Out of the Boat

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time A

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind.  After the wind there was an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire—but the LORD was not in the fire.  After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.  1 Kings 19:11-13

During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.  “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  Matthew 14:25-27

Piety

Our piety is where and when we find God. We come to the entrance of the cave of our ignorance and find God passing. Our piety shows itself in our fears as we call for the help of God. Our piety asks God to come to us even as it pushes us out of the cave of our safety. Piety allows us to step out of the boat of our securities and to walk on the waters of our insecurities. Our human weakness limits what we do to what we can comfortably do. Piety calls us to let go and let God take over in our lives. Our attitude needs to be letting go and letting God direct what we would do in his name. That pushes us beyond our comfort zone into the needing of the Lord who would be our life and our happiness. 

Study 

We study the Scriptures to unfold the truth of God. Paul speaks the truth of Christ. The Israelites have the adoption by God and all the glory of the covenant and the law that come down through the patriarchs and the prophets to the coming of Christ. We recognize Christ through the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. The miracles of Christ continue in the good people of our lives in all they do for the last, the lowest and the least of their lives. We study the miracles of goodness in our day and find the echoes of the miracles of Christ.  Many wonderful things are done out of his memory. His presence in our lives pushes us beyond what we could do without his help.

Action

We need to get out of the boat of our security and to walk on the waters of what needs to be done to allow us to close in on Christ. What we are afraid to do might well be what Christ is asking of us. Discernment allows us to differentiate what seems good from what is the allure of the pseudo good that the evil spirit would have us waste our time on in the appearance of good with which he would tempt us. Our willingness to change horses even in midstream allows us to be comfortable with what we think to do for God until we find it is the temptation of the evil one. We quickly get back in the boat of Peter when we find the Lord. He keeps us from sinking when we are walking on water and he tames the storm when our boat is floundering. The Lord is kind to us and we need to show our gratitude by what we do in his name for a better world.

Follow Me

Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest

By Melanie Rigney

Celebrate your feasts, O Judah, fulfill your vows! For nevermore shall you be invaded by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed. (Nahum 2:1)

Surely, the Lord shall do justice for his people; on his servants he shall have pity. (Deuteronomy 32:36)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)

Piety

Jesus, lend me a hand as I hoist my cross. May I learn from your example not to complain, but to do what I am called to do.

Study

Do you want to save your life?

I’d imagine most of us would give a quick “Of course!” to that question. But do we, really?

If we really want to save our lives, would we continue to look the other way when we pass the homeless, the mentally ill, and others who make us uncomfortable?

If we really want to save our lives, would we continue to skip any sort of regular prayer practice because we’re just too busy with work and our hobbies?

If we really want to save our lives, would we continue to sit on our hands when we have the opportunity to raise our voices and souls and pocketbooks to battle religious oppression, domestically and around the world?

Do you really want to save your life? Do you really want to put aside comfort for the types of physical, financial, mental, emotional, and spiritual challenges that serving the Lord entail?

If the answer is yes, pick up your cross. You’ll find it in that corner where you left it when it seemed too heavy. Pick it up… and follow. It gets lighter as you go.

Action

Do something today in Christ’s name that makes you uncomfortable but that you know He desires.

“But Who Do You Say That I Am?”

Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.  Jeremiah 31:34

“But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.  Matthew 15:16-17

Piety

May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly.

Saint Richard of Chichester (13th-century English bishop) 

Study

See, the days are coming, says the oracle of the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  Jeremiah 31:31

If there were ever a person who could be the first ideal representation of the new covenant which Jeremiah foretells, Peter is the rock-solid choice.  Peter the denier.  Peter the retreater to his comfort zone (fishing boat).  Peter the envious of the beloved disciple.  Peter the rebuked.  Yet in the end, we know he is Peter the Believer. 

There was a time when Peter could be called “ye of little faith.”  Walking on water toward the Lord in sacred scripture (Monday), Peter weakened and waivered and needed to be saved by the outstretched hand of Jesus the Life Guard.  (Was that when the expression “Are you saved?” was first coined?) 

