Tag: <span>detachment</span>

May 19, 2021May 6, 2021

Goodbye

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

Today’s readings present us with two imminent departures, partings of beloved friends, who will never again see each other on this earth.

One departure is that of Jesus, who is about to be crucified; the other, Jesus’ disciple Paul, leader of the Christian community, who leaves for other shores and predicts his inability ever to return. In both departures, there is deep melancholy on the part of those being left. Jesus’ disciples are filled with “sheer sorrow” (cf. Lk. 22:45), and Paul’s hearers were “deeply distressed.”

Jesus and Paul are very similarly aware that the target of their mission is not earthly togetherness, but eternal togetherness: The salvation and sanctification of their friends, whom they love.

Often, we mistake relative earthly goods as having absolute value, which only eternal goods have. Anything that is subject to passing, to decay, to loss, has no absolute value, and so it is with our earthly lives and earthly goods, as exalted as these may be.

The only way to achieve as noble and complete a detachment from earthly goods as that which Jesus and Paul display is to live constantly, habitually with the goods of this world as though we were already in the process of losing them–which we are. It is an uncomfortable, even in a sense unsettling way to live, but it also brings great peace and the deepest of joys.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to prevent that your heart become fixated on passing earthly goods, as wonderful and noble as these can be, but to realize almost by second nature that they are in the process of passing, and ultimately only have lasting value to the degree that they are leveraged to help you and others attain to eternal goods.

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April 13, 2021March 25, 2021

Treasure Here, Treasure There

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

“If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.” This is what Jesus tells Nicodemus, after Nicodemus does not understand His message about being born again of the Spirit.

Most people would call Jesus’ description to Nicodemus of being born again a “heavenly thing.” Compare what He is talking about, for example, to a conversation about cooking dinner, or taking out the trash.

But Jesus calls the discussion about being born of the Spirit an “earthly thing.”

All too often, even in the Christian life, all we think about are “earthly things.” We talk about making the world a better place by feeding the poor, acting with kindness, etc., all of which is good and which indeed is part of what Christianity demands.

But none of these are “heavenly things.”

In Mt. 19, Jesus tells the rich young man, “go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” To have “heavenly things,” the rich young man must detach himself utterly from all that he has.

The apostle Barnabas in the first reading does just that. He sells his property, and gives away his money. From an “earthly” perspective, this is insane foolishness. But Barnabas has his eyes on Heaven.

Is our heart in Heaven, or is it on earth? Do we still harbor a secret desire for earthly happiness, or do we truly seek to place all our treasure in Heaven?

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Think about what you most dream about on earth, what you most desire. Give it to Jesus, and tell Him you that you want, not that thing, but only His will. Ask Him to build your treasure in Heaven, and to free you from anything that will keep Him from doing so.

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March 12, 2021February 24, 2021

Laser Focus

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

“I will love them freely,” says God through the prophet Hosea in the first reading. His all-powerful, tender, effective, fruitful, refreshing love will be poured out on His people without measure.

Rarely do we find more enthusiastic imagery in the words Jesus, than those He uses when He describes this outpouring of divine love: “A good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.” (cf. Lk. 6:38)

Lent is a time for purification from attachments to created things, our own ideas, our own feelings, that hold our will, even at the expense of our faithfulness to God. It is a time for purification from attachments, so that we may access this divine outpouring.

But if it is a time for detachment, it is even more a time for increased attachment–attachment to God, as the humble and wise scribe in today’s gospel articulates:

He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
   with all your understanding,
   with all your strength,
   and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

It would appear that this scribe had tasted God somewhere along the way, both because of his clear understanding of the primacy of loving God and neighbor, and because in speaking of the “worth” of the love of God, he seems to be speaking from personal experience.

And that is just it. Detachment alone does not lead us to God. If we do not experience God and attach ourselves to Him, we become like the heart Jesus compares to a house, saying that when it is all cleaned out, it merely becomes a more welcoming place for worse demons to come and reside (cf. Mt. 12:43-45).

Attachment to God, based on experience of God. Experience of God requires something so simple that it is almost silly: Dedication of time each day, say, a half hour, for dialogue with Him in prayer. If we open our hearts to Him with consistency, He will not fail to fill our hearts with love for Him–attachment to Him.

So it is that, in addition to fasting and self-denial, the Church urges us to increase our prayer during Lent.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to help you to understand the attraction of loving God, and to help you with His Spirit to attain an authentic attachment to God above all things. Tell Him that you cannot attain this on your own through edifying readings, attendance at church, or any other means. Ask Him to generously infuse this love into your heart.

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March 4, 2021February 16, 2021

Dogs Licked His Sores

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

There are those who posit that Jesus favored the poor over the rich; there are even some who would claim that Jesus’ entire mission centered on rectifying social inequities.

The gospel from today is one of those that seems to come closest to substantiating those claims.

And indeed, Jesus came to bring “good news to the poor.” (cf. Lk. 4:18) Also, the entire Bible is full of admonitions from God to look after the poor, widows, orphans, etc.

