FROM THE HERMITAGE
By sister alies therese

Take a peek at Psalm 77 where the psalmist spends the first half lamenting his (and the community’s) miserable situation (1-10). A translation I like in The Message (Peterson, 2003) says, “I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord; my life was an open wound that wouldn’t heal … Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good? Will he never smile again…? ‘Just my luck,’ I said, ‘The High God goes out of business just the moment I need Him.’” What could bring something good out of this? “You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have,” Corrie ten Boom reminds us.

Later the psalmist brings another point of view … something beautiful happens beginning at 11 to the end, when he changes his focus, ceases the lamentation and focus on himself, and turns to God. In Exodus language, he prays, “Once again I’ll go over what God has done, I’ll ponder all the things You’ve accomplished and give a long, loving look at Your acts … You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble…” I think this is something about salvation … and the saving job is God’s. That’s right where God wants you.

How does that salvation look? What is one practical aspect? Well, Pope Francis on Holy Thursday in 2014 said, “Am I really willing to serve and help others? This sign is a caress of Jesus.” This psalmist and his community in turning to God not only to themselves, discovered what Paul was trying to get over to the Ephesians. While pondering the darkness and the sinfulness of humanity, Paul also wants them to learn that God has us right where we belong … because that is where He wants to ‘shower us with grace and kindness’ and to teach us that this saving business is His gift. The fact that it is God’s gift is traced back to the covenants of the past and the promises to Israel … God created ‘a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.’ And that’s how we are to act toward one another. We are to be that caress of Jesus in the lives of friends and foes.

Catherine of Siena adds, “To the servant of God every place is the right place, and every time is the right time.” Every opportunity that comes our way ‘works out’ this salvation we’ve been given. Our learning to share allows us challenges and opportunities to gift others with those precious gifts of God. They often look like fruits of the spirit … patience, kindness, joy, gentleness, etc.

My experience of these fruits is usually where I am the weakest, or when we are most challenged, where we fear. In the April 4, 2014, Collect, we hear: “O God, who has prepared fitting helps for us in our weakness, grant we pray that we may receive their healing effects with joy and reflect them in a holy way of life.” This holy way of life is mirrored in the blessed life of Jesus, where we use the gift of salvation He has given, for others. Psalm 77 also reminds us, “O God, your way is holy, no god is great like God.”

God has us right where He wants us and comments further in Ephesians: “You are no longer wandering exiles … the kingdom of faith is your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here.” (Peterson, 2003) “For it is the will of our courteous Lord that we should be as much at home with Jesus as heart may think or soul desire. Julian of Norwich writes in Revelations. Our salvation, our saving, is about the grace that changes us into what God has in mind. We say to become the best version of ourselves … well, yes but what we want is to be the version God has in mind right where we are! Look at some of our October saints … Therese, Francis and Teresa.

“Christ wills that where He is we should be also, not only for eternity but already in time, which is eternity begun and still in progress,” so says Elizabeth of the Trinity. There is only one place to be … right where we belong in God. This means we belong in love and are motivated from that core to act as such.

Pope St. John Paul II clarifies, “Love is the constructive force for humanity’s every positive road … the future does not gather hope from violence, hatred or selfishness.” Our world and our country are full of the latter and it is our job to change things right where we are.
Blessings.

(Sister alies therese is a canonically vowed hermit with days formed around prayer and writing.)