Seeking security keeps us from the poverty and trust that open us to the union and spirit of Christmas - "Spiritual Development and the Gospel Narratives 3" by John Shea

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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As I relabel these blogs, we are approaching Advent and Christmas.... It's November 20, 2006. This particular entry is especially interesting in light of the kind of openness and trust we all understand and long for, sadly forget about most of the year, and joyfully remember again as we approach the mystery of Christmas - the festival surrounding the awesome coming to Earth of a God - the Son of God who came among us a a little child destined to grow up to be a man unlike any other, yet given to us as a gift to reveal to us precisely the kind of men and women we are called and destined to become..... Fr. Gilles All references are from the bibliography of the course Spiritual Development and Gospel Narratives, IPS 414 at the Institute of Pastoral Studies of Loyola University of Chicago, drawn up for the students by Professor John Shea.

In his “Introduction” to The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers John Shea notes that the preoccupations of this culture “with physical need, social standing, and financial security” hinder the openness of the soul to the spiritual dimension of all of life. This is something pastors and preachers already know and struggle with, and we have much to learn from Jesus’ deliberate approach to the people and his ministry to them. We are in our turn to do all we can to allow the Gospels to capture their imagination; so that the Spirit can draw their minds - in awe of Jesus - towards conversion to Spirit, who lone can transform their hearts to receive and then to “release spirit into the world” in their daily lives.

Since I was first offered to go on sabbatical as a gift following on a very difficult assignment of these past ten years, I’ve been taken up by reflections on pastoring in the parish setting. There are so many challenges and expectations coming from bishops, people, and priests ourselves; that it’s difficult to navigate through them with a sense of doing all that is most important and essential to our calling. I have a sense that a lot has been written and said about priesthood, pastoring, and ministry in the parish, but have not found much to help make sense and put order in the priorities. After ordination, we send priests out and hope they will “find their way” through the variables of their own condition, personality, and skills, and of the condition and quality of the faith community in the parish. Because of changing demographics, we have all but lost the system of mentoring which allowed young priests time to learn from older and more experienced priests. In the increasing absence of priestly fraternity, they can suffer isolation.

A good friend who died 5 years ago was epileptic and used to refer with wry humor to the ways his psychologist pathologized his faith. Bob would’ve appreciated this article "A model of spirituality for psychotherapy and other fields of mind-body medicine," in Advances in Mind-Body Medicine (2001) 17, 90-107, by Ruth Cohn Bolletino even more than I do. Her treatment of “the new spirituality” which uncritically takes to itself any and all the latest "new age" or other fads loosely based on claims that a particlar practice or substance is spiritual, healthy or restorative describes the trend as the magical thinking it really is. I welcome her call to psychotherapy and psychiatry to incorporate the spiritual dimension as essential to the whole human person in practice, and value her thesis for its practical applications for ministry today in the Church.

All of life is deeply spiritual in terms of our origin, destiny, and by virtue of our being sustained in existence by God from moment to moment. Our situation as pastors and confessors is different from that of physicians, psychologists, and psychotherapists or counselors who have until now kept themselves "independent" from the spiritual dimension, in that our duty and the expectation of the faithful require that we help them connect with the Gospel and our faith tradition; so that they might then make an informed decision in the conduct of their lives.

It has been a long time since I’ve read anything like The Grand Option, by Beatrice Bruteau, and it brought me back to my college years, when I couldn’t get enough of Teilhard de Chardin, a French priest who was a hybrid theologian and anthropologist. As I read chapter 6, part of me felt like this is wishful, almost magical thinking; yet at another level, I was realizing this convergence thinking is so much in the culture that I’ve actually taken it in and do think that way myself. Bruteau contends that unless humanity enters deeply into the sense of wholeness demonstrated by Jesus, the conflicts and divisions in humanity could very well destroy everyone. Jesus did all He could to bring his listeners to realize that we are all literally connected as one living organism, and embrace the implications by living a life in a new solidarity with everyone else - even enemies.

I couldn’t help but think that the Muslim world is experiencing a convergence of its own, only it is not a full convergence, but in opposition to our western culture and society, which it generally perceives as sensual, decadent, even depraved, and in many ways, we can’t really argue with them. As Church people, our desire for convergence may have begun in earnest in a widespread, popular way, with Pope John XXIII, who was so loved by Jews, Protestant Christians, and people of other religions. Jesus brings us to a much wider belonging than we are accustomed to today or in any generation, which connects with this course’s perspective on Jesus’ call to unending repentance from the mind unenlightened by Spirit that ever seeks to narrow our outlook and action and control our motivation and behaviour.

In “Following Jesus into Faith” from The Journal of Christian Healing (Fall 1988), 21-28 by Beatrice Bruteau, Ph.D., a very bold article, one which does not in any way contradict anything I have come to know, understand, or believe about God, Revelation, and the faith journey. On the contrary, without referring to original sin, she puts in contemporary terms the truth that we are already in union with God, and therefore with others and all of creation. It follows we are only separated from God, others, and creation inasmuch as we have become isolated within selfish, sinful, or fearful preoccupations. The highest good for which we have been given life and are being sustained in life by the Creator and Source of all is this very union. Union is the primary motive of prayer, to let the Holy Spirit draw us ever more fully into perfect union, which ever bursts forth into life-giving action, which she calls manifestation.

Our capacity to actively participate in our union with God is obscured, hindered, damaged, or shut down by our sin, but also by various injuries we come to suffer, until we come to the Lord - often through the help of others and the sacraments - and He forgives, reconciles, and heals us. Because of original sin, our own sinfulness makes us think we are separate from God, like the prodigal son. Conversion is what Beatrice calls insight, and the free decision that follows not to accept this perspective, but to surrender it and embrace the gift of our revealed, gratuitous union with God. Repentance is living aware and grateful that our willingness to accept God’s self-bestowal moment by moment is itself grace, the work of the Spirit within us. Discipleship is “following Jesus into faith”, becoming one with his mind and heart, passing through Him as a door into the Father, the Source of All, and returning through Him, one with his action in the world. The prayer of insight daily lets go the misconception that we are separated from God and seeks to enter into the Center where Jesus and the Father are One, and we are one with them and each other, in the Spirit.

