Holy Cross Association
Reflection for the Week of July 20th, 2008 - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In last week’s letter, I reflected on the images of an abandoned parking lot or a shattered pot, and mentioned how quickly Mother Nature reclaims her land. My point was that our life is like that parking lot or pot…that in order to fully experience the growth of God’s life within us, we need to accept our brokenness and cracked-ness. God’s life comes up through the cracks.
This week’s Gospel follows very much the same line of thought. It’s the parable of the wheat and weeds, whereby the slaves want to pull the weeds from the field, but the owner says “No…you might pull up the good with the bad.”
We human beings have a great difficulty in accepting our brokenness, our weediness. We’ve been brainwashed into believing that in order to be acceptable to God – and to others as well – we have to be perfect. And try as we might, we never reach that pinnacle of perfection, and the result is shame, guilt, fear, worry, etc. We look at our lives and see not the abundant wheat, but the few weeds, and go bonkers.
What a waste of time and energy! What a waste of a life!
A perfect human being is one who accepts the reality of his/her imperfections! No matter how hard we try to eradicate them, the imperfections will always be there…always. Now don’t get me wrong. Where possible, yes, it is good to weed out vices and bad habits and addictions. But in ever life, there are those one, two, or three weeds we just cannot get rid of.
OK…so let them be. God may want those weeds to stay in your life, because they are the very things that are driving you to God’s arms, pleading for help and assistance, mercy and grace. If you got rid of them you would not be a perfect human being, but an insufferable one!!
God is far far far gentler on ourselves that we are. That’s the whole point of Sunday’s readings! Listen, believe, and rejoice.
Be God’s smile for someone today!Fr. Herb
Reflections from the most recent Cross Links
May 2008
FURRY THEOLOGY - WHAT OUR PETS TEACH US
One of the great movements in spirituality since the year 2000 has been an increasing awareness of how connected we are to Mother Earth: to the water, land, atmosphere, to all the animals and plants. Each and every piece – including we humans – has its place in the whole. Harm one piece, and the effects ripple throughout creation. The old Industrial Age attitude of “The earth is mine to dominate and use” is giving way to something new: “We are stewards of creation. To the extent that Mother earth prospers, to that extent do we.” We are fashioning a deeper understanding of the fact that every living thing reflects and shows forth some aspect of God.
For many folks, our primary contact with the flora of the earth is our yard, or the potted indoor plants. Local parks and national parks offer us wider vistas. So too do the shows on the Discovery Channel, or the Travel Channel. I am just so fascinated by the great variety of plant life on earth and how it has adapted to life over the centuries.
Ditto for animal life. Animal Planet is hugely popular, as are the above-mentioned shows. Zoos rival national parks in popularity. Eco-tourism and photo-graphic safaris are growing in popularity for those who can afford them.
But for most of us, animal contact comes through our pets. That’s what I’d like to reflect on with you. After all, this is the season of birth; the little ones are all over the place. With all the heaviness of war and economic distress that weighs us down, it’s good to do something a bit more light-hearted. Looking at our pets, what can they reveal to us about God?
That’s not a silly question. Though animal spirituality – whether or not they have souls – has long been debated, more and more recognition is being paid to the spiritual – and mental health – role animals play in our lives.
The attention shouldn't come as a surprise. Almost six in 10 American households have a relationship of mutuality and reciprocity with a family pet. Animals have long been revered in religion. Every major world religion recognizes the divine origin of animals and humans. Buddhism regards animals as beings in different stages of reincarnation. Hinduism and Jainism embrace vegetarianism out of respect for all life. Islam teaches respect for animals as part of God's creation. Some theologians say that a common respect for animals as spiritual beings could serve as a bridge between religions because it rises above doctrine, rituals, and practices. Churches and synagogues are bringing animals to the front of religious conscious-ness…and in some cases, right up to the altar, such as the Blessing of the Animals on the Feast of Francis of Assisi.
Let me start with my own pet history. When I was a toddler, we had a collie named Laddie, but I don’t remember him at all. I do remember growing up with a beagle named Poochie, and in my teen years there was an Irish Setter named Patsy. We had a rabbit named Hoppy, a parakeet named Sam. There was a horned toad in there somewhere, a turtle, and of course, the goldfish won at parish festivals. My brother John had a hamster (one of the great family stories is how that beastie got out of the cage and into my brother Jim’s bed late at night!). But I didn’t really have any relationship with those pets, either because I was too young, or because I was away from home (in the seminary) most of the year.
As an adult, I enjoyed the company of an Akita named Frodo while serving at our novitiate in Color-ado. In the parish, I had an aquarium – that was OK, but it’s hard to develop a relationship with fish!!! But it sure kept the kids occupied while I talked with parents!! While at the Solitude, I had a cat named Grady (who has since died), and now, here at Fatima, a cockatiel named Gus.
