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Daily Scripture

+ 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

Be wise but don’t be a ‘wise guy!’

Readings: I Corinthians 3:18-21 Psalm 24:1-4, 5-6 Luke 5:1-11

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: “God catches the wise in their own ruses,” and again: “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that are vain.”

Wisdom (Sophia) is a feminine attribute of God. True wisdom is rooted in deep faith and an abiding confidence in God’s abiding presence in all of creation and in the depth of our being. Wisdom comes from study, prayer and from the daily effort to live in God’s grace with Jesus as our mentor. Reason without faith leads to rationalization of our wants and desires. Reason combined with faith moves us to contemplation and moves us to probe and ponder the greatest mysteries of life that exceed the power of the human intellect to explicate or explain. That’s why poets, artists and composers are enable us to comprehend the qualities of God in nature, in the human body and in the qualities of a life lived in union with ultimate truth and beauty.

So we need to go to our prayer chair for at least twenty minutes at the beginning and end of every day. We need to walk among the trees and along the sea. We need to listen to music that stirs the soul and sing songs that touch the heart.

Only then can we be thoughtful people of measured speech and positive deeds.

Thanksgiving - 2008

Thursday November 27, 2008

An attitude of gratitude is the best cure for the blues.

Readings: Isaiah 63:7-9 Psalm 138:1-2a, 2bc-3, 4-5 First Corinthians 1:3-9 Luke 17:11-19

“The favors of the Lord I will recall, the glorious deeds of the Lord, because of all he has done for us.” [Isaiah 63:7]

Though I have watched it more times than I can count, believe it or not, I have never traveled to New York to see the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I do not feel particularly deprived because of this void in my life. I watched many a high school football game at Bayley Ellard Regional on Thanksgiving, but in truth I had ‘cold feet’ when it came to standing or sitting along the sidelines no matter what the event.

My earliest remembrance of the Thanksgiving Day parade was at in the bar and grill at the Hotel Revere in Morristown when my uncle Ray was the hotel manager. This was before home TV! Not to worry, the bar was closed but the small 10 inch black and white screen on the Dumont TV worked just fine.

It’s astounding how easily pleased we were as kids. We didn’t have a lot in those days but we had a lot to look forward to on Thanksgiving as we waited for the Turkey and fixings later in the day.

It seems to me that folks with least often have the most for which to be grateful, or at least, they seem to act that way. I’m sure I’m overstating this but it is true that when we look for blessings, they are all around us and the greatest blessings do not cost big bucks.

This will be a lean feast for many but may only be a prelude to a leaner year ahead for many more. Our Christian spirituality offers much in the way of advice and ascetical practices that can help us to cope with the hard times without focusing too much on guilt or blame. The memory of earlier times when we lived more modestly not by choice but by necessity should not be forgotten. In those days, less was more and the prayer of blessing and thanksgiving before dinner was meaningful no matter how much or how little we had.

Talk about our becoming the most prosperous nation in the world is not as helpful as talk about becoming the most grateful nation on the earth for whatever we have.

An attitude of gratitude can change the flow of the day and the flow of life.