Never Entirely Satisfied

                My friend Mike is an Ironman – he just completed his umpteenth Ironman race in July.  Me, I’m more like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.  The closest I've come to doing an Ironman was reading about Mike’s races here on his blog.  After his last race in Lake Placid, we exchanged the following messages:

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man:  Congratulations!  I hope you’re happy with your time.

Ironman:  Happy, but not entirely satisfied.  But then again, never am.

SPMM:  There’s a theological explanation for that.

Ironman: Oh God.

SPMM:  Exactly! 

OK, I made up the last two lines, but I’m sure that’s what Mike was thinking, and I certainly would have come back with such a witty retort.  In any event, I owe Mike an explanation.  Here it is.

                We all have goals.  It’s in our nature.  Some may want to travel to exotic locations, learn to tango or climb Mount Everest; others may want to lose some weight, clean out a closet, or just get out of bed in the morning.  And for the certifiably insane, it’s doing Ironman races.  It doesn't matter what the goal is.  Big or small, we all have goals.  We’re hard-wired to strive for new and better things.  Why?  Well, it’s because we’re constantly and persistently called to greater things by “that which nothing greater can be thought”[1] – God.  Just think about it.  Most would agree that we've never seen perfection in this world, but for some reason, we have a concept of what it is, and we strive for it.  That reason is God.  God lives in and around us, incessantly calling us to his perfection.  In fact, the Holy Spirit that dwells within us never stops reaching out of us to be in perfect union with God, and he drags us right along with him.  When we strive to better ourselves and our lives and the lives of others, we’re really reaching out to God, whether we realize it or not.

                Our natural inclination to strive for perfection is also the reason we’re never entirely satisfied.  We can’t be completely satisfied in this world because perfection transcends it.  Perfection resides in God alone.  So until we’re completely united with God, we’ll never be fully satisfied.  As St. Augustine confessed to God, “My heart is restless until it rests in you.”  That’s why God keeps calling us to him; he knows that we’ll never be fully satisfied until we rest in him. 

If that’s the case, why keep trying?  Well, achieving our goals is very satisfying – it may not be completely satisfying, but it’s satisfying nonetheless.  With each goal achieved, we get a taste of what perfection is like; we get a little glimpse of heaven.  That’s what this journey on earth is all about – doing everything we can to live the Kingdom of Heaven as best we can here on earth until the time comes when we experience it, in all of its perfection, eternally.

While I might me puffier than Mike, and I’m certainly more sedentary, we do have a few things in common – we both have goals, and we’re both at stages in our lives when we’re reassessing our goals.  As for me, I’m discerning between two pretty ambitious goals right now (doing an Ironman is not one of them).  I don’t know if I’ll pursue either one.  If I don’t, I’m sure another goal will soon take their place.  It’s just the way I am.   I’ll be setting goals for myself, big and small, for the rest of my days on this earth.  While I know I’ll never be entirely satisfied in this life, I’m happy for each little victory along the way as I strive for the ultimate goal we all share – perfect union with perfect love.

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[1] Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Proslogion.

In Memoriam: Robin Williams

                If you’re like me, you may have spent some time over the past week watching Robin Williams videos.  Perhaps you laughed along with me at the clip of his first appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where Robin jumps from his chair to mimic a trained seal at the sight of the microphone dangling over his head.  Maybe you were moved by the touching video of Robin Williams tickling Koko, the gorilla who speaks in sign language, or you laughed out loud at his bawdy stand-up routine recalling the experience of having a 300 pound gorilla “interested” in him.  How about the poignant “Your just a kid” scene from Good Will Hunting, the inspiring “O Captain, My Captain” scene from Dead Poets Society or a rousing “Good Morning Vietnam” sound bite?  Let’s face it, to say that Robin Williams had talent is a gross understatement.  He had a quick mind and a quick wit; comedic timing and dramatic gravitas: and, as we all know, Robin Williams was funny.  Damn funny!  Robin Williams made a lot of people, including me, very happy.

I've also been spending a lot of time wondering how someone who made us so happy could be so sad.  That’s why it’s taken me so long to post about his untimely death.  Robin Williams was very open about his battle with depression, and his family confirmed that he was struggling with it at the time of his death.  But knowing that a person suffers from depression is a far cry from understanding what he’s going through.  I've journeyed with several people who battle with depression, but I don’t suffer from it myself.   So I don’t pretend to know how someone who could make us so happy could be so sad, and I wouldn't dare to hazard a guess.  That would be unfair to Robin Williams and to the many people who do suffer from depression.

