Strong Foundation

A woman was enthusiastically telling some friends about the value of a first-aid class she had just completed. “Why only yesterday,” she said, “I was driving down the street when I heard this awful crash. I jammed on the brakes, ran back and found a car wrapped around a telephone pole. When I got to the injured driver, I saw a horrible sight. My knees went limp, and I didn’t know what to do. But all at once I remembered something from my first-aid training. Immediately I bent down and put my head between my knees, and it worked! I didn’t faint!”

Fear, anxiety, worry, uncertainty… all these can freeze us in time. When these feelings beset us, we often find ourselves stuck in our attempt to reach out, to others and ourselves. However, we are also familiar with heroic stories in which people have responded out of these very feelings. The recent natural calamities across the globe have witnessed many such heroic acts from people, who despite their own limited resources, reached out to the crucified of today.

Can you recall how you reacted to a difficult situation or emergency in your life?

When Jesus preached God’s reign it was not just any kind of words and/or actions, rather a prophetic one. He invited people to think differently, act differently, but always out of a strong foundation in God. He invited them to step out of their comfort zones, in their perception of reality and of people.

When we have a strong sense of values and know our priorities, we can continue to be focused on what is really important in our lives. We have a strong foundation in Jesus. The Sacraments empower us to be prophetic voices in our times. If the foundation of our life is strong, then what we build on it will also be strong. Each day provides us with ample opportunities to put the ‘Word’ into ‘Action’.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them

will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (Mt. 7:24)

 

 

 

A Crisis Observed

 

A crisis observed and examined,

Creates a mark on the soul,

Obscuring peace just a little more.

 

Until action is taken.

 

 

 

 

Reflection Copyright 2018 by Fr. Bruno D’Souza C.P.
Photography and Poem Copyright 2018 by Michael J. Cunningham OFS

You may re-use this material and republish with permission unless used for commercial purposes. If you are using the materials for commercial purposes, please contact us.
Please feel free to forward this email to a friend to sign up for the program at www.spiritualbreak.com or at https://materdolorosa.org/spiritualbreak/

Put on the Mind of Christ

Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians: “Be anxious for nothing.  Nothing.  Is that possible in today’s world?  We live in a culture of anxiety.  As a national newspaper shouted in a headline: “It’s not just you; we’re all living in the United States of Anxiety.  In fact, we live in a social, political and religious climate that is all too frequently angry, polarized and fragmented.

The Webster’s Dictionary definition of anxiety is: a feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about something that might happen.  In the Greek, the language of the New Testament, the word for anxiety is merimna. It means to be pulled or ripped in opposite directions, to fracture a person’s being into parts. To choke.

 

And what do we worry about?  One psychological study found that:

• 40 percent of the time, we worry about things that will never happen.
• 30 percent about things of the past (which can’t be changed).
• 12 percent about the criticism of others (and mostly untrue).
• 10 percent about health, which does get worse with worry!
• Only 8 percent are concerned, not worried, about real problems that can be solved.

 

In other words, most anxiety and stress come from our imaginations, our thoughts.  We dread things that have not happened or ever will.  We can feel this anxiety.  And it does tear us apart.  We feel it in our muscles.  We tense up into knots – not just our physical muscles, but our spiritual and emotional muscles, as well.  At bottom, these are all just worthless worries.

 

Let’s go back to Paul’s words:  Be anxious for nothing.  But how is that possible? Paul gives us the answer earlier in his Philippian letter: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

 

Paul is telling us to put on the mind of Christ.  In the negative, that means we must no longer think, the way the world thinks or to behave the way the world behaves – in fear, insecurity, anxiety.  In the positive, it means that we must seek to imitate the attitudes and behavior of Jesus.

 

Put on the mind of Christ.  Paul gives us the specifics:

• Whatever is true
• Whatever is honorable
• Whatever is just
• Whatever is pure
• Whatever is lovely
• Whatever is gracious

“If there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise,

 

Think about THESE things.”

