By Melanie
Rigney
Surely, in a very little
while, Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be considered
a forest! On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll; and out of
gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. (Isaiah
29: 17-18)
Wait
for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted and wait for the Lord. (Psalms
27:14)
As
Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed [him], crying out, “Son of
David, have pity on us! "When
he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do
you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes
and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”And their eyes were opened. (Matthew
9:27-30)
Piety
Lord, I
pledge that today, You will not have to wait for me.
Study
So often
during Advent, we think about making time for everything: Shopping. Wrapping. Cooking.
Baking. Making dinner or plane or car rental reservations. It’s all about us,
and our friends and family.
God, the
very reason for the season, gets pushed to the bottom of the list except
perhaps for weekly Mass attendance. And we don’t always pay much attention even
when we’re there in body. Instead, we go through that dratted to-do list with a
sigh. We can’t find downtime for ourselves, let alone for God.
Busyness
was among the topics addressed in the recent pastoral
letter on the New Evangelization from the Most Rev. Paul S. Loverde, Bishop
of the Diocese of Arlington and a Cursillista. The bishop listed “Putting
‘Busyness’ Before Prayer” as one of the five biggest obstacles to
evangelization in our diocese. Does any of this sound familiar?
Practically speaking, we view prayer
and other ways to increase our friendship with God as lower priorities.
Stressed and overworked, we are more likely to prefer TV or browsing the
Internet over prayer as a way to relax and re-charge in the little downtime we
have. But these habits just numb us to our exhaustion and facilitate avoidance
of our problems.
The only
true refreshment, the bishop notes, comes from “He Who is the Author of Life.”
His suggestion is surprisingly and beautifully simple. It doesn’t involve
getting a different job or giving up all your holiday plans. Rather, Bishop
Loverde suggests modes of evangelization that both ignite and refresh: talk
about the day’s events over dinner with your children. Pray together. Take in a
concert, sporting event, or parish gathering with friends. He challenges us to
ask: “Is the fire of a living relationship with Jesus and His Church filling my
home with light and warmth?”
God doesn’t
expect us not to be busy. In fact, we should be busy—bringing souls to the
kingdom. And that’s the sort of busyness that refills rather that depletes our
spirits.
Action
Feed
yourself and your Cursillo friends. Please join us next Friday, December 13, at
Our Lady Queen of Peace for an Advent
Evening of Reflection. Refreshment of all sorts guaranteed.
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