent times they have become more focused, as I recognized him as a carpenter who can create new fixes to unique problems --- like mine.  I had a total ear blockage recently, which confused the doctor, but which totally cleared as I stood in front of a statue of St. Joseph at my local church.  But that was just the start.

Last week, while praying in an adoration chapel named in honor of St. Joseph, I thought about an invite I had received to the first mass of a newly ordained priest --- who I didn’t recall meeting.  The mass was at St. Joseph’s church in another town, but on researching, I found was a 20-mile straight line from the chapel where I prayed, and right on the corner of the crossroad.  I answered the invite with a question about where we met, and the (still) deacon John politely wrote back that he understood my forgetting because “you meet so many people”, but we did have some meetings, he said, and he read my blog.  I changed his life, he said, so he invited me to his first mass, and the family gathering afterward.  Family?  At the mass, his first sermon was very insightful; I may have forgotten him, but I will get to know him more in the future. 

Also last week, a friend had said to me that she was glad the Latin mass was gone “because nobody could understand it.”  I briefly explained how it was part of the global unity of Catholics and said that I still had the childhood missal that I used at mass on my coffee table.  Glancing at it, I told her how the mass words were in Latin were on the left pages, while the English translation was on the opposite pages.  I understood what was being said, despite not speaking Latin.  And it was then that I noticed the first page of that missal, which had my name and age (13), and that the book was named: The Saint Joseph Daily Missal. 

All these things about St. Joseph led my mind to perceive a unity about them, like the unity of the church.

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When I went Fr. John’s first mass, I was put off by the interior décor of the St. Joseph’s church where it was held.  Where things were and how they looked were foreign to me (kind of like that Latin mass to my friend, I guess).  There were no stained-glass windows, no vigil candles, and the few statues were “modern art” in appearance.  I didn’t “feel” like I was in a holy place, a Catholic church.  Before mass, I sat in the back reading my morning prayers, and I could hear people talking all around me --- but, their noise didn’t seem to bother me like at other churches I attended.  I perceived the noise as being friends and family speaking to each other; I perceived a quiet love there.  I had noticed that the choir area near the altar had lots of drums, and I expected loud modernistic music, in line with the décor, but at mass only a pianist played, and the choir and mass attendees sang hymns and psalms together in volume, one not dominating the other.  After mass, Fr. John thanked me for coming and for what I did for him “and people around the world” --- obviously referencing my blog.  We will have much more to speak of in the future, but meanwhile he prayed over me.

It was on the drive home afterward that I became more aware of the farmlands all around me.  Away from a large city, the people lived more apart, but as demonstrated at the church, seemed to know each other better than people at my suburban church.  I don’t pretend to understand it all, but the strangeness of the St. Joseph names, the church décor, the beautiful mass, and my meeting this new priest created within me an atmosphere of family, community, and belonging.  As part of his sermon, Fr. John had said that the focus of Christianity is not to avoid sin, but to love God and neighbor.  It all fit.

My life is not about me being in control or having things be as I want.  God is in control.  I may not understand all He does or permits, but my gift of life was given me with a simple commandment: Love God and love neighbor, as Jesus did.  Around the world, and in the farmlands of the United States, this love may look different, but if you could see the hearts of the people loving, and worshipping, they would all look the same.

“Do not keep judging according to appearances; let your judgement be according
 to what is right.”      --- Jn7:24

Do not be anxious.  Trust.  Grow in holiness.

“Nobody can remain the same when they realize that another loves them.”
                     --- How to Pray, by David Torkington (p71)  

 

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And this morning my men's group had a speaker from a new non-profit which in only a couple of years is spreading to other states.  Its name?  Saint Joseph Helpers. 

Mother Teresa: Love: A Fruit Always in Season

 

The above titled book had great words to me this week, so I will place excerpts here, to remember in other weeks.

“No Matter What Religion, What Matters is That We Love
               Some call Him Ishwar, some call Him Allah, some simply God, but we all have to acknowledge that it is He who made us for greater things, to love and be loved.  What matters is that we love.  We cannot love without prayer, and so whatever religion we are, we must pray together.

It is so beautiful that we complete each other.  What we are doing in the slums, maybe you cannot do.  What you are doing in the level you are called, family, college, work, we cannot do.  But you and we together are doing something beautiful for God.

My religion is everything for me, but for every individual according to the grace God has given that soul.  We must not condemn or judge or pass words that will hurt people.

All People are The Same
Looks, education, or position vary, but they are all the same.  They are people to be loved.  The people you see on the streets of India or Hong Kong are hungry in body, but the people in London or New York have also a hunger which must be satisfied.  Every person needs to be loved.

What Mother Teresa said in an interview in China about communism hit the front page of all Chinese newspapers:  “Mother Teresa says a communist is a child of God, my brother, my sister.”

We have absolutely no difficulty working in countries of many faiths, like India.  We treat all people as children of God.  They are our brothers and sisters.  We show great respect for them.  Our work is to encourage these Christians and non-Christians to do works of love.”

I don’t usually limit my blog posting to excerpts of books, but this book, this week of Pentecost --- and of Memorial Day --- are times I reflect on love, love lived out.  In this old book I have on my coffee table for occasional reads, I read her comments this week, and it summarizes my readings and thoughts from the bible and in church when alone with God.  We just need to do works of love; it is how He came and showed us to live.  Just love our neighbor.  All creatures of God, they are our family. 

I want to remember that, when I hear stories of people’s differences and wars.  It’s not something for me to be irritated in any way about, but only to pray about, praying with trust, and love.