Yet today, Peter exhibits the opposite extreme of enlightened faith in the Lord.  Such faith, although it is its own reward, also is recognized by the Lord.  “I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19)

Our study of sacred scripture is the pathway we take to “Know the Lord” to see the Lord more clearly, know the Lord more dearly and follow the Lord more nearly every day.  These were words that Jeremiah preached and Peter lived so that we could follow in their footsteps.

Action

What is the Lord writing on your heart?  What keys has the Lord offered to you?  What will you do with them today?  Our action can not only be directed inward.  Just as Peter is directed to interact with heaven and earth, we are his following forces.  We must pick up the standard Peter carried into battle and carry it ourselves.

To know the Lord, we may have to chase down and pursue the Lord with the same vigor we pursue college applications, new jobs, or buying a new house, car or appliance.  Think of the time you might spend pouring over Consumer Reports just to be sure that the new vacuum cleaner you want or the new car to commute to work will serve you well for years to come.  Apply some of that time to your prayer, study and action.  That is our part of the new covenant.  We have to come out of our comfort zones and man-caves in order to be rebuked and saved -- thus able to take up our role among the priests, prophets and kings.        

Until Day Dawns

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

By Colleen O’Sullivan

We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty…  Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.  You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  (2 Peter 1:16, 19)

Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light…  (B)ehold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”  (Matthew 17:1-2, 5)

Piety

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.  (Isaiah 9:1a)

Study   

This past Sunday, in my pastor’s homily on Jesus’ love for us, there was a refrain that echoed throughout:  “The crowd changes.  The message never does.”  That came back to me as I was reflecting on today’s Scripture readings, because this isn’t the first time we’ve heard these words from heaven.  Back in Ch. 3 of his Gospel, Matthew tells us that at Jesus’ baptism, the heavens opened and God declared Jesus his beloved Son, adding that he was well pleased with him.  Jesus was the primary audience on that occasion.  It was a sign he must have longed for, an acknowledgement from his heavenly Father that he was following God’s will and that the public ministry about to unfold was what God desired of him.

Today we see Jesus leading Peter, James and John to the mountaintop where he is transfigured before their very eyes.  They have now become the target audience for God’s words about how pleased he is with his beloved Son.  God doesn’t stop there, however.  He goes on to tell the disciples to listen to Jesus.  And how do the disciples react to this glimpse of Jesus in all his glory and these words of affirmation and advice from God?  They fall to the ground, overwhelmed, trembling with fear. Jesus picks them up, sets them on their feet, and they follow him down the mountain and on to their next stop.  This seems to be the paradigm for Peter’s life, in particular.  He often fails to understand what Jesus is showing or telling them.  He falls down on the job.  And over and over, Jesus forgives him, picks him up, dusts him off, and sets him on course again.

We have an advantage over the disciples at this point in the Gospel.  We are post-Resurrection followers.  We know that Jesus is raised to glory on Easter by his Father.  We are familiar with all the Resurrection appearances.  Yet, if we are honest, how different are our lives in the end from those of the disciples?  We, too, often fail to grasp what Jesus is saying to us or what God is trying to show us.  We, too, fall down, overwhelmed by our sins, our anger, our anxieties or our sorrows.  And, fortunately, the Lord still comes along, forgiving us, calming us, or comforting us.  He does what he’s always done out of love for us, gives us a new beginning.     

I love how the writer of 2 Peter puts it:  Ever keep before you that vision of the glorified Christ, because it is “a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 

Action

Where do you see Christ as a lamp shining in a dark place in your life?

