Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6
(The readings I used for today’s reflection are for the Mass for St. Ignatius of Antioch who lived in the century after Jesus. He is not the same person as Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, who lived in the 15th century.)
The passage from Ephesians, so beautifully expressed, encapsulates the character of a true disciple: called by God to holiness, expressing gratitude through a life of praise and mercy.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We pray to receive God’s blessing and call with grateful hearts, and to live a life reflecting God’s Mercy.
Quote: from Ignatius of Antioch
We recognize a tree by its fruit, and we ought to be able to recognize a Christian by his action. The fruit of faith should be evident in our lives, for being a Christian is more than making sound professions of faith. It should reveal itself in practical and visible ways. Indeed it is better to keep quiet about our beliefs, and live them out, than to talk eloquently about what we believe, but fail to live by it.
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation….
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.” Luke 11:29-30;32
In our Gospel, Jesus invokes the story of Jonah to encourage repentance in his listeners. Through Jonah’s second-effort, whale-prompted preaching, the Ninevites were awakened from their lack-luster faith. Jesus calls his followers to come out of the “whale’s belly”, so to speak – to repent and to live with a courageous faith.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: Have you ever behaved like Jonah – hearing the call to live a deeper faith but swallowed instead in a cavern of indecision?
We pray for the grace to hear and to respond to the call to ever-deepening relationship with God.
Poetry: from Thomas Merton’s The Sign of Jonas: In this passage, Merton imagines God speaking to Jonas, and to himself and us. Jonas is a sign of the Resurrection. We move from old life to new by the Mercy of God.
The Voice of God is heard in Paradise:
What was vile has become precious. What is now precious was never vile. I have always known the vile as precious: for what is vile I know not at all.
What was cruel has become merciful. What is now merciful was never cruel. I have always overshadowed Jonas with My mercy, and cruelty I know not at all.
Have you had sight of Me, Jonas, My child? Mercy within mercy within mercy. I have forgiven the universe without end, because I have never known sin.
What was poor has become infinite. What is infinite was never poor. I have always known poverty as infinite: riches I love not at all.
Prisons within prisons within prisons. Do not lay up for yourselves ecstasies upon earth, where time and space corrupt, where the minutes break in and steal.
No more lay hold on time, Jonas, My son, lest the rivers bear you away. What was fragile has become powerful.
I loved what was most frail. I looked upon what was nothing. I touched what was without substance, and within what was not, I am.
Music: Jonah and the Whale – Louis Armstrong
Jonah was a man who got a word from the Lord “Go and preach the Gospel to the sinful land” But he got on a ship and he tried to get away And he ran into a storm in the middle of the sea
Now the Lord, He made the waves just roll so high The ship begin to sink and they all begin to cry So they pulled ole Jonah out of the hole And they jumped him in the water just to lighten up the load
Now the Lord made a whale, long and wide Lord, Lord waddnat a fish And he swallowed up Jonah, hair and hide Lord, Lord waddnat a fish Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord
Now Jonah started to pray in the belly of the whale Lord, Lord waddnat a fish He repented of his sins like a man in jail Lord, Lord waddnat a fish Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord
Now Jonah must o’ been a bad man, he must o’ been a sinner Lord, Lord waddnat a fish ‘Cos when the whale got him down, he didn’t like his dinner Lord, Lord waddnat a fish Mmm, Lord, mmm, Lord
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart in the company and assembly of the just. Great are the works of the LORD, exquisite in all their delights.
Psalm 111:1-2
Today’s Responsorial Psalm is a humble, beautiful prayer which places our heart in God’s awesome Presence. The passing events of this life, whether happy of sad, shrink in the realization of God’s generous Mercy.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We bring into God’s Presence our present circumstances, with their hopes, worries, regrets, and joys. We place them there, silence our hearts, and let the Mercy of God speak to us.
Poetry: The Garments of God – Jessica Powers
God sits on a chair of darkness in my soul. He is God alone, supreme in His majesty. I sit at His feet, a child in the dark beside Him; my joy is aware of His glance and my sorrow is tempted to nest on the thought that His face is turned from me. He is clothed in the robes of His mercy, voluminous garments— not velvet or silk and affable to the touch, but fabric strong for a frantic hand to clutch, and I hold to it fast with the fingers of my will. Here is my cry of faith, my deep avowal to the Divinity that I am dust. Here is the loud profession of my trust. I need not go abroad to the hills of speech or the hinterlands of music for a crier to walk in my soul where all is still. I have this potent prayer through good or ill: here in the dark I clutch the garments of God.
