The sixth and ninth commandments urge us to honor us brothers and sisters in our sexuality, virginity, marriage justly in thought, word, deed, to have caring hearts. The seventh and tenth commandments urge us to honor us brothers and sisters in our talent, work, property, justly in thought, word, deed, to have sharing hearts. Our sexuality is a basis of relating to others. Our talent is a basis of actions for others. Thomas, in speaking of our charisms, blessings directed to others, singles out among others office and state. State refers to our life in terms of our sexuality. Office refers to our mission in terms of our talent. Sexually we choose originally to be single, married/widowed, or consecrated/committed. Talentwise we choose originally to be lay or ordained. Pleasure can lure us not to care, possession can lure us not to share. We need Jesus, our source and exemplar, our way and truth and life. We need His shepherding and teaching and sanctifying. We need His offering word of revelation and His offering meal of liturgy to offer self for others in our relations and actions, our life and mission (DV and SC).
In addition to charisms of life and mission, we need charisms of thought, word, deed. We need charisms of thought, to hear the word of proclamation and promise of the Holy Breath, to feel His seizure and rapture. We need to speak words from His wisdom and knowledge and with His tongues of encounter. We need to do deeds under His impact, miraculously healing and nourishing and freeing and uniting and encouraging and cheering. We need these charisms in everyday ways and sometimes in more spectacular ways. We are a gathered and renewed and sent people, charismatic (democratic) and hierarchical (ordered). We are His family of friends because of His revealing and gracing action and of our responsive action trusting the Father and helping us brothers and sisters. We are ordained and lay, together and singly we are called to be holy, inspired by consecrated and apostolic members. We saints of earth and purgatory are to be totally His family of friends like and with the saints of heaven. We are exemplified, embodied, personified by Mary and Joseph. Jesus is the light of us nations of brothers and sisters as His holy family of friends of Mary and Joseph to the image and likeness of Him and His Father and His Holy Breath, His Trinitarian Family of Friends (LG). His Breath breaths, floods, blows, kindles, souls us together and singly through Him in His Church gathered and renewed and sent for His world.
Besides charisms of life/state and mission/office and of thought and word and deed, we need charisms of contemplation and action. Our contemplation is our prayer and our action is our virtue struggle. They interplay, each leading to the other. Together and singly we heartbeat with and like and through the Child of the Father, our Jesus of Mary and Joseph, through and in and toward His Catholic Church for His world. Together and singly we breathe by and in and with His Holy Breath. Together and singly we move from and to and for His and our Father the Merciful and us brothers and sisters, people and angels, with our earth and universe, during our time and eternity, the miserable in our heart and conscience and struggle to be His holy family of friends of Mary and Joseph to the image and likeness of Him and His Child and His Breath, His Trinitarian Family of Friends. Together and singly we move, breath, heartbeat as human and angelic persons and community in our action, religious and secular, ecclesial and civil. We do so in our married couples and families, in our schools and culture, in our work and property, in our government—local, national, regional, international—of both citizens and officials. We aim at life, liberty, and happiness, truth, justice, and mercy, pardon, peace, and beauty. Our contemplation and our action transform our world as the holy family of friends of Mary and Joseph in the light and fire of the Trinitarian Family of Friends.
So, our Holy Breath from our Father through His Child our Jesus of Mary and Joseph by His charisms directs our relations and actions of our life and mission through His offering word of revelation and offering meal of liturgy, guides our thoughts and words and deeds through His Church, gathered and renewed and sent, and blesses our contemplation and action transforming His world (the four constitutions of Vatican II). Like and unlike Karl Marx, we aim at a world to be interpreted and changed. Like and unlike Friedrich Nietzsche, we aim at the transvaluation of all values.
There is a description of the encounter between the deacon Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch that helps us grasp the way our Holy Breath guides our needed encounters with one another (Acts 8). He puts Philip in the carriage of the Ethiopian eunuch who thirsts for Jesus his Savior and after his evangelizing takes him away. Often He puts Philips in our carriage of us Ethiopian eunuchs in our need and then takes them away. Sometimes we are the Philips He puts in the carriages of our brothers and sisters the Ethiopian eunuchs in their need and then takes us away. This is really not an accidental happening but a providential action of our Holy Breath.
Our American poet Emily Dickinson observes, "Parting is all we know of heaven and all we need of hell." Meeting one another, whether long or short, is central to our life and mission. Jesus promises we each and all have a place in the house of our Father and He will come to take us home by His Breath (John 14). Our same poet observes also, "I'm Nobody! ... Are you — Nobody — too? Then there's a pair of us! ... How dreary — to be — Somebody! ... To tell one's name — the livelong day — to an admiring Bog!" Jesus, humble of heart, by His Breath from His Father, rests and refreshes us laboring and burdened; this He does often now and will do forever for us His friends (Matthew 11).
Father Don
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