Flexibility or Freeze

Yesterday, I was ready to continue investigating some mission territory in Tennessee where Glenmary might continue its long tradition of volunteer service.  The plans were made.  Appointments set.  Then came the rain.  Not just a little ran, but days of rain.  The Glenmary Volunteer Director, Joe, who was to travel with me, was unable to leave the volunteer site in Vanceburg, KY because the roads were flooded.  Plans cancelled, appointmens cancelled, new plans to be made, some folks disappointed and so it goes.  Yet, today I am enjoying a beautiful sunny day and completed other projects I was going to do later.  God is good, all the time.  All the time, God is good.

How do you handle such sudden changes in your life?  How do you handled cancelled plans or disappointments? As missioners flexiblitiy is a key to happiness.  Yet, for some rapid change, sudden cancellations, can cause them to freeze or a least be frosty with others.  Yet, there is so little that we can control in life that a good sense of flexiblity is very helpful.

I remember once, when another big event with lots of planning was cancelled at the last minute. A friend of mine, said, "So why plan at all?  It never seems to work out."  My response to her is the same today as then, "Without a plan, you might not be disappointed, but you will not go anywhere either."  A plan is just a guide, a hope, a way to move forward.  Then stuff happens and the plan must adapt or fail.  If I have no plan there is nothing to adapt and even the little that I might control is lost.  With a plan, I and others might experience disappointment, but we also might experience joy.  Few plans go as hoped, but with flexiblity and adaptability, the Holy Spirit might blow it a new way and most likely even a better way.



May the breeze of God lift you up.



For instance, because I am not in Tennessee, I have found time to write my blog.  Yes, the six appointments cancelled need to be rescheduled and time and effort for the previous plan has to be repeated.  Yet, the ground work for the future remains.  Flex, bend and twist. With flexibility, life is good. I do believe in rainbows!!

Often, I think of a tree.  When a strong wind comes, the branches will blow and some might break, but if the roots are strong the tree will survive.  Yet, if it is an ice storm and the branches are frozen they will mostly break and not bend.  The tree might still survive, but with greater damage and far more stress on the system.

In our lives, so much is beyond our control.  We cannot control the climate or the power of nature.  Yet, these impact our lives.  We cannot control everything about politics and enonomics, especially on a global bases.  Nor can we control the actions or opinions of our family, neighbors and those around us.  Shoot, sometimes, we cannot even control ourselves.  Yet, with the grace of God, I can learn to bend with various forces in the world, both good and evil, and not break.  With strong roots, I can be secure and have tranquility, even in the midst of chaos and confusion. 

As a missioner, we are like a billboard for all Christians.  We are to be a quick sign along the way, that faith, values, and mercy make sense.  Any person is to be able to look at us and say, hey, that way or attitude might just work.  As one missioner, my message on the billboard is not always clear and easy to read.  Yet, the ability to flex and not freeze has helped me be at peace in many places and many situations, especially, when my plans have not been achieved. 

Floods come.  We can not stop them.  Yet, Peace flows as well.  Stay rooted in God and bend with the breeze of the Spirit and discover the fruit of happiness.

Aliens Among Us

All legal immigrants exploring a vocation to the priesthood

This morning I was reading from the book Leviticus and my conscience was stirred.  The two passages that awaken me are as follows:

"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of grain.  Likewise, you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen.  These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien.  I, the Lord, am your God." (Lev. 19:9-10)

"When an alien reside with you in your land, do not molest him.  You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you, have the same love for him as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt.  I, the Lord, am your God." (Lev. 19: 33 - 34).

How do these Scriptures apply to the situation in the United States with both documented and undocumented "aliens" among us?  Forget about policy for now.  Let us focus on attitude towards the alien.  As we do so, remember that Jesus too was an alien, and most likely an undocumented alien, when his family moved to Egypt. (Read Matthew 3:13 - 23 about this.)

The Old Testament considered the reception of strangers or aliens with kindness as a moral absolute.  God says, treat them as the native born and love them as you love yourself.  That is powerful.  In the New Testament Jesus says in one of his salvation texts, "Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, ..." (Matt 25:42-43).

Therefore, we are to love all people including the documented and undocumented aliens or as some call them, "the illegal alien," with the same love that God has for them and that we are to have for one another.  This goes even further if you are Catholic and believe that because of baptism we are one family.  This means that all the baptized crossing the borders are our brothers and sisters.  Do we see them as such?

There is general agreement that our immigration policies in the United States most be reformed.  They are not just to immigrants or to citizens. There is little agreement on how to do this. Yet some, rather, than seeking the best way to help everyone involved: the immigrant, the business owner, and the ordinary citizen; operate out of prejudice or a few, even hatred.  This attitude, regardless of the policy, is unacceptable in the eyes of the Lord.  "If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 3:20-21)

Do you love the aliens among us, whether illegal or legal, documented or not documented?  If not, what steps must be taken to love them as you love God and as you love yourself? 

Please join me in praying for true and just immigration reform that is rooted in the love of all God's children, of all our brothers and sisters.  Pray for a reform that demonstrates respect and is not based in fear; one that is the best for aliens, not for ourselves.  After all, to love someone usually means that we are willing to sacrifice our needs and desires for the sake of their needs and desires.  This is what spouses do for each other and what parents do for their children.  It is what God does for us. 

Will it be what we do for others, including the aliens among us?



Legal Aliens praising God