Deridens alium, non inderisus abibit...

Sanctuary, St. John the Baptist Church
3/28/2010

In my reading I sometimes go to the bookshelf and pick up a book I haven't perused in some time. Today I chose to open Latin Sayings for Spiritual Growth by Archabbot Lambert Reilly, O.S. B. from St. Meinrad Archabbey. What happened when I opened it was not so much surprising but relevant to the season of Holy Week.

If you are reflecting this week on the Passion of Our Lord then you will put yourself in the crowd. You will witness in the Holy Countenance the pain. You will hear the jeering crowd with its condemnation. You will see the sneering faces and the hear the verbal abuse of the Anointed One. I found this offering timely for me while on this journey and so I offer it for your reflection.

Deridens alium, non inderisus abibit
("The mocker doesn't go away unmocked")
Traditional

We live in an age of irony. Nothing, it seems is to be taken seriously, and certainly nothing is beyond the reach of mockery.

Satire and poking fun have their place, but when the tone of the ridicule and contempt hijacks an entire age and literally nothing is sacred, something is very wrong.

When we nurture the virtue of justice, we're aware that everything that God created has a divinely ordained purpose. We human beings may, in some ways, be ridiculous and hapless creatures, but when the laughter fades, here we stand: beloved children of God.

How do we deal with the flaws and foibles of those around us? Are they reasons for judgement or fun? Do we make any attempt to understand why people are the way they are or do we take the easy way out, blithely criticizing?

The question is, do we treat others as human beings or as objects for our amusement or sense of superiority?

And what happens the, when we look in the mirror? What has treating others unjustly, as less than human, done to our own humanity? (pp 170-171)

~~~~~

I have wondered about those who stood at the foot of the cross and mocked Jesus, sneering and challenging him to save himself if he is God...When the earth quaked and the Temple veil is torn in half did they then realize he was the Messiah?

And so before I can pass judgment on these I must ask myself. "Do I, too, mock others for their beliefs, ridicule them for their traditions, treat them as less than myself because they don't "speak the language?" Why is it I become in sensed when I'm placing a call and am asked to choose #1 if I speak English and #2 if I speak another language. What in heaven's name causes me to be unkind? And why do I make remarks like, "If they live here they should learn the language." How do I know that they are not learning it? Who am I to judge. Why should the same offer of support be offered to them so that they might feel justified? Their life is certainly no less valuable in the eyes of God than mine! Shame on ME!

Jesus Christ did not die for those who spoke Aramaic. He didn't die for the Jewish people. We all know why and how he died. What we need to CONTINUE to learn is how I am to live the message for which he DID die, that we might live the Greatest Commandment. "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all our mind, and your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10: 27) And then we must understand that when we live this law we too will find ourselves ridiculed, rebuffed, shunned, the brunt of jokes. I only pray that I will have the courage, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to deny the temptation to ridicule, humiliate, or injure others with my words. No unkind words came from the mouth of our Savior. They shouldn't come from mine either!

+
~~+++~~
+
Thanks be to God!

The Navajo Rug

Picture by marymactavish

I found the most wonderful reflection today. I was reading Radical Grace: Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr, O.F.M. The subject is perfection. I readily identified with this. A lot of voices from the past started talking to me. "You got a 98% on the test. Why didn't you get 100%?" "You played that song well. But I heard a mistake as you began." From family to teacher to friends, we go through life looking for validation in one way or another and seldom find it.

The Navajo Rug

In a Navajo rug there is always an imperfection woven into the corner. And interestingly enough, it's where "the Spirit moves in and out of the rug." The pattern is perfect and then there's one part of it that clearly looks like a mistake. The Semite mind, the Eastern mind (which, by the way, Jesus would have been much closer to) understands perfection in precisely that way.

Perfection is not the elimination of imperfection. that's our Western either/or, need-to-control thinking. Perfection, rather, is the ability to incorporate imperfection! There's no other way to live: You either incorporate imperfection, or you fall into denial. That's how the Spirit moves in or out of our lives.

From Breathing Under Water:Spirituality and the 12 Steps

I believe I learned today that my life is a Navajo rug. It has it's flaws. But God made me. The flaws that occur are mine. The flaws are there because I "live." Though the ones who love me have long tried to mend and repair me in their own ways, I am the only one, with my God, who can truly make it right. It is consoling to know that the Creator's "Spirit moves in and out" of me.

Just as when I have completed a project and am most pleased with its outcome, some one will/would come to me and point out an error/errors. It used to embarrass me or make me angry with myself because I failed to find the mistake. But I soon learned that when this error was pointed out to me, someone had really paid attention to my work. Now, whether intentional or not, I get a certain amount of satisfaction in hearing about them as that means they READ it, noticed the work. Now, there are times I even do it do it on purpose. So, too, I can continue on the road to perfection without carrying most the old baggage by which I have been heavy laden. I can let go of it and start anew. Then the Spirit becomes the proof-reader of the next chapter of my "book."

So, feel free to proof read and make corrections!!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Again, I have been remiss...

Both Esther of A Catholic Mom in Hawaii and Lisa at
Are We There Yet have honored be in different ways. First Esther bestowed on me the honor of The Bloggers of the World award some days ago. This new and coveted award! I have been asked to bestow this on 10 others. And so I will do my best.

1. This I Do. Mike in England
2. Sailing by Starlight. Though she will be not be posting until after Easter.
3. Beyond Horizons3. Pia in Italy.
4. What I Choose Today... From Colorado
5. Are We There Yet. Another Colorado site I love to visit
6. Budapest Daily Photo. Brings beauty into my life.
7. Norwich Daily Photo. Brought me my first crocus of the year.
8. Prayer Poetry and Praise. Brings me serenity and oft times inner peace.
9. Contemplative Haven, asylum for a refugee soul. Brings me to reflection.
10. A crocus in the valley. Though she too will be on sabbatical until after Easter as well.

Now Lisa from Are We There Yet tagged me for The Saint MEME. I have enjoyed this one because it caused me to contemplate more deeply the lives of those saints I do admire. Thank you, Lisa.

1. First saints you met. Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Therese of Liseux .

2. Favorite saints. St. Therese, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Theresa of Avila.

3. Patron saint for the year. St. Stanislaus Kostka

4. Favorite book by a saint. Interior Castle by St. Theresa of Avila

5. Saint book you are reading now. The Kings Good Servant, But God's First (St. Thomas More)

6. Favorite movie about a saint. Thomas A Beckett

7. Favorite autobiography/biography of a saint. The Story of A Soul by St. Therese

8. Favorite novel/book of a Saint. Mother Theodore Guerin, A Woman For Our Time

9. Saint (besides your favorites) you'd want to meet. St. Padre Pio, St. Thomas More, St. Maximilian Kolb.

10. Saints you look to for help. St. Anthony, St. Padre Pio, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini

11. Favorite saint quotes. ""Love is a debt you owe to everyone." St. Catherine of Siena; "We shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed firmly on God." St Francis de Sales

12. Favorite holy card(s).


13. Favorite story about a saint. About St. Patrick as he drove the snakes out of Ireland.

14. If you could go anywhere on pilgrimage to what saints homeland, where would it be. Ireland and all it's saints.

15. any Blessed or Venerable you would like to become canonized. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

I will tag:
1. Ukok's Place
2. Mommy of Four
3. Grandma's Musings
4. And anyone in my Group on Tuesday night.

My thanks to all who have challenged me to grow and improve who I am, as Matthew Kelly would say, "A better-version-of-myself."

~~~~~~~

Again I say, "Thanks be to God!"