Dear People of God, We have Promises to Keep, so please Listen to your Life.
‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.’
It’s easier said than done. Easy to make a good start - a teacher going into a classroom for the first time / a priest celebrating Mass for the first time / a couple exchanging marriage vows / a mother holding her own child in her own arms for the first time / walking into a new job. In all of those circumstances there seems to be nothing that would possibly prevent us from keeping the promises we have to keep. No matter how lovely or dark or deep the woods of life may be, there are times when we couldn’t even imagine them distracting us to such a degree that in any way we might betray the promises that we so much wanted to keep.
But time passes, enthusiasm declines, converting dreams into reality becomes more difficult as the humdrum existence of daily life wears us down, as we become more aware of our own personal failures and weaknesses. So at this New Year we pray for courage, for perseverance, for love: courage to do what is right, perseverance to live up to the responsibilities we have in life, and love to help us confront in ourselves the failures and the short-cuts that we so easily substitute for right living.
‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.’
Those who practice mindfulness (the act of concentrating on your breathing, being aware of your breath and what is going on for you in the present moment) note that when you are on a journey it is certainly helpful to know where you are going, but remember the only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step you are taking at this moment. That is all there ever is. So we discover that if we really keep our eyes peeled to it and our ears open, if we really pay attention to it, even such a limited and limiting life as the one you and I are living opens us onto extraordinary vistas. Taking your child to school. Kissing your spouse goodbye. Eating lunch with a friend. Trying to do a decent day’s work. Watching the snow flakes fall against your window. There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, almost hidden, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not to recognize Him, but all the more fascinatingly because of that, all the more compellingly and hauntingly…..
The critically acclaimed and widely read author, Frederick Buechner, says something well worth reflecting upon at the start of a new year: “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness. Touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace”
Have a blessed week.
Fr. Peter
P.S. Welcome back to ordinary Time (leave your clocks alone)