You Will Be My People

Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Beth DeCristofaro

I struck you as an enemy would strike, punished you cruelly; Why cry out over your wound?  Your pain is without relief.  Because of your great guilt, your numerous sins, I have done this to you. … Thus says the LORD: See! I will restore the tents of Jacob, his dwellings I will pity; City shall be rebuilt upon hill, and palace restored as it was. … You shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Jeremiah 30:14-15, 18, 22)

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:29-33)

Piety

God, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer You my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings in union with the Heart of Jesus, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit, Who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love.  With Mary, the mother of our Lord and the Church, I pray for all Apostles of Prayer and for the prayer intentions proposed by the Holy Father this month.  That refugees, forced by violence to abandon their homes, may find a generous welcome and the protection of their rights.  (From Pray with the Pope, www.sacredspace.ie)

Study

Monday was the 70^th anniversary of the arrest of Anne Frank and her family.  What must they have thought and felt when the Nazis burst through the hidden doorway to drag them away to Auschwitz?  Perhaps Jeremiah’s words came to mind.  From whence comes help for the Jews deported to death camps or today’s civilians in Gaza and Israel?  For young sex slaves in Asia – and the US? For children clinging to the train La Bestia as they try to escape violence in Central America? 

My trials are far from what Anne or others face.  But I certainly have times of wind and waves in my life, whether or my own making or out of my control.  Keeping Jeremiah’s later words in mind or picturing myself as Peter with Jesus reminds me that God’s incredible generosity and protection envelopes me even if I can only perceive war, cruelty, poverty, or gale.  Anne died before her safety was restored.  Many have died due to brutality or lack of basic food and shelter today.  Their restoration was beyond the confines of this life but is promised by a God who promises to “Be Your God”.

Action

Inform your elected officials that the U.S. needs to see children crossing our borders as a humanitarian crisis and that we can help.  Educate yourself on human trafficking or other issues and take action – there are many strategies outlined on the Bishops Website.  Share the bounty of our nation.  Be the active calm in the center of tempest.  Share the light of our God who is their God as well.

http://usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/migrants-refugees-and-travelers/index.cfm

http://usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/human-trafficking/index.cfm

Command Me

Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest

From of old, the prophets who were before you and me prophesied war, woe, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms.  But the prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as truly sent by the LORD only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.  Jeremiah 28:8-9

Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”  He said, “Come.”  Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Matthew 14:28-30

Piety

Father, help us to hear what command you and Jesus have for us…be it to walk on the water, welcome the stranger, or preach the Good News.  Send us your Son and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to ward away the fear that will inevitably creep into our consciousness as we take up that task. Amen.

Study

Should you say to yourselves, “How can we recognize that a word is one the LORD has not spoken?” If a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD but the word does not come true, it is a word the LORD did not speak. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not fear him.  Deuteronomy 18:21-22

The word the Lord did speak was “change” (or repent or reform depending on your translation and change is indeed something we see in Peter. 

Contrast what happens with the boat people today and the boat people described at the end of John’s Gospel.  In both stories, the disciples are split away from Jesus.  The Lord is on the shore and the followers are in a boat on the sea.  In both stories, they do not really recognize the Lord in the distance.  In both stories, the disciples are being tossed around – today it is physical due to the storm and in John they are tossed around emotionally and spiritually after the execution of Jesus.  And, in both stories, Peter gets out of the boat in an attempt to be obedient and follow what Jesus is telling him to do. 

However, today, Peter has not undergone all the tests he is to face.  His faith has not yet been forged in the kiln and strengthened like clay in an oven. So, as Peter is challenged by the forces of the world, he sinks and gets scared.  Peter did not yet fully recognize the word of the Lord.  Therefore, when the forces of the world and nature became too strong, Jesus had to reach out and save Peter from Peter’s own lack of faith.   

In John 21:7b, we learn that “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.”  There was no sinking after the test of Good Friday.  Peter was able to swim to the Lord under his own power and fortitude and then help to haul in their overflowing nets. 

In yesterday’s (18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time) reading, Jesus initially tells the disciples that it is their responsibility to feed the crowd.  They, however, look at the scarce physical resources available and protest that they cannot feed the crowd that was five thousand strong. Jesus steps in to teach the “multiplication” lesson about the lack of limits faith has.  Jesus does the same today with Simon Peter (who is not quite the rock – yet).

