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.

Are You Listening

Friday’s mass struck me.  It began with the opening hymn words:

“Here I am, Lord, is it I Lord? 
I have heard You calling in the night …”

The first reading was Acts9:1-20, where Saul is going to Damascus to arrest Christians, until he was struck to the ground and blinded, and he spoke to the bright light before him: “Who are you, sir?”  Needless to say, like the opening hymn, Saul heard the Lord calling --- but in a way that he could not rationalize away.  This was real.  This was God, calling to him. 

Perhaps we need stop here and ask, very seriously ask, of ourselves:  Do I need to be struck blind to listen to God?  No, even that perspective is worded wrong; we need to stop always asking ourselves what to do but ask God.

The Gospel reading at mass was from John6:52-59, where Jesus says: “whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”  There was a substitute priest at mass, and as he spoke his sermon, he said: “It gives me great consolation that at 88, I became who Jesus wanted me to be.  I often act as a marriage counselor, and I tell couples no one is perfect, but Jesus in our life can transform us.  My prayer is to help me read the signs you have given me.”  Prayer came first for him, before counseling anyone.

And, as we received the Eucharist, His Flesh and Blood, the choir sang: “Open my eyes, Lord, help me to see your face.  Open my ears, Lord, help me to hear your word.”

A Bible study group I participate in is considering a change in focus or format, and we’re praying about it.  Last week we listened to Fr. John Riccardo’s interview on the Lila Rose show about 2 months ago, when he spoke about “how to hear God’s word in your life.”  And I recently received copies of Bishop Robert Barron’s new book: What do their Lives Demand, about Christian persecution today.  Both Fr Riccardo and Bishop Barron said: Start with prayer and then listen.

All these events seem to be saying the same thing: Are you listening?

I spent most of my early years “doing what is right”, as I believed it to be.  I cared for my neighbor as commanded --- if it weren’t too inconvenient.  But in living those years well, I did not often ask, sincerely: What is Your will, Lord?  If those were good years, oh, oh, how much smore wonderful they could have been.

There was a young woman once, who also did what she knew was right and commanded by God.  Her whole life was planned out before her.  All would be as she wanted --- and then:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him 
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.

 --- The Magnificat

 

 

The New Evangelization

Only this I want,
But to know the Lord,
And to bear His cross,
So to wear the crown He wore.

Those words of this morning’s hymn echoed in my heart.  Later, as the mass ended, adoration began.  I looked up at the large monstrance and host which now had been placed on the altar, and even as that hymn played on in my heart I felt: “I will be with you always, even to the end of time.”  Those words often come to me while in adoration.  He is here for me; the God of the universe waits for me.  I so want to know Him more.

Today on the radio the host and guest were discussing the history of the term “The New Evangelization,” and said how at Baptism we are all called to evangelize our faith.  “Be a witness,” they said, “not a preacher.”

In recent days I lived examples of witness of my faith, but it was not something I set out to do, to “go and evangelize.”  No, one way I found myself witnessing was when I responded in a positive way to someone asking me for help.  So, recently a friend asked me to find her a good priest, because “I have a question,” and I did.  Another time a young girl in the adoration chapel stared at my old prayer book, and I offered it to her.  And yesterday my parish pastor was on a Catholic radio fundraising program, and when donations were sparse, he made a significant donation, which triggered my heart (and perhaps pride) to call in to double his donation.  I felt these three occasions were requests for my help, and by answering them I was evangelizing, living out the love my faith calls for.

But not all evangelizing/witnessing is asked for.  Recently, I voluntarily changed my plans when: I perceived someone else’s need, and when I helped my Bible Study group, and then when casually walking into church next to someone who asked: “how are you doing?” --- and I cut my answer short to ask her the same, and found out how desperately she needed prayer.  By my being aware of others’ needs and responding in a loving way, I was evangelizing, without being asked.  Evangelizing, witnessing in a loving way, is when you stop putting yourself first, and love your neighbor, whether they ask for it or not.

And then there is a witnessing to God, who we are also called to love.  On Divine Mercy Sunday a local church was having a 3PM Holy Hour.  I went to that church’s adoration chapel to pray before the Holy Hour, intending to follow the priest when he moves the monstrance and host into the church, and there join my friends in worship.  Only for some reason that monstrance and host were not moved to the church, and at the 3 o’clock hour I found myself alone in the chapel, with Jesus.  I recalled “I will be with you always,” and began to pray aloud, and talking to Jesus.  No one else came in, and I prayed a rosary prayer and then, as I said the final Amen, I heard the chapel door open, so I went quiet.  Looking at my watch, it was 4PM.  Jesus was there waiting for me in the chapel that afternoon, and my witness was to Him: “I will not leave You alone.”

Whether asked to help, or “nudged” to help, these were acts of Christian love I lived out.  That is “a new evangelization.”  I preached nothing with words.

 

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In the last couple of days, I have experienced some unusual electronic problems.  As I was turning off my WIFI device, the screen froze, and I could do absolutely nothing, not even turn the device off.  I ended up pulling out the battery, then re-inserting it, and the problem stopped.  Similarly, I was trying to access the text messages on my phone when it froze up.  Again, nothing worked, no matter what I tried, including turning the phone off.  So, I pulled the battery out of that device also, and then put it back in, and things were back to normal.  Nothing like that has ever happened before, to either of those devices.  Reflecting on the events, perhaps what I experienced was kind of a parable of the new evangelization:  the old way doesn’t work anymore. You need to start again.  Evangelize with loving actions, and perhaps the culture will respond as the Roman historian did when seeing the early Christians so long ago:  “see how they love one another.”