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Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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Today the church celebrates the Memorial of St Teresa of Avila or Teresa of the Child Jesus. Saint Terresa lived in the 16th century. Together with St. John of the Cross, they made reforms on the Congregation of Carmelite friars and nuns. In one of her famous works of contemplation, “The Way of Perfection,” a practical guide on how to achieve spiritual growth, she mentions three things that inform this short homily or reflection. She talks of three essential virtues for a prayer filled life: Fraternal love: she implores us to nurture a deep and sincere love for one’ s community Detachment from worldly desires and affections. Humility: that helps us to understand our faults, imperfections and recognizing that all good comes from God.
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I have read about a blackout that took place on July 13, 1977 and it affected most of New York City. It was triggered when a lightning strike hit a substation near the Hudson River, initiating a cascade of failures in the power grid. The blackout lasted more than 24 hours in many places, with full restoration stretching into the next day. What makes this blackout unique in memory is that, because the moon was only a thin crescent that night, the skies were unusually dark. That allowed even city dwellers, under heavy light pollution, to see deep-sky objects, Stars, constellations, and those who had access to a telescope they could see the Milky Way and other celestial details which were rarely visible from midtown Manhattan otherwise.
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A couple of years back, I lived with a brother priest who, for years, had struggled with alcohol addiction. He was in an out-of-rehab, and when he realized he no longer had control over the addiction, he joined the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) movement. Alcohol addiction or any other addiction for that matter is one of the diseases that does not recognize your title, academic background, vocation in life, economic status, or your gender. Anyone can get it, and it can terribly affect one’s career, vocation in life, spiritual life, relationships, and even one’s physical health. At the time I met this brother priest, he had been sober or “dry” for so many years. He attributed his sobriety to being active in AA. Every day, he attended one or two AA meetings, did his daily reflections, and sponsored and accompanied many other candidates on the road to recovery. The Danger of a "House Swept Clean" An addiction is like a “demonic possession.” It can take over your life, leaving you with no control over your own life. If by the grace of God, you regain your freedom from the addiction or “the demon,” you have to find something different to fill the “empty house” or the empty heart that has been vacated by “the demon.” The Lord is speaking to us today about the fragility or the danger of the “swept and clean” yet empty house.
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We are in the world of ‘fast things, fast foods, fast internet, and fast transport system!’ We are bothered by anything that is slow. Everything needs to be very fast. If it is not fast, it hurts us and mostly, we will give up on that cashier, hotel, or transport system.
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From the sayings of the desert Father; A brother questioned Abba Arsenius to hear a word from him and the old man said to him, "Strive with all your might to bring your interior activity into accord with God, and you will overcome exterior passions.” The disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, and the prayer he gives to them, “The Lord’s prayer”, basically invites them to totally surrender to God, to bring all their focus on consistently carrying out his will.
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Holy lives of inspiration | Learn more about our faith
There’s an old story about a group of single men in a Bible study. After listening the gospel of the day, they got into a debate over which sister, Mary or Martha, would make the better wife. One insisted on Martha: “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and she sure knew how to cook!” Another voted for Mary: “She was thoughtful, quiet and loving, I’d be happy with a woman like that.” Finally, another guy ended the debate: “I’d like Martha before dinner and Mary and her quiet after dinner.”
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