But if we look closely at today’s gospel, and consider it in light of the first reading, we see that perhaps Lazarus was not blessed in the hereafter because he was poor on earth–but rather because he trusted in God, rather than human beings and their riches. This, in contrast to the rich man, whose entire happiness was founded on the shifting sands of goods manufactured by human hands. “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings”; “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD.”

And indeed, we see that Lazarus’ fate on earth was never improved in the parable. Rather, it turns out that he was was blessed in his earthly poverty, because by means of it, and the detachment from worldly goods that it facilitated, a privileged place was reserved for him in Heaven.

Jesus did not come to rectify earthly inequities and create an earthly utopia. Indeed, He tells us, “the poor you will always have with you.” (Cf. Mt. 26:11) But those of us with sufficient earthly goods–and we are the minority on this planet; the average global yearly salary as of this writing is $18,000–we who have enough, have a grave obligation before God to provide for others who do not.

This is not the same as solving global inequities. It means that the fact that we legitimately own and control earthly goods, and government should not arbitrarily take them away from us, does not mean that God has destined those goods for our welfare alone. He has destined them for the good of others as well, through the generosity of our hearts.

It is by cultivating, by the grace of God, hearts full of generosity, that actively seek creative ways to look after those less fortunate, that we avoid the pitfall of worldly attachment that decided an unfortunate eternal destiny for the rich man in today’s gospel.

This bountiful generosity is not an option. It decides our eternal fate.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to cultivate within you a generous heart that actively seeks the welfare of others, and specifically seeks opportunities to make sacrifices for the material welfare of others.

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January 29, 2021January 20, 2021

Farmer’s Bounty

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

The addressees of the letter to the Hebrews were rather impressive. They joyfully endured the confiscation of their possessions, presumably in a moment of persecution, either from the Romans or from the Jewish authorities.

Imagine today’s Christians rejoicing in the confiscation of their property, aware that they had more lasting (eternal) possessions.

This portion of the first reading would suffice for a few days’ meditation. As Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 6:21) Is our hope, even as it pertains to our Christian faith, in worldly victory? Do our foundations shake when the powers that be in the world prove inimical to us and our beliefs?

Special indeed are those Christians whose treasure truly lies in eternity and who, while engaging actively in the world’s betterment on every level (including political), never attach their heart to victory in worldly spheres.

For such a Christian, as for those early Hebrew Christians, today’s psalm resonates:

“The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.”

“Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.”

For such a person, the process that Jesus describes in today’s gospel is an ongoing phenomenon. Like a farmer sowing seed, such Christians give their lives to their vocation each day in utter simplicity, trusting that their gift will be the seed that the fertile ground–Divine Grace itself–will make grow disproportionately into fruits for the Kingdom of God.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Within the swirl of the world, ask Jesus to help you keep your perspective and your focus. Tell Him that you cannot keep your heart’s focus on eternity without His grace, and ask Him to infuse you with His Holy Spirit. Ask Him to make your harvest as fruitful as the farmer He had in mind when He spoke today’s parable.

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November 17, 2020December 12, 2020

Turnaround

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

Today’s readings are all about repentance.

The message of the first reading is clear: A half-hearted living of the Christian life is the lowest form of nakedness, blindness, and poverty; this form of Christianity is a hell on earth that finds its fulfillment in eternity. We are called to wake up from mediocrity and attachment to worldliness and give our whole hearts to Christ and His people.

Marvelously, this is precisely what Zacchaeus does in the Gospel passage. Joy comes to his house as he reckless divests himself of all his ill-gotten gains and gives to the poor, his heart detached from his worldliness by the encounter with Christ’s merciful grace.

We are called to be causes of Zacchaeus events through our prayer for sinners and our witness of Christian life. And we have a short time to do it. There is no freedom experienced by the human person like the radical freedom experienced by the person liberated from worldly attachments.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask the Lord to help open your eyes to the opportunities in your life to bring souls closer to Him. Also, resolve with Him to offer all your Masses, prayers, and all the ample sufferings this life provides for the conversion of sinners.

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November 7, 2020October 20, 2020

Dishonest Wealth

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

It may seem scandalous, but for God, providing for our material needs is something of an afterthought. It’s not that He forgets to do it. Rather, it is simply a given–not the focus of His divine zeal.

We see in this sense how close Paul is to the mind and heart of God in our first reading today. He is excited that the Philippians have taken care to look after his material welfare. But it’s not because he was afraid of going without: “Not that I say this because of need.” He is equally happy in material poverty or abundance because he knows with absolute certainty that he receives all he needs from God: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.”

Rather, he is excited because he is “eager for the profit that accrues to your account.” He knows that through their generosity, the Philippians are drawing nearer to Jesus, the Generous One.

When Jesus sums up material things in the Gospel passage as “dishonest wealth,” and tells us to make friends with it, he is essentially telling us the message that the Philippians are living out in the first reading: Material things have a new purpose with the advent of the New Testament, namely, to increase Love. Everything earthly is passing away and is, in this sense, “dishonest” in its promises of happiness. But through generosity, it can be used for true happiness, which comes from Love.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Examine with Jesus how you use your material gifts. Is your main focus your own comfort and advancement? Or is it Love? Ask Him how you can use the “dishonest” wealth of this world to increase the only wealth that is “honest” in the sense that it brings true, lasting happiness: Love.

