Lent IV: On Spiritual Reading

In a few lines, I wish to attempt to explain a few points about reading a spiritual text, such as a passage from the Bible. To my surprise, two persons recently told me that they had difficulty understanding Jeremiah’s prayers in which he wrestled with God. The words are in everyday speech, the experiences are common to all of us, God is ever God, so I am puzzled by a difficulty in understanding. It occurs to me that many Christians do not understand how to read the Bible well, and that in the present period, not many persons even attempt to study sacred scriptures or read spiritual classics in our culture. Many Protestants, especially of the more fundamentalistic bend, read the Bible as if they were reading a history book with information, or as if the texts were written just for them. Most Catholics have not been schooled in reading the Old and New Testaments; their familiarity with them is limited to the snippets of passages read at Mass, and to which they may pay little attention. The use of biblical passages at Mass assumes that our parishioners pray over these texts in silence, and study the sacred scriptures, but I have found few who make the effort. Catholics seem to have a much easier time appreciating Gospel stories than passages from the Old Testament, or the Psalms, or the letters of Paul, let alone apocalyptic literature, such as the book of Revelation. In private, people who have active minds often tell me that they do not understand what is read at Mass, and so appreciate it when the priest makes the material come alive for them. And I have long noticed that if I question parishioners immediately after hearing the Mass readings, not much, apparently, came across. Occasionally it brings to mind the words of Amos: “The time is surely coming, says the LORD God, when I shall send a famine on the land: not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD” (8:11). 

In making short reading assignments from the Bible for all to do each week, the goal is for you to attain spiritual nourishment, to increase your awareness of God and of your need for God. Our common goal is not to engage in scientific or scholarly study of the scriptures, for we lack the proper tools for such study—knowledge of the original languages, historical knowledge, understanding of literary forms, intentions of various authors, and so on. This kind of study is for well educated and spiritually sensitive scholars. We everyday Christians, on the other hand, are reading these passages to allow ourselves to be read by God, to be scrutinized, to let the light of divine wisdom shine into our souls. Such reading is done slowly, quietly, either alone or with a close friend, and must be immersed in prayer. If one is not listening by the holy Spirit for the silent Word in and through the words, one cannot read any Scriptures—Hebrew, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist—with understanding. Again: In reading a spiritual work, one must allow oneself to be read, to be searched, to be opened up to the presence of God. To read the Scriptures prayerfully is to share in the mystery of God unfolding in time—here and now. 

How is this done? By asking for divine assistance, and then reading the words slowly and thoughtfully, questioning, thinking, seeking to understanding, letting oneself be confronted by divine judgment. For example, today at Mass we hear the parable of the Prodigal Son. I suspect few of our parishioners have ever bothered to read this remarkable story on their own, at home. Sadly, our people do not make the effort to become spiritually nourished. This is the “famine for the Word” of which Amos wrote; our culture has low interest in things of the Spirit. But if one makes the effort prayerfully and thoughtfully to study the masterful story of the two sons, one may discover that he or she is the prodigal son, and the elder brother, and perhaps at times, the merciful father. One must face the fact that one needs to “come to his senses” and turn around and return. The reader is forced to examine the ways in which one envies others for their spiritual and material blessings. And one gains insight into the God of Jesus Christ, for this parable presents Jesus’ image of God. Every word chosen by the evangelist Luke is rich in life-giving nourishment, if one but slowly reads and patiently attends—and takes the words to heart. Spiritual reading takes work, and many do not want to take the effort. 

Our reading assignment for this week: The Book of Exodus, chapters 11-15, the account of the 10th plague, Passover, and the Exodus event. Also, please remember to do our common Lenten practices which I have urged on all of us: (1) Sit or walk in silence daily; (2) Prayerfully read Scripture daily; (3) Attend an additional Mass weekly (and Stations of the Cross); 4) Visit our elderly or shut-ins. 

“May the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD let his face shine upon you; may the LORD look upon you with kindness and give you peace.” Shalom!