Not the stuff that will never happen

• Not the stuff of the past
• Not the stuff about untrue criticism
• Not any of that stuff

 

Why not?

• Because these things tear us apart, physically and spiritually.
• Because this is all just worthless worry.
• Because all this negative stuff is nothing more than garbage in, and garbage out!

 

Paul tells us to put on the mind of Christ: his attitude, his behavior, his love, his forgiveness, his compassion.  Think on these things.  And when we do, something wonderful will happen:

 

“The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”

 

Reflection Copyright 2018 by Deacon Manuel Valencia
Photograph Copyright 2018 by Michael J. Cunningham

You may re-use this material and republish with permission unless used for commercial purposes. If you are using the materials for commercial purposes, please contact us.

Please feel free to forward this email to a friend to sign up for the program at www.spiritualbreak.com or at https://materdolorosa.org/spiritualbreak/

When stretched beyond your limits, what do you do?

If you’re anything like me, there are times in your life when you’re feeling battered by all the people, issues, or ideas that are demanding your attention?  Whether it’s the family activities, work obligations, social expectations, religious or personal demands, economic or political pressures, there can be no doubt that all of us are often under a great deal of pressure to give our attention and commitment to a wide variety of people and issues.  It takes great stamina and wisdom from above to evaluate and balance all the expectations that are placed upon us.

When we try to evaluate, balance and respond to the many pressures and demands in our life, what measure do we use?  How do we decide, among all the clamoring demands, which is worthy of our attention and what kind of response will bring life?

There is a famous passage from the Letter of James in the New Testament that describes some important ways to measure what will be a life-giving response.  James tells us that ”the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.” (James 3:17-18).

Sometimes the beliefs we cherish and the things we pursue fill us with anger and judgment about others.  We become cynical and untrusting.  We can even become hardened to the concerns of others and unwilling to acknowledge their sincerity.  If we find ourselves locked into these feelings, it’s time to reassess our attitudes and commitments.  For James reminds us that the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit nourishes peace and gentleness within us, mercy toward others, and self-gift so others can thrive.

So, if we’re wondering what kind of response the Lord want from us, just do a quick check on whether our response engenders kindness and peace, or anger and suspicion.  Then remember the advice of James.  May the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit guide us all.

 

Reflection Copyright 2018 by Fr. Michael Higgins C.P.
Photograph Copyright 2018 by Michael J. Cunningham O.F.S.

You may re-use this material and republish with permission unless used for commercial purposes. If you are using the materials for commercial purposes, please contact us.

Please feel free to forward this email to a friend to sign up for the program at www.spiritualbreak.com or at https://materdolorosa.org/spiritualbreak/

 

Is God really watching?…and what does God see?

When I was a kid, my parents would sometimes remind me, “Remember, God is watching you!  God sees you.”  Were you ever told that?  I’ll bet you were.  As I look back on those occasions, and even now when someone says something like that to me, I realize that I often took those words as something of a threat.  “God is watching!”   So, even if there was no one else to see what I did wrong, God would.  How about you?  What do you think of when someone tells you, “God sees everything you do?”  Do you think that means that God is keeping track of all your sins or failures, that nothing bad you do no matter how secretly you do it, avoids God’s notice?  Or do you include your successes in the meaning of that statement?
Apparently, our common concern that God makes sure to keep track of the bad things we do was a fairly common belief even in the earliest days of the Church.  I say that because there’s an interesting passage on this very topic in the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament.  In the 6^th Chapter (verse 10) the author writes “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated….”  The author to the Hebrews clearly wants everyone who reads this letter (including us) to know that, indeed, God is watching.  But that means that God notes primarily the “love you have demonstrated.”  God is paying close attention to the good that we do.  No threat there, just a reassuring promise.
The consistent message of the Scriptures is that God is reaching out to us to give us the fullness of life, not to bring us restrictions or death.  So often we let fear or other people keep us locked up and wary.  Knowing that God is indeed watching us should encourage us to live with open hearts and great confidence in God’s presence with us and His great love for us.
What do you understand by the claim that “God is watching you”?
Are you grateful for God’s notice or uncomfortable with the idea?
What are some of the things about yourself that you hope God is noticing?

