2009 : A Book of Grace-Filled Days

Introduction

Every book is a world.
As a lover of books, I’ve been entering other worlds religiously—yes, religiously—since I was a kid. Before there were movies, television, and the Internet, books supplied the “great escape” for which the human spirit is often secretly yearning. It’s not that the world at large isn’t marvelous in many respects. But each of us contains multitudes, as Walt Whitman wrote in his epic poem, Song of Myself. Sometimes living this one little life just doesn’t give us the room to express all that’s available inside.
The expansiveness that we sense within us is no accident. It’s the best definition I can come up with for the spiritual life. Jesus once described the realm of God as a mansion with many rooms. This is a great image for the spiritual quest as well. Our faith encompasses many riches, like so many rooms to explore and savor. First of all, there’s Story, chief among which is the story of salvation unfolding in the Bible. And there’s a room for the Saints, whose past example and continuing presence provide us with comforting and challenging companionship. We’ve also got a place for Prayer, Public Worship, Church History, and Wise Teaching. We could wander through these rooms for a lifetime and never exhaust their potential for illumination and delight.
This little book provides a path for wandering through those rooms. It’s not a perfect, one-size-fits-all trail, as I’ll be first to admit. Some of us are more naturally inclined to lead with our hearts and others with our heads. Some view the spiritual quest as one of seeking wisdom, knowledge, and understanding—a learning process. Others equate learning with homework, and would rather feel than think their way through to a genuine religious experience. Some of us are frankly in it for the sake of a good story, or a single word or image that will spark us into renewed life. Me personally, I like surprises, and I’m always grateful to anyone who can make me laugh. Even and especially in the realm of religion!
But most of all, when wandering through soul territory, what I’m looking for is a fire-breathing, Pentecostal rousing of the person God created me to be. That’s the person stamped with the likeness of God. I don’t know that woman as well as I might want. I sense her around the corner sometimes. When the breath of the Spirit flutters through me in rare moments, I feel my true name being spoken and what might be called my “holy self” rising. So let me say without embarrassment that I want to be holy: what other reason is there to live a Christian life? If you’re reading this book, chances are you want to be a holy person too.
Holiness doesn’t require a halo, folded hands, or an otherworldly preoccupation. But it does involve the action of grace. Grace is a gift from God that we can’t earn but that God earnestly desires to shower down on anyone willing to stand still long enough to get doused. So consider this book an opportunity to stand still together for a few minutes every day this year, to allow the grace of each hour to rain down on us. Please don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day. This isn’t spinach; there’s no punitive angle here. Enter the world of this book when you can, for the sake of the adventure into grace. Risk everything you have and everything you are on God’s promises. See what happens. The results could be glorious.

Sunday
November 30
• First Sunday of Advent •
Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
—Mark 13:35
Time dribbles through our fingers while we wait. Life falls into a holding pattern in checkout lines, on subway platforms, in airports, or in traffic jams. We await payday, test results, or the first glimpse of the one face that matters. We turn toward what’s coming with excitement, dread—and, sometimes, joyful hope. And in Advent,
we do one thing more: we wait watchfully. God will break into time like a thief. What will the holy one find locked in our hearts?
Isaiah 63:16b–17, 19b; 64:2–7
Psalm 80
1 Corinthians 1:3–9
Mark 13:33–37

Monday
December 1
Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.
—Isaiah 2:3
After midnight, our small group began the ascent of a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula believed to be the one Moses climbed to meet God. Thirty-three hundred years ago, Moses did it without a guide, a warm coat, or a flashlight. As we climbed, the wind bit hard; I stopped looking over the sheer drop. We made the crest at dawn. Would God be manifest, after our hours of striving? An Arab man sat on top of the mountain, crouched over a fire. “Some tea?” he asked. In English. God was here!
Isaiah 2:1–5
Psalm 122
Matthew 8:5–11

Tuesday
December 2
Turning to the disciples in private {Jesus} said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.”
—Luke 10:23
Life is good! From where you are, you can probably see something that would astound prophets and kings of old. Are electric lights gleaming above you? Is food being kept at a carefully calibrated temperature in your fridge? Does a loved one’s face smile at you from a photograph? Still, the greatest blessings are seen only through the eyes of faith: the presence of Jesus in word and sacrament, in suffering and healing, in death and fullness of life.
Isaiah 11:1–10
Psalm 72
Luke 10:21–24

