Scripture:
Hebrews 10: 1-10
Mark 3:31-35
Reflection:
"Here I am Lord; I come to do your will." These words from today’s responsorial psalm speak to the heart of the day’s readings. Each of today’s readings center on the importance of doing God’s will. Jesus underlines this message in our reading from Mark. "For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." I am left with questions for my self-reflection. How do I do God’s will? How do I know what God wills for me? It seems like I’ve been struggling with these questions all my life.
Dorothy Day, benefactor of the poor and tireless advocate for peace, wrote about these questions in her diaries, "The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day." "Who we are-a creature of body and soul and the will and mind are evidences of the soul; a creature, what a tender sound that word has. And God created us to return to him. We owe him reverence, and obedience to his will. To obey the will of another is to enter into his life." I like this last sentence. I have been thinking about it the past few days in light of my own questions about God’s will for me.
In one of these reflective moments last week I was watching the late afternoon Louisville winter sky turn into a mosaic of rose, blue and gray. The wintry limbs of trees in the foreground seemed to be the perfect frame for a stained glass sunset. I experienced the moment as a collage affirming the presence of God; or as Dorothy Day put it, the "life" of God. I felt a strong connection to what was unfolding in the sky around me. The words of the psalmist came to mind. "How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord God of hosts." Indeed I felt very much as though I was a part of the life of God. Just being quiet in the presence of God was doing His will!
Maybe I need to spend a little less time on trying to work out the details of God’s will and more time just sitting in the presence of God, experiencing the wonders of what I am connected to already, the life of God. Then maybe I can simply pray the prayer of the responsorial psalm without distraction, "Here I am Lord; I come to do your will."
Terry McDevitt, Ph.D. is a member of our Passionist Family who volunteers at the Passionist Assisted Living Community in Louisville, Kentucky.