Spiritus Sanctus

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Jeremiah 20:10-13 | Psalm 68(69):8-10,14,17,33-35 | Romans 5:12-15 | Matthew 10:26-33

The Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; […] I have committed my cause to you. (Jeremiah 20:11-12)

Not so long ago, I mused that there may come a day when I can no longer find the words to express my love for God on this blog.

That day may be coming sooner than I expected; I’ve already come up dry twice last week. I’ve also found myself going to bed several times without completing the next day’s entry.

As we Catholics love to say:

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord!

I believe the day I finally stop writing words of praise and encouragement on this blog, is also the day I move on to some other way of spreading His love to others.

Or perhaps I’ve just moved on to eternal life.

Either way, He’s been at my side through it all, the good and bad, and especially during the times when I refused to acknowledge His presence.

So I’ll continue with this endeavour, and hope that at least one person will take heart in the words I write. You might say I’ve committed myself to God’s cause.

And though I may turn away from Him again in my human weakness, I pray that I’ll not tarry too long in returning to the One who gave all for us.

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Amen.

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Deuteronomy 7:6-11 | Psalm 102(103):1-4,6-8,10 | 1 John 4:7-16 | Matthew 11:25-30

Moses said to the people: ‘You are a people consecrated to the Lord your God; it is you that the Lord our God has chosen to be his very own people out of all the peoples on the earth.’ (Deuteronomy 7:6)

We often forget that we have been chosen by God to be His own.

What we choose is whether to acknowledge His choice, and whether to follow His commands in turn.

We aren’t the “boss” in this relationship, but this relationship isn’t burdensome either…unless we choose to believe it is.

Jesus certainly didn’t think it was a burden. Instead, He willingly opened His Sacred Heart out to all mankind, giving His very life to save what was lost, all for the sake of the love that knows no end.

Let us honour and glorify that decision today, as we venerate the greatest love ever known…

Sweet Heart of Jesus, fount of love and mercy
Today we come, Thy blessing to implore;
O touch our hearts, so cold and so ungrateful.
And make them, Lord, Thine own forevermore.

Sweet Heart of Jesus, we implore
Oh, make us love Thee more and more.

Amen.

Wednesday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 | Psalm 111(112):1-4,9 | Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Do not forget: thin sowing means thin reaping; the more you sow, the more you reap. (2 Corinthians 9:6)

The more I exercise my body, the fewer aging effects I suffer (until I pull a tendon or something vital).

The more code I write, the better I get at writing code (at least in theory).

The more I contemplate the love of God, the more loved I feel, and the calmer and happier I get.

Conversely…

The more I eat, the heavier and fatter I get.

The more people I stab in the back, the more I get shafted myself.

The more I shy away from the One who loves me, the grumpier and more unpleasant I get.

Indeed, we reap what we sow, so why not liberally spread the seeds of divine love?

Why not give ourselves the luxury of calm introspection in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and the inspiration of daily scripture?

They we would reap God’s graces aplenty, and be in a position to share His largesse with everyone else.

After all:

The one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide you with all the seed you want and make the harvest of your good deeds a larger one, and, made richer in every way, you will be able to do all the generous things which, through us, are the cause of thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

Or, in the words of an ’80s pop group I used to listen to:

Anything is possible when you’re Sowing the Seeds of Love.
— Tears for Fears, Sowing the Seeds of Love

Amen.

Tuesday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
2 Corinthians 8:1-9 | Psalm 145(146):2,5-9 | Matthew 5:43-48

what was quite unexpected, they offered their own selves first to God and, under God, to us.. (2 Corinthians 8:5)

There’s a slogan that I still remember from my childhood days:

First to Bata, then to school.

I’m sure it played no small role in making that shoe company the first stop for busy parents trying to get their kids prepared for the school year.

Today’s scripture passage tells us of a parallel with the Christians in Macedonia. They passed over all that “I am for Paul, ” I am for Cephas” nonsense that the Corinthians themselves stumbled over (1 Corinthians 1:12), and instead dedicated themselves directly to the service of God.

And it was through that service to God that they served the needs of their brethren in turn, not for personal acclaim or glory.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

I sent my Apple laptop in for servicing yesterday. Since I’d gone through the proper channels and placed a service call first, arranging for a time slot and showing up at the appointed hour, I was given priority over others who’d just walked in off the street with their broken products.

Can we do the same in our daily lives? Can we dedicate ourselves first to God, preparing ourselves mind and heart, making right all that we can?

Can we make time to come before the Blessed Sacrament, contemplating His boundless love, both in His offering up of His only Son, and in Jesus’ willingness to suffer and die an ignominious death for all our sakes?

Then, by seeing Him anew in our fellow human beings, can we not serve them with willing hearts and minds too?

Then, and only then, can we claim in all honesty and faith:

First to God, then to man.

Amen.

Monday of Week 11 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
2 Corinthians 6:1-10 | Psalm 97(98):1-4 | Matthew 5:38-42

For [God] says: “At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help.” Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

“Now” is almost always a busy time.

“This day” is almost always filled with cares and duties.

So we push our Creator to the fringes, mentally promising to come back to Him when we have time to breathe.

And we almost never do.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

I normally write these blog entries as part of my nightly “shutdown” routine. However, I’ve been so wiped out at the end of the last few days that I’ve deferred contemplating and writing about the day’s scripture till the day itself.

On Saturday, I busied myself into leaving it out entirely.

I’m writing this now, in between work engagements, because I belatedly realized something: The last two weeks of my life have been filled with death in one form or another. Wakes involving family and friends covered pretty much the entire period, and I was personally involved in two funerals just last week.

The past is done and gone. The duration of my future is unknown.

All I really have is the “now”, and I know there will be a day of “no more now”, when my mind and body no longer function as they usually do.

If I don’t continually orient myself towards God, not just in heart, but in mind and body and schedule as well, there will be a time when I can no longer do any of that.

Being unable to complete any of my projects on this earth is, in the end, no big deal. If it’s important enough, others will step in to continue my work.

What terrifies me is having to stand before God and answer the question:

Where we you when I called?

Where was I, that I was not ready to stop and listen to the Almighty?

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Robert Heinlein wrote a sci-fi novel titled Time Enough for Love over 40 years ago, about a Methuselah appropriately named Lazarus Long who tired of life after over 2000 years of existence.

None of us are likely to reach that ripe old age, but the book’s title speaks volumes.

No matter how busy we are, we always have time enough for God’s love…if we so choose.

But if we choose not, there will always be “no time”, until the day that trite phrase takes on literal truth.

God always has time for us. When will we have time for Him?

Amen.