I Am Not Alone

I spend an hour or more each night in an adoration chapel.  There are three nearby, and I DO recognize how blessed I am compared to most of the world.  Today a friend mentioned that Catholics she knew from Los Angeles did not know what an adoration chapel was, much less have an opportunity to visit one.  How sad!  Christians often talk about having a relationship with Jesus Christ, but how can you have a relationship with someone you rarely visit, or rarely talk to?  How can you know a person if you don’t spend time with Him?  Churches which have adoration chapels or scheduled adoration hours have been shown to have significantly more young people choosing religious vocations --- not a surprising thing.  They get to know God, and see that spending their life with Him is the best life they can live.

I’m reading a book right now, Contemplative Enigmas by Fr. Donald Haggerty, which offers short thoughts on the path to deeper prayer.  The thoughts resonate with my heart, inspire me, but I am afraid they would bore many Christians.  The words would confuse them, such as “Deeper prayer consists, not so much in an exchange of words, but in the silent communication of eyes gazing at each other.”  Praying in silence?  No words, yet communication?  Most would quickly offer a comment about being bored.  I don’t think they would get past the first few pages of Fr. Haggerty’s book before putting it down. 

A woman in my local coffee shop talked to me about her efforts at prayer, confessing “I can’t do that meditation thing.”  I gave her a copy of The Better Part, showing her its three- or four-page meditations on the Gospels, short but with some depth.  I’m not sure she has the patience to even read three or four pages, because she has “so many important things to do.”  Sort attention spans --- the world today seems focused on not being focused.  And among friends, I am respected yet thought a bit strange, for spending so much time in an adoration chapel.  Talking to God --- “What does He say?” is a common quick response, asking for a quick answer.  Fr. Haggerty wrote a book in answer to that question.

I love spending time at the end of my day in the quiet of an adoration chapel.  I know God is there.  I can perceive His presence.  It’s not like walking into the living room of my house; I live alone.  When I walk into God’s house, I am not alone.  “What does He say?”  Well, some things are such news to me that I “report” them here on my blog.  And other things He says are just the same ol’ same ol’ that friends talk about, but the conversation is never boring among friends.  Just spending time with a friend, even if no words are spoken, is time well spent, especially so if that friend is God. 

Review: Priests We Need to Save the Church

The author’s Uncle Tommy, a priest, said: “Naturally people want pleasure and will do anything to avoid pain.  But most will understand the depth of peace that comes from taking on a cause they didn’t want.”

Uncle Tommy was killed.  The author looked at his own life and saw hell as a possibility, and so he prayed for “a spiritual bolt of lightning.”  One month later, his brain hemorrhaged and he lay dying.  On his (assumed) last day, he was anointed and his Uncle Tommy prayed to, and his wife and friends noted “the presence of Tommy and the saints surrounded your bed; it was overwhelming.”  And to the doctor’s confusion, Kevin Wells lived, changed his life, and began writing.

This book recalls the author’s Uncle Tommy, and describes good priests, what they do and how their actions change lives --- which is what good priests took vows to do.  It’s mostly about doing and teaching the basic truths – and living them – and not bending to the culture’s call to relativity.  “We have a severe crisis in our priesthood because priests are not praying.”  Some priests “quietly accepted illicit relationships among the clergy or the laity,” and some “rarely frequented the sacrament of Reconciliation.”  “In this age dominated by relativism, the lines between good and evil and truth and falsehood are often left open to one’s own interpretation in ambiguous homilies that often seem to straddle rather than to pierce.”

The author minces no words: “Disordered sexual inclinations and gender fluidity are hailed as good, as abortions, habitual pornography viewing, shacking up, and no-fault divorce have flourished in society.  And costuming oneself in ignorance in the face of this anti-person onslaught that surrounds families is perhaps a form of priestly spiritual sloth as the Church has ever experienced.  At its best, priests’ silence on this apocalyptic complex of sins reveals a crisis of cowardice.”  And he goes on to give examples of priests who preached rightly, who were chastised in the press, but who changed lives.  And in the end, he provides a simple list, basics, of what a good priest does and how he prays. 

