Cross Passion and Life

The cross that spoke to St. Francis.

How can we make a pure offering of ourselves for the salvation of souls? Not without God, and not without love. Unselfishness is the means by which we become an acceptable offering to God. 

Suffering for someone else can be accomplished selfishly, or in a self centered way, and for spiritual people, who often are extremely sensitive, it is no small matter to be unselfish, to surpass self-centeredness. The suffering itself can purify us so that our offering is more purely of love, without the overtones of selfishness. The pinnacle of love is the abandonment of the soul to God, and as we become more like Him, we lose interest in ourselves, and our brothers and sisters become the center of our concern, because He wishes us to serve one another.

It is rather like falling asleep. Since sleep is the opposite of wakefulness, when it is hard to approach sleep, we wrestle with wakefulness and the edge of sleep. All too often, abandonment to God in a conscious act can sometimes allow us to surrender to sleep and to our God, in trust and in love. The desire to do something cannot extend into unconsciousness, because the very impulse to do something is activity, and sleep requires inactivity.

For some, prayer is verbal, and others pray without verbalizing, and still others pray by extending the will toward God for unification and service. For those who pray by willing, verbalization is undesireable, and occupying the will in loving focuses the being in God and He may then take the initiative to love in us and through us. For those who no longer enjoy consolations, it is obvious whether we are unselfish or not. Trusting God then is important, and surrender is paramount, even if in the process, it is necessary to endure absence of tangible, affective love. The strong current of His love can flow through us sensibly or not, but the more we love God instead of ourselves, the more we find ourselves united to Him, and sensible love pales in comparison to His love.

Sometimes, He touches us in an insensible way that affords certainty of His love and that He is pleased with us. Rather than asking for a favor, allow Him to bestow a gift when He wishes. Then, if you suffer, you can be certain of pleasing Him, and that He will make us unselfish so any offering however inconsequential, can be mighty in the power of the Lord. If we love God, and He asks us the favor of enduring His pain and suffering, it will not be difficult to acquiesce. If you have asked to share in His passion, you can suffer anything for love, because sacrifice expresses  love for the beloved without any reference to self. He will ask sacrifice of us because it is necessary to make sacrifice and surrender in order to learn how to be unselfish so as to be pleasing to the Himself. Isaac was asked to allow his father to sacrifice himself to God by allowing his father to kill him like a sacrificial lamb. Isaac and his father were spared the ordeal of death, and the Lord provided an animal so that a more conventional sacrifice might be made.

The passion of the Lord consisted of more than nails in the hands and feet. Most of all, it consisted of sacrifice of self which He could make as perfectly as was possible so that He might offer His suffering and death to His Father for our redemption, and the forgivenes of sins.

In the absence of visible wounds, there is the awareness of His sacrificial love, forever calling us back to him in longing, to participate in the love He had for His Father in entering the pact, like Isaac, to offer all His love and His own self to the Father in exchange for our spiritual freedom in union.

Thus, imitation becomes the epitome of love, with or without any outward sign. But if the prayer is granted, and we are put on display for the world to see, some will be full of hate and spite and will hurt us because they cannot abide what we are, another Christ.

Wearing a crucifix or a habit should express our longing to be like Jesus in obedience to His Will, and service to the children of God, and our longing for God should drive us to desire at least to constantly being more like Him in sacrifice and penance, always available to offer something to God for their sake, for their salvation and to requite His love of us.

For many, it is impossible to approach that level of conscious willing. The sensitivity of some affords no end of sacrificial love without bidding, but the one who realizes the level of love God evokes from us at the same time overflows with joy regardless, because of the proximity of achieving and receiving what He wishes to give.

To desire a participation in His passion-life is already to be fastened to His Heart as the means, through union, of identifying completely with His sacrifice. Thus, everything reminds of Him, and a person forgets himself to fall alsleep in perfect wakefullness, and the person and the Lord communicate with each other. This is the height of prayer, of participation in His passion-life and finding satisfaction of our existence that persists forever. The person who begins a life of prayer seeking consolation, prodigies and a pleasant life has already embarked on a program of self-emptying that will prove the quality of his mettle.

