I promise not to be too long tonight in my reflection, as it is past my bedtime. (ACE talent show was tonight...and, let me tell ya, there was plenty of talent...On second thought, I'll hold off on that till another night.) But I did want to put to paper (er, um, cyberspace?) a few collected thoughts from Sunday night:
Fr. Joe + ND Folk Choir + last 9 p.m. summer Sunday Mass at the Basilica = AWESOME
The Gospel was the one we hear often - and, yes, the one that is often used at vacation Bible school (at least at ours) - of the two sisters, Martha and Mary. As Fr. Joe pointed out, Martha is the one from whom Jesus is benefiting (having his feet washed and his meal prepared), yet she is the one who is somewhat scolded by Jesus. But Fr. Joe was quick to point out that it wasn't that what Martha was doing was bad - instead, it was good. Jesus said that Mary had chosen the "better" (not good) part by listening to and contemplating Jesus' words. And Fr. Joe went on to say that we can think of this whole Gospel in the context of "good, better, best," thus implying that there was a "best" part, which, he said, would be akin to a combination of the actions of both Martha and Mary - a balance between active and contemplative lifestyles.
I think Fr. Joe nailed it right on the head - that's how I have felt being here at Notre Dame, and I think that balance is largely what makes ND so, for lack of a better term, "magical." It's on this campus where God's presence is so tangible, but where, also, I can be active - both physically and mentally. The "best" in this case being the contemplative (Mass & prayer) with the active (running, grading, helping with classes, curriculum-planning, etc.).
And maybe that's also why I felt such a deep connection and draw to Arizona when I lived there for 3 years - that same sense of being so in touch with God (mostly through nature and opportunities for prayer/thought on my lengthy work commutes) because I was in such a healthy physical and mental state.
So now, the challenge becomes how will I choose the "best" in Chicago? What can I do to insure that balance of contemplation and action?
What will you choose to do?
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