Dear Friends,
The church has been preparing us during Lent to have spiritual growth sufficient to walk with Jesus
during Holy Week. The readings have been inviting us to change the way we view things – to have the same
view as God does and not the view of human beings.
In that regard, our second reading today from Paul’s letter to the people of Philippi explores profound
spiritual depths. Listen again to these incredible words from Paul: “Brothers and sisters: I consider everything
as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of
all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any
righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from
God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being
conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
Wow. I am not sure if I could ever say those words. Perhaps, I could say them, but could I ever say that
I am putting this into practice? “I have accepted the loss of all things”? No, I cannot say I ever put that into
practice. Paul certainly did as he sat in a prison because of what he believed – no family, no friends, no property.
“I consider them so much rubbish”? Really? All that I have and possess is rubbish? Do I think of the things in
my life as rubbish or the relationships or the accomplishments? Whew…I have a long way to go in my spiritual
growth.
Paul goes on to say, that the loss is so he might gain Christ and so share in the resurrection from the dead.
Yet, he recognizes right away that even in this, it is not his doing but something that God is doing. “It is not that
I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I
may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.” He is telling us that Jesus took
possession of him, he did not take possession of Jesus. I think most of us believers take the credit for our belief
and seem to regard it as work we have done. But, St. Paul says it is Jesus who took possession of Paul, not the
other way around. Which makes it possible to have “Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining
forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ
Jesus.”
Since I do not have the spiritual depth of St. Paul, an easier approach for me is what St. Ignatius of
Loyola teaches about the idea of “indifference.” Indifference means being detached enough from things, people,
or experiences to be able either to take them up or to leave them aside, depending on whether they help us to “to
praise, reverence, and serve God.” In other words, it is the capacity to let go of what does not help me to love
God or others, while staying engaged with what does.
Indifference does not mean not caring. One can be indifferent and yet be deeply passionate. Ignatius
names attachment to wealth, health, long life, and status as obstacles. Ignatius encourages us to see everything
as a gift. Nothing and no one belongs to us. Every beloved person and every good creation belongs to God,
including me. From the basic knowledge of being loved by God, I can become free. I learn that I have worth
apart from any of the things or people in the world that are present or absent from my life. God loves me as I
am, with all my talents, quirks, and failings. I am enough for God, and God is enough for me. When God’s love
is at the core of my identity, then I am attentively aware that I, too, have the capacity to love, no matter where
life takes me. Then I can walk with Jesus through the challenges of Holy Week. Then I know I will rise with
him…and that is all that matters.
Peace,
Fr. Damian