All is well with that soul that realizes he is pleasing to God, and can become more so with an application of  love. If he has desired that martyrdom of the stigmata, and is content that it was not given, love remains and is all the satisfaction needed. For the people of God and the people of the world, God has a client, a second self, who can preach, teach and do sacrifices and make surrender to God for their sake to obtain what is needed, even if all that is necessary is to persude the children of God in His Church, that a particular suffering is necessary and must be endured. For Jesus, it was necessary to suffer as He did and He did suffer according to the measure of the Father's infinite love. Thus, those are blessed, who participate willingly for love, in the passion of Christ, as a sacrifice for other people to know and love God as He is known by them. Immersion in the participation in His passion-life is seen by the participant as an opportunity to see and realize the depts of His love and sacrifice which was sufficient for our redemtion and salvation. We receive the assistance we need by providing spiritually for our brothers and sisters by prayer, penance and sacrifice in surrender to the Lord and His cross to afford the sure means of salvation for others, who are our realization of who Christ is and what He did. All motivation necessary is inherent in the sacaricing and the surrendering that we can do, because we love Jesus. Thus, if He asks us nothing, we are rich in His mercy and love and have that much to give to others whom we should love as we love Christ.

Our earthly self is subject to disappointments and misery, spiritually or in a physical or mental way,But the peace of God which is such an infallible way of judging things, can bring us a convincing certainty that the way of the cross is the way of Christ and the only way we, or the Church or the human race can get along in life.

We may think our cross is heavy because we are tired and we need a rest, but what cross do we carry, in reality, if God was in giving it to us? We may think that it is painful to hang from the nails in our hands and feet, and the lance in our side should have long ago been removed by the One who put it there. But if it is the Lord who put the nails and the lance where they are, can we really complain if we embarked deliberatley on a journey that was explicit;y meant to reveal the passion of the Lord to us? We may complain we are dying of thirst spiritually, but was aridity absent on His cross? He tasted the wine while He hung from the cross, and then, forgiving the world verbally, gave up His lofe and handed His spirit to the Father. Can we say we

Have we even tasted the wine ourselves? So you see, turning the point of view around to the other opens the heart to love and compassion strong enought to enable us to ask to participate in the passion of the Lord. It enables us to endure anything He might ask simply to obtain the love and grace other people need, and in the process, fulfill our time on the cross with Him to save someone else, even someone who may not deserve what they will receive, and even if they are unware they received anything at all.

We do what love demnds without thought of reward or merit, but merely for love. Measure all things by love, and you will see the cross in a whole new light.

Cross Passion and Life

The cross that spoke to St. Francis.

How can we make a pure offering of ourselves for the salvation of souls? Not without God, and not without love. Unselfishness is the means by which we become an acceptable offering to God. 

Suffering for someone else can be accomplished selfishly, or in a self centered way, and for spiritual people, who often are extremely sensitive, it is no small matter to be unselfish, to surpass self-centeredness. The suffering itself can purify us so that our offering is more purely of love, without the overtones of selfishness. The pinnacle of love is the abandonment of the soul to God, and as we become more like Him, we lose interest in ourselves, and our brothers and sisters become the center of our concern, because He wishes us to serve one another.

It is rather like falling asleep. Since sleep is the opposite of wakefulness, when it is hard to approach sleep, we wrestle with wakefulness and the edge of sleep. All too often, abandonment to God in a conscious act can sometimes allow us to surrender to sleep and to our God, in trust and in love. The desire to do something cannot extend into unconsciousness, because the very impulse to do something is activity, and sleep requires inactivity.

For some, prayer is verbal, and others pray without verbalizing, and still others pray by extending the will toward God for unification and service. For those who pray by willing, verbalization is undesireable, and occupying the will in loving focuses the being in God and He may then take the initiative to love in us and through us. For those who no longer enjoy consolations, it is obvious whether we are unselfish or not. Trusting God then is important, and surrender is paramount, even if in the process, it is necessary to endure absence of tangible, affective love. The strong current of His love can flow through us sensibly or not, but the more we love God instead of ourselves, the more we find ourselves united to Him, and sensible love pales in comparison to His love.

Sometimes, He touches us in an insensible way that affords certainty of His love and that He is pleased with us. Rather than asking for a favor, allow Him to bestow a gift when He wishes. Then, if you suffer, you can be certain of pleasing Him, and that He will make us unselfish so any offering however inconsequential, can be mighty in the power of the Lord. If we love God, and He asks us the favor of enduring His pain and suffering, it will not be difficult to acquiesce. If you have asked to share in His passion, you can suffer anything for love, because sacrifice expresses  love for the beloved without any reference to self. He will ask sacrifice of us because it is necessary to make sacrifice and surrender in order to learn how to be unselfish so as to be pleasing to the Himself. Isaac was asked to allow his father to sacrifice himself to God by allowing his father to kill him like a sacrificial lamb. Isaac and his father were spared the ordeal of death, and the Lord provided an animal so that a more conventional sacrifice might be made.

