Divine Will

Poignant Jewish humor on humility, adjunct to Sunday Gospel reading

Walking into the empty sanctuary of his synagogue, a rabbi was suddenly possessed by a wave of mystical rapture.  He threw himself onto the ground before the Ark proclaiming, “Lord, I’m Nothing!” Seeing the rabbi in such a state, the cantor felt profoundly moved by similar emotions. He too, threw himself down in front of the Ark, proclaiming, “Lord, I’m Nothing!”
Then, way in the back of the synagogue, the janitor threw himself to the ground, and he too shouted, “Lord, “I’m Nothing.” Whereupon, the rabbi turned to the cantor and whispered, “Look who thinks he’s Nothing!”

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Divine Will

The mind a creature is, yet can create,
To nature’s patterns adding higher skill ;
Of finest works with better could the state
If force of wit had equal power of will.
Device of man in working hath no end,
What thought can think, another thought can mend.
–St Robert Southwell

Made in the image and likeness of God, man has the ability to create, to enhance the wonders of creation. Man can create beauty. In my story clip introducing the scriptural Bleeding Woman, Naomi is given a small home. The home represents her life, disordered, disheveled, and in the process of decay. Possessing the ability to create, undergoing a process of purgation, she brings her gifted home to a state of beauty. The home attains utilitarian and ascetic appeal. Relishing within her accomplishment, Naomi observes the sea. Ruminating upon the words of her friend regarding the new teacher and healer, a process of illumination is experienced, a voice internalizing. She is being prepared to meet Christ, to touch the hem of His garment amidst the thronging masses.

Within man’s ability to create exist the birth of evil. Relying upon free will man introduces perversion. Perversion being that which is not aligned with God, a wandering away from all that is good, the exercising of free will. Pope Francis writes in his encyclical Laudato Si’: “Once we lose our humility, and become enthralled with the possibility of limitless mastery over everything, we inevitably end up harming society and the environment. It is not easy to promote this kind of healthy humility or happy sobriety when we consider ourselves autonomous, when we exclude God from our lives or replace him with our own ego, and think that our subjective feelings can define what is right and what is wrong.”

The subtleties of losing the ability to discern God’s Will is truly the challenge. A nonbeliever confronts nearly impossible chances of creating consequences that in totality will bring about goodness. An extreme example would be Marx or Hitler, who in their hearts were convinced their ways were for the good of the world, yet in truth their diabolic scheming introduced horrendous consequences, intense suffering, acute miseries. On a smaller more intimate level, the deviations of being unable to coalesce with Divine Intent, an inability to comprehend who we truly are, we hurt each other. Within families, blood relationships of love, we hurt and wound one another. Children are devastatingly damaged by their parents. Parents, loving their children immensely, inflict severe psychological damage. In friendships based upon faith, we hurt and wound one another. In attempts at romantic relationships, we hurt and wound one another. In community activities, we hurt and wound one another. I cannot identify the fact as evil, while recognizing the consequences as distressing. Imperfect beings, broken, needing, trying to bring happiness about, self-protecting and fearful, we operate through that which is easiest and that is our schemes and manipulations. I think of a drowning man within a rough and tossing sea attempting to grasp a life preserver. Anymore for me, it seems all the saints writings end up focusing upon unifying with the Will of God, learning to interact with the world through the love of God.

Creation feeding upon an enhancement of man

Creation feeding upon an enhancement of man

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Unification

…let us strive in all things to conform ourselves to His divine will. Let us not only strive to conform ourselves, but also to unite ourselves to whatever dispositions God makes of us. Conformity signifies that we join our wills to the will of God. Uniformity means more. Uniformity means that we make one will of God’s will and our will. In this way we will only what God wills. God’s will alone is our will… –St Alphonsus Liguori

St Alphonsus Liguori

St Alphonsus Liguori

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Lap like dogs

Dogs are loyal and show loyal gratitude to a master irrespective of the type of master he or she may be. It is because of this that a dog will follow his master, even though such master might be indifferent or even cruel, and he will follow that master into poverty, walk at his heels over the most uncomfortable roads, leave a cozy home for a miserable cabin, and then act all the while as if he were privileged to be accompanying his master. –Father John Doe ‘Sobriety and Beyond’.

