lift up your head
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Advent: Lift Up Your Heads!

TODAY’S ADVENT REFLECTION FOR THE 4TH FRIDAY OF ADVENT, 2016

Working on a college campus is inspiring. You are surrounded by young, energetic students who are here to learn and grow. But I have an interesting observation about these same students. I am amazed at their uncanny ability to walk between classes with their heads down, staring at their ever-present smartphones, a mere eight to 10 inches away.

These students seem to have developed a sort of “forward peripheral vision” that allows them to avoid collision with like-minded students; even with both in their heads-down-walk, they each veer slightly off course, without even looking up.

But not to just pick on the students, the next time you are at an airport waiting for your flight, take a look at how many people have their eyes firmly affixed to their smartphones, oblivious to what is going on around them.

The response for today’s responsorial song, Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand, seems to prophetically address this very phenomena, even to the last words, at hand.

While it is easy to judge those who are transfixed in what I call the “eight-inch stare” and conclude, “they need to get a life, to interact with those who are around them or to just put the darn thing in their pocket and enjoy God’s creation and the wonderful world around them,” where do we have our heads? What is our focus? What are we looking at? What path are we on?

This Advent season, have we been immersed in the online and print ads for the must-have Christmas presents, or are we taking the time to look at the path the Lord has laid out for us to follow each and every day?

Are we open to God’s constant presence around us and his desire to guide our each and every step, mindful that “paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees?”

So just what should we do?

For starters, the obvious.

We can take time to unplug ourselves from the computer and smartphone. Then, as we practice the Daily Examen, reflect on God’s presence in our lives and, more specifically, the path we are walking and where we are headed. Realize that God’s presence with you is not just at Mass or while you are reading this reflection, but with each and every step we  take on our journey called life. We can be grateful for the gifts which we have received and will receive today, be it the kind word from a co-worker or friend, or the love we receive from members of our family. Thank God for His steady, guiding hand as we walk our chosen path.

Our Advent season is about to end and the wait for the Christ child will soon be over, but that does not mean that we should stop finding time to quietly and humbly serve those in need, or neglect to always seek justice. To the contrary, the celebration of His birth should focus us and cause us to recommit our efforts to follow the path God has set before us and wants us to follow, each and every day.

Maybe all we need to do is lift up our heads.

[Throughout the 2016 Advent season, we will be bringing you posts from a variety of writers. Our hope is that each of these will be a meaningful way for you to slow down, pray well, and prepare for the coming of our Lord. Today’s blogger is Steve Schler, senior philanthropic advisor at Creighton University. He says, “I do not participate in social media websites so posting my personal interpretation about what the readings mean to me is a novel experience for me. However, being required to put pen to paper forced me to become more reflective about what God is really trying to say to me and this has helped me in my daily prayer life – to slow down and let the Word of God dwell within me instead of racing through the daily devotions.” Today’s reading can be found here.]

Ignatian prayer
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Praying With St. Ignatius Loyola And The Jesuits

In 1491, a baby boy was born in northern Spain to a family of nobility. As he grew, he dreamed of knighthood and what a young boy would see as the romance of battle and courtly life.

God had other plans for him.

St. Ignatius of Loyola did become a soldier, but was seriously wounded. During his time of recuperation, he began studying the life of Christ and the lives of saints. This began a radical conversion for the soldier, who laid down his weapons for the cross. Eventually, St. Ignatius founded the Jesuits, an order of Catholic priests and brothers known for their intellectual endeavors and their dedication to missionary work. Pope Francis is likely the best known Jesuit in the world right now.

Another Jesuit, known for his gentle humor and popular writings is  Fr. James Martin. In his book, The Jesuit Guide to {Almost} Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life, Martin explains the manner in which Jesuits pray, known as the Examen. Jesuits pray this once or twice a day, but it’s perfectly accessible to the lay person. The manner in which Jesuits pray this is long and meditative, but Martin suggests a simpler method:

Before you begin, as in all prayer, remind yourself that you’re in God’s presence, and as God to help you with your prayer.

