The Greatest Temptation in the Wilderness
While I was on retreat two weeks ago, I meditated on Jesus’ temptations in the desert. All three synoptic gospels tell the story. For this meditation, I used a marvelous book a good friend recommended to me: Into the Mess & Other Jesus Stories by Debie Thomas, a columnist for The Christian Century.
Thomas begins with Mark’s brief description of this important event in Jesus’ life: And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and angels waited on him. (Mk. 1:12-13) To put this incident in persective, we must remember what happened immediately before Jesus’ wilderness experience. He was baptized by John in the Jordan. And as he comes up out of the water, the heavens open up, a gentle dove descends upon him, and he hears God saying to him, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Wow! What an affirmation! Jesus knows he is God’s cherished child, because God himself tells him! What can be better than that? But immediatly afterwards, this same gentle affirming God drives him into the wilderness–a place of barrenness, emptiness, isolation, fear, and despair. What was Jesus’ greatest temptation in the desert? Writes Thomas, the wilderness was the place where Jesus had “to face down every vicious assault on his identity as God’s treasured child.” He had to stand firm in his conviction that God, indeed, still loves him–despite some of the terrible things he is experiencing. When we are having a “wilderness experience,” we too can be tempted to believe that God has forsaken us. We might even rage against God (as St. Teresa of Avila did), and cry out, “If this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them!”
Thomas describes a time she was in the wilderness. Her daughter, who was in middle school, developed anorexia. Thomas was filled with bewilderment, terror, anger, and a sense of complete failure as a mother. She and her husband, fearing for their daughter’s life, “hospitalized her for her own safety.” The day after her admission, the doctors told them they would not be able to see their daughter for several days as part of the treatment. Thomas fell into a “deep abyss.” She found herself driving her car aimlessly into a part of town she was unfamiliar with. In a daze, she pulled into the parking lot of a Catholic book store, a store she didn’t even know existed. As she wandered up and down the aisles, a Sister came up to her and asked, “Can I help you find anything?” Thomas burst into tears.
She writes, “For three or four minutes I cried so hard, I couldn’t speak.” The Sister took Thomas’ hands and let her cry. When she could breathe again, the nun said, “Wait here.” She disappeared for a few moments and then returned with a silver crucifix on a chain. Jesus’ broken body was clearly outlined on the cross. This surprised Thomas for her church had crosses, but without the body of Jesus on the cross. The Sister pressed the crucifix into Thomas’ hand, looked into her eyes, and said, “Keep this. Hang onto it. Only a suffering God can help.”
The temptation story reminds us that Jesus was not alone in the wilderness. Mark tells us that Satan and wild beasts were there. But also God the Spirit was present there as well as angels. God was present in the wilderness not as a wizard who would magically remove Thomas’ anguish, but as a God “who accompanies.” A God who “dwells in mystery, but never abandons us to face the mystery alone.” This same God sends us angels who don’t “fix” us or our circumstances. But rather they simply tend to us in our pain–as that Sister in the bookstore tended to the sobbing Thomas. These angels can take many forms: a good friend, a total stranger, a single paragraph from a spiritual book, a wide-eyed grandchild, a thoughtful neighbor, a kind receptionist in a doctor’s offce, a purring cat on our lap, or a field of sunflowers we just happen to pass along the way.
My prayer for all of us is this:
When we encounter the wilderness in our own lives, may we experience the companionship of Jesus “who knows the barren places better than we do.” When we are spending time with wild beasts–those circumstances beyond our control that terrorize us–may we recognize the angels God sends to minister to us in our pain and bewilderment. And may we always embrace the truth of who we really are: a “precious, beautiful, and wholly liberated” child of God.
For reflection:
Did any words in this reflection stand out for you today?
Who or what have been some of the “tending angels” for you when you were experiencing the wilderness?
Have you ever been a “tending angel” for someone else experiencing the wilderness in their lives?
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PS #1: This week I am directing a retreat for some Sisters of Notre Dame in Toledo, OH. I ask for the support of your prayers. Thank you very much!