Wednesday
December 3
• St. Francis Xavier, priest •
Even when I walk through a dark valley,
I fear no harm for you are at my side;
your rod and staff give me courage.
—Psalm 23:4
The dark valley haunts us all our lives. Francis Xavier longed to bring the gospel to China, but after
evangelizing India and Malaysia, he died within sight of his heart’s desire. Our mortality may catch up with us before we pay off the house, raise the kids, or fulfill our dreams. The very definition of our humanity may be this: life is over before we’re finished. “Finished” doesn’t matter; it’s “faithful” that we’re after. Fidelity is the greatest legacy we can leave behind.
Isaiah 25:6–10a
Psalm 23
Matthew 15:29–37

Thursday
December 4
• St. John of Damascus, priest and doctor of the church •
The Lord is God and has given us light.
—Psalm 118:27
In the eighth century, iconoclasts destroyed sacred images, believing that the Eucharist alone should represent the divine on earth. John of Damascus argued that images help connect us to the invisible realities of heaven. Have you ever encountered religious art and been captured by the truth you discovered there? Artists participate in the divine activity of creation. Surely God still says, through the artist: “Let there be light.”
Isaiah 26:1–6
Psalm 118
Matthew 7:21, 24–27

Friday
December 5
One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the Lord’s house
all the days of my life,
To gaze on the Lord’s beauty,
to visit his temple.
—Psalm 27:4
Looking for God? Look for beauty. Dante understood this when he wrote The Divine Comedy and described the “Beatific Vision” of God. He borrowed this idea from the psalmist, but also from Exodus. There, in chapter 33, Moses begs to see the God he faithfully serves. God gently refuses—mortal life cannot withstand the sight—but offers instead to reveal “all my beauty.” When we stand in awe of loveliness, we get a glimpse of what Moses saw.
Isaiah 29:17–24
Psalm 27
Matthew 9:27–31

Saturday
December 6
• St. Nicholas, bishop •
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
—Matthew 10:8
Cure the sick? Who wouldn’t unleash such power if they could? I sat with my friend in the oncology unit as he awaited radiation treatment. Surveying a roomful of courageous patients, I fiercely longed for miracles
to sweep down and anoint every head. But all I was able to give my friend was a steady gaze into his suffering and hopeful eyes.
Isaiah 30:19–21, 23–26
Psalm 147
Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6–8

Sunday
December 7
• Second Sunday of Advent •
But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
—2 Peter 3:13
“New” is what we need. The old world is frayed and broken in a lot of places. We mend it from time to time with diplomacy and charity, or prop it up with environmental measures, military threats, and economic incentives. But human history remains the worse for wear. Yet we can’t just throw up our hands and abandon the place. It’s all we’ve got! So we continue to work for justice and peace, all the while praying for that kingdom to come.
Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11
Psalm 85
2 Peter 3:8–14
Mark 1:1–8

Monday
December 8
• The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary •
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
—Luke 1:30
Mary’s heart was remarkable. Even God fell in love with her! And so have billions of folks since. A Marian sanctuary in Altötting, Bavaria, preserves in silver urns the actual hearts of kings and princes who swore special allegiance to Mary. Probably no one will ever place my heart in a shrine. But there are other ways to surrender our hearts like
Mary did.
Genesis 3:9–15, 20
Psalm 98
Ephesians 1:3–6, 11–12
Luke 1:26–38

Tuesday
December 9
• st. Juan Diego, hermit •
Tell God’s glory among the nations;
among all peoples, God’s marvelous deeds.
—Psalm 96:3
Juan Diego was nobody, really. Just a Mexican Indian of a defeated people who had barely survived the bloody European conquest of 1521. Their homes had been burned, their men killed, their women raped, and their temples destroyed. Juan Diego and his people did not have much to live for. Yet to them and in their likeness, the Virgin appeared and promised her protection. Even when you’re nobody, heaven is watching.
Isaiah 40:1–11
Psalm 96
Matthew 18:12–14