The passion of the Lord consisted of more than nails in the hands and feet. Most of all, it consisted of sacrifice of self which He could make as perfectly as was possible so that He might offer His suffering and death to His Father for our redemption, and the forgivenes of sins.

In the absence of visible wounds, there is the awareness of His sacrificial love, forever calling us back to him in longing, to participate in the love He had for His Father in entering the pact, like Isaac, to offer all His love and His own self to the Father in exchange for our spiritual freedom in union.

Thus, imitation becomes the epitome of love, with or without any outward sign. But if the prayer is granted, and we are put on display for the world to see, some will be full of hate and spite and will hurt us because they cannot abide what we are, another Christ.

Wearing a crucifix or a habit should express our longing to be like Jesus in obedience to His Will, and service to the children of God, and our longing for God should drive us to desire at least to constantly being more like Him in sacrifice and penance, always available to offer something to God for their sake, for their salvation and to requite His love of us.

For many, it is impossible to approach that level of conscious willing. The sensitivity of some affords no end of sacrificial love without bidding, but the one who realizes the level of love God evokes from us at the same time overflows with joy regardless, because of the proximity of achieving and receiving what He wishes to give.

To desire a participation in His passion-life is already to be fastened to His Heart as the means, through union, of identifying completely with His sacrifice. Thus, everything reminds of Him, and a person forgets himself to fall alsleep in perfect wakefullness, and the person and the Lord communicate with each other. This is the height of prayer, of participation in His passion-life and finding satisfaction of our existence that persists forever. The person who begins a life of prayer seeking consolation, prodigies and a pleasant life has already embarked on a program of self-emptying that will prove the quality of his mettle.

All is well with that soul that realizes he is pleasing to God, and can become more so with an application of  love. If he has desired that martyrdom of the stigmata, and is content that it was not given, love remains and is all the satisfaction needed. For the people of God and the people of the world, God has a client, a second self, who can preach, teach and do sacrifices and make surrender to God for their sake to obtain what is needed, even if all that is necessary is to persude the children of God in His Church, that a particular suffering is necessary and must be endured. For Jesus, it was necessary to suffer as He did and He did suffer according to the measure of the Father's infinite love. Thus, those are blessed, who participate willingly for love, in the passion of Christ, as a sacrifice for other people to know and love God as He is known by them. Immersion in the participation in His passion-life is seen by the participant as an opportunity to see and realize the depts of His love and sacrifice which was sufficient for our redemtion and salvation. We receive the assistance we need by providing spiritually for our brothers and sisters by prayer, penance and sacrifice in surrender to the Lord and His cross to afford the sure means of salvation for others, who are our realization of who Christ is and what He did. All motivation necessary is inherent in the sacaricing and the surrendering that we can do, because we love Jesus. Thus, if He asks us nothing, we are rich in His mercy and love and have that much to give to others whom we should love as we love Christ.

Our earthly self is subject to disappointments and misery, spiritually or in a physical or mental way,But the peace of God which is such an infallible way of judging things, can bring us a convincing certainty that the way of the cross is the way of Christ and the only way we, or the Church or the human race can get along in life.

We may think our cross is heavy because we are tired and we need a rest, but what cross do we carry, in reality, if God was in giving it to us? We may think that it is painful to hang from the nails in our hands and feet, and the lance in our side should have long ago been removed by the One who put it there. But if it is the Lord who put the nails and the lance where they are, can we really complain if we embarked deliberatley on a journey that was explicit;y meant to reveal the passion of the Lord to us? We may complain we are dying of thirst spiritually, but was aridity absent on His cross? He tasted the wine while He hung from the cross, and then, forgiving the world verbally, gave up His lofe and handed His spirit to the Father. Can we say we

Have we even tasted the wine ourselves? So you see, turning the point of view around to the other opens the heart to love and compassion strong enought to enable us to ask to participate in the passion of the Lord. It enables us to endure anything He might ask simply to obtain the love and grace other people need, and in the process, fulfill our time on the cross with Him to save someone else, even someone who may not deserve what they will receive, and even if they are unware they received anything at all.

We do what love demnds without thought of reward or merit, but merely for love. Measure all things by love, and you will see the cross in a whole new light.

Thursday

 There is some excitement in the air; it has been 80 or higher for most of this week, and now some clouds are gathering, and the temperature is dropping along with the barometer. At night, the temperatures did not drop very much from the daytime high of 92, yesterday. The temperature in my apartment is 83, and the temperature indicated on the computer is 79. Needless to say, some cooling is necessary. A tropical storm in Baja California (Mexico), is making its way north to northern California and Oregon, and a cold front is coming from the northwest, so it is a matter of time before it cools, and there may be thunderstorms. We do not get many of them in Seattle, but that is not to say we never get them. One year, around the Columbus Day festival, the Pacific Northwest got a hurricane force wind storm that is still remembered by those who experienced it.