Reflection © 2018 by Michael Higgins C.P.

You may re-use this material and republish with permission unless used for commercial purposes. If you are using the materials for commercial purposes, please contact us.

Please feel free to forward this email to a friend to sign up for the program at www.spiritualbreak.com or at https://materdolorosa.org/spiritualbreak/

GOD CALLING

In his book, Spiritual Direction according to Paul of the Cross, Bennet Kelly, C.P. suggests that,
“Anxieties and inner disturbances usually come from the inner attitudes of heart, past programming, past hurts which are not totally conformed to God’s holy will, past habits which have developed from that programming, and past hurts which have not been worked through to peace.” (p.85)
He goes on to say that, “They are like God’s messages to us telling us we need to do something” (p.85) Much has been written about the way God speaks to us through our feelings, inviting us to deeper and greater healing and transformation. In their book, “Rediscovering the Lost Body-Connection with Christian Spirituality, Edwin M. McMahon, Ph.D and Peter A. Campbell, Ph.D use the example of the telephone when they suggest, “Feelings are like the phone ringing. A message is trying to get through.” (p.7) Further, they offer that our old habits of blocking messages kick in. “People respond to the ring of their feelings by turning on the TV, music or pouring themselves a drink.” (p.7)
As we go along our daily lives, we do not often have the luxury to stop and take stock and ask ourselves, “What do I need to hear”? So often the noise of our lives drowns out that inner voice. Its as if we reject or discard the very thing that will bring us clarity, healing and peace. Dare I suggest that our anxieties are a gift? A gift which comes disguised as an invitation to deeper understanding of ourselves and God—to transformation. Do you find that you block messages? Make excuses and avoid sitting down or slowing down enough to hear something new?
John O’Donohue offers us the following wisdom, “When the mind is festering with trouble or the heart torn, we can find healing among the silence of mountains or fields, or listen to the simple, steadying rhythm of waves. The slowness and stillness gradually takes us over. Our breathing deepens, and our hearts calm and our hungers relent. When serenity is restored, new perspectives open to us and difficulty can begin to seem like an invitation to new growth.” (Excerpts from Divine Beauty FB post 9/2/18)
St. Paul of the Cross would say that these disturbances are like crosses which must be taken up. As always, the cross leads to new life as reflected in the above paragraph. It is a process of slowing down, of listening; and YOU as well as those you love are ultimately well worth the effort!
Yet, we know this is hard work, it takes faith and a total act of surrender on our part. Again, St. Paul of the Cross taught that in times like this we turn our thoughts to the Passion of Jesus. He will companion us through these opportunities for growth. We will learn from him. So, what are you waiting for?
May the Passion of Jesus Christ by Always in Our Hearts, amen.

Nicodemus and Me (Inspired by Nicodemus and his growing relationship with Jesus in John’s Gospel)
We come at night because
that is all we can do.
Dawn is always the promise.
We wait anxiously and with trepidation.
What does this mean?
What do I need to do?
How can I do it?
Do I want to change?
See, Lord, your servant
struggles at this threshold.
Is dawn arriving soon?
How long is this night of unknowing?
Enter the tomb where He lays..
Barely a toe gets through
the doorway and
every fiber, every atom
of my being is alive.
Feel the powerful dynamism.
Elements swirl around me.
Hope, fulfillment, finished, begun…
Words beyond my language
settle all around me.
Intimate, searing, committed Love
draws me in even as I
want to flee.
Wash me clean of debris.
May there be nothing left of me but you.
Love has done this.
Dawn has arrived.

Photograph and Reflection © 2018 by Jean Bowler

You may re-use this material and republish with permission unless used for commercial purposes. If you are using the materials for commercial purposes, please contact us.

Please feel free to forward this email to a friend to sign up for the program at www.spiritualbreak.com or at https://materdolorosa.org/spiritualbreak/