PS# 2: Here’s the first ripe tomato from my porch garden. I know, I know, it’s not very big, but I’m sure it will be delicious! The plant has one more green tomato on it. So my total crop this year will be TWO tomatoes–if I’m lucky!
Our video today is “Gracious God” by Jesse Manibusan. Although it is a Lenten song, it is an appropriate song for those times we may feel we have been led into the desert, into the wilderness, by God. May we see such a time as a “sacred struggle” where God is with us, helping us to take one step at a time. May we be strengthened by our “suffering God” and “our longing to see God’s face.”
I welcome you to write a comment to this reflection below.
Dear Readers: I made a mistake this week and accidentally posted TWO reflections for today: this one and another on what writers say about writing. I realized my mistake at 5:00 AM and removed the post on writing–but the alert had already gone out to all of you. If you clicked it on, it said “page cannot be found.” But this is today’s reflection and next week you’ll get the one on writing. Sorry for the confusion! Melannie
The Prayers We Say During Mass
Many years ago, I had a retreat director who, at the beginning of every conference, read one of the prayers we say during Mass. Not the BIG prayers like the penitential rite, the Gloria, or the Eucharistic Prayers, but the small prayers–like the collect, the prayer over the offerings of the bread and wine, and the prayer after communion.
To be honest, I had never really payed much attention to these prayers. In preparing for Mass, I mostly focused on the readings and responsorial psalm. But some of these little prayers tucked into the Eucharistic rite can provide wholesome nourishment for our life of faith. You might want to check them out sometime. Here are three such prayers we prayed during July. I will offer a few words about each one. The words of the prayer are in bold print. My words in regular print:
July 1 -Collect: … grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error, but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth. Wow! Isn’t this prayer especially relevant for our times when it seems to be getting increasingly more difficult to distinguish truth from fiction or lies or distortions? And isn’t this quest for the truth a life-long quest? And shouldn’t we be demanding honesty from our children, our friends, our church, our businesses, our elected officials, and ourselves? And isn’t it dangerous to believe that we alone have a monopoly on all truth? Years ago someone told me, “We all have a ‘piece of the truth.’ We need each other’s ‘truth’ to make our truth more whole.” That’s one thing I loved about teaching teenagers for over 20 years. Yes, I had truth to impart to them. That’s why they came to my class. But they had truth to give to me too! They needed my truth, yes, but I needed their truth too!
July 6 – Prayer after Communion… that we may profess Him (Jesus) in words and hold fast to him in deeds. This prayer captures the essence of our faith. Faith is expressed in both words and deeds. And let’s face it, it’s often easier to express our faith in words rather than in deeds. It’s easier to talk about love, for example, than it is to love… easier to talk about prayer than it is to actually pray… easier to talk about reaching out to the poor than to actually reach out. And we express our faith in words not simply when we talk about our faith. More importantly, we express our faith in words by the way we use the precious gift of speech throughout our day. Does our speech demonstrate our respect for others? Do our words encourage others and lift them up? And, very importantly, do we refrain from using our gift of speech when it is time to sit down and listen to others?
July 10 – Prayer over the offerings… day by day bring our conduct closer to the life of heaven. This little prayer raises the question: is my current conduct fit for heaven? Would I be comfortable in heaven being who I am today? Would my deepest values coincide with the values found and lived in heaven? Or am I clinging to behaviors that are not very “heavenly”? What behaviors? For example, am I unforgiving or revengeful? Am I so wrapped up in myself, I don’t even notice others? Am I constantly grumpy, pessimistic, impatient? Am I so addicted to my work that I have forgotten how to let go and have fun? Only individuals who know how to relax can enjoy the Heavenly Wedding Reception to which we have all been invited.
For Reflection:
Did anything in this reflection touch you?
Has anyone ever shared their “piece of truth” with you that enriched or broadened your own “piece of truth”?
Has the witness of someone’s deed(s) ever inspired you in a significant way?
How fit for heaven are you right now?