Disorder and disease, pain and fear keep us from holding fast to and deepening our union with God and acting out of it, entrapping us with false beliefs incompatible with the truth revealed by Jesus. Such beliefs may act as operating principles in the world, and they lock our mind in the ways of the world and away from divine wisdom. Beatrice contends that by leaving people in these misconceptions – which engender sin – we “retain” their sins, but if we refuse these false beliefs and send them back to people – thus demonstrating their untruth – we “remit” the sins that are engendered by them. People are then free from falsehood, free to let go of the sins until now generated by their false belief. They can accept the unconditional love of God – his gift of Self – that purifies them with the truth. Jesus brings them and us into his own knowledge of and faith in the Father’s love, where He restores our vision of God and of who we are in his eyes, and then leads us back into the world to see it, love and serve it as He does – with compassion and healing – living in God, never to be separated from Him.

We are held in existence by the ever-flowing Breath of the Father shaped by the Word of the Son, and in faith we correspond to the will of the Father by thinking the truth that comes from Him, seeing it as real around us, will that it actually be, and feel and relate to it as present, without wavering or doubting. I know this as true and it helps me understand more clearly what happened to me in the seminary in 1978. I was visiting the sick at a hospital, entered a room where an elderly man lay apparently dying, his wife and son standing as far from him as they could. Simply responding to inner impulse, I talked with them and slowly moved closer to the bed until I invited them to pray with me for the man. I invited them to lay hands on him with me, and prayed simply with faith and hope. They were grateful, and a few weeks later called me with great joy to invite me for dinner, as he had miraculously recovered and was now back home. I never fully understood what had happened until now. I was not aware of myself but attentive to the others and conscious of being one with the Lord. He was free to do what He wanted, and in this case it was to restore the man, for now, until his appointed time. Since then, I’ve certainly experienced what the author calls the doubting and doubling of the mind, and walking in uncertainty, especially when I'm less in touch with my union with God and more preoccupied about getting from God some particular outcome, such as healing for the sick person..

As Jesus was tempted, so are we, not just for 40 days, but throughout life, to believe the great deception, the great lie which has engendered all the disorder, fear, and sin in humanity. As the Spirit refashions our mind and we put on the mind of Christ, we live in all truth and it sets us free to actually live as children of God and to call others to this truth that there is nothing to fear, because we are spirit, and it can never be injured or killed. I am also flesh, which will suffer and die, but only to be raised up into immortality. What is lost will be restored a hundredfold. Baptism reclaims the mind for God and restores its sight to vision of God in the Spirit to enter in through Jesus to the path of life and walk in it our whole life long. This is the great healing. We are to so enter the mind of Christ that “we are ourselves in direct contact with the love that is God” and know the Father and his love even as Jesus does; no longer needing intermediary manifestations of his love for us.

This is what Jesus revealed when He became poor, and yet the Father still loved Him; cold and hungry, and yet the Father still loved Him; tempted and agonizing over the Father's will, and the Father still loved Him; persecuted and arrested, tortured and dying on the cross, alone, abandoned, and the Father still loved Him. Jesus breaks our misconceptions that when we suffer God has forgotten us or doesn't care. We are to walk on this path as disciples, apprentices under the mastery of Jesus, beginning now to practice doing all that He himself has done and given us to do. Accepting the reality that our spirit within is as formless as the Spirit who sustains us in being, we can be detached of all expectation or preference, and be open to become part of God’s self-manifestation – in sacramental and ordinary moments – drawing all people to Him.

Those who reduce the devil to the tangle of impulses within us that would prevent us from embracing conversion and being transformed deny the truth revealed in the Scriptures. Our inner struggles are very real, but they are not the full picture. I believe all that the Christian tradition professes and acknowledge the reality of the spirit entity referred to as Satan (the accuser) or devil (the one who pulls apart or destroys). Being fully human, Jesus was tempted in every way that we are – the apostles believed this too – and we are all tempted to self-sufficiency, pride, and appetite for privilege, power over others, and preoccupation with our own safety.

However, to make the case that Jesus was human, we don’t need to reduce him to the lowest common denominator of human - He wasn't just tempted at the level of the comfort of his flesh or psychological advantage, his social status, and influence. We believe as Christians that Jesus was primarily tempted to accomplish his very lofty mission with human means, relying on himself and his privileged position, rather than relying on his Father in complete trust. He overcame his temptations by accepting to be weak, like us, which is one reason why Jesus is himself the way we must walk; since we are most definitely weak. It is one reason why we are so encouraged and empowered by his temptations to walk after Him, with Him.

to be continued.....

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Jesus put himself on display to draw us into his faith experience - "Spiritual Development and the Gospel Narratives 2" by John Shea

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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This Gospel Narratives course with John Shea is continuing to have a big impact on me, and on the other students as well, I believe. I will search the web to see whether I can find any of the articles he has given us to read, and if I do, I will hot link them into my post, but if not, I can at least give the references so you can find them if you really want to. 

Just from memory, one article talks about how Jesus came so that we might be saved, we believe this, but the Father's will and Jesus' intention is that we should enter into his own faith. He lived his life on display, as it were, at least to his disciples, and the Holy Spirit inspired the Gospels in order that in every generation, time, and place, all who hear the Good News might be drawn into Jesus' life and faith.

To put it differently, Jesus wants us to enter into his Baptism experience and know as He knows that the Father loves us, loves me, and wants to find his pleasure in us / me. The Father's pleasure is that the world might enter into the union He intended human beings to have with Him when He first created us in Adam and Eve - the first man and woman - the first ones to have within them as their constituting identity a spirit, a soul in the image and likeness of God. 

Jesus lived constantly in the insight of his Sonship in his Father, whereas we find it more difficult to abide in that insight, which is one important purpose of prayer for us - to dispose ourselves to be brought back into that insight. At times, we need help, the help and love of others, and especially their forgiveness. That was the whole point of Jesus' parable of the prodigal son. He came back to his father because he was starving, but had forgotten who he was. He had become identified with his failure, with his sin. He had become his sin and had lost who he was in his family and in his family's love. 

So the father immediately called to the servants to rush out with the finest robe and put it on him as well as sandals, that these external signs of his dignity and place in the father's heart and in his family might jolt him back to the reality and insight that he was the beloved son of his father. 

