Saying YES to God

As I reflect upon graduating from Loyola University Chicago, Thomas Merton's prayer comes to mind...

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.

And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,

though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

—-Thomas Merton

I too have "put all of my eggs in the basket". I said "YES" to God without even knowing the question being asked of me. Yet, I am at peace. At peace without a job because of my relationship with God. A God that loves me more than I love myself. A God that continues to bring life and light even to the darkest of hours.

Am I doing God's will? Whose voice am I listening to? I cannot know for sure, but In discerning what brings life orients me towards the loving Creator. A new day is dawning and life will flourish in the light...

(Above photo I took several years ago near Salt Lake City.)

Peace and Joy,
Mark Olivieri

The Ignatian Plus Sign

            There’s an old idea that people can be divided into two camps:  those who believe the glass is half full and those who think the glass is half empty.  With no small degree of self-honesty, I am someone who would probably look at the proverbial glass and ask, “But what if it’s poison?”  Which is to say, I struggle with a mindset that can be the opposite of the one that I am supposed to have as a spiritual director in the Ignatian tradition.

            St. Ignatius had many wonderful ideas about spirituality, but one that has spoken to me throughout my journey is that of the Ignatian “plus sign.”  Ignatius said that when anyone says anything, we are to take the best interpretation of that statement.  What if there is no best interpretation, I hear you ask?  Well, Ignatius suggests that the listener dig a bit deeper and keep looking.

            This week, I have found myself confronted multiple times with my own tendency to move quickly to the least generous interpretation of events.  One morning, while walking my dog, I saw that bulldozers were in the woods, cutting down trees and displacing the wildlife already struggling for a place in our growing town.  More houses, I thought.  What about nature, I thought.  What awful humans are doing this, I thought.

            What if you’re wrong, I thought. 

I dug deep into my spiritual toolkit and I reminded myself that I was working myself up over absolutely nothing but a mean-spirited set of assumptions.  And when I approached the man piloting a nearby bulldozer, he told me that he was working on clearing a series of trails in that area.  Not only had I been wrong, I had been completely wrong.  Worse, I was ready to let being wrong set the mood for my whole walk, or even morning.

            As I continued home, I could see where God was inviting me to notice a flawed way of thinking.  Expecting the worst is like wearing dirty glasses and wishing the world looked brighter.  The world is plenty bright, but we have to look for the light, and to do so we often have to account for our own flawed perspectives.

            I thought about how this might apply to on-line interactions, where the wildest things are said and the quick assumptions are frequently made.  What if, every time I caught myself judging a statement, I tried to imagine what kind of day the person on the other side of the screen was having?  What don’t I know about that person?  And regardless of their point of view, what do I gain by hating them or wishing them ill?

            I decided today to hold on to the image of the nice man piloting the bulldozer, the one with greater information.  Today, I was able to find him and get more of the story—but we don’t always get that missing piece.  The Ignatian plus sign invites us to know that there is a bigger picture, the part of the story that makes the character with whom we are struggling just a little more sympathetic.  To use the “plus sign” is an invitation to give up control of the narrative.  And if we can’t find that kindness at the moment, perhaps we can at least see that God is inviting us into a great mystery—one in which we don’t have all the answers.

            How might God be inviting you to see differently, today?  Towards whom are you being invited to practice this different way of seeing?  How does this change you, the only person you can really change?

Alison Umminger Mattison

I Can See Clearly Now

We sometimes forget that God can reach out to us in many different ways. I recently found myself in a situation where I didn't have a lot of control and the circumstances were painful to me in my job. The problem has existed for a while, but has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The details and the source of my pain and sadness should not be the focus here, so I will abbreviate that. If you are anything like me, any kind of pain or sadness can be all consuming. And, when I am feeling like that, it is really difficult to climb out of that dark place on my own. In the past, I could stay there for a long time.

So, over the weekend, I invited God to help to resolve the issue for me. I have never resolved them, nor has anyone else I ever asked. So, at long last, I decided God might be better at resolving this than my boss or co-worker, and yes, even me. I set up an appointment with my spiritual director and hoped to talk with her soon as well. She always helped me to center myself and adjust my perspective.

On Monday morning, I was getting the dogs all situated with breakfast before I headed out to work. I was not really wanting to go to work. I put on the radio and the song that was playing was, "I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Has Gone" performed by Johnny Nash. I listened carefully to the lyrics as I hadn't really heard the song since high school and college. I stopped and listened to the words before finishing my final chores before leaving for work. The lyrics in this song spoke loudly to me. I told God that was exactly how I would like to feel about things at work... now help me to get there. The song and the lyrics are below in case you are not familiar with the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FscIgtDJFXg

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Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now

I Can See Clearly Now\" is a Billboard Hot 100 Chart #1 hit song, written and recorded by Johnny Nash. It was a single from the album of the same name and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972. It was covered by many artists throughout the years, including a 1993 hit version by Jimmy Cliff ...

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (Bright), bright (Bright)
Sun-shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (Bright), bright (Bright)
Sun-shiny day

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for
It's gonna be a bright (Bright), bright (Bright)
Sun-shiny day

Look all around, there's nothin' but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin' but blue skies

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (Bright), bright (Bright)
Sun-shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (Bright) bright (Bright)
Sun-shiny day

It's gonna be a bright (Bright) bright (Bright)
Sun-shiny day
It's gonna be a bright (Bright) bright (Bright)
Sun-shiny day

So, I listened and then got into my car with great apprehension as I headed for work. When I turned on my car radio which was on a totally different station from the radio in my house, again, I heard the same song again, from the beginning. Some might say that was pure coincidence, but this was no coincidence. "Yes, God, I hear you... I want to be that way, too, but I don't know how. That is why I asked you for help." So, I went to work and felt as dismal as I had been feeling half the morning, wanting desperately to put this behind me somehow. Then, I had an appointment with my spiritual director. We talked about the situation and she pointed out the elements of my job that appeared to give me joy and that I should focus on those aspects and let go of the others which caused so much distress and unhappiness. By afternoon, I had figured out, with God's help how I might be able to better protect myself from some of those painful situations that would arise and that I can better focus my work and begin by listening more closely to what God would want me to do. 

So, God came through for me. Certainly not in a way I could have anticipated, but by using a familiar song from my teen years. A song I had not really pondered much in the days when I would sing along. I would have thought God would send a more religious song to help me. But once again God has taught me that He knows what is best for me and knows exactly how to get through to me. The challenge for me is that I need to ask God for help. And, when I do ask,  I need to listen. I also need to know sometimes God will surprise me, not with how amazing how He is, but how he might choose to speak to me, even using a song from the 1970's. 

So, that night before I went to sleep, I listened to that song several times, and I felt exactly what the song was talking about. I felt peace and calm like I haven't in a long time. The rain was gone and I could see all obstacles in the way.

Martha Corkery