A Short Thought for a Sultry Sunday
Our church has no air conditioning. Imagine that in this day and age!
It's not that it never had any. But the old system broke. And with the dwindling Mass attendees over the years, collections have fallen. And....well, there's no money to fix the A/C. So we attend without it.
Growing up, our church in Jersey City had no A/C. But it had huge fans that blew and circulated the air. It was something. Actually it helped a lot. For some reason, those in charge of our current parish haven't bought any fans to blow the air around. So the air can be pretty dead and heavy during the summer.
While most Sundays have been bearable, when it gets really hot and humid, it's more than stifling.
Last Sunday was such stifling Sunday. So our priest did what the good priests we had growing up always did on hot summer Sundays with no A/C: He shortened his sermon. Like really shortened it. Yay for common sense. (Maybe some of that will spill over into a decision to get some big fans!)
So on this sultry summer Sunday (at least in our neck of the woods), we'll follow the "keep it short" tradition today.
We've focused on prayer recently. Our latest spiritual guide, Abbot Chapman returns. It seems he's writing to one of his spiritual charges, someone struggling with their faith. Some of us (many?, most?) may be able to identify with the recipient of this advice. Count me in.
Not only is the advice spot on in addressing such feelings, but note as well his comments about feelings themselves. We all have them. But sometimes we give them far too much weight. You'll find similar advice in many of our great Catholic spiritual writers. Pay attention and heed the advice - even on this sultry Sunday.
Abbot John Chapman, O.S.B. (1865-1933)
“You
seem not have learned to think about other people, and not about
yourself. Try to serve God for His own sake, as He wishes you to, and
not for His gifts. What does it matter whether you enjoy your prayer, or
are unhappy in it? What does it matter if you have all these feelings
of having no faith? (You know quite well that you have faith; for if you
had none, you would not mind having none: but your pain is caused by
your ‘feeling as if’ you had not any.) You have not arrived at
simplicity; you should take everything as it comes, and thank God for
it. It is easy to be ‘abandoned’ when one is quite comfortable. But it
is difficult when God seems to leave us to ourselves. But I think God is
much more pleased with you than when you felt His presence; and He is
working in you much more. All these trials are helping you. You say they
do not make you humble: but if you thought you were being made humble,
you wouldn’t be. There is nothing to be frightened about, or to worry
about. You will find in St. Therese of Lisieux’s account of herself, (so
much better than other people’s rather sentimental lives of her) how
much she suffered from the want of ‘feeling’ faith, and from being
apparently left by God. Internal grace is generally imperceptible, so do
not try to feel or see. It is far better to walk in darkness, and to
trust in God.”
Happy Sunday!
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