At his Baptism, Jesus disindentified with sin, even though He was without sin, He affirmed his awareness and will of wanting to have nothing to do with sin and remain in his Father's love and will. The gates of heaven opened then not just for Him, but for all of us and for all time. The Father affirmed his love for Jesus and his pleasure in Him come to do his will and restore humanity to the Father's love. 

The Father affirms his love for us as well. So the question is, have we fallen into identifying ourselves with our sin and failure, or do we enter wholeheartedly into our Baptism and disidentify ourselves with sin and identify ourselves with Jesus as sons and daughters of our loving Eternal Father? 

We have only to listen in prayer for his voice affirming his love for us, and like Jesus, be driven into the desert by the Spirit so that we can be tempted and see clearly all the things that we are not - that's what temptations are - things that we are not. Once we reject our temptations, the Spirit leads us back to the society of people, filled with his power. 

As Jesus said, those who believe in Him and are united to Him will do even greater things than He did, because it's really not about results or external manifestations, rather, it's about the Father finding pleasure in our union with Him in Jesus and then being able to think in us, speak through us, and act in us. As St. Paul said, it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. 

From a Catholic point of view, this is the kind of insight that we want to bring to our celebrations of Penance and Reconciliation, so that everyone there would really want to disidentify with their sin and failure and be reaffirmed in their identity and dignity and freedom to love as sons and daughers of God. 

To be continued.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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The spiritual is not an object, but a process - "Spiritual Development and the Gospel Narratives 1" by John Shea

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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Have you ever heard of John Shea, Roman Catholic priest, professor, and storyteller? Among others, he published the books "Stories of God." and "Stories of Faith." I attended the first lecture ten days ago in the course quoted in the title of this post. He skipped this past Wednesday, and I'll resume attending his lectures this week. I was very deeply touched by his first lecture, as he sat in simplicity on a chair before the class and just spoke, using stories at times to help us make some remarkable connections. 

An internal echo of recognition resounded within me at the Professor’s statement that

“we can never see the spiritual dimension; it is not an object, but a process.”

Instantly, these words gathered together all I’ve ever heard and experienced about how important it is for the person on the spiritual journey not to be preoccupied by their own progress or even faith walk, nor by our experience of God. We are to attend to the divine Guest rather than to how we feel in his presence; just as we are to attend to our neighbor more than to how we feel about him or her. 

We are not to entirely ignore our experience; on the contrary, awareness of what we experience allows us to be and to relate to others in truth. It is healthy periodically to take note of where we are on the journey, to take stock of our condition, and to be aware of our relationship with God – as we do on retreat or during a sabbatical experience such as the one I have just begun – so that this realization can in turn elevate us with gratitude to the Lord and bring us back filled with gratitude to the company, intercourse and service of community and society. 

The phrase “transcendent interiority” he quoted from Van Kaam clarifies the ineffable quality of the spiritual dimension as a living process, and the realization that the soul, which is created capable of and intended for communion with both God and other human beings in the Spirit, transcends our soul’s earthly ability to be aware of itself. The journey to true encounter with others – who are different and outside of myself – is most fully realized by a true encounter with the Living God, who is completely Other than me and beyond me, which in turn begins with the journey inwards beyond what I know and control about myself. 

There is within each of us a transcendent interiority, which is our own spirit that by its nature is capable of knowing the One who is the Transcendent Being beyond all knowing. This knowing is not that with which our mind continually busies itself. Many have taught that the mind can hinder the spiritual dimension of our lives, that it tends to draw all things to itself, and all I know about what has been said and written about this can and has left the impression that the mind is more trouble than it is useful. 

On the other hand, we also know and believe, as St. Ambrose said, that our faith seeks understanding, and in this it is the mind which engages our soul in its search. John Shea the Professor calls the mind, antechamber of the psyche, the gatekeeper of the soul. The mind is the key player in opening the soul to Spirit, where it can drink deeply

“from the well of the Spirit and bring back spirit into the world.” 

Conversely, a closed mind causes a hard heart, “frozen, cut off, stuck in ideas closed to life.” Again, it rang true and I found it so enlightening to hear that 

“the mind clings to ideas that keep it from life…. Sometimes we cling so much to what we think is the truth that when truth comes knocking we refuse to open the door. The mind does this without our permission.” 

I’ve never heard it put so strongly or clearly that “the mind” - that is, the mind without love, without the guidance and wisdom of the Spirit - tends to remain closed and narrow, lulls us to sleep to miss life and miss the encounter with the Living God and our neighbor. 

“It only becomes ‘my mind’ once I love it from deeper within and soften it with spirit I receive” 

and functions in my awareness. That sheds so much light on the Gospels 

“as spiritual wisdom that can open the mind to Spirit and then … release spirit into the world.” 

I’ve always been amazed at Jesus preaching or denouncing, but leaving everyone free to draw their own conclusions and act upon them. Appealing to their minds, he preached that they might open themselves through the wisdom He offered to the source of Spirit, and wasted no time 

“going after what was wrong…. We don’t occasionally repent; we are repentance, because our mind is in a constant state of needing to be changed.” 

When the heart softens the mind and it opens up to wisdom, it allows us to go in and drink from the wellspring of Spirit Jesus said wells up to eternal life within those who worship in spirit and truth. We must cling to the Gospel, to wisdom. So far these impressions are formed in abstract language, and it probably reads as pretty dry, well, in many ways it is. 

 As I continue to relate what's happening in this course, it will become more practical and concrete, and I'm really excited about the possibilities. The point of this course is to try to learn how to preach and teach the Gospels in the same way Jesus did, that is, to invite the mind to open the soul up to the Spirit. 

To be continued.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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How to resist the pressures of the onslaught: "The Son of Man is master even of the Sabbath." Life calls us to live fully and open up to community & cooperation.

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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In the middle of this 3rd week on sabbatical, realizing it's the end of the day and 11 days since my last post, I'm so glad to recall this declaration by Jesus. It expresses the space I find myself in at this very moment. You see, I wrote the last post from a wonderful awareness of grace and was filled with gratitude. I can now sense, yes, that grace is still there; however, on the surface, much else is clamoring for attention. Isn't that so often the case, that we are conscious of the essence of life - where our soul really is and is content to be - all the while some not so quiet breezes, if not tropical storms, thrash about on the surface, possibly dividing our mind and maybe even our heart. 

