I decided to focus on the Responsorial Psalm in today’s readings:
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
-Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3
What struck me about this Psalm is its promise of peace and even contentment. Where may we find such peace and why do we so often lack it? Well, many would answer with the words of the Psalm - we find peace in the Lord. But, how often is that true? Few, if any, among us could claim this all the time. We become distracted even at Mass with our concerns and the cares of the world. Our minds wander as we pray, recalling conversations or things we must do. The news headlines of any given morning are enough to rob us of any sense of peace. We know how and what we should do to have attain this promise of peace, but we are incapable of following through.
It is much like the old episode of “Seinfeld”, in which the car he reserves has been rented out… we know how to take the reservation but not how to keep it, and that is really the whole point! Of course, this is nothing new. Saint Paul wrote repeatedly of the troubles he had in following through with his intended piety or discipline. While he does not go into detail, he must have been tormented by some sin or inconsistency. Perhaps he was prone to worry and despair?
Recently, I have been Reading Thomas Kempis’ classic work, On the Imitation of Christ. This book has been renowned for centuries due to its profound simplicity. He makes many deceptively brilliant points that are very much in opposition to all I have been taught and American culture in general. One such point is that it is better to be a servant than a master… that is a bit hard to swallow for a man of my genealogy and nature! My heritage includes not only Irish rebels and several ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and Civil War, but at least 3 royal lineages that make me a direct descendant of some of the most fiercely powerful kings in history. To say that being masterful comes far more naturally to me than being servile is an extreme understatement!
One thing that did not come naturally for me though, was to become the kind of charismatic, gregarious man my grandfather was. I was a shy, quiet kid. He was a big, powerful, larger than life character like a hero from a John Wayne movie. (If you don’t know what I mean, what a classic John Wayne film like “McClintock!” or “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”) I had to constantly force myself outside of my comfort zone to learn to speak with strangers or even just to tell the jokes and stories most folks know me for today. I had to overcome stage fright to become both a competent public speaker and a musician. No one would have thought the quiet, bookish kid would perform before tens of thousands of people, but I did. Eventually, I became the guy who never meets a stranger and developed the ability to make most anyone laugh and feel at ease. However, Kempis makes an excellent point that this is not always the best thing! He explains that too much social interaction can be the cause of what prevents us from attaining, or maintaining this peace:
Open not thy heart to every man, but consult a wise and God-fearing person. Have little intercourse with youths and strangers.
Do not flatter the rich when thou art in their company; and be not anxious to appear before the grandees. Converse with the humble and guileless, with the modest and pious; and speak of edifying subjects.
Be not familiar with any woman; but commend all good women in general to God. Desire to be intimate only with God and His angels, and avoid the acquaintance of men. We must have charity for all; but familiarity is not expedient.
It often happeneth that an unknown person shineth brightly by his good reputation; yet his presence darkeneth the eyes of the beholders. We imagine sometimes that our company is pleasing to others; and we begin rather to displease them by the defects which they discover in our behaviour.
and
Shun the prattle of men as much as thou canst; for talking of worldly affairs is very hurtful to the soul, even when it is done without bad intention. We are indeed easily tainted and ensnared by vanity.
Often I wish I had not spoken, and had not been among men. But why do we so much like to talk and to converse together, though we seldom return to silence without having hurt our conscience?
We like to chat, because by our mutual exchange of ideas we seek consolation one from another, and we wish to relieve our hearts, which are burdened with divers thoughts. And we think and speak most willingly of what we love or desire, or what runs counter to our inclination.
But, alas! herein we often labour foolishly and in vain; for this outward comfort is no small hindrance to inward and heavenly consolation. We must then watch and pray, lest time pass away unprofitably. When it is lawful and expedient to speak, say what is edifying.
Our bad habit and the neglect of our spiritual progress are generally the cause that we keep no guard over our tongue. Yet a devout conference on spiritual subjects is no small help to our progress in virtue, especially when such as are of one mind and spirit meet together in the Lord.
I think that we must seek to find balance in our interactions. Of course, we should be intimate and converse frequently with our family and close friends, although they are most frequently and especially the cause of our distraction and worry. This may be balanced with times of quiet contemplation. It is also important not to ignore strangers who may need help or be lonely. But, especially in our era of social media and 24/7 news it is far too easy to so fill our time and our minds with stimulus that there is little room for either God or productive introspection. Reading good religious books such as Kempis wrote, spending time in silent adoration of the Eucharist and (often especially in my case) taking a quiet walk in the woods is essential to balance things out. We have to turn things off for a bit and have time for quiet prayer and thought.
While it is good to be friendly and helpful, we live in an era in which we are encouraged to share our every thought, emotion and mundane event of our lives with strangers and to be far too interested in the minutia of their lives. That is not healthy. We must reserve time for the cultivation of the interior life, because that is where both God and our true selves are to be found. I doubt either our Lord or Mr. Kempis would consider our culture conducive to sainthood!
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is Available in paperback on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic
You get God’s peace by being anxious for nothing when you cast all of your care on God (Cf. 1Peter 5:5-7; Philippians 4:6-7). We don’t have to needlessly complicate it as we usually do, and postpone it into the future.