Beyond Words

Image by Christelle PRIEUR from Pixabay

“Matter is spirit moving slowly enough to be seen.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

+++

Listen to my song “Lift Up Our Voices” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books by scrolling down to the links following the scripture reflection.

+++

Psalm 29:2

Give to the LORD the glory due his name.

+++

When I see the beauty of creation, of the spectacular universe, of this precious life, I am in awe.

It is easy to give glory to a Higher Power!

Most of the uglier sides of life seem to stem from human delusional behavior.

Even the destructive forces of nature such as tornadoes and hurricanes are awe-inspiring on one level.

Making sense of the pain and death they can cause is a mystery but, as we know, death is the flip side of life.

It is like one coin.

You can’t have one side without the other.

Death-to-life is the cycle of creation.

It’s on-going.

My nephew and his wife recently had their first baby.

I’m reminded of how contented and serene life was for this little one in the dark womb, before out of the blue and without her permission, she was whooshed into a painful struggle and delivered into a new world of bright light and noise.

How painful…and yet beautiful!

Hands of comfort held her while calm and compassionate voices greeted her.

A whole new adventure began to unfold!

Can I get an ‘amen’ to giving glory to God?

For me, Jesus has shown me the template of experiencing this glorious life to the full.

It’s in the daily dying of the false self, the letting go of the ego, so that the true self can be birthed.

It’s in the service of others through my gifts and talents that I find more life than my ego could have imagined.

It’s in knowing through his death and resurrection that my death will also lead to new life.

This saves me every day!

Every struggle leads to life…but you must go through it.

Before being called Christianity, this new movement was simply called, the Way.

This death-to-life Way demonstrates the glory of God, or Spirit, or Love, or the Great Compassion, or Goddess, or the Tao, or Yahweh (the sound of your very breath), or whatever name you want to attach to it.

Any name will fall short of capturing the magnificent glory revealed.

+++

Listen to the song of the day “Lift Up Our Voices” on the Give Praise and Thanks album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Be the Change

Image by Ales Krivec from Pixabay

“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” – Arthur Ashe

+++

Listen to my song “Salvation” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books at the links following the scripture reflection. Thank you!

+++

Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

+++

Jesus had been performing all sorts of signs and wonders, but the Pharisees wanted more.

Just when I was about to write a reflection blasting those religious leaders for their hardness of heart, it occurred to me that I do this myself!

I have experienced many signs and wonders, and yet I have found myself on occasion doubting whether God, or Spirit, or a Higher Power still cares about me.

If I only had one more sign, I tell myself.

So, yeah, I’m guilty too!

Some people might need some gentle and loving companioning to remind them that, despite some rough experiences, there has always been an underlying thread of Compassion carrying them.

Alas…getting back to the Pharisees…they had their preconceived ideas about the Messiah and Jesus did not fit their mold.

So, no matter what he said or did, it didn’t seem to matter.

For some, it will take more than a sign or two to soften their hardened hearts.

You can see Jesus’ frustration as the scripture says that he “sighed from the depth of his spirit.”

Then, he “went off to the other shore.”

Jesus knew it was not his job to change people’s hearts.

That was up to God or the Holy Spirit.

Jesus could only continue to carry out his mission to bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and let the oppressed go free (Luke 4:18).

He was constantly restoring wholeness where there was brokenness.

Jesus was calling all people to love each other, even their enemies.

We come from Love, are invited to be this Love, and then we will one day return to this Love.

It’s not our job to change others.

That’s up to a Higher Power.

Our job is to allow this Love to change us.

+++

Listen to the song of the day “Salvation” on the Live to Love album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mercy Is Courageous

Image by eliola from Pixabay

“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” – Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

+++

Listen to my song “Mercy Reigns” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books at the links following the scripture reflection. Thank you!

+++

Mark 7: 32-35

And people brought to Jesus a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.

+++

Scripture tells us that Jesus worked many miracles.

How else do you explain people being cured of ailments and diseases?

Even the first century historian Josephus stated that Jesus “did surprising deeds.”

While Jesus was reported to have cured many, those cures seemed to be linked to whether the person in need of healing had faith that it could happen, or even those with that person had faith that it could happen.

