Dear Friends,

Earlier this week, I read something that I want us all to consider, especially as we have recently heard Gospel readings about the reign of God. The following is a reflection from the Center for Action and Contemplation written by spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton who describes a “rule of life” as a key to experiencing the reign of God:

Many of us try to shove spiritual transformation into the nooks and crannies of a life that is already unmanageable, rather than being willing to arrange our life for what our heart most wants. We think that somehow we will fall into transformation by accident.

Jesus had something to say about this. He used parables to picture a person who had searched long and hard for something very valuable and very special. In one story the prized item is a piece of land; in another it is a valuable pearl [Matthew 13:44–46]. In both stories, the merchant has been looking for this prize all his life, and when he finds it, he doesn’t hesitate. He sells everything he has so that he can buy what he has been searching for.

Both the field and the pearl are metaphors for the kingdom of God—that state of being in which God is reigning in our life and [God’s] presence is shaping our reality. The kingdom of God is here now, if we are willing to arrange our life to embrace it…

Christian tradition has a name for the structure that enables us to say yes to the process of spiritual transformation day in and day out. It is called a rule of life. A rule of life seeks to respond to two questions: Who do I want to be? How do I want to live? … [or] the interplay between these two questions: How do I want to live so I can be who I want to be?
What impressed me most, is the sentence “The kingdom of God is here now, if we are willing to arrange our life to embrace it.” How are we arranging our lives? How are we making transformation central to our lives?

Last weekend I spoke about the cycles in our faith; praying together and receiving the sacraments is a refrain that is preceded and followed by loving our neighbors, healing, and praying.

Please note the opportunities below: working with our partners at Mision Peniel and The Healthy Earth Organization. They are both excellent opportunities for widening the work of our faith.

As always, if you have anything you would like to talk about, I’m glad to meet with you.

Peace and grace,

Fr. Jonathan