Thoughts on competition

 

The Pressure of Competition

One of the saddest aspects of the lives of many students is that they always feel pressured. . . . The word school, which comes from schola (meaning “free time”), reminds us that schools were originally meant to interrupt a busy existence and create some space to contemplate the mysteries of life. Today they have become the arena for a hectic race to accomplish as much as possible, and to acquire in a short period the necessary things to survive the great battle of human life. Books written to be savored slowly are read hastily to fulfill a requirement, paintings made to be seen with a contemplative eye are taken in as part of a necessary art appreciation course, and music composed to be enjoyed at leisure is listened to in order to identify a period or style. Thus, colleges and universities meant to be places for quiet learning have become places of fierce competition, in which the rewards go to those who produce the most and the best. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on death

 

Choosing How to Live Death

You and I have to trust that our short little lives can bear fruit far beyond the boundaries of our chronologies. But we have to choose this and trust deeply that we have a spirit to send that will bring joy, peace, and life to those who will remember us. Francis of Assisi died in 1226, but he is still very much alive! His death was a true gift, and today, nearly eight centuries later, he continues to fill his brothers and sisters, within and without the Franciscan orders, with great energy and life. He died, but never died. His spirit keeps descending upon us. More than ever I am convinced that death can, indeed, be chosen as our final gift of life. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on mercy

 

God Is Mercy

The older we become, the more we realize how limited we are in our ability to love, how impure our hearts are, and how complex our motivations are. And there is a real temptation to want to look inside of ourselves and clean it all out, and become people with a pure heart, unstained intentions, and unconditional love. Such an attempt is doomed to failure and leads us to ever greater despair. The more we look into ourselves and try to figure ourselves out, the more we become entangled in our own imperfections. Indeed, we cannot save ourselves. Only Jesus can save us. That is why it is so important to remove your inner eye away from the complexities of your own broken heart toward the pure but broken heart of Jesus. Looking at him and his immense mercy will give you the ability to accept your own imperfections and to really let yourself be cared for by the mercy and love of Jesus. I remember how Thomas Merton once wrote: “God is mercy in mercy in mercy.” This means that the more we come to know ourselves, the more we come to know God’s mercy, which is beyond the mercy we know. Letting go of the desire to be perfect lovers, and allowing God to love our people through us, that is the great spiritual call that is given to you and to me. There in the pure heart of God, embraced by his unconditional love, you will find the true joy and peace your heart is longing for. Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on God

 

A Hidden God of Love

The God of the mystics is not the God of the philosophers, not the God who sits in heaven watching over creation in judgment. Rather it is the hidden God who pours out his love for the beloved, a God who lets go of being God to be God for us. Being in relationship with this God of outpouring love does not insulate us from destruction or calamity. We are not exempt from the sufferings of life. On the contrary, the one who enters into the wild love of God—for divine love is not neat, logical, and orderly—enters in the unknown forces of the heart. Deep within us God dwells as fire, turbulent wind, a raging ocean of power and yet a deep silence of stillness. God is all of these because divine love is dynamic, active, generative, infinite, and good. God is the fullness of everything that lives, moves, and has being. To enter the human heart is to enter into God unafraid to risk the unknown or death itself, since “love is stronger than death.” God’s weakness in love enkindles the strength of humanity.

—from the book Compassion: Living in the Spirit of St. Francis
by Ilia Delio, OSF

Thoughts on gifts

 

Receiving the Gifts of Others

A gift only becomes a gift when it is received; and nothing we have to give—wealth, talents, competence, or just beauty— will ever be recognized as true gifts until someone is open to accept them. This all suggests that if we want others to grow— that is, to discover their potential and capacities, to experience that they have something to live and work for—we should first of all be able to recognize their gifts and be willing to receive them. For we only become fully human when we are received and accepted. Henri Nouwen

Thought on our focus

  Focus

 In the letter to the Hebrews, the author likens our life to an athletic event, a race to the finish. He encourages us to persevere, to keep running even and especially when we are tired and discouraged and through it all to "keep our eyes fixed on Jesus". He is our model and has already run the race and is waiting for us at the finish line. I've learned that we give power to what we focus on. If we focus on our fears and anxieties, we become more frightened and anxious. If we focus on our temptations and weakness, they get harder to resist. If we focus on our blessings, we become more aware of how blessed we are, how loved by our God. When we focus on Jesus and what He did out of love for us, our relationship with Him grows and we become more peaceful and secure in His presence, more aware of His love and mercy. Another author wrote that "we become what we contemplate" and so I encourage you to look for a few moments at the crucifix. Allow that reminder of His infinite love to transform you, to make you into the person He calls you to be, to be Him to all whose life you touch.

Fr. Ralph Huse, SJ

Thoughts on fruitfulness

 

We Are Called To Be Fruitful

You have to be really aware of the difference between fruitfulness and success because the world is always talking to you about your success. Society keeps asking you: “Show me your trophies. Show me, how many books have you written? Show me, how many games did you win? Show me, how much money did you make? Show me. . . .” And there is nothing wrong with any of that. I am saying that finally that’s not the question. The question is: “Are you going to bear fruit?” And the amazing thing is that our fruitfulness comes out of our vulnerability and not just out of our power. Actually it comes out of our powerlessness. If the ground wants to be fruitful, you have to break it open a little bit. The hard ground cannot bear fruit; it has to be raked open. And the mystery is that our illness and our weakness and our many ways of dying are often the ways that we get in touch with our vulnerabilities. You and I have to trust that they will allow us to be more fruitful if lived faithfully. Precisely where we are weakest and often most broken and most needy, precisely there can be the ground of our fruitfulness. That is the vision that means that death can indeed be the final healing—because it becomes the way to be so vulnerable that we can bear fruit in a whole new way. Like trees that die and become fuel, and like leaves that die and become fertilizer, in nature something new comes out from death all the time. So you have to realize that you are part of that beautiful process, that your death is not the end but in fact it is the source of your fruitfulness beyond you in new generations, in new centuries. Henri Nouwen