It is sometimes very difficult for us to find the presence of God in our lives.  He will show up in places where we expect him to be, but he will also be disguised”.   I tend to find Christ the easiest in the sick and injured.   It is in the everyday things, like life in the community, completing my studies, or a visit with my family where I can be blind to the presence of Christ.

So I ask you a question: where do you find Christ in your life?  Do you see him in the everyday things?  What about that person that you really find difficult to love?  Is Christ present in him or her?

SOURCE:       Jason Bruaninger, SJ
                       The Jesuit Post blog

 
I had gotten overconfident steaming broccoli.  I stepped away for just a moment. When I returned, I found my wife less than pleased that the broccoli smelled like smoke and the bottom of the pot was now coated in a black smudge.  “It’s ruined,” she said. “The broccoli, the pot.”

Things looked bleak. I scrubbed at the bottom of that little pot. I let it soak overnight, scrubbed at it again the next day.  “Just throw it away,” my wife said. “We’ll never get that burnt taste out of it.”  My failed efforts seemed to suggest she was right.

 But it so happened that later that day my grandmother came over for a visit. She took one look at that pot, scowled and waved me away. That 88-year-old woman stood at my kitchen sink for almost the entire visit, slowly, gently, meticulously cleaning that little pot. It was spotless when she was done.

Pope Francis, again and again in his pontificate, has decried a throwaway culture. While I don’t think he’s generally thinking about burnt pots, he is, perhaps, pointing the finger at people like me who might be too quick to throw in the towel when things get tough, when things seem impossible.

How much easier it is to throw away the burnt pots in our lives than to be reminded of those things we’ve inadvertently burned. To take the time to scrub away the stains.

More than things, Pope Francis reminds us of the lives we too often throw away out of convenience: the migrant, the unborn, the elderly, the disabled, the homeless, the poor. We throw away the natural world itself. Rather than welcome, we cast aside those that make us uncomfortable, that are a burden or that remind us of our failures.

One antidote? “I can welcome others who are different, and value the unique contribution they have to make, only if I am firmly rooted in my own people and culture.” (Fratelli Tutti, 143)

Those firm roots take time to nurture, though. They are watered and cared for across generations, through stories and experiences, through love and hardship. Rootedness means looking to our own wisdom figures – grandparents, perhaps – and welcoming their stories. Rootedness means looking to the young with a word of inspiration, motivation or appreciation. Rootedness means sustaining one another through praise and gentle correction.

    
SOURCE:    Eric Clayton, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States - eclayton@jesuits.org                                                                                                      

SOURCE:    Joyce Rupp and Barbara Loomis,
                     Rest Your Dreams on a Little Twig, pages 142 and 143

 

-    “A decline in the birthrate, which leads to the aging of the population, together with the relegation of the elderly to a sad and lonely existence, is a subtle way of stating that it is all about us, that our individual concerns are the only thing that matters.” (No. 19)

-    “I realize that some people are hesitant and fearful with regard to migrants. I consider this part of our natural instinct of self-defence. Yet it is also true that an individual and a people are only fruitful and productive if they are able to develop a creative openness to others.” (No. 41)

-    “Let us admit that, for all the progress we have made, we are still “illiterate” when it comes to accompanying, caring for and supporting the most frail and vulnerable members of our developed societies. We have become accustomed to looking the other way, passing by, ignoring situations until they affect us directly.” (No. 64)  

-    “As couples or friends, we find that our hearts expand as we step out of ourselves and embrace others. Closed groups and self-absorbed couples that define themselves in opposition to others tend to be expressions of selfishness and mere self-preservation.” (No. 89)

-    “We need to develop the awareness that nowadays we are either all saved together or no one is saved. Poverty, decadence and suffering in one part of the earth are a silent breeding ground for problems that will end up affecting the entire planet.” (No. 137)

-    “Dialogue is often confused with something quite different: the feverish exchange of opinions on social networks, frequently based on media information that is not always reliable. These exchanges are merely parallel monologues.” (No. 200)

-    “Authentic social dialogue involves the ability to respect the other’s point of view and to admit that it may include legitimate convictions and concerns.” (No. 203)                 

-    “Each of us can learn something from others. No one is useless and no one is expendable.” (No. 215)
 
-    “One fundamental human right must not be forgotten in the journey towards fraternity and peace. It is religious freedom for believers of all religions.” (No. 279)

   

SOURCE:   600 Blessings and Prayers from Around the World,
compiled by Geoffrey Duncan, Twenty-Third Publications, pages 162 and 163