Medjugorje Message: November 25, 2016
Dear children! Also today, I am calling you to return to prayer. In this time of grace, God has permitted me to lead you towards holiness and a simple life–that in little things you discover God the Creator; that you fall in love with Him; and that your life be a thanksgiving to the Most High for everything He is giving you. Little children, in love, may your life be a gift for others and God will bless you; but you, witness without interest–out of love for God. I am with you and intercede before my Son for all of you. Thank you for having responded to my call.
River of Light
December 2016
Our Lady’s message was given on the “Black Friday” after our U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, and she mentions her goal that “your life be a thanksgiving to the Most High for everything He is giving you.” What a timely instruction–surely appropriate for the United States! Indeed, we are called not just to one day per year of gluttony, football and shopping plans that we (ironically) call “Thanksgiving,” but to a LIFE of thanksgiving–what may better be called “Thanks-LIVING“–in which we live in a continual state of wondrous awareness of the grace of God filling each moment, seeing and acknowledging our “cup running over” with each day’s bounty of blessings.
Our Lady begins by calling, “also today,” for our “return to prayer.” In prayer alone can we come into conscious contact with the great heavenly project unfolding through the apparitions of the Queen of Peace at Medjugorje. She explains, “In this time of grace, God has permitted me to lead you towards holiness and a simple life–that in little things you discover God the Creator; that you fall in love with Him; and that your life be a thanksgiving to the Most High…”
“A simple life.” Do we even know what that is? It seems our 21st century is complex, complicated, crowded and congested with activity, obligations, stimulation, work, entertainment, and the relentless 24/7 stream of information–much of it “fake news” (propaganda and editorializing) posing as facts. Between the ubiquitous social media and a declining, substandard journalism, our days are filled with non-stop sensory overload of a dubious and degraded quality, leaving us emotionally stressed, exhausted, and unsettled, if not scared and angry. This is surely a far cry from the “simple life” Our Lady wants for us! Gazing upon the small simplicity and poverty of the manger that awaits the coming newborn Jesus, let us reflect upon Our Lady’s meaning for us during this Advent season.
Our Lady says that “a simple life” means that “in little things you discover God the Creator.” What sort of “little things“? Where, in fact, do we discover the Creator God? Often it is in nature–observing a leaf, a flower, a tiny creature like a butterfly or ant or pillbug humbly making its way–with the realization that life is sustained at every level by a loving God. Or in the simple joy and devotion of a pet dog’s elated tail-wagging to welcome us home, or a pet cat’s equally blase disinterest–realizing the amazing diversity and unique personality with which God imbued the animal world. Or by the silent splendor of a sunrise or sunset, or in cloud formations and dramatic storms; in the beauty of a youth’s face or an elder’s smile; in the laughter of friends, the artistic creations of a child, and the humor we can somehow manage to find in any situation. All of these are “little things,” utterly simple and free of charge, in which we can “discover God the Creator” on any ordinary day. To be tuned in and aware of these “little things,” rather than preoccupied with the loud static and noise of our busy world, is a movement into “holiness and a simple life.” St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church, built a whole spirituality upon this “Little Way” of holiness.
Our Lady says that the next movement, beyond discovering God the Creator in “little things,” is “that you fall in love with Him.” Wow, what a personal and specific kind of experience Our Lady describes here–not just our generically “loving God,” but “falling in love” with God! It sounds romantic, and anyone who has ever “fallen in love” knows that this is a very particular, unmistakable, unique experience—a state of mind like none other. There is a radical simplicity of “little things” that constitute the “altered state” of being in love. For example, there is no need to go anywhere or do anything elaborate when one is in love; all that matters is being with the Beloved: presence alone is paramount.
Similarly, lovers need do nothing big, dramatic, or earth-shattering to impress the Beloved. Rather, “little things,” like an eyelid’s flutter, a brush of the hand, a faint smile, a raised eyebrow, or a soft sigh are all it takes to “sweep them off their feet,” causing hearts to pound and spirits to soar with delight. Utter simplicity and the littleness of externals are hallmarks of being in love, for the mere focused presence of the lovers enjoying their togetherness is the ultimate fulfillment. St. Teresa of Avila translated this experience well from the realm of interpersonal human love to the spiritual love of the contemplative “mystical marriage,” saying, “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing; God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.”