Lent III: The God of Moses

In the famous prologue to St. John’s Gospel (chapter 1: 1-18), we read: “The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ” (Jn 1:17). The verse capsulizes the attitude of the early Christians to Moses and the Law as being eclipsed by Jesus Christ, who is “the only begotten God” (Jn 1:18). Not wishing to criticize the spiritual masterpiece that is John’s Gospel, yet it seems to me that this view over-simplifies the truth. Moses is not only the one through whom Yahweh-God gave the Law; he also is the one through whom God established His covenant with His people, and the covenant is indeed God’s grace and truth to the Chosen People, Israel. The Christian claim is too extreme, and in effect denies that the Covenant and Law were themselves means of gracing God’s people with truth, and letting them experience God’s love as His people. Furthermore, the early Christians did not do justice to Moses. Why not? Moses was a competitor to Jesus in the sympathies of Jewish-Christians, and the Church too quickly brushed Moses aside, or downgraded his role in the history of God’s dealing with humanity. In light of Moses in the Hebrew Scriptures, I suggest that the role of Moses as God’s favored instrument of salvation needs to be re-discovered by Christians. 

 

Moses is the man whom God called to experience His Presence, and carry the divine reality to His people. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, this special role took a major leap forward on Mount Sinai, when God encountered Moses out of a burning bush. We hear the account today in our week-end liturgy. Be attentive, and take the words to heart. It would be going too far to say that “God revealed Himself to Moses,” if those words suggest that after the encounter, Moses “knew” God in any definitive way. God ever remains the unknown God beyond any experience, even when the divine lets itself be experienced.In biblical language, Moses was later permitted to see “the hind parts” of God, hence reserving the divine mystery as beyond human grasp or comprehension. Furthermore, after God presented Himself through His word to Moses, the man Moses became the human carrier of God to the Chosen People, Israel. Moses became the bearer of God, and not just the giver of the Law. Moses is more than a prophet, greater than Isaiah or Jeremiah; God is present in and through Moses. Because of this unique role, those Jews who experienced the living God in and through Jesus of Nazareth allowed Moses and his role to fall into relative obscurity, and over time, it became neglected by many Christians. It is time for Christianity to rediscover the unique “God-man Moses” (as he is called in the title to Psalm 90). 

 

Our common Lenten reading assignment for the next week is the Book of Exodus, the heart of the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament), chapters 1-6. (At the end of the page, click on "next chapter" to advance). Please pay special attention to the great thorn bush revelation, Exodus 3-4. Become aware of Moses, and the God of Moses, and how Yahweh-God intervenes to rescue His people. And take the words to heart. 

 

Please remember our common Lenten practices which I urge for all of us to do: (1) Sit in silence daily; (2) Prayerfully reading Scripture daily; (3) Attend an additional Mass weekly (and Stations of the Cross); 4) Visit our elderly or shut-ins.

Lent II: Spiritual Formation and 5-Year Pastoral Plan

Remember our common Lenten practices which I urge all of us to do:
(1) Sit in silence daily;
(2) Prayerfully read assigned Scripture daily;
(3) Attend an additional Mass weekly (and Stations of the Cross);
(4) Visit our elderly or shut-ins.

Pastoral Plan.

Our Bishop and his staff have prepared a 5-year Pastoral Plan, which has been mailed to all parishioners who receive the Harvest. Please read the Pastoral Plan. I am welcoming input from parishioners for our parish plan which we must develop and submit to Bishop Michael. A small number of us will be meeting on 7 March to discuss a 5-year plan, and prepare the first year plan that I will send to the Bishop, as required. Please note: We do not need to shoot out in many directions in our 5-year plan for our three faith communities. I met with Fr. Lou, long time pastor of OL Lourdes, and he strongly recommended that we keep our plan simple. (I did not find the diocesan plan so clear and simple; it is needlessly wordy and lacks a decisive, sharp focus.) In addition to a spiritual focus at liturgies, home study, and adult faith class, I am thinking of preparing a little “kit” to send to each family. We will discuss this on 7 March.