Our song today is Micah 6:8 by the Maranatha Singers. It sings of what God really asks of us: “To Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with God.” This scripture verse and song touch upon some of the themes in today’s reflection.
As usual, I invite you to comment below on anything about this refection. I love hearing from you–and so do all our readers!
Meet Scout, “Just a Perfect Dog”
Ordinarily, it is people who adopt pets. But this is the story of a dog who adopted some people… Scout was a stray mutt staying at the county Animal Shelter in Bellaire, Michigan. The staff guessed he was about 10 years old and he had been abused. He had BB pellets in his jaw and he feared strangers–especially men. But soon after his arrival, he started sneaking out of the shelter to Meadow Brook, a medical care facility across the street. How did he escape? Somehow he hoisted his 65 pound body over the six-foot solid viynl fence enclosure. (His story was told last September by Sydney Page in the The Washington Post.)
Scout’s first “break-in” to Meadow Brook was in 2017. He crawled over two fences, crossed a highway, and “sauntered into the nursing home lobby through an automatic revolving door.” Once inside he “parked himself on a brown-colored couch.” He was sound asleep there when a startled nurse spotted him and called the county sheriff. Scout was promptly returned to the animal shelter. But after a few nights, he escaped again. Following his third escape, a Meadow Brook staff member took him home, but he was not a good fit with her other dogs, so she brought him back. Eventually, the staff met and “collectively decided to adopt him.”
The Meadow Brook residents are mostly seniors with health issues. Why was Scout so drawn to this facility? No one knows for sure. Perhaps a previous owner resided in such a place. Or maybe Scout feels some kind of affinity with the residents. Whatever, he’s a resident now, having chosen to call Meadow Brook his forever home.
The Meadow Brook staff share the responsibility of taking care of Scout. Since his arrival, Scout has been living full time in one of the several units in the building. Each unit houses 20 residents. At night, although he has his own bed, he sometimes sleeps in a room of a resident whom he senses could use his comforting presence. Said one staff member, “He feels that he’s protecting everybody. He’s always on duty.” During the day he freely roams the entire facility. He sticks his head into residents’ rooms and senses if a resident is disinterested. “He does well with respecting boundaries.” Scout has warmed up even to the male residents, but he’s still a little leery of other men.
One 82-year-old resident named Shirley, says Scout is “just a perfect dog. You can pet him; you can talk to him. He comes in and lays down with you.” She adds that Scout makes Meadow Brook “more like a home.” Last year Meadow Brook launched a fundraiser called “Scout’s House Paws for the Pantry.” The fundraiser raised money and supplies for the animal shelter across the street. Scout’s story appeared on other news sources and soon donations poured in from all over the world.
One staff member summed up Scout’s presence at Meadow Brook in these words: Being here “gave him a better quality of life as much as it gave the residents a better quality of life. I couldn’t imagine this place without him.” For me, Scout’s story recalled the title of one of Henri Nouwen’s books: The Wounded Healer. Nouwen says that we can serve others from our strength and wholeness yes, but also from our weakness and brokenness. And the irony is, we often become more effective healers when we serve others from our own woundedness.
For reflection:
Did anything stand out for you from this story about Scout?
Has there ever been an animal in your life that somehow “gave you a better quality of life”?
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PS: I want to thank you for your prayers for my retreat last week. In the months ahead, I hope to share with you a few of the insights I received during my special time of prayer, silence, solitude, reading, pondering, strolling in nature, and conversing with my fine retreat director, Fr. Bob, SJ. I also want to thank the Sisters of Notre Dame here in Covington for their warm hospitality and for providing me with a prayerful community and such lovely grounds–especially their Gazebo and pond–complete with croaking frogs, chirping birds, and a few resident geese!
Today’s video is called “Wounded Healer” by Audrey Assad. The song tells us that Jesus was the wounded healer par excellence. In his post resurrection appearances, his risen body still bore the wounds in his hands and side. It is not too far fetched to say that the BB pellets in Scout’s jaw were a sign of his past abusive treament. Yet this gentle stray mutt has given comfort and consolation to very many people.