Music: Bach Cantata 156 – performed by Baroque oboist Leo Duarte
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:33-37
Mercy sees you, welcomes you, acts for you, abides with you. Wrapped in Mercy, we find the spiritual comfort which allows us healing rest from those who did not see, welcome, act for, or abide with us.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: May we open ourselves to receive such Mercy. May we strenghten ourselves to give it generously.
Poetry: Xenia – Ryan Wilson
“Xenia” is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity shown to those who are far from home.
One day a silent man arrives At your door in an outdated suit, Threadbare and black, like a lost mourner Or a Bible salesman who’s been robbed. Penniless, he needs a place to stay. And you, magnanimous you, soon find This stranger reading in your chair, Eating your cereal, drinking your tea, Or standing in your clothes at the window Awash in afternoon’s alien light. You tire of his constant company. Your floorboards creak with his shuffling footfalls, Haunting dark rooms deep in the night. You lie awake in blackness, listening, Cursing the charity or pride That opened up the door for him And wonder how to explain yourself.
He smells like durian and smoke But it’s mostly his presence, irksome, fogging The mind up like breath on a mirror … You practice cruelty in a mirror, Then practice sympathetic faces. You ghoul. Your cunning can’t deceive you. You are afraid to call your friends For help, knowing what they would say. It’s just you two. You throw a fit when He sneaks water into the whisky bottle, Then make amends. You have no choice Except to learn humility, To love this stranger as yourself, Who won’t love you, or ever leave.
Music: The Good Samaritan – Dallas Holm
Beaten, weary, left along the way Dry from thirst ’til word I could not say Then you came walking by and looked into my eyes And saw my need and stopped to rescue me
Others came and others went on by Refused to help or just too tired to try Alone at last I sat, my head fell slowly back And words from deep within me reached the sky
‘I’m hungry, please feed me I’m naked, please clothe me I’m so alone, won’t someone come to me?’ The sound of my words died Oh, well, at least I tried And trying seemed the only thing to do
But no sooner had I stopped and you were there And then I knew that God had heard my prayer I should have realized, and not have been surprised His eye is on the sparrow, so why not me
Beaten, weary, left along the way Dry from thirst ’til word I could not say Then you came walking by, and looked into my eyes And saw my need and stopped to rescue me Then you came walking by, and looked into my eyes And saw my need and stopped to rescue me
And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. Mark 10:13-16
Jesus once again makes it clear that the Reign of God flows unreservedly to the humble, poor, and childlike among us. The roaring cataract of that Lavish Mercy cannot be prevented by any human interference, control, or ignorance.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: May we learn to trust God’s love as a child trusts that of a loving parent. Childlike faith is not immature. It has been deepened and seasoned through a life of prayerful service and reverent relationship with God and all Creation.
Poetry: Nada Te Turbe – St. Teresa of Avila
Nada te turbe nada te espante Todo se pasa Dios nose muda. La paciencia todo alcanza. Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta Solo Dios basta.
Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you, All things are passing. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God is enough.
Music: Nada Te Turbe – A Virtual Choir of Carmelites
Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface? The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment; But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered. Job 38:1, 12-15
The character of this passage from Job fits so perfectly the spirituality of Francis of Assisi whom we honor today. Francis had a deep veneration for all Creation where he saw God’s beauty and vitality. Francis’s heart anguished for those unable to share in that beauty because of the burden of poverty.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: May we be inspired by Francis’s example, and Job’s honesty to develop a generous and reverent sharing of Creation’s gifts.
Poetry: Saint Francis and the Sow – Galway Kinnel
The bud stands for all things, even for those things that don’t flower, for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing; though sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness, to put a hand on its brow of the flower and retell it in words and in touch it is lovely until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing; as Saint Francis put his hand on the creased forehead of the sow, and told her in words and in touch blessings of earth on the sow, and the sow began remembering all down her thick length, from the earthen snout all the way through the fodder and slops to the spiritual curl of the tail, from the hard spininess spiked out from the spine down through the great broken heart to the sheer blue milken dreaminess spurting and shuddering from the fourteen teats into the fourteen mouths sucking and blowing beneath them: the long, perfect loveliness of sow.
