MAKING ALL THINGS NEW

My sister and I were down in Washington DC last week for a couple of big events.  The first was to see the famous blooming cherry trees surrounding the tidal basin.  Sadly, that late winter storm caused most of the blossoms to freeze, reducing the dramatic show to a whimper.  Having built this event up over the last several months, my sister couldn’t wait to see those beautiful blooms.  In truth, it had been many years since I saw them myself, and was looking forward to it too.  Both of us walked back to the hotel feeling a bit let down.  Maybe next year?

The other event which brought us to the nation’s capital was my doctoral defense, which took place last Wednesday.  With some sense of trepidation, I was also looking forward to this major life event.  After five years, my time at Catholic University of America was coming to an end, in the form of a one hour presentation before a committee of three.  I felt prepared, but nervous at the same time.  I got things set up (thanks to the help of my sister), reviewed the power point one last time, and then waited for people to arrive.  Gratefully, it was my friends who came first.

What a blessing it was to have them there for support!  Then, the committee arrived, and we got started.  I could go on and on about this sixty minute event, but let’s just say it all went well and I left Caldwell Hall a Doctor of Ministry (after a champagne toast).  I was flooded with joyous relief, and as my friends and I walked over to the National Shrine for a Mass of Thanksgiving, I couldn’t help but think about the mysteries of life, how one chapter closes and another opens.  None of us knows what the future holds, but I trust that my discernment on this last chapter just beginning might  prove right, that a great adventure lay ahead, one which will carry me far into the future, a future full of hope.  Praised be Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of the penitential season of Lent.  As I think about the days ahead, I’m grateful for the chance to be introspective, to see and pray through the parts of my life which need work.  It’s time, probably overdue.   Maybe it’s the same for you.

This morning, I was thinking about the last lines of Psalm 139, one of my favorites.  It reminds me that God knows me so well.  No matter how far I deviate from the path He has set out for me, God is always there to help me get back on track.  As we prepare for the days to come, I hope these words echo in your heart as they do in mine.

Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my concerns.  See if my way is crooked, then lead me in the ancient paths. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Yesterday evening, I sent my doctoral treatise to my director at Catholic University of America.  It took almost five years to get to that point of hitting the send button, but in a flash, it was on it’s way, to begin the final stage of reaching my goal of achieving a doctorate.  All that’s left to do now is my defense.  While still a big deal, it will be nothing like getting up in the morning each day at 3 am to begin working for four hours on this document, coming in at 191 pages.

These past five years have been filled with twists and turns, doubt and conviction, stress and peace.  I was with my men’s group yesterday afternoon and I was telling them that I really don’t have  something in my past to compare this with.  So, that email marked, in my mind, the end of something, and it’s receipt by my director on the other end, a new beginning.

If St. Ignatius were sitting here with me right now, he’d tell me that, in the end, this isn’t about  me, or what I’ve been able to do.  No, he would say it’s about being able to do more for God.  I like that, because it keeps me humble, and I need to keep that wisdom on the forefront of my mind going forward.  When you get down to it, so much in life, despite our best efforts otherwise, isn’t really about us.  Whenever we think we can strike out on our own, and that it’s all about what we can do by ourselves, we miss something very important.  God’s abiding presence in our lives.  St. Ignatius called it “finding God in all things.”  No matter what twists and turns might be in our lives, He’s there if we seek Him with all our heart.  That’s our job.  God will take care of the rest.

Tomorrow will be a big day for our country, with the inauguration of a new president, Donald Trump. Regardless of where you stand politically, people of faith should be praying hard for our country and for the new president and his administration. Although many, including myself, had hoped and prayed that the election mudslinging would come to an end, in many ways it seems to be intensifying. The prayer below (with slight adaptation by me), was written by John Carroll, the first Catholic Bishop of the United States,  for the inauguration of George Washington in 1789.  I hope everyone will join me in praying it together.  As my former pastor of happy memory used to say often, “prayer changes things.”  Let it be so.

