Monday Morning Meditation #113: We Sometimes Have More in Common with False Prophets Than We Would Like to Admit

This week's MMM will have to be brief for two reasons: insufficient time to write much and physical difficulty in writing. We are in the enviable position of having a vet, who lives right here in San Ignatio, who makes house calls. This is especially helpful since two of our cats, Intrepid and Simone, were feral and when caged and taken to the vet's office become feral again. In fact, the only time we have been able to take Simone is when I first caught her. We needed to know that she was free of disease. She was, but the vet got bitten finding that out. Trep (Intrepid) has never been quite as much of a problem. While he will sleep next to us or on top of us and often wants to be petted, he always determines when that will be -- we have no say in it -- and he hates to be held. It is fully impossible to hold him for more than a few seconds. Yet, because he does cuddle, on his volition, we have ceased to think of him as feral. Yesterday, we were vividly reminded of that when he clawed my left forearm into shreds as the vet tried to clip his nails. The vet fixed me up as best as she could, but I do need to have a human doctor look at me as soon as the clinic opens this morning. So, limited time unfortunately for MMM today. I am sure God understands.

This week I continued reading Micah. Moving into Chapter 3, in verse 5 I found the following written:

“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,
they proclaim ‘peace’ 
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them."

Hm, I continue to find parallels with our society thousands of years later!

Reading: Micah 3

Meditation:  The verse in Micah would seem to show that the prophets were focusing on themselves, not on God. When all was well with them, they were happy. When they had problems, they set off to pass their problems onto someone else (i.e. create war) rather than to turn to God. I guess that would be the first signal that they were false prophets.

And not just the false prophets. Don't we sometimes feel closest to God when we can see with our own eyes and feel with our own bellies that God is, indeed, taking care of us? When things go wrong, though, it becomes more difficult to maintain faith -- at the very time that we need our faith the most. Yet, we have the example of many martyrs and saints who grew closer to God in the bad times, who trusted God to bring meaning to those times and to take care of them in whatever way God chose to do that. These are good examples for us, and I find it comforting and inspiring to have them.

Contemplation: That is far as I can go with you this Monday morning. I now retire to private prayer to praise God being there with us even when we are not with him. I will ask forgiveness for any time that I have expected, wanted, or requested a lightening of any burden just because I thought I deserved better; after all, I really do know that what God ordains is what I should be grateful for, whatever that is. I will also ask God to remind me of this and to remind me through daily experienced that the unfortunate things that sometimes happen to us are not always bad in the long run. Then I will move on to contemplation, my favorite part of the day, letting God take over the direction in which my relationship with Him moves.

I will leave you now to your prayer and contemplation. First, though, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:

Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I think you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts. (During the week, he also posts great homilies and other thoughtful discussions. I enjoy reading those, too, as do readers of this blog who have taken the stroll over to his blog.)




For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of devotional blogs on my sidebar and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.

Letter Home from a Redneck Farm Kid in the Marine Corps

Another goodie from the Internet. I usually don't care for redneck jokes, but, as a former Army officer, this particular letter tickled me. Hope you enjoy it!

Dear Ma and Pa,

I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled.

I was restless at first because you get to stay in bed till nearly 6 a.m. But I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay.

Practically nothing.

Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food, plus yours, holds you until noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much.

We go on 'route marches,' which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A 'route march' is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks.

The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none.

This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges They come in boxes.

Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only beat him once ... He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6' and 130 pounds and he's 6'8' and near 300 pounds dry.

Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter ,

Alice

Monday Morning Meditation #112: Of What Does Justice Consist?

A difficult weekend capped my difficult week. I almost never bring work home for the weekend. I am categorically against doing that. The weekend is my time with family and God. I will work very late into the evening, sometimes as late as midnight, in order to get all my work done and avoid bringing homework home. (Hm, I thought homework ended with one's school days, but clearly this is not the case.) So, after working until nearly midnight on Friday, I ended up with, sigh!, lots and lots of homework for the weekend. That left little time for anything this weekend except Mass on Saturday at our town's little mission you see here and on Sunday with Doah at a larger church in a nearby city, where he lives, and work, work, work. I am delighted, therefore, to find a few minutes for meditation Monday morning prior to the start of another brutal week.

The reading this week comes from the second chapter of Micah. It appears that this book is going to be rich in thought-provoking readings. At the beginning of this chapter, it is written:

¹ Woe to those who plan iniquity,
   to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out
   because it is in their power to do it.
² They covet fields and seize them,
   and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
   they rob them of their inheritance.

About this situation, God says that it cannot go on forever. He will ensure justice:

 “I am planning disaster against this people,
   from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
   for it will be a time of calamity.
⁴ In that day people will ridicule you;
   they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined;
   my people’s possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
   He assigns our fields to traitors.’”

