Deacon Tom Writes,
“God Be in My Head”
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
The gospel for today sets the stage for Jesus’ death. The parable of the wicked tenants who kill the servants sent to collect the rent and who go so far as to kill the vineyard owner’s son, foreshadow the events that will soon claim Jesus’ life. The message Jesus is conveying is that God’s plans will not be stifled by those of man. His being rejected by the Jewish authorities allows a furthering of God’s Kingdom. For… “The stone rejected by the builders will become the cornerstone”. God’s plan of salvation is mysteriously broadened so that others may join in the task of bringing about that bountiful harvest the Kingdom of God will produce.
Jesus showed us by word and example how to live fruitful lives. As His disciples it is necessary to engage in meaningful reflection about the quality of our spiritual lives. A question we might ask ourselves is, “How do we know if we are bearing fruit for the kingdom?” One way to fathom this out is to set some time aside at the end of the day and review our day’s activities from a spiritual perspective. This is one of the many spiritual practices handed down to us from St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises. It goes like this:
1) Give thanks to God for all that we have.
2) Ask God for the grace to know our sins and to avoid them in the future.
3) Reflect on the events of the day to see where we served God or where we have neglected Him.
4) Ask God to pardon our faults.
5) Ask God for the grace to be more like Him.
If we are to form a habit of this simple yet humbling practice, we are sure to grow spiritually and that growth will produce a harvest worthy of the Kingdom.
As we grow in the love of God, we will be better able to surrender our thoughts and desires to Him and allow Him to fill us with His thoughts and desires as was captured in this prayer from the middle-ages:
God be in my head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.
Amen
May God open our minds and hearts and bless the work of our hands so that we can advance His Kingdom in our time.
Enjoy the day!
Tom
Please Visit www.deaconspod.com where you will find contemporary conversations with several Paulist Deacon Affiliates and their guests exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold of our church… those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.
OTHER RESOURCE
Recommended Reading: Into The Silent Land by Fr. Martin Laird, OSA Teaches readers the practice of meditation, sitting in stillness and cultivating the art of awareness long in use by Hindus and Buddhists in order to deepen our Christian faculties to have a deeper experience of the presence of the divine in around us.
