Christmas has become the Feast of gifts in imitation of God

"God's sign is the baby in need of help and in poverty.

Exactly the same sign has been given to us...

God's sign is simplicity... God's sign is that he makes himself small for us.

This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendor.

He comes as a baby — defenseless and in need of our help.

He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength.

He takes away our fear ofhis greatness. He asks for our love: 
so he makes himself a child.

He wants nothing other from us than our love, 
through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, 
his thoughts, and his will — we learn to live with him and to practice

with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love. 
God made himself small so that we could understand him, 
welcome him, and love him... 

Christmas has become the Feast of gifts in imitation of God 
who has given himself to us. Let us allow our heart, our soul, 
and our mind to be touched by this fact!"

Pope Benedict XVI

Blessing before a Christmas Stable

Today I ponder these words with deep wonder and profound gratitude and joy. Each time reading this I am struck by what we have been blessed by this special birth of Jesus. Pardon my comments as I weave them in between Father Cameron's beautiful reflection. You can read his uninterrupted reflection below

By Father Peter John Cameron, O.P. (published in Magnificat, Dec. 2012)

“No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a newborn child.”  (CCC 563)

Lord Jesus, as I kneel before your manger in adoration, let my first Christmas word be: thank you. Thank you, Gift of the Father, for coming to save me from my sins. 

Without you I do not know even how to be human. [This is hard to grasp in any language; in any Enlightenment rationalism.]  The characteristics of your human body express the divine person of God’s Son. And in that wondrous expression, Lord you reveal me to myself. [How can this work? When I look upon another I am revealed?] Thank you for that saving revelation in your sacred humanity. As the Christmas liturgy proclaims, “in Christ man restores to man the gift of everlasting life.” [The mystery of 'the gift' that we are to one another.] Thank you for coming as one like myself to save me from myself.

You come as a baby because babies are irresistible and adorable. You come as a baby because you want our first impression of God incarnate to be that of one who does not judge. How I long to be united with you in every way. May I never be attracted to the allurements and charms of the world. [Matthew 13:35 - coming to embrace what Jesus reveals about things hidden since the foundation of the world.] May I love you always, at every moment, with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. May the tenderness, the dependency, and the mercy that you reveal in your infancy become the hallmarks of my life.

Newborn Savior, the very silence of your incarnation proclaims that the answer to the misery, the strife, and the meaninglessness of life cannot be found within us. [Newborn Savior, by breaking in on us, individually and collectively - by entering into history you free us from ourselves by opening a path out of our violence.] You alone are the Answer. As I kneel before you, eternal King, I surrender to you all my selfishness, self-absorption, self-indulgence, self-righteousness, self-assertion, and self-exaltation. [I now find myself in Christ, yours to mold; no longer an "I" who is separate from You.] Even as I adore you on this night of your birth, rid me of the nagging desire to be adored.

Word become flesh, you make your dwelling among us. Yet you do not live your life for yourself, but for us. And you enable us to live in you all that you yourself lived. [You authorize us to live your life, death and resurrection - your passion.] Help me to embrace this truth with all my mind and heart. Come and live your life in me. Empty me of my willfulness, my petulance, my hardness, my cynicism, my contemptuousness. [Help remove the mimetic entanglements that I am.] Fill me with your truth, your strength, your fortitude, your purity, your gentleness, your generosity, your wisdom, your heart and your grace. [Make full your I AM in me.]

O Emmanuel, may the assurance of your unfailing Presence be for me the source of unending peace. [May I relax into Your Source of eternal peace - letting go the peace as the world gives.] May I never fear my weakness, my inadequacy, or my imperfection. Rather, as I gaze with faith, hope and love upon your incarnate littleness, may I love my own littleness, for God is with us. Endow my life with a holy wonder that leads me ever more deeply into the Mystery of Redemption and the meaning of my vocation and destiny. ["Gazing requires a space within the heart to receive what we see and to embrace what we see." - Franciscan Prayer, Illia Delio]

Longed-for Messiah, your servant St Leo the Great well wrote that in the very act of reverencing the birth of our Savior, we are also celebrating our own new birth. From this night on may my life be a dedicated life of faith marked by holy reliance, receptivity, and resoluteness. [Freed of my reciprocity that causes me to spiral into want - I am made for relationships.] May I make my life a total gift of self. [There is nothing in me that preceded all his gifts and that could have served as a vessel to receive them. The first of his gifts, the basis of all the others, is that which I call my own "I". God has given me this "I"; I owe him not merely everything I have but also everything that I am... Everything is a gift, and he who receives the gift is himself first of all a gift received. - François Fénélon] 

May my humble worship of the nativity manifest how much I seek the father’s kingdom and his way of holiness. The beauty of your holy face bears the promise that your Father will provide for us in all things. This Christmas I renew my trust in God’s goodness, compassion, and providence. I long for the day when you will teach us to pray “Our Father.” [This implies wanting to be taught, and at the same time, it mirrors the "yes" of Mary.]