And, as in today’s scripture verses, it appeared that healing someone was not like waving a magic wand.

In today’s story, it seemed like a very exhausting ordeal!

Jesus “groaned” while appealing to God.

The whole ritual was far from anything other worldly or heavenly – but very down-to-earth, messy and human.

Jesus spat on his fingers before touching the man’s tongue.

He stuck his finger into the man’s ears.

A man who was ill or disabled during that time would have been seen as “unclean” in the eyes of the culture.

Touching him would have made Jesus unclean.

Jesus crosses all the boundaries again.

He nullifies them.

The rules are obliterated.

Love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and compassion reign!

The man’s worthiness or sinfulness are of no concern to Jesus!

And, lo and behold, the man is restored to wholeness.

Before Jesus’ death and resurrection, scripture tells us that he told his followers this: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these” (John 14:12).

Let those words sink into your soul.

What do you make of it?

How will you respond?

+++

Listen to the song of the day “Mercy Reigns” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Solidarity

Image by Tuna Ölger from Pixabay

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

+++

Listen to my song “All Are One” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

+++

Mark 7:26-29

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

+++

Either Jesus is a very rude person or there is more to this story than meets the eye!

Since we know that Jesus is not rude, then there must be another reason for his apparent rudeness.

The Jews believed Jesus was their Messiah alone.

But I think Jesus used this situation to expand their viewpoint.

Jesus is very perceptive of other people as to their hang-ups and foibles.

I’m sure he realized that this woman, a Gentile, was probably used to being treated rudely by Jews.

But Jesus intuited that she had a deep faith in God.

So he gave her the opportunity to display that trust.

This isn’t the only time that Jesus healed people outside the Jewish faith with no questions asked.

It seemed that all they really needed was faith, a belief in a Higher Power.

Jesus was always about erasing human-made boundaries and restoration of wholeness.

Because, as one of the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching (Solidarity) states, “We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences.”

Each of us needs to ask ourselves if we are on board with that, and if not, why?

To live as if we are all lone rangers is to live in delusion.

As Thomas Merton said: “What we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”

+++

Listen to the song of the day “All Are One” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shades of Gray

Image by Martin Fuchs from Pixabay

“By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

+++

Listen to my song “All Are Welcome” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books at the links following the scripture reflection. Thank you!

+++

Genesis 2:16-17

The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.

+++

We all know that there are some absolute goods and absolute evils, so you’d think it would’ve been a good thing for Adam and Eve to know those things, wouldn’t you?

Today’s scripture comes from the second creation story in the bible.

In the first story in the first chapter of Genesis, God creates everything and deems it all “very good.”

The second creation story features Adam and Eve and what has become known as “the fall” when Adam eats the apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

In my opinion, the point here is that God is the determiner of what is good and what is evilnot humans.

(Could this be why Jesus answers the man who calls him “Good teacher” with, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”? (Mark 10:18)

We all have to make certain determinations about what is good and bad for us or we would aimlessly step off the curb of a busy street and walk into traffic.

But I think the point the author of Genesis is making today is that we have to be very careful about our inclination to quickly label things either good or evil.

That is dualism – when a person decides this person is good but this person is bad, this person is in, but this person is out.

They are “all or nothing” judgements, black or white.

And who is the judge?

I am, of course!

And I, in this equation, am always right!

I know what’s best.

This is very problematic!

I know there have been many times in my life when I have made judgements about someone and have later regretted it when I realized I was entirely wrong…or partly wrong.

This is why Jesus tells us not to be so fast to judge another because while we spot a splinter in someone else’s eye, we may be completely unaware of the “wooden beam” in our own (Matthew 7:1-5)!

Many times I have ended up regretting that I made determinations without all the information.

Before we make absolute judgements about people or events, perhaps we all need stop, take a deep breath, and ask, “What would Jesus do?

+++

Listen to the song of the day “All Are Welcome” on the Give Praise and Thanks album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Compassion Transforms

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

“Instead of putting others in their place, put yourself in their place.” – Amish Proverb

+++

Listen to my song “There Is Three” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books at the links following the scripture reflection. Thank you!

+++

Mark 7:9

Jesus went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!”