For me, it has been the intensity of the orientation week or 10 days, meanwhile attending to such details as having my door lock fixed (1 week), shopping for breakfast foods once I realized what they have here just won't satisfy my organism's needs (the first few days), giving in and getting a US cell phone for emergencies and my family (you don't want to know how much), picking up some beer and snack foods once I learned that we're responsible for our own and what's in the fridge is for our community social on Thursdays (second week), finally getting my bicycle out for some air and exercise (end of 1st week), clarifying with the Catholic Theological Union Registrar how I was going to get registered for a course at one of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools at Loyola University of Chicago Institute for Pastoral Studies and then going downtown by car for the first time just to see where the Loyola Water Tower Campus is and then a second time for the first class (my second week here) in Gospel Narratives by John Shea (the priest who wrote "Stories of Faith" and "Stories of God" - more about Fr. John and the course in a future posting. 

I just love the course and am delighted I signed up for it. I immediately went shopping for the 3 books required by the professor at the university bookstore (surge of memories from my university days gone by....), got home, and over the next few days put the package of photocopied articles he gave us in order and began reading the current assignments. One of the sisters, on hearing about it, asked to have regular reports; so we just may have a little periodic "reading group" where I might relate some of what I'm hearing and reading and learning - no preparation of course - I'm not here to work or get into that efficiency mode, but to rest and be renewed. 

Talking about it though would help me process what I'm learning and contribute to my overall sabbatical experience and renewal. That isn't all of the whirlwind I've been in! The first 2 weeks, we had wonderful weather with nights at around 70 degrees and days around 84. I was out on the bicycle 3 or 4 times, the last being on Saturday, when I went downtown (ca. 20 km round trip) - my longest ride in probably two years! I think I let my enthusiasm push a little too hard, and coming back in a cool breeze, felt a little sensitive and tired the next few days; so I rested. 

Then 2 nights ago, the air temp plummeted, and my 8th floor room with a view seeing the lakefront to the right, downtown to the north straight ahead, and the city stretching to the left felt like a wind tunnel. A strong wind outside was blowing air in through the air conditioner; so I just had to take it out of the window, only to find the window was broken and already out of its track on one side.... We're having it looked into, but everyone else seems to be happy with open windows and doors; needless to say my body has been feeling "under siege" by drafts. 

Thankfully I came fully equipped and packed so I believe I'm getting the better of it, for now! There's more! Some of our African brothers and sisters are here on a very tight budget, if they have any money at all. I have been deeply touched by them, they are really good and authentic people; so it seemed natural for me - in the course of conversation - to invite one of the priests along with me on a drive. We got memberships at the Athletic Center (brand new) at Chicago University, began to look into his desire to continue his studies after the sabbatical in the area of Clinical Pastoral Education, and then went shopping for swim trunks and sandals for him. His heartfelt and profound gratitude made my day! Christian community is really beginning to happen here as we open up to one another.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Trapped by time? Get free by giving one day a week to God: the Sabbath / Lord's Day is a gift from God - as are sabbatical rests

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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I am so grateful to have discovered the wonder, beauty, and power of the Sabbath 14 years ago at our Fall Priests' Retreat given by Fr. William McNamara, o.c.d., and Sr. Sharon Doyle, both formerly of the Spiritual Life Institute of America. Their respect for the Jewish faith and religious/cultural tradition allowed us to discover the gift of the Sabbath, which God entrusted to Israel as custodians for the benefit of humanity. 

To put it simply, God - who is infinite and "outside of time" - created us to live, for now, within time. The original sin of Adam and Eve - whoever those first human beings were - was a break in the relationship of trust and intimacy they had enjoyed with God until the time of their rebellion. It was being in communion with God their Creator that kept them in a wonderful state of freedom to live among all the other creatures without losing the true sense of who they were. 

Once they broke trust with God, their safety net was broken, as it were, and all of creation - even good things - became potentially dangerous for them. Like many native peoples, they appreciated every creature and respected it, recognizing its link with the Creator. After their fall, however, they began to lose sight of the dignity of worth of each creature, and could fall into using it without respect for it and without remembering from whom it came. They became subject to inner attitudes and feelings such as insecurity, fear, acquisitiveness, greed, and anger. 

Even time became a threat and remains dangerous for human beings to this day. The more we try to control time, the more we end up trapped by it. In his mercy, God gave to his Chosen People in the desert, through Moses, the Ten Commandments (see the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy in the Torah/Law part of the Bible, in the beginning). God said to the people then and He says to us now, "Listen. I have given you seven days. You may work six days, but you must not work on the seventh day (Sabbath). The Sabbath belongs to Me. Give it back to me, and my blessing will be upon you, and you will not fall under the power of time. 

Observe the Sabbath rest by taking time to worship Me with your family and your people, and then spend the rest of the day in My presence: discussing all that I have done for you, studying my Word to you, delighting in my love and mercy upon you, and celebrating with joy the life that I am giving to you in peace, quiet, mirth, and festivity with your family and friends. Do this, and you shall live. Fail to do it, and you will find yourself living a half life, living to work, a slave of time." 

In the same way that the week has its Sabbath rest on the seventh day, which Jews observe on Saturday (which comes from the word Sabbath), and Christians observe on Sunday, the day on which Jesus rose from the dead and the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and disciples; so too the year has its Sabbath at Passover for Jews and Holy Week for Christians. Our years or lives also call for a Sabbath rest, which we can observe by going on retreat once a year for a week or weekend, and for a longer retreat every so often - after 5, or 7, or 10 years. 

We can listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit within us, or observe the signs in our body, mind, psyche, and soul, and become aware of our need to pause, be still, rest, and get back in touch with the roots and source of our lives; in order to clear the soil of our lives from the brambles and thorns that have grown up over the years and now hinder the growth of the good seen God plants within us. 

Even in the workplace and marketplace the concept of sabbatical not only exists but is valued and practiced. University professors consider the opportunity to go on sabbatical as an honor and a prize, and often use the time to go to a prestigious center of learning or field work and produce an article, book, or study for publication. People in the medical or other professions use the time to get themselves updated to current developments in their field, while also enjoying the time through rest and recreation. 