Oh, how like so many situations we encounter millennia later!

Reading: Micah 2

Meditation: These verses remind me of the question that my first-year confirmation students ask me in our religious education classes. First, they want to know the converse of the question raised and answered in these verses: Why do bad things happen to good people? (I have written about that topic at length on this blog and in my various publications.) Then, thinking a little longer on this topic, they want to know: Why do good things happen to bad people? I suppose most of us get a little irritated at times when those who do not love God or each other seem to be the ones who get ahead in this world. Why is God favoring these people, we wonder?

Micah poses what to me is an acceptable response. They are not being graced with anything special. They are taking it for themselves. Ultimately, if the continue to ignore and disrespect God, they will get their comeuppance. It is not up to us to judge them; God will judge them in His good time.

That is one part of the answer. Another part, it seems to me, can be presented through another question: Just what is it that they are receiving that we want? Getting ahead in this world? Is it this world where we want to be recognized and accepted and to which we contribute and for which contributions we are rewarded or is it that world, the Kingdom of God? Does it really matter how well another seems to fare in the Kingdom of Man? Of what is there to be envious in that case? I know how I would answer that question -- there is nothing for which to be envious. Let the rich have their earthly riches. It is the heavenly riches -- those that often appear in the form of poverty -- that bring the greatest blessings and, if we allow, the greatest joy.

Contemplation: That is far as I can go with you this Monday morning. I now retire to private prayer to praise God a kingdom in which the last are first and the first last. I will ask forgiveness for ever even thinking that getting ahead in this world in and of itself is something for which to strive. I will also ask God to remind me, whenever needed, which kingdom is the important one. Then I will move on to contemplation, my favorite part of the day, letting God take over the direction in which my relationship with Him moves.

I will leave you now to your prayer and contemplation. First, though, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:

Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I think you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts. (During the week, he also posts great homilies and other thoughtful discussions. I enjoy reading those, too, as do readers of this blog who have taken the stroll over to his blog.)




For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of devotional blogs on my sidebar and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.

Spiritual Sunday #39: On the Unwiseness of Taking Things Back

For more Spiritual Sunday posts, I recommend that you wander over to the website of Charlotte and Ginger, who host the Spiritual Sunday meme.

Because I do not blog on Sundays -- keeping it as the sabbath, a practice started by Fr. Christian Mathis (Blessed Is the Kingdom) -- I use older posts (forgotten perhaps but hopefully still interesting) from one or another of my blogs that seem appropriate for this meme. It seems to work to bring out the older posts that many have not read before or ones from other blogs I maintain that readers of 100th Lamb may not know about.

This week I have chosen a post from 2009, a lesson learned and re-learned and one I hope I will now always remember: On the Unwiseness of Taking Things Back.

Wishing you a peaceful Sunday!

Monday Morning Meditation #111: God's Love and Compassion Are Meant for All

I cannot believe that I did not put this up in the morning. It was not a matter of time; I had seemingly plenty of it since I had the day off. Yippee! However, one thing after another came along -- Mass and post-Mass tea with a friend, editing an article for a young professional in Turkey (not sure how she found me; she popped up on my Facebook page a few months ago, asking me to friend her although I did not know her -- I sometimes do that with young professionals in my field), vet, home business requirements, taxes (yeah, gotta think about those now; I try to get them done early, but I don't always succeed), prayer group movie night (at my house -- so that requires scurrying around, making sure everything in the house sparkles, especially the bathrooms and picking up munchies at the store), laundry, and likely a lot more that I have already forgotten. Oh, and, of course, the tumble I took that laid me flat out on my back and temporarily knocked the wind out of me. Nothing broken or damaged, thank God. I did not forget the MMM, however, and so, assuming that the saying "better late than never" holds in this case, here it is.

The reading this week comes from the last chapter of Jonah, chapter 4. Jonah is, indeed, a short book, but for me, it is a powerful book. My life seems to have some parallels with Jonah, and I can certainly empathize with some of his feelings. Chapter 4 tells of Jonah's anger at God's compassion on the Ninevites, whose destruction he had been sent to preach, only to learn that God would not destroy them because they repented.

Reading: Jonah 4

Meditation: Last week, I commented about how my job situation had taken a path along the lines of Jonah's task to preach to the Ninevites. I have long been aware of that parallelism. However, I had not thought much about the conclusion to Jonah's story until I read it today. I really do understand Jonah's anger (or, at least, frustration). All that work -- and embarrassment -- for nothing!

