Thoughts on compassion

 

Nothing Small about Compassion

There is nothing small about compassion. There is nothing small about making a difference in the life of one human being. But sometimes, we need an experience that rocks our world. Or, to invite us to hit the reset button. You know, back to what makes us human. To say yes to whatever connects us, as humans, as children of God, as people who need compassion and mercy for sustenance, as people who cannot walk this journey alone. And to say no to whatever divides or demeans or belittles or degrades or incites hate and exclusion. And I must speak that yes, and speak that no, not only with my voice, but with my hands and my feet. Lord hear my prayer. When the world feels small and dark and frightful, it is not surprising we choose to protect our hearts. We do not easily give them away.

This happens when we live from the notion that we carry only so much emotional capital—you know, that precious commodity which allows us to pay attention, to focus, to contribute, to care, to forgive, to set free. So, it goes without saying that conservation is called for. And it becomes our default. “There is no need to spend empathy on just anybody,” we think. “We need to pick and choose.” Or more bluntly, “There are those who deserve care, and those who don’t.” Lord, help us. We lose track of the values that sustain us. There is nothing small about compassion. It is the thread of life woven through each day. As humans—in the image of God—we touch, love, give, receive, and redeem. It’s time to rethink our notion about the scarcity of compassion. This is an affirmation of what is already alive and well within each of us. We have the capacity to be places of shelter and hope and inclusion and healing.

—from the book Stand Still: Finding Balance When the World Turns Upside Down,
by Terry Hershey, page 53

Thoughts on priorities

 

Shift Your Point of Gravity

Jesus’ response to our worry-filled lives is quite different. He asks us to shift the point of gravity, to relocate the center of our attention, to change our priorities. Jesus wants us to move from the “many things” to the “one necessary thing.” It is important for us to realize that Jesus in no way wants us to leave our many-faceted world. Rather, he wants us to live in it, but firmly rooted in the center of all things. Jesus does not speak about a change of activities, a change of contacts, or even a change of pace. He speaks about a change of heart. This change of heart makes everything different, even while everything appears to remain the same. This is the meaning of “Set your hearts on his kingdom first . . . and all these other things will be given you as well.” What counts is where our hearts are. When we worry, we have our hearts in the wrong place. Jesus asks us to move our hearts to the center, where all other things fall into place. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on The Beatitudes

 The Beatitudes

In Sunday's Gospel St. Matthew portrays Jesus as the new Moses who teaches the people about God on the mountaintop. Jesus tells us that we are in a partnership relation with God and we are blessed when we try to live out God's values. Blessed when we are poor in spirit, acknowledging that all we have is God's gift and not what we've earned and deserve. Blessed when we mourn because we have loved another enough to miss them when God calls them home to Himself. Blessed when we hunger and thirst for what is right and good, just and peaceful, giving mercy and receiving forgiveness. Blessed when we refuse the primary value of this world which is pride and ego and blessed with the gift of humility, knowing who we truly are, clinging to our identity as God's beloved. The Beatitudes are Jesus' self-description. Let us ask for His grace to take on His values that others might recognize Him in us.

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.

Thoughts on surrendering to God

 

Sweet Surrender

We have been graced for a truly sweet surrender, if we can radically accept being radically accepted—for nothing! “Or grace would not be grace at all” (Romans 11:6)! As my father Francis put it, when the heart is pure, love responds to Love alone and has little to do with duty, obligation, requirement, or heroic anything. It is easy to surrender when we know that nothing but Love and Mercy are on the other side.

—from the book Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps
by Richard Rohr

Thoughts on following Jesus

 To Follow Jesus

Jesus said to them (Simon and Andrew), "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." What does it mean to follow Jesus? to just walk after him following in his footsteps? For Ignatius it involves the whole person; it means to see him, to listen to his voice and words, to watch what he does and how he does it. We try to imagine his face though that's difficult for many of us. It's important that we try and not worry about succeeding. Can we see the love, the concern, the hope and joy on his face? the sparkle in his eye? At his baptism God said, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." Can I hear his voice and accept his words even when I don't understand or maybe even want to argue? Can I hear the authority and invitation in his voice? Watch him heal the lepers by touching them, hugging the children and smiling at their parents, praying in the quiet of pre-dawn, struggling in the garden. It took three years and many miles but the apostles became great fishers of people by following Jesus.



We ask for the grace to follow and let him make us into the persons he wants us to be.

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.

Thoughts on sin

 

God Wants to Heal Us

It is helpful to see sin, like addiction, as a disease, a very destructive disease, instead of merely something that was culpable, punishable, or made God “unhappy.” If sin indeed made God unhappy, it was because God desires nothing more than our happiness and wills the healing of our disease. The healing ministry of Jesus should have made that crystal clear. Healing was just about all that he did, with much of his teaching illustrating the healings—and vice versa.

—from the book Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps
by Richard Rohr

Thoughts on the Epiphany

 Epiphany

The Church concludes the celebration of the Christmas season with the feast of the Epiphany, Matthew's legendary story of the Magi, the three wise men from different countries who followed the star to find the Lord. Epiphany is a Greek word that refers to a god appearing among humans and for us it is the Son of God coming into our reality as fully human. We celebrate God's revelation of Himself not only to the Jews but to the whole human family. He blesses and invites all to be His brothers and sisters through faith and love. The Magi came looking for a human king and found an infant who invites them into a kingdom of love, peace and justice for all. Let us ask for the grace to keep searching for and following the stars in our own lives and to be the star for others in reflecting the light of Christ.

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.

Thoughts on Mary

 

Mary, Mother of God

Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart!” (Luke 2:19). In these words, Luke describes the attitude with which Mary took in all that they had experienced in those days. Far from trying to understand or master the situation, Mary is the woman who can treasure, that is to say, protect and guard in her heart, the passage of God in the life of his people. Deep within, she had learned to listen to the heartbeat of her Son, and that in turn taught her, throughout her life, to discover God’s heartbeat in history. She learned how to be a mother, and in that learning process she gave Jesus the beautiful experience of knowing what it is to be a Son. In Mary, the eternal Word not only became flesh, but also learned to recognize the maternal tenderness of God. With Mary, the God-Child learned to listen to the yearnings, the troubles, the joys and the hopes of the people of the promise. With Mary, he discovered himself a Son of God’s faithful people.

— from the book The Peace of Christmas: Quiet Reflections with Pope Francis
by Diane M. Houdek