Loving God and Neighbor

“May it be done to me according to Your word.” Luke 1:38

“His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever He tells you.” John 2:5

            The greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) tells us how we can make our way to heaven.  Love accomplishes and overcomes all things.

            In the first Joyful mystery of the rosary, the Annunciation, we meditate on the words of Mother Mary, “May it be done to me according to Your word.”  She is teaching us love, obedience and humility.  Because she loved God, she was able to be obedient and humble and we were able to have a savior who would redeem us.  I love meditating on this verse and in fact, making it my prayer.  I also want to be the handmaid of the Lord, though I fall so far short of what our Blessed Mother did.  She, who was full of grace, did not have sin in her.  I find myself repeatedly going to the confessional to beg mercy of our Lord and ask Him to lift me up again and again.

            Immediately upon finding out her cousin, Elizabeth, is also with child, she journeys to visit.  She spent 3 months with Elizabeth, helping her to prepare for the coming of John the Baptist.  Love of neighbor. 

            This isn’t the only time Mary shows us how to love our neighbor.  In the second Luminous mystery of the rosary, “The Wedding at Cana”, Mary tells Jesus there is no more wine.  She then very simply turns to the servants and tells them to do whatever He tells them to do.  She knows running out of wine at a wedding can be very embarrassing to the hosts and she wants to avoid that, so she simply turns to her Son.  Her command to the servants is also a command to us.  We should, at all times, do whatever He tells us. 

            My spiritual director once told me that the only correct answer when God asks something of us is Yes!  If we’ve even heard Him talking to us, that is not usually our first response.  We tend to think of ourselves and how what He wants is going to interfere with what we want for our lives, as if we know best.

           At times I can be impressed with myself for listening to what God tells me to do, being obedient to His holy will for me.  Unfortunately, the pride of sin is no help to my salvation.  It also dawns on me that it is not the things I’ve done for God I’ll have to answer for, but the things I did not do (in the Confiteor we pray, “…in what I have done and in what I have failed to do…”).

            Each night before bed I pray, “The Prayer for Daily Neglects” (I won’t put the whole prayer here, it’s on page 16 of The Pieta Prayer Book) and in essence, I am asking God to expiate all the sins I have committed each day and during all my life, to purify the good I have done badly each day and to supply for the good I ought to have done, but neglected to do.  Unlike Mary, I am not full of grace. 

            “Be it done unto me according to thy word.” That is my prayer, my daily prayer.  What I also pray for is holy hearing so I know what God is asking of me.  Then I pray for obedience and humility and an increase in faith, hope and charity.  No wonder we are told to pray without ceasing.

           “Do whatever He tells you.”  Definitely easier said than done, but not impossible!  What does He tell us?  Love God with all your hearts, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

            Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Francis Xavier.  He certainly taught us love of Christ and love of neighbor.  So did Blessed Mother Teresa, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. John Vianney and in fact, all the saints.  With the help of all these beautiful saints and our Blessed Mother, we can learn to love God and love neighbor, just as Jesus taught us.

My Priest Knows Me

I love the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Sometimes at my parish it’s called the Sacrament of Mercy and I think that actually draws me even more to the confessional.  Why would you not want mercy?  That’s just crazy!  I was once visiting a parish out of town and was doing the Stations of the Cross and as I walked past the confessional I noticed a sign on the door that said, “Love Shack”.  Quite frankly I was a little disturbed by that name, but really, what could be truer?  I know we see the priest walk into the confessional, but it’s Jesus who hears our confessions, forgives us, and absolves us of our sins.  The priest is just the instrument through which Jesus works.

I didn’t make my first confession until I was 33 years old and I had a lot to cover.  I was very nervous that first time and it didn’t help I was at a communal penance service.  It always seems as though everyone can hear you, and so I was in no rush to go.  I looked around at all the priests who were available and all I could think about was getting the one young priest “on the panel” because I did not want any of the old guys hearing my confession.

That experience forever changed my life.  That’s the point of confession, to be changed.  To turn from your sin and run to a life in Jesus.  Not to say it’s easy, because it isn’t, but when have good things ever just fallen from the sky?  We have to work at them.  As much as I’ve come to love the sacrament of reconciliation, I know I have a lot more to learn about the mercy we are being offered.

The confessional has become a refuge for me.  The priest is welcoming and his attention is focused on healing the heart and soul.  Although I prefer to make confessions to my parish priest, others prefer the anonymity of confessing to a priest from a different parish.  I personally like the feeling of accountability I get when confessing to someone I see on a regular basis.  I know the priest does not remember individual confessions, but I leave the confessional with the sense of duty not to sin again, especially when I know I’ll be seeing that priest again very soon.

I have to admit, there are times when I want to go somewhere else for confession because I don’t want to confess to my parish priest, but humility is part of confession.  Turning away from our pride and admitting what we’ve done wrong.  Remember, Jesus already knows what you’ve done wrong, better than you do, but He wants you to be humble, just as He is humble.

I go to my parish priest for confession because he is my spiritual father.  It is the “duty” of every priest to make sure you get to heaven and so you can go to any priest and he will hear your confession and help you.  But there is a bond between you and your spiritual father that is not present with another priest.  Spiritual matters should not be taken lightly.  If your goal is to get to heaven, you have to be serious about doing what it takes to get there.

I’m not saying you can’t go to another confessor; because certainly there are times when it’s appropriate.  If you are out of town, on a retreat, you can’t make it during the scheduled confession times.  If you are in need of reconciliation, go wherever you can to find Jesus in that sacrament.

Just as you are the best one to take care of your children when they are in need, so your priest is the best one to take care of “his” children….you and me!