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Posts Tagged ‘temperance’

Sirach 36 and 37: Relationships

Posted in Favorite, tagged , on August 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »


Sirach 36 and 37: Relationships

Tuesday, August 22, 2023relationships-shaidysworld

Most of all, pray to God to set your feet in the path of truth.

We live in a world crowded with relationships – social relationships – professional relationships – family relationships. Some of these are intimate, others superficial. Today’s reading contains this verse about relying on God for advice just before the epilog on Wisdom and Temperance. It contains much more.

A man may be wise and benefit many, yet be of no use to himself.

How many people do we know will fill this description? Will people describe us in this way?

Is it not a sorrow unto death when your bosom companion becomes your enemy?

How many times have we been betrayed? How many times have we betrayed the trust placed in us?

Be on the alert when one proffers advice, find out at first of all what he wants.  For he may be thinking of himself alone.

How much do we value the words of a friend? Do our words have value for others?

Come to our aid, O God of the universe, and put all nations in dread of you!  . . . Give new signs and work new wonders . . . Show mercy to the people called by your name . . . Reward those who have hoped in you, and let your prophets be proved true.  Hear the prayer of your servants, for you are ever gracious to your people; thus it will be known to the very ends of the earth that you are the eternal God.

And the people say . . .

A favorite from May 27, 2008.

For an article about the significance of platonic relationships, click on the image or visit: https://www.michigandaily.com/opinion/the-beauty-of-platonic-relationships/

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2 Kings 21: Wicked Kings

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , , , on October 16, 2018| Leave a Comment »


2 Kings 21: Wicked Kings 

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Written on May 17, 2008 and posted today as a Favorite . . .

It is easy to blame problems on wicked or ineffective leaders.  It is also easy to fault ourselves and to blame our own incapabilities or weaknesses.  To explain evil by blaming others or selves is a constant human occupation . . . yet it need not be so.  There is always an option open to us when confronted with insurmountable obstacles or “wicked kings” of any kind.  Our trouble is that when we find ourselves in the throes of conflict we cannot see the simplest of solutions, the solution which is always open to the faithful – calling on the power of God.

The faithful who find a path of serenity amidst the turmoil and deception that surrounds them practice a simple formula which we might examine: the faithful pray intercessory petitions for those who are wicked, they trust God with their woe and their joy, they practice prudence, temperance, compassion and mercy.

Scripture always brings us the same story: God’s desire to be with the creatures he has created, God’s yearning to be one with all, God’s willingness to sacrifice self to bring his faithful to intimate union with him.  Peace and justice will prevail when the faithful see and hear this Word of God.  Serenity is achieved when the Word is practiced, lived, and is made part of what we think, say and do.  God might choose to make all of us good instead of stubborn and stiff-necked; but if God were to do this, he would take away our own freedom to choose good over evil.  And God so loves us that he wants us to choose him . . . just as he has chosen us.

We need not fear wicked kings; rather, we must pray for their healing and conversion.  We must pray for their change of heart, for the unstiffening of their necks  . . . for it is in this way that we will find our own blessed center . . . our highest potential . . . our best self . . . the place where we are one with God.

Perhaps this is the gift of wicked kings . . . they bring us to our own best hope . . . to the Word . . . to God.

A re-post from September 13, 2011.

Image from: http://colombomusium.blogspot.com/2010/04/colombo-museum.html

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Nehemiah 1 and 2: Rebuilding Walls

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , , , on October 12, 2017| Leave a Comment »


Nehemiah 1 and 2: Rebuilding Walls

The Damascus Gate by night in Jerusalem

Thursday, October 12, 2017

We visit with Nehemiah several times a year and each time we rediscover the themes of covenant, restoration, and rebuilding.  Today’s reading takes us to the beginning of the restoration of Jerusalem after the northern invasion and the Babylonian exile.  This book was written in about 430 B.C.E. and as it begins, we see Nehemiah, the Jewish man who serves as Cupbearer to the foreign king.  Footnotes tell us this means that he was an important official who was allowed to come into the presence of not only the king but the queen as well.  This would suggest that he was a eunuch but there is no evidence to support that fact.  What we do understand is that he was highly placed in this foreign administration and we can guess, when we see his skills displayed throughout this story that he rose to that position through his skill.  But there is an important element to this story. Nehemiah prayed constantly, and this praying kept him connected intimately with his creator.  Nehemiah called on God continually for direction, and God gave direction to this good and loyal servant.

As the story begins, news arrives with several Jewish men who have just come from Judah, from Jerusalem.  The news is not good; but filled with courage and a love of his God, Nehemiah responds to his creator’s call and so it is with a mixture of trepidation and courage that he goes to the king. As we read, we find several interesting points.

