A Heart for the Least of These

 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, 

and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.

All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people 

one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats...

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 

'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you...'

Then he will say to those at his left hand,

'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil...

for I was hungry and you gave me no food,

I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,

I was a stranger and you did not welcome me,

naked and you did not give me clothing,

sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'

Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you 

hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,

and did not take care of you?'

Then he will answer them,

'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it 

to one of the least of these,  you did not do it to me.'

And these will go away into eternal punishment, 

but the righteous into eternal life."

-  from Matthew 25, NRSV

    While I was away on my silent retreat, I had time to pray, read, reflect, and listen. I listened to my own questions and wondered what God thought about them. (Does God think I ask too many questions, as some people accuse me of doing?) Were they appropriate? Was I even worthy to ask these questions of my Heavenly Father? Were they timely? Were they my questions to be asked or did they belong to someone else's path to walk and not my own? Were they humble or prideful? Would God actually answer my questions during my days away? 

The answer to the last question is "Yes." God did answer my prayers, my questions. I didn't hear God speak to me in words or in visions, like the mystics such as St. Teresa of Calcutta or St. Faustina. But I went to a Franciscan friar, a former pastor,  for spiritual direction and came away with confirmation in what and where my path is that lies before me.

I am letting go of my spiritual direction ministry in order to devote more of my heart, mind, and time to an organization that I cofounded and direct - Catholics for Abolition in North Carolina. For almost a year and a half, I've given countless hours to getting this anti-death penalty (or pro-culture of life) grassroots organization up and running. It's been a labor of love! As I was told in spiritual direction during my retreat, this work is my call. That's what makes an opportunity a calling - when one cannot not say "Yes!" And especially when it comes unexpectedly. I guess I did indeed receive a Call. 

This blog has been about prayer and about what I've learned along my spiritual path and its content has also been inspired by the journeys of those I've accompanied as a spiritual director. But even as I leave this ministry, I am still a spiritual director at heart, I guess you could say. I intend to keep writing and posting here - probably more often than I have in the last year - as I will have a bit more time to devote to it. And the purpose for my writing will remain the same: Simply Making God a Part of your Everyday Life.

If you found my blog several years ago or in July 2023, I hope you will stay with me as its focus shifts - but only slightly. With God's grace, its focus will be how to live out the Gospel message, of loving God, while serving my neighbor - in prison and on death row - with the "least of these" so often forgotten. 

Lord, Jesus, help me to be one of your sheep and not a goat.

Show me how to let your rod and your staff lead me. 

Light my path with your grace and give me the love I need so 

I can serve You in the "least of these,"

your children and my neighbors.

Amen.

💙

A Heart More Open

 "But my people would not listen to me...

So, I let them go their stubborn ways and do whatever they wanted.

How I wish my people would listen to me…

I would feed you with the finest wheat 

and satisfy you with wild honey.”

From Psalm 81 – The Good News Bible

    It’s an early summer evening, and I’m not terribly far from home; however, I am very far from my at-home responsibilities, those perceived must-do-now items, and the distractions that keep me from listening to something other than the noise in my own head. I am away on a silent retreat for five glorious days.

As I type this posting, I am sitting at a simple, four-post-legged oak desk in a beautiful room with a large picture window before me. I look into the woods that start about 20 feet from my window, and there is a perfect version of a threshold before me, between what appears to be a maple and tall holly and has a number of dogwoods peeking out and around. I can type and gaze out the window at the same time, all thanks to those required typing classes from more years ago than I want to count. No matter how often I see the woods, I’m delighted by the various textures of the tree trunks – some with moss, most without – the scars of long-lost branches, and the ones that lean while others clump together as if from the same seed, the gentle bend of the younger trees while all support a glorious patina of every kind of summer green in this part of North Carolina. As I gaze out and into the natural openings, I see the ground slope downward slightly while the shades of green deepen, and farther into the woods, the leaves blend together into canopies. I feel like I’m glimpsing the beginning of eternity. 

What an awesome God we have! The God who created this magnificence formed each leaf, and while He was at it, counted every hair on my head. All that God has done for me… 

And yet, I don’t spend enough time listening to God, being just with God, seeking only God. 

Jesus told us we could call God “our Father.” With my earthly father, would I ignore him if we were in the same room together? Would I only talk to him when I needed to ask him a favor? Would I only listen to him “when I asked for his advice”? How would that make my father feel?

But I am given a Heavenly Father who loves me beyond all telling, who loved me into being, and who provides me with each breath and every beat of my heart. So, I am here at this pastoral retreat center in order to appreciate Him again, to show God my love for Him by being still – and listening. I want to rest in His love this week. I want to pay more attention to the little ways that He shows me He loves me – I want to experience His surprises when I’m not distracted by the “next thing.” For God does surprise me every day. Today, I challenge you, as I challenge myself, look for the small and big ways that God tells you he loves you. 

I’m here, Lord. My heart is waiting!

💙