May your Presence, Prince of Peace, bless the world with peace, the poor with care and prosperity, the despairing with hope and confidence, the grieving with comfort and gladness, the oppressed with freedom and deliverance, the suffering with solace and relief. Loving Jesus, you are the only real joy of every human heart. I place my trust in you. [As Simon Peter proclaimed, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life." John 6:68] 

Oh divine Fruit of Mary’s womb, may I love you in union with the holy Mother of God. May my life be filled with the obedience of St Joseph and the missionary fervor of the shepherds so that the witness of my life may shine like the start that leads the Magi to your manger. I ask all this with great confidence in your holy name. [The original meaning of confidence is literally "to have trust or have faith in another" and so I adjust my receptivity of meaning, my purpose in life to your holy name.] 

 Amen. [So be it.]


Here is the reflection by Father Peter John Cameron, O.P. reflection. 

Lord Jesus, as I kneel before your manger in adoration, let my first Christmas word be: thank you. Thank you, Gift of the Father, for coming to save me from my sins.  

Without you I do not know even how to be human.   The characteristics of your human body express the divine person of God’s Son.  And in that wondrous expression, Lord, you reveal me to myself.  Thank you for that saving revelation in your sacred humanity.  As the Christmas liturgy proclaims, “in Christ man restores to man the gift of everlasting life.”  Thank you for coming as one like myself to save me from myself.

You come as a baby because babies are irresistible and adorable.  You come as a baby because you want our first impression of God incarnate to be that of one who does not judge.  How I long to be united with you in every way.  May I never be attracted to the allurements and charms of the world.  May I love you always, at every moment, with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  May the tenderness, the dependency, and the mercy that you reveal in your infancy become the hallmarks of my life.

Newborn Savior, the very silence of your incarnation proclaims that the answer to the misery, the strife, and the meaninglessness of life cannot be found within us.  You alone are the Answer.  As I kneel before you, eternal King, I surrender to you all my selfishness, self-absorption, self-indulgence, self-righteousness, self-assertion, and self-exaltation.  Even as I adore you on this night of your birth, rid me of the nagging desire to be adored.

Word become flesh, you make your dwelling among us.  Yet you do not live your life for yourself, but for us.  And, you enable us to live in you all that you yourself lived.  Help me embrace this truth with all my mind and heart.  Come and live your life in me.  Empty me of my willfulness, my petulance, my hardness, my cynicism, my contemptuousness.  Fill me with your truth, your strength, your fortitude, your purity, your gentleness, your generosity, your wisdom, your heart, and your grace.  

O Emmanuel, may the assurance of your unfailing Presence be for me the source of unending peace.  May I never fear my weakness, my inadequacy, or my imperfection.  Rather, as  I gaze with faith, hope, and love upon your incarnate littleness, may I love my own littleness, for God is with us.  Endow my life with a holy wonder that leads me ever more deeply into the Mystery of Redemption and the meaning of my vocation and destiny.  

Longed-for Messiah, your servant Saint Leo the Great well wrote that in the very act of reverencing the birth of our Savior, we are also celebrating our own new birth.  From this night on may my life be a dedicated life of faith marked by holy reliance, receptivity, and resoluteness.  May I make of my life a total gift of self.  May my humble worship of your nativity manifest how much I seek the Father’s kingship and his way of holiness.  The beauty of your holy face bears the promise that your Father will provide for us in all things.  This Christmas I renew my trust in God’s goodness, compassion, and providence.    I long for the day when you will teach us to pray “Our Father.”

May your Presence, Prince of Peace, bless the world with peace, the poor with care and prosperity, the despairing with hope and confidence, the grieving with comfort and gladness, the oppressed with freedom and deliverance, the suffering, with solace and relief.  Loving Jesus, you are the only real joy of every human heart.  I place my trust in you.

Oh, divine Fruit of Mary’s womb, may I love you in union with the holy Mother of God.  May my life be filled with the obedience of Saint Joseph and the missionary fervor of the shepherds so that the witness of my life may shine like the star that leads the Magi to your manger.  I ask all this with great confidence in your holy name.
Amen.

On a Theme by Thomas Merton by Denise Levertov

An old photograph of 
Denise Levertov and Thomas Merton

On a Theme by Thomas Merton   

"Adam, where are you?" 

          God's hands
palpate darkness, the void
that is Adam's inattention,
his confused attention to everything,
impassioned by multiplicity, his despair.

Multiplicity, his despair;
          God's hands
enacting blindness. Like a child
at a barbaric fairgrounds --
noise, lights, the violent odors --
Adam fragments himself. The whirling rides!

Fragmented Adam stares.
          God's hands
unseen, the whirling rides
dazzle, the lights blind him. Fragmented,
he is not present to himself. God
suffers the void that is his absence.

Link to an
essay written by Susan McCaslin
that draws us deeper into what connected Thomas Merton and Denise Levertov.

In this essay McCaslin quotes Levertov as she reflect on a poet's place in the action for peace, 

"When words penetrate deep into us they change the chemistry of the soul, of the imagination. We have no right to do that to people if we don’t share the consequences."

Ponder on these words for a lifetime... 

The birth of Christ, the Pope says, “challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life.”