When they can, professionals bring their families with them on sabbatical, and the adventure becomes an opportunity for the whole family to be renewed and rest. I make this post from Chicago, where I am just beginning a sabbatical rest of just under four months. There are 22 other participants here from all over the world: from Nigeria (1 priest and 1 sister), Ghana (2 priests), U.S.A. (5 priests, 3 sisters, & 1 brother), Rwanda (1 priest), Ireland (1 priest missionary in the U.S.A.), Ontario (1 priest), Germany (1 priest), Tahiti (1 French missionary priest), Tanzania (1 priest), South Africa (1 priest from Uganda), France (1 Nigerian missionary sister), and Sri Lanka (1 sister), and myself. 

Since Friday, we have been giving each other - in a large group - a 30-minute sketch of our lives; so that we may come to know one another better and enter into an experience of community with one another. Of course, this means that rather than only have a few professors and other speakers address us - which will also happen - we also have this wealth of human experience of faith and struggle, from which we are already learning a great deal. 

I already feel myself filling with gratitude for the great gift and privilege of having entered into this sabbatical experience. It is a sacred time, a time for stillness and prayer, for sharing and reflection, for reading and study, a time to be renewed and refreshed, and to rediscover a balance of life. 

"Lord, I thank You for this time of grace from your merciful providence, and I ask your kind blessing on all those people who have in any way made it possible for me to be here, or who now support me in any way and especially through prayer. May this holy sabbatical become an instrument of your blessing and grace for them as much as for me and for my companions that You have assembled in this place. May You be known, blessed, and loved, now and always and forever and ever. Amen."

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Let the secret out: Canadian Catholic women are very strong: Feminine Corporate Power

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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This week has been a real eye-opener, no mistake, for me as I participate in the 84th Annual National Convention of the Catholic Women's League of Canada in London, Ontario. Oh, I've known about the League for decades, but I realize now that I didn't really know the League. The realization kind of sneaked up on me, as I arrived and observed an ever wider range of women with different appearance, personality, education, competence, experience, age, and so on. 

I came on the train with a group of women from the Montreal Archdiocesan Council and other neighboring dioceses, and on arrival we were met by a not quite middle-aged woman with the appearance of a body builder. I discretely asked her, after a few minutes of chatting, whether she might be a farmer or athelete. She gladly admitted to being a farmer now, and had been an athlete in her youth. Well, that was just the beginning. 

At a meeting of Spiritual Advisors, mostly priests and a few bishops and religious women, we discovered that the legislative resolutions that the League puts together, votes on at these conventions, and presents to the various levels of government in Canada, tend to be the kind of ground breaking stuff that finds its way into federal and provincial legislation and services as far as ten or more years later. 

It seems that the League is leading the way, by carefully researching issues that are raised by women who deal with those issues directly. The input of intelligent, resourceful, and deeply committed and involved women across Canada turns out to be a resource that even Cabinel ministers ignore at their own political peril! 

What an amazing service that these women render to their sisters and to all of us in this land! I never realized that it was possible in Canada for ordinary people, and women, to have such a strong voice and position from which to lobby our political process. Some words I spontaneously said to the Montreal Archdiocesan Council a few months ago are turning out to be truer than even I had dreamed: the CWL is perhaps one of our Canadian Church's best kept secrets. Well it's time we get the secret out!

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Mr Bush: we treated all native people like the renegades who attacked us and almost wiped them all out. Then, Viet-Nam, Iraq... who's next?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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Once again this week, I caught a glimpse of President Bush addressing his nation, and anyone else who would listen in, assuring them of his resolve to continue fighting against terrorism. Suddenly, there was a click inside me, and I caught sight of an eerie parallel between this resolve today to rally against these perceived threats coming from Islamic countries and the resolve of American colonists to resist the "red terror" of the American Aboriginal peoples. If I had the opportunity, I'd suggest to President Bush that he might draw great benefit from considering the real possibility he might be pushing his great nation today into the same narrow and ignorant path taken by his predecessors some 2 or more centuries ago when, from an instinct of self-preservation, they misread the culture and civilization of the native peoples - wrote them off as "savages" - and proceeded towards their systematic extinction. 

Today, our more enlightened scientific community has revealed to us that these peoples not only lived but even prospered here for millennia, understanding in great detail the workings of their environment, and living in such a way as to do the least possible damage to it. They succeeded so well that archeologists find relatively few traces of their passage here over time. Even from a cultural point of view, North American Aboriginal Peoples developed intriguingly successful societies, wherein there was relatively little poverty, and a highly developed moral and ethical code of conduct. 

We came to understand the Native Peoples very late, almost too late, in fact we were too late for some tribes that are all but extinct. Our ignorance continued as long as we had any reason to fear them, denying our complicity in driving them away from their ancestral lands and literally robbing them of sustenance and of life itself. We came and took everything away from them, deluding ourselves that we were doing it for their own good. 

Then, when they tried to defend themselves, we said, "You see, these are violent and dangerous people." and thought ourselves justified in speeding up our "ethnic cleansing" solution. Mr. President, are we not today making the same mistake of misunderstanding the civilization and culture of Islam? 

How many times now have we heard people who know the Islamic nations say that these peoples are experiencing - as entire peoples - desperation at the invasion of our western culture and values into their societies? They experience our socially institutionalized greed and unfettered freedom from moral norms and modesty as depraved, as an intrusion and even as an invasion, which they sense as a great violation. Our way of living violates them, and they don't know how to protect themselves from us. 

It is, at least in part, this desperation that is driving otherwise perfectly rational, intelligent, and educated people of all ages to become suicide bombers. Granted, this is not the kind of solution we ourselves - if we were in their shoes - might come to, but simply because we don't fathom such a strategy does not of itself make it insane. Cultural norms are relatively fluid, and people are sane and normal when they situate themselves squarely within the parameters of their own culture and society. 

I certainly don't condone these violent strategies, but in this reflection, I am simply begging the question: Would it not be both possible and desirable for us to try to better understand Islamic society and culture, and the various ethnic peoples who live and believe Islam, and to enhance our lines of communication with them with the deliberate and openly stated intention of seeking mutual understanding? 

