Only With God

Monday, May 16, 2016

Prayer & Faith

Lectio

As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John and approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him.  He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.”  They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”  He replied, “Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.” (Mk 9:14-29)

HideStudium

Ver. 14-16 Jesus had just come down from the mountain of transfiguration into a dispute between some scribes and the disciples. The scribes may have taken advantage of Jesus’ absence and tried to portray the disciples as fools. It seems the topic was casting out devils. Jesus didn’t have time to be dismayed over the disciples’ lack of faith. He tended to the boy.

Ver. 21-23 The boy’s father pleads, “If you can do anything, have compassion…” Jesus responds, “If you can!” Well of course Jesus can. The boy is brought to Jesus. Jesus commands Ver.24 “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!”

The evil spirt departs and everyone is amazed. And the disciples ask, Ver. 27-28 “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” Indeed. Were you thinking of yourself and your ability, or did you pray to God and ask Him to heal the boy and cast out the evil spirit? Ver. 28 “This kind can only come out through prayer.”

HideMeditatio

Do you have faith enough to trust God’s care for you? Do you pray with certainty? St. Augustine reminds us that there is no faith, when there is no prayer. Why and to whom would you pray, if you did not believe? Look at Jesus’ dismay when the disciples falter. Ver 18 “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? ”

Jesus sees the father’s faith is weak, yet He encourages him. Ver. 22 “Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Who doesn’t want their needs met? Lord, help our unbelief as the father cries, v. 23 “Help my unbelief.”

At first the boy convulsed and seemed dead. But Jesus took the boy’s hand and he sat up. Jesus’ disciples wondered why they couldn’t drive out the evil spirit. Jesus simply explained that prayer is needed. Did the disciples think they were the ones doing the healing? Or God? Jesus invites us, as he did the boy’s father, to pray with faith.

HideOratio

Lord I believe, help me to believe wholeheartedly. Help my unbelief. I ask for more faith; I trust in Your providence. May I have perseverance and bring healing and truth to all I may encounter. Amen.

Contemplatio: 

Lord, help my unbelief.  I trust in You.          

The Real Reason Why May Is Revered

May 13th marked the occasion of Our Blessed Mother's apparition in Fatima, Portugal.  I was reading a homily by Father Leo S. I. Mwenda and he focuses on an important point.  Many people may think that Mary is honored because of her relationship to Jesus.  After all, she is the Mother of God.  But before that, she did something that precludes her pregnancy.  Yes!  She accepted. Think about it.  Before conceiving, she had to say, "yes."  This is the real reason Mary is revered and I may say, emulated.  We should all copy her "yes."  This is called her "fiat."  So be it!

Not only should we trust in God's will for us, we should also copy her behavior and attitude.  We should dress as Mary would.  We should speak what Mary would say.  Better, we should pray as Mary would pray.

And!  Blog like Mary would blog.

Speaking Blonde

This blonde woman was flying from Boston to Toronto.  She paid for an economy class ticket.  But once on the plane, she sat in first class.  The attendant spoke to her.  "Excuse me, you'll have to move to your seat in the back.  This is for first class passengers."  The blonde told the attendant, "I'm flying to Toronto here.  No one is sitting here, so I'm taking this seat."  The attendant spoke to her superior.  The supervisor came over to the blonde and said, "Mam, you can't sit here."  The blonde said, "But I am!"  So the supervising attendant went to the co-pilot and told him the problem.  He came out of the cockpit and spoke to the blonde.  "You don't want to cause any trouble, do you?  Go back to your seat."  The blonde was adamant. "No!"  So the co-pilot went back to the cockpit and told the pilot to have the police stand by to take away this unruly woman.  But the pilot said, "I'm married to a blonde. Let me handle her.  I speak blonde."  So the pilot went to the first class section and whispered in the blonde's ear.  She immediate got up and went back to her assigned seat in economy class.

"What did you say to her?"  Everyone asked.  "I told her that first class wasn't going to Toronto."

Transformation

I'm reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.  It's a hard read--not difficult to read because of it's written expression but because of the subject.  I'm not finished it yet, so I won't review it.  What I want to post about is a scene in the book.  One of the soldiers experienced a horrific death of a friend.  He was hurting badly and wanted to hurt back.  He picked on a young, innocent water buffalo.  He shot off its tail: then its ears: its knee caps, etc.  You get the idea. He didn't want to kill it.  He wanted it to hurt, like he was hurting.

It reminded me of Richard Rohr's "If you don't transform your suffering, you'll transmit it."  You must choose to transform your bad feelings, change your mood, make yourself happy.  Of course, you can't perfectly, but you must force yourself to try.  You have to, if not for yourself, for the sake of others.

Life and Death

Something out of the ordinary happened this morning.  I went to the 9:00 daily Mass and it turned out to be a funeral mass for a 96-year-old woman.  Her daughter gave a remembrance.  I was shocked and so moved by what she said that it's been on my mind all day.  And I've told everybody about it.  Now it's your turn.  When the deceased was in the hospital giving birth, her three year old son died.

There!  You have it.  Now your turn to meditate on it.

A Card in the Back Pocket

One Christmas season, hubby saw a good sale for a pool table.  He suggested that we purchase the pool table as a duel gift for each other, because not only could we both enjoy playing together, but so could the entire family and even others.  (His altruism convinced me.)  He ordered the pool table.  When it arrived, we realized why the price was such a good deal.  It was unassembled.  Undaunted, we wrapped it in Christmas paper and placed it under the tree.  The gift tag announced, To The Family.  But you know how Christmases are.  There are so many presents that even an unwrapped package with a picture of a pool table soon lost its allure.  The pool table was forgotten and relegated to the basement where it was intended to go, anyway.  Until it was time to think of Christmas again, and the question was asked, “ What ever happened to that pool table? “  We got out the tools and put the table together.  It was beautiful.  Yes, however, it was beautifully inadequate.  The pool table filled the room—there was no room for the pool cues to shoot.  A mammoth mistake!  I didn’t need to say a word.  The horrible revelation of the gross error slowly inched over hubby’s face.  It’s too late to return it, the return policy has passed.  We had no choice but to keep it.  So we use it as another table.  Personally, I use it as a card in the back pocket.  Whatever money I spend on something foolish—it’s not as bad as the money spent on the pool table.  Whatever foolish whim I want to indulge in—it is not as foolish as the pool table.  Yes, we may not be enjoying the game of pool, but I am happy to use that pool table as a card in the back pocket.

God Positioning System

Father Albert Faretra 

Father Al this morning referred to God as our GPS.  GPS = Global Positioning System.  If we only follow His directions we will reach the destination we were meant to be at.  If we don't follow them, we get lost.  Compare the concepts: both are navigation systems not operating from earth.  They both provide services towards those who enlist their help.  And this help is free to all who want access!