Ignatius of Loyola

For the feast of Ignatius of Loyola today the second reading (below in blue) from the Office of Readings is the perfect intro to Ignatius 'discovery' of the method for discernment of spirits.

From the life of Saint Ignatius  from his own words by Luis Gonzalez

Put inward experiences to the test to see if they come from God

Ignatius was passionately fond of reading worldly books of fiction and tales of knight-errantry. When he felt he was getting better, he asked for some of these books to pass the time. But no book of that sort could be found in the house; instead they gave him a life of Christ and a collection of the lives of saints written in Spanish.

By constantly reading these books he began to be attracted to what he found narrated there. Sometimes in the midst of his reading he would reflect on what he had read. Yet at other times he would dwell on many of the things which he had been accustomed to dwell on previously. But at this point our Lord came to his assistance, insuring that these thoughts were followed by others which arose from his current reading.

While reading the life of Christ our Lord or the lives of the saints, he would reflect and reason with himself: “What if I should do what Saint Francis or Saint Dominic did?” In this way he let his mind dwell on many thoughts; they lasted a while until other things took their place. Then those vain and worldly images would come into his mind and remain a long time. This sequence of thoughts persisted with him for a long time

But there was a difference. When Ignatius reflected on worldly thoughts, he felt intense pleasure; but when he gave them up out of weariness, he felt dry and depressed. Yet when he thought of living the rigorous sort of life he knew the saints had lived, he not only experienced pleasure when he actually thought about it, but even after he dismissed these thoughts, he still experienced great joy. Yet he did not pay attention to this, nor did he appreciate it until one day, in a moment of insight, he began to marvel at the difference. Then he understood his experience: thoughts of one kind left him sad, the others full of joy. And this was the first time he applied a process of reasoning to his religious experience. Later on, when he began to formulate his spiritual exercises, he used this experience as an illustration to explain the doctrine he taught his disciples on the discernment of spirits.

Christchurch

Christchurch rebuild plan launched. More at this link.

wants & needs, food & faith

“The Hand of the Lord feeds us

he answers all our needs”

Readings for Sunday 29 July

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For the past couple of weeks the gospel readings at Sunday Mass have presented Mark’s account of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Today the Lectionary jumps us into John chapter 6 where we will spend the next month of Sundays before returning to Mark.

The verses of John 6 that we hear in today’s gospel, (v.1-15) present the account of Jesus feeding the multitude. We know that there is an important message here, since this is one of the very few passages that is recorded in all four gospels.

It is important that we read these fifteen verses in the context of the entire sixth chapter. The chapter begins well for Jesus. People are attracted to Jesus. They follow him wherever he goes. They listen to his teaching. They are hungry and Jesus feeds them abundantly. They are so appreciative that they want to make him their king. (v.15).

A homily on these few verses might well carry a ‘feel good’ message. We are all hungry. We all like a good feed. Jesus caters generously. The people like Jesus and follow him because he heals their sick (v.2) and satisfies their hunger (v.11). Today’s reading finishes here - and we are left feeling great.

But let’s not ignore the rest of the chapter. In verse 16 the disciples head out onto the lake. They go without Jesus, and a storm blows up. Jesus comes to them across the water. Initially their fear overwhelms them and Jesus speaks to them: “It is I, do not be afraid.” They take him into their boat and together they safely reach the shore.

The crowds catch up with Jesus again. Once again they are hungry. Jesus knows that another ‘loaves and fishes’ miracle will now do little more than temporarily fill their stomachs and satisfy their curiosity for a few more hours. So instead, now that he has their attention, he begins to give them what they really need. Jesus teaches them: “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you”. (v.27)

At this point I imagine the crowds would be losing interest fast. All they want is another free lunch, perhaps another healing. But Jesus continues: “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them”. (vs.55-56)  Jesus is reminding the that people cannot live on bread (or fish) alone. Something more is needed.

Let’s take a moment to consider the implications of what Jesus is teaching here. He is telling us that food, drink, material possessions, financial security, entertainments and even relationships do not have the power to satisfy the desires of the human heart. It’s not that these things are bad. Just that they are not the fundamentals of a happy human life. This is because (as St. Augustine put it so well in the fifth century): ‘you have made us for yourself O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you’.

Now at this point in Jesus' teaching, not only are many of his ‘followers’ losing interest, but they are beginning to grumble. (v.41). Jesus challenges them: “stop grumbling among yourselves” (v.43) and he continues to teach them about real food from the hand of God, that will answer all their needs.

Jesus is no longer offering a temporary solution to life’s wants. He is offering real food - his own presence. He is inviting them to complete fulfillment of every desire through present and eternal participation in the life of God. Now Jesus is speaking about the Eucharist. The people respond saying “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (v.60)  And “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him”.

OK, that gives us the overview of the gospel passages for these next few weeks.  This context is necessary if we are to understand who Jesus is, and how he understood his mission.  It is clear that satisfying the physical hunger of people was important for him. Christians today follow Jesus in this mission to the hungry of the world. But for Jesus there was more.  It is evident that Jesus will calm the storms in our life. So too we do this for others when we provide our care and comfort to those who are troubled. But for Jesus there is more. 