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November 4, 2020October 17, 2020

Take It Up

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

Let’s be honest: St. Paul might not get an “A” in Advanced Writing class at Harvard. He’s guilty of a run-on sentence here and there. Sometimes there are different concepts combined into one sentence. To be fair, he did his writing at a time when standards were a bit different. Anyone who has studied classical Latin knows that run-ons were the order of the day.

This makes it all the more fun to tease out the depths of his heart through his words. His theology is rich; his spirituality, profound.

For example, what do we take from these words?

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent.”

So, so often we think our work as Christians is to try to deduce moral perfection and work toward it. But there is a reason to be fearful, to tremble, to stand in awe. It is a joyful fear, if there is such a thing; a joyful awe. The awe-inspiring thing about Christianity is that “God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.” This is why we must not grumble or question. Ours is to draw near to Him, as near as we can possibly come each day. Approach the Eucharist and dialogue with Him in the intimacy of our hearts after Communion. Spend solid chunks of time with Him in dialogue and prayer. And then, ours is to trust Him, in fearsome awe: For He is the one who, for his good purpose, will create good desires in us and accomplish what He wants in us. He has got it all figured out.

So much better than trying to inject exquisite, cold, dry little moral niceties deduced from our own two-dimensional intellect into our day, as some sort of substitute for true meaning. He alone, and what He does in us, is that meaning.

In the Gospel today, Jesus furthers our understanding of why we are to approach our Christian vocation with fear and trembling, and He does so in a rather sobering way. We are to be willing to sacrifice even the noblest things that are dearest to us for Him, as we take up a real cross of suffering in life to follow Him. That work that Paul describes God doing in us in not always fun, and is certainly not easy. It involves the cross of radical detachment.

But, as Paul elsewhere says, “If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.” And what a glorious life it is–even here on earth, so much more fulfilled and happy than a life without Him. With a yet far happier and more glorious eternal life to follow.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: The path God has planned for each of us is awe-inspiring. On the one hand, filled with His tender and loving guidance, which itself is the source of our happiness. On the other hand, full of increasing detachment, sacrifice, and some suffering as well. Think of Jesus in prison on the night before He died. Talk to Him there. In the intimacy of that setting, ask Him how better to take up your own cross and follow Him.

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September 13, 2020August 28, 2020

Let It Go

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

Some people love to contrast the Old Testament and the New Testament, caricaturing God in the former as a meany and in the latter as a sweet guy who just loves to hug.

In reality, both Testaments feature a Creator who is not to be messed with, whose laws hold firm and bear eternal consequences, and yet who is also mind-blowingly merciful. He not only gives us second chances, He comes up with ingenious schemes to take the hit for His own laws and open doors that we have closed for ourselves. But we must opt for those second chances. We still must conform to His way, the way of our deeper and better nature, the way He created us to be.

In the face of the mistaken tendency to pit Old Testament and New Testament against each other, Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel is nothing but the first reading repeated, but in a beautiful, easily understood story–that is, in warm, human terms. He teaches what we hear summed up earlier in the Lord’s Prayer (cf. Mt. 6:9ff): “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The simple but tough lesson: God will not forgive us our sins if we do not forgive our brothers and sisters from our heart.

Of course, this does not necessarily mean that the wound does not still cause us pain. The though of the offending person can still cause us revulsion, even physical sickness. But we do not hatch plans or desire their suffering and destruction. We leave their welfare in God’s hands and even pray that He will given them what they need, conversion if necessary, to be happy with Him one day.

The contrary attitude is one of willingly harbored resentment, by which we actively choose to desire suffering and harm for the person who has offended us, out of “justice” in return for what they have done for us.

But what is it that causes us to cling to such desires, and stubbornly refuse to let them go? Ultimately, it is attachment of our heart to created things. Sin and spiritual imperfection come from our heart attaching itself to created things, whether those things are people or possessions, or more intangible things such as our own reputation. Spiritual perfection comes from a profound relationship with God whereby He truly is all we cling to as essential.

The soul with created attachments is at risk of the sin of resentment, of not forgiving, if another person ventures to interfere with the object of its attachment.

We may think of this as another of Jesus’ tough, challenging teachings–and it is. But there is also something beautiful in this teaching that we may take for granted, that we may overlook or fail to fully appreciate: If we do let go of ill desires for others, and thus forgive them from the heart, we have the joy and freedom of knowing that God does the same for us, even though our sin has taken a baseball bat to the very order of the cosmos, to the very underpinnings of our own nature. Even though, more importantly, our sin has spat in the face of the very author of these. God’s mercy inspires awe. We do not deserve it. And yet, it is right there at the fingertips of the person willing to let go of attachment to others’ offenses.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Contemplate God’s mercy. Think of His mercy in the face of your terrible sins, but also in the face of humankind’s wholesale rejection of Him. Ask Him to show you how to be merciful, like a father showing his five-year-old how to ride a bicycle. Ask Him to help you to attach your heart and your will more and more only to Him.

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