1. She was five,
    sure of the facts,
    and recited them
    with slow solemnity
    convinced every word
    was revelation.

    She said
    they were so poor
    they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
    to eat
    and they went a long way from home
    without getting lost. The lady rode
    a donkey, the man walked, and the baby
    was inside the lady.
    They had to stay in a stable
    with an ox and an ass (hee-hee)
    but the Three Rich Men found them
    because a star lited the roof.
    Shepherds came and you could
    pet the sheep but not feed them.
    Then the baby was borned.
    And do you know who he was?
    Her quarter eyes inflated
    to silver dollars.
    The baby was God.

    And she jumped in the air
    whirled around, dove into the sofa
    and buried her head under the cushion
    which is the only proper response
    to the Good News of the Incarnation.

     by John Shea, The Hour of the Unexpected


    photo: photobucket

    Posted by
    Labels: Christmas
    0

    Add a comment

  2. For Saturday, 24 December
    “In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace." (Luke 1. 77-78)

    All our Advent waiting and preparation climaxes in this moment: we stand today at the threshold of Christmas. We are here even if our Advent journey has been less than it should be, or our spiritual conversion less than we had hoped for. We are here because of God: accompanied here not to simply witness the dawning of God’s tender compassion in Jesus, but graced to live in Jesus’ light that dispels darkness, defeats death and guides us into everlasting peace with Godself. Today, God's grace turns us away from all that weighs us down and despairs us to the certain hope Jesus is for us and for our salvation. Indeed, it is good and right that we be excited, hopeful and eager to rejoice: God’s dawn is coming anew! God is indeed with us!

    How are you feeling this Christmas Eve? What excites you? What concerns you? How would you like to entrust these feelings to Jesus, God's gift, to our world?

    Look back on your Advent journey. Recall a gift of this time with God that has sustained nourished and enriched you to this day. Close your eyes and savour this gift as God dawning into your life anew. Speak a few words of thanksgiving to close this Advent time of prayer.


    For Friday, 23 December
    When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. (Luke 1.57-58)

    People rejoiced with Elizabeth because they were focused on her joy of giving birth, not on their own needs. Their celebration with her echoes God’s self-giving involvement in our lives for our wellbeing and happiness. Nothing expresses this truth more than God’s self-gift of Jesus we celebrate at Christmas. Advent, then, prepares us for Christmas self-giving: God's, that we receive, and ours, that we can share. The poor and needy call us to care for them and give them hope. Family and friends invite us to return to our rightful place at the table, and so, make love real. Enemies ask us for forgiveness for a peace of mind that deepens their faith in God's compassion. All of these speak of a grace this season offers us: rejoicing in another’s happiness, as God rejoices in us through Jesus.

    What does God’s self-giving ways mean to you? How have you experienced God’s self-giving in your life? Would you like to give like God this Christmas? To whom will you gift yourself to?

    Recall how someone’s generous, self-giving ways made a difference in your life. Savour the goodness, then make a phone call or write a note to thank this person this Christmastime. 

    For Thursday, 22 December
    “God has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever." (Luke 1.54-55)

    This line that Mary proclaims speaks of God’s faithfulness to humankind through the ages. God expresses faithfulness in mercy and roots it in love. This reality proclaims who God is and who we are to God. We celebrate it most especially at Christmas in the gift of Jesus. Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus reveals God’s faithfulness to all peoples: God created us to save us for communion with Godself. The peace of Christmas, then, is Jesus' promise of the fullness of life with God.

    How do you feel about God’s faithfulness in your life? In what ways have you experienced God’s fidelity in recent times? What has God's fidelity taught you about yourself? 

    Think of someone you had let down before. Consider doing something for this person this Christmas to express your care and love, your friendship and fidelity. 


    For Wednesday, 21 December
    Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah,where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. (Luke 1.39-40)

    Today’s Gospel reading invites us to reflect on the phrase “to bear”. Mary bears or carries Jesus in her womb. She also bears, that is, brings Jesus to Elizabeth. Finally, she will bear, as in give birth, to Jesus. These three ways of understanding “to bear” speak of the discipleship Mary models for us in these final days of Advent. She invites us to practise a discipleship that remembers, celebrates and believes. We are called to remember that we already bear Jesus in us because of our baptism. We are missioned to celebrate that  Jesus is our world’s radiant light and abundant life. We are graced to believe that our Christ-like words and actions will give birth to Jesus in others.

