Dear Friend:
I’m inspired this morning by Fr Unni’s homily. Fr Unni is pastor of St Cecilia’s RC Church in Boston. This is a very progressive, inclusive church. Each week they live stream Sunday Mass. I highly recommend it. This morning the Gospel reading was about Jesus calling his companions from their work as fishermen and women to follow Him. Just drop everything and follow Jesus, that’s how the Gospels describe it. And they do.
How about us? Do we? Emotionally I mean, spiritually. Do we “drop everything” and follow Jesus in our hearts?
We all need to have mission, and meaning, and purpose in our lives. It may be the work we do. Or a ministry of love to others. It may be parenting. Or maybe we’re looking for something more in our lives. How do we figure that all out? What compels us to go deeper with each other? In our family, our marriage, our friendships?
All of this we do in the presence of the Spirit, who draws us out of our shell, out of our darkness, and into the light.
Some people do it by meditating. But we don’t need to be doing anything formal. We just need quiet time to go deeper within ourselves to know who we are and what we’re to do.
Fr Unni asked 3 questions (and I’ll add one), which I’ll paraphrase here because they’re great questions. Choose your quiet time(s) and ask yourself these questions:
1.) To whom do we give our ear? Who influences us? Who do we follow? Do they lift us up? Or make us angry or gloomy? To whom do we choose to give our attention?
2.) Are there any divisions among us? In our family, in our marriage, in our friendships? Do we address them? Or remain silent? Are we unified in love, of each other, of God? Or are we divided?
3.) Imagine we’re doing what we do best. What we trained for, what we’re good at. And in the midst of that Jesus enters our thoughts and says “Come, follow me”?
4.) What is our purpose in life? What are we passionate about? If we allowed ourselves to dream, what would we dream for?
Spend some time in that place of quiet and Spirit, and heart, your Spirit, your heart. Make some quiet, and see what happens. Pull away from the constant busyness of our lives, and seek new water, deeper water and ask: Is my will for me aligned with God’s will for me?