Rallying behind the battlecry of zero tolerance for terrorism may be having the unfortunate side effect of treating entire societies as terrorists simply because we don't understand them, much as we did with the "Red Indians" 2 or 3 centuries ago, only this time, instead of us almost wiping out the native peoples of this land, we might find ourselves stirring up a quarter of humanity against us by pushing Islam as a whole over the edge and driving them to unite in self-defense against our intrusive globalizing, amoral culture and our irrational and monolithic understanding and policies with regards to Islam and Islamic nations.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Jesus wants priests, but do we? Let's stop criticizing the Church: "O Lord, You have been our refuge, from one generation to the next."

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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Last night, Fr. Brian MacDougall of Charlottetown and I found ourselves chatting about the tensions that seem to persist in our Church, from one diocese to the next. Over the years, during my travels, I have heard so many "horror stories" of priests and laity being persecuted for simply receiving with confidence the teachings and discourses of Pope John Paul II, for continuing to believe in our Church's belief in the value of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, or for other reasons. 

It might be true to say that in most, if not in all dioceses, there exist tensions between clergy and laity who want to remain faithful to the living tradition of faith and others who passionately want Church tradition to catch up to the rapidly moving culture. If we are embarrassed with our Church, then perhaps we will also find ourselves embarrassed at the Lord when we see Him face to face. Jesus declared that if we are embarrassed at Him, then He too will be embarrassed at us when He brings us before his Father in his kingdom after we die. 

For years now, we have been perplexed by the waste of energy and what almost amounts to paralysis, whereby churches don't reach out much to the unchurched or aren't sufficiently enthused about the Gospel to proclaim it high and wide. Those who want to remain faithful to the tradition fear the sharp attacks of those whose demands for reform are unending; while these show signs of contempt for those whom they see as blindly locked up in the past. Our inability or unwillingness to be at peace with our faith tradition and see God's will at work in it is tearing us apart and depleting our vital energy and hope. We can be disheartened by the pressures coming at us from other clergy or other dioceses, or from the people, who seem at times more motivated by what they want than by what they give. 

We sense we are using up too much of our days trying to maintain the sanctuary and not enough in actively shepherding the flock. How many eagerly offer to work with us, to take on all that the laity can do; so that the priests we still have can busy themselves with the sacramental and pastoral labor that is properly theirs? I thank the Lord for those who do practice their faith and actively participate in the mission of the Church with us. Everywhere the Lord is there are signs of life and love. 

Similarly, many religious orders wonder why they are attracting so few vocations, but some of them have become embarrassed about their founders or else have wandered so far from their original spirit or charism and purpose for coming into being. For too long, they were obsessed with their identity or appearance, and struggled against their charism as a yoke they needed to get freed of, rather than see it as a discipline that could give shape to their charity. 

We diocesan clergy have far too often succumbed to similar traps of self-absorption. Is it any wonder that we struggle with vocational sterility? Only the Lord and Giver of Life can restore our generativity. I rejoice at the signs of hope the Lord is raising up in the persons of younger priests and religious who enter into the fray with zeal for the Gospel, enthusiasm for the Lord, and tender pastoral charity for the children of God. Their selflessness, simple joy, eager spirits, and generous labor is just the kind of stimulation and inspiration we needed. Lord, bring them on! 

What exactly is motivating the stresses that are tearing at the fabric of our Church, and where do they come from? I'm all in favor of the current study to enhance the English liturgical texts in order to restore the reverence and deep meaning that were lost in the initial translations. We have become familiar with them and don't realize the poverty of the language until we see better translations of the original latin and french texts. 

However, I don't understand why there continues to be such tinkering with the Liturgy - as though the ritual texts were worn out and we needed to reinvent them - when our attention would be better given to catechesis and evangelization. Do we need to be laboring so much to get more women and laymen into the sanctuary when we are doing so little to promote the foundational vocation of priesthood? 

It was right and good 40 years ago to elevate the dignity of the lay faithful and open up for them their proper place and participation in the mission of the Church, but that is done now; yet we seem obsessed with pounding that dead horse into the ground, while we watch the average age of our priests climb over 65. Must we see the last priest die to realize there is no Eucharist, no Penance and Reconciliation, no full Sunday assembly without priests? As we see what the Spirit is doing in the whole Church, it is plain that Jesus still wants priests; but do we? 

There was a Catholic Japanese faith community that survived for centuries without priests: they could pray, learn and teach about the Holy Scriptures, baptize, and serve those in need, but they couldn't bring about the Holy Eucharist and have the fullness of Christian community. They didn't have a choice because all their priests were martyred, killed. We do have a choice, but we hesitate to make it. We seem embarrassed by the brazen arrogance of our worldwide culture, with its extreme positions in favor of individual supremacy and freedom of choice, and keep silent when we have opportunities to declare ourselves for Jesus Christ and as members of his Roman Catholic Church. 

As families, we stifle even the remote possibility that our sons might be even for a moment attracted to the life and calling of the priest. We are living out the paradox of continuing to want and even demand services of our priests on the one hand, and on the other hand preferring that priests come from somewhere else, from other families. How many priests has your family or clan given to the Lord in the past 25 years? 50 years? 100 years? Among your ancestors, have there ever emerged men who responded to this call and became priests? Have you ever even thought about it? 

Have you ever prayed about it, or been so bold and generous as to ask the Lord to be pleased to grant priestly vocations to your extended family and further asked Him to show you signs of these vocations, that you might encourage the young men to pray about it and remain open to the Lord's call? 

These and other questions are among the very many questions that we priests carry as so many burdens before the Lord as we face his people. The more we see the children of God entirely preoccupied with their own wellbeing and future prospects - with nary a word about God's concerns: the advancement of the Gospel, the conversion of souls, the reform of families and marriages, the discipline and inspiration of the young, the bold proclamation before the world of the holy Name of Jesus, the care of the widow and orphan, assistance to the troubled, the starving, and the poor, and defense of those who are wrongfully accused, exploited, or in any way harmed - the more self-absorbed we see the children of God becoming, the heavier all these questions weigh upon the heart of a priest. 

I believe we would die prematurely of grief were it not for the extraordinary generosity and creativity of those who do reach out and take responsibility for various projects to the poor and for the Gospel. Still, so many members of the Body of Christ seem to remain incognito, afraid to declare their attachment to Jesus openly. Will no one dare any longer to bear the Lord's concerns? Won't you open your heart to allow the Lord to put his mark upon you and burn into your soul the radiant sign of his truth and fill you with confidence in his love and mercy? Will you not speak up for the Lord and for his concerns? 

