A Particular Way of Life

I like to arrive at work a little early each morning. The day moves along better if I find a moment to prepare myself mentally and spiritually for whatever may come my way. Typically, I get up each morning as early as 5 a.m. Remember, I have three kids of my own, and my wife and I have to get them ready for their school day. Naturally my life differs—in many ways of course—from those in religious communities, although sometimes I think the analogy serves well. I often visualize myself as living according to the evangelical counsels.

I believe we are all called to serve the Lord in chastity, poverty, and obedience. We all share a call to live holy lives in which our main sustenance comes from God. It’s really just a matter of giving ourselves completely. I think of it as a matter of being able to “image” myself in the role. It always begins with prayer. Usually I wait until I arrive at work to pray the Morning Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours. Each morning I have about a 20 minute window of time alone that will allow me to sanctify my work, my day, with prayer.

Yesterday the theme of our having an advocate in heaven was still fresh in my mind from my previous blog posts. As I read the words of Psalm 146, I thought, “Yes, this is it!” The psalmist tells us outright how the Lord serves in our lives as our advocate. It is the Lord

who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless…

In all we can clearly see that we have a great advocate who is moved by our needs. God hears our prayers to such a degree that his own Son Jesus became the price of our being able to apprehend how much the Father loves us. It never was the case that the intercession of Jesus was needed because God the Father would not hear us on account of our sinfulness, but that we had moved so far away from God that the only hope left was to send one like us, though without sin, to be among us. The Father loves us immensely and desires that we walk with him daily.

What we have to consider this day is the many ways that God sends advocates into our lives, and without a doubt I believe that among the children of Adam, Mary was the greatest advocate that God could send.  She points us always toward the one who is our teacher. It is the way of our many mediators and advocates to show us Jesus, and never do they detract from his unique role as the one mediator between God and lost humanity. Today we celebrate the advocacy of the Apostle Bartholomew. Fittingly, the passage from Revelation speaks of the Church in our foundational relationship to Christ. We come to it by way of knowing him through our many advocates, such as the holy apostles.  Through them we learn to see great things.

I have personally found that Christ the teacher, whom the disciples called Rabbi, in turn teaches us that we are to be his instruments of love. It has always been those who bore the love that is God in their hearts who have shown me God. I pray that I too may show God to others. Intercession and advocacy, by which we come to experience the reality of God with us, is made real to the world through how we serve others. Those things listed above from Psalm 146 are ours to show to the world through what we do.  All that we are asked to do is to take up a particular way of life.

Comments

[When Seasons Change]

"It always begins with prayer."

You're so right.