  1. Gratitude: Recall anything from the day for which you are especially grateful, and give thanks.
  2. Review: Recall the events of the day, from start to finish, noticing where you felt God’s presence, and where you accepted or turned away from any invitations to grow in love.
  3. Sorrow: Recall any actions for which you are sorry.
  4. Forgiveness: Ask for God’s forgiveness. Decide whether you want to reconcile with anyone  yo have hurt.
  5. Grace: Ask God for the grace you need for the next day and an ability to see God’s presence more clearly.

All of us, at some point, need some structure in our prayer life to keep us focused on God and the “bigger picture,” to guard against focusing our prayers on ourselves and not God. Perhaps you will find the structure you need in praying with St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits.

If you’d like to know more about this form of prayer, visit this website.

Jesuits
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For the Greater Glory of God: The Jesuits

475 years ago, St. Ignatius of Loyola became the leader of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. Their motto, Ad majorem Dei gloriam, translates to For the greater glory of God.  Over the centuries, the Jesuits have become known for their scholarship and their bold evangelization. (Pope Francis is a Jesuit priest.)

This boldness is no surprise, given their founder. Ignatius of Loyola was a soldier who brought the fervor of battle into his spiritual life. He developed a series of exercises to help the men he led develop in their relationship with God, just as a commander might help those who serve under him to become stronger soldiers. The Spiritual Exercises continue to help Jesuits form their priestly lives. One writer describes this spirituality as practical:

Ignatian spirituality is adaptable. It is an outlook, not a program; a set of attitudes and insights, not rules or a scheme. Ignatius’s first advice to spiritual directors was to adapt the Spiritual Exercises to the needs of the person entering the retreat. At the heart of Ignatian spirituality is a profound humanism. It respects people’s lived experience and honors the vast diversity of God’s work in the world. The Latin phrase cura personalis is often heard in Ignatian circles. It means ‘care of the person’—attention to people’s individual needs and respect for their unique circumstances and concerns.

The Jesuits’ strong desire to evangelize has sent them all over the globe. Many have been martyred in their desire to “set the world ablaze” with Christ, as their founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, enjoined them. Fr. Walther Ciszek, S.J., an American, joined the Jesuits in the early 20th century. He volunteered to go to Russia, even as the Soviet regime was taking control. It was not an easy time for the young priest.

He didn’t mind the hard work and harsh conditions of that camp in the Ural Mountains. But he was frustrated and disillusioned to find no outlets for his priestly ministry. It was “almost a non-apostolate,” he said, for even the Catholic workers feared Communist informers and refused to speak or hear of God. And so, as Ciszek and a fellow Jesuit said their furtive Masses in the forest, he wondered: “Have all my work and sacrifices been for nothing? Should I give up?”

He needn’t have worried. Ciszek was soon arrested as a spy, and sentenced to the infamous Siberian Gulag for 15 years. It was here that Ciszek found his mission field.

[I]n this nightmare realm, Fr. Ciszek knew the joy of bringing Christ to his fellow prisoners. In secret, he baptized, heard confessions, tended the sick and dying, gave homilies and retreats, said Mass, and distributed Communion. With quiet heroism, he built “a thriving parish,” though it cost him. He was punished with assignments to the dirtiest work. He shoveled coal for fifteen hours straight, hauled logs out of a frozen river, crawled through dangerous mine tunnels, and dug sewer trenches with a pickaxe in subzero temperatures.

“How did you survive?” people asked him later. “God’s providence,” he always replied. And abandoning himself to this providence — to God’s will, as revealed in each day’s situations — was his priority.

Many people, including lay persons, have over the centuries found Ignatian spirituality helpful in their own lives. The many brave Jesuit priests stand as awesome examples of awareness of Christ in the world and a strong desire to serve others.