The Seasons: A Poem

Posted by on
Sunrise over Amazing Grasses Family Farm The mad Artist wields His brush, Painted colors rush, To life and give flush, Before the quiet autumn hush. The life seems to pour, As colors fall to the floor, To be seen no more, Outside the dark, grey door. Brightness from below, Sun upon the snow, High, cold clouds blow, Flakes and ice appear to grow. The man melts with little seen, Underneath, pale, grey green, Hides life in dark unseen, Waits for warmth and to careen. Buds on branches show, Patience starts to grow, Trickles, streams and veins flow, Bringing fruits of melted snow. Sprung to life it springs, Bees, birds, sound rings, Lush green flings, Its gift bounty brings. Green growth gives one last rush, Underneath the Painter's brush. The mad Artist wields His brush, before the quiet autumn hush. More poetry is available from James M. Hahn in  The Last Dragon and Other Poems  available now. My new book of cryptogram puzzles " Secret Messages from the Saints " is avai
0

On Being Generous

Posted by on
Readings for Monday of the First Week of Lent

Our Lady of Lourdes (150th Anniversary!)

In today's readings from the Liturgy of the Hours Saint Gregory of Nazianzen asks us to consider who gave us everything. His homily invites us to meditate and ponder where all that we have, from the sky and rain to the house and laws, has come from. In short, who has endowed you with all that makes man superior to all other living creatures. Is it not God who asks you now in your turn to show yourself generous above all other creatures and for the sake of all other creatures? Because we have received from him so many wonderful gifts, will we not be ashamed to refuse him this one thing only, our generosity? Though he is God and Lord he is not afraid to be known as our Father. Shall we for our part repudiate those who are our kith and kin?

God seeks our generosity. Like a Father seeking to teach his children to be generous by his own generosity, he waits patiently for us to follow his example. Lent is a time to foster that generosity in our lives. It is a time to adopt a spirit of poverty and simplicity for the sake of others.

However, there is a problem that persists in Lent and all our practices associated with Lent. Lent is not supposed to be a set time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in the sense that once it is over, it is over. Lent is supposed to condition and train us to live this life not seasonally but perpetually (please note, not legalisticaly). In the same sense that many want Christmas - a season of generosity- to last all year, we should desire that our Lenten practices continue in some degree throughout the year. Each year should challenge us more than the previous. In this way our generosity will mirror that of our Father's whose generosity is certainly not seasonal!

We are called to be generous as God has been generous with us. Lent is a time to renew that generosity. Lent is a time to make heroic sacrifices in an effort to imitate that generosity. God has given all to all. In other words, though we lay claim to our home, it is His. Though we lay claim to our possessions, they are His. As Saint Gregory goes on to say, "He has given abundantly to all the basic needs of life, not as a private possession, not restricted by law, not divided by boundaries, but as common to all, amply and in rich measure."

How contrary is our way of life to this truth. Our culture basically knows one word - mine! During Lent, let us reorient our thoughts toward generosity. Let us seek to imitate God in being generous and giving. The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? (1 John 3:16-17) For if we do not, we will surely hear the words of Our Lord from today's Gospel, "Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me."

"In those countries whose population is majority Christian, the call to share is even more urgent, since their responsibility toward the many who suffer poverty and abandonment is even greater. To come to their aid is a duty of justice even prior to being an act of charity." Pope Benedict XVI Message for Lent 2008

Comments

Post a Comment