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Sacred Spaces

It is good for us to remember the place sacred spaces have in our lives. It was in a sacred space that we were welcomed into the Christian community at baptism. It was in a sacred space that we received our first communion, made our first confession, were confirmed and perhaps married or ordained. And it will be from a sacred space that we will be entrusted to God’s other world beyond the grave when we die.

Every Christian community needs a sacred space in which to gather for worship and fellowship. This sacred space we usually call a church. But in calling our sacred spaces churches it is important to realise that a church is not, in fact, a building but a faith community, a community who believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

To develop a relationship with God it is not enough to gather in a church once a week with other Christians. We also need to build a practice of personal prayer into our lives. If our faith communities need sacred spaces to pray, so does each individual. John Fullenbach once said, “We cannot pray all of the time everywhere, but we must pray some of the time somewhere.” To pray sometime somewhere it is really helpful to have our own sacred space.

A sacred space is a place apart, a place free from distraction and from noise. A sacred place can be anywhere because God is everywhere. It can be in a corner of your bedroom or your living room. It can be in your conservatory or in your attic. The important thing is that it is accessible and easy to get to. In your sacred place it is helpful to have a chair that is firm but comfortable. It is also good to have a symbol or symbols of the presence of God. These may be a lighted candle or an open bible or a picture or an icon. A sacred space is your place. It is your place to be alone. A sacred space is important because the right kind of environment and atmosphere are important if we are going to spend time in personal prayer.

The gospels tell us that Jesus regularly went off by himself usually in the early morning to a lonely place to pray. Here it is helpful not to misunderstand the word lonely. It simply means a place of silence and solitude. Jesus had his sacred spaces which allowed him spend time in intimate sharing with the one he called Abba. If sacred spaces helped Jesus to pray, they will certainly help us too.

A Sacred Time

The period between the Ascension and Pentecost is a very sacred time. It is the period of the first novena, nine days of prayer. Between the Ascension and Pentecost the disciples of Jesus kept vigil, they watched and waited for the gift from above. Conscious of their need for divine help and inspiration, the disciples prayed earnestly for the gift Jesus promised them, the gift of the Holy Spirit. The scriptures tell us that they “joined in continuous prayer, together with several women including Mary the mother of Jesus” (Acts 1:14).

The days leading up to Pentecost offer us an ideal opportunity to pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and in the life of the Christian community. The energy and enthusiasm required to live the Christian life comes from the Holy Spirit; so does the wisdom we need to make good decisions. The world today needs Christians who have listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and who are willing to practice the values of Jesus with conviction and courage.

The sacred days leading up to Pentecost are also an ideal time to bring into the divine presence our needs and our intentions. We all have things we are struggling with, things that are difficult and perhaps painful to deal with. Even though we have a tendency to rely on our own power and strength to overcome our problems we do not have to manage these on our own. The Holy Spirit is waiting for our invitation. The Holy Spirit wants to help us. The Holy Spirit can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

It is becoming more and more obvious that the Church is undergoing a major transition. Old models of faith practice which we held dear are breaking down leaving many of us feeling confused and lost. While it is necessary to grieve for the things we are losing, it is also important to believe that this time of transition offers us wonderful new opportunities. The Holy Spirit is with us as our guide and inspiration. The sacred days between Ascension and Pentecost are a special time to ask the Holy Spirit to help us find a new direction for the Church, new ways of being community and new sources of nourishment for our spiritual lives.

Come Holy Spirit. Inspire our minds with your wisdom. Fill our hearts with your love. Help us to believe that you are always with us, guiding us, helping us and uniting us. Amen.

An Act of Trust

There is a defining moment in the life of the great Abraham who is often referred to as our Father in Faith. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac. This was a huge ask for Abraham. Isaac was the child of his old age, his pride and joy, his only hope of posterity.

On the face of it, it seems cruel for God to ask Abraham to let go of his beloved son. But God needed to put Abraham to the test. It was important that the man God had chosen to be our Father in Faith would have complete trust in him. We know that Abraham responded to God’s request. He did what God invited him to do. He abandoned himself totally to God. In response God not only spared the life of Isaac. He also showered blessings in abundance on Abraham and his descendants. “I make a vow by my own name – the Lord is speaking – that I will richly bless you. Because you did this and did not keep back your only son from me, I promise that I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the seashore. Your descendants will conquer their enemies. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants – all because you obeyed my command” (Genesis 22:16-18).

As we go through life our faith in God is tested. Difficult and painful experiences like failure, rejection, disappointment and sickness make us wonder if God is really loving and caring. Often in the face of suffering the silence of God can be deafening. Like Abraham, we have a choice to make. We can either trust God in the hope that God will eventually bring good out of our pain or we can blame God for the distress we find ourselves in. Suffering can either draw us closer to God or make us bitter.