In spite of the fact I have no telescope, there has been a metershower, and there is a rare annular eclipse soon. That would be exciting, but we usually cannot see a single star around the Seattle area; you have to go east of the Cascade mountiann into eastern Washington or Oregon for star-gazing. Nevertheless, I still get excited about star gazing because I used to have an 8 inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. I got to see some awesome sights with that telescope.

I continue to say my Rosary every day in the evening. Sometimes He interrupts to lift me up in the midst of my prayers. It has been needed, and it was a wonderful surprise coming so intensely and unexpectedly.

As the weather has been so warm lately, sleep has been curtailed, and not enough, but I manage.

Best wishes to everyone, and God's abundant blessings on you all. Continue praying for peace and ahealing of our climate so the catastrophic weather events calm down.

mm

Thursday

 There is some excitement in the air; it has been 80 or higher for most of this week, and now some clouds are gathering, and the temperature is dropping along with the barometer. At night, the temperatures did not drop very much from the daytime high of 92, yesterday. The temperature in my apartment is 83, and the temperature indicated on the computer is 79. Needless to say, some cooling is necessary. A tropical storm in Baja California (Mexico), is making its way north to northern California and Oregon, and a cold front is coming from the northwest, so it is a matter of time before it cools, and there may be thunderstorms. We do not get many of them in Seattle, but that is not to say we never get them. One year, around the Columbus Day festival, the Pacific Northwest got a hurricane force wind storm that is still remembered by those who experienced it.

In spite of the fact I have no telescope, there has been a metershower, and there is a rare annular eclipse soon. That would be exciting, but we usually cannot see a single star around the Seattle area; you have to go east of the Cascade mountiann into eastern Washington or Oregon for star-gazing. Nevertheless, I still get excited about star gazing because I used to have an 8 inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. I got to see some awesome sights with that telescope.

I continue to say my Rosary every day in the evening. Sometimes He interrupts to lift me up in the midst of my prayers. It has been needed, and it was a wonderful surprise coming so intensely and unexpectedly.

As the weather has been so warm lately, sleep has been curtailed, and not enough, but I manage.

Best wishes to everyone, and God's abundant blessings on you all. Continue praying for peace and ahealing of our climate so the catastrophic weather events calm down.

mm

Assumption

Day's Saints
Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary
Blessed George Halley, Martyr

Gospel LK 1:39-56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

+

Her Assumption was not just a blessing for Her,
but a blessing for us who will follow after Her.

And so I prayed, asking to be a place for Hs wounds so the world might look upon His love and praise Him. For it is necessary both that we acknowledge the Redemption bought for us, but also the means by which He redeemed us. 

In the silence of a stuffy room, my heart kept on beating, and my body functioned, and feebly responded with anonymous pains whoe origen cannot be determined. He renewed my love of Him, and so I loved Him, and prayed for the needs of the children of God, and commended myself to His mercy.

And so I was informed of things I had not known, of the answers to prayers, and needs not yet fulfilled, and prayed, offering myself to Him with all my love, to obtain things prayed for.

These are penitential times, and the needs of the children of God are great, beyond the value of a single life. Yet even a thousand lives may not suffice, to fulfill the needs of all. Keep that in mind when you look upon the needs of the world, torn as it is by cataclysms and disasters. Pray that you may not be caught unprepared, and that the Lord provide His angels to stand beside you if you are caught up in disaster and are called to God. His angels will guide  and protect you so that all is well.

The person for whom His word is sufficient and suppliies all his needs will be prepared indeed, for he needs nothing but God.

Assumption

Day's Saints
Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary
Blessed George Halley, Martyr

Gospel LK 1:39-56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

+

Her Assumption was not just a blessing for Her,
but a blessing for us who will follow after Her.

And so I prayed, asking to be a place for Hs wounds so the world might look upon His love and praise Him. For it is necessary both that we acknowledge the Redemption bought for us, but also the means by which He redeemed us. 

In the silence of a stuffy room, my heart kept on beating, and my body functioned, and feebly responded with anonymous pains whoe origen cannot be determined. He renewed my love of Him, and so I loved Him, and prayed for the needs of the children of God, and commended myself to His mercy.

And so I was informed of things I had not known, of the answers to prayers, and needs not yet fulfilled, and prayed, offering myself to Him with all my love, to obtain things prayed for.

