Word to the Wise
Thursday, October 24, 2024 - Thursday in the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eph 3:14-21 and Luke 12:49-53]I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. [Ephesians]
The summer immediately after my ordination to the priesthood, I took part in a program of Clinical Pastoral Education at a hospital in New Orleans. The program was led by a minister whose emphasis was on being a "blessing" to all those to whom we would minister. One of the common expressions we use as a matter of faith (and after a sneeze!) is "God bless you!" But the Letter to the Ephesians takes us far deeper with the blessing in today's first scripture. It is not for something external like wealth and popular success, but rather something internal and fulfilling - the fullness of God!
Many people shy away from this kind of depth. To some it seems like "navel gazing" and to others a luxury in the midst of the frantic pace of life we live in much of the USA. Who has time to think about the breadth, length, height and depth of the love of Christ? The popularity of eucharistic devotion and adoration seems to indicate a need in this direction but how deep is our consciousness of the kind of love expressed in the blessing from Ephesians? Would that love demand too much of us? Do we consider ourselves unworthy of it and don't want the responsibility of maintaining that love and sharing it? In Catholic tradition, some men and women join contemplative monastic communities like the one I serve as chaplain. But that is not the only way. Simple deliberate attention to God's presence has been another traditional approach. That love surrounds us and the Letter to the Ephesians urges us to accept it. It can help us "to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine." AMEN