It is important for us to realise that God does not cause human suffering. Free will does. However, God uses our suffering to strengthen our trust. God can best work in our lives when we allow ourselves to depend on him. Self-sufficiency keeps us distant from God; surrender brings us near to God. Growth in our spiritual lives requires deeper levels of surrender and trust. Abraham was richly rewarded for his great act of surrender and trust. So will we.

The Good Shepherd

A number of years ago I was in Cyprus on a family holiday. The apartment block where we were staying was in a semi-rural location. Very early one morning I heard some noise outside. I went on to the balcony to find out where the sounds were coming from. In the field right next to the complex I saw a shepherd grazing his sheep. Leaning against his shepherd’s staff he was talking to his sheep as they enjoyed eating the grass. He moved around the field from one place to another and as he did so the sheep naturally followed him. It was a wonderful insight into the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep in that part of the world. It was obvious that there was a close bond between them, a bond built on personal knowledge and trust.

There are two things each one of us needs to know from Jesus. The first: Does Jesus know me personally? The second: Can Jesus be trusted? In describing himself as the Good Shepherd Jesus is saying a very definite ‘yes’ to both these questions.

I am a name to Jesus, not just a number. Jesus says to me, “I have called you by your name, you are mine.” “I have carved your name on the palm of my hand.” Perhaps no place in scripture better describes the personal knowledge Jesus has of each one of us than Psalm 139. “O God you search me and you know me. You know my resting and my rising. You mark when I walk or lie down. All my ways lie open to you. Before ever a word is on my tongue you know it, O Lord, through and through…….” We should have no reason to doubt that Jesus knows us personally and intimately. Indeed Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves.

If Jesus knows us so intimately then surely we can trust him. Jesus is on our side. He is certainly not out to get us! He is always seeking to do the right thing for us. Jesus wants what is best for us. Jesus knows what is best for us. If Jesus wants the very best for each of us then he can be trusted even when he does allow us to suffer and make a mess of things. We must never doubt the faithfulness of Jesus. On him we can totally depend.

An Ocean of Mercy

God is certainly persistent. God never gives up on anyone, no matter who they are and what they have done. God keeps pursuing us, reaching out to us, drawing us back, leading us home. God is, in the words of Francis Thompson, ‘The Hound of Heaven.’

Why does God pursue us so persistently? Because God is merciful. The heart of the Lord is mercy. The gospels, especially the Gospel of Luke are full of stories about the mercy of God. Perhaps the best known is the story of the prodigal. The word prodigal can mean two things. It can mean wayward and it can mean lavish. The love of the father for his wayward son was lavish in the extreme. It was a love that was expressed in and through tender mercy.

One of the plays I studied in secondary school was ‘The Merchant of Venice’ by William Shakespeare. For some reason the words I find easiest to remember in that play are those uttered by Portia to Shylock the merchant intent on his pound of flesh:

“The quality of mercy is not strain’d,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest.”

The quality of God’s mercy is never strained. It is never measured, never weighed on a balance. Because of God’s unlimited mercy we are forgiven when we fail, followed when we stray and found when we are lost. It is the mercy of God that turns our feelings of guilt into feelings of peace.

Many of us have inherited a judgemental and critical God, a God who is demanding and difficult to please, a God who exacts justice. Let’s be clear. This is not the God of Jesus. This is not the Abba Jesus spoke so affectionately and intimately about. Like Shylock we humans may want others to pay for their wrong doing, but let us not project this on to God. God is way beyond our desire for vengeance. God is mercy, pure and simple. For each and every one of us who are constantly failing and falling, God’s unlimited mercy will have the last word, the final say. In death we will fall into an ocean of mercy.

Compassion

I wrote this reflection a number of years ago. It seems more apt and relevant now. At a time when many of us are struggling and suffering because of the pandemic that is coronavirus perhaps what we need most is compassion. To paraphrase the words of Ram Dass, We need to just walk each other home.

Horror gripped the heart of a World War I soldier, as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier asked his lieutenant if he could go out into the man’s land between the trenches to bring his fallen comrade back. “You can go,” said the Lieutenant, “but I don’t think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away.” The Lieutenant’s words didn’t matter, and the soldier went anyway. Miraculously, he managed to reach his friend, hoisted him onto his shoulder and brought him back to their company’s trench. As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the officer checked the wounded soldier, then looked kindly at his friend. “I told you it wouldn’t be worth it,” he said. “Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded.” “It was worth it? Sir,” said the soldier. “What do you mean by worth it?” responded the Lieutenant. “Your friend is dead.” “Yes Sir,” the private answered, ” but it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say….”Jim… I knew you’d come.”

This is a true story and a moving story. It is a story about friendship. It is also a story about the nature of compassion. Compassion is more than doing deeds of kindness for people who are in need. It is more than fixing things. It is more than finding solutions for people who have problems. In essence compassion is simply about being there for people without pulling back in fear or anger.

Compassion is being with others. It is walking with and along-side other people. In a rescue situation it is the difference between throwing a rope into a well and going down into the well. Throwing the rope is a detached action that costs little. Going down into the well is personal involvement in the situation. This is what Jesus did. He chose to become personally involved in our lives. We call this the Incarnation. It is reflected in the name Emmanuel, God with us, which is one of the titles given to Jesus. Indeed Jesus himself in his hour of trial and struggle asked the very same from his companions. “Watch and pray.” What I need from you at this time is to stay with me, to be with me.

Compassion can also be described as standing in another’s shoes. To stand in another person’s shoes is to see the world as they see it, from their perspective. This may not be easy. It may require us to let go of our opinions, our prejudices, our need to be in control. Compassion invites us to allow others to find their own solutions to their problems. This means that we may have to let go of our need to fix things. True dialogue requires this kind of compassion. Openness and a willingness to stand in the shoes of others create the possibility of compromise and consensus.

In its purest form compassion is the ability to feel with others. The word itself literally means ‘with passion.’ To enter into the passion of others is to be truly compassionate. There is a story told about the French diocesan priest known as the Cure d’Ars. When the only son of an elderly widow died the Cure came to visit her. People expected him to help her make sense of her loss. Instead he simply sat beside her, put his hand on her shoulder and let his tears flow with hers. This is a beautiful example of compassion. Compassion is more than sympathy. It is empathy.

In my view, now is not the time for moralising or preaching. Of course there are lessons to be learned from the terrible crisis we are experiencing. But these lessons are for later. What we all need now is compassion. So let’s try to be this compassionate presence for one another.

He is Risen!

We believe, indeed we know, that Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday. He broke the chains of death and rose to a new way of living and loving beyond our wildest imagining. The resurrection was an earth shattering event, the most important event in human history and it has many implications for us and for the way we live our lives.

One implication of the resurrection is the fact that Jesus is still with us. The presence and power of the risen Jesus permeate our lives. As a consequence of the resurrection Jesus is no longer limited by time and space. He is present to us and with us at every moment of every day. He is the invisible companion of our life’s journey. We do not have to wait for heaven to experience the friendship, the healing, the peace and the joy of the risen Jesus. These things are already available to us. The risen Jesus is already working in our lives. He is involved with us here and now.

A second implication of the resurrection has to do with the mission of Jesus. The resurrection was a vindication of the way Jesus lived his life. It was a confirmation of the values Jesus practised, preached and died for. The way of Jesus works. When Jesus was nailed to the cross on Good Friday it seemed as if his mission was a failure, that he was a dreamer who offered the world an unrealistic vision of happiness. His resurrection changed this, it transformed it. Jesus was no dreamer. His values of justice and compassion and service and humility and forgiveness are in fact the only values that work. His values are the values that make the world a better place and that bring us personal fulfilment. The resurrection of Jesus was proof that love is stronger that hate, goodness is greater than evil, life is more powerful than death.

Of course another implication of the resurrection is that our death is not the end. What happened to Jesus on Easter Sunday will happen to us. We will share in the risen life of Jesus when we die. Because of the resurrection of Jesus we have a life to look forward to beyond the grave. Because of the resurrection of Jesus a new world will be opened up to us on the other side of death. Because Jesus rose from the dead the place we call heaven is our destiny, our destination, our future home. Indeed, in the words of St Paul, it is our true home. For those who believe in Jesus and in the power of his resurrection the future is bright because the best is yet to come. It is with good reason that we can say, ‘It belongs to the Christian to hope!’

To Whom Shall We Go?

As the coronavirus spreads across the world most of our activities have ceased and our earth has fallen silent. Covid 19 is a huge challenge to our values, our lifestyle and even to our religious beliefs and practices. The contagious and deadly impact of this virus is causing many of us to experience feelings of fear, anxiety, insecurity and vulnerability. Each of us has to find our own way of dealing with these feelings. One way is to turn to God.

If we chose to turn to God what do we need to know about God that will offer us some comfort and hope? There are three things we can say with certainty about the God of Jesus.