I just received "Letter #34" from Robert Moynihan and thought it was a good reflection on Pope Benedict's recent article appearing in ...   December 21, 2012, Friday -- The Pope Publishes an Unprecedented Christmas Comment in the December 20 "Financial Times" of London A Pope in the pages of an ordinary newspaper? As a columnist? Never happened before. But it happened yesterday. Pope Benedict was asked by the Financial Times of London to write a brief essay for them related to his new book on Jesus, and he agreed. His essential message to London and the world: do not "bow down to false gods" of money and power but remember the true nobility of man and his eternal destiny. Here is the complete text of what the Pope said... ================ Benedict to the City of London: "Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today" Benedict XVI has done it again: he has broken with past tradition by publishing an article in an ordinary newspaper, something no Pope before him has ever done. Clearly, Benedict is willing to choose almost any means to reach out to everyone, in and out of the Church, with the message of the Gospel (as he also showed by launching his unprecedented "Twitter" account @pontifex on December 12, from which he is now sending "tweets" to those who have signed up to "follow" him, now numbering more than 2 million people). What was his essential message in this extraordinary Christmas essay, which must have been conceived as something that would "hit home" to a very special audience: the financial and business "elite" of London, and, by extension, of the whole modern financial world? Benedict's message was simple: that the success and wealth and power of this world -- money and capital and stocks and metals and derivatives -- cannot ultimately satisfy men and women, who are actually made for something far higher, for communion with an eternal, infinite, personal God, who made (and continues to make) Himself known at Christmas. It was a message especially tailored for those who "have everything" -- or, perhaps, think they will soon have it... A message aimed at provoking a reflection on whether they really do have what they, in the end, desire, even if they achieve (as Simon and Garfunkel put it in the song about the wealthy but unhappy Richard Cory) "power, grace and style." The Financial Times of December 20, regarded by many as the Number 1 financial paper of Europe, promoted the Pope's piece on the front page, calling it "A Christmas lesson in times of austerity." There are some very powerful lines in Benedict's essay. Lines filled with nobility. Lines which, if those who read his words -- even CEOs and hedge fund managers -- have ears to hear, may cause some to say, "Yes, this is what I believe in my heart to be true." Benedict laid things out with almost blinding clarity, very simply, very understandably. Christians, he said, both under the Roman Emperors and in our own day, refuse to bow down to all “false gods.” But why such stubbornness? Because Christians have a vision they do not want to betray, indeed, feel they cannot betray, without risking losing their very selves, their souls, because they are “inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.” And any other vision, any other proposal for mankind's destiny seems so much less noble, so pointless, that to accept that alternative vision, to bow down to it, to live by its demands, seems ignoble, seems miserable, seems enslaving, seems, in a word, sad. And Christians seek happiness, blessedness, and so refuse to accept a stance toward reality, such a "bowing down" to gods or ideologies leading finally, to sadness. Here is the key passage (italicized in the full text printed below): "When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated world-view. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it." These words are worth repeating: "Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today... because they are free..." It cannot be stressed too much: this Pope is a lover and defender of human freedom. He preaches, in fact, a profound form of "freedom theology" (it could also be called "liberation theology"). Again: "Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods... because they are free from the constraints of ideology..." What is an ideology? Why does an ideology create "constraints"? Why does an ideology diminish freedom, that is, bit by bit, enslave? An ideology is "a set of ideas that constitute one's goals, expectations, and actions" and "a comprehensive vision, a way of looking at things." (Words like "communism," "capitalism" and "socialism," all are the names for ideologies, for a set of ideas that become a "comprehensive vision.") The key point is that an ideology is made up of ideas, thoughts. This means an ideology is not, and cannot be, a living person. And so an ideology cannot be loved as a person can be loved. Ideas, thoughts, are inanimate things. They are "things thought" by persons who have the capability of thinking. Thus an ideology can be like a "matrix" of thoughts, notions and slogans that descends on the mind, and on the heart, and persuades the person -- the mind, the heart -- to act in accord with it. And so an ideological person, for "ideological" reasons, can run over another person, can be cruel to another person, can oppress another person, can despise or hate another person, without ever meeting or knowing that person at all. The "ideology" determines behavior -- not the meeting and knowing of an actual person. And so Christianity, based completely on one person (and not on any ideology) can never fully embrace any ideology, but must always return to the deep source of person-hood, to the logos... to Christ himself. And, by returning to Christ, by being in communion with the person of Christ, nourished by the person of Christ, all ideology is relativized -- all "false gods" (money, power, fame) are relativized. And, for a god, to be relativized is, in the end, to be rejected. To be overthrown. And so the Pope -- speaking to the "masters of the universe" in London and elsewhere (to use Tom Wolfe's half-serious, half-mocking phrase in reference to the great "movers and shakers" of Wall Street in his 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities) explained why Christians throughout history have been unable to comply with “demands made by Caesar” (the greatest "mover and shaker" of any epoch). Benedict said: “From the Emperor cult of ancient Rome to the totalitarian regimes of the last century [i.e., Communism, National Socialism, Fascism], Caesar has tried to take the place of God." And precisely here is where Benedict adds his signature phrase: "When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated worldview. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.” And so the Pope is making quite clear that no ideology, no Caesar, no old or new proposal of global order or government, can be embraced by Christians, can be "colluded" with. Such "false gods" undermine the ultimate destiny of man (to become like Christ, to take on the divinity of Christ as he took on our humanity in Bethlehem, that is, to become divine). The birth of Christ, the Pope says, “challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life.” He added: “While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene?” A possible, partial answer: we can learn that God not only loves the poor, but that He Himself was poor. Yes, he was among the poor, but not only that! He actually was poor. There was no room for Him at the inn... He was born in a stable... And so it is not so much amid great wealth and power, but in true humility and in actual poverty, that one may find Christ. The Financial Times asked the Pope to write the reflection, and he agreed. As far as anyone in Rome knows, it is the first time ever that a Pope has written an article for a secular newspaper. However, it is not the first time the Pope has accepted requests to appear in a secular media setting. He once appeared on the British network, BBC, three months after hios visit to Scotland and England in September 2010, and once agreed to respond to children's questions on the Italian national network, RAI. On the Financial Times website, the Pope's article is only accessible to subscribers. But the Vatican Press Office handed out the complete text, both in its English original, and in an Italian translation. Here, as  kind of early Christmas gift, is the Pope's complete essay on Christmas. ARTICLE BY THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES "A TIME FOR CHRISTIANS TO ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD"   (Introductory note from the Vatican Press Office) The Pope's article for the Financial Times (December 20, 2012) originates from a request from the editorial office of the Financial Times itself which, taking as a cue the recent publication of the Pope's book on Jesus' infancy, asked for his comments on the occasion of Christmas. Despite the unusual nature of the request, the Holy Father accepted willingly. It is perhaps appropriate to recall the Pope's willingness to respond to other unusual requests in the past, such as the interview given for the BBC, again at Christmas a few months after his visit to the United Kingdom, or the television interview for the program "A sua imagine" produced by the RAI, the Italian state broadcasting company, to mark the occasion of Good Friday. These too have been opportunities to speak about Jesus Christ and to bring his message to a wide forum at salient moments during the Christian liturgical year. (Here begins the title and text of the Pope's article as it appeared.) A Time for Christians to Engage with the World "Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God," was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. Yet there was more at stake here: if Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then surely he would oppose the Roman overlords. So the question was calculated to expose him either as a threat to the regime, or a fraud. Jesus’ answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning against both the politicization of religion and the deification of temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth. His audience needed to be reminded that the Messiah was not Caesar, and Caesar was not God. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was of an altogether higher order. As he told Pontius Pilate, "My kingship is not of this world." The Christmas stories in the New Testament are intended to convey a similar message. Jesus was born during a "census of the whole world" taken by Caesar Augustus, the Emperor renowned for bringing the Pax Romana to all the lands under Roman rule. Yet this infant, born in an obscure and far-flung corner of the Empire, was to offer the world a far greater peace, truly universal in scope and transcending all limitations of space and time. Jesus is presented to us as King David’s heir, but the liberation he brought to his people was not about holding hostile armies at bay; it was about conquering sin and death forever. The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene? Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the manger, but as the one in whom we recognize God made Man. It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange. Christians shouldn’t shun the world; they should engage with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology. Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image and destined for eternal life. Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all. Because these goals are shared by so many, much fruitful cooperation is possible between Christians and others. Yet Christians render to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God. Christians have at times throughout history been unable to comply with demands made by Caesar. From the Emperor cult of ancient Rome to the totalitarian regimes of the last century, Caesar has tried to take the place of God. When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated world-view. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it. In Italy, many crib scenes feature the ruins of ancient Roman buildings in the background. This shows that the birth of the child Jesus marks the end of the old order, the pagan world, in which Caesar’s claims went virtually unchallenged. Now there is a new king, who relies not on the force of arms, but on the power of love. He brings hope to all those who, like himself, live on the margins of society. He brings hope to all who are vulnerable to the changing fortunes of a precarious world. From the manger, Christ calls us to live as citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of good will can help to build here on earth.  =======================================

