“God is enough for me. Only in God do I have all.”
—St. Julian of Norwich
On December 7, in the “Your Life” section of USA Today, there was a poll asking the question, “Which best fits your holiday emotional state?” The responses were: 31% percent -- joyful, 27% -- stressed, 24% —- depressed, and 18% —- relaxed. I hope and pray that your emotional state falls in the book ends of these four categories, namely, joyful and relaxed, instead of stressed and depressed. As we approach this Christmas week, the pace of things speeds up and often our "spiritual side" tends to get lost or glossed over at best. It is easy to forget that Jesus is the true reason of this most holy season. Our fast-paced and stressed filled lives as Americans can erect roadblocks to living life gracefully and gratefully. Perhaps the best book that I read in the year 2010 was "The Gratitude Factor: Enhancing Your Life by Grateful Living," by Fr. Charles M. Shelton, a professor of Psychology at Regis University in Denver, CO and a licensed psychologist and Jesuit priest. Fr. Shelton has also written on other such topics as conscience development, pastoral ministry, spiritual formation and metal health issues.
In the book, he notes, “Psychologists rarely think much about what make people happy. They focus on their sadness or what makes them anxious. That is why psychology journals have published 45,000 articles in the last 30 years on depression, but only 400 on joy.” The Latin word gratia means “grace," “graciousness,” or “gratefulness”. In all world’s major religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, gratitude is highly praised and valued by believers. “Thankful," “thankfulness,” and “thanksgiving” appear more than 150 times in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. Gratitude was central in the Christian life as found in the writings of St. Paul. The Greek word for “grace” is charis which means “gift."
In almost a half-century of living and almost a quarter-century of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as His messenger and herald, I stand in wonderment, awe and thanksgiving of the countless people who have graced my faith journey. I value and treasure the relationships that have deepened and challenged my commitment to grow in love for the Lord and neighbor. I am often reminded of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s three-fold question in his spiritual exercises:
1) What have I done for Christ?
2) What am I doing for Christ?
3) What will I do for Christ?
No matter what age or place we are on the journey, at the close of a year and the opening of a new chapter of a year of grace, perhaps we could ponder and reflect on these questions. As human beings we all experience opportunities to grow in new ways. Despite the sufferings and difficulties in our lives, God is present to us. Despite the headaches and heartaches of our lives, God offers healing and love. Despite our forgetting and abandoning God, God never forgets or abandons us. Despite the crosses we must take up, resurrection is our constant, unfailing hope. Also in the December 7 publication of USA Today, Michelle Healy wrote an article entitled, “Happiness is having Friends at Church." Her report says that social connections really count. When we attend religious services regularly and make friends in our congregation, they are keys to a happier, more satisfying life. Our circle of friendships within a community make us stronger and more spiritually connected and alive in our personal identity and social well-being, along with our spiritual vitality. Never underestimate the importance of regular church attendance, prayer, spiritual reading, scriptural reading and meditation. This study was done for all Christian denominations as well as Jews and Mormons. The more we attend church regularly and faithfully, the more we make friends in the congregation, and thus, the result is our lives are more satisfying. Being connected and making connections with others is a gratifying and life-giving encounter.
St. Augustine in his Confessions XI: 27, said, “Time is a spiritual extension; remembrance of the past, attention to the present and expectation of the future.” Sometimes we do not realize the importance that presence and participation play in our spiritual, interpersonal and faith-development. We live in a world of wide-spread selfish behavior which results in living in godlessness, lawlessness and chaos. I feel blessed to have been raised in a devout family where faith was as natural as eating.
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, our fourth banner for the sanctuary of our church is raised. Each of these four banners bear a single word which is a gift of God and a light to bring to this world, namely: Love, Hope, Joy and Peace. As we approach this home-stretch for the Christmas preparation, I invite you specifically to do two things: First, attend our Christmas concert, “Promise Fulfilled” on Sunday evening, December 19, at 7:00 PM, featuring live music, dancing, costumes, singing and living Nativity. And second, come to our Penance Service on Monday, December 20, at 6:30 PM, where seven priests will serve confessors for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May the following 10 Commandments of Forgiveness become for you the fruits of this Sacrament of Peace:
—St. Julian of Norwich
On December 7, in the “Your Life” section of USA Today, there was a poll asking the question, “Which best fits your holiday emotional state?” The responses were: 31% percent -- joyful, 27% -- stressed, 24% —- depressed, and 18% —- relaxed. I hope and pray that your emotional state falls in the book ends of these four categories, namely, joyful and relaxed, instead of stressed and depressed. As we approach this Christmas week, the pace of things speeds up and often our "spiritual side" tends to get lost or glossed over at best. It is easy to forget that Jesus is the true reason of this most holy season. Our fast-paced and stressed filled lives as Americans can erect roadblocks to living life gracefully and gratefully. Perhaps the best book that I read in the year 2010 was "The Gratitude Factor: Enhancing Your Life by Grateful Living," by Fr. Charles M. Shelton, a professor of Psychology at Regis University in Denver, CO and a licensed psychologist and Jesuit priest. Fr. Shelton has also written on other such topics as conscience development, pastoral ministry, spiritual formation and metal health issues.