Dog

And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; take them down to the water and I will test them for you there; and he of whom I say to you, `This man shall go with you,’ shall go with you; and any of whom I say to you, `This man shall not go with you,’ shall not go.

So he brought the people down to the water; and the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one that laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself; likewise every one that kneels down to drink.”

And the number of those that lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.

And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Mid’ianites into your hand; and let all the others go every man to his home. –Judges chp. 7

Aspiring to a greater concentration, doing all that we can in order for God to make of us all that we can be as contemplatives, let us take inspiration from Gideon’s chosen men. With haste, rapt attention, lacking self-consciousness,and unrestrained; let us lap up our devotion and dedication to all things that brings us closer to God as dogs lap up water.

Oh great and glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart. Grant me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity. Grace me with wisdom and understanding so that I may carry out Thy holy and true commandments. –prayer of St Francis before the St Damiano Cross

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Mass intentions, beyond to all things, and every moment

san_alonso

Endeavour in all things you do, to elevate your heart to Him saying to him; Lord it is for Your sake I do this —it is to please You, it is because You will have it so. Your will O Lord is mine, and I have no other comfort or satisfaction but Yours. I know not what to desire, or what not to desire, but what is Your Holy Will I should, or should not desire. All my joy, all my satisfaction, is the fulfilling of Your will; and so that I do but please You, I desire nothing more; there is nothing in heaven nor upon earth that I desire to behold but Yourself…. –‘The Practice of Perfection and Christian Virtues’ Vol. #1 by St Alphonsus Rodriguez

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The Ugly Essential

Lay me bare, inflict the wound of preciseness,
Lord, You know me too well, understanding my pride,
Need. Cleverness too easy to appease,
Effortlessly extolling the spiritual, relishing the intellect denouncing,
The intellect. Know not the softer easier way.
The spiritual life too easy, escapism, problematic avoiding,
Lord what do You see?
Allow me not to become insane in Your eyes,
My glaring weaknesses, what is it that stops unification,
What is it that will not cease that You despise,
What stops me from loving you as deeply as You deserve?
There is something.
Many things there are.
Give me the strength Lord to focus,
Not to wallow in the glory, rather to reveal the ugly,
Now standing upon dirt, apply the fire,
Purge ugliness and unrepentant sin,
Purgatory here upon the earth!
Courage
Fortitude
Insight
Remain steadfast
Help me Lord to:
Purify the putrid, open festering wounds.
Cut loose that which weakens, scattering virtue to the wind,
Mortify appetite, reject the pronunciation of pretty words,
Alienate articulation, inflict fear upon the tongue,
Cut away the smallest traces, abandon idealism,
Stupefy the mind so I can concentrate.
The tiniest infraction magnify.
While time still exist, make the most of confessing.
The sacraments healing, the Church abiding,
Cast away reputation, interject humiliation,
Allow the eternal to dictate every ebb and flow.
Never let me forget the never ending.
In You Lord, I adore keenly criticizing myself.

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My Cross

Thy will be done. God determines my cross, my appropriate suffering. Self-imposed misery, self-induced suffering is not redemptive. Despair, hopelessness, are perversions, diverse from God’s order. Self-seeking and rationalization inflict personal elevation, spiritually devastating, blinding understanding. To ask God to forgive those who I perceive to have sinned against me, yet in truth have done me no harm, is an affront to God. To play the victim over and over is to be a spiritual coward. To be a martyr when God does not call for one is poor discernment. My faith is not a means of self-justification. My trust in God simplifies, inducing kindness, a disposition others are able to trust. If complexity, strangeness, and a vacillating nature are the results of my spiritual efforts, self-will rules. If people find me vague, incomprehensible, moody, difficult to deal with my spiritual life is out of balance. Do not create suffering. Allow God to provide proper suffering. He will oblige.

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