If we “fall in love with God” and our whole “life becomes a thanksgiving to the Most High for everything He is giving us,” then, Our Lady says, “in love, may your life be a gift for others.” Indeed, how else can we express thanks to God through our LIFE, except to live it as a gift of love to others? Jesus taught us clearly, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me” (Matt 25:40), and Scripture states bluntly, “If anyone says, ‘I love God’ but hates his brother, he is a LIAR.” (1 Jn 4:20) In the confines of our human condition, living in the flesh, the primary means we have to express our thanks to God, once we have fallen in love with Him, is to show love to others and live our life in a self-sacrificing way, as gift to others. These “others” include all of God’s creation–humans, animals, plants, minerals–our total earthly environment.
For this love we give to others, Our Lady says, “God will bless you.” But she immediately issues a caveat and a warning: “But you, witness without interest–out of love for God.” What does it mean to “witness without interest”? Last month Our Lady said that as we discover the indwelling God in our hearts, we will “feel the need to witness.” This month she says that we must “witness without interest–out of love for God.” This means we are to be witnesses of divine love and presence in the world simply because of our love for God, with whom we have “fallen in love“–not out of any sort of self-interest, ulterior motive, or “quid pro quo” bargain, like “getting God’s blessing” in return–i.e. getting that promotion, that spouse, that child, that house, that honor, that good report from the doctor, that team to win, that presidential candidate, etc…. Yes, God will bless us, Our Lady says, but we witness not for the sake of the gifts but for the sake of the GIVER, with whom we are in love. Thus Our Lady calls us to a rigorous and vigilant survey and purification of our interior motives whenever we witness to our Creator.
We’ve seen how tempting it is to USE God and our own “witness to God” in the interests of promoting ourselves as righteous and holy, or even for advancing a particular political agenda. One example is the devoutly “religious” advocate of pro-war, pro-gun, pro-nuclear, pro-death penalty, pro-deportation of immigrants, pro-racist, pro-mysogynist values who proudly plays the “pro-life” card (in spite of many anti-life positions!) with the claim to be “witnessing to Christian faith as a God-lover.” Such positions can be hypocritical, untenable temptations in our fallen human condition, under the spell of our false self egoic programs. Thus Our Lady warns each of us to “witness without interest,” as one who has “fallen in love” and is living all of life “in love” with our Creator God. The season of Advent invites our silent prayer and deepening reflection, in littleness and simplicity, for greater attunement to this great “romance” with our indwelling Beloved.
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The Miracle & Mystery of the INCARNATION
The Church Fathers called Mary the holy earth from which Christ was formed as man. And the miracle is that God in Christ forever remains in union with the earth. — Pope Benedict XVI
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ADVENT REFLECTIONS . . .
We have been waiting for Advent for most of the year….But, like a seed silently growing in the ground day and night, its silence begins to be audible in the four weeks of Advent. If we can listen to the rising volume of the silence of the Incarnation during this season of heightened expectancy, we will be better set to celebrate Christmas as it is to be celebrated. The nativity into our world of sense of the divine human and the human God is endlessly mysterious–and so it is easily lost in the yuletide razzmatazz. It reveals and conceals simultaneously. In Advent we begin to sense how God must be both very daring and very shy….
Humanity has been waiting, since it was first awakened by its enslavement to desire. We have been waiting for God to burst through our images and desires projected onto our self-made gods. God takes us by surprise. He arrives as a helpless baby that we have to suckle and protect so that it can survive and grow. We parent God. But the growth that follows becomes wondrous as it was for Mary and Joseph. Our so-called “spiritual journey.” A contemplative Advent will re-enchant Christmas for us, sparing us from the tedium of its crude commercialism. We are humble creatures of desire. What we truly long for is the Love that also longs for us….