You are invited to share your thoughts below. We all love hearing from you!
How Do We Become Holy? A Parable
Sometimes when we think of the word “holiness,” we picture a cloistered nun kneeling in chapel for prolonged hours, or St. Damien ministering to the lepers on Molokai, or St. Teresa of Kolkata tending to a dying man in the street. In other words, we tend to equate holiness with extraordinary religious practices, total selflessness, and journeying to faraway lands. But here is a parable I wrote several years ago about holiness.
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There once was a farmer who wanted to become holy. So he decided to leave his wife and children for a few days and go visit the holy man who lived on top of a nearby mountain. “The holy man will tell me the things I have to do to become holy,” said the farmer to his wife. He kissed his family goodbye and left on his journey. He had not gone very far when he thought, “I’m feeling holier already. Although I love my family, my wife’s nagging gets on my nerves at times. And my children’s constant clamoring for attention wears me out. And my neighbor’s frequent requests for help prevent me from praying as much as I would like.”
After walking for a day, the man came to the foot of the mountain and began to climb. After a little while he said, “Climbing this mountain is hard work. It is even harder than hoeing my fields and tending to my animals.” He concluded, “Surely the penance of this climb is making me more holy already.” After two days of climbing, the man ran out of food and was forced to eat the plants along the path. “I am half starved,” he said. “And these weeds are bitter. I already miss the good porridge my wife makes for me every morning. But surely this fasting is making me more holy.”
On the third day the farmer reached the top of the mountain where he met the holy man sitting in prayer outside his cave. While the farmer explained his reason for his visit, the holy man listened attentively. The farmer ended his story by saying, “So please tell me, Sir, what must I do to become holy?” Without hesitation, the holy man replied, “Go back to your family, your farm, your village… Be patient with your wife and appreciate her more… Be attentive to your children. Balance your firmness with kindness… Be helpful to your neighbor… Hoe your fields, tend to your animals, eat the foods you grow–and do all with gratitude. If you do these things well, you will indeed become a holy man.”
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The parable points out that while prayer, penance, and fasting are praiseworthy religious practices, they do not automatically lead to holiness. Rather, the path to geniune holiness passes through the ordinary circumstances of our everyday lives. True holiness is found in things such as these: in facing the challenges and joys of sustaining life-giving relationships… in dealing patiently with the normal tensions involved with living and working with others… in being faithful to our daily duties and responsibilties… in reaching out to our neighbors in need–even when inconvenient.
This truth is demonstrated in the lives of many saints–such as St. John Neumann (my fellow Czech!) Born in Bohemia in 1811, he was ordained a priest in New York. For years he ministered in immigrant parishes in Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Balitmore. In 1852 he was named the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, at that time the largest diocese in the United States. He died in 1860. During his beatification process, the Sacred Congregation in Rome declared that his life seemed “a series of ordinary everyday actions.” Years later, Pope Benedict XV would say regarding him, “Work, even the most simple, performed with constant love in the midst of inevitable difficulties, spells heroism.” It spells holiness too!
For reflection:
Did any words in the parable stand out for you? If so, why?
How did the farmer’s idea of holiness change from the beginning of the story to the end?
What specific aspects of your ordinary life elicit from you love, patience, generosity, kindness, courage, gratitude, heroism? In other words, what aspects of your ordinary life provide you with the “ingredients” for holiness?
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PS: This week I am making my annual retreat in the company of our SNDs in Covington, KY. I promise to pray very specially for all the readers of my blog. I thank God for your interest in spirituality, your wise comments, and your example of living your faith with love and hope! I ask for your prayers too. Thank you!
Today I chose a song by Bernadette Farrell called “Everyday God.” This contemplative song sings of God’s presence in our everyday lives. We believe that in the circumstances of our everyday, God provides all we need to become holy women and men. What circumstances? The song lists many of them: In our resting… rising… sorrow… laughter… working… hoping… waiting… sharing… dreaming… daring… searching.