Action

How often does our lack of faith get us into trouble?  When we are in trouble, to whom and to where do we look for strength?

Give Them Some Food

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time A

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

All you who are thirsty, come to the water!  You who have no money, come, buy grain and eat; Come, buy grain without money, wine and milk without cost!  Isaiah 55:1

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38-39

Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” Matthew 14:16

Piety

Our piety is what the Lord accomplishes with the meager resources we have by ourselves.  The Lord takes our nothingness and makes something out of it.  It is our piety that takes us to the water and blood that flows from the pierced heart of Christ, which is the source of the Sacramental life of the Church.  Our piety is the food of Christ that flows from our love of Christ.  We go to the cross of Christ and we bring our work with us.  Fed by Christ, we can feed those we serve by our apostolic work. 

Study

By our study, we listen and find him in the companions of our spiritual journey to Christ.  God speaks through the patriarchs and the prophets.  In the fullness of time he speaks through his only Son.  Our putting on the mind and the heart of Christ takes place by our drinking from the fountain of Christ’s love.  The Lord answers all our needs.  Nothing can separate us from the love of the Lord.  The Lord is present to our needs and makes us his presence to those who help us on the journey.

Action

In our prayer, we are able to accompany Christ as he grows up.  Saints are transparencies of Christ.  We learn all the sorts of ways that Christ is calling to us by their example.  They are updates of Christ by how they live out in their time what they have learned from Christ.  Christ is the good news of God’s love for us.  We are the continuity of that love by the way we share him with each other in season and out of season.  There is no limit to how much of God's love we touch when we allow Christ to feed us.  There is no such a thing as over-exposure to Christ.  Christ is the one thing in life we cannot get too much of by searching him out in each moment of our lives.  The Contemplative in Action Grace is our willingness to let Christ be the driving force of all our actions.  Whether we eat or drink or play, we are capable of doing all that we do out of love of Christ.  We can have as much Christ in our lives as we share.  He feeds us by Eucharist and allows us to grow in his life by each Eucharist we share.  What we eat becomes us.  Each Eucharist of our lives feeds us with his life.  We live for the day we can say that Christ lives in us.  We are meant to be his presence in our world.  

Listen to the Voice

Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds; listen to the voice of the LORD your God, so that the LORD will repent of the evil with which he threatens you.  As for me, I am in your hands; do with me what you think good and right.  Jeremiah 26:13-14

The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison.  His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.  His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.  Matthew 14:11-12

Piety

“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state,” the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King wrote in Strength to Love, a sermon collection. “It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.”

Study

What did Jeremiah and John the Baptist do that so threatened the “powers that be” that they faced the death penalty?  In essence, they proclaimed the good news in words that would be repeated by Jesus.  Repent.  Reform your ways.  Change your lifestyle.  Look elsewhere when seeking happiness.

In Jeremiah’s case, cooler heads prevailed. In John’s, Herod was not strong enough to resist the pressure of expectations put upon him by the queen, her daughter and those assembled at the party.

In the notes, we learn of some subtle differences between how Mark and Matthew portrayed this story.  In Mark’s account, Herod reveres John as a holy man and the desire to kill him is attributed to Herodias. (Mk 6:19, 20), whereas here that desire is Herod’s from the beginning.  However, under the law of the day, Herod’s union with Herodias was prohibited.  She was the wife of his half-brother.  Herod ultimately imprisoned and then executed John because he feared that the Baptist’s influence over the people might enable him to lead a rebellion.  The role of the birthday party “request” gives the story a little more “Peyton Place” character but this was purely motivated by Herod’s adultery and lust for political power. 

“When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.”  Jesus knew that this was a prelude to his death as well.

Action

Are you prepared to speak truth to power? 

In a recent article, National Geographic magazine asked why are people still hungry in the richest nation in the world?  Millions of working Americans don’t know where their next meal is coming from.  The publication sent three photographers to explore hunger in three very different parts of the United States, each giving different faces to the same statistic: One-sixth of Americans don’t have enough food to eat.