1. Almighty and eternal God,
   you have revealed your glory to all nations.
   God of power and might, wisdom and justice,
   through you authority is rightly administered,
   laws are enacted, and judgment is decreed. 
2. For the President:
   Assist with your spirit of counsel and fortitude
   the President of these United States,
   that his administration may be conducted in righteousness,
   and be eminently useful to your people over whom he presides.
   May he encourage due respect for virtue and religion.
   May he execute the laws with justice and mercy.
   May he seek to restrain crime, vice, and immorality. 
3. For the members of Congress:
   Let the light of your divine wisdom
   direct the deliberations of Congress,
   and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed
   for our rule and government.
   May they seek to preserve peace, promote national happiness,
   and continue to bring us the blessings of liberty and equality. 
4. For state and local officials:
   We pray for governors,
   for the members of legislatures,
   for judges, elected civil officials,
   and all others who are entrusted to guard our political welfare.
   May they be enabled, by your powerful protection,
   to discharge their duties with honesty and ability. 
5. We likewise commend to your unbounded mercy
   all citizens of the United States,
   that we be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of your holy law.
   May we be preserved in union and that peace which the world cannot give;
   and, after enjoying the blessings of this life,
   be admitted to those which are eternal.
   
   We pray to you, who are Lord and God,
   for ever and ever.Amen.

Happy New Year!  I don’t know about you, but I’m really ready for the new beginning which always comes on January 1st.  Sure, many people make resolutions which quickly fall by the wayside as the days and weeks roll along, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying.  On this first day of January, I feel like I’m up for the challenge of sticking to my resolutions this year.  A few of my friends have agreed to team up and support/challenge one another in meeting our goals.  I’m excited for the potential of cheering each other on.  So often, we fail when we try to make changes on our own.  Of course, I know that many people fail to bring God into their discernment.  Will we ever learn?  Maybe this will be the year…

I hope you and those you love have a blessed New Year.  May you feel God’s love and presence each and every day!

This is the theme which was chosen for the 36th General Congregation of the Jesuits, presently meeting in Rome to elect the 30th successor of St. Ignatius.  For the last several days, over 200 Jesuits from all over the world have been meeting, praying and getting to know one another, since most have never met each other.  It’s hard to believe that, in the span of 476 years, there have been only twenty nine other Father Generals.

I really love this theme, since personally it reminds me of St. John Paul’s challenge to each of us to go out into the deep, that we can’t stay on the comfortable and safe dock, but rather take the risk and team up with others, go out to the deep and stormy waters, and  expect a great catch.  I read that Pope Francis, sometime back, was celebrating Mass with a group of Jesuits.  In his homily, the asked them to row into the deep with him.  Rowing takes effort, teamwork, strength and perseverance to get to the destination, to win the race.  What a great challenge!

At this stage of the Congregation, the delegates are participating in what’s called the murmuratio, which translates into murmurings. As they say, “only in the Catholic Church!” When he was writing the Jesuit Constitutions, Ignatius insisted that the delegates meet on-on-one, rather than in larger groups.  The two come together to discuss (murmur) who they think is capable of becoming the next Father General.  Prayer, discernment, and the invoking of the Holy Spirit are vital components to what’s happening now in Rome.

We should lift up prayers for them, since the delegates have a daunting task.  On Friday, the election will be held. When someone is chosen, Pope Francis will be the first person called.  We’ll watch history be made when the first Jesuit Pope meets the new Fr. General.  Let them row together, taking the Jesuits to unexpected places, renewing the Church and God’s people.

(the photo is of the Chapel in the Jesuit Curia in Rome, where I had the blessing to visit in 2015)

This past weekend, I had the blessing to give  a couple of talks to a gathering of Catechists in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  The event took place at a parish which is getting ready to celebrate it’s 225th anniversary.  The church, dedicated to St. Ignatius, was founded in 1792, and it’s one that, despite having lived in Maryland for nearly thirty years, I had never visited.  The parish has done a beautiful job at keeping the building in tip top shape, and although they have since moved into a much larger church, right next store and built to accommodate their very large congregation, the old church still gets used regularly.  That’s good to see, since it’s the oldest church still being used in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

I was asked to talk on resources for children with Special Needs, and another on the Daily Examen.  Both topics are near and dear to my heart, but I’m grateful any time I can speak about something drawn from Ignatian Spirituality.  The fact that I was able to teach the Examen to a group of elementary school children, and get them to embrace an attitude of gratitude which is so evident in this prayer from St. Ignatius, was very intriguing to my audience.  Can children really pray that deeply, on everyday events from their life?  The answer, I assured them, was a resounding “yes.”  I gave my listeners a couple of tools to take back to their own parishes, to try out in their classrooms.  I hope they give this simple prayer some exposure to their students.  It can be a life-changer.  I know it was for me and the countless people I’ve taught it to.  Click on the link above.  Maybe it’s just the thing you’ve been looking for to deepen your own relationship with God.