    How have you lived God’s call to bear Jesus this Advent? In these final Advent days, how can you bear Jesus more generously and more joyfully? Is there someone you should bear Jesus to this Christmas?

    Spend some time with Mary. Invite her to teach you how to bear Jesus like she did.


    For Tuesday, 20 December
    Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus". (Luke 1.30-31)

    Mary’s obedient and trusting “yes” finds favor with God because she recognizes who God is and what God is asking of her. God’s favor also witnesses to Mary’s capacity to become the mother of Jesus in spite of her youth. Like Mary, God invites us daily to do great things to make God more present and real in our world. God calls because our human nature is created good and ordained to do good. This challenges us to embrace and celebrate the truth that we have already won God’s favor.

    How does it feel to know that God favors you, and your ability to do great things? How do you want to respond to this truth of who God is and who you are?

    Recall an experience when another affirmed and encouraged you or valued and loved you. Sit with your memories of that experience for awhile. Then, give thanks for the gift that this is in your life.


    For Monday, 19 December

    The angel said to Zechariah, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be a great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1.13-15)

    We can have peace that God answers our prayers, and bestows happiness on us. God answers Elizabeth and Zechariah’s prayer for a child with the joyful gift of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. But God’s gift of John the Baptist to them is really for the joy of others; John will draw others to Jesus. We too have had our prayers answered. Whether God has gifted us with spouses or children, with friends or mentors, with success in school or at work, with employment, shelter and food, or, with good health and peace of mind, our joy can be truly celebratory when we share these gifts to delight others.

    Do you share the gifts in your life? Are you being invited to do so more generously? How can you share them and bring joy to others?

    Consider gifting the gift of yourself to family and friends this Christmas, rather than a material gift. This might be spending more time with another, helping someone in need, or even apologizing to someone you've hurt.


    For Sunday, 18 December
    Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word”. (Luke 1.38)

    Saying “yes” is never easy.  Whether it is investing in a budding friendship, starting a new job, relocating to a new home, committing to having children or starting over after loss and death, saying “yes” always challenges: we’re being asked to take the road less traveled. Saying “yes” to God’s ways is even tougher: we do not know what God has planned. In today’s Gospel reading, Mary’s “yes” is not a surrender into uncertainty. Rather, she places herself in God’s hands by trusting in God’s promised goodness. She models for us a faith-filled response, one based on God’s faithfulness in her life. This assures her peace: God is in control. 

    What has God been inviting you to this Advent? How have you responded to this invitation? Is there something more you are being invited to?

    Recall a time when you said “yes”, took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference. Savour the goodness of that experience as gift of God.





    photo: nancysdailydish.blogspot.com

    Posted by
    Labels: Advent
    0

    Add a comment

  3. For Saturday, 17 December
    Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations. (Matthew 1.17)

    The genealogy of Jesus explains his ancestral background. More significantly, it reminds us that Jesus received his belief in God through his ancestors. Like Jesus’ forebears, our parents and their parents, our siblings and our relatives, are our first teachers of the faith we have. We, in turn, are called to pass on our faith to our children and our children’s children in time to come. That all of us are called to share and hand on the story of faith in God is the joyful reality of who we are: God's co-partners in helping others come to faith in God.

    Who in your family or amongst your friends has taught you about God? What did he or she do to help you grow in relationship with God? How do you feel about God’s gift of this person in your life?

    Spend some time considering how you are handing on the Christian faith to others. Ask the Lord for the graces you need to do this joyfully. 


    For Friday, December 16
    Jesus said to the Jews, “…the works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me." (John 5.36)

    The Gospels record the many works Jesus performed for others: preaching and teaching; healing and miracle making. Through Jesus’ works, God revealed Godself to humankind. This is why Advent points us to the name of Jesus that speaks most eloquently of God loving us so much to become one like us--Emmanuel, God-with-us. This good news is joyful: by becoming one like us, God reminds us of the goodness of our humanity, a goodness God claims as God’s very own.

    Do you value the goodness of your humanity? Have you celebrated the wonder that it is, as Jesus who is Emmanuel reveals to us? Can you let God claim your humanity as his very own?

    Spend a few minutes in prayer and share with the Lord all that is good about your humanity, as well as those areas needing improvement on. Ask for the graces you need.