We should be distressed reading this.  We can all share our food and contributions with churches and food banks.  In addition, we should tell our leaders that this situation is not acceptable.  Our policies and practices should make sure that the poor have a standard of living that assures they have the basic needs met.  After all, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness and the next meal for the poor.  

“Is He Not the Carpenter’s Son?”

Feast of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

By Melanie Rigney

Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the house of the Lord and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord; whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing. Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way, so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them for their evil deeds. (Jeremiah 26:2-3)

Those outnumber the hairs on my head who hate me without cause. Too many for my strength are they who wrongfully are my enemies. Must I restore what I did not steal? (Psalms 69:5)

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” and they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and his own house.” And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith. (Matthew 13:54-58)

Piety

Holy Spirit, Divine Consoler, I adore You as my true God, with God the Father and God the Son. I adore You and united myself to the adoration you receive from the angels and saints. I give You my heart and I offer my ardent thanksgiving for all the grace which You never cease to bestow on me. (Opening of St. Alphonsus Liguori’s Prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit)

Study

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates nearly 12 percent of Americans move every year.  Whether that move is across the country or across town, it’s an opportunity to start fresh. We can arrange the furniture and the cupboards as we like, find new friends, discover new restaurants, restart our faith lives as members of a different congregation, and perhaps leave behind some bad habits and behaviors. In some ways, it’s like receiving the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation—we start anew, clean and fresh.

Except, of course, that the people who know us remember us and our space as they were. Like the people of Jesus’ hometown, they can be a bit cynical. They saw us yell at our children. They heard us gossip about the neighbors. They have a bit of insight into just how messy our homes, our yards, and our lives were.  They aren’t accepting of the possibility that we might have changed or that we always had something to offer them and the world and that it just took a while for it to show.

When Jesus was in this situation, he didn’t call people out beyond a mild rebuke. But he didn’t perform the mighty deeds he might have otherwise. It’s a good lesson in how to deal with those who knew us when… and a reminder to us to be open to the possibility of change in others. If we’re not, we will be diminished.

Action

Have a conversation with someone you find difficult to love. Turn off the internal filters that tempt you to anticipate what the person is going to say based on the history. Listen.

Do You Understand

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.  Then the word of the LORD came to me: “Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done?” says the LORD.  Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.  Jeremiah 18:4-6

“Do you understand all these things?”  Matthew 13:51a

Piety

“Receive, Lord, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. You have given me all that I have, all that I am, and I surrender all to your divine will, that you dispose of me. Give me only your love and your grace. With this I am rich enough, and I have no more to ask.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrX_T5QLBXQ)

Study

Ever have one of those nasty verbal jousts with your [fill-in-the-blank].  (parent/teenager/spouse/etc.)?  Probably no reader of Your Daily Tripod falls into this category but you may have seen one on TV.  One party in the spat decides s/he has had enough and starts to walk away.    

Think back to that famous scene in “The Sound of Music” when the Captain returns from a trip and finds his children have been traipsing around Salzburg wearing clothes that were fashioned out of old draperies.  Pardon me for the long quote but it is a fun scene and you will see afterward how I think this relates to the image of the potter.  You can skip over the quoted movie dialogue and watch the classic movie spat here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep5nIj-ZB8I starting at minute 44:00. 

Let’s pick up with Maria defending the children at play:

Maria: Children can't do all the things they're supposed to if they have to worry about spoiling their precious clothes.

Captain von Trapp: They haven't complained yet.

Maria: Well, they wouldn't dare! They love you too much. They *fear* you too much!

Captain von Trapp: I don't wish you to discuss my children in this manner.

Maria: Well, you've got to hear from someone! You're never home long enough to know them.

Captain von Trapp: I said I don't want to hear any more from you about my children!

Maria: I know you don't, but you've got to! Now, take Liesl.