The first thing is the personal nature of the God of Jesus. The God of Jesus is a personal God who knows each of us individually and uniquely. “I have called you by your name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). “I have carved your name on the palm of my hand” (Isaiah 49:16). Each of us is a name to God, not a number. Of this we can be sure. Here is how the psalmist describes the intimate knowledge God has of every human person, “O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising. You mark when I walk or lie down, all my ways lie open to you. For it was you who created my being, knit me together in my mother’s womb. I thank you for the wonder of my being, for the wonders of all your creation. Already you knew my soul, my body held no secret from you when I was being fashioned in secret and moulded in the depths of the earth” (Psalm 139). Then of course there were the actions of Jesus who was the human face of God. When one sheep out of a hundred strayed and got lost he went in search of it until he found it. Jesus forgot no one and included everyone.

The second thing we know about the God of Jesus has to do with unconditional love. The God of Jesus loves each and every one of us unconditionally. “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). “You are precious in my eyes and honoured and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4). “You are my beloved son/daughter in whom I take delight” (Mark 1:11). God cannot not love us unconditionally because God is unconditional love. We may find it difficult to love ourselves unconditionally but we must not project this unto God. In the words of Pope Francis, “When all is said and done we are infinitely loved.” We are infinitely loved and nothing can change this fact. The only real biblical promise is that unconditional love will have the final say.

The third thing we can be certain of is that the God of Jesus will not allow evil and its consequence, death, to destroy us. We need to know that we are safe. We also need to know that we are not going to be annihilated. The God of Jesus assures us that he is in control and that he is faithful to all that he has created. “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you. Should you pass through the sea, I will be with you; or through rivers, they will not swallow you up. Should you walk through fire, you will not be scorched and the flames will not burn you, for I am your God, your saviour. Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Isaiah 43:1-7). The God of Jesus raised Jesus from the dead and he will give life to our mortal bodies too. God’s message to us is clear: Love is stronger than hate; goodness greater than evil; life more powerful than death. The God of Jesus is in control of life and death. We have nothing to fear. Because of God’s presence in our lives, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well” (Julian of Norwich).

During this time of world crisis when we are likely to feel a sense of helplessness, powerlessness and insecurity we may find some reassurance and comfort in this short prayer of faith:

God, the Father of Jesus,

I believe that you

Know me personally,

Love me unconditionally,

Save me from evil and death.

Help me to trust you,

To have faith that all will be well. Amen.

Love Alone Remains

Love is probably the most used word in our vocabulary. It is also probably the most abused word. When we are young we think that love is a nice feeling. As we get older we come to see that love is also a decision and a commitment.

In the world of Jesus, love is indeed about affection and companionship. But it is also about putting the needs of others before our own, at least sometimes. Charity, which is the way God loves, is loving others for their own sake, for their own good. This is the love a Christian is asked to practice. It is a love that often costs.

Of course in the world of Jesus love of God and love of neighbour cannot be separated. They are both sides of the one coin. One is an expression of the other; one the test of the other. To love God is to love our neighbour and to love our neighbour is to love God. Those who love their neighbour belong to the Kingdom of God whether they realise it or not. This is why we cannot limit the Kingdom of God to a particular religion or church.

The Carmelite mystic, Saint John of the Cross, once said, “In the evening of life we will be examined in love.” When we die the only thing we can take with us to God is the love in our hearts. Everything else we must leave behind. The love in our hearts is all that God will be interested in.

The purpose of life is to learn the art of loving. Perhaps this is what William Blake meant when he wrote, “We are put on this earth a little space that we might learn to bear the beams of love.” Perhaps too it is what we are being invited to acknowledge and accept during this painful time in our history when the coronavirus is spreading across the world.

Lockdown

Yes, there is fear. Yes, there is isolation. Yes there is panic buying. Yes, there is sickness. Yes, there is even death. But ….

They say that in Wuhan, after so many years of noise, you can hear the birds again. They say that after just a few weeks of quiet, the sky is no longer thick with fumes, but blue and grey and clear. They say that in the streets of Assisi people are singing to each other across the empty squares, keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them. They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound. Today a young woman I know is busy spreading fliers with her phone number through her neighbourhood, so that elders may have someone to call on. Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.

All over the world, people are slowing down and reflecting. All over the world, people are looking at their neighbours in a new way. All over the world, people are waking up to a new reality – to how big we really are; to how little control we really have; to what really matters; to Love. So we pray, and we remember that yes, there is fear, but there does not have to be hate. Yes there is isolation, but there does not have to be loneliness. Yes, there is panic buying, but there does not have to be meanness. Yes, there is sickness, but there does not have to be disease of the soul. Yes, there is even death, but there can always be a rebirth of love. Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now. Today, breathe, listen. Behind the factory noises of your panic the birds are singing again; the sky is clearing; and we are always encompassed by Love. Open the windows of your soul, and though you may not be able to touch across the empty Square – Sing.

Fr Richard Hendrick OFM