Says the Master to his pupil: "Do you understand that you don't really exist?"
Upon which the pupil replies: "To whom are you telling that?"
When we stop to reflect we realize that our happiness is related to conscious awareness of aspects of our lives, some of which we have control over.
From the wisdom of the Desert Fathers we have the following: A brother said to Abba Anthony, "Pray for me." The old man said to him, "I will have no mercy on you, nor will God have any, if you yourself do not make an effort and if you do not pray to God."
One measure I use at the end of each year is the simple question: Have I grown closer to God this year? In reply, I need merely to look at my prayer life. Did I raise my consciousness to the awareness of God's presence and did I take the time and use the opportunities to meet God?
St. John of Kronstadt points out how to obtain the rich blessings we all need through prayer: When you are praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by your loneliness, remember then, as always, that God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your own Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of God. Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and where God is, there are they also. Where the sun is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to understand what this means.
In his First Sunday of Advent reflection Fr. Brendan McGuire pointed out the following: "Meteorologists today have very sophisticated equipment. Using data sampled from different parts of the ocean and land, they can determine, with great accuracy, the intensity of a storm and the approximate arrival of a storm.
"Financial analysts have done the same with the data that they have received on their companies' spreadsheets. They can examine the profits and expenses as well as the supply and demand, and quite readily predict that times are going to be very tough for the foreseeable future for some or even all companies.
"Parents are very good at noticing when things are off for their child. When their child comes in from school and they have a long face, and they do not return the greeting, parents know that something is wrong."
McGuire goes on to say, "We have a spiritual dimension to our lives, after all we are all here in this Church today. But we rarely take in any data from our spiritual lives and examine it and say what does this tell me about myself - what is going on here?"
We have much misery in our lives because we take no heed of the "spiritual maladies" that are going on. Sometimes we recognize the signs and say, "This is not me." We become disappointed in whom we have become.
As the New Year progresses we have the opportunity for new beginnings. What am I going to do to attend to Christ in my life? How will I draw closer to God this year?
The best way to make this year a happy journey is to reflect the love of Christ to others.