In the book, he notes, “Psychologists rarely think much about what make people happy. They focus on their sadness or what makes them anxious. That is why psychology journals have published 45,000 articles in the last 30 years on depression, but only 400 on joy.” The Latin word gratia means “grace," “graciousness,” or “gratefulness”. In all world’s major religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, gratitude is highly praised and valued by believers. “Thankful," “thankfulness,” and “thanksgiving” appear more than 150 times in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. Gratitude was central in the Christian life as found in the writings of St. Paul. The Greek word for “grace” is charis which means “gift."
In almost a half-century of living and almost a quarter-century of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as His messenger and herald, I stand in wonderment, awe and thanksgiving of the countless people who have graced my faith journey. I value and treasure the relationships that have deepened and challenged my commitment to grow in love for the Lord and neighbor. I am often reminded of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s three-fold question in his spiritual exercises:
1) What have I done for Christ?
2) What am I doing for Christ?
3) What will I do for Christ?
No matter what age or place we are on the journey, at the close of a year and the opening of a new chapter of a year of grace, perhaps we could ponder and reflect on these questions. As human beings we all experience opportunities to grow in new ways. Despite the sufferings and difficulties in our lives, God is present to us. Despite the headaches and heartaches of our lives, God offers healing and love. Despite our forgetting and abandoning God, God never forgets or abandons us. Despite the crosses we must take up, resurrection is our constant, unfailing hope. Also in the December 7 publication of USA Today, Michelle Healy wrote an article entitled, “Happiness is having Friends at Church." Her report says that social connections really count. When we attend religious services regularly and make friends in our congregation, they are keys to a happier, more satisfying life. Our circle of friendships within a community make us stronger and more spiritually connected and alive in our personal identity and social well-being, along with our spiritual vitality. Never underestimate the importance of regular church attendance, prayer, spiritual reading, scriptural reading and meditation. This study was done for all Christian denominations as well as Jews and Mormons. The more we attend church regularly and faithfully, the more we make friends in the congregation, and thus, the result is our lives are more satisfying. Being connected and making connections with others is a gratifying and life-giving encounter.
St. Augustine in his Confessions XI: 27, said, “Time is a spiritual extension; remembrance of the past, attention to the present and expectation of the future.” Sometimes we do not realize the importance that presence and participation play in our spiritual, interpersonal and faith-development. We live in a world of wide-spread selfish behavior which results in living in godlessness, lawlessness and chaos. I feel blessed to have been raised in a devout family where faith was as natural as eating.
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, our fourth banner for the sanctuary of our church is raised. Each of these four banners bear a single word which is a gift of God and a light to bring to this world, namely: Love, Hope, Joy and Peace. As we approach this home-stretch for the Christmas preparation, I invite you specifically to do two things: First, attend our Christmas concert, “Promise Fulfilled” on Sunday evening, December 19, at 7:00 PM, featuring live music, dancing, costumes, singing and living Nativity. And second, come to our Penance Service on Monday, December 20, at 6:30 PM, where seven priests will serve confessors for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. May the following 10 Commandments of Forgiveness become for you the fruits of this Sacrament of Peace:
1. Forgiveness is not easy.
2. Forgiveness is not forgetting.
3. Forgiveness does not overlook evil.
4. Forgiveness is not indifference.
5. Forgiveness is not the same thing as approval.
6. Forgiveness recognizes that people are always bigger than their faults.
7. Forgiveness allows a person to start all over again.
8. Forgiveness recognizes the humanity of the wrongdoer.
9. Forgiveness surrenders the ’right’ to get even
10. Forgiveness wishes to the offender well.
— William Baush
Once Upon a Gospel: Inspiring Homilies and Insightful Reflections
