This Is the Way

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church 

He will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you.  The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst.  No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: “This is the way; walk in it,” when you would turn to the right or to the left.  Isaiah 30:19A-21

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”   Matthew 9:37-38

Piety

There are many things that seem to us good, but the execution of what is good is complicated and difficult. It is hard enough to walk well on a beaten track, but it is harder still to lay out a new one. New paths are made only by men who are thoroughly mature and have mastered all that is attainable by man. It seems to you easy to make new paths of life only because you do not yet understand life…But for the present you should obey those who are guiding you for your own good, and not try to open up new paths of life.”  (From “A Talk Among Leisured People,” Page 3, in the collected stories Walk in the Light by Leo Tolstoy)

Study

This week, NBC aired a live performance of The Sound of Music Broadway version.  Loyal readers of Your Daily Tripod know that this space is not intended to review such trivial parts of popular culture as television shows and such.  However, the story of the singing Austrian “Von Trapp Family Singers,” has captured the hearts and minds of several generations.  How they coped with the onset of World War II really holds important Advent lessons for us. 

As the Master sends out laborers for his harvest, the story – in book, play or movie version – really is all about people struggling to find their role in a society hurtling toward turmoil.  Remember the exchange between the Mother Abbess and Maria early in the drama?  Here I quote from the Broadway version and the script used for the recent “Live” broadcast:

MOTHER ABBESS Maria ... when you saw us over the Abbey wall and longed to be one of us, that didn't necessarily mean that you were prepared for the way we live here, did it?

MARIA No, Mother, but I, I pray and I try. And I am learning. I really am.

MOTHER ABBESS And what is the most important lesson you have learned here, my child?

MARIA To find out what is the will of God and ... to do it wholeheartedly.

MOTHER ABBESS Maria, it seems to be the will of God that you leave us.

MARIA Leave?!

MOTHER ABBESS Only for a while, Maria.

MARIA Oh, no, Mother! Please don't do that! Don't send me away! This is where I belong. It's my home, my family. It's my life.

MOTHER ABBESS But are you truly ready for it?

MARIA Yes, I am.

MOTHER ABBESS Perhaps if you go out into the world for a time, knowing what we expect of you, you will have a chance to find out if you can expect it of yourself.

MARIA I know what you expect, Mother. And I can do it. I promise I can.

MOTHER ABBESS Maria.

MARIA Yes, Mother. If it is God's will.

Maria initially wants to devote her life to the cloister but ultimately goes out into the world – the harvest -- to find out what is the “will of God.”  She is not the only person struggling with his or her role.  The Captain is trying to learn to be a father rather than the naval officer.  He wants to stay inside the controlling walls of his shipboard command rather than venture into a vulnerable relationship with his children.  Liesl, the eldest daughter, is maturing and developing relationships beyond the family.  All are challenged to get out of their comfort zone and move into new relationships in the changing world.  Are we not all so challenged by the Good News to do the same?

Action

The challenge of the Sound of Music story – and of the Good News -- is to find out the role each of us must play in the harvest.  How do we use the challenge of Advent preparation to get ready for the work we are supposed to be doing?  After all, as Maria knelt by her bedside, she realized that getting out of her comfort zone (if you can call the dark, cloistered Nonnberg Abbey a comfort zone) revealed the role she had in the harvest: 

Dear Father, Now I know why You sent me here. To help these children prepare for a new mother. And I pray this will become a happy family in Thy sight. God bless the captain. God bless Liesl and Friedrich. God bless Louisa, Brigitta, Marta and little Gretl. And I forgot the other boy. What's his name? Well, God bless what's-his-name. God bless the Reverend Mother and Sister Margaretta and everybody at the abbey. And now, dear God, about Liesl. Help her know that I'm her friend and help her tell me what she's been up to.  Amen.

Like Maria kneeling at the bedside, one way you can do that is to use the time of Advent to reflect upon your life and the Good News.  Tomorrow, Rev. Joe McCloskey, will lead an Advent morning of prayer at St. Aloysius Church in northwest Washington. 

The reflection starts at 9 a.m. tomorrow (December 8^th) in the Upper Church.  Meditation and Contemplation are the features with Mass at 10. All are invited.  After Mass, the morning will end with a Christmas Contemplation to prepare ourselves for Christmas. Fr. Joe says it will end by noon. 

Hope to see you there.