Monday, January 11, 2016

Dreaming of an Ordinary "Holy" day

Friends of Faith:

Yesterday was the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and what the Church calls the end of the Christmas season. Today starts the “ordinary time” within the Church calendar – those 32 or 33 weeks depending on the year, in which we are not celebrating Advent, Christmas, Lent or Easter.

“Beloved: The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.” Ti 2: 11-14
For many reasons I am looking forward to “ordinary time”  to being “delivered” back to a slower pace and a normalcy. I’m dreaming of a time when I don’t have to think about honoring traditions seemingly created by the commercialism and materialism of a holiday, but rather a dream of a calmer holy day.

What I am dreaming of and looking forward to is a true ordinary day. A day when I can say the only important task I have do is to sit in silence, to pray, and to listen to God’s answer. A day in which there is  no advertising or media interference trying to commercialize an “event” but a day in which instead of being Martha, I could be Mary.
I know – this isn’t a completely practical dream, but that IS what a dream is. In the practical sense as soon as I send this I have to go to work and it’s tax season. But with true Christian hope I really look forward to a perfect “holy day,” one in which I have more time to pray and less things to do; more time to give away and less commitments that have to be done; more of myself to give to others and less on the shopping list for myself.

A dream is a dream for a reason. A dream is a reminder of what is truly important, of what we would put aside, of what we would chose over everything else. A dream is what is in our heart.
And for me, this dream is a reminder that Christ remains more important to me (and others who share my dream) than worldly wants and desires. That His will for me is more important than the “hoopla” imposed by the desires brought on by media, commercialism, materialism, individualism and several other “isms” that seem to have overtaken our world.

The dream itself gives me hope and an awareness of a blessing that I have been given: a vision to “see” that my hope truly is in Christ. A blessing to know and desire that even though the devil tries to impose and interfere by making feast days into worldly holidays, Jesus’ life, God’s presence, and the power of the Holy Spirit will remain: more important, more glorious, and more of a desire, more of a sought after dream, than all that is worldly.
So as much as my dream is to be “ordinary” I go back to the start and end of this holy season, Christ’s birth and baptism which is passed on to us by our personal desire, our own call to join Christ by being baptized and our sanctification by Christ’s blood.

My dream is to BE what my baptism calls me to be:  a light, a living and present Christian to others. A dream to make Christ be as everyday and “ordinary” as possible for me; a desire to make Christ be present for as many others as I/we can; and a hope to help others see Christ as their own hope, to make Christ’s “ordinary” time be their own dream.
Heavenly Father, Your time is Glorious. Your ordinary is the most extraordinary. Your presence is my hope. Fulfill my dream with your reality. Give those you love the holiness to make this their dream too. Help me to make my ordinary be all about You. Amen.

Dream of an ordinary day and then make this ordinary day be a very Happy Holy-day.
Blessings,
Charlotte

No comments:

Post a Comment