Earlier the end of the story struck me as Jonah going off the deep end and being a selfish person. However, now that I have had so much contrary experience with the task of dealing with Adrian (as I pseudonymized the real person in my book, A Believer-in-Waiting's First Encounters with God), or Goliath, as I referred to him in earlier posts on 100th Lamb and Modern Mysticism. I seemed to be tasked with combatting the sense of evil that seemed always to surround Adrian, then was told to "love him," and the later he seemed to get off scot-free. (Sort of like when I was told my abusive mother "lives in grace.") Just like Jonah, I have had to come to terms with the reality that God gets to make the judgments, not I. (But, oh, how I would like to be the one to make them!)

Contemplation: That is far as I can go with you this Monday morning. I now retire to private prayer to praise God for love that goes beyond anything I can imagine. I will ask forgiveness for my petty reactions when I see such love being given to my nemeses and will give thanks for being gently guided into more proper thinking, as was Jonah. I will also ask God to readjust my attitude whenever a readjustment is needed. Then I will move on to contemplation, my favorite part of the day, letting God take over the direction in which my relationship with Him moves.

I will leave you now to your prayer and contemplation. First, though, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:

Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I think you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts. (During the week, he also posts great homilies and other thoughtful discussions. I enjoy reading those, too, as do readers of this blog who have taken the stroll over to his blog.)




For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of devotional blogs on my sidebar and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.

Monday Morning Meditation #110

Last Monday, I had a wonderful, leisurely day. This week, it appears, Monday will be a "gotcha" day -- don't plan to get much relaxation. The stress machine started on Friday evening when I had to work until 10:00 p.m., then realized that my purse was locked in the conference room, and it took me over half an hour to find a security officer to open the room for me since I made the discovery of not having the purse at the moment that both security officers took off on perimeter security duty, leaving the building empty for some time. (I was beginning to think I would have to spend the weekend there, but fortunately all ended okay. "Ending well" might be a bit of an overstatement.) For the first time in a long time, I brought work home. It is not yet finished, so am going in very early and am hoping that my deputy can handle my meetings so that I can finish the work (about 100 hours of work and two workdays to do it, plus what I could eke out this weekend, which was not much because on Friday my sister-in-law was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer, which has a very poor prognosis and has engendered much family discussion about how to be supportive).

So, with more than a little on my mind, I returned to Hosea, looking for some insights. However, I found nothing more there from what I have written about in earlier posts from Hosea, so I proceeded through Amos and then Obadiah. I guess, given the news of the weekend, I was looking for something other than the wrath of God against Israel although, of course, we can learn much from those early days. I found a different message in Jonah, one I have written about before but also one that is worth repeating.

Reading: Jonah 1-3

Meditation: The story of Jonah will also be special to me because I have lived the story of Jonah. God sent Jonah to Ninevah, but he did not want to go. Instead, he went off in another direction. Imagine his surprise when the whale threw him up on shore in exactly the place that God wanted him to be.

That is pretty much what happened to me. God wanted me in my present job, but I sought other jobs. All the doors were closed to me, including the job I had been holding. Then, after taking my present job, I sought a different job again and ended up among the top three candidates. Once again, that door was closed to me: the job was never filled. A third time, other, seemingly better, opportunities arose, but that time I knew better than to start down the path where God did not want me because, as God did with Jonah, I knew God would do with me -- send me right back where He wanted me. So, like Jonah ("Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD" - Jonah 3:3), I decided to obey, and I have not regretted it.

Contemplation: That is far as I can go with you this Monday morning. I now retire to private prayer to praise God for knowing better than I where I should be. I will ask forgiveness for all the times I tried to walk in the opposite direction and will give thanks for being brought back to where I needed to be -- three times. I will also ask God to continue to guide my steps because I do know that He knows best. Then I will move on to contemplation, my favorite part of the day, letting God take over the direction in which my relationship with Him moves.

I will leave you now to your prayer and contemplation. First, though, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:

Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I think you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts. (During the week, he also posts great homilies and other thoughtful discussions. I enjoy reading those, too, as do readers of this blog who have taken the stroll over to his blog.)




For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of devotional blogs on my sidebar and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.

Monday Morning Meditation #109: Whether We Know God Is With Us, God Loves and Helps Us

How wonderful to wake up in the morning and know that you can sleep in as late as you would like on a Monday. It is a cloudy Monday morning. The view out my window stuns, as always, with its views of our valley even with the clouds above the mountains and the fog, not at all typical of our mornings in sunny San Ignatio, has quietly creeped into our valley, settling into every low cranny without overwhelming the views of the mission, Mexican-style single-floor houses, and mini-orchards of green trees, along with the three birches across the street below our driveway. A leisurely Monday morning meditation awaits, a rare pleasure.