  • Today’s reading begins in the month of Chislev – the same month in which we will later see (in the year 165 B.C.E.) the celebration of the re-dedication of the temple which we were reading and reflecting about some days ago. We too are in the month of Chislev, and the celebration of Hannukah was just completed this week. The Festival of Light – the season of a small shaft of light piercing the intense darkness.
  • Should you prove faithless, I will scatter you among the nations; but should you return to me and carefully keep my commandments, even though your outcasts have been driven to the farthest corner of the world, I will gather them from there, and bring them back to the place which I have chosen as the dwelling place for my name. This is the covenant promise which Jesus fulfills four centuries later and which he continues to fulfill for us each day.
  • Nehemiah not only asks permission to visit his former city, he also asks for soldiers, protection, and permission to fell trees with which to rebuild the city and gates, and a house for himself. He does not do things by half-measures; he is totally and truly dedicated to God in temperance, patience, endurance and perseverance.

Tomorrow, arriving in Jerusalem.

Adapted from a Favorite written during Advent, on December 15, 2007. 

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Proverbs 16: Plans of the Heart – A Reprise 

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , on August 5, 2017| Leave a Comment »


Proverbs 16: Plans of the Heart – A Reprise 

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Today, as we journey through Proverbs, we reprise a post from several years ago in which we see that . . . Everything Belongs.

Man may make plans in his heart, but what the tongue utters is from the Lord.  All the ways of man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves the spirit.  Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.  The Lord has made everything for his own ends, even the wicked for the evil day . . . In his mind a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

Humans have a fertile imagination; and weaving a story about ourselves is part of what we do as we form our self-concept.  We are often anxious about the future:  What am I to do?  Where am I to go?  What am I to say?  How am I to act?  We may worry about the past:  Why was I so blind?  How did I miss what they were saying?  And all the time we worry . . . we are missing the blessed present . . . with its opportunity to open our hearts to God’s economy.  The writer of Proverbs reminds us that the best plans are those guided by God.  Trusting in divine providence is so very difficult . . . yet so essential to serene living.

Better a little with virtue, than a large income with injustice . . . How much better to acquire wisdom than gold!  To acquire understanding is more desirable than silver . . . A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city.

Wisdom is our best instructor.  Living a life characterized by prudence and temperance is difficult in a society which values the supersize in everything.  It is easy to overdo: too much food, too much drink, too much money spent on heat or air conditioning, too much television, too many movies, too many books, too many people making claims on our time, too much aloneness, too much neglect, too much fuss.  Is there such a thing as too much justice?  Too much hope?  Too much faith or hope?  Too much love?  Finding moderation and balance is a challenge; but our model is the Christ, who interchanged periods of heavy activity with times of prayer and retreat . . . leaving his sacred heart open to God’s plan.

By kindness and piety guilt is expiated, and by fear [love] of the Lord man avoids evil.

It is never too late to be open to a conversion of the heart.  There is always time to enter through the narrow gate, to step onto the narrow road, to sow peace rather than discord.  It is never too late to open the door and windows of the mind . . . to allow the master planner to enter the heart . . .  to move us through our days . . . to guide us in our thoughts . . . to thaw our stiffened necks . . . to melt our hardened hearts.

Let us vow today to open ourselves . . . to the mind of God . . . that we might receive our plans from God’s own sacred heart.

 

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Plans of the Heart

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , , on December 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »


Wednesday, November 19, 2008 – Proverbs 16 – Plans of the Heart

 Today is a day when we traditionally make resolutions or new plans for the future.  For that reason we post as a Favorite this reflection written on November 19, 2008 . . . 

Man may make plans in his heart, but what the tongue utters is from the Lord.  All the ways of man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves the spirit.  Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.  The Lord has made everything for his own ends, even the wicked for the evil day . . . In his mind a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.

Humans have a fertile imagination; and weaving a story about ourselves is part of what we do as we form our self-concept.  We are often anxious about the future:  What am I to do?  Where am I to go?  What am I to say?  How am I to act?  We may worry about the past:  Why was I so blind?  How did I miss what they were saying?  And all the time we worry . . . we are missing the blessed present . . . with its opportunity to open our hearts to God’s economy.  The writer of Proverbs reminds us that the best plans are those guided by God.  Trusting in divine providence is so very difficult . . . yet so essential to serene living.

Better a little with virtue, than a large income with injustice . . . How much better to acquire wisdom than gold!  To acquire understanding is more desirable than silver . . . A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city.

Wisdom is our best instructor.  Living a life characterized by prudence and temperance is difficult in a society which values the supersize in everything.  It is easy to overdo: too much food, too much drink, too much money spent on heat or air conditioning, too much television, too many movies, too many books, too many people making claims on our time, too much aloneness, too much neglect, too much fuss.  Is there such a thing as too much justice?  Too much hope?  Too much faith or hope?  Too much love?  Finding moderation and balance is a challenge; but our model is the Christ, who interchanged periods of heavy activity with times of prayer and retreat . . . leaving his sacred heart open to God’s plan. 

By kindness and piety guilt is expiated, and by fear [love] of the Lord man avoids evil.

It is never too late to be open to a conversion of the heart.  There is always time to enter through the narrow gate, to step onto the narrow road, to sow peace rather than discord.  It is never too late to open the door and windows of the mind . . . to allow the master planner to enter the heart . . .  to move us through our days . . . to guide us in our thoughts . . . to thaw our stiffened necks . . . to melt our hardened hearts.

Let us vow today to open ourselves . . . to the mind of God . . . that we might receive our plans from his own sacred heart.

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