Will we stubbornly persist in developing and promoting our own plans, without consulting the Lord to know, understand, and promote his plan? He has a wonderful plan, which includes us from conception to death and beyond into eternity. Will we not adopt his plan as our own? 

Of course, our hearts are not only burdened with such questions as these, but they are also lifted up by the generous, apostolic spirits the Lord continues to raise up among his people - those who are glad to follow the leadership of Pope John Paul II, those who come with a simple "Father, what can I do to help?" Consider those who do the unthinkable and accept a poorly paid (in terms of current market salary scales) job in the Church and courageously take on one of the many areas of ministry and service that constitute the life of our local parish churches. There are thankfully also those who persevere in drawing attention to the poor and suffering in our world and try to persuade others to "make themselves a neighbor", as Jesus said, to those in need. 

We priests are also inspired by the army of women and men who courageously take on God's call to live a covenant life of Matrimony and raise children in a society that ridicules those who appear not to be using contraception. The happy children of a family where they know that they are loved continue to give radiant glory to God and hope to a society afflicted with terminal prooccupation with self. It was good for me this morning to go for a walk into the little country cemetery behind this rural church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Alberton, PEI. The sight of all these grave stones and the realization that all these deceased are now in the presence of God our Father, either in blessedness or purification, or in eternal damnation by their own choice, simply put my mind and heart into proper perspective. 

The Word of God in today's Liturgy reinforced my mind's grasp of what the Lord is saying to us and my heart's willingness to follow where He leads us. Whether I live or die, I am in God's hands, and He has not given up his mastery over creation and over human society, nor over his Church. The young man David was anointed by the prophet Samuel at the Lord's command, and from that moment the Holy Spirit rushed upon the lad. 

The day came when the Philistines and their giant Goliath taunted and embarrassed the Israelite King Saul and his army. Filled with zeal for the Lord, David offered to face the warrior and went out with what was familiar to him and had served him well in defending his father's sheep against the bear, wolf, and lion - his sling. He put out of his mind the two armies that looked on, and thought only of the Lord, who was his strength, and his burning desire to defend the Lord's Holy Name. Because David relied only on the Lord and not on his own strength, the Lord helped him, and he overcame the giant. 

"O Lord, You have been our refuge, from one generation to the next! Help us in this time of our confusion as Christian disciples of your Son Jesus, as members of his holy Church, and as people living in the midst of this affluent and confused culture. It appears that only personal motives of greed, the hotbeds of scientific and technological advancement, and the engines of industrial expansion and economic growth, are being so bold as to give shape to our culture, society, and world. 

Strengthen your children once again with the boldness and courage of the apostles and early Christians - let your Spirit rush upon us as He did upon the young David - and fill us with your power and strength; that we may stand before the world and, with the eloquence only your Spirit can provide, stand as witnesses to your revealed truth and make You known before these new generations arising around us in your extravagant and abundant creativity and love. We make this prayer, for your glory, in the Name of Jesus your Son, our Lord. Amen!"

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Let nature touch you and discover deeply who you are: "All you creatures, bless the Lord!"

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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My classmate, friend, and gracious host, Fr. Brian MacDougall had a Baptism yesterday, and I accompanied him to the family home for the little reception afterwards. I am always in awe of the artistry with which maritimer pastors cultivate relationships with the people they serve - it really is as though they become a member of each family into which they enter or with whom they journey along the multifaceted paths of life. I marvel at how different we are, and at how the Lord is pleased to communicate Himself to people through rather than despite those differences. 

Still, it's summer for him too, and I have noticed signs of his tiredness; so I was glad to give him reason to leave early, for my plan for the late afternoon was to jump into the sea water nearby. The family recommended a pebble beach closer than the provincial park, which I hope to visit the next few days, and we went there. It gave onto the Northumberland Strait and is actually about midway along the western coast of the island. Brian has to watch his exposure to the sun and was content to sit on a towel and spend time with the Lord, with the help of his Breviary. For my part, I put on some lotion, went down to the water's edge, did some warm ups and stretches, and waded out. To my amazement, the first few steps I went down a few feet, but then found myself back up on a sandbar - it was like walking on water - with inches of water as the waves of the surf left ripple lines parallel to the shore every few inches in the sand below. 

About 100 meters out, I found depth of water I could swim in, and soon found myself over my head. Allowing the surf to carry me, I was transported back in time as it were to all the other moments as this, on vacation, where I swam out into the waters of a lake - such as at Nova Nada Hermitage years ago in North Kemptville, Nova Scotia, or as on the beaches of Eastern Point in East Gloucester, Massachusetts, where I went for an annual directed and silent retreat in 1982 and from 1985 to 1989 - and even now as I write these lines I sense myself caught up into the hymn of the creatures: "Seas and rivers, bless the Lord, you fishes and creatures moving in the waters, bless the Lord!" 

Though we forget it, living as we do in a world where we have so much power to control our environment and living conditons through the myriad buttons we have to press - such as these very keys connected to the hardware and wires that are bringing these words to you - we are each of us living creatures, sturdy yet fragile, just as dependent on our Creator for our next breath as all the creatures around us. The warm, refreshing sea water washed all worry and concern from my limbs, and cleared my mind so well it seemed to find itself in communion with my heart and spirit. We were one, one with the One from whom we come, to whom we are returning, and who holds us in being moment by moment by the sheer stability of his will. 

Though I was in the water for only 20 minutes or so - did I swim longer than 15? - perhaps I was there 30 or more.... I lost track of all time.... the peace that came over me enfolds me still. What a blessing it is anytime we allow ourselves to live a more natural moment, a more natural hour, a more natural day, a more natural life. 

"In those moments, You seem so obviously present, our Father and Creator. We seem so naturally to find ourselves walking along in the company of Jesus, your Son; yet in a manner that is so innocent and unselfconscious - it is only later, such as now, that in looking back in order to relate the blessed moment to another - that we become aware that You are here, and our heart and soul, body and mind, raise up to You grateful expressions of praise and gratitude! Blessed are You, Lord God of all Creation, in the orderly multitude of your creatures, and blessed are You in your blessed trinity of Persons! Glory be to You, forever and ever. Amen!"