Captain von Trapp: [hesitatingly] You will not say one word about Liesl, Fraulein.

Maria: She's not a child anymore, and one of these days, you're going to wake up and find that she's a woman. You won't even know her. And Friedrich, he's a boy, but he wants to be a man and there's no one to show him how.

Captain von Trapp: Don't you dare tell me about my son.

Maria: Brigitta could tell you about him if you let her get close to you. She notices everything.

Captain von Trapp: Fraulein...

Maria: And Kurt pretends he's tough not to show how hurt he is when you brush him aside,

Captain von Trapp: That will do!

Maria: the way you do all of them. Louisa I don't even know about yet,

Captain von Trapp: I said that will do!

Maria: but somebody has to find out about her, and the little ones just want to be loved. Oh, please, Captain, love them! Love them all!

Captain von Trapp: I don't care to hear anything further from you about my children.

Maria: I am not finished yet, Captain!

Captain von Trapp: Oh, yes, you are, Captain!  [pauses, then corrects himself] Fraulein!

Of course, if you have seen the movie 93 times like me, you remember that the relationship blooming between Maria and the Captain is far from mature at this point.  The relationship between Maria and the convent changes…between Maria and the children…between the Captain and the Baroness. 

Fittingly, we consider the image of the potter and an unfinished masterpiece on the Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest and founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).  Ignatius certainly did not set out to start a religious order any more than St. Francis or St. Benedict did.  In fact, Ignatius was on his way to a stellar military career when his leg was shattered by canon fire.  While recuperating, he picked up a copy of the Lives of the Saints and a study of the life of Jesus.  Thus began a reshaping of the clay of his life into one devoted to Christ.  During a pilgrimage inspired by a vision of Mary, he also began to write down the now-classic Spiritual Exercises and started working “for the greater glory of God” and not for the greater glory of the king and queen of Spain or the head if its army. 

Action

“How do you make God laugh?”  A:  “Tell the Lord your plans.” 

Our story line is not complete and the outcome is not solely left to our own devices, either.  As we understand the work of the potter at the wheel, she is not done with her clay until…well, until she is done with her clay and puts it in the oven to bake and set hard.  As long as the potter is working at the wheel, if she does not like how it is turning out, the potter can reshape her clay at any point for a different end result.  Everything is a work-in-progress -- a masterpiece waiting to emerge from the clay.

Our relationships with the Lord and with each other are not over yet either.  Just like the potter does not give up on her clay, the Lord does not give up on shaping our lives. 

Think back to the many twists and turns your story has taken.  Opportunity.  Threat.  Tragedy. Comedy.  Strength.  Weakness.  Where will it go from here?  As you consider how many times your path has changed, contemplate how many more changes you will face today, tomorrow and into the distant future.

We are the clay.  He is the Potter-Father-Abba. 

I Am With You

Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

By Melanie Rigney

… I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the Lord. I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent. (Jeremiah 15:20-21)

Rescue me from my enemies, O my God; from my adversaries defend me. (Psalms 59:1)

Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” (Matthew 13:44-46)

Piety

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

(Closing lines of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost)

Study

It isn’t easy to be a Christian. It’s not easy for those who recently left Iraq. It’s not easy for those in North Korea. And it’s not always easy in the United States today. Enemies are always there, whether they come in the form of people with weapons or in the form of temptations that challenge our weak spots such as our vanity or pride.

Sometimes, we get bogged down in the challenges and the persecutions. We wonder why God lets all this happen and why we have to slog through it alone. But we forget that we are never alone, in good times and bad. The presence of Christ makes the horrors a little less horrible, and the joys a little more joyful. We know what waits at the end of the trail.

It isn’t easy to be a Christian. It never has been. But little worthwhile is. We’ve been handed, to quote from Matthew, “a pearl of great price.” All we had to pay for it was devotion, and the sincere effort to love the Lord, our neighbors, and ourselves. It’s a steal of a deal.

Action

Thank God today in your prayer time. Don’t ask for a single thing.