April 2, 2010
The Second Half
Called by name
BY DEACON JIM AND ANN CAVERA
Three of our adult sons and daughters live some distance from us. Thanks to phones, we have frequent conversations with each of them. Some time ago the phone rang before breakfast. I heard the word “Mom?” and I knew exactly which daughter was calling. From the anxiety in her voice I also knew she needed help. That’s the way it is with our closest relationships. We know those closest to us so well we are absolutely certain of the caller’s identity as soon as they speak our name. We can also recognize by the tone in their voice whether or not all is well.
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher).” John 20:16 Sometimes we like to meditate on that moment in the garden. In our mind’s eye, we imagine warm sunshine coming down in shafts between tree branches. Morning dew is still on the flowers. A few birds sing while a fresh breeze carries the scent of spring. In such a garden, there would have been little to interfere with Mary’s recognition of the voice of Christ. On Easter morning, when Jesus called her name, Mary knew without a doubt she was in the presence of the risen Lord. Easter is about having that kind of relationship with Christ.
Unfortunately, most of us live somewhere other than in a peaceful garden. As we write this, more than three dozen people have died in subway bombings in Russia. Also, less than a hundred miles from where we now live the FBI raided homegrown terrorists who call themselves “Soldiers for Christ.” Unfortunately, suicide bombers as well as members of renegade militias actually imagine they know the will of God. In addition to these stories of destruction and hate, the evening news carried a story on the rise of heroin addiction among teens, followed by a story on the Shroud of Turin.
More than ever it seems as though people live in desperation for a deep connection with something meaningful beyond themselves. Scriptures that have been preserved for hundreds of generations reveal God’s desire for just such a relationship with us. Today, however, these same scriptures are often judged as “irrelevant” and casually tossed aside. People choose to reject the love of Christ. Meanwhile, human imagination pumps out junk food for the soul while our youth thirst for a genuine spiritual connection. Instead, they are so overwhelmed with stories of aliens, vampires, and people with “super” powers they have little time left to grasp the profound simplicity in the love of God.
St. Augustine said there are three ways to believe in God. One way is to acknowledge the existence of God, but without allowing that knowledge to affect our lives. Another way is to have an intellectual belief in God that leads us to say and do the proper things our faith tradition expects us to do. Outwardly, we appear to be religious people. The third way is to allow the Holy Spirit to unite our hearts and our wills with God. The presence of God becomes the center of everything we do. This way is a whole-hearted commitment of who we are, all that we have and all that we will ever be. But, then, who makes a wholehearted commitment to anything? Mary did. She had the kind of relationship with Christ that could be summed up in a single word. So can we.
Deacon Jim and Ann Cavera are former residents of Evansville; their award-winning column is a regular feature of the Message. Contact them at www.catholicseniorspirit.com.