As we have no birth certificate for Jesus, what is the reason for celebrating his birthday at this time of the year as Christians have done since the fourth century? Almost certainly it is linked to the pagan feast of the re-birth of the Sun. On December 21st we experience the shortest day of the year, a vivid reminder of the brevity of life. It is the last gasp of the old sun. But birth follows death as it always does, because life is not defeated or negated by death. Life is the sum total of all the cycles of birth and death through which we as individuals and we as the cosmos pass until the end of time. The light of Christmas is the first light of the Resurrection. It catches all in its radiance: the living and the dead, joy and grief, those near and those far away. Each time we meditate we are united in this light, which now shines, not just cyclically but continuously, in our deepest center. — Fr. Laurence Freeman, OSB
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There’s nothing more wonderful than a child looking forward to something with a total conviction that what is going to come will be the most fantastic delight. There was a feeling of expectancy among the people when they heard the good news from John the Baptist. His truth stirred them to dare to hope. We see this in presidential campaigns when short-lived messiahs emerge from the primaries, and last until the people’s high hopes are once more disappointed. There’s nothing sadder than someone who has dared to hope and lived to see their expectations exploded, leaving him only the fragments of a fantasy that now feed into cynicism and desperation….The people asked John, the prophet of the moment, “what shall we do?” It’s a wonderful question. His reply was very down to earth–which is just where we want to be when we have long been exiled in fantasy: “Be generous to those less well off, be fair with those you trade with, be kind and be content with what you have if you have enough.” Why did this advice ring so true, then as now, and awaken such great hope?
Because it reveals an authentic ground for hope and the authentic nature of expectancy. Just as Lent is about finding a healthy asceticism, Advent is about daring to hope in a realistic way. So many illusions have to be shattered and dream-bubbles pricked before we begin to see what hope really means. For the meditator, the discipline of silent prayer is a relentless bubble-burster and illustrates why contemplative consciousness is the fast track to the great human, civilizing value of hope. The curse of external terrorism striking the innocent is very like the interiorized terrorism of social exploitation and economic corruption; both destroy hope and replace expectancy with fear and rage. The good news is that there is actually something to expect that will not disappoint. It is coming from the distant present. When it comes, or as we become present to it, we may not recognize it because it looks so ordinary. But we know it is what we have been waiting for because it is changing us even as we try to figure out what it is.
If Lent is about self-control, Advent is about patience. But both are far more joyful and positive than they sound. The child longing for the gifts of Christmas, like the adult longing for the gift that is Christmas, are both practicing the courage to hope and the faithfulness to wait.
— Fr. Henri Nouwen
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The Christmas-Epiphany Mystery is the celebration of the transmission of divine light. The liturgical season begins with Advent, a period of intense preparation to understand and accept the three comings of Christ. The first is His historical coming in human weakness and the manifestation of His divinity to the world; the second is His spiritual coming in our inmost being; the third is His final coming at the end of time in His glorified humanity. — Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO
Enveloped in Your Light, may I be a beacon to those in search of Light. Sheltered in Your Peace, may I offer shelter to those in need of peace. Embraced by Your Presence, so may I be present to others.
— Rabbi Rami Shapiro
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Make everything in you an ear, each atom of your being,
And you will hear at every moment what the Source is whispering to you,
Just to you and for you,
without any need for my words or anyone else’s.
You are–we all are–the beloved of the Beloved,
And in every moment, in every event of your life,
The Beloved is whispering to you exactly what you need to hear and know.
Who can ever explain the miracle? It simply is.
Listen, and you will discover it in every passing moment.
Listen, and your whole life will become a conversation
In thought and act between you and Him, directly, wordlessly, now and always.
— Rumi
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You do not need to know precisely what is happening or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and the challenges offered by the present moment and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope. — Thomas Merton
Mindfulness means moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness. It is cultivated by refining our capacity to pay attention, intentionally, in the present moment, and then sustaining that attention over time as best we can. In the process, we become more in touch with our life as it is unfolding. — Jon Kabat-Zinn
With our religious systems we make a great deal of cosmic noise, and we think that will get us to God. But compared with great mystical experience, our prayers and thoughts of God are nothing more than a boiling over in the tiny test tube of the ego. There is a very serious danger here; with all our ideas of God we may be adoring ourselves. The idolatry of religious concepts is the great danger faced by every religion. We are arrogant when we make for ourselves an image of God or try to capture him in our concepts. Eckhart rightly says: “A God whom I can comprehend is not God.” Our religious systems are like computer programs. Just as the computer can produce no new knowledge outside of its software, in the same way, theological statements about God remain narrowly limited unless we expand them through mystical experience.