Wednesday
December 10
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give
you rest.
—Matthew 11:28
I know a man who was rescued by these simple words. He was a stockbroker, successful in terms of money, personal attraction, and career potential. He was also an alcoholic at the mercy, night and day, of his “gorgeous thirst.”
One Advent night, he slumped into the back pew of a church while Mass was going on. He heard Jesus promise to take his burden away. How he longed for such rest! He quit drinking. Today he’s proclaiming this hope to others as a priest.
Isaiah 40:25–31
Psalm 103
Matthew 11:28–30

Thursday
December 11
• St. Damasus I, pope •
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.
—Matthew 11:12
Can heaven be taken by force? Or can violence ever serve God’s purposes? Scriptures can be gathered to support one side of this argument and the other. Wars have been fought in the name of religion, both armies blessed as they go into battle. Conversions have been gained at the point of a sword. Many simply are frightened into obedience by the pains of hell. Yet how can the realm of a God who is love ever be entered except through love’s own free surrender?
Isaiah 41:13–20
Psalm 145
Matthew 11:11–15

Friday
December 12
• Our Lady of Guadalupe •
Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
—Luke 1:45
Visions and angels and saints, oh my! Private revelations are by definition not for everyone, and the church teaches that belief in them is not mandatory. Yet many find the apparitions of Mary both instructive and encouraging to their faith. As the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mary said, “I want to be your mother. I want to right the wrongs.” Sure sounds like heaven talking, don’t you think?
Zechariah 2:14–17 or Revelation 11:19a; 12:1–6a, 10ab
Psalm 45
Luke 1:26–38 or 1:39–47

Saturday
December 13
• St. Lucy, virgin and martyr •
How awesome are you, Elijah!
Whose glory is equal to yours? . . .
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
—Sirach 48:4, 9
I always expected God to appear in a glorious display, as when the fiery chariot snatches Elijah into heaven. I was hoping for the God of Cecil B. DeMille. Sometimes, however, God is more like George Burns.
Sirach 48:1–4, 9–11
Psalm 80
Matthew 17:9a, 10–13

Sunday
December 14
• Third Sunday of Advent •
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to {John}] to ask him, “Who are you?” he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”
—John 1:19–20
“Finding yourself” is a highly overrated imperative. It doesn’t matter so much that we know precisely who we are—especially since a human being is always growing and changing anyway. But it sure helps to know who we’re not. We’re not God, for one. We’re not even close, not on our best days. John’s final answer regarding his identity is instructive: he’s a voice in an empty place announcing God’s arrival. We should all be so clear about our reason for being!
Isaiah 61:1–2a, 10–11
Luke 1:46–50, 53–54
1 Thessalonians 5:16–24
John 1:6–8, 19–28

Monday
December 15
The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of the man whose eye is true. . . .
I see him, though not now;
I behold him, though not near:
A star shall advance from Jacob,
and a staff shall rise from Israel.
—Numbers 24:15, 17
The whole passage, chapters 22–24, is worth a read. The story of Balaam and his ass is the only anecdote of a talking animal outside of Eden—and the donkey isn’t the only ass in the tale. Balaam becomes a true prophet the hard way, by being brought to his knees by God. We all learn humility the hard way, it seems, but it’s the only way to become a person “whose eye is true.”
Numbers 24:2–7, 15–17a
Psalm 25
Matthew 21:23–27

Tuesday
December 16
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue.
—Zephaniah 3:13
Truth is an attribute of God. It’s a big deal in both the Old and the New Testament: giving false testimony earns a “You shall not” among the Ten Commandments. Jesus calls himself “the truth.” But we live in an age of spin, image management, retouched photography, and cosmetic surgery. Truth, frankly, is not our deal. Pilate’s ancient lament might be raised today: What is truth? How do we become people of truth in an age dependent on illusions?
Zephaniah 3:1–2, 9–13
Psalm 34
Matthew 21:28–32

