RevGalBlogPals' Friday Five: Happy Leap Day!

A lovely Friday tradition...and my first time on the playing board! Here's RevGalBlogPals' original post.


Tell us about a time you:

1. Leapt before looked
I have to admit, this doesn't happen often--I'm too much of a planner.

2. Leapt to a conclusion
Now this, on the other hand, happens to me far too often. And sometimes to great embarrassment. Most recently: I leapt to the conclusion that one of my students was not doing his reading, and I asked him about it. My students are adults...so he was offended, of course. In my defense, his homework assignments did not reflect having completed the assigned reading...

3. Took a Leap of Faith
I went to graduate school--moved halfway across the country to the midwest, and had no idea whether I would make it. I don't think I believed then that I would. But I don't think I was the only one who made a leap of faith--the graduate director who let me in the program and gave me a scholarship also placed a great amount of trust in me (I was certainly less qualified than my peers, if only because I was the only one coming straight out of college). It seems to be a successful leap of faith--no net needed. I did complete the program, after all, and now I'm using my PhD in the world of theology.

4. Took a literal Leap
I'm not one for heights or for leaping. I can tell you about a few trips down the stairs, head or bottom first, if you wish...

5. And finally, what might you be faced with leaping in the coming year?
Ah. This one is easy, though I'm changing it to the next year and a half. Entering religious life--without a dime to my name, leaving behind my worldly possessions, and trusting that my friend and comfort Jesus will be beside me along the way. He's always there, but sometimes I don't see him clearly (my fault, not his). This move is both exciting and a bit terrifying--but all is good as long as I remember that God has a safety net is available in case I have an emergency.

Divine safety nets are the best, aren't they? They seem to be the only ones that never fail to appear on time.

Love and the Law

Maybe I have been reading too much of the mystics lately, but it’s hard for me to understand such a focus on the law as is in today’s readings. Not to devalue the law, but I get the sense sometimes that we place so much emphasis on doing things “right” that we forget why we do them in the first place. And the reason we do them: Jesus' law of love… which (it seems to me) is not so much a law that is followed like other laws, but a way of living and being in relationship with other people.

I was thinking about this issue last night with regards to the liturgy. I have been to parishes that place such great emphasis on doing the liturgy right that they neglect other aspects of human life. They might have the proper incense and half a dozen servers, but the homily will be unprepared or out of touch with their congregation. I have heard many a homily on the necessity of going to confession… not that it's wrong to discuss confession, but how about a little guidance on how to live life in such a way that there is less to confess? (And how about calling that sacrament “reconciliation” like the contemporary documents do? Even that word change alters the significance of the sacrament, into a sacrament of mended relationships rather than a sacrament simply of guilt and penance.)

The world of theology is not so different either. Theologians have to question the way things are—that is part of their job. If no one questions things, then nothing can change. (This isn't the right place for a digression, but the dynamism of creating is an integral part of God's being... so change among the created world is good, and change in the church is guided by the Holy Spirit--even better!) Yet there are some people in this world who are so opposed to change that they become militant at any intimation that theology can be expressed somehow other than the Catechism or Thomas Aquinas expressed it. Again, not to devalue the Catechism or Thomas, but the brilliance of being Christian is in knowing that God is greater than any one person’s conception of God…or even any one catechism’s conception of God. The history of theology shows us that—each theologian throughout history has taken a different approach to understanding the divine, and most of those approaches are not heretical! So what is God like if each of these expressions is different? God is all of them combined, and yet more than we can possibly imagine. That’s the great mystery, and also a great reason to be open to the ideas of those around us. Our neighbors and those we disagree with might see something of God that we cannot see.

Holiness and Responsibility

A friend just gave me a copy of Life and Holiness by Thomas Merton, and I was struck by this sentence from the introduction:

Christian holiness in our age means more than ever the awareness of our common responsibility to cooperate with the mysterious designs of God for the human race.

This reminds me of some of the things I have been talking about with my spiritual director. He speaks of doing God's will in the sense of knowing that what I do is the will of God. It's hard to express (he is much clearer than I am), but I get the sense that he means this type of cooperation with God's designs. We cooperate with God and follow his designs when we do God's will.

I also think about how freeing this must be--to focus so completely on God's will that we lose our desire for material wealth and earthly acclaim. As I look more deeply into myself and my desire to follow God's call into religious life, I begin to see that these things bind me in ways that I never realized. I don't even think that I am particularly ambitious, yet those bonds are still there. I know that I am bound by my desire to be successful at my job in a way that is somehow quantifiable. Once I "name" that desire, I recognize that in it I will never find happiness, that ultimately my happiness is in doing my job well because it is the will of God that I do the job!


Those are my small thoughts tonight.

Quote of the Day

From the Rule of St. Benedict chapter 1:

"Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love."

I've probably read this passage four or five times, and it never struck me before. I'm always amazed at how different things become significant at different times in life, when before they were simply overlooked.

Connections Part 2

The second part of my week was good also. I spoke with some far away friends (always pleasant), and I had a new friend to my home for dinner.

And I got to tell her about my vocation journey. It is so nice to have someone here, in my new community, with whom I can share this story. As you might notice, dear reader, this blog is anonymous... that is for the protection of my current status, my current job, and so most of the people I see on a day to day basis have no idea about the call that resides in my heart and soul at this point in time. But now, one more of my dear new friends shares my "secret."

I really wish the secrecy was not necessary, and I long for the day when I can shout from the rooftops the joy that is in my heart! I'm in love! And I am "going to live in God's house" - the house of my Love - just as soon as I can!

I think that is inspired by St. Valentine's Day.

"Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!"

--Song 2:10

Connections

I'm having one of those days where it is hard to connect. I'm just not into the work that I need to be doing, and I'm distracted...by nothing in particular.

So maybe what I need is a recap of the week. This week has been a good one--a little rest after a long weekend of working, and then some productive days as well. I teach one weekend a month (last weekend) for a marathon of 9 hours over 2 days (sounds okay, but it's way more than the usual 3 hour seminar length class). And at the end I am exhausted. So the rest of the week, I basically have to make up for the work that was put off last week in preparation for the weekend. Phew.

But I did it. It's done for now. And I'm still in need of more sleep.

Spiritual direction is going so well. My spiritual guru guide is fantastic--always full of wisdom that helps me further on my path. A phrase from him that keeps coming up is "mystical union with Christ in action." He's talking about "contemplatives in action" - that mode of religious life that wants to keep the contemplation of the monastery while also actively participating in the world. Fr. Joe relates it to several phrases from the Gospels, especially when Jesus talks of doing the will of the Father. So that, mystical union with Christ in action is about uniting my will with the will of God, knowing that what I am doing is what God wills. Really being an instrument of God. It also means trusting the guidance of the Holy Spirit in me, in my (religious) community, in those whom I vow to obey.

I don't think I explain it well, but it is an idea that will captivate me for some time.

Quote

"Hearing nuns' confessions is like being stoned to death with popcorn."

-- Fulton Sheen

I read this and couldn't help laughing.