Newness & Unity

From Pope Francis' homily on Pentecost

"Newness always makes us a bit fearful, because we feel more secure if we have everything under control, if we are the ones who build, program and plan our lives in accordance with our own ideas, our own comfort, our own preferences. This is also the case when it comes to God. Often we follow him, we accept him, but only up to a certain point. It is hard to abandon ourselves to him with complete trust, allowing the Holy Spirit to be the soul and guide of our lives in our every decision....This is not a question of novelty for novelty’s sake, the search for something new to relieve our boredom, as is so often the case in our own day. The newness which God brings into our life is something that actually brings fulfilment, that gives true joy, true serenity, because God loves us and desires only our good."

"A second thought: the Holy Spirit would appear to create disorder in the Church, since he brings the diversity of charisms and gifts; yet all this, by his working, is a great source of wealth, for the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of unity, which does not mean uniformity, but which leads everything back to harmony. In the Church, it is the Holy Spirit who creates harmony. One of Fathers of the Church has an expression which I love: the Holy Spirit himself is harmony – “Ipse harmonia est”. He is indeed harmony. Only the Spirit can awaken diversity, plurality and multiplicity, while at the same time building unity. Here too, when we are the ones who try to create diversity and close ourselves up in what makes us different and other, we bring division.When we are the ones who want to build unity in accordance with our human plans, we end up creating uniformity, standardization. But if instead we let ourselves be guided by the Spirit, richness, variety and diversity never become a source of conflict, because he impels us to experience variety within the communion of the Church."

Yes! These two themes -- newness and unity -- are so relevant and so powerful to our current times. At my school there is often almost a war-like feeling between the "charismatics" and the "traddies" (traditionalists) with the offense coming mostly from those who want to keep with tradition. Now, I myself have often felt the same way -- why? Out of fear. Part of me gets scared of things which greatly differ from tradition because I look at the world around us and see a slippery slope leading down. This would be a rational fear if people were breaking away from the Church and doing things by their own authority that they think is good. (And I do not deny that this is a very serious problem today) But if the changes are honestly and prayerfully considered and humbly submitted for the betterment of God's people and under the direction of the Church then this is a very good thing indeed. Diversity is good! God is One but He is All. The secular world often stereotypes the Church as bland, boring and out of date. This couldn't be more wrong. The Church is living, breathing, moving! Charging people to live according to Truth and serving as an anchor in our confusing little world. 
So, don't fear newness or change but embrace it as just another facet or expression of God's greatness, love and the way people fall head over heels for Him. It is foolish to think He can only be loved and adored through one form for He is so vast and so awesome

Coffee Shop Musings

A woman -- middle aged, simply dressed -- stood before me in line. As the man behind the counter made her drink and sandwich, she chatted about where the store purchased the bread, how it was stored, and the like with genuine interest. Once prepared, her order was brought out and she, sitting alone, began to eat. There was nothing awkward, no sense of pity or sadness, just peacefulness. 
I ordered, paid for my drink, sat down in a large arm chair and immediately wrapped myself around my book. Sunken into this seat, I had a perfect view of the lunching woman who by now had finished eating and had moved on to her book. I don't know why I found her so fascinating -- she had this complete sense of peace about her. A woman at peace, treating herself to lunch, alone with her book in the silence of a coffee shop with the exception of the soundtrack livening the background happily accompanied by the barista. After only an hour she marked her page, cleared her dishes and left. Maybe to pick up children from school, prepare dinner, go to a work shift or attend to some other duty...
Next a father with his young son and daughter came in; he ordered them chocolate milk and muffins. The little girl chose a table right next to my nest of an armchair -- "Noooo!" was my jerk response, assuming the kids would be loud and obnoxious. This was not the case. The three sat either in silence or quiet conversation. The father was so content: happy, soaking up this time. The children oblivious to the trial of life awaiting them; the pain of death and the imminent coming of the day when they will stand by a graveside missing their father. Ignorance is bliss.
Nestled away in my chair I can't help but observe and find great interest in simple human interactions: a long-haired hippy couple happily holding the door open for a work-worn elderly man needing coffee just to get through his day, a business man with his laptop looking for a change of scenery and a woman having her day made by the barista calling out "I like your dress!" as she left the building (the same barista who sang and lent me the pencil I used to write out my musings.)
These simple observations help me separate "people" into "the left-handed business man", "the cheerful barista who apparently loves Korn" and "the old friends reunited, talking long after their mugs were drained empty." It helps me appreciate the uniqueness of each individual and the care with which God brought them into being.