Wednesday
December 17
The scepter shall never depart from Judah.
—Genesis 49:10
The lineage of Jesus runs through Judah. During the week before Christmas, the church has traditionally honored the human and divine origins of Jesus in the “O Antiphons.” We know them as the familiar verses of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The first antiphon, O Wisdom, reminds us that all of creation was ordered by God’s own wisdom—the only “intelligent design” we’ll ever need. God’s wisdom is shared with us as one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Pray for wisdom. Seek it. Share it.
Genesis 49:2, 8–10
Psalm 72
Matthew 1:1–17

Thursday
December 18
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
—Matthew 1:21
Today’s antiphon is a Hebrew name: O Adonai. It’s a respectful title usually translated “Lord” or “Master.” Although God gave the divine name to Moses as “I am who am,” folks were reluctant to abuse the privilege of using it. In John’s Gospel, Jesus insists on saying “I am” a lot—bringing the accusation of blasphemy. St. Paul proclaimed boldly, “Jesus is Lord”—take it or leave it.
Most of the time, we leave it. What would happen if we took it seriously?
Jeremiah 23:5–8
Psalm 72
Matthew 1:18–25

Friday
December 19
An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son.”
—Judges 13:3
The situation is hopeless, yet God promises the impossible. Is it Mary of Nazareth who receives this news? This time, actually, it’s the mother of Samson—but it could just as well have been Sarah, Hannah, the Shunammite woman, or Elizabeth. Or maybe even you or someone you know. God’s in the “impossible” business. “O Root of Jesse” is the name we celebrate today, because new life keeps coming from that surprising source.
Judges 13:2–7, 24–25a
Psalm 71
Luke 1:5–25

Saturday
December 20
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
—Isaiah 7:14
I’m not always good at reading the signs. The sky may be threatening, but I leave the umbrella behind. My wallet is empty, but I count on finding an ATM wherever I am. I eat past the moment I am full. I’m tempted by easy money, even though I know there’s no such thing. O Key of David, unlock my foolish heart and help me take the signs of your truth more seriously!
Isaiah 7:10–14
Psalm 24
Luke 1:26–38

Sunday
December 21
• Fourth Sunday of Advent •
[. . . according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings . . .]
—Romans 16:25–26
The meaning of the events of our lives often dawns slowly. What started out as a simple childhood hobby leads to a lifelong passion. A chance meeting becomes a marriage. A tiny spiritual tap on the shoulder awakens a religious vocation. O Radiant Dawn, you arrive on our doorstep while we are still half-asleep. Open our eyes to the great blessing you always have in store for us.
2 Samuel 7:1–5, 8b–12, 14a, 16
Psalm 89
Romans 16:25–27
Luke 1:26–38

Monday
December 22
{The Lord} raises the needy from the dust;
from the ash heap he lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.
—1 Samuel 2:8
In old-world societies, “rich” and “poor” were immutable social classes. Those born rich tended to remain in such circles, and those born poor would never amount to much. Part of the American Dream is the idea that one can arise from humble beginnings to achieve greatness. Social class is dismissed as merely an illusion or a temporary condition. O King of Nations, help us see that the last will be first, and the first are destined to be last.
1 Samuel 1:24–28
1 Samuel 2:1, 4–8
Luke 1:46–56

Tuesday
December 23
• St. John of Kanty, priest •
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
—Luke 1:66
John, aka the Baptist, seemed destined for greatness. Not much was expected of another John, however—a Polish fellow from Kanty. Ousted from his university professorship under false accusations, he wound up a
parish priest in Bohemia. But he didn’t protest his treatment: “Fight all error,” he said, “but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.”
O Emmanuel, I know well that the harshness I show toward others hurts me most of all.
Malachi 3:1–4, 23–24
Psalm 25
Luke 1:57–66

Wednesday
December 24
And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.
—Luke 1:76–77
Boil Christianity down to its essence, and you end up with one word: forgiveness. It’s no one’s favorite word, because forgiving is one of the toughest things we’ll do in this life. It’s an activity that presupposes a grievance, and the last thing an injured person wants to do is let go of a just cause for outrage. Eye-for-an-eye justice is the way of the world. But it’s not God’s way. Not if Jesus is your Lord.
2 Samuel 7:1–5, 8b–12, 14a, 16
Psalm 89
Luke 1:67–79