Please share below any thoughts you might have on this reflection. We love hearing from you!
The Best Reasons to Have Children
Last year The Washington Post ran an article entitled “13 Parents Share the Best Reasons to Have Children” by Alyssa Rosenberg. Since I have no children of my own, I was interested in what these experts (actual parents) had to say. Though they all work in some capacity at The Post, “Their families come in all sizes,” and they have a wide range of religious and political perspectives. I’ll share a few of their thoughts and then open up this topic for your sharing.
“The best part of parenting is getting to be a kid again for them,” writes Mary Katharine Ham. She cites “the fun of coloring, Play Doh, Little League, bounce houses, and playgrounds.” She adds, that the hardest part of parenting is “you have to be an adult for them. Boundaries, guidelines, the very long curve of teaching kids to behave in public.”
Theodore Johnson says, “One of parenting’s first joys is the feeling of a little hand in your palm, that small gift representing a child’s trust and desire to learn from you in a world of pointy edges.” Amber Noelle Sparks notes that the best and hardest parts of parenting “all stem from the same thing: that you have literally created a new person, who is absolutely not you nor your partner and has a completely different brain and different personality.” This can be wonderful–when your daughter, for example, turns out to be an amazing artist and neither of her parents are. But it can be challenging when you butt heads over things.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown sums up the best reason for having kids is “how much more full it has made my life.” She enumerates: “More full of love. More full of activity. More full of noise, responsibility and pure joy… More laughter. More worry. More perspective.” She admits, some things “are not awesome” like more worry. “But they are more than offset by the amazing, joyous, and life-affirming elements.”
Leah Libresco Sargeant says, “I see more of the world, moving at my children’s pace and looking through their eyes.” And when she travels alone with her two children, ages 3 and 1, “I receive more kindness from strangers.” She adds, “My children make me visible to others and others visible to me.”
Emily Oyster sums up the best reason for having kids as “the joy of socks.” She recalled a time when she received an email with some very good professional news. She called her husband to tell him about it, and they agreed that “in terms of daily happiness, it ranked second only to our daughter figuring out how to remove her sock that morning.”
One of the reasons Alyssa Rosenberg wrote this article is because she felt that “Parenting needs better PR.” Sometimes young couples hear too many stories about the difficulties of having children. So, I invite you below to share some of the best reasons to have children–based on your experience and perspective.
For reflection:
Did any of the reasons above resonate with your thoughts and feelings about parenting? Can you think of any other reasons?
Would you like to share a few of those reasons below with all of us? (You need NOT be a parent to respond to this question. Sometimes “outsiders” can offer very worthwhile perspectives too!)
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PS: Garden update: Two weeks ago I shared my struggles with my porch garden. Here’s an update: I’m sad to report that my bell pepper plant died–but not before giving me one marble-size red pepper. My pretty yellow petunia plant was infected by some sort of fungus. I had to dispose of it. The lone tomato on my beef steak plant continues to grow. It’s the size of a golf ball now. A small golf ball… My zinnia has 3 new green stalks with three buds! It is now out of intensive care. How’s your garden doing?
I am offering two videos today. The first is the song “We Are Children of God,” by Monica Scott. It reminds us that WE are sons and daughters of God–no matter how young or old we are. Hopefully our relationship with our children will give us a better understanding of our relationship with God. Also, this video celebrates young children. Just seeing their faces will probably make us smile. And finally, we remember that Jesus said, “Unless you become like little children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt. 18:3).
We are all shocked and disturbed by the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday and the death and serious injury of the others who were there. We pray for all involved. I chose this second video as a prayer for peace. It’s “Peace on Earth” based on Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony and adapted by Bob Hurd. We pray that we who are privileged to live in a democracy will once again realize that violence is not the way to preserve our democracy. Instead we must do the much harder labor of working for justice for all our citizens, of tending to the poor in our midst, of treating all people with respect, of striving to be a person of integrity and love, and of working endlessly for the common good.
I invite you to share below your thoughts on this reflection below…