Papa Francis the Boss

[from Pope Francis' homily on May 5th]

"Advance with determination along the path of holiness; do not rest content with a mediocre Christian life.."
We were not made for mediocrity. Humility does not equate failure. It does not mean we sit around thinking we're incapable. No! It means striving for greatness being fully aware of our capacity and God's, knowing that if He wills it we can do it. This applies to every aspect of our lives. My softball coach would always motivate us to play our best "We're Catholics! We're not satisfied with 'just ok'!"

"Dear brothers and sisters, the Church loves you! Be an active presence in the community, as living cells, as living stones. The Latin American Bishops wrote that the popular piety which you reflect is “a legitimate way of living the faith, a way of feeling that we are part of the Church” (Aparecida Document, 264). This is wonderful! A legitimate way of living the faith, a way of feeling that we are part of the Church. Love the Church! Let yourselves be guided by her! In your parishes, in your dioceses, be a true “lung” of faith and Christian life, a breath of fresh air! In this Square I see a great variety: earlier on it was a variety of umbrellas, and now of colours and signs. This is also the case with the Church: a great wealth and variety of expressions in which everything leads back to unity; the variety leads back to unity, and unity is the encounter with Christ."

She loves you. This point cannot be stressed enough in the face of a culture that sees the Church as oppressive. Nothing could be more wrong. By instructing us on how to best live according to our human natures -- by allowing us a fuller understanding of the world around us -- we are freed to truly live!

"You have a specific and important mission, that of keeping alive the relationship between the faith and the cultures of the peoples to whom you belong....May you also be true evangelizers! May your initiatives be “bridges”, means of bringing others to Christ, so as to journey together with him. And in this spirit may you always be attentive to charity. Each individual Christian and every community is missionary to the extent that they bring to others and live the Gospel, and testify to God’s love for all, especially those experiencing difficulties. Be missionaries of God’s love and tenderness! Be missionaries of God’s mercy, which always forgives us, always awaits us and loves us dearly."
Each one of us has been placed in this time, this group of people, this setting for a reason. God wanted you to be in exactly the situation you find yourself now. So how can you evangelize? How can you make the best out of your situation?

"Evangelical spirit, ecclesial spirit, missionary spirit. Three themes! Do not forget them! Evangelical spirit, ecclesial spirit, missionary spirit. Let us ask the Lord always to direct our minds and hearts to him, as living stones of the Church, so that all that we do, our whole Christian life, may be a luminous witness to his mercy and love. In this way we will make our way towards the goal of our earthly pilgrimage, towards that extremely beautiful shrine, the heavenly Jerusalem. There, there is no longer any temple: God himself and the lamb are its temple; and the light of the sun and the moon give way to the glory of the Most High. Amen."

Beauty

Whispering winds, passing breeze

Delights, enthralls, captures, frees

Work-worn souls dulled by day.

Crashing waves and humming bird

Bring to life the cry unheard

Crushed beneath fallen dreams.

Loving look and gentle touch,

Passion 'hind the artists' brush,

Poor writers' ink-stained page

Witness to his pressing need

Seeping out in word and deed

Cracks deep his man-made shell.

Unique creature not content

Looking back on life near spent:

Life throbbing through his veins.

Little Reminder

"And we can’t forget/That everyone who looks like an enemy/is really just a hostage.

Everyone who looks like an enemy/is really just one of us."

All the Same - Come Wind

Every single being on this earth was fashioned and made by God with meaning, purpose and love. Every person who seems to be evil and twisted -- our enemy -- is just being held prisoner by the devil. They need our prayers, not our hate.

Love Without Hope.

Love without hope, as when the young bird-catcher

Swept off his tall hat to the Squire's own daughter,

So let the imprisoned larks escape and fly

Singing about her head, as she rode by.

- Robert Graves

Love makes us do crazy things: let go of what we've worked so hard for (like the smitten bird-catcher) for the sake of the beloved; riches, time, even our own lives are given up joyfully in a selfless act of pleasing another. Love is the force which empowered martyrs to face the lion, the sword, the oppressor freely and unafraid. In choosing to stay and die, the martyr did not think of his own happiness -- no -- it was all for another. Love, even without hope of being returned, is one of the most beautiful capacities we have.

Swallowed Up

Your worries, your stress, those things you think will never get better -- guess what, they don't matter. 1 month from now you'll barely remember them but if you do it will be only because they strengthened you ; you survived. There is so much more than you and I and our little universe. Eternity stretches onward, breaking the boundaries of our minds. Our God is timeless, ageless and infinite. All that we are will one day be swallowed up in His goodness. It will all melt away and we will be left in love.