the people of The Way

Caravaggio's THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL, 1601

On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,

a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

He said, “Who are you, sir?”

The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” 

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,

for they heard the voice but could see no one.

Saul got up from the ground,

but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;

so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.

For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,

and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias.”

He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight

and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. 

He is there praying,

and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias

come in and lay his hands on him,

that he may regain his sight.”

~Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9

A few days ago we celebrated the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, and I’ve been pondering that striking story.

Earlier in the book of Acts, we hear that the early Christians called themselves the people of “The Way.” Am I the only one amused that when Saul is blinded by a vision from God he is sent to a street in Damascus called Straight where he is to wait for the Lord’s messenger. How about that for godly directions--Go Straight and wait for the Way!

I think it's downright merciful that God’s messages are not always that blunt.

Scene from the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage

In Spanish, the word “camino” is both a noun and a verb. 

The noun translates as “the way”—and the verb tense literally means, “I walk.”

I do believe that following God’s will comes down to taking a step and waiting for the vision to become clearer. It may feel like crossing a bridge in deep fog, but I commit to walking that way until the fog clears--and then I pray that it becomes self-evident whether I am to continue or change directions.

As a follower of and member of  the people of The Way, that is my task, to continue to walk towards God.

MLK, Jr: "I've been to the mountaintop" + announcing the winner of CRAVINGS

"And that's all this whole thing is about. We aren't engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people. We are saying -- We are saying that we are God's children. And that we are God's children, we don't have to live like we are forced to live...

Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you...

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! 

And so I'm happy, tonight. 

I'm not worried about anything. 

I'm not fearing any man! 

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!"

~Martin Luther King, Jr. [3 April, 1968]

Excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr's final speech,

delivered 3 April 1968, Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee.

He was assassinated in Memphis the next day, April 4, 1968.

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And the winner of a copy of "CRAVINGS: A Catholic wrestles with food, self-image and God," is....

ERIN! Unfortunately, I don't have any specific information (other than her comment name) to let Erin know she won... so, Erin, if you're reading this, please drop me an email with your whole name and address! mymaria@me.com

Be holy as God is holy

 

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."                                                                                                 [Leviticus 19:18]

The ordered sequence stated in this command is important. If I am to love my neighbor as myself, I have to already know what it means to love myself. And unless I have reflected on what loving myself means, within the instruction to be “holy as God is holy,” then this arrangement will not work.

Loving myself in my desire to be holy means accepting not only my gifts, but also my character defects. It implies that I rely on God for everything, including when, if ever, those character defects will be healed and disappear. Loving myself demands that I be patient with the diminishments in my body, that I love the part of my brain that is aging, and that I consider the events of my life as part of God’s plan for my salvation. This is no small calling.

Someone shared with me this beautiful prayer that captures the uncertainty I often feel about the details of my life—yet finds goodness in whatever the day may bring.

“This is another day, O Lord.
I know not what it will bring forth,
but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be.
If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently.
And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.
Make these words more than words,
and give me the spirit of Jesus. Amen.”

There is but a single vision

These words leapt out from the page and seized my heart:

“Across the threshold I had been afraid to cross, things suddenly seemed so very simple. There was but a single vision, God, who was all in all.  There was but one will that directed all things, God’s will. I had only to see it, to discern it in every circumstance in which I found myself, and let myself be ruled by it. God is in all things, maintains all things, directs all things. To discern this in every situation and circumstance, to see his will in all things was to accept each circumstance and situation and let oneself be borne along in perfect confidence and trust. Nothing could separate me from him, because he was in all things. No danger could threaten me, no fear could shake me, except the fear of losing sight of him. The future, hidden as it was, was hidden in his will and therefore acceptable to me no matter what it might bring.”

Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, SJ in "He Leadeth Me," p. 81

Fr. Ciszek in Norilsk, USSR - 1955

I went to sleep with Father Ciszek’s words ringing in my ears, my heart held by the truth I heard—and my head spinning with thoughts of how far, how remote I am from truly walking in this surrender, this complete and genuine trust in God's providence.

I want Jesus to come to me, grab my hand, and help me up. I want to know the perfect confidence that Father Ciszek experienced—or at the very least, to desire to know that confidence! Tonight that is my prayer, to desire it—and if I cannot honestly desire it with my whole heart, then I pray that I may desire to desire it!