It is a time of darkness - It is a time of faith

The following short bio is from Living with Christ: Caryll Houselander (1901-1954) was a lay English artist and poet who became one of the most popular spiritual writers of modern times. Born in Bath, England, she was baptized Catholic and raised in a family that thought very little of religion. She endured a difficult childhood and suffered from poor health and anxiety throughout her life. As she grew older, she discovered a passionate love for God and had deep insights into the spiritual life. Along with her gift for spiritual writing, Caryll was also a talented ecclesiastical artist and art therapist. In this issue, we reflect on the meaning of Advent as Caryll describes it in her best-selling spiritual classic, The Reed of God.

This time of Advent is absolutely essential to our contemplation too.

If we have truly given our humanity to be changed into Christ, it is essential to us that we do not disturb this time of growth.

It is a time of darkness, of faith. We shall not see Christ's radiance in our lives yet; it is still hidden in our darkness; nevertheless, we must believe that He is growing in our lives; we must believe it so firmly that we cannot help relating everything, literally everything, to this almost incredible reality.

This attitude it is which makes every moment of every day and night a prayer.

In itself it is a purification, but without the tense resolution and anxiety of self-conscious aim.

How could it be possible that anyone who was conscious that Christ desired to see the world with his eyes would look willingly on anything evil? Or knowing that He wished to work with his hands, do any work that was shoddy, any work that was not as near perfection as human nature can achieve?

Who, knowing that his ears must listen for Christ, could listen to blasphemy or to the dreary dirtiness of so much of our conversation, or could fail to listen to the voice of a world like ours with compassion?