We need good priests.

I gave a copy of this book to all the priests I call friends.

What Do I Do With My "Self"?

The world is “a battlefield between the forces
of self-giving and self-indulgence”
-- The Better Part, Meditation 112

The chapter I read in The Better Part was a meditation on today’s Gospel (Mk 6:14-29).  In the reading, Herod has John the Baptist beheaded.  The thoughts expressed in TBP are a good lead-in to my own:

“John is willing to sacrifice everything, to be true to his mission and to God’s will.  He is a model of integrity.  Herod is willing to sacrifice the truth --- willing to sacrifice justice --- to his vanity.  He is so concerned about what his peers think of him, so concerned about his reputation, that he commits the heinous crime of executing an innocent, righteous man.  We too have to choose between vanity and integrity.

What kind of friend was Herod?  He betrayed his brother (took his wife), betrayed his wife, and his birthday guests only mattered to him because of what they would think and say about him.  Herod is incapable of authentic friendship because he is completely wrapped up in himself.

Jesus is just the opposite … He cares about others.”

I’ve had thoughts (and written here) about our earthly and spiritual mission.   They exist side by side, with one or the other taking a priority.  Using Jesus’ life as an example, I discerned an early life focus on earthly life priorities, with a latter years’ focus on spiritual matters (my Retirement Planning post).  But, this Gospel and other personal and world events have reminded me that at all times BOTH priorities are overlapping.  Spiritual matters of loving neighbor, acting virtuously and justly MUST influence our earthly matters focus.  Herod’s earthly killing of John the Baptist bore no influences of spiritual matters --- things that he admitted he liked to hear John talk about, “knowing him to be a good and holy man”.  But, Herod’s self-indulgence far out-weighed any spiritual influences he felt toward self-giving.

I think we have many imitators of Herod in the world today.

Certainly, politicians are ready examples.  They appear to have (in my opinion) an undue focus on what people think of them.  Indeed, there are some whose public and private actions widely differ (which we know because nothing is private anymore).  Were some of today’s politicians in Herod’s power position, it seems they would quickly lop off President Trump’s head, because they think the people want it, and will express their gratitude in votes, so the politicians can stay in power.

It used to be (or was as I perceived it) that politicians sought office for the good they could do for the country and its people --- not themselves.  “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, said The Prince.  Pope Francis recently spoke that he favors a world leader, who would take from the rich to help the huge numbers of poor, and save the planet.  Even a pope seems influenced by power, and a concern of what people think of him!  He has a good heart, but many good things we would try to do are not necessarily the will of God, which we should seek first.  Factually, in all recorded history there have never been as relatively few poor people in the world as today, indeed the numbers are down over 60% from just 30 years ago, as capitalistic actions improved lives in China, India and Africa, where the largest decreases occurred.

I take no solace in an awareness that there was as much selfishness among politicians in Jesus’ day as today.  It almost makes me think that what He said and did didn’t matter.  But then I think on that last fact, the poor now number less than 10% of the world’s population, down from 30% only 30 years ago.  How was that achieved?

Certainly, it wasn’t because world dictators gave the poor money which they took from the rich.  Nor likely was it because people prayed, and God just made it happen.  No, from what I can discern, it was a focus on earthly matters with a spiritual influence, a love of neighbor --- not in giving the poor man stuff, but in working with him, helping him to maximize his talents, and to maximize his returns on those talents. 

I recall a parable about that, the importance of maximizing the talents God gave us, to give maximum returns.  It’s what He made us to do, and therefore is in our nature to do.  Governments didn’t take charge to reduce the number of poor people, to make it happen, they stepped out of the way to allow it to happen.  I won’t pretend to understand how it was spread and put innate spiritual graces into actions, but I will say Jesus’ presence and example in this world have made a difference --- speaking not to judge the world, of course, but only speaking for me.  And among other things, that awareness in me helps me bear with the Herod’s of this world.  They may do their earthly jobs poorly, not how they were created to do them, but I will use my talents as I believe they were meant to be used, to love my neighbor.  It’s what I do with my “self”.