Pray Each Day

Vermeer's "Christ in the House of Martha and Mary."

50 years ago, on July 2, 600 million people world-wide watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. It was a remarkable moment of national confidence and national unity, two attributes American politicians desperately need today.   Confidence to meet the challenges the nation faces and the unity to resolve them.

Sunday's word of God takes us back over thirty-five hundred years ago   to a biblical legend about hospitality.  Here Abraham, a man of extraordinary faith, sees three strangers traveling out of the desert. He treats them like family. He serves them a great meal. Abraham and Sarah welcomed the strangers as though they were welcoming God. The legend invites us to welcome those who enter our lives.

In the Gospel according to Luke, we have the story of Martha and Mary. How many are sympathetic to Martha? Martha and Mary can symbolize the dual dimensions within each one of us: serving and praying. We have to be a combination: listening to the word of God in prayer, on the one hand, and doing good for others, on the other.

Often, we fret or worry. We’re busy shopping, chauffeuring, doing chores, working long hours. We often forget the one necessity: our relationship with God. Do we have our priorities straight? Mary certainly did.

Some of you may have read Rick Warren’s popular book The Purpose-Driven Life. Life isn’t simply a matter of acquiring and spending. Our ultimate purpose is to live in a right relationship with God and one another—yes, eternal life.

The Martha in us challenges us to actively reach out with our gifts and talents and treasure. Become involved, for example, in some volunteer service in the parish or community.

And the Mary dimension challenges us to pray. There are many different ways to pray, to bring to consciousness the awesome presence of God in our lives: familiar prayers like the Our Father or the Rosary, prayers of praise like the Psalms, slowly meditating on a biblical text, petitioning God for a favor, sitting quietly and feeling God’s presence within us (through, for example, a mantra), actively participating in Sunday liturgies.

Almost anything can be a pathway into the awesome presence of God. But there is one common denominator: prayer lifts our minds and hearts up to God. Begin every day by spending at least ten to fifteen minutes in prayer, in the presence of God. People find ways to tune into God’s presence as they go about their daily routine. Yes, take time to slow down and tune into the presence of God. And on the weekend, gather with our community to celebrate the liturgy, the mass, the source and summit of the Christian life.

By all means, God is the center. The word of God invites us to reflect on praying and serving. At least efifteen minutes a day in the presence of God is a good start for deepening our relationship with God, a God who assures us, "do not be afraid; I am with you always."

Working Together to Achieve a Greater Good

MLK Jr.'s "I have a Dream" Speech at Lincoln Memorial

During the weekend of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, I reflect upon King’s dream of "sitting down together at the table of brotherhood." And why not? We are all created in God's image.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Christian community at Corinth, notes the many gifts we have for the common good, for building up community. Yes, people working together can accomplish so much. An airplane involves teamwork. So does our Catholic community. And our legislators might benefit from St. Paul’s advice to seek the common good in their deliberations.

In the Gospel according to John, the first sign Jesus worked was in the town of Cana in the region of Galilee. There are different levels of meaning in this story. On one level, Jesus, his mother, and the disciples have simply been invited to a local wedding. Mary, in some ways, could be a wedding planner.

On another level, Mary appears as our mediator, interceding with her Son on our behalf.

On a third level, the water made wine symbolizes the breaking in of the kingdom of God—the symbolic wedding banquet at the end of time.

And on a fourth level, this first sign is one of seven in which the author points to Jesus as “the revelation” of God to us.

Yes, there can be many levels of meaning in scripture.

In light of the wedding at Cana, I would like to reflect briefly upon the sacrament of marriage. Often people are looking for the perfect this or that and forget that life is not perfect. I doubt there’s such a thing as the “perfect” marriage. Marriage is a work in progress.; we're a work in progress.

Marriages can be described in three stages: first the honeymoon; then disillusionment; and then the initial partnership can either break up or become true love. Their relationship can become a covenant where they live for each other, for God, and for others (e.g., their children). And that is true love.

True love can emerge only if we forgive, work out compromises, disagree without being disagreeable, compliment each other regularly, accentuate the good, clarify our essential core values, accept differences (our way isn’t the only way), and communicate regularly.

Don’t let children eclipse our primary vocation to love one another. Try to find balance, between work, family, and personal time.

When sorting through an argument, always distinguish between behavior and negative judgments about that behavior—for example, you’re late for the birthday party (behavior) versus you’re the most inconsiderate person I know (negative judgment). Name-calling will not bring us closer.

As with most things in life, we continually must work at good relationships—sticking together in tough times and  with confidence that times will get better and we’ll reemerge closer.

The wedding of Cana invites not only husbands and wives but all of us to reflect upon our relationships with one another. How can we cherish and support and re-energize that?
Above all, make room for God.

Family: Always There for Us

Murillo's Holy Family

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Cherish the precious gems you have in your family: siblings, spouse and sons/daughters; recognize the gems in your parents. Notice the gems all around you in your neighborhood and parish community.

We become like God, here and now, by striving to reflect godlike attitudes and behaviors in our relationships with one another.

In the Gospel according to Luke, the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph made a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. On their way back, Mary and Joseph suddenly realized Jesus was missing. But their anxiety turned into joy: young Jesus was astonishing the rabbis with his wisdom.

This close-knit holy family went back home to Nazareth, where Jesus grew in wisdom and age. For twenty-some years, this family clung together. They fled to Egypt together. They lived in a backwater village and worked at ordinary tasks. Joseph, tradition says, kept his loved ones in daily bread with the skill of his hands. Mary baked and spun, carried water, and taught Jesus to pray. And Mary eventually waved goodbye to Jesus as he set off for his life’s mission. She experienced the empty nest!

What sustained the holy family in Nazareth? What sustains ours? I would like to suggest three virtues: faithfulness, courage, and prudence.

Faithfulness builds trust. Parents need to be faithful to each other and to their children. Children trust that parents will always be there. We all need to know that someone loves us and will always be there for us, especially when we hit a rough patch in life. We need the anchor of faithfulness in our ever-changing world.

Second, families need courage. Courage is about moral character. It defines who we are at the core of our innermost selves. It is an attitude that challenges us, despite our fears, to stand up for what is right and true and good. Many of us would include Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Mother Teresa in our list of courageous people. And we probably would include our parents. Parenting, sustaining life, requires courage, always trying to do the right thing even when we’re not sure it’s right.

And the third virtue for families is prudence. It doesn’t mean caution. Rather prudence is the instinct to seek the right thing to do among our many choices, whereas courage is the instinct to do the right thing despite our fears. Prudence and courage go hand in hand. Often decisions are not either/or but both/and. It’s only by making decisions daily that parents become experienced decision makers. Prudence requires continually reflecting on decisions and learning from them.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived as a family, a holy family. May God on this Feast of the Holy Family anchor our own families and community in faithfulness, courage, and prudence.