 

So rather than trying to figure him out, I’ll simply appreciate his life and his work.  I’ll marvel at his lightning-fast mind and his wicked sense of humor.  I’ll be grateful for the attention he brought to homelessness and many other important causes.  But most of all, I’ll respect and admire his incredible courage – the courage to stand up in front of millions of people, confronting whatever sadness he may have been facing, to make us happy.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.  And let perpetual light shine upon him.

Dare to Believe

         

“The choice is leave or take a bullet to the head; you have ten hours to get out or die; take nothing but the clothes on your back.” That was the ultimatum given to Iraqi Christians living in Mosul last weekend when Islamic State militants expelled the last Christian families from the city, forcing them to leave their belongings behind.[i] But when one man was told that ISIS was confiscating his house, he boldly replied, “Congratulations, you have the house.” With those five words that man conveyed a much deeper message: “You can take the house, the money, the car, the clothes, but you possess no part of my soul, which belongs to and is fed and sustained by Christ Jesus.”[ii] In the face of death and despair that man dared to believe, and that’s the message of today’s readings.

          Today’s readings talk about faith: daring to believe that God loves us and will never abandon us. Elijah’s on the run - he feels alone and abandoned by God; Saint Paul laments that his fellow Jews may be cut off from God for their lack of faith; and the disciples are caught in a storm at sea, afraid because Jesus isn't with them. But God abandons no one. It would be contrary to his very nature. So Elijah soon realizes that “God was near, providing food for Elijah’s journey as well as an intimate experience of the divine presence . . . as a ‘tiny whispering sound.’”[iii] The disciples see Jesus walking toward them on the water, calling Peter to him, lifting him up when he begins to sink, joining them in the storm-tossed boat, and calming the sea. And Saint Paul, well, you’re going to have to take my word on this one because his concerns are addressed in the passages that follow today’s excerpt from Romans. In the subsequent passages, Paul explains that God will keep his covenant with the Jews; God will never abandon them. They will be saved. God abandons no one and that gives us every reason to have faith.

          Webster’s Dictionary defines faith as “belief in the existence of God.” But faith has a much deeper meaning for us: Faith is a gift from God that invites a response from us - our trust in all that God has revealed to us. What’s the difference? Well, simply believing that God exists requires no understanding of who God is or how God operates in our lives. There’s no connection with God, necessarily - no relationship. But in the Judeo-Christian tradition, faith is all about our relationship with God. Faith is all about the highest form of relationship - love. So for us, faith is an inner certainty, a conviction that God is love, that God loves us infinitely and unconditionally, and that God’s love for us is eternal. Faith is “daring to believe, in the face of all the evidence, that God is with us in the boat . . . as it makes its way through the storm, battered by the waves.”[iv] That’s what God has revealed to us. That’s what we’re invited to believe, if we dare to.

          The life of faith is a beautiful way to live, and I’d argue that faith is the only way to truly live in this storm-tossed world. Faith brings with it “a quiet confidence and joy that enable [us] to feel at home in the universe, and to find meaning in the world and in [our lives], a meaning that is profound and ultimate, and stable no matter what may happen.”[v] In other words, faith brings with it the sure knowledge that God loves us and that our purpose in this world is to share God’s love with others. Faith won’t necessarily stop bad things from happening to us, and it won’t give us superhuman abilities to overcome them, like walking on water, but faith will give us the calm assurance that “All shall be well”[vi] and the courage to step out of the safety of the boat to do everything in our power to make all things well for us and for our neighbors.

          The challenge we face, then, is “trying to stay so focused on God’s enabling presence that the resistant winds do not defeat us.”[vii] It’s easy to lose faith. Sickness, death, unemployment, famine, religious persecution, even genocide - these are real challenges that real people are facing today. And in a highly secularized society, faith is often greeted with ridicule and scorn. It seems like the challenges of life are playing a game of pile on and we’re at the bottom of the pile. If we let these challenges distract us from the one who is life, we will sink into despair, hopelessness and meaninglessness. Just look at Saint Peter in today’s Gospel. Peter doesn't become frightened after he begins to sink. Peter becomes frightened first and then he begins to sink. Peter lost focus on the only one who can carry him across the raging sea. And what happens next? Jesus doesn't abandon Peter for lack of faith. “Jesus . . . is there to answer his call despite inadequate faith. What counts is not strength of will or courage but Jesus’ saving presence.”[viii] God is there for Peter in the person of Jesus Christ. Dare to believe that God is there to carry us across the raging seas, too, no matter what we may face.