Above all, who, knowing that Christ asked for his heart to love with, for his heart to bear the burden of the love of God, could fail to discover that in every pulsation of his own life there is prayer?

This Advent awareness does not lead to a selfish preoccupation with self; it does not exclude outgoing love to others - far from it. It leads to them inevitably, but it prevents such acts and words of love from becoming distractions. It makes the very doing of them reminders of the Presence of Christ in us.

Knowing how and when to let others shoulder their own belongings

Excerpt taken from Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver, pages 48-51.

(Story adapted by Rosemarie Kowalski.)

The story is told of a man who met God in a lovely valley one day.

“How are you this morning?” God asked the fellow.

“I’m fine, thank you,” the man replied. “Is there anything I can do for you today?”

“Yes, there is,” God said. “I have a wagon with three stones in it, and I need someone to pull it up the hill for me. Are you willing?”

“Yes. I’d love to do something for you. Those stones don’t look very heavy, and the wagon’s in good shape. I’d be happy to do that. Where would you like me to take it?”

God gave the man specific instructions, sketching a map in the dust at the side of the road. “Go through the woods and up the road that winds up the side of the hill. Once you get to the top, just leave the wagon there. Thank you for your willingness to help me today.”

“No problem!” the man replied and set off cheerfully. The wagon pulled a bit behind him, but the burden was an easy one. He began to whistle as he walked quickly through the forest. The sun peeked through the trees and warmed his back. What a joy to be able to help the Lord, he thought, enjoying the beautiful day.

Just around the third bend, he walked into a small village. People smiled and greeted him. Then, at the last house, a man stopped him and asked, “How are you this morning? What a nice wagon you have. Where are you off to?”

“Well, God gave me a job this morning. I’m delivering these three stones to the top of the hill.”

“My goodness! Can you believe it? I was just praying this morning about how I was going to get this rock I have up to the top of the mountain,” the man told him with great excitement. “You don’t suppose you could take it up there for me?  It would be such an answer to prayer.”

The man with the wagon smiled and said, “Of course. I don’t suppose God would mind. Just put it behind the other three stones.” Then he set off with three stones and a rock rolling behind him.

The wagon seemed a bit heavier. He could feel the jolt of each bump, and the wagon seemed to pull to one side a bit. The man stopped to adjust the load as he sang a hymn of praise, pleased to be helping out a brother as he served God. The he set off again and soon reached another small village at the side of the road. A good friend lived there and offered him a glass of cider.

“You’re going to the top of the hill?” his oldest friend asked.

“Yes! I am so excited. Can you imagine, God gave me something to do!”

“Hey!” said his friend. “I need this bag of pebbles taken up. I’ve been so worried that it might not get taken care of since I haven’t any time to do it myself. But you could fit it in right between the three stones here in the middle.” With that, he placed his burden in the wagon.

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” the man said. “I think I can handle it.” He finished the cider, then stood up and brushed his hands on his overalls before gripping the handle of the wagon. He waved goodbye and began to pull the wagon back onto the road.

The wagon was definitely tugging on his arm now, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. As he started up the incline, he began to feel the weight of the three stones, the rock, and the pebbles. Still, it felt good to help a friend. Surely God would be proud of how energetic and helpful he’d been.

One little stop followed another, and the wagon grew fuller and fuller. The sun was hot above the man pulling it, and his shoulders ached with the strain. The songs of praise and thanksgiving that had filled his heart had long since left his lips as resentment began to build inside. Surely this wasn’t what he had signed up for that morning. God had given him a burden heavier than he could bear.

The wagon felt huge and awkward as it lumbered and swayed over the ruts in the road. Frustrated, the man was beginning to have visions of giving up and letting the wagon roll backwards. God was playing a cruel game with him. The wagon lurched, and the load of obligations collided with the back of his legs, leaving bruises. “This is it!” he fumed. “God can’t expect me to haul this all the way up the mountain.”

“Oh God,” he wailed. “This is too hard for me! I thought you were behind this trip, but I am overcome by the heaviness of it. You’ll have to get someone else to do it. I’m just not strong enough.”

As he prayed, God came to his side. “Sounds like you’re having a hard time. What’s the problem?”

“You gave me a job that is too hard for me,” the man sobbed. “I’m just not up to it!” God walked over to where the wagon was braced with a stone. “What is this?” He held up the bag of pebbles.

“That belongs to John, my good friend. He didn’t have time to bring it up himself. I thought I would help.”

“And this?” God tumbled two pieces of shale over the side of the wagon as the man tried to explain.

God continued to unload the wagon, removing both light and heavy items. They dropped to the ground, the dust swirling up around them. The man who had hoped to help God grew silent. “If you will be content to let others take their own burdens,” God told him, “I will help you with your task.”

“But I promised I would help! I can’t leave these things lying here.”

“Let others shoulder their own belongings,” God said gently. “I know you were trying to help, but when you are weighed down with all these cares, you cannot do what I have asked of you.”

The heart of Pope Benedict's teaching

A great teaching on the work of a great teacher 

December 6, 2012, Thursday -- The Mystical Center of the Pope's Thought

Robert Moynihan Letter #34

The heart of the teaching

Where do we find the "heart" of Pope Benedict's teaching?