The Diocesan 5-year plan emphasizes well-organized liturgies with solid preaching. I have attempted to do this during my 25-years of full-time work in parishes. I understand the role of the parish priest to be the care of souls, and is primarily done through preaching the Gospel of Christ, through teaching adults (some of whom then work with our children), and through meaningful celebration of liturgies. “Care of souls” can also be called “spiritual formation.” If we do not provide it, where or how do you receive it? What else in your life aims to help you develop your life in Christ and to prepare you for eternity in God? Our 5-year plan must focus on spiritual formation, the care of souls. In a secular, worldly culture such as ours, it would be easy to become derailed into non-spiritual activities in our parishes, and I have steadily resisted that path.Your spiritual formation and well-being must be my primary focus. All that we do in our liturgies needs to run in this direction. I do not find it spiritually beneficial to use the liturgy primarily for other purposes, such as “building community,” or “making our children feel included,”and so on. These are secondary goals, not primary, and must not overshadow our common task: to be nourished and nurtured in Christ. As you think about our 5-year plan, please keep this general guideline clearly in mind. 

Scriptural Readings:

I have been giving you Lenten Scriptural reading assignments, intended for all parishioners to do. Why? It is part of our task of spiritual formation. The readings are intended to help turn your mind and heart to God, and to reflect on God’s work in the world and in your life. Last week I assigned the prophet Jeremiah, chapters 1-7. Two of you mentioned doing the readings, and I appreciate your effort to respond to our invitation. This week, we will read the six remarkable “confessions” of Jeremiah, in which the prophet wrestles with God.There is really nothing else like these six laments or confessions in the entire Bible; passages in St. Paul’s letters would come closest, and we may study some of these for next week. There are the six distinct passages that Hebrew scholars have recognized as Jeremiah’s confessions. Please read them prayerfully. You may consider them as a model of prayer; note how direct and honest they are. Jeremiah does not try to “sweet talk” Yahweh, the LORD. All of these prayers are found in the book of the prophet Jeremiah. Please read and study the following: 

                               (Click here for the links to these readings)
(1) Jeremiah 11:18—12:6 (that means, chapter 11, verse 18 through chapter 12, verse 6);
(2) Jer 15:10-21 (meaning Jeremiah chapter 15, verses 10-21, inclusive);
(3) Jer 17:14-18;
(4) Jer 18:18-23;
(5) Jer 20:7-13;
(6) Jer 20:14-18 (meaning the 20th chapter of Jeremiah, verses 14 through 18, inclusive)

Why read this material? For your spiritual formation. How? You can see how the prophet Jeremiah, a true man of God, wrestled with God, questioned God, even accused God—and then repented. Jeremiah is a model for us of a human being seeking to be faithful to his calling. 

“Redeem the Time.” May you make the best of the Lenten opportunities to grow in God’s grace.

Lent I: Suggested Lenten Practices 2016

God’s grace is his presence in a human being, with its beneficial and maturing effects: When God visits you, He brings peace, joy, enlivening energy, self-control. Either one attends to the divine Presence and nourishes oneself in union with God, or one does not. The choice belongs to each of us, from moment to moment. In Lent, the Church keeps telling us to turn away from sin and self and to immerse ourselves in the freely given, loving presence of God. Some will respond. Each of us needs to respond more fully, more faithfully, more frequently.

To assist us in the habit of returning to the LORD, I make the following suggestions for Lenten practices (in addition to visiting elderly and shut-ins, as noted):

(1) Our Lenten practices should help us to attend to God. The one practice I hope that all will do is to sit daily in quiet for 10-30 minutes, depending on your ability to keep still. No TV, no music, just you “alone with the Alone,” in Plotinus’ apt words. You may find it useful to begin by reading Scripture for a few minutes (see below). If you cannot keep still, then try walking alone in quiet, by yourself with the LORD. If you need assistance in getting started in the practice, please ask me, and I will give some teaching on quiet meditation during our Lenten homilies. Our young members also need to develop the habit of spending time alone with God, or they will dissolve in our society as it continues to dissolve. It seems evident that many of our young people do not like being alone; hence, they do not attend to God.

