drink up

Cappuccinos are not for everyone, being made from the stronger espresso form of coffee, but they have certainly gained popularity here in the US over the last 20 years. When I was looking up St. Lawrence of Brindisi's bio I was reminded that he was a Capuchin friar and immediately thought of the fine morning drink of choice in Rome (and 532 Market St.). Knowing that it was named after today's saint's Franciscan reform order I wondered if they had invented it, much like the many liquors and beers of the more contemplative orders like the Trappists and Benedictines. Surprisingly, I found that it was invented only a hundred years ago, and was only named such because the tan ring at the edge of the cup surrounding the foamy milk brought to mind the tonsured heads of the Capuchins. Not everything about our faith is super-deep, but if we are reminded of our faith in everything, won't it be an indication that we are more deeply living our faith? Just saying.

holiness, justice, humility

According to the prophet Micah, there are only three things that God requires of us - to be holy, just and humble. Good luck with that. What Micah indicates is that God desires that we be perfect. Guess what - He does. But living in a state of complete abandonment to His will and in complete trust in His love necessarily leads to perfection. Happily He gives us an entire life during which to allow this to take place in our hearts and every grace to fill them to overflowing. Be holy. Be just. Be humble. Seriously, He means it.

open the door to your heart

When we have unexpected guests, we are often thrown into a tailspin. What can we serve them? How long will they stay? What happens to our previously planned schedule? But in today's first reading, Abram is blessed with just this scenario. But his response is markedly different. He immediately slips into host-mode and within a few minutes, he is setting before his guests a feast and making them feel quite at home. This serves as a reminder that our heart must be as ready to receive unexpected guests - that we almost expect them before we know of their arrival. Just as our homes ought to be ready for friends to drop by, our hearts must be ready to receive them with joy - they might just be angels in disguise!

Ave Maria

When Elijah heard the still small voice on the Mount of Carmel, he surely had no knowledge of just how important that encounter would be to so many others. When several men came together in the 12th century to live in community on that selfsame mountain, they were listening for that murmuring voice to settle in their hearts. But both Elijah and the fledgling Carmelites knew that they had to have an interior quietness prior to hearing the Lord's promptings. We would do well to learn from their example - to practice listening so as to hear just how much the Lord loves us.

Good fortune

Bonaventura - Good fortune. Born in the early 1200's, this young man made quite a splash on the world scene by taking on the mantle of the minister general of the fledgling Franciscan order (the seventh to follow in Francis' feet) and teaching alongside St. Thomas Aquinas at the enormously influential University of Paris. Wow! Imagine attending classes, sitting at the feet of Bonaventure and Thomas. I would think, though that students, while at times fully engaged and receptive and at others letting minds wander to dinner invitations and parties, were no different then than they are now. But what an opportunity! Let's pray in particular for college students today to stand on the shoulders of the giants who have paved the way, so they can be the shoulders on which future students will gaze into the eyes of God and declare their love.

childish or childlike

"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike."

From today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, we hear that the Lord expects us to have prepared our hearts to receive His truth by being like children. Envision the eager faces of kids prepared to learn on the first day of school. But then there are plenty who have quite different faces. We don't always have the same zeal when it comes to learning, but that often comes from the misguided notion that we have all that we need already. When I came home one day in kindergarten and announced that I was done with school, having already learned how to read, my mom pointed to the milk carton and asked me to pronounce "homogenized". Not already having this one down, I failed miserably. She said we could revisit this topic when I knew what it was. We don't have it all down. We still need to be taught. May our hearts be not only open but eager like those of school children to sit down and learn from the heart of our Divine Master.

Soon and very soon

When the Lord spoke to His disciples about their ministry, I'm sure they had no idea what they were getting into. They had to be excited about the prospect of ministering love, preaching about new hearts and challenging their friends and relatives to transformation. But that's also where they were likely brought back to reality. Merely sharing the gospel doesn't mean at all that anyone will listen. After all, "they" knew us "when." Our own conversion stories include the normal bumps and scrapes as well as the not-so-normal ones. And those who recognize the scars of our past might have a hard time recognizing that they're scars because the Lord has healed some wound. May we be just as patient as the Lord when we witness and wait on His timing to see the effects of sharing His Word.