+++

If you were raised in the Christian tradition, you no doubt are familiar with rules.

I was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition where there are all kinds of rules, regulations, and rituals.

Rules are extremely necessary when you are a child in order to set clear standards and boundaries.

But as a person grows, you have to allow yourself to see a bigger picture.

It would be like seeing a map of the United States as a child with all the boundaries of states, but then as an adult to look upon the whole earth from a viewpoint in outer space.

You now see the whole Earth suspended in the vast blackness of the universe and amidst the twinkling of the billions and billions of stars and galaxies.

The human-made lines separating the various states are now meaningless.

You can still talk about those lines of separation when dealing with day to day, practical matters, but your spiritual scope is now vastly broader.

In today’s scripture, the religious leaders were taking Jesus to task because they observed some of his followers not practicing the ritual washing of hands before eating.

Jesus was aware of their meticulous attention to the rules and to their enforcing them without the balance of compassion.

This requires a “both-and” approach and not an “either-or” one.

You can both keep the rules and overlook them in light of the bigger picture.

To love is the main objective.

As Jesus said, the greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:28-31).

These are the utmost important rules to embody.

May compassion be the foundation for all our words and actions.

+++

Listen to the song of the day “There Is Three” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wonderfully Made

Image by RÜŞTÜ BOZKUŞ from Pixabay

“Life is not a matter of creating a special name for ourselves, but of uncovering the name we have always had.” – Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond

+++

Listen to my song “I Stand in the Light” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books at the links following the scripture reflection. Thank you!

+++

Genesis 1:16-18

God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

+++

For whatever reason, there are two creation stories in the bible.

Today’s scripture verses come from the first.

The second version is in the second chapter of Genesis that features Adam and Eve and what is known as “the fall” when the perfect humans first sinned.

None of these stories are meant to be taken literally – as though they are factually true.

However, they are still true in that they teach truth.

Obviously, the writer did not know of the mammoth size of the universe because he or she thought the stars were fixed in a set dome over a flat Earth.

The point is: God made it.

Science is showing us that God’s method of creating was evolution.

As for “the fall,” morality has evolved with our consciousness.

We all know that human beings have a tendency to sometimes make selfish choices, hence we fall, or, in religious lingo, we sin.

For some reason, many Christian teachers have emphasized the fall and human sinfulness.

They seem to forget about the other creation story, when God kept saying, “It was good.”

And when everything was made, God called it “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

We would do well to remember this.

Some call it “original blessing.”

Humanity and all of creation is very good at the core.

When God looks at each of us, God sees the inner diamond of our soul.

Sure, there will be consequences for our poor choices, but not in the context of reward and punishment.

The context is that we are each taking part in God’s unfolding masterpiece.

We will one day look back and assess all the good and bad things we did and will learn from them.

We may even have to make amends for the pain we caused others.

But it will all be done in the gaze of a Love beyond our wildest imagination!

As St. Paul put it: “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Count on it!

+++

Listen to the song of the day “I Stand in the Light” on the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Goodwill

Image by James Chan from Pixabay

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain

+++

Listen to my song “May I Be Light” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books at the links following the scripture reflection. Thank you!

+++

Hebrews 13:2

Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.

+++

When I was just starting my job as a Youth Minister after many years of being a radio news anchor and reporter, it was not an easy transition.

Many people undoubtedly thought I had lost my mind!

I had been wrestling for years with a deep, gnawing yearning in my soul that I simply had to address or burst.

The long transition began when I returned to college for weekend classes to get a Master’s degree in Religious and Pastoral Studies while not having any idea where it would lead.

During that time, there rose new stirrings about becoming a Youth Minister.

I had never thought of that before.

After attainting my degree…it still took another three years in radio before I was offered a job as the Youth Minister of a parish.

I struggled at the start of this new challenge. Had a made a horrible mistake?

Slowly I found my way.

Early on, while on an outing to a soup kitchen in the inner city with a small group of 8th graders, I found myself completely immersed in pouring-out water into cups for the homeless.

That’s when, above the many voices in the cafeteria, I heard a man’s voice.

He said, “Are you one of them?”

I kept pouring.

The voice came again, but this time more insistently: “Are you one of them?

