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If anyone seeks ill of you, praise them always.
If anyone injures you, serve them nicely.
If anyone persecutes you, help them in all possible ways.
You will attain immense strength.
You will control anger and pride.
You will enjoy peace, poise and serenity.
You will become divine...
Swami Sivananda
I had an interesting and vivid dream last night. I was with my family walking through this house, it was a huge mansion, but as a ranch in U shape with a nice lake in the middle of the "U." There were many hallways and many rooms. All the rooms were warm and cozy and different. Even though it was a mansion in terms of size, it was not luxurious at all. We felt joy and excitement as we walked through the rooms.
Yesterday we went to pick up our Christmas tree. My 16 year old son fell in love with this pathetic tree and wanted us to buy it. He kept asking and I kept pleading that we concentrate on getting a really pretty tree. We did find a nice tree, but he kept looking at the little tree that was actually for sale for $5 and no one wanted. As much as we have talked about the commercialization of Christmas, here I was contributing to it by not even acknowledging the beauty he saw in the tree, I just noticed the many imperfections. Moved by his tenderness I agreed to buy it. So pleased was the owner of the shop with my son's affection that he gave it to us for free, as long as we took good care of it.
The stress of the Christmas Season is beginning to increase. People are tired of the first wave of shopping, traffic jams, and wondering how they are going to pay for all the things they want to get for others. Some people are beginning to dread celebrating Christmas for the first time without a loved one. What are we to do? We have a wonderful opportunity to become angels of peace. How? Smiling, allowing someone ahead at the shopping line, allowing someone to get a coveted parking spot, empathizing with retail workers, or by watching your friend's children while they get things done or rest. Remember that the more stressed and depressed we are, the more we tend to be thinking about ourselves. The more we serve, the happier we get. There are so many ways to be angels, let's pray that God can put us at the right place, right time, and right peace of mind to help someone in little ways...
"Let us not be justices of the peace, but angels of peace."
St. Theresa of Lisieux
This reflection is for the Scripture readings of November 27, 2005, first Sunday of Advent. There are two statements in this Sunday's readings that I kept coming back to. The first phrase is from Isaiah: "Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?" The second one is from the Gospel of Mark: "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come." To integrate the readings of this first Sunday of Advent into our lives we need to keep in mind that Advent has two meanings. It means a time of preparation to honor Christ's first coming and also a time to await for Christ's second coming.
Continue reading "Gospel Reflection for November 27, 2005" »
This morning God gave me a lesson in proper preparation for Advent, which begins this Sunday Novemeber 27th. I went to my 3 AM shift in the Perpetual Adoration chapel,only to find everything completely dark in the church. It turned out the electricity went out at 1 AM. There were no lights... how am I going to do Lectio Divina? How am I going to read inspirational books? Should I sit by the altar so that I can read from the light of the candles?
Continue reading "A Lesson in Peaceful and Joyful Anticipation" »
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