    For Thursday, 15 December

    This is the one about whom Scripture says: “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, he will prepare your way before you.” (Luke 7.27)

    In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks to the crowds about John the Baptist whose role was to prepare the way for his coming. John did this by directing his followers’ gaze onto Jesus and making him more present in their lives. John could not do this, however, without dying to the human need to put self first. Only then could he joyfully make room for Jesus in his own life and in the lives of others. This is what John meant when he said, “Jesus must increase while I must decrease”.

    Do you want Jesus to be more present in your life in these last two weeks of Advent? Why so? What can you do to make Jesus more present? 

    Spend some time meditating on John the Baptist’s line, “Jesus must increase while I must decrease". As you do so, pay attention to how the Lord is meeting in your prayer.


    For Wednesday, 14 December
    Jesus said to [John the Baptist’s disciples] in reply, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them." (Luke 7.22)

    Today’s good news is the wondrous miracles Jesus does: they heal; they uplift; they bring life. They manifest God’s saving love for humankind. The greater wonder is experiencing God in the person of Jesus. We too experience the joy of Jesus laboring for our good in the simple, everyday “miracles” of our life. A parent who makes sure food is on the table. A spouse who forgives. A fellow worker or classmate who smiles. A friend who offers a shoulder to lean on.

    What “miracles’ are you most thankful for today? How do they help you experience Jesus’ presence in your life? Can you let yourself savour God's goodness in all of this?

    Do a Christ-like act for a stranger or someone you do not really know. 


    For Tuesday, 13 December
    Jesus said to [the chief priests and the elders of the people], "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did." (Matthew 21.31b-32a)

    Jesus calls the Jewish leaders to conversion. He calls them because God wants to share the fullness of divine life with humankind. Today, Jesus is calling us to God too. He calls because we can fool ourselves that everything is alright, and we do not need conversion. The truth is that we are all sinners who are in need of constant conversion. The joy is that God gives us examples in people around us who have changed their lives for God. They model for us a life of conversion.

    Is Jesus inviting you to a change of heart and a change of ways? Why is he inviting you? What do you want to do with Jesus’ invitation?

    Call to mind someone whose change of life to live in God’s ways can be a model for your on-going conversion. Ask Jesus for the grace to do like this person has.



    For Monday, 12 December
    Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled (Luke 1.45)

    Elizabeth speaks these lines to Mary who visits her in her pregnancy. They tell us about the depth of Mary’s faith in the Lord: she heard and she believed. Mary’s faith must have inspired Elizabeth and given her joy. It must also have challenged her to deepen her own faith in the Lord.

    Whose faith inspires you? Why? How does this person’s faith in the Lord challenge you? And, what are you doing about this challenge?

    Consider a way you can share your faith to inspire another person today.


    For Sunday, 11 December 
    A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. (John 1.6-8)

    John the Baptist’s mission was to point others to Jesus. In doing this, he faced opposition that ended in his death. Yet, his ministry brought joy to those who encountered Jesus: they experienced him as God’s true light in the world. 

    Have you been a John the Baptist to others at home or at work? Who were these persons? How did you point them to Jesus?

    Spend some time asking God for the grace to continue being a John the Baptist.




    photo by kjerstin
    Posted by
    Labels: Advent
    0

    Add a comment

  4. For Saturday, 10 December
    The disciples asked Jesus, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He said in reply, "Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come...." Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. (Matthew 17: 10-13)

    The prophet Elijah proclaimed God’s promise to restore the exiled Israelites by sending a Messiah. John the Baptist continued Elijah’s prophetic ministry; he announced Jesus as the Messiah. In our lives, there are family and friends who are God’s prophets; they remind us of God laboring lovingly in our lives and the world for our wellbeing and happiness. 

    Who are these prophets God has sent into your life? How have they helped you experienced God’s goodness? What does their presence in your life say about who you are to God? 

    Take time to thank one of these prophets in your life. 


    For Friday, 9 December
    The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, "Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." But wisdom is vindicated by her works. (Matthew 11.19)

    The Lord comes to meet us in the people and events of our lives. Sometimes, his presence in them disturbs us; we experience him in a way that does not fit our expectations. Yet, these moments remain graced: the Lord is present, inviting us to trust and to grow through them. This is how the Lord forms us to be wise.

    Recall a time when the Lord’s presence disturbed you. How did you feel? How did you respond? What did you learn from meeting the Lord then? 

    Surprise someone this weekend in a charitable way that speaks of God’s loving presence.