Music: St. Francis Preaching to the Birds – Franz Liszt (performed by Brandon Hawksley)
But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust; Whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another’s, shall behold him, And from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing. Job 19:26-27
In the midst of disorienting trial, Job retains his focus on God’s immutable power and mercy. Job’s confident faith has inspired believers to be patient in suffering and trust God’s accompaniment.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ask for the grace to receive suffering in our lives with a Job-like confidence in God.
Poetry: Just Like Job – Maya Angelou
My Lord, My Lord, Long have I cried out to Thee In the heat of the sun, The cool of the moon My screams searched the heavens for Thee. My God, When my blanket was nothing but dew. Rags and bones Were all I owned. I chanted Your name Just like Job.
Father, Father, My life give I gladly to Thee Deep rivers ahead High mountains above My soul wants only Your love But fears gather round like wolves in the dark Have You forgotten my name? Oh, Lord, come to Your child. Oh, Lord, forget me not.
You said to lean on Your arm And I’m leaning You said to trust in Your love And I’m trusting You said to call on Your name And I’m calling I’m stepping out on Your word.
You said You’d be my protection, My only and glorious savior My beautiful Rose of Sharon, And I’m stepping out on Your word. Joy, joy Your word. Joy, joy The wonderful word of the Son of God.
You said that You would take me to glory To sit down at the welcome table Rejoice with my mother in heaven And I’m stepping out on Your word.
Into the alleys Into the byways Into the streets And the roads And the highways Past rumor mongers And midnight ramblers Past the liars and the cheaters and the gamblers On Your word On your word. On the wonderful word of the Son of God. I’m stepping out on Your word.
What advantage have workers from their toil? I have considered the task that God has appointed for us to be busied about. The Infinite One has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without our ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. Ecclesiastes 3:9-11
Three thousand years ago, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, a writer called Kohelet meditated on God’s Mercy experienced over a lifetime. Like the writer, we may have done the same thing at various significant times in our lives.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We place our lives against the timepiece pictured above. We may pray over a specific time of challenge and grace. Or we may consider the whole pattern of mercy passing slowly yet constantly through our lives, like the ticking of a steadfast clock.
Poetry: XC Domine, refugium – Malcolm Suite In this poem, Guite refers to a poem by Philip Larkin which may be read here: https://allpoetry.com/Cut-Grass
XC Domine, refugium Malcolm Guite
A cosy comforter, a lucky charm? Not with this psalmist, for he praises God From everlasting ages, in his psalm.
A God of refuge –yes – and yet a God Who knows the death that comes before each birth, Who sees each generation die, a God
Before whom all the ages of the earth Are like a passing day, like the cut grass In Larkin’s limpid verse: ‘brief is the breath
Mown stalks exhale’. So we and all things pass, And God endures beyond us. Yet he cares For our brief lives, his loving tenderness
Extends to all his creatures, our swift years Are precious in his sight. In Christ he shares Our grief and he will wipe away our tears.
Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another. Before the mountains were brought forth, or the land and the earth were born, from age to age you are God.
You turn us back to the dust and say, “Go back, O child of earth.” For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past and like a watch in the night….
…. Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life. Make us glad by the measure of the days that you afflicted us and the years in which we suffered adversity. Show your servants your works * and your splendor to their children. May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork. Psalm 90:1-4;14-17
Our beautiful Responsorial Psalm today allows us to reflect on our grateful past and our hopeful future. God’s mercy is with every person in every age of our lives.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy: We ponder this infinite blessing so that we can open our hearts to its amazing grace.
Poetry: On Thy Wondrous Works I Will Meditate – Mary Oliver
Every morning I want to kneel down on the golden cloth of the sand and say some kind of musical thanks for the world that is happening again—another day— from the shawl of wind coming out of the west to the firm green
flesh of the melon lately sliced open and eaten, its chill and ample body flavored with mercy. I want to be worthy of—what? Glory? Yes, unimaginable glory. O Lord of melons, of mercy, though I am not ready, nor worthy, I am climbing toward you.
Lavish Mercy 