In his Wednesday General Audience catechises yesterday, Benedict gave us an astonishing glimpse into that heart, into the mystical heart of his understanding of all reality.

The mystical heart of Benedict's teaching is... Christ.

Benedict's understanding of reality is Christo-centric. Centered on Christ. Christ is at the heart of it.

And yet... having said that... there is still more to say.

And the Pope says it.

Essentially, Benedict says that there is not just Christ in the story of our world, our universe... not just Christ, but many other beings, and things, and especially, persons, ourselves... who really do exist, who have really been called into "being"... into existing... and who are all part of a drama, a story, which draws each of us toward the heart and fullness of reality: Christ.

And so Christ is at the heart, and there is also the journey toward Christ, which Benedict wishes all of us to begin.

And the fact that this journey can actually occur, that man can move toward Christ, draw near to Christ, leads the Pope to begin with a "prayer of blessing"... a "hymn of praise"...

In essence, Benedict is saying: "Praise God, for He has made a beautiful plan for our lives, for our existence," a plan we can view with "wonder and gratitude."

So Benedict begins this way:

"At the beginning of his letter to the Christians of Ephesus (cf. 1, 3-14), the apostle Paul raises a prayer of blessing to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – a prayer that we have just heard – that introduces us to live the season of Advent, in the context of the faith. The theme of this hymn of praise is God’s plan for man, defined in terms full of joy, wonder and gratitude, as a 'benevolent plan' (see 9), mercy and love."

But because Benedict is reflecting on the letter to the Ephesians, and because St. Paul in Ephesians is thinking "cosmically" of the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection within the total reality of the universe, the Pope's reflection quickly turns to... the ultimate meaning of man's existence. Do our lives have meaning?

These questions about meaning are important because meaning -- searching for meaning (logos), finding meaning (logos), contemplating meaning (logos) -- is the very essence of any conscious person, of any being with "personhood" -- like us...

The Pope is persuaded that our lives do have meaning.

He is persuaded that the origin of all being, and especially of our being, the being of persons, the deep root of our lives, is in God who, from eternity, planned to bring all of us into being in time -- some at the time of Abraham, some at the time of Christ, some at the time of St. Francis, some at the time of St. Maximilian Kolbe, some today, some tomorrow -- so each life is intentional, each life is desired, God willed each one.

And because God is, as it were, meaning itself, pure meaning, pure significance (expressed most spectacularly and awesomely in His holiness, which is why we pray and chant the thrice-holy: "Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus," "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of the universe"), each of our lives has meaning.

St. Paul and the Pope are persuaded that this is the deep mystical truth of things -- that through and in God's meaning-filled will, we have meaning. That we are because we are meant to be, because we originate from meaning itself (or, more correctly, Himself).

So the Pope begins by asking:

"Why does the Apostle raise this blessing to God, from the depths of his heart? Because he looks at his work in the history of salvation, culminating in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus, and he contemplates how the Heavenly Father has chosen us even before the creation of the world, to be his sons in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 8:14 s.; Gal 4:4 f.). Therefore we exist from eternity in God, in a major project that God has kept within himself and decided to implement and to reveal in 'the fullness of time' (cf. Eph 1:10). St. Paul helps us to understand, then, how all creation and, in particular, man and woman, are not the result of chance, but a loving plan to respond to the eternal reason of God with the creative and redemptive power of his Word which creates the world."

This phrase "not the result of chance" is common in Benedict's writings.

One could almost say it is one of his "signature phrases" -- that the universe, and human beings, are not the product of a blind "Big Bang" and then an almost interminable evolution (as modern evolutionary science teaches) but of "a loving plan."

So this phrase is, implicitly, a criticism of modern evolutionary theory.

In this passage, the Pope teaches that creation, the origin of all things -- all the stars, all the animals and human beings -- is a "response to the eternal reason of God" by "the creative and redemptive power of his Word" which "creates the world."

The Pope is saying that God created (and, it would seem, though this is not entirely clear, creates) the universe through Christ, his Word.

Benedict then goes deeper. What is the real meaning of our existence? Is it just to live out our lives here, eating and drinking and breathing? No...

"This first statement reminds us that our vocation is not simply to exist in the world, being inserted in history, or even just being a creature of God, it is something greater: it is being chosen by God, even before the creation of the world, in the Son, Jesus Christ. In Him we exist, so to speak, already. God contemplates us in Christ, as adopted children."

These are, in a certain way, daring words.

Benedict is here teaching that each human person is a "Chosen Person" (much as Catholic teaching holds that the Jewish people is the "Chosen People"). In other words, there is the finger of God, the will of God, behind and before the coming into being of every human being.

And he is saying that this occurs, from God's perspective, from all eternity, that is, that it occurs "even before the creation of the world."

This is theologically daring, because it contains a suggestion that we "exist" before we exist. This would be a logical contradiction (we cannot exist before we exist).

And this is why the Pope uses the phrase "so to speak."

He is saying, really, that human words fail him, and us, in this situation -- that it would be logically wrong to say "we exist already in Him" but the fact that we are chosen by God is so real and important that it could almost cause us to say that we exist ("so to speak") even before the creation of the world, in Christ, as adopted brothers and sisters of Christ.

The stress here is on God's will, His choice, not on our existence.

The Pope then uses a key word: "mystery." And we should embrace this word, and not be afraid of it, or irritated by it. For a "mystery" is not something contrary to reason, but something which transcends reason as we now experience it. We can accept that it is something true, although we do not comprehend how it can be true, due to the present limitation of our reasoning faculty, not to some lack in the truth of the "mystery."

Benedict writes:

"The 'benevolent plan' of God, which is qualified by the Apostle as a 'loving plan' (Eph 1:5), is called 'the mystery' of Divine will (v. 9), hidden and now revealed in the Person and work of Christ. The divine initiative precedes any human response: it is a free gift of His love that surrounds us and transforms us."

What can we take from these lines? We can take from them that we are close here to the very mind of God, to contemplating the very will of God. It is a mind, a will, which had been "hidden" and which is "now revealed in the Person and work of Christ." So we can grasp that, in Christ, if we look upon Christ, if we contemplate Christ, we have a certain glimpse into God's mind and will, into His ultimate plan. Christ is revealing God's hidden plan.
 

And we can take from these lines that this is all grace, that it isn't anything human beings toil to build, or do experiments to discover, or gather a thousand geniuses to labor for 50 years with supercomputers to unveil -- no, it is something freely given by God to the world, to the universe...

But what is this "it"?

"It" is the ultimate goal of God's eternal plan.

Benedict writes:

"But what is the ultimate goal of this mysterious plan? What is the centre of God’s will? It is – Saint Paul tells us – to 'bring all things back to Christ, the only head' (v. 10). In this expression we find one of the central formulations of the New Testament that make us understand the plan of God, his plan of love for humanity, a formulation in the second century, St. Irenaeus of Lyons placed at the core of his Christology: 'to restore' all reality in Christ. Perhaps some of you remember the formula used by Pope St. Pius X for the consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: 'Instaurare omnia in Christo,' a formula that refers to this Pauline expression, and that was also the motto of this holy Pontiff. The Apostle, however, speaks more specifically of restoring the universe in Christ, and this means that in the great design! of creation and history, Christ stands as the center of the entire journey of the world, the central pillar, thatattracts the whole of reality to itself, to overcome dispersion and limitation and lead everything to the fullness desired by God (cf. Eph 1:23)."

The plan is quite simple: to save the universe.

To save the whole of reality.

These are staggering thoughts.

And we wonder why Christianity is "totalizing," why it grips some men and women with a power that persuades them willingly to give up their entire lives to help, in whatever way they can, to bring about this salvation.

To be a Christian is to be a partner in a plan to save the universe.

And is this the end of the audacity of Benedict's thought in this teaching?

No. There is more. For he is about to reveal how the universe will be saved -- how it has already been saved, if we would but believe it...

The Pope is very clear here: it is not by the giving of certain laws, or by the communication of a "set of truths" that the universe is saved -- but by the communication of the very life and self of the divine source of all, the Holy One, the Son of God...

Benedict writes:

"This 'benevolent plan' has not been kept, so to speak, in the silence of God in the height of his heaven, but He has made it known by engaging with man, to whom He has not only revealed something, but His very self. He has not simply communicated a set of truths, but He communicated Himself to us, to the point of becoming one of us, to being incarnate. The Second Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum affirms: 'In His goodness and wisdom, God chose to reveal Himself (here the Pope added: non solo qualcosa di se, se stesso, 'not only something about himself, but himself' [at 25:15 of the Vatican Radio recording]) -- and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (see Eph. 1:9) by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father! and come to share in the divine nature' (n. 2).

As if to emphasize the point and drive it home, Benedict repeats:

"God not only says something, He communicates with us, draws us into the divine nature, so that we are involved in the divine nature, deified."

Deified.

This too is a daring choice of words.

Daring because it could be misconstrued by unwise, or unprepared, hearers as the assertion that human beings, you and I, will actually become divine, become God. (One danger from this teaching might be the temptation of grasping for this status out of pride and desire, when the entire point of the life and death of Christ was to show us that the "way up" is the "way down," that only through humility can we begin to prepare ourselves to receive the gift, that the only communion that leads to our divinization is the communion of the via crucis, the rejection of this world and of all the pride of this world.)

But there is no doubt that these words of Benedict's can make us gasp with the grandeur of the vision they open up before us.

For in this vision, the "communion" we share with Christ, far from being a notional thing, a memory, a myth, a fairy-tale, is rather an ontological fact, that is, there is a true communication of life, of being, from Him to each one of us. At the risk of misspeaking, I venture to say that this is like a transfer of nature, a flow of essential energy, from him to us. And the essential nature of this energy is holiness. Sanctity. Sanctity is what is divinizing, and divine. And that, through Christ, is our destiny, in God's loving plan. To become holy is to be saved, from sin, from death. To be holy is to live. (And this is why holiness is the source of healing miracles, and why some of the bodies of the saints are not corrupt.)

And then Benedict returns once again to his theme of "gift," that this plan of God's is a pure gift, gratuitous, not something we had to earn, or could have earned.

Benedict writes:

"God reveals His great plan of love engaging with man approaching him to the point of becoming himself is a man. The Council continues: 'The invisible God out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14-15) and lives among them (see Bar. 3:38), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself' (ibid.). By his intelligence and abilities alone man could not have reached this illuminating revelation -- (here the Pope added: cosi luminosa ["so resplendent"] [24:03]) -- of God’s love, it is God who has opened up His heaven and lowered himself to lead man into the abyss of his love."

