Psalm 100

¹ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
²     Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.^[a]
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

In The Sacrament of the Present Moment and Abandonment to Divine Providence, Jesuit priest Jean-Pierre de Caussade reminds us that “ Each moment of our lives requires us to do our duty, the duty of the moment, and each moment is precious and holds some divinely appointed purpose”.

We need to “offer God our heart and our will, do our duties faithfully, let go of outcomes, and let God surprise us”…“He speaks joy to the mundane and purpose amidst chaos.”

“We must accept what we often cannot avoid, and endure with love and resignation things which could cause us weariness and disgust. This is what it means to be holy.”  “…to open our heart and trust that in each plan that doesn’t go according to our hopes, God has something even better in store.”

“If we have abandoned ourselves to God, there’s only one rule for us: the duty of the present moment.” “What does this moment ask of me?” is always the right question.

Let nothing disturb you.

Let nothing frighten you.

Though all things pass,

God does not change.

Patience wins all things.

But he lacks nothing

 who possesses God;

For God alone suffices.

-St. Teresa of Avila

“One of our great problems is to see clearly what we have to resist. I would say that at the moment we have to understand better than we do the cold-war mentality. If we do not understand it, we will run the risk of contributing to its confusions and thereby helping the enemies of man and of peace. The great danger is that under the pressures of anxiety and fear, the alternation of crisis and relaxation and new crisis, the people of the world will come to accept gradually the idea of war, the idea of submission to total power, and the abdication of reason, spirit and individual conscience. The great peril of the cold war is the progressive deadening of conscience.”

– Thomas Merton, The Hidden Ground of Love. (p. 325-6)

Perhaps these words of ring as true today as they did in 1962. May we guard against the deadening of our conscience by daily returning to the Divine Source of all Wisdom in the silence of contemplation.

Amidst the suffering in which we are all immersed, we constantly question what is “ours to do”. Fr. Keating’s words help us understand the transformative process which must take place within ourselves  so as to “call forth” the Christ in every situation.

“We are all localized vibrations of the infinite goodness of God’s Presence. So love is our very nature…The effectiveness of social action depends upon the source from which it springs…The contemplative state, like the vocation of Mary, brings Christ into this world.”                                                                                                                                                               -Fr.Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart

While the CCOA is often informal and members of the clergy use first names, there are times when formal titles are used. In CCOA, these correct titles should be used in formal situations:

Deacons, Priests, and Archpriests are addressed as Reverend (often with a name.)

Bishops are addressed as Bishop (often with a first name.)

Formal written communication to Deacons, Priests, and Archpriest is sent to Reverend….

Formal written communication to a Bishop should be sent to The Most Reverend …

In this time of confusion, as we try to determine what is ours to do, Dominican Friar, Meister Eckhart (1260-1327) of the Rhineland Mystical Tradition offers some sage advice.

“The most important hour is always the present.

The most significant person is precisely the one sitting across from you right now.

The most necessary work is always love.”

Antioch’s Newsletter now has a new editor and a new name! Be sure not to miss the current issue of “The Voice” which can be found in the newsletter section of our website. Congratulations to Fr. Ron Catherson, our new editor, for a great beginning!

In this time of pandemic, when many are exhausted from caring for their loved ones, Blessed Charles de Foucauld reminds us that “No matter what is encountered, it is Jesus in every situation”. For those who are feeling a loss of identity and control in their lives, may meditating on the Prayer of Abandonment give you the peace and comfort of living in Christ.

Prayer of Abandonment

Father, I abandon myself into your hands.

Do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do, I thank you.

I am ready for all. I accept all.

Let only Your will be done in me,

and in all your creatures.

I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul;

I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,

For I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,

To surrender myself into your Hands,

Without reserve, and with boundless confidence,

for you are my Father. Amen.