Sublime moments, yet apparently so trivial, like today. I went shopping for some pasta sauce and local fish, finding scallops and shrimp. We had gone out for supper last evening to the North Port Pier Restaurant, after we came back from the beach and showered. We could observe the huge herons standing in the water, fishing, motionless, ready to strike with lightning speed. We had a wonderful time, and slept well. 

This morning, we kept separate routines: I prayed while Brian worked on his homilies for a wedding on Saturday and for Sunday Masses. I then went for a long walk back to the pier, met a fisherman and RCMP officers, came back for a shower and breakfast, and then went shopping. It was so relaxing, such a natural thing to do, to pan cook the scallops and shrimp, add them to the simmering sauce, cook the pasta, and sit down to a late lunch. Trivial, yet sublime moments of life. 

It seemed a natural thing to do for me to follow up on my offer and celebrate the 4:30 Mass for Brian at the St. Bernadette chapel some 15 km away and preach extemporaneously. It was a pleasant, living connection with the 85 or so folk there; as was the light dinner with an elderly couple who have been offering hospitality to the priests for decades. 

"Lord, bless them! So, here we are, coming to the end of another day, aware that I am glad to be alive. Thank you, Father."

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Seeing both joy and pain in myself, I can be patient with others: in the sublime and trivial moments of the day as we all find both joy and pain.

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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Summertime is really cool, even when it's hot! It seems so natural to take more time than usual to just be glad to be alive. I find my mind boiling with thoughts and my heart overflowing with emotions, and these days, one big thread through it all is gratitude. Gratitude for the priests I have been privileged to live and work with these past ten years. I'm glad that in more recent years I have more deliberately taken the time to enjoy their company and share more openly my thoughts and feelings in this ongoing adventure of life, Christian faith, and priesthood. 

Just last week we enjoyed a meal and fellowship and our gratitude for the awesome presence of the Lord in our midst. We have both rediscovered the joy of spending more time in the Divine Presence each day, and I have been realizing how much I have missed doing that. In my previous assignment, I lived under the same roof with the Lord, and found it easier to just go downstairs to the chapel. On coming to Becket, I initially tried praying in the church, but found it more difficult - cold in winter, noisy with the equipment below, awkward with the furniture arrangement - I guess I'm a bit weak in accepting sacrifice and inconvenience. 

In any event, our new arrangement just makes it a lot easier and somehow a more natural part of the day. The realization that is at the moment capturing my imagination - as you saw in the title of this posting today - is that we all seem to have some difficulty dancing with the confluence of the sublime and the trivial in our daily lives. The currents of joy and pain, delight and anguish, flow through our days as currents of warm and cold water do in the summer waters of lake or river as we swim along to refresh ourselves. 

Think of yourselves who are married - how well do you dance with the juxtaposition of sublime moments of communion with your spouse and the changing of diapers, getting up in the middle of the night in response to a child's call, finding yourself in the middle of outbreaks of sibling rivalry, the dynamics of your workplace, and the endless stream of other apparently trivial happenings of life? I have known people who are the most graceful of dancers, slipping in and out of the sublime and the trivial, as though they had become one - the trivial befriending the sublime, and the sublime penetrating the trivial. 

For me, it's seeing the Spirit of the Lord touch and change hearts one moment, and the next moment opening mail, or shuffling paper, participating in a meeting, doing errands, or trying to grapple with the reluctant spirits of folks who - for various reasons - don't want to "play the game" of parish life: "I don't need to go to church!" or "We don't need to go to those meetings!" or "Why do we have to do this program, why can't you just give us what we want? (sacraments, or whatever it is)" 

I remember Jesus addressing the Pharisees and saying - about the fact that they were critical of both Himself and John the Baptist - that they were like children shouting to one another across the square, "We played a song for you and you wouldn't dance, we played a dirge for you and you wouldn't weep." What can you do when people just don't want to play? How are we to understand the sharp contrast between those who avidly respond to the slightest word or suggestion from us as though they are being touched by the Lord himself, and those who seem to feel they have a direct line with God and consider us simply as obstacles crimping their style or getting in the way? 

Actually, we can understand these differences in others, because we have experienced them in ourselves; so the real question that is asking itself within me is, "How can I dance better between the sublime response of those who seem more awake to the breath of the Spirit of God, Lord and Giver of Life, and the apparently trivial reaction of those who seem more enclosed in the concerns of their own flesh, family, or individual lives?" If I am getting in the way of God's grace and will, then I look to Him for help and guidance in getting out of his way. 

In any event, these days, I am so grateful for his inspiration, which has brought me back everyday into his True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, where I can just be with Him and pour out all that is whirling around within me - both the trivial and the sublime. After all, Jesus is the Lord of the dance, and the Gospels are eminent testimony to just how gracefully He danced with both the trivial and the sublime while He was in the flesh before its wondrous transformation and glorification in the resurrection. Thankfully, He has no intention of keeping the dance to Himself, but quite eagerly instructs all who come to Him, becoming their help and their delight. 

It has been almost 7 weeks since I set up this blog site and posted five days in a row. Since then, I was busy with tying up loose ends in anticipation of a month vacation to be immediately followed by an almost 4 month sabbatical. Over those final weeks, as various files and activities came to mind that required a clean handoff, I sent to whoever would want to carry on whatever I had done or whatever information had been gathered. In the end, there was a flurry of activity that caused me to delay packing and leaving; so that instead of taking 2 days to drive to PEI, I did it all in one day: leaving at 7:30 am on Tuesday and arriving at Tignish, the "far west" of the island at 9:00 pm (10:00 AT). 

Speaking of the trivial and the sublime, last week I had either a local blood clot or burst capillary on the front of my left leg below the knee, which the young doctor at the Lakeshore ER said was nothing to be concerned about; as it was not on the "highway" either to or from the heart. So now I'm on therapeutic baby-dose aspirin. Then Wednesday night, my friend Fr. Brian MacDougall had a gall bladder attack during the night. I had concelebrated a healing Mass which happens in the Cathedral parish of St. Dunstan's in Charlottetown and we had gone out for a snack and Guinness afterwards. We both had a scare within a week, remembering our own fragile human flesh, while we see the Lord showering his people with healing grace! Of course, we realize with deep gratitude and devoted love for the Lord that the vessel that dispenses life-giving fluid can never avoid betting wet itself. Blessed be our God and loving Father, who so tenderly cares for each and every one of his children!

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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