Oddwalk Ministries

Category: Joy

christmas, holiday, Jesus, JesusJusticeJoy, Joy, Justice, ministry, prayer, quote, reflection

The Work of Christmas

It’s a busy few weeks for me (Orin) right now, yet it is my week for a Jesus-Justice-Joy post.  In the midst of my busy-ness, occasionally my thoughts turn to why it is I am so busy, with a follow-up question of whether I see in all the things I do a building of God’s reign, or, if you like, am I going about the Lord’s work?

This poem, pictured, has been a dear one to me ever since I became aware of it some years back. As we are just two days past the Church’s celebration of Christmastide, I thought it appropriate to share with you all today.  May we all take a second to see if we are, in all we do, building a world filled with Jesus, with Justice, and with Joy.

 

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We Cannot Do Everything

The wreath, with a candle marking each week of the season, is a traditional symbol of the Advent. (CNS photo/Lisa A. Johnston, St. Louis Review)

This morning, I (Orin) was briefly interviewed by Matt Reichert, who hosts the NPM Ministry Monday podcast, and is co-host of the great “Open Your Hymnal” podcast on Catholic liturgical music. Matt is reaching out to several parish music directors – who this time of year have 12 or 14 irons in the fire – to ask them, “What do you do to remain sane during Advent?” It’s such a busy time for folks in church music, so the question and the podcast episodes could not come out at a better time. It will likely be split into two parts, with my part likely airing a week from today, or possibly in the next one. We’ll be sure to let you know!

One of the things we briefly talked about was a few lines from what is commonly known as the “Oscar Romero Prayer,” even though he didn’t write it. Check the endnotes at the link above:

This prayer was first presented by Cardinal Dearden in 1979 and quoted by Pope Francis in 2015. This reflection is an excerpt from a homily written for Cardinal Dearden by then-Fr. Ken Untener on the occasion of the Mass for Deceased Priests, October 25, 1979. Pope Francis quoted Cardinal Dearden in his remarks to the Roman Curia on December 21, 2015. Fr. Untener was named bishop of Saginaw, Michigan, in 1980.

The line that came up is this:

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

For me, it’s very freeing, perhaps even joyful, this particular sense of liberation. I, and we, do the best we can with the time, energy, and resources available to us, knowing that we can’t do it all – and that there is a broad Christian community who is also working very hard to build the reign of God on earth.

If you don’t know the whole prayer, please do take a moment to read it and pray it, perhaps even make it a daily part of your advent spirituality.

catholicism, Jesus, JesusJusticeJoy, Joy, Justice, prayer, reflection

Woeful are we; blessed are we.

Woeful are we;
blessed are we.

Woeful are we who value power over relationship;
blessed are we who recognize and value the dignity of the human person.

Woeful are we who strive for human successes in human ways;
blessed are we whose only glory is in the cross.

Woeful are we who project our own angers and insecurities;
blessed are we who are working to remove the plank in our own eyes.

Woeful are we who speak of others as “they” and them;”
blessed are we who speak only of “us.”

Woeful are we who assert without facts;
blessed are we who research, then post.

Woeful are we who rely solely on facts;
blessed are we who faith is founded on belief.

Woeful are we who declare that truth isn’t truth;
blessed are we who know the way, truth, and life.

Woeful are we who distort the truth for dishonorable ends;
blessed are we who recognize even truth sometimes has subtle nuances.

Woeful are we who declare the world is black and white;
blessed are those who realize this is not always so.

Woeful are we with only simple solutions to complex problems;
blessed are we who realize “love” is often far more complicated than it sounds.

Woeful are we;
blessed are we.

       
Orin Johnson, ©2018