Thursday
December 25
• The nativity of the Lord • Christmas •
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
—John 1:14
Love is a word made flesh. There’s no point in saying it unless you’re going to back it up with substance, with body and blood, sweat and tears. That’s how parents show love to their children, lovers to their beloved, friends to their comrades, and soldiers to their country. That’s how saints demonstrate their love for the God they follow, all the way to martyrdom. So too the Word of God makes his fragile way into the world, risking all for love’s sake.
Vigil:
Isaiah 62:1–5
Psalm 89
Acts 13:16–17, 22–25
Matthew 1:1–25 or 1:18–25
Midnight:
Isaiah 9:1–6
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11–14
Luke 2:1–14
Dawn:
Isaiah 62:11–12
Psalm 97
Titus 3:4–7
Luke 2:15–20
Day:
Isaiah 52:7–10
Psalm 98
Hebrews 1:1–6
John 1:1–18 or 1:1–5, 9–14

Friday
December 26
• St. Stephen, first martyr •
The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
—Acts 7:58–59
Here is a strange and sudden turning point: the church grieves its first martyr in the hour it introduces its most celebrated missionary. The death of Stephen comes about at the feet of Saul. Saul is hardly an innocent bystander as he collects the coats. He’s a ferocious hater of the new religion and its adherents. He regards God’s law as immutable and wants to see lawbreakers punished. He must have heard Stephen’s confident cries for God’s mercy with incredulity.
Acts 6:8–10; 7:54–59
Psalm 31
Matthew 10:17–22

Saturday
December 27
• St. John, apostle and evangelist •
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life.
—1 John 1:1
The evangelists gave their testimony. They stood up in the court of human experience and witnessed to what they themselves had heard, seen, touched, and understood. We continue to benefit from their words, but it isn’t enough to memorize and recite what they said. We have to find the courage to testify to what we have come to know through our own experiences. What do we really believe?
1 John 1:1–4
Psalm 97
John 20:1a, 2–8

Sunday
December 28
• The holy family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph •
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.
—Colossians 3:12–14
I can’t think of better words with which to advise a family on how to be a family. Without humility and gentleness as a foundation, relationships soon collapse under conflict. Without constantly renewed forgiveness (forget the easy math of seventy times seven!), intimacy is impossible. Without love, blood ties devolve into chains. Holy families are, first and foremost, havens of kindness.
Sirach 3:2–6, 12–14 or Genesis 15:1–6; 21:1–3
Psalm 128
Colossians 3:12–21 or 3:12–17 or Hebrews 11:8, 11–12, 17–19
Luke 2:22–40 or 2:22, 39–40

Monday
December 29
• St. Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr •
Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word.
—Luke 2:29
The old year is on the wane. Time is among God’s most faithful servants, but sooner or later, even time pours itself out into eternity like a humble tributary into the great ocean. This past year gave each of us many opportunities to practice the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We embraced some, botched others. In the spirit of reconciliation, let this past year go in peace. Renew your resolve for the year ahead.
1 John 2:3–11
Psalm 96
Luke 2:22–35

Tuesday
December 30
There was also a prophetess, Anna. . . . She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
—Luke 2:36–37
I know this woman. I think we all do. She gives every spare moment to the church, every last dime to the needy. She comes to every meeting and marches in every protest. Every good cause is her cause. She knows everybody and remembers the past with wisdom. She’s old and her face is weathered, but she has the high spirits of a teenager and the optimism of a child. If you catch her praying in a dark church, she glows.
1 John 2:12–17
Psalm 96
Luke 2:36–40

Wednesday
December 31
• St. Sylvester I, pope •
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. . . . But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one, and you all have knowledge.
—1 John 2:18, 20
Do you believe the end is near? I do. It doesn’t take a prophet to know that in every moment, every cell in our bodies is moving toward its expiration date. Antichrists—those who move in a spirit contrary to the will of Christ—are much in evidence. Is our proximity to death and the reality of evil reason to fear? Not if we surrender our lives to the holy one, early and often.
1 John 2:18–21
Psalm 96
John 1:1–18