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Comfort Zone

Recliner

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.


In today’s readings, the persons whom St. Paul is encouraging are the very persons whom Jesus is describing in the gospel, with the Beatitudes.

St. Paul explains how the encouragement He experiences from God the Father is also transmitted to other Christians who are participating in the same sort of sufferings that he is undergoing. Those sufferings are precisely the ones described in the Beatitudes: poverty, mourning, hunger, thirst, persecution.

For those of us who live in relatively prosperous lands, it may be difficult to remember that we are called–indeed, called directly by Jesus in today’s gospel–to the same sort of hardships.

Consciously or unconsciously, we seek comfort and easy prosperity as supreme ends, whereas Jesus challenges us to see detachment, purity of heart, and the establishment of justice and peace.

There are ways, in any society, to live the Beatitudes. It is not about our circumstances. It is about our drive, that is, what we strive for. If we are looking for the will of God and the welfare of others as our top priority, we will be pure of heart and poor in spirit, and we will suffer different forms of discomfort, humiliation, and hardship. If we seek only comfort, ease, and power, we will not enjoy the blessings promised by Jesus, and we will endure perpetual unrest of spirit.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus for the courage to live the Beatitudes fully. Tell Him that you are not afraid of the inconveniences and sufferings that this life will bring, as long as He is with you to give you strength.

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Saints: Oddballs…or Not

Saint Peter

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.


On this feast of All Saints, there are two common themes that jump out from the readings: 1) The joy of those who choose God and heaven–the saints–is to see the face of God; and 2) Those who choose God and heaven–the saints–really stand out from others in the world as exceptions; they’re really different.

The second point in a way relates to the first. It is already very different to derive happiness primarily from–well–looking at someone. Yet this is what we see in the first reading and the psalm. “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face,” says the psalm. And in the first reading, we see a horde of white-robed folks standing, looking at God, and saying, “Amen.  Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever.  Amen.”

Most people on the planet seem, at least on the practical level if not on the theoretical, to define happiness as self-enrichment, whether financial or otherwise–development of talents and potential, development of influence, more kids, more exposure to travel, etc.

By contrast, most people wouldn’t see happiness defined as standing and praising someone.

Perhaps the two definitions aren’t as far apart as they seem, though. If we take a closer look at the self-enrichment definition of happiness, it’s all about new experiences, and the ability to have them: Achievements, travel, more luxury, parenthood, etc. The unique attribute of the experience of God is that, unlike anything else, it is infinitely and constantly new, surprising, and wonderful. Whereas praising something that is old hat would be boring, the most spectacular new experiences in our lives evoke spontaneous expressions of awe. For example, seeing Niagara Falls for the first time. This is a dim reflection of what it is like to behold the face of God for eternity.

So much so, that Catholic doctrine defines heaven as the “beatific vision” (beatific = blessed, or happy).

Further on the second point, how the saints are different: In the gospel, Jesus contrasts the ways of the saints sharply with the ways of the world. Meekness, poverty, hunger/thirst, persecution. But the drastic contrast does not lie in any lack of desire for happiness on the part of the saints. Rather, the saints make a decision not to center their aspirations for happiness on experiences that become boring very, very quickly, as is the case with all self-enriching experiences on this earth. Rather, they choose a path that corresponds to enjoying forever the one experience that never becomes tiresome.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Reflect on your life and what drives you. Can you truly say that your heart is centered on enhancing the one experience that lasts and brings happiness, which is your relationship with God? Does your life mirror the beatitudes from today’s gospel? Or do you focus on going from novel experience to novel experience, like so many others in the world? How did Jesus live in this regard? Talk to Him about your life and how He may want you to adjust your priorities. Talk to Him about whether or not your relationship with Him really is the pearl of great price, worth sacrificing all other “riches” to obtain.

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