Ignatian prayer


An Ignatian
Prayer....

Lord, teach me to be
generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count
the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek
rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do
your will.


Saturday, January 23, 2016

This Sunday's Gospel reflection: Proclaiming the Kingdom of God

A reflection on Sunday's Gospel, Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21


For many years as a Catholic I would hear about the Kingdom of God announced at Mass, I read about it in our Bible, hear preachers and the good Salesian sisters tell me that God’s Kingdom is at hand.  I would wonder: what the heck are they talking about?

It wasn’t until some years ago as an adult that I began to see that God’s kingdom is a place in my heart, in all our hearts.  When I accepted God’s word to be truth, my heart and mind were awakened.  That opening in my heart, even though it may have only been like a small crack in fine porcelain, it was enough of a space to allow in this understanding: God’s kingdom is both here and it is to come.  This paradox compels me to ‘not rest on my laurels’ as they say.  It means that when I accepted Jesus as my savior I entered into a relationship with him that allows me to see him in everyone. It allows me to see myself in all of his creation. It allows me to see hope even when all things seem dire. It allowed me to make sense of suffering and be so thankful for God’s mercy upon me.

God’s kingdom is God’s pledge of what is to come. God’s kingdom is the presence of the Holy Spirit now, in the moment. And when I can hold both thoughts at the same time: the “now” and the “to be”, then I am aware of God’s kingdom. This is the good news. When we proclaim this good news, we are proclaiming healing, we are proclaiming freedom, we are proclaiming sight, and we are proclaiming a future time where we can all be full of God’s Spirit.

Knowing this affects how we see ourselves and how we see others. One cannot separate God’s Kingdom and his spirit. And as the Spirit anoints us at baptism, the Spirit continues to propel us onward. The last few weeks we heard in the gospels Jesus was baptized and witness saw the Holy Spirit descend upon him, then the Spirit drove him into the desert to be tested by Satan. And now today we read how the Holy Spirit directs him into his mission of proclaiming God’s Kingdom.

I think of my own faith journey, baptized as a child, then all my growing up years you may say were my years of being in the desert, being ‘tested’, and finally as an adult accepting my mission.  The Bible teaches me that this is the work of the Holy Spirit and when I willing take this mission; God blesses me and his Church.  What is my mission?  I believe it is to bring healing first to my life, then to my family, and finally to my community.

This week I had the privilege to have been made a member of the St. Vincent de Paul South Pinellas Board of Directors.  At the start of the meeting we opened God’s word to this Sunday’s gospel.  Although I had already read the gospel reading earlier in the week as I prepared for this weekend, hearing it again as often happens, I heard God pointing out something new to me. 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free…”

I thought back to some minutes earlier when I had parked my car outside the SVDP building to go inside for our meeting. The area where the SVDP buildings are located is south St. Pete, just under the shadow of the big arena known as Tropicana Field. It’s an area affected by blight.  Parking is along an old neighborhood street, where small houses are lined up, some in obvious neglect and others where flowers are carefully planted and windows freshly painted. It is an area struggling to make itself relevant to the larger community.  As I walked along I wondered how are the residents tolerating the many homeless vagrants that linger on the corner as they peacefully assemble to get their morning breakfast that is served in the SVDP soup kitchen. Would I tolerate this? These homeless men and women I noticed are all different shapes, colors and sizes. Some carry bags, some don’t. There isn’t a lot of conversation.  As I go to the front door of my building I noticed the long line that was starting to form and I thought “there they are”.  Just as quickly my mind shifted and I thought again…”there I am.”

This shift in attitude I believe is the work of God’s spirit in me.  I was anointed to bring the good news to all in my baptism.  I was too young to know what was happening then but our mother Church teaches us that the anointing by the Holy Spirit happened even if I wasn’t aware of it. Jesus was baptized so that we would all see the importance of our baptism as an initiation into his Kingdom, as a seal on our soul, a permanent testament of our profession of faith in Him, our Lord and savior.  My parent’s faith brought me to my baptism as a child and it was at my Confirmation when I was older that I took the faith in Jesus Christ that was passed onto to me by my parents I accepted for myself.  However, this process of accepting faith is a lifelong process, not a one moment in time only experience. That process leads us into the desert. It is in those moments of looking for God, crying out to him; losing and finding him that I have learned to rely on him more.  You see, I have learned that accepting God’s word as truth and turning my life over to him leads me into a relationship with Him.  A relationship requires nourishment and honesty. A relationship requires letting go. A relationship requires allowing me to be changed, to be made poor!  The poor are all those who solely depend upon God.

So here’s the good news about God’s kingdom: we don’t enter into God’s kingdom because of what we do, or where we live, or how much money we have, or how beautiful we are, we are all invited into God’s kingdom!  And this kingdom is present to us today! We don’t have to wait! And….and….the best news of all is that we can find this kingdom when we look into the eyes of our brother and sister in need because they are usually the ones who have learned to depend only upon God’s grace. 

That morning as I heard this reading this revelation is what jolted me: that God’ kingdom is available if I am open to finding God in all things, in all people. God was present in that moment among those people. Those people are me. I am those people. We all belong. We are all loved infinitely by a merciful and loving God.

This week I had an opportunity to meet a family who came knocking on my office door.  They were a young husband, wife and young child.  They were smiling and so happy to have found us (the church). They had just arrived from Venezuela 3 months ago.  They know no one here in this country.  Not too long ago, the wife went out walking in despair because they had no food to eat in their small apartment. As she walked she came upon a small Christian church in our neighborhood and she went inside to pray. There the pastor found her and after hearing her story he gave her some bags full of food to take home. She had tears in her eyes as she said this to me and said “I knew God would not abandon us”.  Then she went on to tell that that although she was very appreciative, she didn’t feel at home at this small church because although our Lord was there, our Mother Mary wasn’t there. 

This Venezuelan family celebrated their Catholic faith in her country and as all good Catholics had learned to depend on Jesus’ mother and to learn from her example as the first disciple.  She wanted to find a Catholic church where Mary would be present.  This past Sunday they came to our Spanish Mass for the first time and she knew she had found her home. She was happy to see our statue of Mary and the stained glass images where the story of Jesus unfolds. In Jesus’ story Mary is so present. As Jesus is present in God’s Kingdom, so is Mary. 

The Kingdom of God was first proclaimed by Mary. Her “yes” to God filled her with God’s Spirit. She is FULL of his spirit.  Meeting with this lovely family, inviting her in, listening to her story and welcoming her into our church, setting them up to meet other families, was a blessing to me and to our community. She reminded me of the joy of being a member of God’s kingdom. There is room for everyone and we are not alone.

We are to go out and find those who are alone, abandoned, hungry, unjustly accused, hurt, imprisoned, insulted, cold, have no clothes to wear. Sometimes they find us. In those encounters you will find God’s kingdom.  There you are to proclaim God’s blessings! St. Vincent de Paul said “consider God’s generosity towards you rather than your own unworthiness in his sight; and live in his strength, rather than the thoughts of your own weakness.”

This friend,  is living in God’s spirit. This is living in God’s Mercy. This is living God’s will for us.

“Today, this scripture has been fulfilled while you heard it.”  I am listening Lord. Help me to proclaim your Kingdom to all who would listen. Help to live as though I believe this to be true.

 

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