My personal spiritual development was not ad- vanced enough to really appreciate Frodo’s role as “religion teacher.” Sure, he had a dog’s uncon-ditional love. He was a wonderful companion on walks, while sitting in the yard, at playtime. To my amazement, he quickly picked up that I was deaf, and would jump on the bed if something happened at night, or if a car came up the driveway, or someone came into the house by the back door. It was a great consolation knowing he would do this. But I was in a very differ- ent place spiritually when Grady entered my life, and that has extended to Gus. What have those creatures taught me about myself, God, about care for others?
What leaps first to mind is the respect and patience Grady and Gus have taught me to have towards other human beings. You deal with a cat and a bird on their terms, period. I have no choice but to let them be themselves, to do things in their own way, and their own time. If I don’t, they bite or claw. This has helped me be far more patient with the foibles and idio-syncrasies of others than I used to be.
The one time I did get really angry with Grady brought a startling revelation about God. I had tried to coax her up on my lap, but she just would not come. I yelled: “All I do for you, the least you could do is come sit on my lap!” Then it hit me like a two-by-four…. God would certainly be justified in saying this to me!!! But God never does. He waits till I’m ready, and in the meantime continues to bless me with all I need for everyday life. God’s “lap” is always there for me.
When our pets are in the kitten and puppy stage, they absolutely enthrall us (not quite so with non-mammalian babies!!). We love their antics, their playfulness, the way they have of falling all over their feet. Though it’s exasperating, we tend to excuse the trouble they get into…soiling the carpet, chewing the slippers, clawing the furniture. After all they’re too little to know better. The lessons to be learned? First, see how easily we put aside our seriousness and concerns and play with them. They bring out a ne-glected dimension of our humanity, and we are totally un-self-conscious about showing it. Second, see how we are patient with their accidents…does that extend to our family, friends, co-workers? Third, before God, aren’t we like puppies and kittens, falling all over ourselves, goofing up? Does God love us any less? Does he condemn us for our mistakes?
I’m not prepared to say that animals have souls like us, but I know they have feelings and consciousness. When Gus looks in the mirror, he may not be aware that he’s looking at himself, but he knows he sees another bird like himself and responds accordingly. He also reacts in different ways to different people. Grady would fall asleep in my lap, and before long I’d know she was dreaming because of her leg movements and snapping teeth ( I’m afraid to know what she was dreaming about!!). Dogs do the same. This makes a difference in how I relate to other animals, and how I react to cruelty towards animals.
I definitely believe animals have intelligence and a reasoning ability. They figure things out, learn quickly, and know how to push our buttons. I could never figure out how Grady got from the living room floor to the top of a bookcase, 8’ up. She knew how to guilt me when travel meant boarding her at the vets. Gus has a penchant for de-leafing green houseplants. Usually a loud noise will get him off the plant. But sometimes I catch him sneaking up on a plant…he takes a few steps, looks at me, takes a few steps, looks back. He knows he’s not supposed to be near the plant, but he’s gonna try anyway!
We are so alert in our pets to any signs of illness or an out-of-the-ordinary behavior, and we immediately respond to that. With other human beings…….?
Grady taught me the value of a good deep stretch, as well as the value of quietly sitting in the sun and watching the world go by. Gus and Grady both tell me about the value of a good nap. Gus loves to welcome the morning with song and to sing a Vespers medley as the sun goes down. Both pets taught me the value of persistence, especially when it comes to feeding time or waking up time or “Get out of my chair, please.” If I sooner or later give in, so will God.
Both beasties taught me spontaneity, especially when it comes time to play. Gus drops things over the edge of the table, and fully expects me to pick them up so he can drop them again. When I’m trying to work on the laptop, he’ll trot from one shoulder to the other under my chin, across the chair top, and back around again…over and over till I stop and either rub his head (boy, does he like his headrubs!)or talk to him. So often I would be reading, or watching a favorite TV show, or just be plain tired from the day, where here came Grady. She would flop down on the floor, look at me with an eye that said, “Get down here and play with me! Now!!” Not infrequently the thought ran through my mind that this is what parents go through every day with their little children. It’s a sacrifice of what I want to do for the sake of another.
Grady taught me what it was what it was to fully trust another and become vulnerable; Gus continues the teaching in his own way. They fall asleep on my lap or shoulder, trusting that I will not harm them. Both allow me to stroke the most vulnerable parts of their bodies: Gus his back, and Grady her tummy. So how do I trust God or a loved one or a counselor with my vulnerabilities?
There’s a lot more I could say, but the point is that our pets are not just wonderful companions, but they are also great teachers. In their own unique way, they can help us become more fully human, more fully attuned to the ways of God and the needs of other people.
And to answer a question I frequently get asked: yes I do believe our pets will be in heaven with us. We never lose those whom we love, and that includes our pets. When we get to heaven, every good thing and every good person that has passed through our lives will be ours to enjoy more fully that we have ever been free to enjoy it in this life. Every happy experience we have had will again be ours.
I think the Church recognizes this too. In the 4th Eucharist Prayer, we have this conclusion: “Then in your kingdom, freed from the corruption of sin and death, we shall sing your glory with every creature [italics mine] through Christ our Lord, through whom you have given us everything that is good.”
And to that I can only say, “Thanks be to God.”Fr. Herb
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