I hear you knocking but you can't come in!

 How often have we been put on hold by those messages that we navigate when calling an institution? The first thing they ask is to choose from various options that help send our enquiry to the appropriate person who can respond to it. So far, so good, we become aware that we will be directed to the right person. Then comes the difficulty, we hold on while a person tells us how important we are, and then listen to music that only adds to the tension. Sometimes, these messages are more helpful and ask for our phone number so that they can call us back, holding our place in the line. Yet the frustration we all deal with is that we want to meet a real person in real time who will unlock the door and help us resolve our problem.

This could be a modern-day example of the rich man who cannot enter through the narrow door. No matter how efficient an institution may become in responding to our enquiries, we find it challenging to have the patience to wait. Various thoughts race through our minds. Don't they know who I am? Are they not interested in what I have to say? How much longer do I have to wait? Or why is somebody else more important than me? These are commonplace thoughts that plague us with some uncertainty, but they can cause us to doubt our own worth, primarily if we have dealt with an institution over a long period.

We can feel that we are on the outside looking in, while others can enter more freely. Weeping and grinding of teeth, however, will not move us up the queue faster! So, next time when we are stuck in those trees of communication that seek to meet us, we need to find ways to stay calm, focused, and present. Our call for help is essential, but more important is that we not lose our sense of purpose while we wait. It may feel like purgatory, but it is not the ultimate test of our salvation! We are called to be people who transform painful situations of suffering into opportunities of hope. They train us not just to become people who vent their frustration, but also to seek to make the most of every chance for good. 

So next time you are on hold and feel the temperature rising inside yourself, remember to look for that which produces fruit in peace and patience. Be charitable to your brother or sister. Go out to the whole world and tell the Good News.

Each person has a story

 We have lost the ability to listen to the stories that others tell. We are often in such a rush to be understood and heard that we do not make room for the diversity of the people we meet each day. This is true even in our own homes, workplaces, and in our media. We learn a lot about people, but do we take time to know who they are? Often, we collect information about people rather than walking with them and taking the time to be aware of the story they long to tell.

In an age where we seek to gather facts about many things, we have lost the ability to engage with the fire that burns within each person. We want to know about them to stoke our own fire rather than feed the embers that glow deep within. This inability to be present to what animates a person can often lead to conflict, where we assume that we already know the person's story. We seek to rush in, advise, correct, and counsel the person about what is the right thing to do. This lack of patience and the presumption rob us and them of an inner freedom to be the person God is calling them to be. 

As we wait in prayer, we need to listen to the eternal story that gently kindles a flame within us. The longing and the desire to notice how this burns even in the darkest night. It seeks to be our guiding light, animating our day and leading others to discover their more profound truth. In a world that longs to hear stories, may we become people with ears to hear and eyes to see these inner movements of the heart.

Being found at the task entrusted to us.

 The grass can often seem greener on the other side of the fence. There can be a great temptation to view the work and responsibilities of others as more important than our own. As we reflect on what is happening in our lives, we often find that others are more gifted, more noticed, and more engaged than we are. We can become observers of life rather than participants.

Yet we are all called to play our part in weaving the tapestry of life. Our participation does make a difference that often we may not see or experience. Yet we are called to stand ready, undertaking what is ours to be present to. We are called to discover how we can be at home with God, with others and with ourselves. We search for our true homeland, and as St Mary of the Cross Mackillop would often say, we are but pilgrims here.

May we discover the joy of being the right person, in the right place at the right time. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Giving Thanks for what we have

 We live in an age where our success can be measured by how much we consume, how much we produce, or by the influence we have on others in our lives. The appeal of being useful can influence how we make decisions and how we allocate our time. We want someone to notice that we are making a contribution that rewards our efforts. Yet in Ecclesiastes, we are called to labour wisely and to see where our hearts are present to the task at hand. In the end, someone else will inherit all our hard work, over which we have stressed and worried. As Pope John XXIII once had the response in prayer when he wondered how he would resolve all the problems that the Church faced in the modern age, he received the answer in prayer that it was Christ's Church and that he should get a good night's rest!

Similarly, we can begin to plan for a future that has not yet occurred based on what we know in the present. But how will we discern the heart of God rather than our own desire for bigger, brighter, and better? We often want to outshine and outdo what has gone before. The danger with this is that we can be driven by external forces beyond our control into a return to a golden age that we have created in our imagination. This does not mean that we don't try to improve the human condition, but we need to see what our treasure is and what makes us rich. 

God seeks to bring us to live a life that is formed by a relationship that overflows with God's love and kindness. We need to examine what brings life and hope to our age more than just fulfilling our own passions and indulgences. We are called to be renewed in the image of the creator, who does not look for artificial distinctions between people. Instead, it places on our hearts and minds to see Christ in everything and in everyone.