Jesus' mission is to help us to know that the fulness of God dwells among us, and that therefore we have nothing to fear. Yes it is necessary to have food and comfort, but these necessities of human life are insufficient without God.

This is the challenge for a person of faith today. It is all too easy to allow our desire for a life of comfort with family and friends to prevent us from living and proclaiming the fulness of the teaching of Jesus. Comfort can never bring salvation. Jesus presented ‘hard teaching’ and some were unable to accept this. They even grumbled and walked away. It would not have been easy for Jesus to watch them go, but he did not compromise his father’s mission in order to win friends or to attract people.

We usually fail to see beyond our simple wants. Too often we ignore our ultimate needs. We also fail our friends and family when we quietly compromise our beliefs in order to ‘keep the peace.’  Perhaps we do this because we wrongly think that the peace and comfort that we seek is our own achievement?  We forget that all we really seek is given to us by God. It is God who provides the bread for our tables. It is God who calms the storms of our lives.

The life of a follower of Jesus must never be reduced to the work of a social worker who guides people through life’s conflicts and tensions. Nor can we reduce our mission to the activity of a soup kitchen providing food for the hungry. These are good and essential works, but many people who are not Christian are very effective in these roles. Christians must serve their neighbours in these areas, but for believers there is something else that comes first. Something, no (let me be more precise) ...someONE greater: Jesus  who feeds us, Jesus who inspires us and Jesus who motivates us.

And this is where the chapter 6 ends. “You do not want to leave too, do you? Jesus asked the Twelve”.  It is Peter who responds on behalf of us all:  “Lord, to whom shall we go, You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

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newsletter (17th Sunday O.T.)

Weekly newsletter for the Catholic Parishes of the Hurunui District and the Chatham Islands is available at this link.

marriage?

Tap this link to hear Fr. Merv Duffy and Rev. Glynn Cardy on Radio New Zealand this morning 'discussing' 'the nature of marriage'

catholic humour - and creed

Brendan Malone bet me to this by just a couple of hours! Many of you are already following his inspiring facebook page.

The announcement was made today that Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and Stephen Colbert (a Catholic American comedian) will meet on September 14 for a duo comedy conversation at Fordham University. The session is titled “The Cardinal and Colbert: Humor, Joy, and the Spiritual Life.”

You can get a glimpse of the Cardinal's humour from this interview:

and one of Stephen Colbert's classic clips at this link.

This Colbert link reminds me of the story I heard some time ago about a Catholic priest at his monthly "Christian Ministers" meeting in a NZ town.  The local clergy of the Christian churches decided spontaneously at their meeting to share 'what they believed'.  Several of the group spoke making comments like "I believe in the love of God", and "I believe in the goodness of all people".  Others added "I believe in the creativity of God" and "in the harmony of all creation."

The Catholic priest in the group was silent and seemed to be getting more agitated as he was asked to speak.  He then gently began to share saying: 

"I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

he descended into hell;

on the third day he rose again from the dead;

he ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God 

the Father almighty;

from there he will come to judge 

the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and life everlasting. Amen

The Apostles Creed

When the priest had finished, the other clergy were silent until one asked (seriously), "wow, where did you get that from?"

What can I say?

I will upload the link to the Dolan / Colbert conversation on this blog when it is publicised.

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ps. another interview with Cardinal Dolan

faith or despair

I have said here before that some of my best Sunday homily ideas come to me on Sunday night.  I suppose the pessimist would say this is a few hours too late. The optimist might suggest that the Sunday night homily idea is actually three years early for the next Sunday when the same readings turn up in the Liturgy.

Each week I follow a select few preachers around the world who upload video or audio of their homily. Due to the position of the date line these are usually available a day or two too late for me to use them in my own homily, but they are very helpful in my own prayer and reflection.

Alex's homilies are always inspiring. I was listening to him preach on last Sunday's readings this morning.  He reflected on following what we truly desire, suggesting that without faith, the only option left to us is despair.

An online dictionary defines despair as 'loss of hope or confidence'.  Certainly we all have moments when we lack confidence or when our hope is uncertain.  Our friends and family might try to boost our spirits with distractions. The world of advertising plays on these human vulnerabilities offering hope and confidence in make-overs and medications, entertainments and escapes. 

The reflective person is wise enough to realise that these human offerings are nothing more than an anaesthetic serving to numb these real and healthy desires of the human heart. 

To have moments when hope and confidence eludes us is an experience of every healthy human.  The person of faith realises that only God can provide the hope and confidence we seek. 

And this is the key. Next time you are feeling a bit down, confused, lonely, uncertain etc... take a moment to consider that God is eager to give you all that you desire. God will not force this on you, but will readily give you everything, when you ask.

You might take a moment now - a minute or two to be aware of any area of dissatisfaction or need in your life today.  Make a decision not to attempt to resolve these needs with anything that might be an escape or an anaesthetic.  Even hold off calling a friend...the waiting is actually readying you to receive from God.  

Now just turn to Jesus, the good shepherd. He loves you, and is eager to answer your needs with his love, his hope, and his confidence.

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Fr. Robert Barron's homily for last Sunday (16th Sunday in Ordinary Time)