(2) Second, I encourage each of us to read Scripture daily. I will make a series of recommendations for these readings. For Week I of Lent, please read the Book of Jeremiah, chapters 1-7 (once at chapter 1, click on "next chapter" for chapters 2-7). Read slowly, thoughtfully, applying the words to your heart, mind, actions, life. Scriptural reading is one of the most ancient and beneficial forms of spiritual formation in the Church. In the early centuries, Catholic Christians devoured the Scriptures and read the Church Fathers devoutly. Now, most of us spend far more time watching entertainment or sporting events than we spend reading Scripture or other spiritual writings. We are not attending to God, in whom alone we endure individually and as a people.

(3) Third, try to attend one week-day Mass each week. We offer these Masses in Belt, but additional Masses are offered in Great Falls, and perhaps in parishes to our east (Geyser, Stanford). Come as you are, “seek the face of God, and live.”

These three practices, plus visiting the elderly, I recommend for each and for all of us. As suggested by a parishioner, Matthew Kelly offers a free Lenten program to be found at DynamicCatholic.com. This program may help some of you. I tried the Advent program, and it was not to my taste, because it involves watching videos; but we are fed in different ways. If you use this program, please also spend time alone in silence.

Again, here is the program I urge on all of us:

(1) Sitting in silence daily;

(2) Prayerfully reading Scripture daily;

(3) Attend an additional Mass weekly.

Finally, I encourage each and all of us to develop the habit of visiting those suffering from illness, isolation, infirmities of old age; be especially watchful for the needs of the elderly who have experienced the death of their spouse, or of a child. Visiting can take the form of a phone call or an email, but I think that visiting in person, face-to-face, is the best medicine. Do not overstay your welcome, but make the effort to care for our seniors. I welcome suggestions from our seniors to encourage parishioners with this practice.

May you make the best of the Lenten opportunities to grow in God’s grace.

This is the time of tension between dying and birth.” So writes T. S. Eliot in his well-known poem, “Ash Wednesday.” If you understand the meaning of his words, paying attention to word order, then you probably can understand much of what I say in homilies. Another line from the poem which deserves to be remembered is a prayer: "Teach us to care and not to care / Teach us to still still." Again, if you understand how to care and not to care, then I would say that you probably have some maturity and prudence. As for sitting still, I can think of no practice during Lent that is as important as "sitting still."

All of the external disciplines of Lent (such as fasting and abstinence from meat) are meaningless or of no benefit without interior discipline: love of God; charity and mercy towards every being; attentiveness to divine presence; resolve to do God’s will faithfully; self-control from passions that destroy inner peace. Making the effort, day after day, to “sit still” is the essential spiritual discipline which we will emphasize during Lent.

Sitting still may also take the form, at least some of the time, in walking quietly. In periods of sitting, it is spiritually and physically to walk with mindfulness, perhaps attending to nature’s beauty and harmony. To sit still, begin in a quiet place in your home, turning off all electronic devices, and closing one’s own mouth and that of others. (I cannot imagine sitting quietly when children are noisy or moving about, but a few of you may have learned to ignore such distractions while meditating.) The noisiest noise comes from within your own mind. You may hear thoughts and feelings and gurgling stomachs, but do not attend to them, let the noise drift down the stream of forgetfulness. Inner silence is a supreme discipline. Sitting still outwardly is a necessary step in building inner silence and peace.

A few particulars: For our ranchers, busy with calving during Lent, perhaps a few minutes can be found between demanding duties. Being mindful of what one is doing, and carrying out one’s duties without complaint, is for all of us a beneficial discipline. As for food and drink, I think that it is more beneficial to choose moderation over strict fasting; I learned the hard way. As for days of abstinence from meat: remember to avoid luxuries, such as expensive sea food. Eating a humble hamburger is more in the spirit of abstinence, as it is intended, then dining on lobster or crab legs. Use days of abstaining from meat to aim at simplicity and to remember the needy. We will hear in prayers at Mass that “Lent is a season of grace.” It can be, if we cooperate. Grace is not automatic, but always requires our free cooperation. Lent can be a season of neurosis and anxiety if we approach it legalistically.

​Savor each day, seeing it as a unique gift of God. And so it is. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger,” “live in peace with everyone, to the extent possible,” “be mindful of the poor,” and “remember your Creator and your day of death.” These are spiritual practices worth cultivating today and always.