— Fr. Willigis Jager
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You have heard it said that meditation is “the way to reality.” It is firstly the way to the reality of our own being. By meditation, we learn to be. Not to be any particular role or thing, but just to be. The best way to describe that being is to say that we are in a state of utter simplicity. We are not trying to act. We are not trying to apologize for being who we are or as we are. We are, simply, living out of the depths of our own being, secure and affirmed in our own rootedness in reality.
This is unfamiliar to most of us because we are trained to think that we find truth only amid complexity. Yet we all know at a deeper level that truth can only be found in utter simplicity, in openness. We all require a child’s sense of wonder, the simple childlikeness to worship before the magnificence of creation. The great illusion that most of us are caught in is that we are the center of the world and that everything revolves around us. But in meditation we learn that this is not true. The truth is that God is the center. Meditation is the great way of liberation. We are freed from the past and become open to our life in the present moment. We learn that we are because God is, and that simply BEING is our greatest gift.
— Fr. John Main, OSB
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Wisdom from Pope Francis
Evangelization needs unambiguously to denounce cultural, social, political and economic factors–such as the excessive importance given to market logic–that…lead to discrimination, poverty, exclusion, and violence…. Ordained ministers often lack the training needed to deal with the complex problems currently facing families. The experience of the broad oriental tradition of a married clergy could also be drawn upon. Seminarians should receive a more extensive interdisciplinary, and not merely doctrinal, formation in the areas of engagement and marriage. Their training does not always allow them to explore their own psychological and affective background and experiences. There is a need to insure that the formation process can enable them to attain the maturity and psychological balance needed for their future ministry …The presence of lay people, families, and especially women in priestly formation, promotes an appreciation of the diversity of the different vocations in the Church….
Learning to love someone does not happen automatically, nor can it be taught in a workshop….Those best prepared for marriage are probably those who learned what Christian marriage is from their own parents, who chose each other unconditionally and daily renew this decision….Mutual attraction alone will not suffice to keep the couple together. Nothing is more volatile, precarious and unpredictable than desire….Have the courage to be different. Don’t let yourselves get swallowed up by a society of consumption and empty appearances ….opting for a more modest and simple celebration in which love takes precedence over everything else…. Come to the sober realization that married life is a process of growth, in which each spouse is God’s means of helping the other to the mature. Change, improvement, the flowering of the good qualities in each person…Each marriage is a kind of “salvation history”…the greatest mission of two people in love is to help one another…to shape his or her own identity. Love is a kind of craftsmanship….Decisions involving responsible parenthood presuppose the formation of conscience…. There each one is alone with God, whose voice echoes in the depths of the heart….
It is important that the divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the Church. “They are not excommunicated” and they should not be treated as such…Language or conduct that might lead them to feel discriminated against should be avoided. The Christian community’s care of such persons is not to be considered a weakening of its faith and testimony to the indissolubility of marriage; rather, such care is a particular expression of its charity….a need to make the procedure in cases of nullity more accessible and less time consuming, and if possible, free of charge. For separated parents, it is irresponsible to disparage the other parent as a means of winning a child’s affection, or out of revenge or self-justification. Doing so will affect the child’s interior tranquility and cause wounds hard to heal….We reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration….The better we live on this earth…the more we are able to mature and develop in this world, the more gifts will we be able to bring to the heavenly banquet.
(from Amoris Laetitia—Apostolic Exhortation on the Synod on the Family, ch. 6)
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Mark Your Calendar
[ai1ec view=”agenda”]
To reject the contemplative dimension of any religion is to reject the religion itself, however loyal one may be to its externals and rituals. This is because the contemplative dimension is the heart and soul of every religion. It initiates the movement into higher states of consciousness. The great wisdom teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Buddhist Sutras, Old and New Testaments, and the Koran bear witness to this truth. Right now there are about two billion Christians on the planet. If a significant portion of them were to embrace the contemplative dimension of the gospel, the emerging global society would experience a powerful surge toward enduring peace. If this contemplative dimension of the Christian religion is not presented, the Gospel is not being adequately preached.
– Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO
