Month: December 2018

What does that word mean? The mind goes to kneeling down, bowing one’s head, and adoring the object of worship. That is one way I supposed, but what about other ways people worship? Like taking their money to the bank, polishing their expensive cars, or buying new things. Not that there is anything wrong with these things, but for some people that is worship, that is what they bow to and what they adore.

It is hard not to adore and worship an job you are really good at, or another person, or even the idea of church. There is nothing inherently wrong with these things, except when we become attached to them as the object of our worship. A job that defines you is a real problem, what if you lose the job? A beautiful person in your life is wonderful but what if they leave? When the object you are worshiping defines who you are there can be real problems.

So, here’s the perspective. If I go to church because I love the liturgy or the music or just the experience, what am I worshiping? If the church has become one more thing to check off of my list, am I worshiping my busy schedule? Being very proud of all that I am called to do? If I go because the preacher’s sermons are the best anywhere, what am I worshiping? The preacher’s good words perhaps, but what if that preacher says something that I do not like?

It is easy to forget in this busy world we live in that we should worship the creator of all things, not the things. If we go to church and the music, liturgy and preaching all point us to the God of the Universe, then they remain tools of worship and we find ourselves in God.

You can worship in the garden, if the time there is pointing you to the creator and not the creation. The secret is to wonder if you are being led to the Creator and not caught up in the creation. This is the daily examen that St. Ignatius said was so important. At the end of the day, I must look inside, quietly, and come to terms with the person that I tend to be, that my ego leads me to be. That person who sings, with Sinatra, “I did it my way!”

Doing it your way will never be worship, even if you are doing good. You are worshiping the act, or even yourself. Doing it God’s way, in humility, makes all that you do an act of worhip, even gardening or teaching college students.

TMM
 

Attraction is what draws us to something. If you are a fisherman, then your lure or bait needs to attract the attention of the fish. If you are a retailer, your advertising needs to attract customers. If you are looking for a significant other, then you need to be attractive to another in some form or fashion.

What we find attractive is most often culturally determined. Some cultures admire certain bodily features more than others. Some social groups find certain characteristics more attractive than others. Regardless of what group you may fall into, that group often determines for you what is attractive.

These attractions are things we often need to learn to overcome. We are all attracted to clean new babies. We are not attracted to the homeless person with an alcohol problem. That aroma is not attractive. We are all attracted to things that remind us of our mothers or grandmothers, like cookies she baked or a perfume she wore. We are not attracted to the things we often encounter in nursing homes.

In traveling to other countries, I have often encountered smells and sounds that were not attractive, but my hosts did not notice at all. That does not mean they were all bad things, it simply means that they were different, outside of my daily routine or daily experience.

St. Francis talked about Prime Attractors. Those persons, those lives that draw people to God simply by being experienced. That sort of attraction is not something you can put on or learn. It is, instead, something you have to live out and simply be. To become a Prime Attractor is a lifelong process. It is not taught, it is simply done. Living daily in the Presence and giving one’s life away daily is part of the process of becoming a Prime Attractor.

Even more importantly, is remembering that forgiveness is instantaneous. Perhaps this is most important. Being a Prime Attractor is not about being perfect, it is about letting the world see in one’s life, the goodness and godliness that is always present. That usually means letting go of the less attractive things that are also part of us.  You see, we are all called to be Prime Attractors. What is holding you back from being that attractive?

TMM