I looked up and saw a middle-aged, shabbily-dressed African American man sitting across the way at a table looking in my direction.

I thought he must be talking to someone else.

I said, “Are you talking to me?”

He said, “Yeah, YOU. Are you one of them?”

I said, “One of…who?

He pointed past me to the lone Franciscan Friar in his brown robe who was helping to serve on the dinner line.

The homeless man said, “Are you one of the brothers?” – meaning a Franciscan brother.

I said, “Oh, no, I’m not.”

The man said, “Oh. You look like one of them.”

And I remember the same feeling I’m having now as I write this – a deep, warm feeling of gratitude.

St. Francis had been an inspiration to me throughout my new spiritual journey.

I brought a different group of students to that soup kitchen each Wednesday.

I recognized many of the homeless people who would return each week.

The homeless man who spoke to me that day – I never saw him again.

An angel?

I don’t know.

A Godsend?

Most definitely.

+++

Listen to the song of the day “May I Be Light” on the Listen to Your Heart album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Breathe

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

“If we have abandoned ourselves to God, there is only one rule for us: the duty of the present moment.” – Jean-Pierre de Caussade, SJ

+++

Listen to my song “Breathe On Me” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books at the links provided after the following scripture reflection. Thank you!

+++

Mark 6:8

Jesus instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts.

+++

When Jesus sent out his followers on the road to spread the gospel, scripture says he sent them to preach repentance (Mark 6:12).

Repentance is changing your direction.

More specifically, turning away from the world’s philosophy of life and turning toward God’s.

The world is telling us that life is all about gaining the three “P’s”: Power, Prestige and Possessions.

Jesus said that all those things are illusions.

While they are not bad in and of themselves (for all three can be used for good), they are also traps.

A person’s ego can easily become attached to the lure of the three “P’s” and before you know it, that person believes their identity is those things.

And all those things will eventually dissolve.

That’s why Jesus sent his followers out with virtually nothing to sustain them.

They would have to rely totally on the sustenance that God would provide.

That took trust.

That took faith.

That took openness to the God who is present and available in every moment, as close to you as your next breath.

When you are present to the Divine Presence, you can be a living sign of that Presence to others.

And in that Presence is much peace.

May it be so!

+++

Listen to the song of the day “Breathe On Me” on the Listen to Your Heart album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Persevere

Image by Robert Pastryk from Pixabay

“There is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace, my happiness depend: to discover myself in discovering God.” – Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

+++

Listen to my song “Take the Road Less Traveled” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Support my ministry by purchasing my songs and books on Amazon at the links following the scripture reflection. Thank you!

+++

Mark 6:4-5

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.

+++

I think it’s fairly common that people don’t feel worthy enough to speak or act in the name of Jesus.

You hear people say, “I’m no saint.”

Do you realize that every saint was a sinner?

None of us is worthy.

It’s not even about worthiness!

In reality, you and I are worthy because God makes us worthy.

God is calling all of us to be living signs of Christ to the world.

God incarnated in Jesus so that we could see that God is also incarnating in us.

Jesus was not well received in his native place of Nazareth because they knew him for years.

“Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:3)

They “took offense at him” because, I’m sure they were thinking, “Who does he think he is?

All of us are on an evolutionary journey. (So is the rest of our planet and universe, so we are in good company!)

We are all meant to grow and change.

Usually it takes some hard knocks for us to be open to a conversion.

For me, it took some deep misery over what I was doing with my life before I was able to hear the small, gentle, inner voice of the Spirit redirecting me.

When I started making changes, believe me, I encountered a lot of “Who does he think he is?” reactions!

Remember: You are not here to please others, but to please God.

And when you please God, you are pleasing your true self as well.

God is calling YOU.

Set aside a regular time for contemplative, silent prayer.

Listen.

Allow the inner, gentle voice to speak.

Then – you must take action.

Following Jesus’ example will also be helpful.

Then as Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, “Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

+++

Listen to the song of the day “Take the Road Less Traveled” on the Live to Love album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my new book “Listen to Your Heart: A Daily Devotional of Calling, Purpose and New Life” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!

Posted in inspiration, spirituality, Today's Contemplation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment