The Land lies Fallow

My sabbatical has been wonderful but it's time to get back into the fast lane of ministry --well, maybe not the fast lane. The middle or even the slow lane will do.

When I say I am on sabbatical I get blank stares from those who could never have the opportunity I have had this past year to review my life and get ready for what comes next. Guilty? No, I don't feel guilty because a sabbatical is not an extended period of laziness. Instead, like a year of Sundays, it's a time to let the land lay fallow so that new seeds can take root in rejuvinated soil. It's a gift and I've accepted it from God with a grateful soul.

For the most part, my physical health has improved and my mental and emotional health are renewed, too. I've learned that I need communion in the Body of Christ to survive. I've learned that I still have the strength to lay some brick along the foundations of the Kingdom of God.

I've watched families pray and at play and thought again about the goodness of God who makes it all happen.

I've read the New testament with greater love and understanding, in particular the Resurection stories and the narratives of the birth of the first Christian Churches. I see that those churches have the same problems we have today. The seven deadly sins are still deadly to the Church and the
grace of God is still stronger than any sin.

So, I am ready to return to full-time ministry with the added joy of having an associate this time, a man graced by God with joy and energy.

I hope there are sabbaticals of refreshment in your life. If they are offered do take them.

Sabbatical: A long or short period of time like a vacation but characterized by these qualities: Ceasing from ordinary work; Resting in body and spirit; embracing things and people that make you happy; praying in your own spirit for as long as you want to; and most of all realizing that like grace, it's all a gift from God.

Returning to the Sabbath

The son who ran away from home came back, I think, on the sabbath.  Maybe "ran away" is too strong a phrase for the young man who we usually refer to as the "prodigal son." Running away from home means getting out from under the authority of parents who insist on curfews, errands, homework, and all those rules which seems so arbitrary at home.  Sometimes you just want to do what you want to do and for once, have a good time. That is what the younger son was looking for once he had arrived at the age when he could rightly demand his inheritance from his father.

It was the sabbath, perhaps several years later, when his father saw his run-away coming down the road toward the house. He could scarely believe his eyes.

I think it was a sabbath because the boys's father was out on the porch. He wasn't working, he was resting and thinking about life. His younger son was never far from his thoughts. Was he O.K.? Was he happy?  Did he care about his family anymore?  Was he even alive?

He embraces his repentant son and welcomes him back to the family. He calls for a party, a feast. The fatted calf who had been treating this sabbath as any other, a day to eat and rest, was now going to be the main course of the welcome home party.

The father brings out his son's finest clothes and the boy --now a man-- cleans up pretty well. I hope his mother was still alive to hug her youngest at that moment. "Give him a gold ring and let the party begin!"

"Remember to keep holy the Sabbath," is not an option, it is a commandment. We Catholics observe Sunday as our sabbath, the day Jesus rose from the dead. Every sunday is Resurrection Sunday. That day should be celebrated as a day given as a gift by God to us.

How to observe the sunday sabbath:

Cease! Don't go to work today. Stop living in the past. Bury the old hurts and let them decay. Just stop.

Rest! It's a day to recover your emotional and physical strength. You are weary.  Rest awhile.

Embrace! Isn't there someone you should touch today? Someone to shake hands with; someone to kiss; someone to hug warmly, someone to be intimate with? Embrace life!

Pray! You may be right.  There's not much time to pray during the work week. Sunday should be a day of praying with the Church in community at the Eucharist. It should also be a time just to sit, or stand, or kneel in thanksgiving, in wonder, in peace.

Feast! There is a time to enjoy food and drink and good company. It is sad thing to try to feast alone.
Sunday should be a shared meal of dinner or just pizza and drinks. It is not a day to fast.

The young man missed so many sabbath days with his family. Now he came home on the sabbath and drinks in the warmth of his family life with its values and commitments..  His father explains this to the older brother: "We have to rejoice. Your brother was dead and has come back to life."

I love the sabbath.

(Photo: courtesy of sxc.hu/FruitJuice)

The Trip of a Lifetime

Unsettled. Homeless, in a way. That's how I have existed for the last two months.  Now, don't feel sorry for me because that's the way my life has been right along.  Since last I wrote I moved from the North American College to the generalate of the Congregation of the Resurrection, both places in Rome, and in each place I had a small bare room with a bed, a desk, a chair and a closet. That was it.

Then I moved from Rome to Chicago to another small room overlooking the Chicago River.  Now, I am in a nice apartment in Woodstock, Ilinois right next to a golfcourse. In eight weeks, I get to move again, this time to a parish in Morris, Illinois. But here's the kicker: the parish has three small houses available until they are torn down to make room for other church projects.  I get to choose one of these. You know, I sometimes wonder if the Lord enjoys watching me stumble around from residence to residence. I thank him for insisting that I move often to keep me awake and agile for my next ministry lest I get too comfy in any place.

During those short stays in Rome and in the U.S., life went on, mine and yours. Life is what happens while we plan on what we think we are going to do next. Do you want to make God laugh?  Tell Him your plans.
Do you want to walk with God throughout life?  Listen to His plans for you.

Life is a trip. For me, it seems like I am always going somewhere else.  It keeps my life off-balance but interesting. The Lord guides me through communities of interesting people whom I meet along my way and He shows me new vistas.

The photo of what I call "St. Francis of the Shades" reminds me that noticing what people place in their yards can prove interesting to those of us walking by. Sometimes I wonder how much of God's revelation I have missed by just not paying attention to the lives through which I was passing. I noticed this unusual statue of St. Francis next to a home in Skagway, Alaska. Even now it makes me smile.

I haven't been sitting down doing nothing because doing nothing is impossible and I like to stay occupied. I've contacted old friends and met some new ones. I've done some research and worked on some projects for the Congregation of the Resurrection. Regarding the projects, I am too picky and deliberate but eventually most of these projects get done.

I've even been able to pray longer because I've made more time for prayer. Just sitting waiting on God's presence and listening for Him has been refreshing for my spiritual life.  I hope you can find some time
for that kind of prayer, too.

I know this seems abstract but it is my reflection on the meaning of what has been happening in my life.
What's been happening in your life?