Articles published in My Daily Visitor
February 1, 2010 Monday
Mixed Results?
What a way to start of a month with this Gospel. There is much activity here. We have a man possessed by a host of demons, their destruction by trickery and the drowning of someone’s herd of swine. No one is completely satisfied. The healed man’s desire for discipleship is rejected and the villagers reject Jesus and spiritual salvation. But a seed has been planted; the healed one is told to preach the word of his amazing cure.
Life’s desires and accomplishments are never truly fulfilled. A job, a new book, a hobby, loses their appeal after a short time. There is a restlessness deep inside of me. This material incompleteness increases my desire to find true fulfillment; the true mystery of life. “Our hearts will never rest until they rest in thee.”
Lord, help me to seek satisfaction in what I have and obtain only what’s needed.
February 2, 2010 Tuesday
Perseverance
Were Simeon and Anna the last of the prophets – witnesses to the Messiah after centuries of struggle and self-preservation? How long have they been waiting? Did they doubt? Did they question? How many of us would have persevered? I certainly could not have. Even now, I am tempted to take a break from writing. Even now, my thoughts are unfocused away from the present. The fears of what has not occurred or may never occur, haunts me. The words ‘Do not be afraid” ring shallow. “Do not worry” feels like an impossibility. At times my faith is weak, but I have the writings and words of some very great people who went before. Spirituality, faith must be constantly be nourished – fed a good diet of meditation, contemplation, reading and serving.
Holy Spirit, be present in times of struggle and may I be silent and welcoming
February 3, 2010 Wednesday
What’s not seen
Were you ever too close to a situation that you could not properly judge – that you could not see the forest because of the trees? Our narrow human ‘vision’ gets in the way. Due to some sort of prejudices, stubbornness or pride, the closer one is to a particular situation the more difficult it might be to see what may truly be present. In today’s Gospel, the people of Jesus’ native town are victims of their own narrow vision.
The saints of the early church may have left us an incomplete written record, but their efforts are the unseen foundation on which we grow today. Every now and then say a little prayer of thanks as today we honor Saint Ansgar and the more popular Saint Blaise. They are worth a quick Google search.
Lord, have patience with my limits and help me accept them and grow.
February 4, 2010 Thursday
Basic Training
I don’t remember the first time I had to take care of my newborn son, some 18 years ago, but my anxiety must have been pretty high. Hopefully, I paid attention to the nurses the doctor and my wife.
Imagine what the twelve felt, in today’s reading, as our Lord sent them out in pairs to preach and heal. They were told to take nothing and had only the companionship of a fellow disciple. At least I had plenty of baby supplies and the telephone. For them, like myself, there must have been plenty of trepidation.
Like any new responsibility, there is both pride in receiving the task at hand as well as anxiety in taking on the new chore. For our twelve, this was another step in training for when Christ departs.
With new responsibilities, stand beside me Lord, as I struggle with these challenges and opportunities.
February 5, 2010 Friday
Perseverance and Resolve
Today, as we celebrate another saint of the early Church, Saint Agatha, I cannot help but notice one common characteristic our Saints possess. Whether they are the members of the early Church or today’s Church, they each have an internal strength or resolve – brought about by the powerful Faith given to them from the Holy Spirit.
When I started writing today’s passage, I needed inner strength to face another struggle brought by mental illness. Part of the brain is bombarding me with fearful thoughts and images of things yet to be and may never be. Another crisis, forcing me to seek my therapist for an unscheduled visit. With her, I will review the tools to use and try to rewire these neuron-pathways. A process that can take years of struggle.
Lord, help me face these inner challenges. Give me the strength to persevere.
February 6, 2010 Saturday
Did it make a difference?
Today we honor the martyrs Brother Paul Miki and his unnamed companions who gave the ultimate, but sometimes I wonder was it worth it. Christianity did not take hold in the way we would expect. But is that the only goal? Would they have been considered failures in our society?
Fortunately, God works by His rules, outside our time and space not via any bottom line. Rarely will we know the results of our labors. The fruits of a good deed, a nice word, may be forever hidden. Our culture is result oriented. There is this profit motive dictating ones actions and success – nothing in between. Goodness is buried beneath profit. A sad truth, so we must become more than just the end product. Our Christianity must rise above what’s perceived as successful.
Help me to remember Lord that Christianity stands apart from any bottom line.
February 7, 2010 Sunday
The Ego
I wonder how often pride and stubbornness get in the way of our lives. In today’s Gospel, I see by Peter‘s quick conversion as the result of human pride being overcome. Imagine an entire day without a single fish caught (of course planned by our Lord), exhausted, smelling and tired, being told to try it all over again. This Peter, fully competent and self-assured is being told by this stranger who may never had spent a day at sea – how to fish. Like a first grader telling me, a former accountant, how to balance my checkbook.
In Peter’s situation, this pride and hardheadedness magnify the beauty of his relationship with Our Lord. Throughout the Gospel, we see him constantly battle his pride, and stubbornness. His weaknesses/human tendencies conquered, Peter becomes our foundation.
Lord, help me see how ego, interferes with my true self.
February 8, 2009 Monday
Twist and Turns
The Saints’ lives that we celebrate today cannot be defined as atypical. One a slave, the other a soldier – both paths leading unexpectantly to God. A surprise for all except for Him. How beautiful, diverse and difficult were their lives.
Who among us expected their lives to be at the present now? I have not, especially with my medical condition. We plan, God laughs or at least smiles at human folly and foolishness. We must be flexible and remember those who turned sour grapes into wine. I think of Police Officer Steven McDonald, paralyzed from the neck down from a teenager’s bullet some 23 years ago. He still wears the badge and lectures on forgiveness. I too must try and let God direct me. Bend like a palm tree with roots of an oak.
When the unexpected occurs, Lord, help me see with gratitude the gains that can result.
February 9, 200 Tuesday
Tradition without Meaning and Understanding
In one of my group sessions, someone was describing how every year their grandmother would cut the legs off the Thanksgiving Turkey before placing it in the oven. No one knew the reason why – it was just done that way. Explanations were always given until one day someone asked Grandma. Her answer, “The pan was not big enough.”
That’s what happened with the Pharisees and scribes. There was action without meaning. A routine became tradition without heart. Worse of all, these ’traditions’ led to hypocrisy, and pride. Through generations, the elders lost their way and became bogged down with rituals. These rituals then became obsessions. (As one with Obsessive Compulsion Disorder, I know how easy it is for rituals to become all controlling) The Faith of Abraham had taken a wrong turn.
Lord, help me take the proper road when rituals become a power unto themselves.
February 10, 200 Wednesday
Sticks and Stone
Inside all of us, there is a battle being waged and our words mirror our soul. I remember the complaints received and the criticisms hurled. As our souls and hearts are human and therefore impure and imperfect, what comes out can also be defiling. Remember when we were kids, there was this saying that “Sticks and Stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”. Well, Jesus had it correct all along – words can hurt.
The Saint we honor today has been over shadowed in history by her more popular twin brother, Benedict. As a child, I remember how I was over shadowed by my brothers’ successes. We will experience that sometime in our lives. What we should remember, as Christians, the times when we overshadow someone else and their accomplishments.
Help me, Lord, to remember how my actions and words may affect another.
Glenn Slaby Blog