    For Thursday, 8 December
    The angel Gabriel was sent from God…to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph… and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." (Luke 1.26-28)

    Mary’s humanity allows us to connect with her. We find in her something of ourselves: a young one growing up; a parent who loves; a person of faith. Today, we see God honoring her when the Angel Gabriel salutes her, saying “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” God hails us too by sending people to affirm our goodness, to celebrate our worthiness, to lift up our humanness.

    Imagine the Angel Gabriel coming and saying to you, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you”? What moves you most about his greeting? How do you feel that that he recognizes the Lord is with you? Is there a response you’d like to make?

    Be God's angel to another by acknowledging her goodness with words that uplift or bless.


    For Wednesday, 7 December
    Jesus said to the crowds: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11.28)

    The end of the year can be a stressful time for many. Exams to sit for and papers to write. Hoping one’s job is secure and trusting that one’s bank account has enough to feed the kids. Keeping alive in the winter cold and staying safe in the monsoon rains. Presents to buy and cookies to bake for Christmas Day. In the midst of all this, Jesus offers us rest. Rest that will not take away these concerns, nor lessen them. But rest that will allow us  to experience, once again, the love of God who is always with us.

    What are your labors, burdens and pains today? Do you believe Jesus will give you rest? Can you entrust these concerns into his care?

    Sit with the Lord in prayer and share your concerns with him. Listen to his response. Rest in his presence. 


    For Tuesday, 6 December
    Jesus said to his disciples: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? (Matthew 18.12) 

    Isn’t it foolish that the man would leave ninety-nine sheep, all that he possesses, to go look for the one who strayed? And why would he search out the stray if it is not as precious to him? This too is how God relates to us, whether in the messiness of our lives or in the comfort we dwell in. God seeks us out because we are God’s beloved, loved not because of our weakness but because we have no other image or likeness but God’s. We are God’s very own. 

    How about sitting quietly for a few moments, closing your eyes and savoring how precious you are to God? How do you feel? What is God saying about who you really are to Godself? 

    Seek out someone who is in need of being helped, saved or loved these days.




    For Monday, 5 December
    Jesus said to the one who was paralyzed, "I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God (Luke 5.24b-25)

    God’s love is a healing love. It restores us to our truest identity, God’s own, as it also restores us to our rightful inheritance, friendship with God. God sent Jesus so that we might experience this love now, even as we await its fullness to come in death. This is the goodness of God’s love the paralytic experienced. He responded by obeying Jesus and glorifying God.

    When have you experienced Jesus’ healing? How did you respond to it? What more could you have done as thanksgiving?

    Recall the goodness of someone who helped you heal in a time of pain or suffering. Offer a prayer for this person’s kindness.



    For Sunday, 4 December
    John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1.4)

    John the Baptist’s call to repentance can sound brutally honest and harsh. We may not want to hear it, aware as we are of our sinfulness and guilt. But if we dare to listen carefully, we might hear the soft, assuring words of God’s forgiving and saving love calling us to amend, to make our lives anew, and to come home to God’s friendship and to relationships with others.

    What are you in need of conversion from? What do you want to transform your life for?

    Identify an aspect of your life you would like to improve on this week.



    photo by yain hassan





    Posted by
    Labels: Advent
    0

    Add a comment

  5. For Saturday, 3 December
    Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. (Matthew 10.6)

    Today’s Advent readings remind us of God’s yearning to be with those far from Godself. The First Reading speaks of God wanting to nourish, heal and guide Israel to fullness of life. The Gospel Reading is about Jesus’ mission of preaching, healing and teaching to help save the lost ones of the house of Israel. It is remarkable that Jesus, the Son of God, sought out twelve disciples to help him accomplish his mission.

    Are you helping Jesus to save those who are lost? Who are these lost ones? How are you saving them? Or, are you one of those who needs Jesus to save you? Why so?

    Do a kind act for someone who feels lost and forsaken this weekend.


    For Friday, 2 December
    Jesus said to the blind men, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. (Matthew 9.28b)

    An Advent image is of a people in darkness awaiting God’s radiant light. Painters, writers and composers have imaged this as in terms of looking out into the dark night to the twinkling stars or the breaking dawn. These blind mean were in the darkness of their blindness, yet they believed in the promised sight Jesus could restore. Perhaps, this is Jesus’ challenge to us today: “Can you believe in difficult times?”

    What is the quality of your belief in Jesus? Can you really entrust yourself into his care?

    Let go and let the Lord care for you through another person’s love today.


    For Thursday, 1 December
    Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7.21)

    It is timely that Advent is at the end of the year.  From this vantage point, we can look back and take stock, as we can also look forward and plan anew. More significantly, Advent is a spiritual time to evaluate the quality of our relationship with God. 

    What or whom is the focus of your life today? Is God in it? Or, do you have to refocus to better fix your gaze on God?

    Recall your feelings of an experience when you followed God’s will. Savour them. 


    For Wednesday, 30 November

    Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4.19-20)

    Jesus called his disciples to a life they had never imagined. Theirs was now a life of being in intimate friendship with him. Through Jesus’ friendship, they learnt to call God, “Father”, and to share the Father’s love with others. This was the something more they did not expect when he called them to follow him. Today, Jesus is also calling us to something more.

    What might this ‘more’ be in your life? If you say yes to this ‘more’, what will you have to say no to?

    Ask for the grace to say ‘yes’ to Jesus' call in your life.


    For Tuesday, 29 November

    Jesus said, "I give you praise Father…for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike". (Luke 10.21)

    The glee of children at Christmas reminds us what a wondrous season it is. For them, everything about Christmas is gift. They enjoy because they gladly receive. Their mirth and delight remind us of Jesus’ words today. He reminds us that we will truly know God when we can appreciate that all in life is gift and that all God asks of us is to receive with grateful hearts.

    What do you appreciate as pure gift in your life today? Why is this gift? How do you wish to thank the giver of this gift?

    Delight another with a gift of a word or a deed to brighten her day.



    For Monday, 28 November
    "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." Jesus said to him, "I will come and cure him." (Matthew 8.6-7)

    Advent is a graced time to reflect on possibilities: possibilities to change our ways and to renew our lives. This is a time for possible conversion and transformation. We can take first steps towards this by trusting in Jesus. Jesus is God's light for us in darkness, God's forgiveness for our reconciliation and God's love for us to live fully.

    In what areas of your life do you need the Lord’s healing?

    Spend some time in prayer asking the Lord for the healing or conversion you need.


    For Sunday, 27 November
    Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming. (Mark 13.35a)

    Advent invites us to look forward to Christmas when we celebrate the truth that God became one like us so that we can become more like God. But Advent also challenges us: we are to participate in -- and not passively await -- God's saving love.

    How do you want to prepare spiritually for Christmas?  What can you do to keep a better Advent ‘watch’ this year?  

    Share your Advent preparations with the Lord in prayer.





    photo: www.ngtalks.com


      
    Posted by
    Labels: Advent
    0

    Add a comment

  6. Our time is a time of waiting; waiting is its special destiny. And every time is a time of waiting, a waiting for the breaking in of eternity. All time runs forward. All time, both history and in personal life, is expectation. Time is itself waiting, waiting not for another time, but for that which is eternal.  (Paul Tillich)


    You are invited to come and join us daily on an Advent journey  of spiritual reflections here in this space from 27 November to 24 December.



    photo: from www.halotis.com

    Posted by
    Labels: Advent
    0

    Add a comment



  7. It is Sunday morning in the psychiatric ward. Outside, the downtown skyscrapers glisten in the bright morning sunlight. Some of patients, locked in here for weeks as they recover from addictions and mental illness, file into the day room. They’ve come for the weekly inter-faith prayer. The newly appointed hospital chaplain greets them with a nod and a smile. Some wave in acknowledgement. Others pipe a cheery “hello!” Together, they read, reflect and share a passage on hope. At the end, he announces a Communion service for Catholics. The non-Catholics bid farewell and depart. 

    She stays behind: a twenty-six year old African-American veteran of the ongoing war in Iraq. A patient for a week, she is coming to terms with living after a failed suicide attempt. She comes, hesitantly. She asks timidly but with great faith: “Can I please receive Communion?” The chaplain wonders if she is in a state of grace to receive communion. Her eyes look into his. They are tearing and longing. They are asking him to be priestly--to reach out compassionately, to love unconditionally, to help her reconcile with God. They are asking him to trust: to trust grace at work.