"To lead man into the abyss of his love" -- perhaps these words are the most beautiful Benedict has ever spoken...

And then Benedict quickly cites several authors -- St. Paul, St. John Chrysostom, St. Bonaventure, Blessed Pope John Paul II -- who also speak beautifully about this mystical, "divinized" (holy) destiny of fallen man, saved in Christ...

Benedict writes:

"As St. Paul writes to the Christians of Corinth: 'What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God' (2:9-10).

"And St. John Chrysostom, in a famous comment on the beginning of the Letter to the Ephesians, invites us to enjoy all the beauty of this 'benevolent plan' of God revealed in Christ, and St. John Chrysostom says: 'What are you lacking?You have become immortal, you have become free, you have become a child, you have become righteous, you are a brother, you have become a joint heir, to reign with Christ, with Christ you are glorified. Everything is given to us, and – as it is written – "how will he not also give us everything else along with him?" (Rom 8:32). Your first fruits (cf. 1 Cor 15,20.23) is adored by angels [...]: what do you miss?' (PG 62.11).

"This communion in Christ through the Holy Spirit, offered by God to all men with the light of Revelation, is not something that overlaps ["sovrapporsi" is the original Italian word, and it really means "places itself overtop, covers over"]  our humanity, but it is the fulfilment of the deepest human longings, of the desire for infinity and fullness that dwells in the depths of the human being, and opens it up not to a temporary and limited happiness, but eternal. St. Bonaventure referring to God who reveals Himself and speaks to us through Scripture to lead us to Him, says this: 'Sacred Scripture is [...] the book in which the words of eternal life are written so that not only we believe, but may also possess eternal life, in which we shall see, we shall love and all our wishes shall be realized' (Breviloquium, Ext., Opera Omnia V, 201S.).

"And finally, Blessed Pope John Paul II recalled also that – and I quote – 'Revelation has set within history a point of reference which cannot be ignored if the mystery of human life is to be known. Yet this knowledge refers back constantly to the mystery of God which the human mind cannot exhaust but can only receive and embrace in faith' (Encyclical Fides et Ratio, 14)."
 

Benedict then turns to the question of faith -- faith that this is all really true, faith that this is all really God's plan.

And he says that our job, or task, is to "allow ourselves to be grasped by the truth that is God."

Citing Vatican II, Benedict says that our duty is to submit our "intellect and will" to God, who has revealed this plan to save us, and believe it.

Then the Pope, speaking extemporaneously, added that this did not mean that we had to obey, that we were obliged to obey, as if there were a tyrant standing over us, God the hard task-master, but rather that we should "let go" and "surrender" to "the ocean of God's goodness."

So Benedict was truly at pains to make clear that God does not demand our assent with harshness, but proposes it with tenderness -- with love.

This is the great theme that one can discern in this and other writings of Pope Benedict. That God is not a God of fear, but of love...

Benedict writes:

"In this perspective, what is then, the act of faith? It is man’s response to God’s Revelation, which is made known, which shows His loving plan for humanity, and is, to use an expression of St. Augustine, allowing ourselves be grasped by the truth that is God, a truth that is love.

"This is why St. Paul emphasizes that we owe God, who has revealed His mystery, 'obedience of faith' (Rom 16:26; see 1.5, 2 Cor 10: 5-6), the attitude with which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals, and freely assenting to the truth revealed by Him” (Dei Verbum, 5).

"Obedience is not an act of coercion, it is letting go, surrendering to the ocean ofGod’s goodness. [at 19:45 of the Radio Vatican recording]

And once one surrenders to this love, and "embraces" faith, then what?

Then everything, Benedict says.

The Pope then continued:

"All this leads to a fundamental change in the way we deal with the whole of reality, everything appears in a new light, it is therefore a true 'conversion,' faith is a 'change of mentality' because the God who has revealed Himself in Christ, and has made known His plan, seizes us, draws us to Himself, becomes the meaning that supports life, the rock on which it can find stability.

"In the Old Testament we find an intense expression on faith, which God entrusts the prophet Isaiah to communicate to the king of Judah, Ahaz. God says: 'Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm' (Is 7.9 b). There is therefore a link between being and understanding that expresses how faith is a welcoming into our lives God’s vision of reality, letting God guide us through His Word and Sacraments to understand what we must do, the path we must take, how to live. At the same time, however, it is precisely understanding according to God, seeing with His eyes, that makes our lives more solid, which allows us to 'stand,' not to fall."
 

Benedict's teaching was complete, and he gave one more paragraph as a summary:

"Dear friends, Advent, the liturgical season that we have just begun and that prepares us for Christmas, places us before the luminous mystery of the coming of the Son of God, the great 'Benevolent Plan' with which he wants to draw us to Himself, to help us live in full communion of joy and peace with Him. Advent invites us once again, in the midst of many difficulties, to renew our awareness that God is present: He came into the world, becoming a man like us, to bring His plan of love to fullness. And God asks that we become a sign of his action in the world. Through our faith, our hope, our love, He wants to enter the world again and again. He wants again and again to shine His light in our night."