So, I have return to Hosea, where I am still finding lessons for today's world. Amazing how the experiences of a civilization from centuries ago relate to the experiences of people today and likely to people in the future as well. Although it is a long passage, I am going to reprint here the verses in Hosea 11 that so strongly indicate the depth of God's love for Israel and by extension for us:

¹ “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
   and out of Egypt I called my son.
² But the more they were called,
   the more they went away from me.^[a]
They sacrificed to the Baals
   and they burned incense to images.
³ It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
   taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
   it was I who healed them.
⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness,
   with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
   a little child to the cheek,
   and I bent down to feed them.
 ⁵ “Will they not return to Egypt
   and will not Assyria rule over them
   because they refuse to repent?
⁶ A sword will flash in their cities;
   it will devour their false prophets
   and put an end to their plans.
⁷ My people are determined to turn from me.
   Even though they call me God Most High,
   I will by no means exalt them.
 ⁸ “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
   How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
   How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
   all my compassion is aroused.
⁹ I will not carry out my fierce anger,
   nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
   the Holy One among you.
   I will not come against their cities.
¹⁰ They will follow the LORD;
   he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
   his children will come trembling from the west.
¹¹ They will come from Egypt,
   trembling like sparrows,
   from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
   declares the LORD.

Reading: Hosea 11: 1-11

Meditation: I have seen verse 11:3 in a number of translations, which vary considerably. I suppose one might not pay much attention to individual words within one verse unless that verse were to have special meaning for oneself, as this verse has for me. After coming to faith, I found this verse and realized just how much it applied to my life. My sister, Danielle, confirmed it further when she told me about her childhood prayer, asking God to take care of us since our parents were unable to do that.

Another reading that I came across somewhat later reaffirms this verse in Hosea as well. Some of you may be quite familiar with it: The Hound of Heaven. Francis Thompson, like many of us, evaded God for many years, but, as with Israel, me, and so many others, God did not give up on him.

One of the things I notice in my daily life is that even though I know God is with me, there are times that I become too busy to notice. Yet, one is more important than the relationship with God. Of course, my family is important to me. So are my colleagues and my neighbors. What I sometimes forget is that I can love them and God simultaneously; in fact, loving them is a form of loving God. At the same time, forgetting that God is part of the equation is something that is too easy and something that should never happen. When it does, I regret the lost moments with God when, like Ephraim, I do not realize that it is God who is teaching me to walk.

Contemplation: That is far as I can go with you this Monday morning. I now retire to private prayer to praise God for all the ways in which He has been with me all my life. I will ask forgiveness for all the years that I ignored God and credited any good fortune to Lady Luck. I will also ask God to increase my awareness of His presence in my daily life and my gratitude for all that he has done for me. Then I will move on to contemplation, my favorite part of the day, letting God take over the direction in which my relationship with Him moves.

I will leave you now to your prayer and contemplation. First, though, I would like to bring to your attention a Monday morning prayer post that you might enjoy:

Fr. Austin Fleming, priest of the Archdiocese of Boston and pastor in Concord, Massachusetts, posts a prayer each Monday morning that he calls "Monday Morning Offering." I enjoy his prayers very much. I think you also will find them inspirational. He has graciously given me permission to include a link to his blog on my Monday Morning Meditation posts. (During the week, he also posts great homilies and other thoughtful discussions. I enjoy reading those, too, as do readers of this blog who have taken the stroll over to his blog.)




For additional inspiration throughout the week, I would point out two sets of blogs: (1) the list of devotional blogs on my sidebar and (2) my blogroll, where I am following a number of inspirational priests and writers about spiritual matters. I learn so very much from all these people. I highly recommend them to you.

Happy New Year! Welcome, 2012!

Wishing one and all a blessed 2012, which has dawned bright and sunny here in San Ignatio. Along with it has arrived my first decision of the new year: whether or not to take revenge on Donnie.

As usual, Donnie and I had made plans to welcome in the new year with a mini-party. Some champagne. A few snacks. And Doah.

As usual, I feel asleep and became nigh onto comatose around 10:30. Doah lasted another hour, then toddled off to bed, emerging, according to Donnie, around 12:30 in the morning, like a groundhog on Feb. 2, saw his shadow, and scurried back to the bedroom.

As for me, I never did wake up. Donnie, ever the photographer -- and, in this case, as is typical of our New Year's eve celebrations, the lone celebrant -- took a picture of me zonked out on the couch and pasted it on Facebook. Of course, that brought it a lot of comments!

Now, he is sleeping in after all his heavy partying, and I am wide awake, greeting the sunny day and new year. Doah is dancing about, demanding breakfast, and I am ever so tempted to take a picture of Donnie, zonked out in bed, and paste it on Facebook!

Happy days and interesting decisions, my friends, I wish you in 2012!

(note: image from stunningmesh.com -- it stunned me; hope you like it)