    He sits with all present at this table of the Lord, an ordinary dinning table. On it, he lays down the pyx containing the consecrated hosts. It rests on a handtowel a patient had earlier laid out like a corporal. He welcomes all and prays with them. Then, he gives Holy Communion to each and everyone, including this young lady, saying as he does, “The Body of Christ”.


    from my journeys with God's people


    photo: one by adsj (st ignatius chapel, seattle university, july 2010)

    Posted by
    Labels: Images of God
    2

    View comments

  8. With a plate of food and a glass of wine, he joined others from the company at the table. All around colleagues and friends were mingling at the Thanksgiving dinner. There was a festive air. Amidst the merriment, he noticed their boss looking around, his hands empty, his face concerned for their wellbeing. Caring, he called out to his superior, “Aren’t you going to have something to eat.” Looking straight at him, his boss snapped back, “What are you trying to say? That I’ve not been eating all week?!” He stomped off in a huff. His outburst surprised the VP of Human Resources who felt misunderstood. All the places were now taken saved one, directly opposite him. Plate in hand, his boss sat there. Still nursing his hurt, the VP wanted to ignore him. But each time he looked up, there was his boss chewing his pork roast in fruit compote. He decided to consider the man: what he saw was someone under stress; what he remembered was his kindness, particularly, the kindness of one forgiving him his erroneous mistakes as he began in the company. If not for such forgiveness, he would never have survived those times, risen to his present office and enjoyed the goodness of life. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, the VP decided to reach out to his boss. He smiled a hello.


    from my journeys with God's people


    photo: inside 84, beacon street by adsj (boston, october 2010)

    Posted by
    Labels: Images of God
    0

    Add a comment

  9. He walked the beach. Tired, dejected, disillusioned. The waves came crashing down, wetting him with every spray. They echoed his inner mood as he plodded on. Plodding to nowhere; just plodding. Interiorly, he felt his world had crashed. The critics panned his latest collection of poems. “Trite,” one lamented. “Hardly the brilliance of his earlier poems,” another judged. “Perhaps, he’s got nothing more to say,” an influential literary journal opined. “Why write poetry?” he grieved. Then, he saw it. Amidst the pebbles and shells, an almost pristine cone shell. He ran towards it like he used to as a kid playing “find the cone” with his Dad on the beach. Like the little boy he once was, he picked it up, held it to his ear and closed his eyes. And he listened. Listened to the sound of the ocean of infinity. Listened to its roar opening up to the silent truth that his poems, his words were never his but God’s creation. Words to render for another in cadence, metaphor and rhyme something of the divine. He looked out to the sea: a few first lines of a poem were cresting in the whites of the blue, blue waves reaching out to him. 



    photo: from my friend, adrian danker from germany.
    Posted by
    Labels: Images of God
    0

    Add a comment


  10. In Blackwater Woods
    by Mary Oliver

    Look, the trees
    are turning
    their own bodies
    into pillars

    of light,
    are giving off the rich
    fragrance of cinnamon
    and fulfillment,

    the long tapers
    of cattails
    are bursting and floating away over
    the blue shoulders

    of the ponds,
    and every pond,
    no matter what its
    name is, is

    nameless now.
    Every year
    everything
    I have ever learned

    in my lifetime
    leads back to this: the fires
    and the black river of loss
    whose other side

    is salvation,
    whose meaning
    none of us will ever know.
    To live in this world

    you must be able
    to do three things:
    to love what is mortal;
    to hold it

    against your bones knowing
    your own life depends on it;
    and, when the time comes to let it go,
    to let it go.




    photo: children in autumn light by adsj (brighton, massachusetts, november 2011)


    Posted by
    Labels: From the bookshelf
    0

    Add a comment

"Bukas Palad"
"Bukas Palad"
is Filipino for open palms
Greetings!
Greetings!
Peace and welcome, dear friend.
I hope you will find in these posts something that speaks to you of the God who loves us all and who always holds us in the palm of his hand. Blessings!
The Liturgical Calendar / Year C
The Liturgical Calendar / Year C
Faith & Spirituality
Faith & Spirituality
Tagged as...
Tagged as...
Blog Archive
Blog Archive
Fall in Love, Stay in Love
Fall in Love, Stay in Love

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute way final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything."

Pedro Arrupe, sj, Superior General, 1965 - 1983

About Me
About Me
My Photo
is a 50something Catholic who resides in Singapore and works for the Church. He is a priest of the Roman Catholic Church.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
©adrian.danker.sj, 2006-2018

The views I express in these pages are personal. They do not speak for the Society of Jesus or the Catholic Church.
Loading