          “Stranded on a barren mountaintop, thousands of minority Iraqis are faced with a bleak choice: descend and risk slaughter at the hands of the encircled Sunni extremists or sit tight and risk dying of thirst.”[ix] I wonder if those Iraqis feel like God has abandoned them. But when I read this story, I couldn't help but think that when Jesus left his disciples to go up the mountain to pray, he climbed Mount Sinjar to be with the persecuted Iraqis. God abandons no one, and that gives us every reason to have faith. For the sake of the persecuted Iraqis and Syrians and all who suffer, dare to believe. Dare to believe in the face of death, and despair, of evil incarnate, that God is with them. But more importantly, dare to believe in the face of ridicule, complacency, indifference and helplessness, that God is calling us from the boat to make his presence known to them by doing all we can do to help them. Dare to believe!

Readings:  11 Kings 19:9A, 11-13A; Psalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14; Romans9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33

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^[i] Mark Movsesian, “A Line Crossed in the Middle East,” First Things, online edition (July 22, 2014), http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2014/07/a-line-crossed-in-the-middle-east.

^[ii] Elizabeth Scalia, “Expelled Iraqi Christians Give Witness to ISIS Fascism,” The Anchoress (July 24, 2014), http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2014/07/24/expelled-iraqi-christians-give-witness-to-isis-fascism/.

^[iii] Patricia Datchuck Sánchez, “Three O’clock and All is Well,” National Catholic Reporter, vol. 50, no.20 (July 18-31, 2014) at 25.

^[iv] M. Eugene Boring, “The Gospel of Matthew,” The New Interpreter’s Bible (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1994) at 329-330.

^[v] Charles Hefling, Why Doctrines, 2^nd ed. (Chestnut Hill, The Lonergan Institute, 2000) at 20, quoting Wilfred Cantwell Smith.

^[vi] Julian of Norwich, The Showings.

^[vii] John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers: On Earth as it is in Heaven, Matthew, Year A (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2004) at 250-251.

^[viii] The Oxford Bible Commentary, John Barton and John Muddiman, eds. (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001) at 863.

^[ix] Loveday Morris, “Iraqi Yazidis Stranded on Isolated Mountaintop Begin to Die of Thirst,” Washington Post, online edition (August 5, 2014), http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iraqi-yazidis-stranded-on-isolated-mountaintop-begin-to-die-of-thirst/2014/08/05/57cca985-3396-41bd-8163-7a52e5e72064_story.html.

On the Feast of Saint Dominic

A flashback to the 1960s in honor of the feast of Saint Dominic:  Dominique

Try getting this little ditty out of your head!  For those who surrender to the temptation to sing along, here are the lyrics in French and English.

Saint Dominic by Luca Giordana

French

Refrain :
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu.

À l'époque ou Jean-sans-Terre
D'Angleterre était le roi
Dominique, notre père,
Combattit les Albigeois.

        (Au refrain)

Certain jour, un hérétique,

Par des ronces le conduit,
Mais notre père Dominique,
Par sa joie le convertit.

        (Au refrain)

Ni chameau, ni diligence,

Il parcout l'Europe à pied
Scandinavie ou Provence
Dans la sainte pauvreté.

        (Au refrain)

Enflamma de toute école

Filles et garçons pleins d'ardeur
Et pour semer la Parole
Inventa les Frères-Prêcheurs.

        (Au refrain)

Chez Dominique et ses frères

Le pain s'en vint à manquer
Et deux anges se présentèrent
Portant de grands pains dorés.

        (Au refrain)

Dominique vit en rêve

Les prêcheurs du monde entier
Sous le manteau de la Vierge
En grand nombre rassemblés.

        (Au refrain)

Dominique, mon bon père,

Garde-nous simples et gais
Pour annoncer à nos frères
La Vie et la Verité

        (Au refrain)

English

Refrain :
Dominique -nique -nique
Went about simply,
A poor singing traveller.
On every road, in every place,
He talks only of the Good Lord,
He talks only of the Good Lord.

At the time when Bad King John
Was the sovereign of England
Dominic, our father,
Fought against the Albigensians.

Refrain

One day, a heretic,

Led him through the brambles,
But our father Dominic,
With his cheer does convert him.

Refrain

With neither camel nor haste,

Throughout Europe he goes on foot
Scandinavia and Provence
In holy poverty.

Refrain

He sets alight at every school

Girls and boys full of ardour,
And to spread the Word
The Dominican Friars he did found.

Refrain

For Dominique and his brothers

Bread did become sparse
When two angels did appear
With them great chunks of golden bread.

Refrain

Dominique sees in a dream

Preachers all around the world
Under the cloak of the Virgin
In great number assembled.

Refrain

Dominique, my dear father,
Keep us simple and jolly
To call to our brothers
The Way and the Truth.

Refrain

Lyricist:  Soeur Sourire

Copyright: Belinda Music