Find what you’re looking for
This morning I read the opening lines of a poem by Jack Gilbert: “Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere.” But the poem, “A Brief for the Defense,” gracefully moves on: “. . . we enjoy our lives because that’s what God wants. . . . We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,/but not delight.”
We are surrounded by so much noise on a daily basis. Some of it is unavoidable, some of it is self-imposed. It’s almost as if we’re afraid of the quiet.
The next time you are talking with someone, ask a question. Something like: How did that make you feel? What did you think about that? Why?
Dorothy Day was a social activist, pacifist, Catholic worker, and peacemaker. She lived at a time that reflected social injustice against others, and she actively refused to fade into all the noise.
“He [Ananias] answered, ‘Here I am, Lord’” (Acts 9:10). The words “Here I am, Lord” are spoken by a variety of people in the Bible, including St. Ananias.
Our brothers and sisters can be some of the greatest blessings in our lives, but can also cause us pain. Whichever reality we are experiencing right now, God desires to listen and to be present to our concerns for our siblings.
Born and raised in the Catholic faith in Lansing, Michigan, Jane DeRose-Bamman, OFS, has long been connected to her faith by way of family, education, and parish communities she’s belonged to.
The Israelites grumbled against the Lord in the desert, even after freeing them from the Egyptians and bringing them safely through the Red Sea. It’s easy to criticize their behavior, but don’t we grumble against the Lord too?
She’s talked to murderers, abusers, and even those wrestling with the occult. Sister Mary Frances Seeley and volunteers answer all calls with a message of God’s unconditional love and prayerful support.
Scripture provides a number of straightforward teachings about how a disciple of Jesus is to live, but there are less clear lessons too.