These are penitential times, and the needs of the children of God are great, beyond the value of a single life. Yet even a thousand lives may not suffice, to fulfill the needs of all. Keep that in mind when you look upon the needs of the world, torn as it is by cataclysms and disasters. Pray that you may not be caught unprepared, and that the Lord provide His angels to stand beside you if you are caught up in disaster and are called to God. His angels will guide  and protect you so that all is well.

The person for whom His word is sufficient and suppliies all his needs will be prepared indeed, for he needs nothing but God.

Water-Walking

Days' Saints
Hippolytus, Martyr
Anastasius the Monk, Martyr

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 115

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a
At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by."
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Gospel Mt 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat

and precede him to the other side,

while he dismissed the crowds.

After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

When it was evening he was there alone.

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,

was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night,

he came toward them walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.

"It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.

At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

Peter said to him in reply,

"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

He said, "Come."

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;

and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,

and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

After they got into the boat, the wind died down.

Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,

"Truly, you are the Son of God."

+

Peter had already transcended the laws of nature by walking on the water to come to Jesus, and was distracted by the storm and began to sink, at which point he cried out to Jesus to save him, and was saved. When they were aboard the boat, the weather calmed, and everyone was astonished. This came immediately after feeding the crowds.

The Lord has pointed out to me, that He has given each of us everything we need to believe in Him and love Him so that we can obey His Will. Why then, are we so distracted as to forget to continue moment to moment to do His Will ? His Will is stronger than ours, a condition He continually works to improve every day, moment to moment.

Why do we have secrets that we hide from one another? I ask because Peter must certainly been able to swim, and the narrative does not say how far away Jesus was when Peter began to walk toward Him. Otherwise, he might not have been distracted and begun to sink.

As a teaching moment, Jesus did not doubt HE could walk the whole distance to the boat, and calm the wind that so frightened the disciples. There are many movies about Gallilee and from what I gather, the lake is not very deep, and I can see very easily why one might not catch many fish there; they probably were farther out where it was deeper and the water fresher. As a fisherman myself, there is a certain wisdom that asserts itself when fishing, that dictates where to fish for success. One fishes when the surface is freshened by the wind so the fish can't be seen, and not on a slack tide, but when the tide is growing and water with more oxygen increases. On the other hand, even  when the water is ideal for a catch, if the fish are not hungry, you will waste your worms. A succesful fisherman can think like the fish and rest in cool deep pools full of light and oxygen. You don't fish in a rapids, and not for bottom fish, but trout.

I spent a lot of time fishing by myself after I had returned from Vietnam. I needed the solitude and the peaceful quiet to heal. The lake nearby is unfit; there is no outlet for the water; it only fills when there is sufficient rain and the runoff gathers in the lake, as the lowest point in the local topography. Otherwise, in the summer months when it gets very warm, the water evaporates rapidly. The lilypads thrive at the southern tip  of the lake, and at certain times, introduced carp and koi gather for mating, as the female deposits her eggs into the water to settle on the bottom, and the make fertilises the eggs by emitting sperm to cover the eggs. After that, you won't see them again until next year at the same time.

Because of sewage spills, the fish are not safe to eat, so if you catch anything, it is best to throw them back into water to live another day.

Jesus, in the narrative, went to pray in the afternoon, by Himself, and the disciples went fishing. God does not intrude, but is a gentleman. He will leave us to our preoccupations, and we must guard against ease lest the preoccupations become excuses to be lazy and we lose our privilege of easilly encountering Him and His consolations unnecessarilly.

In the first reading, Elijah came to shelter in a cave on Mt. Horeb. The Lord told him to stand on the mountain, and the wind came up strong enough to break rocks, but Elijah did as he was told. We need to pay heed; Elijah saw that God was not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but only in the small, still voice in the peace. In our day of upheavals and distractions, we need so very much to be listening for the footsteps of the Lord.

We still have horrendous wind storms that tear the trees up and break them off at their base, and rains that obscure every feature in their intensity, and finally, when everything has calmed down again, the Lord approaches speaking softly, and we can stand in the entrance to our cave, life Elijah, waiting on the Lord, to do what He says. He calls us not when we are resting in the cave, but when we are outside, not sheltered but attending on the Lord in the midst of everything, seeking that still small voice. It is there, and His peace is abundant, and the Garden is cool and pleasant when He bids us come enar Him. He does not crush us in the wind, not shake us off our feet in the earthquakes, nor threaten our destruction when a fire breaks out to consume everything that can burn.

So if you are struggling, and life is fearful and you are hungry for His peace, do not doubt that He is there, but be at peace and He will reveal Himself to you again, and you will rest with Him in the Garden. Do not fall asleep, or you will miss what He has to say.