The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to act in response to our experience of God present to us.
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| Near to God |
The reading from the Prophet Isaiah describes his vision of God in the Temple and his being sent by the Lord.
* [6:7] Touched your lips: Isaiah is thus symbolically purified of sin in preparation for his mission as God’s prophet.1
Psalm 93 declares the Majesty of God’s Rule.
* [Psalm 93] A hymn celebrating the kingship of God, who created the world (Ps 93:1–2) by defeating the sea (Ps 93:3–4). In the ancient myth that is alluded to here, Sea completely covered the land, making it impossible for the human community to live. Sea, or Flood, roars in anger against God, who is personified in the storm. God’s utterances or decrees are given authority by the victory over Sea (Ps 93:5).2
In the Gospel of Matthew we learn whom to fear and discover our source of courage under persecution.
* [10:26] The concealed and secret coming of the kingdom is to be proclaimed by them, and no fear must be allowed to deter them from that proclamation.3
Luis Rodriguez, S.J. asks how are we to proclaim what we have experienced “in the secret” of our hearts?
It is not a matter of “talking the talk”, but of “walking the walk.” People are keenly perceptive in reading who we are even without our words and beyond what we do. The beatitudes are precisely be-attitudes, not do-attitudes or speak-attitudes.
The fact that people perceive keenly what we are does not mean that they will accept our witness, but we should not take that personally. Rejection, open or covert, should not be taken personally, since it is not necessarily us they reject, but the message of our way of living. Offering such a witness is our only responsibility. Accepting it or not is their responsibility, not ours.4
Don Schwager quotes “Do not bewail death - but sin,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD).
"The gospel is life. Impiety and infidelity are the death of the soul. So then, if the soul can die, how then is it yet immortal? Because there is always a dimension of life in the soul that can never be extinguished. And how does it die? Not in ceasing to be life but by losing its proper life. For the soul is both life to something else, and it has its own proper life. Consider the order of the creatures. The soul is the life of the body. God is the life of the soul. As the life that is the soul is present with the body, that the body may not die, so the life of the soul (God) ought to be with the soul that it may not die."
"How does the body die? By the departure of the soul. I say, by the departure of the soul the body dies, and it lies there as a mere carcass, what was a little before a lively, not a contemptible, object. There are in it still its several members, the eyes and ears. But these are merely the windows of the house; its inhabitant is gone. Those who bewail the dead cry in vain at the windows of the house. There is no one there within it to hear... Why is the body dead? Because the soul, its life, is gone. But at what point is the soul itself dead? When God, its life, has forsaken it... This then we can know and hold for certain: the body is dead without the soul, and the soul is dead without God. Every one without God has a dead soul. You who bewail the dead rather should bewail sin. Bewail ungodliness. Bewail disbelief." (excerpt from SERMON 65.5-7)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 6:1-8 comments Isaiah’s vision can help us understand the power of prayer to change us. Like Isaiah, we too can experience a transforming encounter with the Lord in prayer—perhaps without the smoke, seraphim, and burning ember.
Then, place yourself in God’s presence, whether you feel him or not. Of course, God is always present to you, but this is a time for you to focus exclusively on him. It may help to meditate on a psalm, gaze at a crucifix or an icon, or even imagine Jesus standing before you. Whatever you do, it should help you realize how awesome God is. You may remember, as Isaiah did, that God is “Holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3). Your very breath—and every moment you’re alive—is a gift from him. This should lead you to give him thanks and praise.6
Friar Jude Winkler shares that Isaiah was probably a priest during his ecstatic experience in which his brokenness is healed by God. Our call to conversion is for others. Friar Jude reminds us of the need for transparency in our relationships with others.
A post by Franciscan Media on Saint Benedict, Saint of the Day for July 11, describes a man who has exercised the greatest influence on monasticism in the West.
The Rule that gradually developed prescribed a life of liturgical prayer, study, manual labor, and living together in community under a common abbot. Benedictine asceticism is known for its moderation, and Benedictine charity has always shown concern for the people in the surrounding countryside. In the course of the Middle Ages, all monasticism in the West was gradually brought under the Rule of St. Benedict.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, cannot think of a better prayer practice in these times than the exquisite poem “Pandemic” from poet and minister Lynn Ungar. It was written in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States before most of us were asked to stay at home. Even in those first moments, she envisioned a way of responding to the crisis with love, not fear. The wisdom of this poem goes far beyond the circumstances of the pandemic. May it serve as a guide as we embark on the work ahead of us— striving to eradicate the “viruses” of white supremacy and systemic injustice in the United States and the world.
What if you thought of itas the Jews consider the Sabbath—the most sacred of times?Cease from travel.Cease from buying and selling.Give up, just for now,on trying to make the worlddifferent than it is....
Reach out all the tendrilsof compassion that move, invisibly,where we cannot touch.Promise this world your love—for better or for worse,in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.8
The Presence of God draws us to action in our relationships to be love, mercy, and compassion as we work for peace and justice in our disrupted society.
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